2015 in Knitting Review and the State of the Stash

Happy New Year!  I hope that you had a wonderful holiday and that 2016 is off to a good start.  I spent the holiday with my family in the US, and recently returned to Europe.  I am now dealing with a lingering case of jet-lag that keeps waking me up in the middle of the night, so I apologize in advance for any incoherence in this post.

Following my post from last year, let's see how 2015 compares with previous years in knitting.

I did not meet my goal of twelve finished projects this year, as I only managed to get through ten.  That's one less than last year.  However, as shown below, these ten projects used a bit more yarn than 2014's eleven projects.  One of the big drivers of that is the Elizabeth shawl, which was the biggest yarn eater of the year.

For me, socks were the thing to make in 2015.  Shawls and hot pads tied for second place.  I am okay with that.  Looking back over the year's projects feels a bit odd, because I didn't meet many of the goals I had set for myself.  I didn't make the advent calendar or scarf for my husband, or finish as many projects or pairs of socks as I had hoped, or make myself a garmet.  I did make two of my own designs, and I did make myself a shawlette (which is languishing in need of blocking).  The Elizabeth shawl got finished, but the Optical Illusion afghan still needs a couple more squares, much joining, and a border.  I am not surprised by this; over the course of 2015, I finished my contract, moved to a new country, and began adjusting my skill set to a new career.  Understandably, my knitting mojo has taken a hit.  I won't be setting new goals at this time; I'll knit or crochet what I want, only as much as I want, until the desire to create picks back up.

At least my stash is a bit smaller.

The top picture shows the fingering weight yarns, while the bottom shows everything else.  The plastic bag in the back corner is the Optical Illusion afghan.  The stash hasn't changed all that much since last January, though I now have these lovelies.

The three unlabeled pairs of skeins were hand-dyed by me, using food coloring or Kool-aid.  The turquoise wasn't exactly what I was going for, but the pistachio at top and the pale purple above the Lorna's Laces ended up fairly close to what I wanted.  I am quite proud of them all.  You can also see I have two more balls I can skein up and play with; now that I have a kitchen (I haven't mentioned the kitchen yet, have I?  I shall rectify that), I just might play with it as well.  I am hoping to use two consecutive dye-baths to get a heathered blue-purple.

At least the stash now fits more nicely in its containers.

Happy New Year!  I hope your holidays were amazing, and that the return to ordinary life is gentle!