Author Archives for Apanthrope

Stash Track 2024: Second Half + Wrap-Up

2024 Stash Tracking

H1:
Fiber in: 0.0 oz
Fiber out: 0.0 oz
Ratio out/in: neutral
Total fiber stash change: 0.0 oz

Yarn in: 2,012 yds
Yarn out: 3,120 yds
Ratio out/in: 1.55
Total yarn stash change: -1,108 yds

H2:
Fiber in:  0 oz
Fiber out:  0 oz
Ratio out/in: 0/neutral
Total fiber stash change:  0 oz

Yarn in:  5296 yds
Yarn out: 0 yds
Ratio out/in: 0
Total yarn stash change: + 5296 yds

2024 Totals:
Fiber in: 0
Fiber out: 0
Ratio out/in: 0
Total fiber stash change: 0 oz

Yarn in:  7318 yds
Yarn out:   3120 yds
Ratio out/in: 0.43
Total yarn stash change:  + 4,198 yds

So. Even bi-annual tracking seems to be unnecessary at this point. Going forward in 2025, I will no longer be making stash track posts except at the end of the year—if they’re necessary even then. Anywho. Here it is: 2024 in its entirety. As y’all can see, very little happened here again this quarter. I hit one of KnitPick’s big sales for 2 sweater-quantities, but other than that? Nothing. Nothing went out since my blanket isn’t finished, and just that little bit came in. Nothing serious happened with my yarn stash this year. And zero happened with my fiber stash. Again. Which I do admittedly find mildly depressing. I’m hoping 2025 will bring with it at least one spinning project and use the tiniest bit of that lovely fiber I have up.

There really isn’t much more to say about this topic right now. I continue to be in a state of existing and cocooning. It turns out recovering from cancer treatment is pretty serious business that takes more than a year. I’m hoping to see steady and marked improvements in 2025—including some actual posts for this blog that are not simply tallies for yardage and stash tracking.

Stay safe, keep wearing your masks and cleaning your hands, hydrate, and take care of yourselves. Here’s to a gentle 2025, y’all.

XO,
Manda

December 2024: Wrap-Up

Yardage Totals 2024:

January: 988
February: 865
March: 452
April: 211
May: 256
June: 488
July: 760
August: 762
September: 301
October: 818
November: 580
December: 149

2024 Totals: 6630 yds or 3.77 miles

 

And that wraps up 2024’s knitting tally.

I had hoped I would feel like knitting a lot this last month and manage to bang out that final square for the long-term blanket I’ve been working on. Turns out, that’s just not the way things went for me, and I’ve knit roughly 1/4 of that square. *Whomp whomp* Oh well; it happens. I just had so many other things I’d rather do and I tend to follow my whims more these days and not force anything that doesn’t want to happen.

My only craft related goal of the 2020s is to knit something every month: I did manage a few days of knitting. This will continue to be my sole yarn-crafting goal in 2025. I’m hoping to also make some decent headway on some cross stitch projects in the coming year and finally get at least one finished so I can move on.

So. What about you, kitten?  Did your 2024 turn out how you hoped it would? Did you finish all the projects you wanted to? Or perhaps you were a bit less focused and scattered like I was this last year?

Wishing you all a Gentle 2025: take care of yourselves and each other,

XO,
Manda

November 2024: Wrap-Up

Yardage Totals 2024:

January: 988
February: 865
March: 452
April: 211
May: 256
June: 488
July: 760
August: 762
September: 301
October: 818
November: 580
December:

2024 Totals: 6481 yds or 3.68 miles

 

November’s out the door; just like that.

I was able to knit more days than not this month and focus on finishing blanket square five and starting six, the final one. If all goes well, it should be finished by the end of December, and I can move onto sashings and assembling in the new year.

My only craft related goal of the 2020s so far is to knit something every month: yeah, I did.

So. What about you, kitten?  What have you been up to? Reading any good books? Rewatching favorite movies? Listening to some podcasts or new music? Do you have any new cast ons or longer projects you’re working on? If you made gifts for this holiday season, have you finished them early, or are you crunching to get them finished in time?

