A goal for the new year...

A new year seems to inspire many of us to at least contemplate starting to clean up, clear out, and think about things we hope to accomplish over the next twelve months.  

I am no different.  Sometime last fall, I dug through my yarn stash so I could start crocheting my gold colored Sweet As Can Bee blanket.  When I was getting the yarn out for that project, I was sobered by the realization that I had barely touched my yarn since getting it put away here in our present house - maybe a year and a half ago.  There were good reasons since moving why I wasn't up to crocheting and I have no interest in going over things that kept me from crafting the last two years, but going into the closet where my yarn and other craft materials are stored was pretty pivotal to me.  It got me to thinking again about culling through my current craft supplies and maybe start reconsidering some of the crafts I've collected stuff for, and maybe sharing the craft-love by donating some things.

While I have a couple of shelves and small drawers in the room outside this closet, the majority of my actual craft supplies is housed in this closet:

On the right side of the closet is all of my yarn.  Well, most of it, anyway.  I know...  it's a crazy amount.  But it was accumulated over a number of years when I was crocheting a LOT.  At the time is seemed completely reasonable to think I could use the yarn - every time I found yarn on sale and had the thought I should get more for another project.  It always starts innocently...

I'm not so sure anymore that I'm ever going to be able to use all this yarn, and having a talk with myself I came up with an idea.  I have a mind, that by the end of 2024, to only own as much yarn as will fit in about two thirds of these large plastic tubs that presently contain all most my yarn.   

If that doesn't seem ambitious enough, well...  that's all I have the oomph for - for now.   A year at a time seems like a good idea to me right now. 

And coming around front and center, we see more crafty stuff along the back wall and on shelves above.  This is most of my embroidery and cross stitch supplies, but also a multitude of miscellaneous stuff that is used for various crafts.  Some interfacing, some batting. Buttons.  Ribbons.  Laces.  Other stuff - probably half of it inherited one way or another.  And on the floor are some tote bags with more yarn, and more miscellaneous.  

My goal is to eventually not own anymore miscellaneous stuff.  For me, "miscellaneous" is the death of organization, and using things productively.

Now, if you've been around here during my decluttering challenges in years past, you may remember me referring to Dana White and her "container concept" before.  I have found this concept to be the most compelling idea for finding the will and clarity for letting go of things.  To save you time looking her up, below is a video from a couple of years ago where she discusses the container principle:

Oooh...  And below is an updated video on this concept she just posted a couple of days ago:

You're welcome!

This year-long whittling down project isn't going to be documented here on any kind of regular basis.  I hope it goes on quietly and consistently in the background, and while I'll show my makes here, maybe by summertime I'll have something to show as progress in the closet. 

Meanwhile, in an effort to use up some yarn relatively quickly, I've pulled together some collections of yarns to make some baby/child-size blankets.  A friend asked me if I'd like to join her in making some baby blankets for donating to a crisis pregnancy center.   She offered me yarn.  LOL!   I told her I'd love to join in, but only if I can use my own yarn.  This is the first collection of colors I pulled together:

To be honest, I wasn't sure about this combination of pastels and brights, but I'm finding myself pleasantly surprised by how well they all play together.  Check back soon for the finished project!

New Beginnings...

I can't believe I've been doing this Year of Projects thing for four years now!  And I've only missed a few weeks of  posting in all that time.   Casually looking back I can see how much my life has changed in the last 4 years - not necessarily in looking at it from the outside, but things (good things mostly) have come my way and I have greatly benefited in embracing some changes in my life and activities.   

Well, change is in the air again. Hubby retires later this month and I have no idea what to expect - though my mind gets away from me from time to time and I'm tempted to worry about what he's going to do with his newfound free time!  That said, this change is coming whether I'm ready or not, so we'll figure it out like millions of couples who've gone before us.

Speaking of change, I've been thinking that I want to make some changes in this Year of Project thing, but I still don't know what those changes will look like.

What I will do...

I will continue to not create a goals list of what I want to accomplish in the creative department.  Don't get me wrong.  I understand the value of setting goals and making lists.  I'm actually a great list maker.  And for work, or things where others will suffer the consequences of lack of organization or communication, lists are important and useful tools to prevent one from exasperating others.  And even personally, for jobs that need to get done, lists and deadlines are immensely helpful.  But for crafting... for me...not so much.

That said, I get enjoyment from and find inspiration in others' lists!  😃

I will continue to make whatever catches my eye, delights the senses, fills a purpose (even if that purpose is simply joy).

What I won't be doing...  

I'm not going to remain super focused on whittling down my enormous stash.  And internally apologizing and justifying if I buy more yarn or thread.  While it's always fun to bust through stash, and I imagine I'll have some posts joyfully proclaiming stash busting, I don't intend to keep track of it all as fastidiously as I've been doing for the last year or so.  At least not publicly (i.e. I  won't be reporting on it here on my blog). 

In truth, that's kind of a hard thing to give up.  It's fun and motivating to see my stash numbers change every few weeks.  And it was very satisfying to find myself (mostly) respecting the limits I put on myself about buying new yarn.  So it was very good in that way.

But how it is not so good for me is that crafting that way had become too much about using the stash instead of the joy of making.  That one isn't so obvious because I've enjoyed all the making I've done (and each thing I've made), but in hyper-focusing on my stash and whittling it down, I've recently begun to realize this isn't what I want life to be about.  Maybe I'll write about that more as I solidify my thoughts.  At the moment, it's just a seed that's started taking root.  All I know right now is the exercise was great while it lasted.  And I'm good with giving it up.

I'm no longer going to be motivated to craft because of wanting to share something in a YOP update on Sundays.   YOP posts will still be about sharing what I'm making, but if I don't have something that I feel is worth sharing, I'm getting free about not feeling like I have to make a YOP post.  So obvious, isn't it?   

Here's the thing... I've never felt like HAD to post a weekly YOP update, but I didn't want to break my record, or didn't want to miss out on the fun.  The end result is that I had turned something fun into something more like work.  It was actually fun at first (even for years), but I'm realizing that crafting for the sake of posting is not what I want crafting to be for me.

Again, I don't know what that will look like.  It may not look any different on your side of the screen.  Or maybe it will!  I'm just hoping to change the way I think of crafting or making things as it relates to blogging (or vice versa).  Such a simple thing, really, but it's a bit of a paradigm shift for me.

I've been wrestling with how to make these changes for the last six months or so.  Turning 60 in the spring, no doubt, has helped prod me toward changing my focus in some ways.   But at 60 I'm still a work in progress, so hopefully it will be interesting to see what all this means for me and YOPing, or even blogging this year.

I'd like to figure out if there are other topics I'd like to blog about.  Or even just other ways to share my life here.  I'd like to get better at photography.  I think I'd like to continue to expand my creative pursuits.  I'd like to share the ordinary, but have it be important somehow.  I don't know...  Now I'm just thinking out loud.  And that means I need to move on along.

You're welcome.  😏

Since this is a YOP post, I'd like to share a new project I've begun this weekend.  It seems "Christmas in July" is once again buzzing around in different circles, and I've finally joined the fun.  I've always wanted a Christmas afghan, so this is the year it's getting done.

The pattern is called Christmas Dazzle and it's from the book, A Year of Afghans - 1998 (one of my many old crochet books I've picked up along the way).  

And that's all for me this time.  Thanks for popping in and thanks in advance for leaving any comments.  😉

Later 'gator!