Kninja Knitter

Back in January I was introduced to the Year of Projects group on Ravelry. I don’t remember how it happened, but I think it was from checking out someone’s blog who participates. As one who loves to plan my workflow, in knitting and life, I loved the idea. It’s an accountability group of sorts, though more focused on encouragement, much like most of the Ravelry groups I belong to. Their general practice is to run from July 1 to June 30, so off of the calendar year cycle. And given where Christmas falls, I like this fact.

So while I’ve been thinking through my knitting plans for the last half of the calendar year, I’m also considering what to plan for the following six months. As a number of my projects are KAL based, I don’t always know what will happen “down the road.” But there should be a Pigskin Party running throughout the NFL season, so that carries into February. And the Net Loss challenge in the Knitters Brewing Company group is generally an annual event. The Desert Vista Dyeworks “monthly sock club” concludes this year, its tenth season. So that won’t be a thing next year.

At this point I have twelve projects planned for July through December. I think that’s a good place to start, and I have the rest of the month to continue planning! But now we’ll take a look at the past week!

I focused on sock knitting for the most part. I finished up the biggest pair on my needles!

I’ve also made good progress on my other SIP (sock in progress).

With the start of June, I also jumped into Camp Loopy, a crafting challenge hosted by The Loopy Ewe. The challenge is to knit three projects, one per month, with minimum yardage requirements of 400 yards, 600 yards and 800 yards. While TLE used to ramp up each month, the current structure allows participants to choose which month to hit each minimum. I’ve opted for the 400-yard target this month, but next month could be my 800-yard target given that I get a four-day holiday weekend. This month, I picked a legwarmer pattern that’s pretty simple, and I’m keeping with the two-at-a-time option so I don’t have to worry about tension or counting rounds. With the yardage requirement, my plan is to knit the MC until the yarn runs out and then start the upper contrast color ribbing. The main color is a pretty variegated colorway.

The only other project I worked on this week was the Bling Tee…though only managed about 4.75 rounds. I’m an inch away from joining the sleeves and moving to the beaded bodice!

I’ll get back to the blanket soon, I hope. But the Bandola scarf isn’t appealing. That project may sit in time out for a while.

In other news, I was able to finally see IF at the theater over the weekend! It was definitely worth the wait, though I was a tad annoyed by the family that joined my row. Two parents and three young kids do not exactly make for an excellent evening of entertainment. The oldest, seated right next to me, was the only one probably old enough to understand the story, but he got bored and started playing games on his phone. The parents were in and out of the theater with one or the other of the younger kids…and at one point the oldest child was left alone in the theater. Ridiculous, given that he’s maybe eight or nine years old! Am I just a cranky old lady here?

And more news…I’m another step closer to the podcast! This may sound silly to some, but I’ve been struggling with ideas for segment titles. But as a project manager by trade, this was a key hurdle for me to feel more confident about focusing my material. As I’ve only just finished that development, the next steps are a week or two away. And maybe there’s going to be a general re-brand here… stay tuned!

Knit on. 🧶