Beating the Rush

I may be guilty of rushing the retrospective season, but I'm going to take a look back at my crafting year. There's a lot not to like, so I want to get it over sooner rather than later.  Then I can get on to the much more entrancing project of Pie in the Sky, or, Plans for Next Year.

2014: My Year in Crafting or The Little Engine That Couldn't

But before the pie, the penance, and so to the examination of a crafter's conscience:

Did I learn the new skills I planned to this year?

Brioche knitting? Stranded knitting? Nope, not a bit of either.  I signed up for a Craftsy course, bought a book or two, but that's as far as my education went.  Not only did I not learn something new, but I think I lost a few skills I thought I had, like counting.

Did I improve my picture-taking?

Some of my photos look better, but not because I really started focusing on composition or the quality of light.  What I did was use a microfiber rag to clean off the camera aperture on my phone.  Amazing  what a little housekeeping can do.

Did I make this the Year of the Sweater and the Sock?

Oh, dear, seduced by the quick and the colorful once again.  I did complete one sweater for myself, with a second about 85 percent finished which has slightly more than a snowball's chance in hell of completion by year end.  I knit four pairs of socks. Do the Frankenmitts count? They should, there's as much knitting as a sock, but without the complication of Kitchener Stitch.  So, I'll just count them in: five sock or sock equivalents, with one more pair of each on the needles.

Actually, I did complete one other top for myself, (I hesitate to call it a sweater, it's more of a lacy muuu-muu), but I think it is headed to the compost heap.  It's too dire for the donation bin, and I just can't bear the thought of frogging all those yards of fuzzy silk-linen.

Anything positive to report?

Stash accumulation diminished quite a bit, although de-stash foundered.  I did haul my sewing machine from the back of the closet and completed some minor home-sewing and clothing alterations.

I don't want to make any excuse except to say that 2014 has been a stressy year, with a lot of distractions.  This year, the knitting and crocheting took the place of the comfort food I couldn't eat.

Comfort crafting, like comfort food,  is more soporific than stimulating.  It doesn't engender much of a feeling of accomplishment, just a sense of time spent.  It can be soothing until it becomes just plain boring. There is a place for it, of course, just like there's a place for mac and cheese or a soft blankie, but I'm hoping for something a bit more adventurous in 2015.  Colorwork, here I come.