Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Goals for 2011

I have been thinking of what I want the coming year to be like, and what I want to accomplish.  I like to use the term goals because "resolutions" seems like the sort of thing you try in January, break, and give up on.  Striving toward a goal seems more flexible, more long term, and it has worked for me in the past.


First, I will share the knitting and spinning the goals that I posted at the end of the year on Ravelry:

  1. Finish at least 12 projects.  My number of finished objects decreased dramatically after my move.  I would like to bring it back up to at least resemble what I accomplished in past years.
  2. Finish everything currently in my Ravelry queue. That would get me 2 lace shawls, 2 sweaters, a scarf/shawlette, and a pair of socks.
  3. Use up all of the remaining commercial yarn in my stash. That would give me, in addition to the things in my queue, 3 pairs of socks, something cashmere, and possibly one other item, because I may have mismatched the yarn I intend for a colorwork sweater in my queue.
  4. Spin one colorway per month, until I run out of small batches, then at least 4 oz per month. I should run out of small batches sometime in the 3rd quarter, and then spin at least one large project worth of yarn.
  5. Cold sheep yarn until I run out of commercial yarn. Exceptions only for project completion.
  6. Cold sheep fiber all year. I must start processing my unprocessed fibers and spinning my large batches. Possible limited exception for a local fiber festival.
  7. Knit at least one item using handspun for every four projects. If all I accomplish is the 12 projects above, then this will be 3 projects using handspun. I will knit the one handspun project currently in my queue, and the two remaining projects not accounted for by my commercial yarns will be handspun, which will mean that I could cold sheep fo the entire year. If I knit more than 12 projects, and I use up all of my commercial yarns, I can buy new yarn.
  8. Minimize pattern & book purchases. I will buy some books and magazines to show support for my LYS, but I will keep these to a minimum and use the patterns I already own first.
  9. Knit 1 hour a day. I used to knit more than I do now, and I want to get back to knitting more often.
I also want to recommit to my past goals:
  1. Finish other unfinished projects not related to knitting.  I think I should concentrate on sewing, especially as I am behind in the Crepe Sew-Along.
  2. No new hobbies.
  3. Use my craft supply stash.  No buying just because I might use it in the future.
  4. Make more bread.
  5. Continue to decrease my consumption of processed food.
  6. Continue to buy organic, free range meats and eggs.  This has been trickier since my move.  I need to be clearer on my sources.
  7. Continue to eat local in-season vegetables -- especially difficult in winter.  I am looking forward to the re-opening of the Eastern Market in the spring.  Cooking veggies is a bit harder now, since Scott doesn't like as many things as I do.
  8. Continue to choose local options for cheese, wine, beer, etc.
  9. More canning & freezing.  I hope that rather than giving away much of our garden bounty, we can use it to help see us through the winter.
  10. Make any new clothing or buy from small producers/handmade or second hand.  This goal worked well for mein 2010, and I am hoping to continue it.
  11. Declutter.  Letting go of things I don't use has ben freeing.  I would like to pare down to only the things we use and love.
Of course, the other main goal is:
  1. Get a job or go back to school.  I should start sending applications out presently.


3 comments:

  1. That last one sounds like it'd make the other ones a lot harder -- but those are all pretty great goals!

    When you talk about commercial yarn, that's like yarn that you buy at the yarn store? Can you spin your own? If so, where do you get the raw materials? ...

    (more questions! what sorts of jobs or schools are you looking for? If school, what do you want to study? ...)

    OK, stay warm :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Alex, You're right about what I meant by commercial yarn. I didn't realize that you didn't know that I spin my own yarn. I have a big stash of fiber for making handspun, and using that up rather than purchasing more was one of my goals -- that's what I meant by "cold sheeping fiber". Most of that fiber was purchased at the Peachtree Handspinner's Guild, a yarn store or at fiber fairs, but it is also available on Etsy and websites like The Woolery and Pacific Fibers. Scott built me a spinning wheel a few years ago, but an easy and cheap way to try it out is with a drop spindle. There are some good books and videos out there, plus there are videos online, but I learned from my local spinning guild. The one here even has a beginner's circle at every meeting, and will rent equipment!

    As for jobs, I am looking for one similar to my old job, and I am planning to go back to school to get a Masters in Architecture so I can continue to move forward in the field.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Like pasta sauce!

    http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1829

    ReplyDelete