February Review and March Goals; and a Gold

Thank goodness for March!  Spring is on the way, even if we have just experienced our first real snowfall of the Winter.  Flowers will be starting to popping up soon, the rain will come by the end of the month, and we may even see the return of some birds shortly.

February was not quite as productive as I would have liked.  We did, thankfully, get Baby Man back to sleeping through the night.  He is so much happier now that his crib has the side off and he has a small rail to keep him from rolling out.  I managed to start sleeping again, and I’ve even survived my first cold in almost three years.  (I forgot how unpleasant they could be.) As for the goals I shared at the beginning of the month, they were:

• Finish Francie socks (I’m aiming for a pair a month right now, I think)
• work on my husband’s socks
• work on Egypt Garden for the Stitching Olympics
• work on Sewing Seeds
• seam up that baby jacket I had finished for my dad’s co-worker
• repair my Enchanted Dreamer pillow which Baby Man tore the beads off of
• chart border for Kitchen Blessings

Let’s see: I did finish the Francie Socks (and I love them).  I didn’t work on the socks for my husband, or repair my Enchanted Dreamer pillow.  I did do a wee bit of stitching on Egypt Garden, but I decided to participate in the Ravelympics/Knitting Olympics instead.  The baby jacket was finished, and I also finished the Hope panel of Sewing Seeds.  Overall, I think I did pretty good for a short month.

So, my Ravelympics/Knitting Olympics project.  Do you think I finished it? Of course I did! And without the extra ball of yarn I thought I would need.  The last seam was finished yesterday afternoon, and I am very pleased.  I still need buttons, but I say I am finished because I’m not able to get out to stores that sell buttons often and Hey Teach is totally wearable without the buttons.  (I’m hoping to get out on Thursday to look for buttons.)

Hey Teach Cardigan from Summer 2008 Knitty

How will I top all of this for March?

• Finish a pair of Broadripple Socks (my socks for this month)
• Complete at least half of the Friendship panel of Sewing Seeds
• Fix the Enchanted Dreamer pillow (I mean it this time, and I’ve even started already)
• Stitch at least half of the Kitchen Blessings border
• Start a Christmas gift, even if it is a token attempt

I think that is pretty good.

Like last month I have a couple of personal goals.  I didn’t have success with last month’s, so, this month I will share in hopes that I will do better.  First, I need to get back to eating well.  I had lost about 30lbs from late 2008 into mid-2009, but I’ve put back on 15lbs, most of it in the past 4 months.  That isn’t acceptable to me any more, and it is time to smarten up.

My second goal is to limit my stash buying.  I don’t need anything.  I don’t even need to collect for the sake of collecting.  I’m overwhelmed. New charts aren’t really a joy for me any more because I have so damn much.  They make me feel antsy and like I will never accomplish anything.  That isn’t what stash collection is supposed to be about.  Even new fabric and fibres make me feel that way, unless they are for something I am working at the time.  (I will admit I need a couple of small charts to finish a series, and I will probably buy them, but only on sale. I mean it!!! Seriously.) Clearly, I need to make a change.

March may end up being a difficult month for me.  I know it isn’t wise to be too hard on myself, but at the same time I really do need to make some changes.  Wish me luck!