Thank you all for your kind words on my last post, everyone.  After I hit publish on that one, I put a dent in a box of tissues, and can now put my sadness away for a while.

If you’re looking for a happier post, or just want to ogle another knitter’s stash, I think I’ve got something for you today.

As you can see in the picture above, I bought a lot of yarn last year.  And I mean a lot.  Thirty-three thousand five hundred thirty point eight yards.  Or approximately 19 miles.

So much for that destashing goal.  As much as I like knitting the yarn I have, one of my main strategies for dealing whenever I am stressed, upset, or frustrated is to buy yarn.  And apparently, 2016 had nearly 20 miles worth of stress and frustration in it.

Thankfully, my other main strategy for dealing with stress is to knit.  In between all those purchases, I also knit 12,737 yards of yarn.  While that is only about a third of what I purchased, it’s still over seven miles of yarn, which is nothing to sniff at either.  Querido, being one for accuracy, would point out that I actually knit more than that, because I don’t count works in progress.  There are still two sweaters on the needles, so technically he is right, but I do not care for accuracy enough to track exactly how close to completion my WIPs are and add that to the annual totals.

In 2016, I finished a total of 36 projects:

• 17 accessories
• 6 garments
• 5 stuffies
• 5 Master Hand Knitter swatches
• 3 miscellaneous

Gifts accounted for 19 items, while 17 were selfish knits.  I even managed some Christmas gifts this year–accessories mostly–but I was very pleased to be able to make gifts of any size.

I did take a peek back at last year’s numbers.  In 2015 I only knitted approximately five miles of yarn, but in 33 objects so it was a year for larger projects.

As a general rule, I don’t make a lot of the same thing, but in 2016 I got into knitted tops.

Wonky sleeve the result of incomplete blocking

Pictured above (left to right) are Lonely Souls, Waterlily, and Jilted.  I’ve loved the look of knitted tops for a while, and after adding four new ones (a Bonny vest never got a proper FO photo) to the two from 2015 to make a small collection, I can say they’re very wearable.  I would dress them up with a pencil skirt or black trousers at the office.  In the summer they kept off the A/C drafts without becoming stifling, and in the cooler months they can be layered under jackets.  For weekends or evenings I would pair them with jeans or a fun skirt.  Another bonus is that tops are faster to knit than full sweaters, and take less yarn.  I’d like to make another Lonely Souls in green, possibly with a pine tree motif on the yoke.  Pom Pom quarterly is also a goldmine for adorable little tops, and I might have to stock up on their back issues so I can make Lus and Riverine.

Before I get carried away dreaming up goals for the new year, I want to remind myself of everything I put on my plate for 2016: becoming adept at spinning on my wheel, completing the master knitter level one, getting in shape physically, and knitting out of my stash were all goals for last year, and all were pursued somewhat half-heartedly.  Knitting things I’d always wanted to fared somewhat better: 9 finished projects out of 36 were on my bucket list, as are four still in progress.  But I don’t think I want to fill the new year up with goals just yet.  Big changes are in store, and as much as it scares me to not have a plan, for a little bit here I’d like to just watch the year get started.  There’s always time to add goals later.

What are your hopes for 2017?