With all the talk around the place for and against resolutions (or aims), I’ve been doing my usual annual thinking on the subject.
I don’t feel like making plans or a wish list for the year is a bad idea for me. I’ve always been a fan of points in time that mark beginnings or endings. It’s a nice way to be able to take stock and focus a little bit. It’s good for me.
So, having read RoseRed’s list this morning and reflecting on the other lists I’ve read recently, I went back and looked at mine from December 06 with the aim of compiling a new one for 2008.
At the start of 2007 I had visions of:
1. Completing a pair of socks (check!)
2. Giving socks to everyone I know as birthday gifts in the coming year. I didn’t give them to everyone, but 15 pairs later, I have given quite a few away so I’m going to tick this one off the list, too.
3. Knitting lace. I did it! Not a lot, but socks and a couple of scarves was a great start, so check!
4. Overcoming innumeracy. Well, I think Sean is the best source of confirmation on this one. He commented a lot throughout the year on what he saw as my progress. I’m not there yet but I’m improving. Another tick!
5. Decreasing my stash – well, ahem, I kinda did, kinda didn’t. I bought a lot of sock yarn. Enough said really. But I really didn’t buy any big bulk lots of yarn so that’s something, I suppose.
6. Taking care of my sometimes sore right hand. Well, it doesn’t hurt anymore (much) so I must have done something right.
7. Writing a piece for Cast-On. I wrote it. It’s long out of date. So, I didn’t submit it. Oh well.
8. Learning to spin or tat. I did neither. Just not enough hours in the day.
9. Knitting cushion covers. Again, not enough hours in the day.
10. The baby thing. Well we all know that story. A sad one. And we’re having a little break from that over the summer so we shall see what 2008 delivers on that front.
So for 2008, the list looks like this:
1. I will finish the steeked jacket. Soon. I can’t allow myself to cast on any other winter garments until it’s done and I’m starting to resent it for that reason. I’m a bit afraid though. I’ve gained (ahem) some weight since I figured out the sizing in January last year. I’m worried it’ll be too tight and unwearable. So maybe I should do something about that.
2. I hope to manage my stash better this year. I’m not going to say I won’t increase it, but I think I could manage it better. That’ll include better storage, particularly by type.
3. I’d like to branch out into some different kinds of fibre this year. I’m pretty much a wool or alpaca girl, with occasional dalliances with cotton. Of course this will necessitate purchases so I’ll tread carefully into this new territory. At RoseRed’s house I saw some amazing silks and other fibres I think of as a bit gourmet. I got hungry.
4. I want to design a sock pattern. I really do. It’s one of my aims for Southern Summer of Socks so now it’s on two lists. I have an idea. I just need to execute it.
5. I want to learn more about photography. I love taking photos for the blog and almost exclusively do only that. I’d like to understand more about it so I can get even more out of the experience than I do now and hopefully make the blog look better.
6. Felting. I foresee much of this happening this year. I’m going to start with bags, I think.
7. I’d also like to take better notes when making things. I start out ok and then it falters. Later, I regret it.
8. I’m planning on learning to sew. A lesson will happen some time soon with Jejune, but beyond that, if I like it, I’m in the market for a sewing machine.
9. I need to set up a space at home, probably in the spare room, where I can a) have a work space and b) show Sean that I can be contained and not take over every room in the house.
10. And finally, the baby thing. It stays on the list. I would just like to be less devastated by the fact that we are not yet parents. It’s not easy. I honestly want to make more peace with this issue this year and not let it rule my life quite like it has done.
Like RoseRed and others, I feel pretty good about this year. 2007 was a mixed bag, with some definite highs and some devastating lows but I got to the end of the year feeling like much was achieved, personally and creatively. I have a level of satisfaction that is a deeper now than I have ever experienced, but still with a fair way to go. Works in Progress aren't just in my basket by the couch. I am one, too.
So bring it on. I'm ready for whatever is out there this year.
Bells
6 hours ago
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