Goals – 2015

Knitting

• Knit 6 pairs of Mystery KAL socks – I’m on schedule and finished the second sock at 5 PM yesterday – just in the knick of time.  I’ll do a proper FO post but I did want to show you I’m really done.

• Knit 3 things from stash for the Stash Down KAL –  Done!  I finished my Wood Hollow mittens and handspun socks this month and my Weigh It Shawl last month.
• Finish Paul’s Chicago Bears socks – I meant to work on my handspun socks while in Vegas but brought the wrong needle size so I had no choice but to work on the Chicago Bears socks a bit more.  I’m just to the gussets.

• Finish Paul’s Pismo hat – he loved his last one and he deserves a new one.  I guess I’m not too terrible of a wife because the whole hat is k1tbl, p1 ribbing.  Still no progress on this one.
• Finish Raspberry Tart – I’m less than a full sleeve away.  Same here – nothing to report.
• Add other colors to my knitting – yellow and maybe some blue or green.  I’m so happy that I made the Lucy Cowl and now I keep thinking of new color combos to add to my wardrobe.  I love it when one part of my life helps improve another.

Blog

• Post twice a week for the next 3 months –  I’m still at once a week but not giving up on this one.
• Post more recipes and nutrition info – Posting recipes is a lot of work – photography and often several meals before it’s just right.  I’ll post as soon as I have something worth posting.
• Make 20 comments per week on other blogs – Still need to get better at this, but I have started Instagram and like and comment on that a lot too.  And ps – you can often get sneak peeks at what I’m working on via my Instagram feed.

Personal

• FitBit – I finally took it out of the package and I think I might be hooked now.  My goal is now 6,000 steps per day.  I’ve learned how hard that is for me to do with the cold weather and icy streets.  I’ve started housewalking just to get them in (although I’m only hitting my goal 2-3 days/week right now).  A few things I’ve started to increase the number of steps I get in are:
  • using the bathroom further away from my office – adds about 400 steps
  • take the long way back to my office from meetings
  • take breaks while knitting to walk around the house – I hit my goal yesterday even though I spent hours sitting and knitting
  • supermarket runs can add 1-2,000 steps!
• Eat Well – I’m still enjoying lots of desserts and need to get back on track.
• Lose 8 pounds – I gained 2 pounds this month.  I’m clearly not happy about this but interestingly, it WASN’T my trip to Vegas.  I was down 1 pound after returning from Vegas and I think I know why (thanks to my new BFF the FitBit).  I walked a TON in Vegas – and even hit my highest number yet – 11,000 steps.  This tells me I need to find better ways of staying more active in the winter months.

Goals – throughout the year

• Check in each month – assess, acknowledge and adjust.  Doing it right now.
• Make an editorial calendar – I haven’t made a formal calendar but I have been working on plans for posts, interviews and reviews.

So, for February I think I did pretty well on the knitting front – 3 FOs  – and split on the personal goals – yay for the FitBit, boo for the eating and weight management.

March Goals

• Make Sock #1 for the March Mystery KAL.  Sock FOs are so addictive!
• Work on 2 UFOs
• Really write the Editorial Calendar
• Lose 2 pounds – I hope the weather starts to improve so I can get out and get moving.  And I’m going to need to do more housewalking if not.
• I was tempted to put another FO on the list for this month but I’m not sure I can do it with all my personal commitments.

How are your goals going?

I’ll catch you on the purl side…

Another first of the month means another check in…

Goals – 2015

Knitting

• Knit 6 pairs of Mystery KAL socks – I’m on schedule – I’ve knit one sock from my first pair.  The mystery is definitely helping – I’ve had this yarn in my stash for several years but I keep passing it up.

• Knit 3 things from stash for the Stash Down KAL – I finished my Weigh It Shawl a couple weeks back – 1 done, 2 more to go.

• Finish Paul’s Chicago Bears socks – they were his 2013 socks and I never even started his 2014 socks.  I’m a bad, bad wife.  No progress on that one yet.

• Finish Paul’s Pismo hat – he loved his last one and he deserves a new one.  I guess I’m not too terrible of a wife because the whole hat is k1tbl, p1 ribbing.  Oy.  No progress on this one either – but it’s sure been cold enough to wear.
• Finish Raspberry Tart – I’m less than a full sleeve away. You guessed it – nothing on this one either.

