Knitting is the new Nintendo

Almost a month later I've completed the 2 week program to upgrade my wardrobe. (See my precursor to this post here if you missed it.) Haha, story of my life! I was so busy I couldn't even do the program meant for busy people in the allotted time frame. I suppose had I really committed to it every day I would have gotten it done in a reasonable time frame, but life happens as I'm sure you know!

Anyways, I've finally created for myself a capsule wardrobe! However, I'll be honest, it's not as minimal as I was hoping, yet still a significant improvement. I will not downplay the fact that it was really difficult. Something I've wanted to do for a while, so at least I was mentally prepared, but perhaps maybe I've thought about it too much so it was overwhelming. My dilemma first and foremost is that I have too much. Plain and simple, I had a closet full of clothes, yet nothing to wear. I am a sentimentalist and honestly love all of my clothes, but find it really hard to get rid of old pieces even if I only wear them once in a blue moon. Thus I gave myself some grace in creating my first ever capsule wardrobe. I know some people can go in one fell swoop and donate everything they remove from their closet in the first try, but that's not going to be doable for everyone, me included.

I'm just happy I was able to make some progress with this project, maybe I'm not quite where I want to be, but I'm proud of myself nonetheless. Just look at the amount of hangers I have left after!

Hopefully I won't need this many hangers ever again!

In the end I've paired down my capsule wardrobe to approximately 70 items. Some of you are probably thinking that's how much you have in your closet now! I know, I know, so that's why I needed to do something! But remember this number includes all bottoms, tops, outerwear, and footwear (for me that doesn't include workout or sleep wear, accessories, or dresses). I'll attempt to break down my full capsule in another post another day as I still have yet to tweak a few things.

This is basically my closet now :) so much better!

When upgrading my closet there were two things that contributed to it being more difficult than what the average blogger makes it out to be. Part 1 of my stress was considering the fact that I live in a city where the seasons are not distinct. Last fall we got a huge dump of snow in the first week of September, then we hit +22 degrees mid March. Temperamental weather is the main topic of conversation in this city and that will never change as will trying to keep a wardrobe accommodating to this type of climate change without taking up a whole closet! In addition to the seasons I also need to consider my work life. Unlike most of the bloggers who I've seen do capsule wardrobes, I have to dress business/smart casual for work which means I need to leave some room for extra pieces for that. Some of the blogging ladies recommend doing a completely separate capsule wardrobe for work then, but I've attempted to have pieces crossover to minimize numbers. Plus I'm trying to grow into a more smart casual style in everyday life anyways. Those two things in mind it made it tough for me to eliminate items. Hopefully if you are creating a capsule wardrobe you are able to navigate these challenges easier than I did!

Since I need to keep a seasonal wardrobe, instead of donating everything I simply packed what I am keeping away (the reason behind the name 'capsule') so that when fall arrives I can put away my summer pieces and pull out the cozier items. I plan to do this approximately every 3 months and my hope is that each time it will get easier to get rid of items that I haven't worn in a while, thus lowering my item count a little each time.

All in all, I'm loving my 'new and improved' wardrobe so far! It's a complete shift in thinking for me to have so much less to choose from. It's causing me to be more creative and more importantly to be content with less, ultimately it's the track I want to be on and am excited to see how this goes over the next few months.

Do you think you'd ever attempt a capsule wardrobe?

One of the latest knitting projects that I attempted was a simple seed stitch cowl. Perfect for a beginner knitter!

Supplies
Needles: 12 US
Yarn: Loops & Threads Cozy Wool (Bulky) in 2 colours
Tapestry needle
Final Size: variable

Abbreviations
CO: cast on
K: knit
P: purl

Pattern
-CO 25 stitches (you can make it as tall or short as you want but it needs to be an odd number)
-Row 1: K1, P1, repeat to end
-Repeat row 1 for 65 rows or cowl is desired length (essentially measure to fit around your neck comfortably without being to tight or too saggy)
-Bind off
-Use the tapestry needle to sew the ends together. (It does not have to be neat)
-Thread tapestry needle with two strands of the other colour yarn. Along the seam from top to bottom, make large Xs, (about 1x1 inches).  



Please note: This tutorial is for personal use only. I originally found a picture of this cowl online though no pattern was available so I created my own. For the original picture click here. Please do not reproduce this to sell or pretend that you made any of it, please give proper credit when featuring elsewhere. Thank you!

Confession: I'm hooked on podcasts... so it's nothing bad :) I have a fairly lengthy commute to and from work everyday and so it's nice to listen to something other than the same ol' same ol' radio all the time!

There's a few different podcasts that I listen to. A couple of years ago I started subscribing to Focus on the Family Daily Broadcast. They have new ones every day so it's hard to keep up, but then when I do listen I can pick the one I feel is most relevant or interesting sounding to me. FOTF covers all sorts of topics from light-hearted nutrition tips to tough conversations about human trafficking and more, all with the wisdom of the Bible and God at the forefront of it. They have different guests on the show each time that make it engaging and entertaining. Plus they share personal stories and lessons others have learned. I enjoy these quite a bit!


More recently I have gotten into a couple of podcasts I'd heard of through CBC radio. The first is called Grownups Read Things They Wrote as Kids. Let me tell  you, if you ever need a flashback to your childhood and/or need a good laugh this is 25 min well spent. It's created from a live open mic show that happens across Canada throughout the year. My friend and I went to the one when they were in Calgary and it was a hoot! Essentially it is what the title says. People read stuff they wrote in their childhood days, mostly journals, but some school work or letters, and creative writing too. Some of it can be serious or scandalous, but most is downright funny! I haven't dug up any of the things from my childhood writing yet, but I should, and maybe, just maybe next time they are in town for a show I'll sign up to read :)

The other CBC podcast I enjoy is called This is That. It is described in the info section of the podcast as "a current affairs program that doesn't just talk about the issues, it fabricates them". Someone flipping channels on the radio might tune in for a moment and wonder how this news could possible be true, and that's because it isn't! It is quite humorous and can be so far fetched it's absolutely ridiculous, yet very enjoyable. Each 30min podcast is made up of about 4 'interviews', everything from a woman who sells invisible art, to an Albertan town who is inventing their own accent, to a woman who is petitioning for new puppy maternity leave. The unfortunate part about this podcast is that they are not making new episodes in 2015 yet so what's available is only that from the fall of 2014. Regardless, it's still a great show and I highly recommend it!

What podcasts do you listen to? None? Well try one of these, in my opinion, you can't go wrong :)

Happy listening and safe driving!