2012 In Retrospect, 2013 Inspiration

Hello, there! Happy New Year! I've spent the last week or so cleaning up the debris of Christmas or sick in bed so my obligatory 2012-2013 post about what I've achieved and what goals I have for the new year are a bit late. Let's just say it gave me more time to think about both those ideas and the year ahead, okay?

What did I achieve in 2012?

I graduated from college with a BA in English and a BA in Humanities. I'm very proud of graduating since the last couple years saw me returning to work full time (or more than full time) and going back to school. That's a very full plate in addition to having familial obligations like raising my daughter and spending time with my husband and my friends.

I continued my podcast and made some great new friends online and in real life. My knitting friends continue to be a source of inspiration and strength for me and I don't think I could have made it through the last year without them. My besty came back from 2+ years abroad and spent the holiday with me and I'm so extremely happy that she's back in the U.S. and that we share a time zone.

I didn't keep track of my knitting yardage from last year but I'm pretty sure it still tracked pretty high. Maybe not in the 30k yard range as in previous years but still quite high, nonetheless. I may have had some resolutions from the beginning of the year but I'm pretty happy with my knitting and where it is right now.

How about 2013?

As far as my education goes I'm still planning on attending graduate school at the UW. My application is due in October and I'll find out in December whether or not I've been admitted to the program. I have a lot of work to do for my application so I'd like to work on it over the course of the next 6 months so I don't have to rush any part of the application process. This is the biggie on my to-do list for this year.

The podcast is still going strong (Doubleknit Podcast with my co-host, Jessica) and we're hosting a year-long Deep Stash KAL to focus on older stashed yarns and show them some knitting love. My personal stash outgrew it's confines this last year due to retail therapy and I'm trying to get it back to a comfortable level this year. If you are a member of Ravelry you can join us in the Doubleknit Podcast Fans group and knit your stash down, too!

I'm trying to be a more mindful consumer this year and really pay attention to what I purchase and how I purchase. I'm an emotional shopper and am rather impulsive when it comes to seeing items that are a good bargain. I'd really like to reduce the amount of clutter in my home (took 3 boxes to Goodwill today!) and be happy with the things I already own. Part of this is budgetary since I'm looking at looming school debt but also examining the why and how I think about my life and the stuff that is in it. 

Pyroclastic

 Drum roll, please! I finished my Pyroclastic socks! Yippee! I can't tell you how much these socks weighed down my knitting. I cast on for these during Sock Summit last year and finished the first sock quickly thereafter. I cast on the second sock, knit a few rows, and that was it. Second sock syndrome. Since then I've pulled them out for an evening here or there while I decided what other projects to get started on but I didn't make any real headway until my knitting retreat in Port Townsend.

Pattern: Pyroclastic by Marlowe Crawford
Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Strawberry Lemonade
Needles: # 1 1/2 addi turbo 40" circular
Mods: No intentional mods. I screwed up the instep shaping/ pattern decreasing section on the first sock but didn't realize it until I finished the second sock. Yeah. I won't be fixing that mistake. This is my first pair of socks with arch shaping and while it's interesting I'm not sure that it makes a huge difference in the fit. I'm also a little concerned about how the bias fabric is going to wear over time. I'll call this one a learning experience with the added benefit that the color and lace pattern is awesome.

New Venture

I thought I posted a while ago about a new project I was working on/about to work on. Jessica and I recorded our first podcast and it's finally up here. I think the idea is to record every other week and see how it goes.