Friday, October 19, 2012

Decluttering ... Virtually

In the spirit of "less is more," I decided to do a little virtual housekeeping.  Tonight's task?  My Ravelry boards.  For those who don't know, Ravelry is an amazing site for crochet & knitting enthusiasts of all skill levels.  There are tons of patterns offered and lots of camaraderie and support.  Unfortunately, when I first joined, my zeal knew no bounds, and before I knew it, I had joined a ton of member boards ...

Yes, you read that correctly ... 37 groups.
I had terrific reasons for joining each of them.  For example, the first (12 in 2012), I joined as the New Year was approaching.  The idea on that board was to set a goal, well actually 12 goals, to accomplish in 2012.  On 05November2011, I posted:
I already have one goal for 2012. So, now to put together 11 more. Hmm …
  • A granny square a day (my 365 project)
  • A scrapbook layout per week (at least)
  • Organize and catalog my yarn stash on Ravelry
  • Wind all my loose yarns into pull-from-the-center balls
  • Organize my pattern “library”
  • Organize all my WIPs currently lurking in bins in the basement
  • Finish the afghans I’ve started for my nephews
  • Crochet Erykah
  • Crochet Penny Arcade Jacket
  • Walk/run a 5k at least every other month
  • Walk/run at least one 10k
  • Hit my goal weight
I know those aren’t all crochet-related, but that’s what I hope to accomplish in 2012. If I should happen to finish (or frog) some of my stored WIPs in the process, all the better!
I was actually on track for the 1st goal right up through the end of March.  I'm slowly getting back on course with that at this point.  There hasn't been any scrapbooking done this year to my recollection.  Most of my yarn is in my Ravelry database.  The yarn balls are much as they were.  My library is all in one place, if that counts.  My WIPs are also relocated to be all together.  My nephews' afghans were in progress until early December ... I'll get back to them; I promise.  I made Erykah!  That was an amazing adventure.  Decided against Penny Arcade, as it's basically a shorter version of Erykah.  I haven't done a single 5k this year, and we won't even discuss my weight at this point.  Still some of my goals have seen progress, so it wasn't all bad.  It's just that, once I typed up my list, I didn't actually look at it again until tonight.  Not great.  I need an accessible list, and having it lost in a message board just didn't work for me.

The long and the short is that there are several that I joined out of good intentions, some that I was just interested in a technique or particular pattern, and others that were strictly research based.  Once I went through them and thought about my actual activity within them, I culled the list to:


I actually participated in the 2011 Crochet Block-a-Month CAL, toward the end of the year, and I've been steady in the 2012 version of the group this year.

2012 Blockheads is a group I started myself, as I hadn't found any other group aimed at those who were endeavoring to craft a square (or other motif) per day for the year.  Mine is not a CAL, so much as it is a sort of show-and-tell arena, a place for support and kudos.

The 365 group is for those who were inspired to create something every day for a year, as I was.

The next 2 groups are for those who are using the books depicted on their banners.  I find that, though I'm not following along to the letter, those groups are invaluable resources for information on blocks with which people had difficulty.  I can read about their trials and errors and avoid them myself.

Afghans & Blankets and Baby Block-of-the-Month CAL are both groups in which I routinely participate. 

I could go on, but I've mostly cut it down to those boards in which I actually participate and those that I at least semi-regularly use for research.  Of course, there are still the random, just because boards.

Wooly Thoughts has math-inspired crochet projects. Math and crochet?  I mean, how could I not join?  Mr. Yarn is a group for a yarn store that I joined because of a giveaway.  I'm still a member, because seeing that smiling little yarn ball makes me smile, too.  And even if I never actually participate in the group again, it's enough for me that it makes me smile.

So, I challenge you.  Find an area in your life (a small one that will give you semi-instant gratification) where you can cut back, clear out the cobwebs, and find something left over that makes you smile.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Late to the Party

This morning, while I was perusing one of the many blogs I read, I ended up hopping over to The Year of Less by Kelly in Ontario, Canada and started backtracking through the posts there. Reading her posts, I saw confirmed in print some of the stuff that has been gnawing at the back of my brain of late:
  • I have too much stuff.
  • I need to cut back.
  • I need to live smarter.
  • I need to spend more time with God. 
So, I'm joining her "Sermon on the Mount" challenge for the month of October. Granted, I'm starting late, but better late than never, right? If you'd like to join with me, just click the link below.




Be blessed!