[YOP] Week of January 17th, 2016

I participate in "A Year of Projects" which is run by a group over on Ravelry.

I am hoping it will (a) help me be more productive (b) help me finish more projects and (c) help me blog more often... Fingers crossed!

Here is an update on current goals, and progress towards those goals.

General Overall Goals

• finish more projects - Nothing completed this week except a full clue of one of my MKALs.
• start fewer projects - Ummm...I started four new projects since my last update...
• use more stash yarn - Out of the four projects I started last week, 2 of them were started with yarn I had in my stash. 50% is not a bad ratio for me!
• buy less new yarn - I picked up some more of the worsted yarn for the GAL afghan, so I couldn't help myself there, and I also got sweet talked into some really awesome self-striping sock yarn.
• sell or donate stash yarn I no longer have any interest in - I found some crochet cotton in my closet I won't use and that will be going to my sister. I also found a bag full of knitted and crocheted squares that I will be donating to Blankets For Canada. Just have to find a way to meet up with someone for the drop off.
• add stash I plan on keeping to Ravelry for easier tracking - So far just entering what I buy as it comes in. Still need to find time to do back stash.
• organize stash room - Not going to happen any time soon. just discovered several leaks in the roof so just bundling everything up safely until we can get it repaired/replaced.
• sell some of my finished items - I now how finished items as well as hand-dyed yarn listed on Etsy. I have sold some yarn, but none of the finished items yet. Hopefully soon! It will help pay for the new roof!

Technique Goals

• double knitting - As promised, I cast on my first GAL DK square and it is going even better than I hoped! Not so scary at all!
• toe up socks - I received some good tips from an avid sock knitter at my LYS, so going to work up a swatch and then attack some socks with my awesome new self-striping yarn I scored.
• more complicated lacework - The MKAL lace shawl I am working on right now is actually pretty complicated. It has lacework on both the RS and WS and beads as well.
• clothing items - I think I am going to leave this goal until after surgery in June because my body should change quite a bit afterwards.

Specific Project Goals

I have created a project page on Ravelry called Knit The Bin where I am collecting WIPs that I want to finish that were started before the beginning of 2015.

• 2015 Advent KALendar Shawl (completed 01/09/16)
• The Doodler Shawl
• Meander Cardigan
• Wintersweet Shawl
• Spellbound Shawl
• Mara Shawl
• Hello Sweetie Spoilers Socks
• 50 Shades of Awesome

Projects Started in 2016 I Want To Complete This Year

• A Wrinkle In Time Shawl - Completed clue one January 16th!
• Nemesis Shawl - This has become my new TV/car knitting project.
• Opal Shawl
• GAL 2016 Video Game Themed Blanket - Cast on Square one this week!
• Scoreboard Scarf A - Completed a few rounds this week.
• Bow Ties Are Cool Doctor Who Themed Shawl - Cast on this week.
• Depth Charge Shawl MKAL - Cast on this week.
• Askews Me Brioche Dress - Cast on this week.

Here is a kind of bunched up picture of clue one of the Wrinkle In Time MKAL. It's actually very pretty, I'm just not very good with the camera.

And here is a sneak peek at my Bow Ties Are Cool MKAL. I am quite enjoying this one!

The results of this week's visit to the LYS. The Shelridge Yarns Soft Touch Worsted Yarn is some of the softest and squishiest I have worked with, and it`s Canadian! Such a great choice for my GAL afghan. I am so glad the owner of my LYS encouraged me to try it.

A close up of the super awesome self-striping sock yarn!

And the best part, the complete set of ChiaoGoo twist needles I have been drooling over for close to two years...

I think I'm in love!

Happy New Year!

It has been almost a full year since I last posted to this blog.

2015 was a busy year for me. I was diagnosed with a chronic illness (details if you are interested can be found on my more personal blog Everything Gwenny) and spent pretty much the entire year sick and in pain. I missed a lot of work and realized that at some point I might lose my job and so therefore needed to look at other options.

Being the yarnie that I am I decided to open both a retail online yarn store, Serenity Yarns, and an Etsy shop (also named Serenity Yarns) for my hand-dyed yarns. So far it has been a lot of fun. It's still not enough to support me full time, and maybe it never will, but it's very enjoyable, and it makes me happy...which is the most important part.

As such, I am going to be using this blog to support both those outlets as well as continue using it for my own personal crafting as well. I will feature product reviews, both yarn and accessories, as well as contests, special deals, and more!

I didn't get a whole lot of projects completed last year, partially due to the illness and being in an almost constant fog of pain and painkillers, and also partially due to my love of constantly starting new projects.

The first project I completed wasn't until June, almost half way through the year. It was a test knit for an indie yarn dyer and designer I adore, Pandia's Jewels. I think it was the fastest I ever finished a project like this as well, taking me only 6 weeks to knit the entire shawl. I used one of her themed colorways, Gamora, based on the character of the same name from Guardians of The Galaxy.

Other than that I mostly did knitting to sell on Etsy including various cozy cowls and hats. Active listings for my hand knit items can be found on Esty, here.

My goal for this year is to finish more WIPs. I am running a Knit The Bin KAL (an awesome idea from our fabulous group member REJ) over on my Ravelry Group Page. Come on over and join us and we can encourage one another to finish our WIPs. I mean just look at this picture of my desk right now...I obviously need the help...

My other main knitting goal for this year is to learn double knitting. It is something I have really wanted to learn for quite some time, and some new patterns that have come to my attention require this skill. So it is definitely a must!

What are some of your crafting related goals for this year? Fell free to comment on the blog and/or join us over on the Raverly page.