2012 - A year of new opportunities

I don't do the resolution thing (anymore)... I hate setting myself up for failure. I've done the resolution thing... it just doesn't work for me. Instead - I set goals. A series of goals. Some are stepped, some are one-timers, some are part of a much bigger picture.

This year my goals include simplifying my life and home (this is one of those stepped, waaaaay bigger picture goals), riding my beautiful pink bicycle at Heritage Park with my honey this Spring/Summer/Fall, deciding what I want to do when I grow up, making Dragonfly & Clover a better site and shop, and further developing my artistic style.

One of my holiday presents this year, was a simple top-whorl spindle and a big bag of colorful roving, plus two books on the age-old art of spinning. I'm really excited about this expansion of skills. The hard part has been to stay out of the roving and diving right in... and setting up myself for failure before I even really begin... So instead, I've counseled myself (and I appear to be listening) that study and research are critical aspects. Thankfully, the internet has once again come to my rescue, in the form of a bazillion websites and the glorious venue known as YouTube. Big, big thanks to the many fiber artists willing to share their knowledge with folks -- I'm a visual-kinetic learner, so books only take me so far. My goal: 2012 Holiday Gifts will all be either hand-made or bartered for... and will include the use of my own hand-spun fibers. :)

Another goal is part and parcel of the bigger SIMPLIFY goal. I've finally take the first step and admitted I have a bit of a problem... I love (and I mean in a border-line psychotic way) LOVE fibers!! I was sorting and organizing my stash into 32-gallon plastic totes and I came to the realization that the guys in my life are right -- I have A LOT of yarn. 3 tubs later, and I still have cardboard boxes, bags, sacks, totes and even a laundry basket FILLED with yarn that still need to be cataloged. On a positive note? I have REALLY good taste in yarn... not much low-quality stuff. LOTS of gorgeous llama, alpaca, merino wool and mohair. LOTS of smooth and nubby cottons and blends. Lots of nifty specialty ribbons, furry and fuzzies and super-colorful bits of fiber-y goodness. Good thing I have LOTS of projects in mind!!

For 2012, I intend to start (and finish) no less than 12 significant (and stash-busting) projects, in addition to the one-skein scarfs, hand-warmers, hats, toys, etc. Considering I taught myself to crochet from a book just this last July (6 months ago) -- It's a pretty ambitious goal... but I feel up to it.

The first is going to be a simple Solid Colored Granny Square lap blanket. My mother gave me a HUGE bag of acrylic yards in a rainbow of colors, and I like making afghans from wash-and-wear materials best. I started this one a few days ago, learning a basic granny square. One of the biggest challenges for me, is getting bored doing the same thing over and over and over (and over), which is something crochet is intrinsically all about. To break up the monotony -- I worked up the squares in alternating colors (instead of all of five of each color, one color at a time). I'm at the joining stage now... so (again to break up the monotony) I join a column and then a row, and now I'm back to another column...

I don't know what I'll do with these big items as I finish them -- not everyone is thrilled at being gifted a (lovingly constructed) granny afghan... but, re-homing these beauties isn't this year's goal -- making them is.

Stay tuned for more rites of passage & challenges overcome.

Happy New Year All!