mid-year knitting goals review - are we on track? / The Woolly Worker Knitting Podcast

[@leighhuggins5030]

Hi Vanissia, I love that you are embracing your summer color palette! Those soft, light, muted colors suit you so beautifully and really bring out your features. Gorgeous knits!

[@thewoollyworker]

Thank you so much! x

[@Leavesandwool]

This explanation of some of Ravelry's features is sooo useful and cool! thank you! I made knitting goals this year and honestly, not really doin too hot achieving them.. but I'm still having fun and that's what matters!

[@thewoollyworker]

thank you! and good luck and of course having fun is the most important :)

[@jilliankonig2759]

Thanks for a very clear explanation of putting tags on projects in Ravelry.

[@thewoollyworker]

you're very welcome!

[@ObstgartentorteBlogspotDe]

I think you are perfectly on track with your goals. If some goals change, that's totally okay, and since it's a hobby that we do to relax, there is no pressure to enforce these self-imposed goals! But I understand you fully, because I love goals myself, and I always set some for myself just to keep it interesting in my head and challenge myself. I wanted to knit 12 pairs of socks this year, and I'm currently on pairs #9, #10, and #11. I also wanted to knit through my sweater quantity yarn stash, which I did faster than I anticipated (there were only three sweaters to knit), so I actually ended my self-imposed no-buy a little early because I ran out of yarn for inspiring and seasonally appropriate projects! I didn't want to force myself to knit with my leftovers just because "I had to" because of my no-buy. It's a hobby; it's supposed to be fun! Oh, and I want to knit through my random single skeins of yarn and make hats for charity. I made 3 and have 2 more to go :) I'm really looking forward to your next projects and your end-of-the-year wrap-up!!

[@JenniferRoughOut]

Thank you for sharing this with us- I really like how you take a birds-eye view of your knitting, thinking about what you’ve done and what you want to do with your making. You’ve really inspired me to be more thoughtful about my own making 💜 I am also a super-nerd when it comes to data and organizing, so I REALLY loved the explanation at the end of how you use Ravelry! Even though I’ve been on the site for ages, I didn’t realize how much more there was to learn! I am super excited to become more of a Ravelry power user! 🤓 Happy making!

[@JenniferRoughOut]

PS- I’m usually kind of a traditionalist when it comes to goal/theme setting, spending time reflecting on the old year and the year to come in and around 1 January, but you said something that really intrigued me: that you set a July-to-July sock knitting goal. Perhaps I don’t have to wait for December to set some goals/intentions… after all, living in the Northern Hemisphere, it feels like December/January falls right in the middle of my knitting year 😊 I think I’ll already get to work on some goals now! Thanks for this as well!

[@melanierib]

I always wondered why people used tags, now I understand 🤭 I'm on my way to add some to my ravelry projects! Thanks for the tip!

[@thewoollyworker]

yay, that was the goal !

[@kaerenw]

Your summer palette of knits are perfect colors for you!

[@thewoollyworker]

thanks x

[@CassieDA17]

Its funny, I just said the same thing when someone complimented my knitting “I just followed a pattern” we don’t give ourselves enough credit! I love how you have your ravelry projects tagged and organized. I’d like to do it but it seems daunting to go back and edit all of my projects in order to be able to sort and see progress, etc

[@thewoollyworker]

yeah i suppose it can be a big task ! like inputting our stash to ravelry if we dont have it yet ! but so worth it :P

[@annika9162]

Congrats with your first prize ! Well deserved ! 👏

[@thewoollyworker]

Thank you so much!!

[@emilysmith2784]

I love complex knits, mostly because knitting rows and rows of stockinette bores me 😂. I also struggle with wanting to knit and watch tv so my happy medium is to pick tops which have a block of lace on the front. So I do stockinette for most of the row watching tv, then pause my show for the 5ish mins it takes me to do the lace and follow the chart, then press play again for the stockinette. Been working a treat for me, but on the downside I have knit these projects soooo much faster than normal. So might fix your complex knit goal while spoiling your slow down goal.

[@thewoollyworker]

awww nooo i'd go crazy having to pause every 5 minutes, but glad it works for you aha !!

[@emilysmith2784]

@@thewoollyworker ha, I wish I could knit a sweater row in 5 minutes. I meant I pause the show for 5 minutes while doing the lacework.

[@helenchambers4392]

My biggest goal was to try making socks and I'm halfway there 😂 I also loved the ravelry tutorial section of the video - thanks so much!

[@thewoollyworker]

you can do it !!