• Add other colors to my knitting – yellow and maybe some blue or green.  I did branch out with the Lucy Cowl.

Blog

• Post twice a week for the next 3 months –  January is a tough month to start because I need to plan photography on the weekends – but I’m working my way up.
• Post more recipes and nutrition info – I did exactly zero in January.  I said my goal was 2 per month, but I’m going to pull that down and start with one.
• Make 20 comments per week on other blogs – I started off the month strong but then work intervened. 

Personal

• FitBit – Um, it’s still in the package.
• Eat Well – I’m not doing the Gluten Free any more – I just didn’t feel any different.  And let’s face it – GF is HARD.  I still need to eat better but I’m getting back into the swing of things…slowly.
• Lose 8 pounds – I lost .8 pounds this month.  Not great, but at least it’s in the right direction

Goals – throughout the year

• Check in each month – assess, acknowledge and adjust.  Doing it right now.
• Make an editorial calendar – Nada (yet).

So, for January I’d say I did decent.  I’m happy to have an FO to show for it, and happy to use some stash sock yarn.

February Goals

• Make Sock #2 for the Mystery KAL
• Knit another FO out of stash yarn – this month’s challenge is Warm the Soul for the KAL.  I have about 20 ideas..
• Work on 2 UFOs
• Write the damn Editorial Calendar
• Get that freaking FitBit out of the box and on my waistband.
• Lose 2 pounds – this might be too much since we’re going away for a long weekend.  So I’m putting it on my list but I’m not feeling sold on this one.

How are your goals going?  Feeling good?  Need to adjust?  Hitting them out of the park?

Goals – 2015

Knitting

• Knit 6 pairs of Mystery KAL socks – fun, right?  And I get to use up stash yarn – yeah!  Ok ok I said 6 but there are 7 different yarns – I just couldn’t choose 6.  I’ll use a random number generator to pick a yarn after I’m done with the previous one, and I might fit a few sock WIPs in the middle too.  I have 3 or 4 sock WIPs that I’d like to get done too (and bonus since they’re partly there as well).

• Knit 3 things from stash for the Stash Down KAL
• Finish Paul’s Chicago Bears socks – they were his 2013 socks and I never even started his 2014 socks.  I’m a bad, bad wife.

• Finish Paul’s Pismo hat – he loved his last one and he deserves a new one.  I guess I’m not too terrible of a wife because the whole hat is k1tbl, p1 ribbing.  Oy.
• Finish Raspberry Tart – I’m less than a full sleeve away.

• Add other colors to my knitting – yellow and maybe some blue or green

Blog

• Post twice a week for the next 3 months- I did it for most of December and it was a lot of fun!  It also meant I had to plan more so I could actually have pics to post (especially hard in the dead of winter – it’s pitch black by the time I get home from work).
• Post more recipes and nutrition info – start with twice per month
• Make 20 comments per week on other blogs – I love getting comments and I need to leave more too.

Personal

• FitBit – I got one for Christmas and I have no idea how many steps I do on a regular day (although I suspect my desk job leads to a whole lotta nothing).  I need to move more but right now I don’t even know what “more” is.
• Eat Well – I started eating Gluten Free last month and I want to continue.  I’ve read so much about the benefits of gluten free and I need to give it a good shot (at least 3 months).  To be honest though I haven’t noticed any real change in the way I feel which makes it hard to keep at it.
• Lose 8 pounds – As many of you know, I lost over 70 pounds in the past few years.  This year I stayed stable until after Thanksgiving and then all hell broke loose – I ate dessert (often), I ate more than I needed to at many meals and I made poor choices even when I didn’t overeat.  8 pounds may not seem like a lot but it makes a big difference on a 5’2″ frame.  Losing the 8 pounds will let me prove to myself that I can maintain this weight loss.

Goals – throughout the year

• Check in each month – assess, acknowledge and adjust.  I often do one check in post and then forget.  Keep me honest, k?
• Make an editorial calendar – so I can plan and stay on track for the 2 posts/week

You’ll see I set a timeframe of months for several of the goals.  That 21-day habit thing is a pipe dream and I’m really serious here.   I’m doing this in my professional life and at home too – if I know I want to make a change then I need to actually make the change.

