2013 knitting resolution round-up

So, how well did I do this year?

My 2013 crafting resolutions were to:

•  Goal #1: Learn a new knitting technique (I'm thinking brioche stitch, or mosaic knitting!)... Major success with this goal! I really spread my knitting wings and dabbled in several new techniques this year:

 

Starting at the top, and proceeding in a clockwise fashion, I knit my first shawl and actually blocked something for the first time ever with my Storm Fir Shawl (still excited about that one!!), tried "illusion" knitting for the first time with my candy corn illusion cloth (definitely going to make more illusion knits, so easy and fun!), tried duplicate stitch for the first time when making the mouth/teeth on my minion, fell in love with brioche knitting, knit big bobbles for the first time, learned and fell in love with magic loop while making these ballet legwarmers, and knit applied i-cord for the first time this year (LOVE this way to finish an edge!). These were all really fun, gratifying projects so I was doubly happy to learn something new.

• Goal #2: Try dyeing yarn (I have undyed wool, I have the dyes, I have a pot ready to designate as my "dye pot" ... I just need to do it!). DONE! Successfully attempted dyeing yarn with food coloring and Easter egg dyes. Loved it, and need to do some more dyeing!
•  Goal #3: Finish at least one sweater in 2013. Do children's sweaters count? Because I knit four kid's sweaters this year ... sadly, my intention was to motivate myself to finish a long-languishing WIP with this resolution and that still didn't happen. I'm down to one more sleeve and finishing, so one step closer though!
• Goal #4: Make one project a month out of my current library of craft books, magazines, and knitting patterns. Well, I certainly did not quite manage one project each month this year from my current library, but my personal Love Your Library challenge did get me knitting more from my current stash of books and magazines than ever before! These are all the projects I finished from magazines or books currently in my library:

1. Jewel Vest from KnitSimple magazine

2. Montague Bulky Lace Vest from New England Knits

3. Shawl Collar Sweater from The Expectant Knitter

4. Mock Cable Wristers from 60 Quick Knits

5. Bobbles & Cables Cap from 60 Quick Knits

6. Crosshatch Lace Socks from More Sensational Knitted Socks

7. Easter Egg Dyed yarn with the guidance of Teach Yourself Visually Hand-Dyeing and Hand-Dyeing Yarn and Fleece.

Sadly, these seven projects are a major victory for me! I also "count" projects that require purchasing the pattern that I actually knit this year, as I have a a problem of purchasing patterns and just not quite following through on my intentions to make them, ahem. If I count those projects, then I easily exceeded my goal of 12 projects knit from my library. But these seven are from older library items, so these are the ones that really deserve some celebration! 

So what are my goals for 2014? I thought I was getting simple in 2013, but my knitting goals in 2014 are even simpler:

• Goal #1: Knit down my stash. 
• Goal #2: Finish, frog, or otherwise eliminate my current WIPs.
• Goal #3: Continue my Love Your Library project!

In doing my annual year-end cleaning I discovered numerous languishing WIPs that I really really really want to finish, and got excited to see again. And as I continued to shove more and more yarn acquisitions into my "yarn dresser" (I have a chest of drawers in my guest bedroom that is solely devoted to storing yarn), I realized that my stash was exceeding my storage capacity. As in, if I shove one more skein into this drawer, something's going to explode capacity. A point which was further driven home when I purchased a couple of those humongous 30 gallon plastic storage tubs and promptly filled both of them. To the very top. And then some. My stash seriously exploded this year, and (excitingly!) I acquired some really pretty, awesome, good stuff (MadTosh, anyone? Plucky Knitter? Oh yeah ...). All stuff that I really really really want to knit with, but somehow I keep. buying. more. So that's got to stop this year. That really is my biggest goal, knitting my stash down to a level I'm comfortable with. Which, let's face it, will still be an amount suitable for stocking a small yarn shop, but as long as I feel good that's all I care about! Heh! Frankly, the easiest way for me to put a good dent in my stash is to actually knit up the sweater quantities of yarn I've been acquiring ... but I'm afraid that will never happen if I specifically put that out there as a resolution (look how far that got me in 2013!). So we'll see how that goes ... I recently have acquired some really exciting knitting books, so continuing my Love Your Library challenge will help ensure I have some accountability in following through on knitting out of them!

What are your knitting resolutions for 2014?