Work ...

When I posted in November (yes ages ago), work was sort of the elephant in the room that I avoided in favor of Stash.  I find now, in March, that I've been avoiding this blog because I wanted to avoid writing about and reflecting on work.  Not ideal at all but I'm in a much better place now than I was and I'm quite happy to be at a professional crossroads even if I have no idea of which way I will ultimately turn.

The backstory ...
I've been working since I was fourteen - my first job was at the local public library where I helped take the library online.  It was pretty fun and cutting edge even though I didn't quite realize it at the time.  I did not, however, become a librarian.  I also did not become a lawyer (despite having been a paralegal), an academic (despite getting multiple degrees in history), or a museum professional (despite working in a museum).  Instead I fell into fundraising and prospect research.
It is work that I'm good at and that can be fun - particularly now that I know what I'm doing (I had to teach myself in my first job).  I've worked for a non-profit, a health care entity, and a university so I've seen a range of research shops and office structures and have learned from each of them.  I was in my last job (with the university) for five and a half years and worked with a number of teams who I really enjoyed collaborating with, first in the office and then from home after we moved to Milwaukee.  Then, in early September, I abruptly learned that our group was being reorganized and that I was being laid off as of November.  Not a great day.  It was made harder because it was a total shock and I was asked not to talk about it to anyone in the office - to plan for the future or say goodbye - until they announced the whole reorganization plan.  That didn't happen until my last week.  It was like living in a void for a couple of months.
Then it was all gone.  Really odd on one hand but also oddly calming on another.  A load of stress left when I shipped the laptop and monitor back (followed closely by a couple final expense reports) and I've continued to feel lighter with the passage of time.  It was an awful experience on one hand but I had a lot of time to think, reflect, and talk to people whose opinions I value.  I think I am emerging from this stronger and in a better place overall.

Where I am now ...
Four months later I still don't have a job and that's OK.  I also don't know what I want my next job to be doing.  This break is a luxury made possible by my husband who had the wisdom to tell me to take a break and regroup, to get over being burned out, to figure out what comes next, and, perhaps most importantly, to find something that will make me happy.  I still have no idea what that is ... I know what might be fun and interesting but there is no immediate rush.  There also are some other things going on that are proving to be welcome and fulfilling distractions ...

First though, here is my minimal workspace ... very little paper, a few distractions, a happy place to sit and work ...

Stash ...

My name is Eve. I am a knitter and I have a stash problem. I'm not the only one.

We have my yarn listed on our insurance policy. When I add the yards up it gets a bit scary ( well over 125,000 yards at the start of the year).

Essentially I have too much yarn.  Thankfully I have not yet reached SABLE level (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy) so there is hope.  If I am very good and very focused it will gradually shrink as skeins become socks, shawls, sweaters, and other goodies.  I may need to do some goal setting ...

I blame the year 2007 ... which is when we moved to DC, I started listening to podcasts that introduced me to indie dyers, joined Ravelry, and lived way too close to two yarn stores. I also might have joined a club or two. It was gradual though ... a purchase here, a purchase there. The misplaced confidence that I would knit each skein as it arrived.

There also were some fiber fairs that where I had very little willpower ...

From MDSW 2010

From MDSW 2011

The cumulative result is that I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by what I have and by the idea that I need to do something with it all other than add to it.  I also may periodically be mocked by my very supportive and enabling husband.  So there are lots of motivations to work on knitting down the stash.  Which I've been doing for this past year ... and so far most of my goals are in sight so that's something!

One key goal is that I have to knit more yards than I acquire ... which sounds easier than it is.  I know myself well enough to know that I can't not buy yarn.  It is much easier for me to set some limits and exceptions and make mindful purchases then it is to arbitrarily deny myself something.  No idea why it works that way for me but it does.  The mighty power of asking "do you really need this?" coupled with "what are you going to do with it?"  They both sort of negate the "I want it because it is pretty logic."

