2016 Goals

Every year I like to set a few goals and review the goals I had for the year before. There’s something about getting them written down that helps me be more mindful as the years goes on.

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Here were my 2015 goals and how I did with them:
1. Focus On Sweaters – I didn’t have as much time for self-published design work last year, but almost everything I knit was a garment of some sort. They’re what I love to knit the most, so it was easy to focus on them when I had less time in general.
2. Sew At Least Two Dresses – I sewed four! They all fit pretty well, and I think my sewing skills improved nicely.
3. Read More Professionally Edited Writing – I kind of managed this. I started the year off really well and read a lot of books until I moved and my bus ride became a little too bumpy for reading. For my online reading, I read more polished articles and less random garbage.
4. Rush Less – Basically the opposite of this happened. Oh well. I didn’t set unreasonable deadlines or anything like that, but I piled on so much work that I had to rush around to get everything I wanted to do done. 2015 flew by because I was so busy, and it feels a little like this fall never happened.
5. Finish My Granny Square Afghan – Done! I finished it right away and use it all of the time.

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Here’s what I’d like to aim for in 2016:
1. Get Pickier About Color – I love color a lot, and there are very few colors I really hate, but there are some colors that feels more like “me” when I have them on. Vivid reds, yellows, and blues with some orange, turquoise, and hot pink thrown into the mix. The clothing I feel best in are in those colors, and they’re what I always pack when I travel. I really enjoy jewel tones, purples, and greens, but they just don’t give the same satisfactions as my brighter, warmer colors. About halfway through last year I started getting pickier while shopping for fabric or looking for stuff at the thrift store and cut back on buying things that didn’t work with my ideal color palette. I’d like to keep that up and extend it to my knitting color choices, with the exception of yarn in my stash and current WIPs.
2. Figure Out Where I Want to Live – Early last year I got really fed up with my apartment and decided I was going to move out after my lease was up at the end of August. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to live, so I moved in with my Aunt and Uncle and decided to figure it out when work was less hectic and the holidays were over. I’ve been thinking of moving back to Tacoma where I went to college because Seattle has gotten so ridiculously expensive in the last couple of years, but I work part time in downtown Seattle, so there’s the commute issue. Both cities have their upsides and downsides, and I need to make a decision.
3. Plan Less – Oh, I have such a hard time with my impulse to plan new things! I just keep piling on more and more without taking anything off my to-do list. I’d like to get better at just filing away good ideas and not scheduling something new in just because I happened to have a free minute or two. I need more lazy days or I’m going to get burnt out.
4. Less Season-Specific Sewing – We had a heatwave and a drought last year, and that had a bit of an influence on my sewing. I made a linen dress, and a cheerful strawberry print one. I like both, but they’re not as versatile as some of the other things I’ve made. I’d like to make more cotton dresses that are easier to wear all year round and don’t feel out of place when it’s no longer hot out.
5. Share More Handmade Outfits – I love participating in Me Made May and always get a lot of positive feedback when I share my outfits, so I’d like to try to do that more. It’s not a lot of work for me to share them because I wear handmade items almost everyday, but I’ve never really done much of it outside of Me Made May because I just don’t think about it without the structure of an event. I’m going to aim to share an outfit once or twice a week on Instagram, and I might do the occasional roundup here.

Do you have any goals for the new year?


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9 responses to “2016 Goals”

  1. Lynn

    Just curious — did you go to the University of Puget Sound?

    1. Yep! I started this blog when I was at school there.

  2. Annie

    I love your style Andi, you look so comfortable in everything you wear. One of my goals this year is to do a top down cardi or sweater. I live in the UK and we tend to do everything bottom up and I am forever making things that could fit better. I love your patterns so I just need to decide which one to make. Happy New Year.

  3. Holly

    Go Tacoma! I moved from Ballard to Puyallup and now work in Tacoma and I have non regrets. I commuted for 3 years to Interbay so that part is hard, but that’s a good bus ride for knitting!

  4. I think a good goal would be that for every new thing I knit, I go back and finish a WIP. I have several WIPs that i have stashed away and need to finish. I really like them and would love to wear them and show them off.

    1. That’s a good one! It’s not too restrictive.

  5. Great goals.

    My goal is to put a decent dent in my giant stash!

  6. Cheryl Stern

    Good for you! A lady friend who sings in the chior at church and is 85-is years young gave me the same advice about color several years ago. And good for you about versatility…..and professionally edited writing. A friend from work who was in my Toastmasters club became part of a writers group to accomplish this goal.

    My goals are much simpler. I am 2 years or so away from retirement. My main goal is to get to work every day. Since no new job offers have come my way yet…..three are several opportunities pending….I go back to my permanent appointment in April. It’s demanding in a different way, so I am hoping to have more energy for crafting. Altering suits, knitting or crocheting my sash and getting my condo onto the rental market are the big ones.

    I have definitely improved my knitting skills in 2015, so making up more of your designs is on the top of my list. I would like to transition from suit jackets to handmade sweaters.

    Keep your goals SMART, and do some reading on time management. I recommend a Franklin Covey class called “What’s Important Now.”

    You will figure out what works for you…you’re the only one who can!

  7. Christina

    I live in Tacoma and commute to downtown Seattle for work. As long as you don’t mind an hour each way on the bus or train (more at 5pm southbound on the bus), it isn’t a terrible situation. I get a lot of knitting done. I did find that my Seattle friends are largely unwilling to travel to Tacoma to visit, and Seattle has more and better yarn stores, but it’s really hard to beat Tacoma’s cost of living while still living in a city with some history and population density. Best of luck!

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