In With the New

I hope everyone had a good time last night with friends and loved ones as you celebrated the New Year. I had an early dinner with some friends (where my friend Mark proposed to his girlfriend!) and then came home to watch a movie, knit, and snuggle with my cat. A relaxing end to a crazy year.

I've been thinking about my 2010 goals for a few weeks now and I think that these are actually things I will see success with. In no particular order, here are my 2010 New Year's Goals:

1. Have 3 things on my needles at a time: something for myself, something for a friend or family member, and something for charity. I tend to knit a lot for other people but I've found my own knitted items to be few and far between. I think it would be nice to have a few more hand made things for myself.
2. Dedicate 2 nights a week to working on my shop(s). Whether that's dyeing, skeining, re-skeining, labeling, shipping, updating, promoting, or whatever. I did some bookkeeping this morning and I'm ready to move Vivid Creation Fibers forward in 2010.
3. Vend at 3 fiber festivals/fairs. This is part of growing VCF. I know I will be at Stitches South and I hope to do SAFF. I need to pick another, relatively close one.
4. Do more local missions work. In the past I have opted out of events because they weren't really "my thing" but I've found that the more I go to, the more ways I find to serve others.
5. To buy organic cleaners. A few weeks ago I was cleaning my tub and I happened to read the warning labels on the bottle. It kind of scared me that the chemicals I was using to clean my tub were dangerous to have in contact with my skin. I thought about how we spray down every surface and then we touch, cook on, or bathe in them. I would feel better knowing that the cleaning products I'm using aren't going to eat my skin off if I accidentally come into contact with them.
6. Find a workout plan that works for me and stick to it. I've given up on trying to change my eating habits, I love food too much! And I'm tired of saying I will do x number of minutes of exercise x times a week because I always find some excuse to not do it. I need to find something that fits my life. Which means it will more than likely incorporate some outside walking (because I do like to get out in the fresh air and walking is low impact) and some kind of video taped workout for the days I don't want to leave the house (I am a hermit after all).

And that's it! 6 goals for the year. Since I completed 5 goals for 2009 I would love to see all of these meet in 2010. I've already started some of them. I've spent a few days working on some yarns for the shop (one of which was posted yesterday) and I've been knitting up a storm.

This hat and pair of slippers were started and finished in 2009. These are a charity knit for H 2 H International. I will also knit a pair of mittens and send this in as a set. I'm challenging myself to knit a set a month for this group.

This roll brim hat is still on the needles and is also a charity knit. Helen from the blog Golden Apples is collecting hats for a school in New York that works with autistic children (read all about her campaign here). At the last minute the school enrollment increased by 20 kids so she is trying to get 20 more hats together before Jan. 6th. This is a quick knit using chunky yarn and a simple pattern so I may try and eek out 2 in the next few days and then ship them off to her. If you have time (or an extra knitted hat laying around) please think about helping her meet her goal.

This white blob is my "Friends or Family" knit. It's going to be a christening blanket for my good friends Cliff and Jennifer. They are expecting their first child, Sophia, is February and Jenn asked if I would knit a special blanket for her. It's a simple feather and fan pattern that I think will be delicate enough for a christening but sturdy enough for everyday use.

And finally, something for me! A pair of toe up socks in my own Trick or Treat colorway. I got a pair of clear clogs for Christmas and now I want to wear hand knit socks all the time! Unfortunately I only have about 5 pairs so I need to make some more. These will also serve the duel purpose of showing one of the colors I'm going to carry in my store. A store sample if you will.

I hope that 2010 will be a time of excitement and prosperity for you. Happy New Year!