Looking back on last year’s knitting I realized – sometimes I start something just to see if I can.  I plot and calculate, determine yarn amounts and placement.  Knit a bit.  And then stop.

I’ve finally admitted that sometimes this is just what I need – and those projects are never really meant to see an FO state.

That’s a big step for me – to admit that sometimes I’ll NEVER complete a certain project.  Or maybe better put, that completing a project might not leave it in an FO state.

Coming to that realization has freed me with my knitting – and if you’ve noticed I’ve already finished more projects this year than last.

So you’ll likely see some process posts around here that are all about some kind of challenge – how to make a yarn work, how to calculate for an in-between size, how to knit a funky stitch – something that makes the project a puzzle.  And when I figure out that puzzle I may just put it aside or even frog it.

Here are a few puzzles I’ve started recently (clockwise from 2 o’clock)…

Echo Flowers (in blue TML)

I’ve been wanting to try Estonian Lace for quite some time.  I needed to see what all the fuss was about those flowers.  I’m pretty sure I won’t be going ahead with this one though – I don’t see having many opportunities to wear it and it doesn’t feel like a good use of my time.

Budleigh (in teal Miss Babs Windsor)

The asymmetry or the twisted sts and cables got me and I love the color.  But I haven’t picked it up in a month.  Still undecided on this one too.

Fossil & Bone (in peach TML)

This is a double whammy – I didn’t know what to do with this shade of yarn and I wanted to tackle those nupps.  Now that I got through a full repeat I really like it and may keep going.

I’ve enjoyed what I’ve done on each of these and learned something new in the process.  Time will tell if you see these pop up again.

Do you ever do that?  Start a project just to see if you can?

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?

First up were these socks in yarn I bought (and loved) 3 years ago.

I special-ordered the bump from glblf and got it Navajo plied from Plied Together after I fell in love with a pair of socks in my Friends feed.  If it wasn’t for the Personal Mystery Sock Yarn Club I still wouldn’t have started these.  Since they’re handspun they’re a bit thicker than regular sock yarn so they’re knitting up quickly.

Then I CO these socks out of Gnome Acres House Gnome in the Berry Gnomey colorway.

Pink, purple, white and a splash of blue.  Love them.  They feel so thin after working on the handspun socks.

And then to keep in interesting I started a pair of mittens.

These are the Wood Hollow mittens out of some Cascade 220.  I have mixed feelings about the yarn – the color is great but it’s a quatro colorway and I think the speckliness takes away from the cables a bit.

I’m through the ribbing on mitten #2 and hope to be done this weekend.

So that’s it – three new projects from stash yarn to fill my beginning of year knitting.  I only finished 3 projects in 2014 and that bothers me – I want more to show for it – so I’m making more deliberate decisions with my WIPs.

What projects did you start?

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

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.

So I did, and cast on a couple new projects.

First up are the Loki socks in Bitsy Knits Sock82me.  The stitch definition is great but the 8 ply yarn is a little splitty.  Not the best combo for twisted stitches but I love the colors.

The yarn has just enough pinks in it and the oranges are a nice departure for me.  And now that I’ve started the main leg pattern, the intricate stitching is a welcome change.  My recent socks have all been vanilla varieties and I think it’s not been enough to keep my attention.

Next up is Joji’s Imagine When in Spinning Fates Lorelei in the colorway Twilight.  The yarn was a gift from Andi and I’m in love – purples, blues and total softness.

The tidy picots add just that little bit of feminity without being too much.  Plus they make it easy to track where I’m at in the repeat.  I love patterns that are self documenting and don’t require umpteen stitch markers to keep track.  I’m close to being done with the first section and can’t wait to add in the short rows of the next section.