2014 Goals, 6 months later

I shared my 2014 fiber goals back in January, and thought we'd check in with them today.

1. Finish 15 knits this year. It's the middle of July and I've finished 8 knitted things, including 7 (!!!) pairs of socks. On the needles: 4(!!!) sweaters, 1 pair of mittens, 2 pairs of socks. Do I go ahead and declare this the year of socks? 




2. Learn to spin with more control. I've been happy with my progress this year in spinning. I'm almost done spinning for my SPAKAL sweater, and I can't even say how I excited I am about how this project is going. Actually? More on that tomorrow!


3. Participate in the Ravellenic Games and in Tour de Fleece as I am able. I started a Ravellenic project,  but my arm did not hold up well. Tour de Fleece has been much better, and I'll have final numbers and photographs from my Tour spinning for you tomorrow.

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4. Maybe actually write out a pattern or two this year? I've charted a few things, but no fully written patterns yet. This particular goal is the most exciting to me, but also the most terrifying.


5. Make 75% of Ellie's spring/summer and fall/winter wardrobes by hand. I have not even been close on this, mostly because of my arm issues. But those are clearing up and I'm finally back to spinning and knitting fully. I'm hoping to be back to my sewing machine in August.


6. Make more for the boys through this year, making at least 3 items for each of them. I have some things in progress or planned for the boys, so hopefully I'll be sharing some finished boy items soon.

How are your fiber-y goals going so far in 2014?

Spin Share

I'm working on spinning a little each day, and sharing my progress in this space on Fridays. 

Please join me! Share your spinning progress in comments- I'd love to see your work!

Last night I plied the 5th skein of Shetland so far. I have another 3 oz. waiting to be plied today, and I'm attempting to get another 1.5 oz. of singles onto the bobbins today to rest until I'm able to ply again tomorrow night. 

I will not get through all 32 oz. that I {secretly} wanted to get through, but I think I'll get close. I can reasonable expect that I might have 2 more skeins plied by late Sunday night, and maybe even another 2-3 oz. of singles complete by then, and I'm very happy with that. I have made so much progress this month, and I'm thrilled to have come through this project this well so far.

2 of the 5 skeins are different looking than the others- I used my new swift to wind the two longer skeins up so they aren't quite as short as the others. Each skein has very similar yardage, but the difference in how I formed the skeins makes them look significantly different. They've all had a soak, but I'm going to re-wind the shorter skeins to match the longer ones.

Have you been spinning this week? 

Share a link to your spinning progress in comments so that we can come visit your beautiful work!

Midnight Fiber and Fabric Podcast, Episode 16: The One with All the Spinning

This week I knit on my Bright Lights Socks (dyed by Nerd Girl Yarns) and worked on fall knitting plans to make sure everyone gets the necessary hats/mittens/Christmas gifts for this year. I also mentioned the Wildflower Cardigan by Alana Dakos.

I worked hard on spinning for my Tour de Fleece SPAKAL project since last podcast.

I'm really loving A Simple Plan Planner from Mardel.com and started collecting links about growing a cut flower garden on my Cut Garden Pinterest board. I also mention Song School Latin.

I ordered a few new tools from Fiber Artist Supply Co. and listed the top 5 Books on my Nightstand right now: Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon, The Yarn Whisperer by Clara Parkes, and Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist.

You can join in on the podcast conversation on:

Ravelry

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Pinterest

Yarn Along

{Yarning Along with Ginny this week. Won't you join us?}

I've been spinning like crazy for Tour de Fleece, but I've worked in a little knitting too. The first of my "Bright Lights" socks are almost complete. Just a little more until I'm ready for toe decreases.


I'm reading a few different things at the moment (and have a crazy big stack waiting to be read!) but for the last few days I've been pouring all my attention into An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon since I'm very close to the end.


If you're spinning lately, won't you join us in this space on Fridays for Spin Share? Just post a link to your latest spinning in the comments on Friday's post so we can all come see your spinning progress!

In Which My Body Slows Me Down

Last week was not a great week, guys. The quick version is that I *don't* have a broken foot or a sprained wrist (in separate bouts of general clumsiness), but I did accidentally have some foods I can no longer have and it has knocked me down flat. I spent the last few days essentially on the couch or sleeping. This is the first morning I've woken up feeling like a human.


There will be a new podcast episode coming soon (sorry for the delay!) and another Tour de Fleece update in the next day or two. I lost a few days of spinning with the bruised foot, but also got a few really awesome spinning tools in the mail that I'm planning to talk about as soon as I've used them a little more.

I will be back in this space soon!