2014 Year End Review

Wow, what a year 2014 has been! I just can't resist making these montages of everything that was completed this year--and clearly I was productive, because I've never had to make this many before!

  1. Swedish Fish mitts
  2. geek girl mitts
  3. koolhaas hat
  4. stripey socks #1
  5. stripey socks #2
  6. cowgirl cowl
  7. give 'em the slip mitts


My Ravellenic Games finishes!



17. squirrel dish cloth
18. apple dish cloth
21. bitty bot








39. luuk I




44. luuk II

And the grand total is ....


Phew! That was a lot! And looking at the numbers, it really was my most productive knitting year to date! I nearly doubled the yardage I knit, and subsequently had a big jump in number of finished projects as well! Which really isn't all that surprising when you take a look at all the hats, mitts, and accessories I knitted this year.


Now for the moment of truth--how did I do on the resolutions I set for myself back last January? My 2014 knitting resolutions were to: 
  • Goal #1: Knit down my stash. Results? MIXED. I knit more yardage than I ever have before, and I successfully maintained a six-month stretch with ZERO yarn purchases (wahoo!!) ... BUT I made a lot of yarn purchases in the first six months of 2014. I never did the painful calculations, but I would guess that my stash grew this year despite my productivity and yarn dieting.
  • Goal #2: Finish, frog, or otherwise eliminate my current WIPs.  Results? Big fat FAIL on this one! LOL!
  • Goal #3: Continue my Love Your Library project! Results? MIXED. In total, I knit six projects from books currently in my library. I ended up taking advantage of a lot of amazing free patterns this year, but I still struggle in knitting from my vast library of pattern books.
So what am I thinking about for 2015? My biggest goal for 2015 is a net reduction in my stash size. To that end, I'll be starting another super strict yarn diet tomorrow (another six monther!) and am excited to start working on some "big" projects--I have two blanket quantities of yarn sitting in my stash that I'd like to knit up, for example. And possibly some sweaters.  My goal is to consume 100 skeins this year--I'm participating in a challenge that counts partial skeins as a "skein" so this will be easier done that it sounds (and with the added benefit of encouraging me to knit up scraps and pesky remainders!). And despite my failure with Goal #2 in 2014, I'm going to continue in that vein again in 2015. I use a coat rack in my dining room to store works-in-progress in project bags, and frankly the thing is protruding with how many bags are piled on it! So I'm thinking that I will deal with one bag a month, and slowly whittle the coat rack down to a less embarrassing size.  Finally, I plan to continue my Love Your Library challenge, but with a twist. I've been accumulating knitted toy books like no other--and despite my love of knitting toys, I have only knit a handful of patterns. So in 2015 I'm going to work my way through a handful of the toy books in my stash. I think the small size of the toys will make this less intimidating, and the focus of staying within a handful of books will be helpful for me. So in short, my knitting resolutions for 2015 are the same as 2014 just with little revisions of focus:
  • Goal #1: Knit down my stash.
  • Goal #2: Finish, frog, or otherwise eliminate my current WIPs.
  • Goal #3: Continue my Love Your Library project!
If you'd like to join in on the 2015 Love Your Library challenge, come back tomorrow! I'll post more specific details and reveal the books I will knit from throughout the year. Happy New Year!

9 comments:

Christine N said...

Wow! Your vast amount of projects are impressive. I really enjoy your library challenge, and I realize I have told you that before, but I'm really glad you're continuing it.

Here is a link to my year end review and how I did with my Library Challenge:
http://knitcorner.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-look-back-on-my-2014-goals.html

Click said...

I've never done an end of year review that just focuses on knitting stuff before but I do like the idea of it. Last year I made knitting resolutions but then I had a bit of an off year for knitting and didn't complete many of them.

I like the idea of doing a pattern from each book I own. I sort of started that when I started collecting the Jean Greenhowe pattern books but then got sort of overwhelmed and stopped. I also admire you for not adding to your stash for six months. I thought I had a handle on mine until I realised that it's not only in a box (and two bags) in the cupboard (out of sight, out of mind) but there's also two bags in the bedroom too!

I think some stash busting might be in order for me too!

Alicia said...

What a gorgeous array of finished projects! They're wonderful! I'm glad I'm not the only one who totally failed on the 'finish or frog' front. What's this 100 skein challenge? I'd like to take part!

Unknown said...

Wow, you have made some gorgeous things this year. I am so in love with those fish mitts! Fantastic. Happy New Year!

Emily said...

Thanks! That's one of my most favorite things I have ever made! Ever! Happy new year to you to!

Emily said...

You should!! I'm in a group on Ravelry that's all about stashing down, and it's one of the many challenges they're hosting: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/stash-knit-down/3071565/1-25

Emily said...

LOL, that's exactly how I feel ... my "yarn closet" is busting at the seams! My ultimate goal is to use all my books at least once, too!

Emily said...

Yay! So glad you hung in there with the challenge--you did much better than I did!

CathieJ said...

Wow! You completed a whole lot of projects! They are all beautiful. Happy New Year.

2021 year in review

  Who would have thought that the second year of a pandemic would be worst than the first, in terms of crafting mojo? Not I. But this chart ...