Do You Have A Plan?

I am not one to sit around and think about what I want to do during the year-as in resolutions. But I do like to have a plan. But this year, I do not have a plan. I am still a fairly organized person, although the chaos does occur when I am in a dither.

When I was younger, I used to make distinct goals on the decade birthdays for the next ten years. I liked to work on those things. Then the August after the 50th, I got laid off. I no longer had money to do the things that were on the goal list. I went into survival mode, and the whole goal thing was forgotten. I think it was frivolous.

I spent the day yesterday cleaning and organizing my sewing room. That feels really good. I am so amazed at the amount of fabric I really have tucked away for whatever emergency that may occur. Some of it is not so good, so I think the next task is find a home for some of this stuff.

I think the new word for the year should be possibilities. There are infinite possibilities for knitting, quilting, sewing, spinning, dyeing, etc. etc. You get the idea. There is such an extraordinary resource in patterns out there on the internet. There is always a pattern to be found for whatever yarn I have decided to work with at that time.

Yarn-oh, yeah! I don't need any yarn right now. I just need to use it up. That is the rub-huh? Time to do all that knitting with all that yarn.

And fiber! Lord, I do not need any more fiber right now. But I got some really nice stuff for Christmas presents this year. And those push all the old stuff back in the bins again. I also carded some yummy stuff in pink that I want to get to really soon. In fact, it will be next in line. But I really like that deep red stuff I got from M. I have to get the yarn finished for the sweater, then finish the green I started, and then I can do pink or red or whatever. That's kinda like a plan, huh?

I don't think of myself as lacking time to do stuff, but sometimes it seems that things just don't get done.

That's why I think I need a plan. I really have no idea of how much I knit this year or spun or dyed. I haven't really sat down to think about it. Because that is what it takes-thinking and trying to remember everything over a year. I started a journal some time ago, but never kept up with it. I just kept going. As soon as something was finished, something took its place. I was really tired of everything by November, but I pushed through to the fiber show at Mt. Magazine. Then I slowed down through December, and most everything was just light knitting or spinning. There was no rush.

But now it's January. Time to move on to a new beginning.

I have a knitting friend that can tell you exactly how many stitches she knit in a finished piece. Shawls are overwhelming. On my Yarn Harlot calendar she said it takes 1,760 yards to make a mile. I cannot do the math. I am not that kind of knitter. I just enjoy the skill and the finished project. I am definitely a process person, but the finished project is satisfying.

Okay-so now we move on. I expect that it is a good idea to have a plan, but I have a tendency to do something impulsive that is not on the plan. So maybe I will come up with a loose plan. Something like-knit more yarn out of the stash. Spin up the fiber stash. Do more dyeing (include an indigo pot). That's all pretty loose and could really be tightened up. But right now, I think I will stick to the loose plan and fill in the spots as I start doing some of the things I would like to get done.

Well, I am just rambling today. It is time to just think out loud. I am eating a sandwich, trying to get my spinning quota done today, and then off the JE's shop to sit and knit this afternoon. She had me at "We will go get something to eat after the shop closes." I like the idea of eat.

Happy New Year-Happy New Beginnings!