Goals, schmoals.

I don't know why I feel the need to have a talk with myself every year about what kind of knitting goals I have for the following year and then never look at them again.  I'm done.  Not doing it.  Here they are if you want to read about it & laugh.  Or I'll give you the quick recap.

• I bought lots & lots of yarn even though I said I wasn't going to (that did last 3 whole months though).
• I didn't make any gifts ahead.  Not even one.  I did give away a bunch of my past knitting, but it wasn't entirely planned out, so to say I did it on purpose is kind of cheating.  I also finished up a baby sweater that the baby outgrew while I was making it & gave it to a different baby, but again, completely unplanned.  It seems unfair to turn my timing failure into a "planned gift", but it did work out & I recommend it if you have nearly finished baby presents lying about. 
• Get rid of sock yarn?  What was I, INSANE?   Well, I did finish 6 pairs of socks, which is pretty good.  And I made 11 other things out of fingering weight yarn, a few of which were originally in the "sock yarn" category.  Most importantly I did knit up the Yarn Pirate Culture Club that I specifically targeted in that post.  I am thinking perhaps that wasn't a coincidence.  Let's call it a win if for nothing else my self esteem.
• Wips - that will be addressed in a full post of it's very own.  I don't think I can bear to do both in one day. 
• Limit spending to $50 per month for the first quarter.  I can call that a victory, I really didn't buy much yarn until after DFW Fiber Fest, but wow, how the flood gates opened after that.  My total for January to March was for sure under $150. 
• "Look at my existing yarn in a new way & stop trying to make it into the project I loved 4 years ago."  I still love the sentiment of this goal.  I did a little bit of this through using some of my sock yarn for hats & I also used some of a dye lot of a discontinued yarn to make a baby sweater.  I usually save odd amounts like that thinking that I'll find the perfect thing, but it was the right color for the right baby & I went for it.  Now I have enough of that yarn to make another baby sweater or something and make it all work out.  The few things that could fall into this category really end up being using up odds & ends, which I put a pretty good dent in too, but not enough. 
• "Knit stuff that I love.  Destash the rest."  Yeah, I'm really not a good destasher - I like to have AllOfTheYarn.  I did a lot of culling in January last year, but otherwise I keep my yarn.  I can't help it & no I do not have a problem.
• "Enjoy what I have and admire what others have without necessarily coveting some of my own".  I love that as well, I would say my success rate on that is pretty good.  Most of the stuff I stashed this year was pretty specific, most for baby things.  I see stuff & I want it too though, I am only human.  

What would I like to see for my 2012 knitting life?  I refuse to make too many goals.  Since I am kind of at a clean slate, I can tell you where my head is.

• I would like to concentrate on sweaters & sock since I tend to use those finished objects the most. 
• I am not putting too much pressure on myself - not so much "joining" & going along with a crowd, more just doing what I want when I want.  That's the only way the multiple sweater / sock thing will ever work out.
• I am attempting to not buy yarn until DFW Fiber Fest, and then only a set amount.  No random buying just for fun.  I put some personal parameters from a  financial standpoint & while I'd like to say NO YARN, I do know that isn't practical.  Let me get through the next few months and then we'll talk.
• I feeling like historically I have put a lot of pressure on myself to "get organized" & then I go follow a group around, and that just doesn't really work for me.  I've never been a person that likes to be held to rules & restrictions, it makes me wonder why I've ever sought that out!  
• Get my yarn room organized once and for all!  It seems like I'm constantly throwing a bag in there.  Or throwing books on the floor instead of putting them on the shelf just to get them out of the living room.  Or put stuff in there that I don't know what else to do with.  It's a mess & that is stopping me from another goal I have - BLOCKING.  I have loads of stuff that needs to be blocked, but the yarn room is really the only spot where I have room to do it that is safe from the curious paws of my cats.  I find myself putting off the blocking part for most stuff because of this, so if I could just get it straight maybe I'll be more motivated to block the stuff that needs it.  Besides, I got a commercial grade steamer that should make this process so much easier - I hate my current steamer for so many reasons.  (drippy, not hot enough, takes forever, etc, etc).  I found a commercial grade stand up steamer for $45 on woot.com & ordered it immediately.  I can't wait to try it out! 

The only structured thing that I have going on - and I'm doing it because in our case the word structure is truly laughable - is that my friend Lyn & I have planned to start knitting through the book Knitter's Book of Socks.  I cast on for the first pair, Stepping Stones, on Jan 1 & am flying through them.  That is probably because they are knit out of heavyweight Socks That Rock (in color LL Cool Socks in case you care) & I'm just so happy to be knitting something for ME that I can't stand it.

So that's it - very loose & not very specific "goals" which pretty much amount to no goals.  I like it.  Happy New Year!