Tag Archives: goals

My Wishlist for 2016

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Happy New to all!!!

My knitting time is sparse and precious with an active toddler in the house. Therefore I want to only work on projects that make me happy and that I can’t put down. I hate to call these goals because I hate not achieving goals. So I’m making a wishlist to help me combat my urge to CAST ON ALL THE THINGS and keep myself motivated in the new year.

  1. Keep plugging on my Garter Rainbow Blanket
  2. Start a baby blanket for my very best friend and her baby to be in some deep stash Knit Picks Biggo. Probably something in checkerboard to coordinate with his/her older sister.
  3. Finish my Momma Vertebrae before Spring
  4. Work on my Cashmere Ribbed Socks in Dream in Color Smooshy because every knitter needs cashmere on their feet
  5. Knit two pairs of socks for my husband
  6. Knit at least one vest this year
  7. Knit at least one more cardigan before winter.
  8. Knit one sweater for Jellybean for next winter
  9. Knit preemie hats for charity
  10. Knit some tube socks for Jellybean

Alright, that’s my Top Ten. Let’s see how I do, lol. 

Goals and The New Year

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I have a thriving baby, a career, loving family, and a pretty amazing husband. I just don’t knit as much anymore as the aforementioned things are taking a bit more time. I don’t mind, to all things there is a season. I’ll soon enough have more knitting time and miss these previous days.

That being said, I still have some knitting goals for 2015:

1: Ravel all my projects
2: Keep better track of my yarn in versus yarn out (I heart spreadsheets)
3: Make at least two pairs of socks for my loving husband
4: Knit a winter sweater for Jellybean (12-18 months size)
5: Finish all my 2014 carryover projects
6: Find a space for and use my cedar chest

There you are, nothing drastic but rather logical and reasonable goals for a knitting mommy and wife.

Do you set goals?

A Step Forward in My Career

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I’ve been at my current job for five years and it’s been one hell of an adventure. No two days are the same, both good and bad! But there isn’t a lot of room for advancement and there are some inherent problems with the structure in my department. So I struck out and interviewed for a dream job….which I was promptly denied.

And I’d like to point out that I was valedictorian of my high school class with a 4.0, I graduated summa cum laude with BA in Spanish, Business, and Accounting from undergrad, I graduated summa cum laude with a Masters in Business Administration from a nationally recognized university, and I have five years working experience as an accountant. I say this not to brag but to point out how ridiculously qualified I am for most jobs. It’s just that even now there are 20 qualified applicants for every job, especially the good ones. Now I don’t want to complain too much because I am currently employed and earn a fair wage. I’m just not happy, and on some level you should be happy(ish) to go to work every day!

So I decided to study for and sit for the Certified Management Accountants’s exam. It’s a step below the CPA and give you knowledge across a WIDE range of accounting topic and not just the banking industry I currently work in. That being said this process is a HUGE time suck. I need to be studying 10-15 hours a week to be on track to take the first test in February 2014. This has put a huge dent into my knitting time.

I guess this is my long way around of saying that for the next couple of months my knitting posts may not be as frequent or as detailed as I have become accustomed to writing. Please bear with me and I promise to keep knitting along the way! How else am I going to stay sane, lol?

Happy Knitting (and studying)!

Stashbustin’ Stat Update

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This year is almost up!!! I can’t believe how fast it’s gone and Christmas is right around the corner. My Mom and I had a wonderful day this past weekend selling at the craft fair.  And boy howdy, are we tired! Being a knitting masochist, I have another craft fair yet to come before Christmas! I need to get back to my needles to “restock” my wares!

So today, instead of a object orientated post I’d like to share my “progress” this year on stash busting.

  • I have 42 Stashbustin’ projects in 2013 (not counting special request and craft fair wares)
  • I have completed 31 projects, frogged 2 projects, four projects are in hibernation, and I have five current WIPs.
  • I have knit approximately 8.56 miles and have another 1.88 miles on the needles
  • I have donated 1 mile of yarn to charity
  • And despite my best efforts…..added 8.94 miles of yarn back to my stash

Now I am still in the black as far as yarn in/yarn out. But I bought a lot of yarn this year. Some was for specific projects and special orders. Others was just because I could. I did get rid of some of my less than tasty bits of yarn and replaced it with better and higher quality fiber.

My stashbustin’ efforts may slow down a bit as we march towards 12/31, as I do last minute holiday gifts and restocking my craft wares. But I think I have made solid progress this year! I am still debating if I do another year of stashbustin’ in 2014 or some other method of measurement. I’m leaning towards another year of stashbusting just so I can see if I can beat my previous years levels…

Any thoughts?

2013 De-Stashing Update

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Instead of showing pictures of my marginal progress on my Ombre Billow Blanket (Stashbustin’ #15) or my Spiral Staircase Shawl (Stashbustin’ #20), I thought I’d give an update on my de-stashing efforts!

Late in 2012 as we prepared to start house hunting, I started packing up my yarn stash. I realized how easy it was for me to fall prey to the siren’s call of new yarn. My stash had grown CONSIDERABLY since the last time we moved. While my stash is pretty modest in comparison to some others, it bothered me to see all that gorgeous yarn is just sitting idle for the right project! So I vowed to “de-stash” in 2013. It’s now the middle of June and the year is half gone and here are my stats…
I have:

  • Completed 37 FOs (I don’t count all my FOs in my de-stashing count they were special orders or consignment pieces)
  • 4 current WIPs
  • Knit approximately 11,455 yards or 6.53 miles
  • Eliminated 107 skeins of yarn from my stash

This means I’m knitting a little over a mile a month! Not too shabby considering I have FTJ (full time job), a husband, gym workouts, and theatre volunteer hours. Where I have faltered a little bit is in not adding yarn back to my stash. I have had to order yarn to fulfill custom orders and may or may not have ordered extra “just in case”. I have also fallen victim to yarn promotions and a splurge here and there.

I have added:

  • 8,892 yards of yarn
  • Or 5.05 miles of yarn
  • Or 74 additional skeins

Okay, maybe that more than a couple of splurges. But it was all a really good deal I swear….and I’m still in the black by using more than I’m putting back in! The accountant in me is really excited to be in the black. Not to mention that all my yarn spreadsheets are up to date. I’m a GIANT nerd with mild organizational OCD if you haven’t already noticed lol.

Does anyone else organize their knitting on spreadsheets? Or am I crazy?

2013 Stashbustin’ Update

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I didn’t have any big updates on my WIPs this week or any good photos to share. So I thought I’d round out my “stats” for 2013 and my stashbustin’ project. Here goes nothing:

Yds of Yarn used: 7,840

Ft of Yarn Used: 23,519

Stashbustin’ Projects Completed: 11 1/2

Current WIPs: 2 1/2

Total Miles knitted: 4.47

Number of skeins used from my stash: 78.5

Average blog posts per week: 5

Not to shabby if I do say so myself! Here’s to keeping the mojo flowing! What’s on your needles this week?