I've never been huge on New Year's Resolutions, as I have never been great at keeping them. However, last year, I made the decision to begin designing more wholeheartedly, and this time, it actually worked! With that in mind, here are a few thoughts I have:
1. I proved to myself last year that I could get at least six patterns published in one year (I had ten published in 2015!), and so why not continue that? While I could tell myself I want ten published patterns again, I hate the idea of pressuring myself to the point where I could burn out. I think six is a nice attainable number, giving me an extra month here or there for catching up, or taking a break, if it's needed. :o)
2. Knit for fun, again. I love designing, and do find it fun, but it's a different type of fun. There is a delight in knitting things that someone else has planned and just letting the pattern flow without second and triple guessing whether I did my math correctly or if that last row really, truly is as perfect as I initially thought it would look, etc. Last year I did manage to get some fun knitting in (like Seeds into Flowers above) and some gift knitting, as well... but I would love to be sure to get it in every month.
3. Reclaim SO MANY needles and project bags. I think I outnumber a good majority of knitters out there with number of UFOs. I probably have at least 40 UFOs in that box seen below, and it's very likely that I have yet another dozen or so scattered around the apartment (and let's not count any of my three scrappy blankets nor designs currently in progress). All of my UFOs can't possibly fit into even that ridiculously large IKEA container, and so I've decided that I'm definitely going to cull them down below 40. That has to be possible, right? ;o) Luckily, this doubles with #2!
4. My last goal of the year is to reduce. It appears that I continue to move into smaller and smaller spaces, and yet I continue to hold onto many things because they "seem useful" or are somewhat sentimental. Example of somewhat sentimental: a sweatshirt from my undergrad that would be fairly easily replaced, if I decided I wanted another, as I doubt UCLA is going to stop selling sweatshirts anytime soon.
As you can see in that last pic of UFOs, there are still boxes that are unpacked. This comes from simply not having the space to put everything. I feel like I'm still not moved in, and yet I've been in Seattle for quite awhile. While I know I'm never going to be a minimalist, it would be really nice to get rid of the unnecessary items and finalize the move-in. ;op
Do any of you guys do New Year's Resolutions? I'd love to hear about yours as well, if you do. :o)