O dear. I had such big plans for multiple posts including photos that I was going to get done this weekend.... and then I decided I was going to finish three large-ish knitting projects all in one day, then pull out my entire yarn stash and decide what to give away the next. All good things.
I have a new sense of motivation. I have made some decisions lately regarding my knitting and yarn habits.
1) I will endeavor to have no more yarn than I can reasonably knit in the space of a year
2) I will finish or frog all my WIPs in a timely fashion.
3) I will not acquire yarn for the sake of acquiring yarn - I must have a project in mind when shopping for yarn.
4) In preparation for the Cookie A Sock Retreat in Tofino in April, I am planning to knit half of a pair of seven of her sock patterns. There is seven weeks until the retreat and I figure I can bang out a sock a week, my sock mojo is back! After the retreat I'll go and knit the partners to all the socks. The first socks of each pair will go on display at the yarn shop, so Ellie can show people Cookie A's designs as well as show off what the yarns she carries look like when they're knit up. I am already one chart repeat into Eunice, a pattern from her book Sock Innovation, which I received for Christmas. I'm using Gaia's Colours yarn for this first sock, and have enough of GC yarn in different colours for three more pairs of socks. I have lined up the yarns with the patterns I intend to knit them into. We'll see how it goes!
5) After reducing my stash to less than a full Rubbermaid bin, I might do this same thing with my fabric stash as well. I'm not much of a seamstress and have three fabrics & patterns for garments I wanted to make a year ago or more, despite having received a sewing machine for Christmas 2009, and I just don't use it enough. I know I need more practice but I think I need to bite off smaller pieces and work on simpler projects. Most of the fabric in my stash is stuff I'm not really interested in working with. If Dan wants to keep it, he is welcome to, but I will soon abdicate responsibility for managing that stash too.
6) In the spirit of de-stashing and clutter-busting, I expect to feel a lot lighter, and potentially mobile. All of my music is already in electronic format (and, truth be told, I listen to podcasts way more than I listen to music anyway), so we are considering buying a Kindle when we have a bit of extra money. While we love the feel of books, it is far more practical for us to have an e-reader. Only about 10% of our book collection is currently on display, and the rest of it is in boxes in the crawl space for lack of bookshelves.
It feels like a bit of a watershed moment for me. If I can slough off those things that I have large collections of, then I think I will feel a lot better about myself. I am also sloughing off a lot of weight physically.
Since starting this program eight weeks ago, I have lost 15 pounds. I am, as of today, at the point where my favourite jeans are loose on me and I might have to dig up my less-than-heavy jeans. I don't quite fit into my thin beige cords that I bought in Korea (that's my litmus test), but I'm getting close. Once my weight comes down ten or more pounds, I will have quite a bit of clothing I won't wear anymore too. I will once again be able to fit into lots of the pretty things I wore six or more years ago. Living where I live, it's totally acceptable to go around town in sweatpants or pajamas (not that I would ever do that), so if I don't manage to replace my wardrobe with Thin Clothes promptly, it's not a big deal. I wear a uniform to work (scrubs!) so that's not an issue either. But I will have to consider a clothing budget at some point. I'm really looking forward to that.
Next weekend we have some house guests coming, and I think that will be the beginning of the season of visitors of all the people who said they would come up here 'in the spring'. This is a good opportunity to give the house a thorough spring cleaning, much welcomed by the above mentioned clutter busting. I'm realizing I don't need all the stuff I have; it does not define me. Less stuff means less stuff to clean, organize, manage. It will be easier to clean up the house and get ready for house guests and I'll feel more in control of my life again.
On a final note, the expression 'when it rains, it pours' once again applies. Today I was offered another job, evenings and weekends. If it wasn't for the unpredictability of the hours, I might consider it. But I need to know that I'd be off by 9 so I can get home and get to bed because I have to be up at six the next morning and I know this job doesn't offer that kind of regularity. (I bet she would let me knit at work though!) No, for now, what I have is good. I'm two weeks into my current job and I'm settling into my routine.
