Thinking Ahead

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors,
and let each new year find you a better man.
-Benjamin Franklin

I've always been a bit of a list-maker. I like to be organized. It's adaptive in my professional life, and helps me get the most out of my (little) off time. So lately I've been planning for some of the knitting coming up in 2008. Aided and abetted by Ravelry, I have lists. Lists of stash. Lists of future projects. Lists of needles. Plans for the upcoming year. Knitting resolutions must be the best kind, right? So there are several in the works.

2008: A Year of Yarn
Looking at my lists I've realized something. I have a number of yarns that I (almost) love too much to knit. Many of them I've had for a while. Many of them were gifts. They are all unique and special in some way.

2008 is the year I'm going to knit them. I picked out the 12 shown here, and each month a yarn will get it's turn. (Yes, there's a list of this. Why do you ask?) Some have projects in mind; others are awaiting something perfect. But it's time to knit these yarns.

I imagine this is a common situation among knitters. Any of you notice the same thing? Feel free to join me in my 2008: A Year of Yarn.

Twelve Projects
In addition to the 12 yarns, I've also picked out 12 projects that I've wanted to make for some time. I need, for example, a cabled pullover. Why do I never get around to it? (The Bed and Breakfast Pullover won the nomination, btw.) And there's that Dale sweater my husband wants.

So this is a year when I'm planning to be a little more intentional about my knitting than before. More sweaters. Fewer, uh, whatevers. And why 12? One for each month, of course. A reasonable pace, given that I usually hit 4-5 FOs a month. This way two of my new projects will be spoken for and the rest can be more whimsically chosen. Discipline is freeing.

Time Machine Tuesdays
In addition to the new projects coming up, I want to revisit some old ones. I've been so enjoying the "Flash Our FOs" over at The Purly Gate this month. And while enjoying, it occurred to me just how much of my knitting was pre-blog. And it also occurred to me that it is incredibly useful to other knitters to check back with a project and see how it did. Did it stand the test of time? Did the yarn hold up? Did the button band ever lie flat after all? So on this here blog, starting, um, this Tuesday (no time like the present), I hereby declare a Time Machine Tuesday.