What about you all?  What are your goals?  How are you going to get there?

Have an awesome 2015  and thank you for spending some of your time with me.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

Tomorrow is the beginning of a new year and all the dreams and wonderment are alive in the knitting community.

This looks like it’s the year of Knit Your Stash (or really, yet another year of Knit Your Stash).  Lots of KALs cropping up:

• My Sister’s Knitter – This is the one that spurred on my excitement (full disclosure, I’m one of the mods).
• Yarniacs 2015 Q1 Stash Down Challenge – knit any pattern you choose from stash yarn
• Plum Dandi Ultimate KAL – knit any sweater pattern by Alicia Plummer or Melissa Schaschwary

Join for camaraderie, support and maybe even a fun prize or two.

I got a little crazy and frogged several WIPs that weren’t getting any love.  New year, clear needles…and omg I have A LOT of 4.0mm needles.

Then, I started tagging patterns and stash that I’d like to use.  Here are a few of my favorite combos:

Briquette in Yowza Whatta Skein in this gorgeous red.  This can triple dip in all three KALs – I want to CO tomorrow but the Plum Dandi KAL starts on January 9th.

Tatu in Tosh Merino Light in Baltic.  I stopped using this yarn because I realized it’d look like I was wearing a suit if I wore it with jeans – and I wear jeans All.The.Time.  I’m going to give overdyeing a try after knitting this one (probably in a spruce green).  Any pointers for overdyeing?

Lace Tiered Skirt in Hempathy.  I’d get a lot of wear out of this one once the weather warms up and both the pattern and the yarn have been in my stash for several years.  Every year I think about it in May and it’s too late to make it worth it for that season so it goes to the backburner.  Time to get this into the FO column.  I’ll probably make mine a bit shorter because at 5’2″ that length will be the oh-so-flattering length of mid-calf.  Yuk.

Inner Peace in Miss Babs Shiruku.  This one was on my Christmas wish list and has to be knit.  And CO tomorrow?

Yowza Weight It Shawl in Yowza Whatta Skein.  I need a simple knit otn for those times when I just want to pick up and go.

Lots of reds and purples with a little blue (and overdyed green?) thrown in too.  My classic colors.  My stash.  No idea what I’ll really finish but it was fun to put the list together.

And I haven’t even talked about the socks – that’s for tomorrow.

I’ll catch you on the purl side…

I’m sure I got some eye rolling and scowls with that last sentence. You say “it’s just a hobby”. But here’s the thing. I like to have something to show for my time. And I think most of you do too. Right? How much fun is it to parade around town in that soon-to-be cardigan shrug? And those pullover bustiers are all the rage.

Some times, I want to walk around Rhinebeck with my new sweater. Complete, finished and awesome.

But with 2.5 weeks to go I have a lot left to do. Almost too much.

Here’s my plan…

• this weekend – finish knitting cabled part of body
• Thursday – finish ribbing on bottom
• next Sunday – finish sleeves
• Monday – wash and block

I realized when I put this schedule together that It’s crazy aggressive. If I don’t hit this weekend’s schedule there’s almost no chance of getting Raspberry Tart done in time.

Mega sad face

Hoping and wishing won’t make it so. A plan makes it a possibility.  Unless I change my mind about that pullover bustier.

Going to Rhinebeck? How’re your projects going?  A girl needs some good ol peer pressure.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

Here’s what I posted on January 1st, with updates if I’ve made any progress…

• Knit more socks – I say this every year.  I love wearing handknit socks and I enjoy knitting them.  I’ve knit 2 pairs each of the past few years.  For 2014, I’m making 4 pairs my goal.  I’m almost halfway through sock #2 of my rainbow socks.  Not bad.  Not awesome either.

• Get on track with Paul’s pair of socks per year – I was off to a great start and finished Paul’s 2012 socks in February, but then fizzled out.  The man puts up with a whole room dedicated to knitting, yarn and crafting.  He deserves a little more sock love.  I’m a bit further than this pic at this point.  Just a tad.