In short, life is good.
I have a new sense of motivation. I have made some decisions lately regarding my knitting and yarn habits.
1) I will endeavor to have no more yarn than I can reasonably knit in the space of a year
2) I will finish or frog all my WIPs in a timely fashion.
3) I will not acquire yarn for the sake of acquiring yarn - I must have a project in mind when shopping for yarn.
4) In preparation for the Cookie A Sock Retreat in Tofino in April, I am planning to knit half of a pair of seven of her sock patterns. There is seven weeks until the retreat and I figure I can bang out a sock a week, my sock mojo is back! After the retreat I'll go and knit the partners to all the socks. The first socks of each pair will go on display at the yarn shop, so Ellie can show people Cookie A's designs as well as show off what the yarns she carries look like when they're knit up. I am already one chart repeat into Eunice, a pattern from her book Sock Innovation, which I received for Christmas. I'm using Gaia's Colours yarn for this first sock, and have enough of GC yarn in different colours for three more pairs of socks. I have lined up the yarns with the patterns I intend to knit them into. We'll see how it goes!
5) After reducing my stash to less than a full Rubbermaid bin, I might do this same thing with my fabric stash as well. I'm not much of a seamstress and have three fabrics & patterns for garments I wanted to make a year ago or more, despite having received a sewing machine for Christmas 2009, and I just don't use it enough. I know I need more practice but I think I need to bite off smaller pieces and work on simpler projects. Most of the fabric in my stash is stuff I'm not really interested in working with. If Dan wants to keep it, he is welcome to, but I will soon abdicate responsibility for managing that stash too.
6) In the spirit of de-stashing and clutter-busting, I expect to feel a lot lighter, and potentially mobile. All of my music is already in electronic format (and, truth be told, I listen to podcasts way more than I listen to music anyway), so we are considering buying a Kindle when we have a bit of extra money. While we love the feel of books, it is far more practical for us to have an e-reader. Only about 10% of our book collection is currently on display, and the rest of it is in boxes in the crawl space for lack of bookshelves.
It feels like a bit of a watershed moment for me. If I can slough off those things that I have large collections of, then I think I will feel a lot better about myself. I am also sloughing off a lot of weight physically.
Since starting this program eight weeks ago, I have lost 15 pounds. I am, as of today, at the point where my favourite jeans are loose on me and I might have to dig up my less-than-heavy jeans. I don't quite fit into my thin beige cords that I bought in Korea (that's my litmus test), but I'm getting close. Once my weight comes down ten or more pounds, I will have quite a bit of clothing I won't wear anymore too. I will once again be able to fit into lots of the pretty things I wore six or more years ago. Living where I live, it's totally acceptable to go around town in sweatpants or pajamas (not that I would ever do that), so if I don't manage to replace my wardrobe with Thin Clothes promptly, it's not a big deal. I wear a uniform to work (scrubs!) so that's not an issue either. But I will have to consider a clothing budget at some point. I'm really looking forward to that.
Next weekend we have some house guests coming, and I think that will be the beginning of the season of visitors of all the people who said they would come up here 'in the spring'. This is a good opportunity to give the house a thorough spring cleaning, much welcomed by the above mentioned clutter busting. I'm realizing I don't need all the stuff I have; it does not define me. Less stuff means less stuff to clean, organize, manage. It will be easier to clean up the house and get ready for house guests and I'll feel more in control of my life again.
On a final note, the expression 'when it rains, it pours' once again applies. Today I was offered another job, evenings and weekends. If it wasn't for the unpredictability of the hours, I might consider it. But I need to know that I'd be off by 9 so I can get home and get to bed because I have to be up at six the next morning and I know this job doesn't offer that kind of regularity. (I bet she would let me knit at work though!) No, for now, what I have is good. I'm two weeks into my current job and I'm settling into my routine.
In short, life is good.
