Yardage Totals 2019:
2019 Totals: 1,892 yds or 1.08 miles
February was a good month. I managed to knit most of a shawl, finished a pair of socks, and kept working on my 10-stitch blanket. There isn’t much else to say but that. 😉
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
Yardage Totals 2019:
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?
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
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?