• Knit more garments – I finally knit a garment this year and I even started a few more.  For 2014 I’d like to knit 2 garments.  I’m making good progress on Overlynd.  Now let’s see how long that lasts.

• Use more festival yarn – I did really well in 2012 and knit all the yarn I got at festivals.  For 2013, not so much.  I’d like to get back to knitting more of the yarn that I buy during the year.  Nada.
• Branch out with colors for accessories – I’m never going to look good wearing orange near my face but mittens or socks?  No problem.  I bought some orange yarn for a pair of mitts – does that count?

• Add more non-sock weight yarn to my stash. – And then knit with it.  I have almost no heavier weight yarn and I’m reminded of this every time I come across a pattern I like for aran, worsted or DK weight. I bought the lilac yarn for Overlynd this year.
• Actually knit with some of my self-striping yarn – It’s my kryptonite and I’m in jeopardy of becoming the self-striping hoarder.  Plus I really want to buy more.  Both sock WIPs are with self-striping.  Of course, I also bought another skein as well.  Ahem.  But let’s not focus on that.  It’s St. Patrick’s Day and the colorway is Lucky Leprechaun.  Hmm – maybe I should CO these socks tonight.  I am half Irish after all.

• Make some of my UFOs into FOs – I have 16 non-hibernating UFOs.  I’m fine with a lot of WIPs and UFOs but I’d love to get a few more FOs as well.  A little more focus would be a good thing.  We all know I have no FOs for 2014 yet.  I’m half process/half product knitter.  This clearly only satisfies one half of this knitter’s sensibilities.

I’m actually glad I put this post together – everything I’ve bought and worked on this year went toward at least one of my goals – something I didn’t realize until I wrote it.  I guess I’m not as much of an unfocused slacker as I thought.

But I do still want to have at least one FO soon.  No date – just soon.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

I’m two full repeats in and have started the A line decreases.  I’m loving the knitting and the cables are scrumptious!  Here’s a back shot too.

It’s been a while since I mentioned this one so here are the deets:

• Elisbeth by Bonne Marie Burns
• Berroco Vintage in Crimson

I love the look of those coin cables but not the actual knitting.  Glad there’s only 5 of them (2 on the front as well) and they’re only every 8 rows.  I can deal with that.

I’m just about done with my first skein and still have another to knit through partly before I get to where I was before I ripped last year.  The stitches are slightly bumpy because it’s been ripped but a quick dunk should fix that up.

I have a couple mods planned based on other Ravelers’ notes:

• Add short rows to the cap sleeves to make them more fitted.  I’m not going for the bat wing look.
• Make the shawl collar wider.  This one will be an experiment but since it’s the last thing to knit I can try it on as I go.

What about you?  How are your WIPs going?

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

I usually do a retrospective on January 1st but I still have 2 FOs to post about so that’ll wait – hopefully this weekend.

For now, let’s talk about 2014 goals…

• Knit more socks – I say this every year.  I love wearing handknit socks and I enjoy knitting them.  I’ve knit 2 pairs each of the past few years.  For 2014, I’m making 4 pairs my goal.
• Get on track with Paul’s pair of socks per year – I was off to a great start and finished Paul’s 2012 socks in February, but then fizzled out.  The man puts up with a whole room dedicated to knitting, yarn and crafting.  He deserves a little more sock love.
• Knit more garments – I finally knit a garment this year and I even started a few more.  For 2014 I’d like to knit 2 garments.
• Use more festival yarn – I did really well in 2012 and knit all the yarn I got at festivals.  For 2013, not so much.  I’d like to get back to knitting more of the yarn that I buy during the year.
• Branch out with colors for accessories – I’m never going to look good wearing orange near my face but mittens or socks?  No problem.
• Add more non-sock weight yarn to my stash. – And then knit with it.  I have almost no heavier weight yarn and I’m reminded of this every time I come across a pattern I like for aran, worsted or DK weight.
• Actually knit with some of my self-striping yarn – It’s my kryptonite and I’m in jeopardy of becoming the self-striping hoarder.  Plus I really want to buy more.
• Make some of my UFOs into FOs – I have 16 non-hibernating UFOs.  I’m fine with a lot of WIPs and UFOs but I’d love to get a few more FOs as well.  A little more focus would be a good thing.

