I Love Lists

I keep a lot of lists. From the basic to do and grocery lists, to gift ideas and things I wish I had in my wardrobe. If I come up with two things that I think should be a list, I cannot stop thinking about them until I write them down. My new 2011 planner is quickly becoming filled with them.

Some of my favorite lists are the ones that have to do with my crafting goals. I keep one of specific project I want/need to make and another that lists the different techniques I want to master. Because my knitting and such hold so much joy, planning and dreaming about the next thing is blissful, and will often help speed me through a project that may have become stale-feeling.

So with my mania about lists, you can imagine my delight at reading a friend's blog about creating a yearly list of achievable goals and dreams. I immediatly want to pull out my planner and begin my own. But this is not as easy as most of the lists I write, which usually come about because I think of line-items organically. Starting with an concept, is much, much harder.

I started with the crafting front because this area is one I am constantly making goals for. In my knitting, I want to delve into the art of intarsia. This is a very difficult kind of colorwork that requires concentration and a relaxed, even tension. I also want to create a sub-section of my website (which I currently use for resume purposes) for showing off my knitting. Lastly, crafting-wise, I want to create some original letterpress designs. They may be for my use only, but exploring this creative outlet should be VERY fun!

Thinking about my professional development, I would like to begin studying the art of oral history more closely, and most of all do some interviews. I want to develop my voice as a professional librarian and start writing about the things that catch my attention, too.

For my non-crafting free time I have a few ideas. I want to try growing brussel sprouts in my garden. Walking somewhere (to the train counts) at least 6 days a week is a goal that is a lot harder to stick to during the winter, but I think I am up to the challenge. Reading LOTS of nonfiction, I'm thinking every other book I read, won't be so hard.

Wow, I feel great. Some of these are a little more ambitious, some will require more dilligence, but I truly think they are all doable. Here's to new hopes and lists!