Knitting Goals for the New Year

This post is rather delayed (but really, what do you expect from the girl who takes 5 months to knit a pair of socks?), but I was catching up on listening to the Just One More Row podcast and came to a couple of decisions regarding my knitting (and spinning) that I thought I would share!  Brittany and Dana were discussing their own goals for the year, as well as a couple of events they have going on, that really helped light a fire under me.

First, they're hosting a "Clean Slate Challenge" which involves using yarn/fiber (or working on WIPs) over three months old.  Most of my stash qualifies for this, so I decided that my first knitting goal for this year is to:
   
     1. Use as much old stash yarn as possible (anything pre-2013).

Most of these qualify (and this isn't my entire stash)

This doesn't mean I can't BUY new yarn (because, come on), but it does mean that I should try to use the older stuff on projects I want to complete rather than going out and buying new stuff.  Obviously my Ravellenics project won't qualify for this particular goal (oops), but happily it does qualify for another goal I have for myself, which is to:

    2.  Participate in as many KALs as possible.

Despite the fact I totally fell off the wagon with my Trillian last year, doing a KAL does seem to help my motivation.  The Clean Slate Challenge will be particularly good for me, I think.

My other goals for this year relate to my other fiber-related shenanigans:

     3.  Dye and/or use my own dyed yarn(s) for a project.

and

    4. Spin at least 8 oz of fiber

Sam is teaching me to spin, and I am not only painfully slow at it, but also not very good at it yet.  I figure 8 oz is two of those giant braids, and that will take me plenty of time.  If I'm feeling particularly spiffy, maybe I'll even add a goal to KNIT the handspun stuff!

I'll post updates in a page I can go back to and edit (under the About Me page), and then I'll check back in with myself near the end of the year to see where these goals stand.  Should be interesting!  I'm excited.

Podcasty update

I've been listening to a lot of knitting podcasts again, mainly because they help keep me motivated.  I do most of my listening at work because I'm currently alone in the laboratory, plugging away on sorting and boxing up artifacts (whee!).  It's nice and peaceful (for a change), but sometimes even I get sick of the silence. 

However, I am getting mildly frustrated because I've noticed that the podcasts that do reviews all tend to do the same review at around the same time.  I can only hear so many reviews about, for example (because its the latest case), Handmade in the U.K. by Tin Can Knits before it makes me want to throw something. (That said, there are some super cute patterns in that e-book.  I love the Loch mittens, especially.)

Anyway, I previously listed several podcasts that I'd been listening to and enjoying, and I still listen to all of them, though I've taken to listening to only selected episodes of Talkin' Toons and Nerdist.  I've added several (both knitting and non-knitting) to my lineup; if you're interested in what in the world those might be, take a peek below!

Have a podcast to recommend?  Just leave me a comment--I'm always interested in new ones!

Podcasts might actually be a bad thing...

Recently at work I've been doing a lot of data checking, which is as boring as it sounds.

However, I actually don't mind it too much, because I can kind of get into a zone and tear through it.  Also, it gives me ample time to catch up on Podcasts.

Now, my interest in Podcasts is fairly new.  Awhile back, my friend Rachel listed a whole bunch that she enjoyed on our old team blog, FiberFreaks (the post is likely still viewable here, but the blog itself is no longer updated).  I tried to listen to a couple of the knitting ones, but not too many of them appealed to me, so I lost interest.

Recently, though, I've re-discovered a few of them and found several that I really enjoy, both knitting-related and not.  However, my wallet is bracing itself because so many of the knitting ones have listed books, yarns, projects, accessories, or yarn clubs that I have been intriuged by.  I have a giant list of sticky notes that I have to go through with things mentioned in various podcasts.

I don't listen to very many because I have a hard time keeping up with them.  If you're interested in what's currently on my Podcast list, though, click past the break.