The hardest part about returning to blogging after a long break is not so much about the desire to blog, but about finding your voice again after so much time has passed.  What do I say?  How do I say it?  Will people listen?  Am I boring?  Is it worth it?  So many questions.

The world outside my window is covered in a downy gown of white, like so many feathers nestling together under the trees.  It looks so pure and peaceful, a perfect reflection of the clean slate I am beginning with as I start to write again and rediscover my own inner thoughts.

This year I am already thinking quite a lot about reducing, reusing (or just using), and really focusing on just what I need and nothing more.  It’s hard.  I’m sentimental and I tend to hang onto things thinking they’re “too special” for everyday use or save things I “know” I’ll use later and then never do.  I put some thought into this towards the beginning of last year, in preparation for Knittymunchkin’s arrival, but then things got kind of crazy with his early debut and adapting to new motherhood etc.  Now that we have settled into a little more of a routine (for now), I’d like to take that idea back out and dust it off and see what I can do about it.

You know that I’ve been talking quite a lot about knitting from stash for a while now.  I have been working steadily on getting everything into Ravelry and also a spreadsheet I made myself to keep track of how much I have and how much I need to use to whittle my stash down by at least half (one of my Day Zero/101 in 1001 goals).  I don’t have absolutely everything in there and the number won’t be static (because I plan to go to Sock Summit this year and will most definitely be purchasing some things!) but it looks a little something like this:

  • Total Yardage: 294,359.40 yds
  • Number of balls/hanks/skeins: 1766.91
  • Number of Sock Yarn hanks/balls/skeins: 152

Whew!  Mama has some work to do!  So in preparation, I set myself up with a Personal Project Club (a little like the Personal Sock Club I did in 2009).  I set up 6 bags with different projects in them;  some new projects, some projects that need to get finished, some small, some bigger.

Yesterday I finished my current WIP (Oscilloscope Shawl from Knitscene, Fall 2010) so I allowed myself to choose my first project from my personal project club.  And I chose: Subway Hat from Modern Top-Down Knitting.  I’m so excited!  There is just something whimsical I love about this little hat :)  The funny thing is, I actually want (for once!) to finish some of my current WIP’s/UFO’s before starting this hat, even though I know it will be quick.  Crazy, huh?  But I’m going to ride that wave until it crests.

Stay tuned for pics of my shawl once I can get it blocked and photographed, which I hope will be soon!  Not my usual kind of thang, but I think I might like it.

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