Half the year has passed in a flash: winter, then spring, and now we are speeding through summer. This midway point has inspired me to clean out closets, to pretty up the house, and to clean up my Ravelry page. Those of you on Ravelry have probably noticed that this last is a time-consuming endeavor. Rounding up UFOs for photos, weighing partial skeins, and experimenting with open windows and overhead lights to get bright, clean photos.
Some might rail against squandering time on these chores, time that could be spent on the craft itself, but I love the opportunity to take stock. As I fish around for UFOs, I invariably find them in a bag filled with needles or notions that are not needed for that project. So I clean out the bag before I replace the project. Half-skeins waiting to be weighed are usually chucked someplace random, not barricaded inside their bug-proof Ziplocs. After weighing, I take the opportunity to round the partial skeins up and stow them tidily away with other little skeins of the same fiber and weight. While I’m rooting around in my stash, I take a little extra time to check out what’s in there and daydream about future projects.
This year was going to be the year in which I didn’t buy any yarn. So far, it hasn’t quite worked out that way. There was the Yarn Barn in Lawrence, and then I bought a sweater’s worth of Sincere Sheep when I made my pilgrimage to Knit Purl while attending a conference in Portland. The Yarn Shop and More in Overland Park was tucked away in a nondescript strip mall, but inside they had every yarn gorgeously arranged by color–and their wintry Cascade Eco+ was on sale.
No new yarn at all has quickly turned into over four miles of new yarn. Oops.
At the same time as all this yarn has been coming in, yarn has been going out in the form of knitted objects. There was the Plaidscape, which was so much fun and looked very impressive when it was done. Melba’s Dogzilla sweater, which turned out better than I could have hoped. The shawl that almost happened in a week. Lots of gifts for people celebrating big events: weddings, moves, and new babies..
All told, I managed to knit about two and a third miles of yarn in these six months. Fourteen different yarns ranging in weight from lace to bulky made up this two miles, knitted up into fourteen projects from seven different designers.
Going back over the year to date took a bit of time, but it was time well spent. Now I’m really excited about the next six months of knitting, thinking about finishing up garments in progress so I can wear them, and the projects I have lined up and ready to start.
How do you recharge your crafting energy?
Anti-Quotidian 
2 responses to “Half the Year”
Sounds as though you are properly in control of it all. (Can you tell that I’m a teeny bit envious?) May the next six months bring you much knitting happiness.
Thank you! Don’t be mislead by the spreadsheet…underneath the stash is barely organized chaos!