Sierra and a BNK package

So far this year I've been pretty good - all the new yarn is lovely and from unique clubs/sources so I feel good about them and have plans for most of what I acquired.  Granted I'm still I'm not seeing a dramatic decrease in stash numbers yet but I'm hopeful and am thinking that I will end the year ahead on a high note (I have an afghan that I'm thinking I'll be able to finish up before 2013 which will put me ahead on all counts).  I will not have knit the number of socks or sweaters that I'd intended to (my "reach" goals) but I will have hit the 50% point with both goals I think so that's something.  I will also have knit most if not all of my woolgirl kits (they came fast and furious some with patterns I wasn't fond of) and I wanted to knit all 12.  Right now I'm stalled at 8 ... but I have time! There also is one more 2011 WIP to finish (charity knitting requested by Meaghan last December when time was tight). All in all I'm in good shape and a final push to the finish might work out really well!

Three Bags Full!

It's going to be interesting when it's time to set 2013's goals to see what projects rise to the surface and how I sustain momentum.  It's a good thing that I have a lot of project bags!

As I'm managing the yarn stash I am realizing that I have other stashes ... of books I want to read "someday" and assorted paper (apparently I have a hard time letting go of cards and letters) that I need to address.  Nothing like more challenges.  The time for them has come though ... I'd like to find good balances with all of my/our stuff and get to a point where it doesn't feel like too much stuff ... we are there with some things but not quite there with everything but we are inching closer.

The fun thing about playing with the yarn stash is that when the yarn tells you what it wants to be and you can make it happen the results can be amazing...

a second bite ...

Well ... despite the best intentions it's been over a year since I started this ... So much for a quick second bite!

We moved from DC to Milwaukee last July and I think that move disrupted my grand plans for getting caught up with things ... But that's life and I'm now finally starting to feel like I'm getting to a good balance point.

This has been a nice move for us - on one hand, DC was great but there were a number of downsides to living there and I still feel like we didn't take as much advantage as we could have of the museums, the markets, and other stuff. A downside I think to living outside of the district and not on a Metro line!

Wisconsin has been a surprise of sorts - we'd heard good things about it and it has been confirmed so far. Our neighborhood is lovely - both the architecture itself and the people - and I have found a Pilates class, some book clubs, and people to knit with. There also are some excellent restaurants and an incredible art museum and we are quite lucky I think with where we have landed.

In my first post, I mentioned the whole budget idea ... Still not my forte but I'm trying. We keep shedding things and being conscious consumers but it is never easy. My biggest challenge remains the knitting budget which I still tend to max out ... Mostly due to classes, clubs, and present knitting. Yarn and knitting are a larger challenge in some respects for me - I love it all but I have too much and need to work on reducing the stash to a point where it doesn't make me feel pressured.

It's all little steps, some slips, some leaps forward... Hopefully we all end up happy!

A First Bite and Some Muchness

So this is my first bite at blogging ... although technically it’s my third first post since I started off  with another format and ran into “challenges.”  Each time I write this though it is different and makes me even happier so who am I to complain?  

The idea of starting a blog has been kicking around in my head for a bit but the motivation for actually doing it came from a couple of places ... an entry on the Becoming Minimalist blog in April about the value of blogging in terms of thinking about things more clearly, being more intentional, building confidence, and other positives planted the proverbial seed.  Then The Knitmore Girls proposed The Three Bites challenge ... to encourage people to try something new and to give it a chance aka Three Bites. 

Instead of applying it to knitting, my Three Bites include:
    Blogging
    Budgeting (hello Mint.com)
    Reasonable Minimalism

So far, so good.  The more I think about it, the more fun I can have with the blog.  The budgeting is good but has been challenging (there was some dog surgery that threw it off a bit).  The minimalism is going to be a gradual process but I think it is also already how we like to live so it means we have to be more conscious in terms of how we live so it is a bit more gradual.  

The challenge for me inherent in writing (and actually posting ) this is that it puts me out there a bit more than has been my norm of late.  All of this though fits within what I think of as a continuing pursuit of growth and change ... seeking more balance and a higher level of comfort with my path.  A friend has also been finding her Muchness (understanding and celebrating what makes you happy)  and encouraging the rest of us to do that too ... so hopefully that is part of what this ultimately captures too!


Some knitting - my primary source of Muchness - just to start off right ...