[@hereismichela]

Hi Vanissia! This year I made a Make nine and purposefully stick to it, but I found out it made me anxious about falling behind of schedule (which makes no sense, since I made it myself and it's basically self-paced), and even changed my mind about the projects multiple times. I ended up coming to terms with it and taking it more lightly, I'll just go with the flow and at the end of the year think about the difference between my initial plans and what I actually made. I don't know, this whole experiment of the Make nine didn't turn out as I expected, and I might shift to a more general "goal list" for the next year

[@CurlySue1]

Another great podcast, thanks for taking the time to make it.

[@thewoollyworker]

Thanks for listening :)

[@andreaderosier1461]

Your cowl is so beautiful. It gave me goosebumps!

[@thewoollyworker]

aw you're too kind !

[@missmandylooknitsandthings7760]

Thank you so much for your ravelry tutorial. Im definitely going to go back and add tags to my projects as i spend far too much time scrolling backwards and forwards. Your summer knits are lovely x

[@thewoollyworker]

hope you enjoy your newly organised notebook aha !

[@amystebbing]

Thank you for the rav tutorial, that's so helpful! and congrats on your goals! Great progress!

[@thewoollyworker]

ahhh im so glad !! and thank you !

[@EileenK64]

I have a Make 9 board but I think that’s it for goals. You’ve inspired me to write down a few more and revisit them throughout the year.

[@thewoollyworker]

good luck!

[@sharonmerton9812]

Hi Vanissia. Great podcast thanks. really appreciate the ravelry education as I find it a bit overwhelming to use presently. Just need to get into it I guess. Love your light summer colour palette - yep you suit these colourings alright. Keep it going girl 🥰😃

[@thewoollyworker]

Glad it was helpful! and thank you so much :D

[@chrisme792]

I bought yarn for a festive yoke sweater with your charity discount so I'm super excited about your christmas sweater plans😊

[@thewoollyworker]

oh that's awesome ! which one ? :)

[@chrisme792]

I bought De Rerum Natura Ulysse in Aubepine and Poivre blanc for a really classy red and white festive yoke sweater. Haven't done a lot of colourwork yet but I'm really looking forward to cast this on in fall

[@mindykannon4650]

Great podcast. Smart info and love the analysis. I can totally relate. Love looking at my trends and such! I have project goals and completion goals for each day! 8-)

[@thewoollyworker]

aw thank you so much, glad there are a lot of analytical knitters aha!

[@clairedeare1139]

Hi Vinissia I just found your channel and I really enjoy your podcast. Beautiful knits. Loved the tips about used of ravelry, I had no idea. Thank you!

[@thewoollyworker]

You are so welcome!

[@linneakosir809]

Ah, the Sonja sweater.. I still need to go back and shorten the sleeves 😅 When I watched your goals video, it really motivated me to set up some goals on my own - so far I've knitted my first pair of socks (and many more after) and my first colorwork. Congratulations on winning first place, so awesome 🥳

[@thewoollyworker]

aha glad it wasnt just me struggling with that pattern ! Thanks :D

[@sammimorgan6669]

I have been working with my stash also. Trying to use some of what I have before I buy more. I struggle to pick what I want to make though cause I just love knitting sweaters and cardigans but most of my stash is one skein or left over yarns. Great tutorial about ravelry!! Thank you for this info.

[@thewoollyworker]

aw, i understand the struggle !

[@knitssinprogress]

Thank you I found the ravelry tags portion very useful …

[@thewoollyworker]

You’re welcome 😊

[@kathleentanti4387]

Stash knitting going well. Using up leftovers also doing well. Negative stash not on track - but that’s life as I attended EAYF. I’m going to Bendigo Sheep and Wool festival at the weekend. This is Australia’s biggest and is huge. Commonly referred to as Spendigo!!! I do have a plan and hoping no “pretties” leap out at me 😂😂

[@thewoollyworker]

enjoy !! love that, spendigo aha

[@catherinehenning9665]

I would be so excited to test knit a color work cowl! I’ve been wanting to make one I just haven’t found a pattern I’m attached to yet… will look forward to the call!!

[@thewoollyworker]

aw im glad !

[@karineriksson6860]

Thank you for a interesting episode. One of my "stash goals" this year is to alternate CO projects with yarn bought more recently as well back in time. That goal is for the moment going well, since I both started (and finished) projects with yarn bought this year as well as with yarn bought the last years as well as yarn that I got from my other that she de cluttered several years ago... This way of alternating yarn for my CO from different "time periods" has been really inspiring.

[@thewoollyworker]

yessss ive been doing that a little, subconsciously and i love it !

[@lynnmcentire4014]

My husband thinks I have too many knitted items. I wear them all so why not? I am having problems finding places to store them though 😂😂

[@thewoollyworker]

the eternal struggle !

[@jacqueismaking]

The rav portion was super helpful!

