Kninja Knitter

Happy Independence Day to everyone in the US. I’m excited to have a slightly delayed celebration next week as the touring company of Hamilton begins performing. It’s been a very busy week for me in my day job, so I had to hold off on compiling my summaries until the holiday. Enjoy!

Financial Finesse

Wrapping up June also means wrapping up the second quarter of the year. It wasn’t as productive as I would have liked, but that’s mostly because I had some expenses to address. I still ended up with some very good progress in a few areas. I’ve reduced my overall debt by 22.7% since the beginning of the year. That’s unfortunate since I’d gained so much traction in Q1, but that quarter also had some hefty income thanks to my annual bonus, and I didn’t have that boost this time. Plus I bought a lawnmower and a couple other necessary items for yard maintenance. I’m still managing to chip away at the debt though! Once of my loans will be paid off this month, so that money can go towards accelerating payments elsewhere.

While my overall debt hasn’t declined as much as I’d like, I have managed to reduce the overall debt under the 30% mark! And that had a huge impact on my credit scores, as you can see here.

Stitched or Still-in-Progress

I’ll wait until Monday for the knitting progress photos, but I have been doing some reflections on my first full year in the Year of Projects. The biggest learning experience was around my tendency to dream big. At mid-year, I adjusted my list to remove a number of things that I knew wouldn’t happen. But the remaining list was still an over-commitment.

The reality is that sometimes my mojo wanes, whether due to being busy with other things (I can’t knit while dashing for money) or simply a lack of mojo. And I need to anticipate that such challenges can recur. Still, I’m very pleased with the number of projects that I did complete, and the joy they’ve brought me! That Byrne sweater was great at keeping me warm when I was checking out the glacier in South America! And the Butterfly shawl has gotten me numerous compliments every time I wear it!

I did actually get started on the memory book of my 2017 trip! I’m trying to finish that up this weekend as Shutterfly is having a big sale. But I also know the sale will be offered again if I don’t finish the work. I’d rather have a finished product that I want to show everyone than to spend that much money on a project I rushed through just to be done.

Cast-on Conversations

For the newest Year of Projects (#15 for the group, #2 for me), I’m starting off small – mostly noting only those projects I already have in progress. I have short-term goals specifically to earn goodies (or potential prizes) in the Camp Loopy challenge from The Loopy Ewe and the Down Cellar Studios Splash Pad Party, and bigger plans I’m mulling for the Down Cellar Studios Pigskin Party starting in September.

My intention is to expand this list once I get through the first quarter, or even the first couple months. But I’m starting off with manageable expectations because I have current WIPs (I need to add to the shawls row as I realized I forgot my current WIP from ZK 🤦‍♀️) and things I know are in my future (socks are a reliable constant).

This is a Year of Projects post. Officially the Group has just begun its 15th year, my second. If you would like to find out more about the Year of Projects Group on Ravelry, please check it out!

Grandson Glimpses

After my last post on Monday, I had a nice surprise: a text from my grandson’s mother. It was the first time I heard from her in over a month, after she ghosted me over Memorial Day weekend. While she wasn’t able to bring the kids up for the holiday weekend this week, she is planning to come up for a visit in the next few weeks. The best part of this surprise is reconnecting with the munchkin! I can’t wait to see him again IRL, but we managed a nice long FaceTime “conversation” on Tuesday.

Several times throughout the time we shared, he would tell whoever was there “I’m talking to Grandma.” He likes to take the phone and walk around with it. Mommy helped him to prop it up several times so he didn’t have to hold it and he could show me whatever he had. He’s obsessed with guitars, and will play various objects as though it’s a guitar – the favorite option is his red shovel.

I’m excited to see him again when they do visit, and I’m hoping to take him places like to the zoo and COSI, particularly since he’s taken a greater interest in things and life around him. He likes to catch frogs with his sister, for instance.

Environment Evolution

My last major goal for the coming quarter is to continue the decluttering journey and transform my office further so it can serve as a guest room space as well. I had my AI companion help me to map out a plan to make this happen over the next thirteen weeks. Stay tuned for updates…

Knit on. 🧶