2014: New Year, New Goals!

Happy New Year!  We're now more than a week into 2014, and I've had some time to think about what I'd like to see in the new year.  I have so many crafting goals!  First and foremost is to organize my crafting - the supplies, the projects, everything.  I want to get some OLD WIPs (works in progress) off the needles.  First up is to finish a couple of current projects, and then pick up an afghan from a couple (3?) years ago.

I need to organize the stash and crafting supplies.  It's so hard for me to find anything.  One of my major goals this year is to knit/crochet/spin/weave from stash, so it needs to be organized so that I can find what I need for new projects.  Last year I got a bookcase from Ikea and filled it with cubes.  It works great. 
Each cube is labelled by weight of yarn.  Some weights, such a fingering, have more than one cube.  The only problem is that I don't have enough cubes to store all the stash.  And it only contains the yarn stash, not the fiber stash.


  I still have some large bins with things such as yarn and fiber for dyeing.
  In addition to the bins, I also have some smaller cubes that contain fiber and some sweater quantities of yarn.  The bins and the cubes definitely need to get organized!

  So I have my work cut out for me!  And this is just the yarn and fiber stash, not including beads and fabric.  Those will get organized as well!

As far as what crafting projects I see myself working on in 2014, I'd like to continue with what I have been doing with one exception: I want to spin MORE!  I really enjoy spinning, and I love my Hansencrafts electric miniSpinner that I recently got.  I honestly just need to make it part of my daily routine, even if it means that I set aside the knitting for a little while each day.  As far as projects, I enjoy having a large one such as an afghan or a cardigan sweater on the needles, then also several smaller, more portable projects.  Right now I'm working on a brioche scarf for Tyler and a hat for Alex.  I also like having a pair of socks on the needles all the time, it makes a great on-the-go project for knit groups and waiting in places such doctor's offices or grocery store lines.

Hope everyone is excited for the new year and looking forward to seeing what it will bring!  Happy 2014, everyone!

Alex's New Digs, Part 2

It's been 10 months since I've blogged.  This year has flown by!  So much has happened, and it's been an exciting year.  Alex is moving into his 2nd year of college, and Tyler will be a sophomore in high school.  Tyler has grown so much this year, and not just in height, although he's getting very tall.  He's really seemed to blossom in high school, he has a great core group of friends, and is following up on his interests.  He does really well in all of his classes, but especially in his business classes, and he joined DECA, which is a business club at school.  He even got an award for math, which was a huge deal.  He also recently got his driver's permit and he's been doing very well at practicing driving, although driving a clutch is still a little much for him.

And then there's Alex.  Alex is doing great!  He applied for several co-ops and accepted an offer from one that he was very interested in.  A co-op is similar to an internship.  He will work one semester (this summer), then take classes for a semester (fall), then work for a semester (spring 2014), and then continue with his classes.  It gives him a great opportunity to explore what his interests are, which is computer programming, and see what it's like to work in his field as well as make contacts he can use after college as well.  He is still living on campus, and moved into a new dorm last weekend.  This dorm is an apartment-style dorm.  It has a kitchen, living room area, 4 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms.  So each 2 bedrooms share a bathroom, and all 4 of them share the kitchen and living room.  For the summer, he only has 1 roommate, but in the fall he will have 3 other roommates.  He's already started cooking, and plans on making most of his meals.  He even has a great view of a courtyard area!

 

Dustin is also doing very well.  He finally found a job in the Atlanta area that he was interested in, so no more commuting to Spartanburg, SC every week!  His new job is about 15 minutes from home.

I'm keeping myself busy busy busy as usual, with all of my crafting.  Currently I'm working on some white summer socks and a lace weight cardigan.  Besides knitting, I've been crocheting, sewing, spinning, weaving, and beading.  I hope to be able to visit Florida this summer as well as North Carolina.  It will likely be just Tyler and myself  and we'll be visiting family, so I know it will be a lot of fun.