Simplify

Happy 2015! I never got around to posting a roundup of all of my completed knitting and crocheting projects (and there were even some sewing projects!) of 2014. Or, for that matter, of my paper crafting projects. Rather than spend time making collages of all of the photos of finished items, I will just say that in 2014 I knit or crocheted 11 toys, 8 pairs of socks, 5 blankets, 4 squares that will be added to others and sewn into a blanket (not by me), 3 pairs of fingerless mitts, 2 hats, 1 scrap of icord that I wear as a bracelet, and 1 shawl (no partridges or pear trees, though). I sewed 5 toys (I think it was five, eep), one Kindle cover, and one patchwork quilt top (sadly, still not made into a quilt yet). No clue how many cards I made, a lot. At least by my standards.

The photo above shows the knitting projects that are still in progress as we begin the new year. The green blob will be a sweater for me one day. I started it a couple of years ago, and of course it always gets moved to the back burner as I find things I want to make for others. The pastel colored baby sweater is meant to go to an organization in Appalachia (possibly Kentucky, I don't recall at the moment. I started this tiny thing years ago, and I really must get it done! It only needs a sleeve and a half, for goodness' sake!). The gray sock for a friend was started on December 25, 2014 and will be finished in short order. The lavender item will be a bathrobe for Liat. It was also started late in December. 

But of course I plan to start something new today, it seems only right to begin a new project with the start of a new year. It will be a pair of pink socks for Meital. I am also working on a new stamping project for my friend Kristy of Hopeful Threads. I will share more about that soon.

Appearances to the contrary, considering I am talking about having five knitting projects going on at one time, I have decided that the theme for this year is going to be Simplify. By that I mean decluttering my home and my head. Getting rid of the things I don't use or need, or that don't make me happy (yesterday's post also talked about this). It will also include cutting back on the number of people I follow on social media, especially those whose posts are mostly aimed at selling something. More power to them, but I prefer to see posts by people who simply enjoy what they do and like to share it, without regard for financial remuneration.

I also want to use up as much of my yarn stash as I can, and the plan is to knit much of it into hats, and possibly scarves, for my 50 states project. I have gotten rather lax about that, concentrating instead on making multiple things for the same few organizations. I still want to do what I can for them, but I also want to reach my goal and it won't happen just by thinking about it. As my husband is fond of saying, Dream big, but don't forget to wake up and start working on your dreams!  I would also love to make 12 pairs of socks this year, one pair per month. 

Liat and I are planning to do the 2015 Reading Challenge. You may have seen mention of it around the Internet. It is basically a list of 50 challenges to read various kinds of books. One challenge is to read a trilogy, so it works out to 52 books for the year. We probably won't read that many (espcially since she is a busy college student) but may, instead, find books that meet more than one challenge - for example, a book written by a woman and a book that is set in your hometown... It's an interesting list of challenges and should be a lot of fun.

Another challenge I have set for myself for this year is to try watercolor painting. I tend not to think of myself as artistic, so it will be a stretch for me to try making art that doesn't involve rubber stamps. But to go along with that (and, by the way, I don't plan to go out and buy a whole bunch of new supplies for that, except watercolor paper, as needed), I need to think seriously about my other interests, ones that are usually neglected, like cross stitching, scrapbooking, and sewing. I want to do all of them, but realistically speaking, I never get to them. It's time to face facts, and deacquisition some (all) of the stash I have for each of those hobbies. I have my tried-and-true hobbies that I work on actively, and the others are mostly just wishful thinking at this point. If I end up enjoying the watercoloring, I will make what I create into cards, so that kind of dovetails into my stamping/cardmaking hobby.

I think that's all more than enough to be going on with, don't you?? Should make for a fun and interesting year. I hope your 2015 is a wonderful one!