a stern warning of things to come (in 2009)

Well, I've been putting a lot of thought into the knitting that I've been doing over the last year. I've gotten a lot better at it, and I think the stuff I make turns out quite well. I've gotten better at photographing my projects and keeping track of my yarn. To keep the good times rolling, I've decided to make a list of goals for 2009. Resolutions are for suckers. These are things I will do.

1- Major stash-organizing. I have little room to work with at my house, seeing as my bedroom is only 9'x10' (thanks, roomies!). The result is that my yarn gets shoved in big rubbermaid containers in a hall closet. I forget what I have in there and it's a major pain to get to. So when I get some $$$ I'm going to invest in some storage for my yarn. While organizing I'll need to do some ...
2- Major stash-busting. One of my big rubbermaid containers holds a ton of acryllic yarn from Warm the World, a non-profit that makes blankets. I can't explain why, but I just can't get myself to do the work. Maybe I am that big of a jerk/selfish knitter. Either way, the yarn should go somewhere that will use it. So I'll probably box it up, plus some extra acryllic stuff that I will never use, and send it back to Warm the World. That will clear up a lot of space.
3- Learn intarsia. I really want to get into colorworking, and I feel like my total avoidance of projects involving colorwork is keeping me back. I'm pretty sure my LYS will have some sort of class at some point. I may ask the owner about it.
4- Do more weaving. I took a weaving class back in August and it was awesome. The owner of Hill Country Weavers reminds me every time I go into the shop that I should keep it up, and I agree. HCW has three properties, one of which is a house filled with large looms and warping umbrellas that are open and free to use. So I think I'm going to make a rug for the hallway outside of my bedroom. I'll use up some acryllic yarn and scraps that I have from old projects.
5- Start selling projects on Etsy/etc. I've made plenty of things because I like the patterns. But what should I do with them? I think I'll try selling stuff. I would naturally give full credit to the designers and would only look for reimbursment of material costs. I think that's reasonable and fair. I don't want to get in trouble with copyright but I'm not really trying to make a profit. If I want to make a profit from this then I'll need to stick with #6.
6- Design more original projects. I've made one original pattern and it has over 100 projects on Ravelry. I think that's pretty good! I've been asked by two different people to think up stuff from various knitting magazines/online zines so I'd really like to do that. Hopefully I can budget myself time to design and test stuff out this semester.
7- Learn to spin. I know there will be spinning classes at HCW, so whenever one pops up I'm going to take it. That will involve, at some point in the future, probably buying a wheel. We'll see about that. I can't really afford that and if all goes according to plan and I get a teaching job in the UK after I finish my PhD I won't want to bother with trying to sell it/move it/whatever. But I definitely want to learn how.
8- Knit at least one project from every knitting/crochet book I own. I have quite a few, and this will be a good test to see what I should keep and what I should sell.

I think that's a good list of stuff to do, and it seems pretty reasonable. I'll keep track of the projects I finish for the year, like I did last year (62!), but now that I know I can have a large output of quality/cool items I don't feel like I have to challenge myself in that way. This year I want to streamline and learn new things. I admit, though, that forcing myself to make so many projects this year has really improved the quality of what I make.

Here's the list of what I did in 2008:
- Pineapple Hat
- Amigurumi Bear
- Amigurumi Squid x2
- Quant
- Womb
- 2x2 Ribbed Hat
- Amigurumi Raindrop x2
- Amigurumi Whale
- Birds of a Feather (amigurumi bird) x2
- Cthulhu Baby Bib
- Aramis (sweater)
- Tudora (cowl)
- Katamari Earmuffs
- Biscuit Pillow
- Adipose (Doctor Who, stuffed animal) x2
- Smocking Stitch Mug Cozy (by MK Carroll)
- Garter Stitch Mug Cozy
- "Cashmere" Cowl by Purl Bee
- Triple Cable Muffler
- Train Tam
- Lopi Lace Scarf
- Brain Slug x2
- Aspen Cowl
- One Skein Wonder (shrug) x2
- Parallelograms Scarf
- Twirly Top Toque
- Calorimetry x3
- Stella's Hat
- Rose Red x2
- Sunray
- Reverse-Bloom Flower Dishcloth
- Rose's Wristwarmers (Doctor Who)
- A Nobel Cowl (my original pattern!)
- "Cashmere" Neckwarmer by Kim K.
- Woven Scarf x2
- Amigurumi Ninja
- Beech Wood Cowl
- Clapotis x2
- French Press Cozy
- Wedding Shrug (improvised pattern)
- Amigurumi Lion
- Spring Beret
- Gooseberry Hat
- Baby Hat (from One Skein)
- Rib & Cable Quarter Gaiter x2
- Urchin
- Abalone
- Propeller
- Fence
- Give a Hoot Mittens

So that's 50 unique projects and 62 total projects. Pretty good year, I think.