[@thewoollyworker]

Glad you think so!

[@jacqueismaking]

@@thewoollyworker I included it in my videos “hot tip of the week” today because I loved it THAT much!

[@bjrudin]

You are much more disciplined than I am, but appreciate your tracking and learned some things about using Ravelry!! Thanks so much!!

[@thewoollyworker]

thanks :)

[@lemenyh]

That green Friday tee and the sassy v are 🔥 on you! I love complex knits but I make sure always to have a variety of wips: a simple, mindless knit, a complex lace and/or colour work, worked flat vs in the round, etc to cater to different needs and situations. Do I need a social/tv knit? Or do I need something so engaging and complex that it requires all my brain space (and thus quiet racing thoughts) ... And so on.

[@thewoollyworker]

yes, very good points !! a knit for every occasion aha ! but not too much that i am then overwhelmed by current active wips

[@lemenyh]

@@thewoollyworker true! There's a fine line between enough variety and pure overwhelm 😅

[@218lorna]

Hello! Thank you for the helpful ravelry tutorial. When I decide to knit a particular design, I rarely change my mind, even though I’m not fast and it sometimes gets pushed to the back burner for a while- like a year or even more. I just finished a newleaf by Jen Steingass, and I’m so so happy with it! Now I’m making a Tolsta short sleeve sweater, not so sure I like knitting a zero wool/ alpaca garment. I’m using Sandes Garn Line. The lack of give is uncomfortable, but at least it’s not hot to work on!

[@thewoollyworker]

it's a weird feeling going from wool to plant fibers isn't it !! and i love steingass' designs !! i have made a couple when i first started knitting and they're so effective !

[@kimludy130]

Thank you for all the Ravelry tips- very helpful!

[@thewoollyworker]

Glad it was helpful!

[@knittysixx5106]

This year I have tried to limit stash input. Which has been a better idea than expected because my output has decreased due to a lot of family commitments and increased busyness st work. I much prefer more complex projects, although I probably prefer to wear simple ones. But I don’t knit because I need clothes, so…

[@thewoollyworker]

very true about that last point, that's the same for me !

[@JoyfulFreckles]

I love the new colour palette you are embracing, it really does enhance your colouring. I also love to buy taupe colours which are often too close to my skin tone, what are your thoughts on striping them with your summer blues and lilacs to have the best of both worlds? I'm currently knitting a baby jumper (from Petite Knit of course) and am having analysis paralysis for my next selfish knit. I bought some destash yarn which makes me look like a zombie (beautiful taupe) and I want to pair it with some of my fun hand dyed yarns (bought single skeins of bright hand dyed worsted weight) but worried it will look totally nuts!

[@thewoollyworker]

oh yes that would be a great idea i think!

[@josefinenielsen6457]

I had two goals for the year. A make 9, of which I started really strong but have stagnated a bit. And then a net neutral of negatove stash, which I am so far from 😅 I tell myself that it's because I haven't been much in the mood for knitting in the summer heat, so hopefully things will pock back up once fall comes around

[@thewoollyworker]

summer can be such a slog for knitting aha !

[@mlea79]

I’m only going to two festivals this year. Been to the woolly good gathering and im going to yarndale in September. I feel thats enough for me as i just want to buy ALL the yarn lol. To be fair i bought lots of yarn at the woolly good gathering but i made much better choices. I saved up for it, went with a plan and stuck to it 😊 so im taking that as a win 😂

[@thewoollyworker]

yes, and you've already used so much from that festival too ! that's always good !

[@mlea79]

@@thewoollyworker yes that feels good

[@alexandradegruyter]

❤️🌈

[@TerraneanStitch]

I am also planning to knit the Festive Yoke Pullover! I already have yarn at home. Maybe we can do some mini KAL in the autumn? :)

[@thewoollyworker]

Great idea!!

[@truesummerknits]

I think you are a soft summer instead of a light summer! They have lots of similar colors but you are primarily soft vs light imo!

[@thewoollyworker]

i'll look into this !! thank you !

[@lorishockley3891]

I finished my Stevie Top by Debbie Bliss using the suggested yarn, and despite gauge swatching it turned out massive😢. Like not wearable massive even after putting it in the dryer. It’s a super cute top so I’m either gonna frog it and remake it or give it away. But it’s silly to have it just take up space. Sigh. Woes of a loose knitter I guess

[@thewoollyworker]

aw, i commiserate !

[@helentkalcic4417]

I am planning to travel to Scotland in September and our dates are not determined yet. I am wondering if there are any festivals in September that you may be aware of?

[@thewoollyworker]

yes, i think the Scottish Yarn Festival is on 7th of sept !