007: Winter Knits

Hi, everyone!

Thank you for spending some of your time catching up with me today! Today’s episode contains knitting WIPs and FOs, a spinning FO and WIP, and some talk about the elephant in the room, racism.

▲ Knitting FOs:
My husband’s hat 
01 of 08 socks

▲ Knitting WiPs:
02 of 08 socks for my mother
Hedgewitch by Nat Raedwulf (I really borked up this name in the video and never checked to correct myself. That’s what I get for being a bit rude about someone else’s name.)

▲ Spinning
Moonrover September 2014 club braid
Hello Yarn November 2018 club “Mandarin”

▲ Chat Section:

I want to stress that I am not looking for performance points or being told how “good” I am being for talking about this. While I am part of the problem by the virtue of having been born who I am and where I was, I do not want this to be about me. I am a work in progress and want to hopefully help others to want to do some of the same work and learning. Be the change you want to see, yeah?

Backfire Effect comic by The Oatmeal
White Privilege, unpacking the Invisible Knapsack : This was the first list I read back when I started learning more about systematic racism. It gave me a lot to consider.

There are many amazing resources out there (especially on InstaGram) with full lists of recommended reading lists, lists of BIPOC creators and business people, and many other related things. YES: you will see some memes and posts that might hurt your feelings and make you feel attacked (Remember that Backfire Effect thing? Yeah, this is it). They are meant to get your attention and make you more aware of how White Fragility and racism look from the other side of things. You will be OK. Take a break if you need to and pick up the work again after you’ve had a chance to work through the emotional parts of it.

Show notes can be found on the blog at KnitCute.com, and please consider joining the Knit Cute Ravelry group!

Blog: http://www.KnitCute.com
Ravelry Group: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/knit-cute
Shop: http://www.lambytoes.bigcartel.com

January 2019: Wrap-Up

Yardage Totals 2019:

 January: 695 yds
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:

2019 Totals: 695 yds or 0.395 miles

 

The first month of 2019 has already come and gone. It’s hard to believe, isn’t it, kittens? January was full of projects that I enjoyed, even if they did not allow me to hit my yardage goals. It’s OK: there are 11 other months for me to make that up. My spinning desire came back in January, and that took up a fair amount of my potential knitting time. I always take advantage of it when it arises. I know that after it passes there will be more movement on my needles. So let’s see what February has in store!

How was the first month of 2019 for you? Did you have the opportunity to stay in your home and be cozy with your crafts? Any big finishes or progress you’re proud of? Do you have any plans for February?

006: The State of…Everything

Hi, everyone!

Thank you for spending some of your time with me today! This episode is 100% chat: I make some big announcements in the beginning, then we wrap up 2018, and finish off talking about 2019 crafting goals. Happy New Year!

Show notes can be found on the blog at KnitCute.com, and please consider joining the Knit Cute Ravelry group!

Blog: http://www.KnitCute.com
Ravelry Group: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/knit-cute
Shop: http://www.lambytoes.bigcartel.com

Stashdown 2018: Q4 + Wrap-Up

2018 Stashdown

 

And here it is: the final Stashdown 2018 post! (Click on the image to head over to Flickr and see the larger, easier-to-read version.)

Overall, it was a pretty good year! Now…I do have to be honest up front and say a lot of that reduction came from destashing and giving away yarn or fiber. Had I counted only what I use, I suspect my numbers would have nudged up just a bit. Maybe when I’m in a place to muse about that, I will check and see if that’s how things would have played out. First let’s talk fiber stash. I rejoined the Hello Yarn fiber club at the end of this year (she’s gone to a new system without the wait list, did you know?) so I did end up having a pound of fiber (4 braids) come in towards the end. I spun out almost 9 ounces this year–sad, I know–but I destashed out a bunch during the final week of 2018. I have so much more than I can reasonably get to in the next few years, so I decided it was time to let some of it go on to new homes. I needed to make some space, and this was an easy way to do it. Yarn was a bit more dramatic–isn’t it always?  I am very green in the category. I managed to use and rehome a lot of it… but I also managed to bring in a bunch during ESK’s Black Friday Sale and KnitPick’s BFS  for projects I want to knit in 2019. They added a ton of yardage onto my count, and they’re definitely taking up a bunch of space I would have otherwise cleared. This year I allowed myself to let go of yarn I am not going to use any time soon (possibly ever) and it felt good to gift it to friends who would love it or send it off to charity/thrift shops for someone else to discover. Last year was the first real time I was able to maintain the size of my stash, and this year was the first I made any significant reduction out of it. I am hoping 2019 will be more of the same but without  the need to sell or give so much stash away. (If you’re curious about what’s staying in my stash and what my crafting plans/goals are for 2019, be sure to catch episode 006 of my podcast!)

There really isn’t too much else to say for now; I am going to bask in the glow of accomplishment. How did your stash maintenance efforts go last year, kitten? Do you track your numbers, or are you more laid back and just go with things?

December 2018: Wrap-Up

Yardage Totals 2018:

 January: 1,679yds
February: 1,069yds
March: 2,377yds
April: 3,370yds
May: 1,139yds
June: 1,389yds
July: 526yds
August: 482yds
September: 1,550yds
October: 1,508yds
November: 422yds
December: 701yds

2018 Totals: 16,212 yds or 9.21 miles

 

That’s a wrap for 2018’s yardage tally, kittens! It was a great year in terms of productivity–one of the best I have had in a while. My goal of 12,000 yards knit during the year was blown out of the water with a whopping 16,212 yards worked (that I tracked; this number does not count yardage knit and ripped out)! That feels really good, and I am proud of myself for knitting so much in 2018.

So onto 2019; it’s hard to believe 12 short months stand between us and the start of a new decade. I’ve decided to be optimistic in my goal-setting for the year: I hope to knit up a minimum of 15,000 yards during that time. If I keep up with last year’s momentum, it will not be an issue. If I knit 1,000+ yards a month, I should make it. Wish me luck!

Have you made any crafting goals in 2019? How did you do on your 2018 goals?

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