January Progress

There has been knitting afoot here at Chez NerdGirl and there has been some groundwork laid to keep track of my knitting goals for the year. I have added a box to the blog so you can see how I am doing on stash accumulation and project completion. Right now I am in the red since I have added more skeins to my stash than I have used but that fact that I am paying attention to consumption is good. Mindfulness is the key to actually achieving the goals I have set for myself.

I finished two cowls and a scarf this month.

The scarf was a simple mistake rib made out Malabrigo worsted in the Sweet Grapes colorway. I really need to come up with a better way to photograph my finished objects so please forgive the photos. If anyone has some suggestions for me, feel free to leave them in the comments.


The first cowl that I finished was the Chickadee Cowl made out of Huckleberry Trillium in the Colleen colorway. The yarn and pattern were a perfect match and the color worked up in a manner that looks pixilated. I just love it. The cowl is folded in half for the picture since I was using my desk as the backdrop.


The last cowl that I finished was actually the November club pattern and yarn from the Fall in Full Color club that I was in. The yarn is String Theory Hand Dyed Merino DK in the exclusive club colorway and the pattern is called Woodstacking. It is also a club exclusive but maybe next year Anne Hanson AKA: knitspot will release it for purchase. This colorway was hard to photograph because the gold really dominated the picture and you couldn't see any sort of pattern. The photo that I am using is a bit washed out and there is no flash so you can see the pattern. The color is a rich chocolate brown with hints of gold.


I am still working on the Hitchhiker for The KnitGirllls SAL/KAL which I am determined to finish before the end of February. I am also working on another cowl and I would like to get a couple of hats knit. I will be participating in the mitten KAL in February that is being run by Laura of The KnitGirllls.

Knitting Goals for 2012

I am hoping to have a more productive knitting year in 2012 so I thought I would actually set some goals for the year.

1. I want to knit at least 20 projects for charity. I didn't keep track of how many that I made in 2011 but I'm pretty sure it was less than 20. I hope that I branch out from hats and scarves but we will see. I know that charities have a need for sweaters and I have been hesitant to invest so much time in something that may be a total fail but honestly, I'll never learn to make them without sucking up the inevitable failures. I'll learn from the mistakes and eventually get it right. However, because I'm a big ole cheater, the sweater thing is just a wish, not a goal.

2. I want to made a colorwork project. I've done stripes but those totally don't count. I'm thinking that I may make one of the many pairs of colorwork mittens that I have drooled over.

3. I want to make a dent in my stash. I am realistic enough to know that even though I have a ridiculous amount of yarn already, I won't be able to stop buying it. Yarn is just to pretty and I can't resist its siren song. However, I can work on getting more yarn out of the stash than I put back in. So, my goal for the year is to have a net loss of 30 skeins of yarn from my stash. That is a lot of knitting so this is the goal that will really be a stretch for me.

4. Lastly, I want to make a concerted effort to blog more so my goal is to blog at least twice a month.

So, internet peeps, did you make any goals for 2012?