New year, new goals

Wow, we're more than a week into 2009 already. I'm not making resolutions, just goals. I figure I'll be more likely to keep them that way. ;)

First up, I will complete my Seascape and another lace project. I like lace a lot, but it's very time consuming. So this goal is more about learning how to structure my knitting time.

I also want to complete a sweater that fits the way I intended it to at the cast on. Not one that looks okay if I put it over a shirt like a vest, or one that would fit perfectly if I hadn't gained that weight, or one that I just don't like the arms on it. A sweater that I love, in other words. It will take dedication. It will take measurements. It will take (dear god) swatching. But I will do it.

I also intend to make one charity item a month. I would really like to do one a month and not just churn them all out at the end of the year. I want to sit down once a month and think about how fortunate I am.

And in a goal that I know I won't reach but I want to try for anyway, I've joined the 52 Books in 52 Weeks group on Ravelry. Knitting has all but consumed what I used to use as reading time, but I still manage to cram a few books in now and again. I'll be keeping track of what I've read on a new sidebar. I've already finished the first one--good thing, too, since we're more than a week into the year, as I've already pointed out--Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire, the sequel to Wicked. He's managed to overcome his crappy ending curse with this one! I've read almost all his books, and it seems like he never knows how to end them. Wicked's ending was rushed and out of character, but this one ended well. It was ambiguous, yes, but it felt real. So I'm excited to read the next one about the Cowardly Lion, A Lion Among Men. I've also picked up a non-fiction book about the war in Iraq. (I feel like such a grown-up, buying books about current affairs.) It's called The Dark Side by Jane Mayer. I'm eager to read that one, too. Oh, and there's still The Tales of Beetle the Bard that I got for Christmas, and yet another freaking Jodi Picoult book for book club ...

Oh, crap, I was going to end there, but I forgot about my scarf. I've cast on for the Pfeiffer Falls Hooded Scarf from the winter 2008 IK. I looove it. Malabrigo should make sheets.