Knitting Goals

In August, it'll be two years since I taught myself to knit. Since then, I've completed 12 washcloths (some are duplicates of ones I've posted about) and four scarves, and I've learned a few techniques and tried new stitch patterns along the way. So, I've gotten pretty good at knitting things shaped like squares and rectangles, but circles, triangles, and various polygons are calling my name. I'd also like to get a little less 2D, if you will. Here are five things I hope to learn/try in order of increasing perceived difficulty (to me). I'll call them goals, but I'm not going to put a time limit on them.

1. Using different yarn colors in the same project. I don't know why this seems difficult to me, but it's probably just a pain to have to keep switching colors and having to weave in a million ends when you get done. I couldn't find any good photos of small projects that I liked, but I'm thinking maybe a pot holder or fingerless gloves.

2. Knitting "in the round" (pretty much knitting in circles). This is useful (and often required) for hats and some garments. I think a good way to start would be a basic beanie-type hat in a bulky yarn, like this one:

That Favorite Toddler & Baby Winter Hat (Photo credit: A Crafty House blog)

Then maybe I can try to make this adorable stuffed hedgehog:

Knit Hedgehog (Photo credit: The Purl Bee, Purl Soho)

3. Cables. Maybe I could start small with a reusable coffee cup sleeve:

Woven Cable Coffee Cup Sleeve (Photo credit: Purl Avenue)

4. Sweaters/cardigans (garments in general, really), preferably from vintage (mostly 1930s-1950s) or vintage-inspired patterns. I really can't wait to start knitting tops for myself and sweaters for Ed.

Cardigan knitted from 1940s pattern (Photo credit: Elegant Musings)

Sweater knitted from 1930s pattern (Photo credit: Elegant Musings)

5. Socks. I'd like to knit some wool socks for Ed (and for me, too), because they're surprisingly hard to find around here for a decent price.

Sporty Striped Peds (Photo credit: The Purl Bee, Purl Soho)

Homespun Boot Socks (Photo credit: The Purl Bee, Purl Soho)

I'll let you know if/when I successfully knit any of these things. (That means less washcloth posts!)

Our 2011 Goals: How We Did

I just realized that I hadn't let you know how our Goals for 2011 turned out. Here's how we did, using the Win/Fail system.

1. Start a blog and actually use it…and let people read it. Win! (although, we don't always post stuff as regularly as we'd like to)
2. Sell our house in NC. Fail/Half-Win. Well, it didn't sell, but we did get a renter!
3. Get a new job in IL (Jennifer). Fail. Yeah, this is a lot harder to do around here, given the current job market in general. At least my employer doesn't seem to mind.
4. Send our tax forms in before April. Win! They actually went out in February (we're talking about last year; this year is a different story...).
5. Join a local church. Fail. We did find a church that we like and have become involved in it, but we just haven't actually done the whole joining thing yet. This will likely happen this year.
6. Save more money. Win! We were planning to save our mortgage payment after selling, but since the house didn't sell, we're saving what we're getting from our rent.
7. Exercise an average of at least 4 times a week. Colossal Win for me! I actually exercised nearly every week day (and occasionally got some exercise on the weekends) the entire year! Maybe I'll do a little post on how I did it. Ed also exercised pretty regularly, but it was easier for me, since I'm home most of the time. We also went on walks around the neighborhood, so sometimes we exercised together.
8. Do something fun together. Win! We didn't make it to the Wisconsin Dells, but we did take ballroom dance classes together. And we went sightseeing around Rockford, which we thought was fun. And we went on a cruise!
9. “Do” Chicago. Win! We went with Alexis when she came to visit. Still lots more to do and see, though.
10. Pressure-can something. Fail. We did make several jams and jellies, including some new recipes, though.

So, there it is. I'd call 6.5 wins success.

Goals for 2011

I make lists for almost everything. Prepare to see a lot more lists on this blog (technically, the year-in-review post was also a list). This list is mainly for accountability purposes. These are goals we need or want to reach this calendar year, in no particular order.

1. Start a blog and actually use it…and let people read it. I’ve started at least 8 blogs since blogging began and have never stuck with it for the long haul. My first blog was part of a grad school course, and once it was over, I deleted it, which was really dumb in hindsight, because I had the blog name “On the Fritz” (with the URL and everything!), and then some random person (whose name does not include Fritz, by the way) came along and took it, so I can’t use the name anymore. I figured now that we’re farther away from friends and family, it’s a good time to officially re-enter the blogosphere. So, I’ve already met the first half of this goal, but the challenge is to actually post stuff…and tell people that it exists.
2. Sell our house in NC. Well, we don’t have a lot of control over this one, but all I have to say is that if it doesn’t sell by the end of 2011...um...something is going to happen. It’s been on the market and has had a few showings since September, so we’ll see if things pick up soon. (Now it's time for the shameless plug: Anyone know someone who's looking to buy?)
3. Get a new job in IL (Jennifer). I mean, I like my current job, but it’s in NC. This can’t go on indefinitely. It would also be nice to meet some new people.
4. Send our tax forms in before April. We always say we’re going to send them in as early as possible, but we usually end up putting it off until the last minute. Although, last year, I think we sent them out in February or March.
5. Join a local church. We’re working on this, but it’s taking a while.
6. Save more money. We plan to put what we would have been spending on our mortgage in savings every month once the house sells. This will help us to save up for buying a house here (and keep us from getting in too big of a hurry to buy).
7. Exercise an average of at least 4 times a week. It’s good for your health, and we both have sedentary jobs.
8. Do something fun together. We hear the Wisconsin Dells are fun, and we’re only about a two-hour drive from there. They have amusement parks, water parks, boat rides, and zipline tours. We’re totally trying the zipline tour.
9. “Do” Chicago. Now that we’re only an hour and a half-ish from Chicago, we need to go see and do some Chicago stuff…and eat some pizza and hot dogs.
10. Pressure-can something. We've been a little hesitant to pressure-can, but after more than a year of using our pressure canner as a boiling-water canner only, it's time to put it to its intended use.

We'll let you know if/when we meet these goals throughout the year--with photos, when applicable. Then again, you probably don't want to see photos of us exercising, sending in our tax forms, or saving money (although, we can show you the results of those things in the future).