It’s funny, when I see them all written together they don’t seem too bad.  Not a slam dunk, but attainable (for the most part).  I’m also joining Andi’s Knitting Resolutions KAL.

My hope is that the KAL will help me better keep track of my goals and do a monthly check in.  I think that’s the key – periodic check ins.  Peer pressure from the participants won’t hurt either.

What about you?  What are your goals for 2014?  Knit more?  Learn a new skill?  Stash less?  Take on a new type of project?

As for me, for today, I’m spending it the way I spend every January 1st – casting on a new project, working on a WIP (or two), cooking a great meal and (new for 2014) baking a yummy treat.  I hope you do the same.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

Looking back on 2012 I feel like I could have finished more projects than I did.  Well, I know I could have.  Just look at the 11 active UFOs I have on the needles.  But, I spent my weekends doing a lot of things other than knitting – gardening, cooking, a huge house project, learning photography and cooking healthy.  All things I’m happy to have done.  When I remind myself of that I feel like I had a full year.

I did finish six knitting projects – all out of sock yarn (now that’s an achievement).  I also used all the festival yarn I bought in 2011, and 3 of the projects were made out of stash yarn.  The grey jacquard was the only FO whose yarn was bought in 2012.  That’s something to celebrate.

Sweet Dreams (lower left) is one of my favorite. FOs. ever.  I’ve yet to wear it (I need to find the right dress) but it doesn’t bother me one bit.  I LOVED knitting it and I had a lot of fun taking the pics as well.

Wingspan (upper right) was a sleeper hit.  I did not enjoy knitting it – the loosely spun single was not a good fit for me – but I love the FO and it makes a great scarf under my coats.

Lintilla (upper left) was a fun knit but I don’t wear it.  The colors aren’t the best for me and the size it a bit smaller than I’d like.  The skein was much shorter than the original used in the pattern.  Knitter error.  But I did enjoy my first Martina Behm pattern – all the smart knitting techniques were great.

Zuzu’s Petals (middle top) was a great achievement.  I had cast on at least 5 projects for that yarn before being successful with the cowl.  It was also my first cowl but it won’t be my last.  I have several planned for UILI.

And then the 2 pairs of socks – Coupling (middle bottom) and the plain vanilla gray jacquards.  I love wearing handknit socks so a couple more pairs are always welcome.  In fact, I bought 2 pairs of work-appropriate shoes a half-size bigger just so I could wear more handknit socks to work.  On days when I don’t have a handknit pair to wear, I double up my socks by slipping a footie underneath my thinner, store-bought socks.  Yeah – I really need more handknit socks.

For 2013 I have a few simple goals

• Continue my weight loss.  I ended 2012 having lost 17 pounds this year – the most weight I’ve lost in any single year – and 59.5 pounds total (60 is SO close) over the past 4 years.  I plan to lose 10-15 pounds again this year.  I’m close to my ideal weight and 2013 may be my last weight loss year.  It’s really hard to believe I’m almost done with weight loss.  Wow.
• Continue learning how to cook healthy.  I keep a Healthy Recipes I Want to Try board on Pinterest.  The latest additions – Vegan Quinoa and Sweet Potato Chili and Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Wraps.  And I’m making up a hearty chicken stew today.
• Finish my festival purchases from the previous year before attending the 2013 festival.  I did that in 2012 and it was so freeing.  It also helped me focus my purchases knowing that I intended to knit all the yarn I bought within the year.
• Participate in Use It or Lose It – the Stash and Burn KAL.  I went through my stash the other day and picked several languishing skeins that I might knit up.

I’m so excited about my knitting right now!

I want to finally complete a stranded knitting project (maybe my first UILI?), knit 2 more cowls – I use Zuzu’s Petals all the time, knit up a pair of pretty socks (maybe with twisted stitches or lace) and complete at least one garment.  The big challenge will definitely be the garment.

And for events, Christy and I are going to Vogue Knitting Live NYC on January 19th.  Yay – we don’t have to wait until May for the first event this year!  And we can finally say that Sock Summit is next year!  Oh yes, I will be going.

What are your 2013 goals?  What are you most proud of in 2012?

Get the year started right and make sure you spend today doing what you love most – I know I will.