I have a redonkulous  amount of trouble, thinking or finding my own inspiration to start new projects or designs. So I love challenges, specially ones with fairly vague guidelines that are just enough to get me started.
Luckily for me the first one I found on Ravelry, The Cold Sheep Stashdown is all about that.

There are monthly challenges, and a general commitment to NOT buy anything new.
‘In this group, we are all working together to make 2015 a year without needless yarn buying. No more stash-padding for us! Stash-DIVING is going to become the norm! We are committing to work fully from the stash. Admit it, you know that you can. You’ve got yarn coming out of your ears! Or out of your closet. Or from under your bed. Or from that basket next to the couch. Or ON the couch.”

The rules I’m giving my self are:

• I can buy yarn for making my work samples.
• I can buy yarn to finish a project that needs just one more ball/skein to finish it.
  As long as the rest of it was from the stash.
• I can continue to buy the yarn I find at thrift stores.
• I can continue spinning new yarn.
• I can buy roving or raw fleece a few (maybe 3-4) times this year.
• If we go somewhere I can still buy souvenir yarn, but it should be really special.
• And I can accept gifts. HINT HINT…

Those should be doable right?

So, the first challenge for January is to use the oldest part of your stash. This will take me a while to find, as some of my yarn has been around for at least 9 or 10 years. And like many new knitters, I bought some regrettable stuff (yes I have owned fun fur-don’t judge me, you know you did it too), and the reason it may even still be in my stash is I’ve purged it from my memory and/or hidden it near the bottom or worse… in the attic.

As January is almost all gone already, I will have to get one this. It may take a couple of hours days to get through my stash and knit up something. But I’ll share when I’m done.

Number TWO. Sorry I’ve completely forgotten where I originally found the link that led me to this tumblr blog, so I’m sorry I can’t credit you.  But the idea sounded interesting, specially for someone that struggles with that initial inspiration.
So if you like this one, head on over to Craft Challenges and follow along.
The challenge for each month is to craft something, anything (so sewing, crochet, as well as knitting, whatever) with it in mind, January is simply White. I might kind of cheat this one as I was already making something in white for my mother.

I’m hoping I can come up with for creative solutions to the challenges as the months past. In the mean time, much like the year of making I’m going to enjoy seeing what others come up with.