Take care of yourselves and each other,

XO,
Manda

October 2024: Wrap-Up

Yardage Totals 2024:

January: 988
February: 865
March: 452
April: 211
May: 256
June: 488
July: 760
August: 762
September: 301
October: 818
November:
December:

2024 Totals: 5901 yds or 3.35 miles

 

I have no idea how it’s nearly mid-November, and I haven’t made this post yet. October was another blink-and-you-miss-it month for me, and November is already shaping up to be the same.

I put a lot of time and focus into knitting last month. I would love to have all six of the body squares for my spouse’s travel blanket finished by the end of the year—I’m currently about 3/4 through square five—but I don’t think I’m going to quite make it at my current pace. I could, I just have no way of predicting how long my current desire to knit will stick around. Most of last month’s knitting was done while re-listening to a favorite podcast, Ghosts in the Burbs, which was quite enjoyable. I sort of wish I had timed some of these blocks to know how long they take to knit, but I’m off the cuff guessing each is at least 75-ish hours worth of labor? Could be closer to 100 hours. Either way it’s…lots. Lots of knitting. Lots of media ingestion. Lots of time sitting around when often I want to pace and walk and burn off excess energy.

My only craft related goal of the 2020s so far is to knit something every month: totes did.

So. What about you, kitten?  What have you been up to? Reading any good books? Rewatching favorite movies? Listening to some podcasts or new music? Do you have any new cast ons or longer projects you’re working on?

Take care of yourselves and each other,

XO,
Manda

September 2024: Wrap-Up

Yardage Totals 2024:

January: 988
February: 865
March: 452
April: 211
May: 256
June: 488
July: 760
August: 762
September: 301
October:
November:
December:

2024 Totals: 5083 yds or 2.89 miles

 

September is one of those months that always rushes out the door. Blink, and you miss it.

The fourth blanket square continues to be less enjoyable to work on and lingers on. I nearly finished it this month, but have one round left to go before I can move onto the fifth one. Here’s to hoping the colors I pick for that inspire me to knit more again—or else I may not finish the squares this calendar year.

My only craft related goal in the early 2020s is to knit something every month: yup, did that.

So. What about you, kitten?  What have you been up to? Reading any good books—I continue to be pleased with my new horror releases; they’re all 4 star+ reads. Watching anything interesting? Maybe listening to podcasts? I just restarted my annual relisten to Ghosts in the Burbs. Do you have any new cast ons or longer projects you’re working on?

Take care of yourselves and each other,

XO,
Manda

August 2024: Wrap-Up

Yardage Totals 2024:

January: 988
February: 865
March: 452
April: 211
May: 256
June: 488
July: 760
August: 762
September:
October:
November:
December:

2024 Totals: 4782 yds or 2.72 miles

 

2024 continues to clock on by—August is now out the door.

The fourth blanket square is proving to be less enjoyable than the third one was last month. I did push to keep myself moving and not stagnate, but there definitely wasn’t the obsessive drive like I had for the orange based on before this. Because of this focus, I was able to knit the same amount I did in July, which feels pretty good. And while I was working and musing about having only two more squares to go and then I need to worry about sashings and borders, I realized I have a solution already in-stash that I find acceptable, I think. So we’ll see if I change my mind when I get there. In September it will continue to be hot as blazes here—the joys of Gulf Coast Summer™—but I’m hoping to keep moving on this project and finish the current square (with about 1/3 left to go) and get a solid start on square number five (colors yet to be determined).

My only craft related goal in the early 2020s is to knit something every month: done.

So. What about you, kitten?  What have you been up to? Reading any good books—I continue to be pleased with my new horror releases. Watching anything interesting? Maybe listening to podcasts? Have any new cast ons or longer projects you’re working on?

Take care of yourselves and each other,

XO,
Manda

July 2024: Wrap-Up

Yardage Totals 2024:

January: 988
February: 865
March: 452
April: 211
May: 256
June: 488
July: 760
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:

2024 Totals: 4020 yds or 2.28 miles

 

July is now out the door. 2024 is clockin’ on by.

