{Sadly, this picture is from last year. We had a tiny tease of a flurry yesterday, so I have snow on the brain.}
Five days into the new year, and I'm finally getting around to writing out my resolutions. :) I know it's cheesy, but I always feel optimistic at the beginning of the year. I'm a list maker (and I'm highly motivated by checking things off a list), so I always enjoy making resolutions.
Bookish:
- Read 60 books. I'm cutting my goal back this year, because I'm hoping to read some longer books that will understandably take more time to read. :)
- Drastically reduce my number of own-but-unread books. Because it's out of control. I'm not going to set a number, but I'm going to try to read almost entirely from my own shelves and not buy many books that I haven't already read.
- Reread the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I know, I know. I say this every year. But I'm feeling good about it this time. :) I think I'll try to start the first book at least by February...I feel like I'll be more likely to reread all three if I start early in the year.
Knitting, Spinning, Etc.:
- Make time to spin at least once a week. I love to spin yarn but sometimes I get so caught up with knitting that I'm not very consistent with making time to spin.
- Take this Craftsy class. I started it last year but never finished. I had learned a lot from it already, so I'll probably start over to refresh my memory.
- Learn the basics of weaving and make a small rug. For Christmas, I received a very basic loom. I want to learn how to use it and eventually weave a small rug from fabric scraps (inspired by the latest issue of Taproot).
- Continue to be very selective with my yarn purchases. Focusing on American wool, preferably non-superwash, etc. I want to knit down my stash rather than buying a lot of new yarn.
- Make inventory for craft fairs throughout the year. I always wait until the last couple of months before festival season to frantically start making things, and it's just too stressful. I need to at least make a few hats each month or something like that.
Sewing:
- Sew a pair of jeans. This is still a pretty terrifying thought for me, ha! But if I can master sewing jeans this year, that's a big step in the right direction for my handmade wardrobe.
- Start a new quilt. I don't have any specific plans...I just have a ton of scraps that I'd like to use up, and I'm a little sick of the colors in my first quilt (which is my bed quilt). I want something more subtle.
I'm not going to post any personal, miscellaneous goals this year. I have a few, but they're rather vague and not something I can specifically check off a list. Basically, I want to learn to be content and grateful for the life that God has given me right now. But I also want to stop being afraid of change or getting out of my comfort zone. 2015 wasn't a bad year, but here's hoping that 2016 will be a much better one!
I'm with you on the stash goals! I also want to explore local yarn sources, especially for my selfish knit projects! All of your resolutions sound good and challenging - wishing you well this new year! :)
ReplyDeleteI also want to focus on local yarn sources. :) If I buy any sweater quantities of yarn this year, I want it to at least be American wool. I hope you have a wonderful new year, too!
DeleteSewing jeans sounds so ambitious! Impressed it is even on the list.
ReplyDeleteHa, maybe a bit too ambitious! I'm using the Ginger Jeans pattern, though, and the sew along that she hosted for those it supposed to be incredibly helpful. :)
DeleteYay for hacking away at the TBR! I'm going to try to read mostly from my owned-but-unread books, too. And I love your less tangible personal goals. I think those are things we could all benefit from learning.
ReplyDeleteThat's been an ongoing goal for me that seems really difficult to make progress with! I'd love to get my TBR down to about 15 books and keep it there. But even if I'm super diligent about it, that will still take me several years to accomplish...
DeleteI also want to spin more this year, I like the idea of setting a goal of once a week. I tend to spin a bunch of things nonstop then spin nothing for a while. One of my goals this year is to be more serious about my craft selling stuff so that I am not worried if I have enough the week for a show and to try out a new-to-me market. Good luck reaching your goals!
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing...I spun like crazy for the first half of 2015, but now except for a couple of demonstrations, I've barely spun anything since the end of the summer last year. Good luck with your goals, too! :)
DeleteThe Lord of the Rings is my favorite book and I highly recommend reading it again if you feel so inclined. However, if you find it so hard to re-read, why force yourself? I'm of the opinion that life is too short to read books you don't enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, but I do enjoy the Lord of the Rings. I just find them challenging. :) They're such a big time commitment, and I find myself getting distracted before I'm finished. (I always lose steam as I go, which is why I've read The Fellowship of the Ring multiple times but The Return of the King only once.) I haven't read the books in probably ten years, and I really want to challenge myself to reread them. :) I do enjoy the story and characters...I just struggle with the huge amount of detail and description. (And there's the fact that fantasy isn't usually what I read.)
DeleteWishing you all the best with these goals, Kristin. I do hope they go well for you. I've accomplished this Drastically reduce my number of own-but-unread books. Or at least taking the first step. I've got a TON of books boxed up that I don't see ever reading again or I've had them for years and haven't read them. I'm hoping to make a trip into a used book store that buys them or attempt an on-line store (likely the former) just to be rid of them. Someone will enjoy them and they're doing no good sitting in my office (except taking up space of course). ;)
ReplyDeleteGood for you! I hope you can find a good way to get rid of the books that you no longer want. Over the past few months, I've removed quite a few books from my shelves, too...mostly ones that I know I'll never reread, but there were a few unread ones that I just wasn't interested in reading anymore. Unfortunately, after Christmas, I seemed to have replaced all of the ones I'd gotten rid of, ha! I looked into selling online but couldn't find a good place. So far I've been donating to Little Free Libraries and trading some of mine on PaperbackSwap. :)
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