Do you ever find yourself in a rut? Or stuck on what to do next? But you feel like you have tons of ideas? I do, A LOT. And usually when I'm in a rut or need a new project all those ideas or projects I wanted to do are gone. Silly brain. But one of my favorite college teachers showed us a great thing. He had a note pad app on his phone and when ever he had an idea for a project, idea about a current project improvement, or just something he needed to be done for his career, he jotted it down. I took it very much to heart and started this bucket list of projects. Sadly not many have been taken off, especially the sewing ones, since I sew all day, and I don't feel like going home and sitting on a Juki for another 9 hours.
So during my last few hectic, crazy, lack of sleep, non-productive knitting and creative weeks, I thought about what I would do next. My queue on Ravelry.com is small but my project list is pretty big for only 3 months. My real life note book though is brimming with random thoughts and ideas. I'm going to share some of my ideas.
- Cat pod
- Rabbit Condo
- Weather scarf
- Weather blanket
- Koi blanket
- Hazel the humpback whale (ravelry)
- Yarn bomb something
- Trilinear (ravelry)
- Cat hoodie (ravelry)
- Yarn case
- Knitting needle wrap
- Learn to knit socks
- Learn to knit tiny things
- Knitted/Crochet ottoman
- Make the arm scarf thing on pinterest
- Make rings again
- Learn to spin yarn
Thats maybe an 1/8 of what I want to do, and most of those revolve around knitting, I have tons more that are non fabric related!
So whats a lady (or gentlemen) to do?? Prioritize. Set dates. And be Realistic. I treat my home projects like they are work projects. I set Deadlines. I look at my skills, "Do I have the skill set yet to work on this project? Do I need to maybe take a class or find someone to teach me?" I then look at my budget. "Do I have the resources to finish this project with out spending money? If not how much do I need to spend? Can I break up the spending amount into chunks?"
My final thought before I leave it on my yearly project list is "Do I need this item/will this be a challenge?"
Ok an example, the knitted/crocheted ottoman, "Do I have the skills?" I have not crocheted in the round before, but I have in knitting. "Hows my budget?" I do not have any of the supplies for this project. I only buy yarn for projects I picked for the next two weeks to a month and a treat yarn to find a project just for that yarn. Buying yarn for that project would be at least a 40$ commitment and I do not have stuffing and thats 25$ there. Finally "Do I need this item/will this be a challenge?" It won't be a huge challenge for me and I don't really need this item. I have a foot rest already for no one to use except my cat who sleeps on it. So it gets bumped down to maybe next year or when I really need something to do and I'm running out of ideas.....sure.
These managing questions change for everyone, some people don't have to worry about a budget (so jealous of you!!) and some people work really fast through items and would have time to work on it. These just work best for me. I highly recommend figuring out what works for you so you can set project goals.
This is my list after I looked at everything on the list.
A lot of it is in the air but at least it gives me goals, and a time frame. I can save for the classes/Big projects but work on manageable items in the mean time.
I hope this helps you figure out what your going to work on next and maybe plan ahead for your fall/winter wardrobe and holiday gifts!! And maybe inspire you to work on a huge challenging project!! For me that will be the Koi blanket!! So much to tell!!!
Till next time!!
Lauren
So whats a lady (or gentlemen) to do?? Prioritize. Set dates. And be Realistic. I treat my home projects like they are work projects. I set Deadlines. I look at my skills, "Do I have the skill set yet to work on this project? Do I need to maybe take a class or find someone to teach me?" I then look at my budget. "Do I have the resources to finish this project with out spending money? If not how much do I need to spend? Can I break up the spending amount into chunks?"
My final thought before I leave it on my yearly project list is "Do I need this item/will this be a challenge?"
Ok an example, the knitted/crocheted ottoman, "Do I have the skills?" I have not crocheted in the round before, but I have in knitting. "Hows my budget?" I do not have any of the supplies for this project. I only buy yarn for projects I picked for the next two weeks to a month and a treat yarn to find a project just for that yarn. Buying yarn for that project would be at least a 40$ commitment and I do not have stuffing and thats 25$ there. Finally "Do I need this item/will this be a challenge?" It won't be a huge challenge for me and I don't really need this item. I have a foot rest already for no one to use except my cat who sleeps on it. So it gets bumped down to maybe next year or when I really need something to do and I'm running out of ideas.....sure.
These managing questions change for everyone, some people don't have to worry about a budget (so jealous of you!!) and some people work really fast through items and would have time to work on it. These just work best for me. I highly recommend figuring out what works for you so you can set project goals.
This is my list after I looked at everything on the list.
- Cat pod - WIP, Deadline april, Need one ball of yarn
- Rabbit Condo - WIP, Deadline, April 16th, Supplies needed
- Weather scarf - Future/Next in line, Deadline Dec 2014/Jan 2015
- Weather blanket - 2015 project
- Koi blanket - Deadline Art all night in pittsburgh Challenge accepted
- Hazel the humpback whale (ravelry) - 2015 project(has enough stuffed animals)
- Yarn bomb something - April 30 yarn bomber on IG goal (scrap yarn!)
- Trilinear (ravelry) - Start In may, Deadline august, Size challenge
- Cat hoodie (ravelry) - Start in June, Deadline sept, Assembly challenge
- Yarn case - Start in April, Deadline Asap.
- Knitting needle wrap
- Learn to knit socks - Dependent on classes, Not in the budget yet/fall
- Learn to knit tiny things - classes? Fall?
- Knitted/Crochet ottoman - 2015/2016 Project
- Make the arm scarf thing on pinterest - Start pattern making in April/may
- Make rings again - 2015?
- Learn to spin yarn -Dependent on classes, Summer project?
A lot of it is in the air but at least it gives me goals, and a time frame. I can save for the classes/Big projects but work on manageable items in the mean time.
I hope this helps you figure out what your going to work on next and maybe plan ahead for your fall/winter wardrobe and holiday gifts!! And maybe inspire you to work on a huge challenging project!! For me that will be the Koi blanket!! So much to tell!!!
Till next time!!
Lauren