Ten for 2010

As I've said in the past, I really don't believe in traditional New Years Resolutions. In my knitting life, though, I do like to try to push myself to try some new things & not get stuck in the same old rut.

There has been a lot of talk about making a list of 10 things you'd like to try, learn, accomplish in 2010. Here is my list:

1) One project from Selbuvotter
2) Make an Elizabeth Zimmermann percentage sweater or design your own raglan from the workshop I took with the Knitting Fairy
3) Last year one of my goals was to do the Sweater Workshop from the book by Jacqueline Fee & it fell to the wayside. This should help with #2 as well.
4) My super sweet husband got me a share in Jacob's Reward Farm & part of that share includes a spindle. I want to learn to use it so that by the time I get my fiber I will be able to do it justice. If not, I will send it off to a fiber mill. I will say that this one scares the ever loving shit out of me. I really don't want to go down the spinning rabbit hole but it may be inevitable.
5) Work on my UFOs (Unfinished Objects for you non knitter types). I have by last count about 17 hanging out. I want to reclaim my needles & project bags & space in my yarn room for goodness sakes! The only reason I actually think this might happen is that I am making it my project for the Knitting Olympics. I am pretty competitive with myself for reasons I'm sure only a therapist could explain & I refuse to pay one because I don't care that much.
6) Knit with my nicer yarn. I'm not saving it for the Pope. That's all I'm saying about that.
7) Knit at least 2 sweaters out of yarn in my stash. I usually go straight for new yarn when I pick a new sweater project & that is RIDICULOUS. I have some great yarn in my stash & it would feel great to put it to good use.
8) Knit more socks. I have completely lost my sock mojo. With the recent freezing cold weather here in Dallas, I have really enjoyed pulling out a pair of squishy, bright wool socks to wear with my Maryjanes or boots when it's cold. I'd like to have more. How do you find your mojo?
9) Steek. Even if it's just a swatch. This is high on the list of things that scare the bejesus out of me.
10) Illusion knitting. This one should be fairly simple since there are some dishcloths out there, but I've just never done it. A situation came up recently where my friends & I all agreed that illusion knitting would be cool but I honestly didn't know where to start.

There you have it. My top 10 things TO DO in 2010. Here are a few other things I'd like to work on so I thought I'd list them here - if for no other reason than a reference for my own use.

* Heavier weight shawls - I find I use them more frequently than the lace weight ones.
* Ongoing book project - USE YOUR BOOKS, YOU CRAZY GIRL
* Knit a Moebius. I particularly like this one
* Learn some new cast ons & bind offs. I have a pile of Lucy Neatby DVDs, I should probably use them. Plus I truly love her.
* Crochet. I'll put it on the list for the third year in a row & see what happens.
* More charity knitting. Or at least have some chemo caps on hand because sadly, I am asked for them more often than I wish to need them.
* I want to overdye some of my existing yarn that I have fallen out of love with.
* A project using the entrelac skills I learned several years ago at DFW Fiber Fest.

The other thing that really struck me this year was my friend Dawn relaying a conversation she had with another knitter we know. She said that she has built a great base of tools & supplies that she needs & next year she is spending her knitting dollars on classes & learning new techniques. I so love this idea. I am not stupid enough to believe that I won't buy yarn because that's just silly, but I'd love to be able to hit every class I want to go to without worrying about the budget. I also want to take some sewing classes, but we'll see where that leads. Much like the spinning, I am scared to get tied up in another hobby which leads to other stashes (fabric, raw fiber).


So do you have a plan for 2010?