The third blanket square went by quickly, as I predicted last month. It’s funny how much more enthusiasm one will have for a project when they are working with colors they actually enjoy. This block finished up so quickly that I actually took a week off to pick at a cross-stitch project before starting on the fourth block. I am hoping to finish this one up in August and keep up the pace so that I can move from blocks into sashing before the year is over.

My only goal so far in the 2020s is to knit something every month: check, check. Easy enough to do and keep up with.

So. What about you, kitten?  What have you been up to? Reading any good books—I’ve read some fantastic new release horror novels recently. Watching anything interesting? Maybe listening to podcasts? Have any new cast ons or longer projects you’re working on?

Take care of yourselves and each other,

XO,
Manda

Stash Track 2024: First Half

2024 Stash Tracking

H1:
Fiber in: 0.0 oz
Fiber out: 0.0 oz
Ratio out/in: neutral
Total fiber stash change: 0.0 oz

Yarn in: 2,012 yds
Yarn out: 3,120 yds
Ratio out/in: 1.55
Total yarn stash change: -1,108 yds

H2:
Fiber in:  
Fiber out:  
Ratio out/in: 
Total fiber stash change:  

Yarn in:  
Yarn out: 
Ratio out/in: 
Total yarn stash change: 

2024 Totals:
Fiber in: 
Fiber out:
Ratio out/in: 
Total fiber stash change: 

Yarn in:  
Yarn out:   
Ratio out/in: 
Total yarn stash change: 

So. I decided with my greatly reduced crafting desire and energy that tracking my stash more than bi-annually makes no sense. So here it is: the first half of 2024. As y’all can see, very little happened here. There was a little stash-shuffling, but not much. I could have counted my finished blanket squares in those numbers to make things more dynamic, I suppose—as I will never reclaim that yarn even if the blanket is never finished—but I’ve opted to save them until the project is finished. One way or another.

There really isn’t much more to say about this topic right now. I’ve just been in a state of…existing for the last 6 months. I’m finally starting to recover some of my energy and desire to actively do things, but I’m still not out of the recovery woods yet and should see marked improvements over the final 6 months of 2024. I’m hoping this translates to more active crafting time as well as increased focus and desire for other hobbies. We’ll see how it goes.

Stay safe, keep wearing your masks and cleaning your hands, hydrate, and take care of yourselves.

XO,
Manda

June 2024: Wrap-Up

Yardage Totals 2024:

January: 988
February: 865
March: 452
April: 211
May: 256
June: 488
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:

2024 Totals: 3260 yds or 1.85 miles

 

Aaaaand….another month come and gone.

Finished the same blanket square I’ve been picking on for five months now. So glad to finally have that one over; it was the most difficult to pull colors for, as I’m not a fan of either red nor blue as a rule. The third square I started is more in my wheelhouse: oranges and purples with grays and a little brown. I’m genuinely excited to work on this one and seem to find excuses to just sit down with a show and work on it. It’s been growing so fast. I have a feeling I will wrap this one up pretty fast and will be able to move onto the fourth square, maybe even before the month of July is over.

In 2024, my only yarny goal is to knit something every month—The Goal of the 2020s, it would seem. Yes! Absolutely did more days than not.

So. What about you, kitten?  What have you been up to? Reading any good books? Watching anything interesting? Maybe listening to podcasts? Have any new cast ons or longer projects you’re working on?

Take care of yourselves and each other,

XO,
Manda

May 2024: Wrap-Up

Yardage Totals 2024:

January: 988
February: 865
March: 452
April: 211
May: 256
June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:

2024 Totals: 2772 yds or 1.58 miles

 

Another month come and gone.

Continued to pick at the same blanket square I’ve been working on the past two months. The end is in sight; I fully expect to finish it and start the third one in June. I just have not been feeling “knitty” as of late.

In 2024, my only yarny goal is to knit something every month—the same goal I’ve had for all of the 2020s to date. Yup; did that.

So. What about you, kitten?  What have you been up to? Reading any good books? Watching anything interesting? Maybe listening to podcasts? Have any new cast ons or longer projects you’re working on?

Take care of yourselves and each other,

XO,
Manda

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