Monday, April 14, 2014

Stairway to the Top

Last couple break months  our awesome Head of House AmyPC has had a thread to help us all get organized and ready to go ROARing into the next term. I was organizing my yarn and tools, from moving and I found that I own 5 SETS of 5 size 3 DPNs. That is 25 size 3 DPNs. I have no idea why I have so many and I don't remember buying that many.
Well all the organization and plans got me thinking back to that awesome thread, and how far it took us a couple terms ago. Our first term with The Stairway to the Top we made it to the Top of Quidditch and the Cup, bringing both cups to the Seventh Floor mantle.

We are bit past the beginning of the month, but I figure that it is never to late to ramp it out and get ready to ROAR for another term. So I have posted the advice from our great Head of House for week one and two we will focus on these two together this week, then come back for week 3 and 4.

Here's to an awesome term. Lets get the mantle dusted and bring those cups back home.


What can we do this week to prepare for our journey to the TOP? Let’s take the first step.

Break Month Week 1
ORGANIZE YOUR QUEUE
Rest your fingers and wrists this week! Take a break from the needles and hooks and consider your plans for next term.
What do you need to make over the next 4 months? Browse the Ravelry pattern database for inspiration. Check out the completed NEWT, OWL, and Order Mission threads for ideas. Go through your pins - are there items there you want to make before Spring?
Do you need to streamline your queue for the upcoming term? Purge out those items that have been sitting there that you know you’ll never make or have already made. The first items in your queue should be those things you want to make between now and April. These should be items that you already have yarn for in your stash. Everything else should be moved to your favorites list or moved to the end of the queue for considering in the spring.
Just like your project pages and favorites you can add tabs to your queue to help prioritize. Tag some of your larger queued items for the potential of becoming your advanced studies. (Remember P.A.P. Propose Achievable Projects!) Patterns you can complete in a month can be used for classes when the prompt fits.
If you keep your queue organized in this fashion, when classes are posted on May 1st you will be able to scan the first page of your queue to easily choose projects that fit the class prompts. This also keeps you from making things just to fit a class. Keep in mind, a partial class will still ensure your sorting priority.
If you’d rather not use your Ravelry queue in this manner, no problem. Grab a notebook and a pencil and make your list!

Break Month Week 2
START WITH A CLEAN SLATE
Most of us are guilty of having a few too many WIPs laying about. Take this week to analyze them, and decide if they need to visit the frog pond or be finished. If you can finish a few smallish items, do it! Get them off your plate. But also get a few WIPs almost done so that you are ready to WIP the First each month of term.
No WIPs? Honestly? Does not compute! But if you really don’t have WIPs you can allow yourself to start 2-3 items that can be finished up during the term for Detention! No sense depriving ourselves of our favorite pasttime!
Also this week try to take care of other projects that may distract you from your crafting later. Use this time, during the break month to think ahead and prepare. What can you do NOW around the house or at work to make things easier over the next few months? Maybe you need to finish up a big decluttering project that you started last break month. Maybe you want to paint your child’s bedroom before their spring birthday. Maybe the pet(s) are due for vet appointments. Of course, we’re all busy with the holidays this month so that may be what we need to focus on first and foremost!
By tackling a few necessary to-do’s this month you can enjoy guilt free crafting once term starts. What will you do this week to make the next 3 months smooth sailing and quick stepping through the castle?

I have been organizing the physical stuff like yarn boxes and such, but now I going to jump into my queue and get things ready to go then maybe finish frogging a few old projects and seeing about a WIP or two... how about you?

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