Stash Goals 2016

We've made it  to April. A time of year when some have abandoned the "resolutions" they made back in January. If you are a regular reader, you know I don't like the whole New Year Resolution deal. I just like setting goals, because you can do that any time and adjust them and be successful with them.

As I had a few days home over the winter break, I once again was frustrated and overwhelmed with the amount of stash I have. I have been trying, quite unsuccessfully, to reduce my stash. Fabric to zero if possible. And yarn by.... a lot. It would free up an astonishing amount of space in our apartment. (We've also been going through things and have a sizable donate pile.)

In order to reach a goal, you have to have a plan in place though. Here's THE PLAN.

Yarn
Overall Goal: Use 3 balls of yarn for every 1 ball acquired   Revised (already): Move more skeins out of stash than I acquire. So far, I'm not doing so great at it, but have a game plan.

The Plan:
1.  Find one skein projects, such as baby sweaters (for the Etsy shop and to have handy for baby showers), and use up all the single skein sock yarns I have.

2. The Box: I have a box. I've filled it with dishcloth cotton to start with. The goal is to use up all the yarn in the box without acquiring more of the same kind of yarn.

3. Make all those sweaters for myself I've been planning and buying yarn for.


Fabric:
Overall Goal: No more stash. Buy fabric as needed only.

The Plan:
1. Finish all the partially done projects hanging out in the closet, and basket. Yes, there is a basket for sewing projects as well.

2. Make the clothes I had planned for myself.

3. Use pattern books to find suitable patterns for the fabric I have. Again, probably baby stuff for the Etsy shop and baby showers. (I know a few lot of pregnant folks, it's that season of my life.)

4. Do not buy fabric. Ha! Revising to a 100 day no buying streak (like last year)

5. Sew every day. Just 15 minutes a day will add up to 7+ hours a month. And on weekends, once I get going I usually end up sewing a lot longer than 15 minutes.

New Years Resolution Motivation

As we enter week three of the New Year, some of you may have already fallen off the resolution bandwagon. However, remember: Just be a little better than you were yesterday. You can start over, each week and day is a new start. And remember, this is YOUR life, not someone else's. Be sure to focus on you and you will become the person you need to become.

Sew And Knit my Stash 2015

Lately I've been trying to be more active on Instagram. Mostly out of the boredom that comes with not having classes or work for a month...
While on there one day, I happened upon the account of a lovely lady named Leasa. She has a blog: Project Leasa. She's informally heading up a group New Years goal.

The first challenge was to post a picture of your stash. There were some incredibly huge stashes posted, and all of them amazingly organized. Which made my stash feel a  little, well... 

It seems so small compared to others I saw. BUT I am a grad student, so budget is tight. And we are in a tiny apartment, so space is at a premium. I vowed to not buy any more fabric or yarn for at least one full month. A small step, but at least I can get started on some of the stash. 

 And because I'm a planner, I went through my new pattern books and made plans. I'm all about the planning.

 Since I've been blessed with many talents, I decided to extend the challenge to Knit My Stash, too. In fact, I'd been planning on knitting my stash for a couple of months now. This challenge has just been the final push to get me to actually do it. So, here's my yarn stash (and this is after some major destashing via swaps and giving away) 

Again, it seems so small compared to others I've seen.... 

Step one to this plan is to finish all my PHDs aka WIPs (projects half done and works in progress to you non-fiber friends). Which I'm doing pretty well on if you follow me on Instagram . I will continue to post on Instagram and hope to be able to make bi-weekly posts here on the blog to keep myself accountable!

Good luck fellow #sewmystash-ers! And feel free to join in! Leasa is posting helpful hints and motivations to stay on track all year long. 

Goal for the Year

  I don't like the term 'New Year's Resolution". Probably because I feel people use it as a way to say they're going to do something that they don't really intend to do or don't think they can accomplish, but that's okay because it was a "New Year's Resolution" and people don't ever keep those anyway so no big deal. Right.

  A few years ago I took to having a "Goal for the Year" instead. I've found the best method for me is to have one goal. Any more than that and I might end up getting overwhelmed and not accomplishing any of them because it's just impossible. I can make short term goals, mind you, or longer range goals. But for my year goals, one is the magic number.

Last year it was to make 12 pairs of socks for myself over the course of the year, one pair per month. And I completed that goal two days ago. (Go me.) Then I got to thinking what my goal for the upcoming year should be. The socks had a "12 in '12" theme, so maybe I should do a "13 in '13" theme. After checking out some things on the knitting website, I decided on a goal.

I'm going to knit 13 miles worth of yarn in the year 2013. You will notice that I have added a widget to the sidebar on the blog here that will track the yardage that I have knit. For those of you wondering, 13 miles = 22,880 yards.

I'm not sure why knitting has been the focus of my "Goal for the Year" the past year and now, but it is something I like to do, so why not? Granted I have more things I want to accomplish in the coming year, but they aren't do or die like I feel the "Goal for the Year" is. It's a serious thing, this Goal for the Year, it has to happen no matter what.

Having said that, my dad sat me down today. He said "I have a goal for you this year." After explaining that I have a big year ahead of me full of really cool things that I'm doing, he said, "You have to take it easy."

All I could do was throw my head back and yell, "DANGIT!"