2011: Year of the WIP

This year, my goal will be to get rid of as many WIPs as possible.  I tend to have a few hangers-on every year.  Four or five from 2009, those last three from 2010, a couple from 2008, and six that are pre-Japan are hanging out in my WIP pile.  I never really considered how long they've been in there, thinking they'll eventually come out as FOs, until somewhat recently when I was telling my husband about my absurd FO count for this year.  His response was, "Oh yeah, how many of those are finished and started in 2010?"  This of course made me go back and figure out how many were in fact both started and finished this year, resulting in the new version of the WIP counter.

This year was not bad.  I ended with 15 WIPs - 110 finished projects - 96 started and finished in 2010.  For 2011, the goal is to finish all but the 4 cross stitch WIPs currently in the pile, as well as to get through as much yarn, fabric, and roving as possible.  Cross stitches take ever so long and take up so little stash space that they are not a top priority finish.  We're leaving Japan in April of 2012, so I'd like to have as little stash left at that point as possible, from a number of boxes/weight perspective.  Keeping the small, smoosh-able laceweight skeins around and the cross stitches are fine, going home with all the same fabrics and sweaters worth of bulky yarns is not.  There is no way I will finish it all, but I can at least switch the vast majority of the thicker yarns into clothing and knit up at least a few of the steadily growing pile of sock yarns.

Based on previous years' goals, however, I will in fact manage to use up nearly all of the thicker than laceweight pre-Japan yarn in my stash, as that was the goal for 2010, and in 2010 I really blew 2009's goal out of the water.  I should also be able to finish all of the pre-Japan WIPs since finishing those things was on my goals of 2010 list as well.  So really, I should be making as my stated goal for this year whatever I want to get done in 2012.  Hmmm....I suppose I'll keep my goal as-is.  In 2012, I'm planning to do a LOT of travel, but will also be packing up whatever stash is left and not seeing any of it aside from my Yubina lace for 3 - 5 months while on the Appalachian Trail.  Even longer for most of it, probably from early March through mid-August, from packing in Japan to unpacking in (hopefully) Indiana.

My 2010 goal was, specifically, "I want to finish four pairs of socks, three huge projects, two felting projects, and a couple of languishing projects before August, because they are all gifts for people in the States."  What did I accomplish?  Many more than four pairs of socks.  I do believe that while I did in fact make the letter of the goal, I did not in fact accomplish the spirit of it.  The four pairs of socks were supposed to be from stash.  Out of the eight pairs of finished socks this year, only two were from stash, though one did take double the typical amount of stash yarn and so could kinda be considered a total of three.  Not four.  Three huge projects...well, I got one done.  Two felting projects were done, and I did eight more for Christmas even.  The languishing projects are still, in fact, languishing.  I did use up a good chunk of pre-Japan yarn, but not even close to all of the non-laceweight I have.  I do have patterns picked out for all of it though!

I hope your 2010 was fulfilling, and that your 2011 is even better!