A New Year and New Goals for 2014

I had better get my act together!

Firstly, Happy New Year, albeit about 26 days late but the sentiment still applies  Did you accomplish all your knitting goals of 2013 before the end of the year? I did alright.

Last year was a great year for knitting for me. I completed 30 projects!  I made 11 hats, 8 "pairs"* of mitts, 5 baby sweaters, 2 pairs of socks, 1 big batch of knitted facecloths, and 3 child or adult sweaters.  Totaling just about 9,000 yards of yarn knit. Not too shabby. Finishing the year I have 4 unfinished WIP.

My last year's goal of finishing 5 big and 5 small projects was more than achieved. So yeah me! Yes, I totally count socks as a big project even though the result is actually quite small.

I actively put myself out of my comfort zone by trying some more complex projects than I have completed in the past. I tried- and loved- stranded colour work. I tried- and hated- intricate lace with beading especially as a knit-along project.  We'll call that one a draw.

My favourite project was definitely my LH and RH Snowfling Mittens.  The knitting of these mittens was fun but the games we've played afterwards have been so much better! I have big plans for 2014 on this front!

RH Mitten and me goofing around at
California Adventure Park this summer.

My least successful project was Georgia's Dream in Lime.  The sweater is lovely and so was the yarn.  I even enjoyed the knitting. Putting it all together resulted in a very stretchy sweater that will never fit G properly. EVER! I really don't believe in ripping projects but I am still seriously contemplating it for this project. The yarn is too lovely- and eye searing- to waste.  I keep trying to talk myself out of it!

I still haven't decided what to do with this.

I seriously thought about how to set goals for 2014.  I have a few specific things that I would like to  complete in 2014:

• a sweater for each member of my immediate family. (This is a pretty big goal and will involve me deciding what to do with G's sweater above.) 
• I have one specific UFO that only needs sleeves- my Early Evening Cardigan.
• I would also like to knit a new pair* of mittens for my sister; and
• a couple of pairs of socks for myself.

My issue for 2013 and a go-forward goal for 2014 will be to slow the stash acquisition!  I bought A LOT of yarn last year. Seriously! About 6 years worth. Now, some of that was vacation yarn shopping, a small portion was yarn clubs, and the rest was out of control on-line shopping.  I need to get my act together and actually use the yarn I have. Although I will have to buy yarn for Scott's sweater.

So that brings me to my ultimate to-fer goal for 2014: I aspire to not buy any yarn until I have completed 50** + 8*** workouts.  I will work from my stash until then.

For those of you thinking- what does that have to do with knitting? Well, admittedly, not much. I do, however, need to work on balance of my activities and working out more will join in well with other life goals for the year. If I hustle I could be shopping again in 10 weeks or if I continue as I have gone so far it could be more than 8 months. Either way I am not lacking for projects- or yarn- until then.

What are your goals for 2014?



Footnotes:
* For me a "pair" of mittens is not necessarily a set of two. In the circumstances of anyone playing my LH vs. RH games a pair is typically only one mitt from their designated side.
**Full disclosure- this goal was originally going to be 100 workouts but with the calendar above it is easy to see that this could take me YEARS. So I have brought it down to a still-difficult-but-achievable-if-I-just-get-off-my-ass number.
***More full disclosure I have already cheated and bought 780 yards of yarn this past weekend while travelling; thus the  extra +8 workouts as penance.

A pre-Christmas panic attack



Breathe deep. Keep calm.

I CAN see the calendar.

Head between your knees.

I do know that it is only early October. 

Bring paper bag to face.

I can't seem to get Christmas off my mind right now. And I may be getting a little panicky about it.

Go to your happy place.

 

It seems ridiculously early but Christmas is front and centre in my brain right now. And the really odd thing is that I have sooooo many other favourite holidays that come first! (Halloween, Black Friday, Yarn Sale day etc.)

 

My recent panic attacks might have to do with a list that I made for myself of potential Christmas gift ideas for friends and family members. I make one every year. Typically this list includes things to buy for my loved ones.  But this one is a little different than in previous years. This one has a list of only knitted items next to each name.

 

It started simple, with my immediate family: my husband and my kids. That's 4 people right there and they all want sweaters!  I add my parents, my in-laws and I am feeling a little light headed now. Then I add my sister, her husband and their two sons that are both over 6 feet tall and my sister in law. Bubbles of hysterical laughter escape as I frantically look back and forth between my list and the calendar.

 

From here it snowballs... badly. I add our best friends,  my counsin's kids, a good friend with a benchmark birthday and my grandparents. I have drool frothing at my lips when I start thinking that I could pound out  6, maybe 8, of these really cute little stuffed apples for teacher gifts.

From Knit Simple, Holiday 2012

I need to go through my stash!

I need to get to the yarn store!

I need a sharp rap to the head... because it would take a fleet of about 5 professional knitters working full-time between now and Christmas to make this list happen! It's so ridiculous that I should be laughing about it instead of hyperventilating.

 

I do know that I can't possibly make something for everyone in my family between now and Christmas. So I wonder why I am spending time worrying about this. This may have been doable, maybe,  if I had started in January- of last year- and had budgeted a couple of small projects a month. But even then I doubt it.

 

Seriously, it is a really big list.

 

This might have something to do with the fact that I have finished more projects this year than I have in the previous 4 years combined. I think that I have recently jumped a skill level which has allowed me to hit a groove. As a result I have churned out some really nice projects this year. I have made a combination of small and big items.  I think this recent productivity has made me insane cocky.

 

Each month I review the newest knitting magazines and on-line patterns and the list gets a little bit longer. And I find myself saying "Oh, that lace scarf would be so nice for my sister-in-law. I think I have the necessary 1500 yards of lace weight in my stash!"  Or I remember that my friend has always hinted that he'd like a pair of warm cabled mitts and LOOK at that pattern, right there for the very same!

Flint Cabled Mittens,
Brooklyn Tweed, in Shelter

 

Never mind the trouble I get while on Ravelry. I currently have 62 items in my queue and those are only the items for me.

 

So why am I torturing myself?  It is simple really. As much as I am a process knitter I really like to make handmade gifts. I like being able to show someone that I care about them enough to have spent tens of hours making something just for them.

 

I am trying to understand this better but just because I can make something doesn't mean that I should. Not every gifts needs to be handmade. Something that I think is beautiful may not look the same to another. And not everyone values a handmade gift. This is a lesson that I have learned the hard way. Some people really do like store gifts better. Or cash. This is okay.

 

A gift, when given, should be more about the person receiving and less about the hang ups of the giver.

 

My rational brain knows that I should calmly put down my list and walk away. I should pick the few items that I can reasonably accomplish between now and Christmas and focus on those.

 

That sounds like a great idea but my knitting brain is still in panic mode.