Wow, two weeks goes by fast! Hope you’re enjoying a good start to your summer. It may only be June, but summer has definitely hit the RVA. We’ve been dealing with 90-95 degree temperatures and that lovely Virginia humidity over the past week… yuck! But it’s not all bad. School is out and you can feel the slight change in attitude of everyone that comes with summer vacation. Things are a little more relaxed, people are dressing slightly more casually at the office, Friday afternoons begin a little earlier, and weekends have plenty of time to just hang out and enjoy each other’s company.
For the first time in a couple of years, I have a blissfully open schedule this summer and I’m really looking forward to making the most of the downtime. My husband and I have some long overdue house projects in the works. We have a couple of long weekend vacations planned, but mostly we’ll be sticking close to home and relaxing a little bit. Which fits in perfectly with my knitting plans of Stash Dash and Camp Loopy!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock recently, I’m sure you’ve heard about Stash Dash on almost every knitting podcast and a few blogs, but here’s the brief recap. Stash Dash is a KAL organized by The Knit Girllls. It starts on May 22 and ends August 14. The goal is to knit either a 3k, 5k or 10k in this time period. More details are available in The Knit Girllls’ group on Ravelry. Since I didn’t really start listening to podcasts until last fall, I only heard about Stash Dash once it was over last year. So this year, I’m taking advantage and participating.
As I’ve mentioned (I think) in previous posts, I’m not the best at finishing my knitting projects unless I have a specific purpose and deadline. Although with Loopy Academy and the DVD Sock Challenge this year, I’ve been much better about this recently. Stash Dash will give me another kick in the butt to get things done. The great thing about Stash Dash is that you don’t have to knit the entire item during the KAL – as long as you do some knitting and finish the item within the time frame, it counts. So even further incentive to finish those languishing UFOs!
I’m not sure yet whether I’m going to go for the 3k or 5k (the 10k just seems unrealistic for me), I’m just going to see how it goes. So far I’m at 935 yards or 855 meters, which I think is a pretty good start for not even a month into the KAL. Here’s what I’ve finished that counts toward Stash Dash so far:
– May DVD socks = 279.3 yards (255.4 meters) 
– Oatmeal bonnet for my Loopy Academy Semester 2 felting project = 228.9 yards (209.3 meters) 
– Baby vertebrae for my Loopy Academy Semester 2 striping project = 428 yards (391.4 meters) 
Below are the projects I have on the needles right now or are planned for the rest of Stash Dash and a general idea of the yardage they’ll add:
– DVD socks for each month of June and July. I could also frontload my knitting on my August socks and maybe finish by the deadline. So this would add around 560 yards (510 meters) at least, or 840 yards (765 meters) if I finish all 3 months in time
– Honey Cowl (~275 yards, depending on how big I make it). I’m making this for an American Cancer Society auction event that one of my friends is helping organize.
– Meisi gloves (~ 400 yards). I’m also making these for the American Cancer Society event that the Honey Cowl is going to.
– Not So Itty Bitty Giraffe (~450-500 yards). I’m making this as my June Camp Loopy project and as a baby gift for a friend.
– Sleeves (~1000-1100 yards). I’m planning on this for my July Camp Loopy project.
These projects will add around 2700 yards to my Stash Dash total, which combined with my current 935 yards, puts me at 3620. There are some other UFOs I have that I could finish up and add to this, so I definitely think I’m good for the 3k and might be able to hit 5k if I put my mind to it.
Now here’s the kicker… if only I had waited one week to finish binding off my Rock the Kasbah shawl for Loopy Academy, I could have included around 900 additional yards. Gah!! Oh well, that’s what I get for finishing things early 🙂
I’ll keep you posted throughout the summer on my progress. Are you doing Stash Dash too? What goal are you working towards?
Small Actions Over Time 