Goals?

You might find this a crazy notion, but I don't care for or make (many) goals.   Every time I've set a goal the course changes and the goal with it.  As often happens, the goal evaporates never to be seen again and I'm left wondering why. In the past this was cause for angst and self derision until the realization that…I do just fine without making a list and checking it twice.  This is especially true when it comes to knitting and spinning.

I'm not talking about the goal of knitting a project from beginning to end. That's not a goal, that's a commitment.  A goal is when you have an agenda…an order, a queue.  Not a wish list type of queue, but a queue of "musts".  I look at that list of items, the things I queued as "want to" knits, and not one of them looks enticing. Having a project in the queue means it will never get off the ground.  This does not mean I don't knit...it just means I knit what feels good at start time. 

The other day I made a pronouncement of spinning goals for June.  The first 2 oz. of lovely Wooly Wonka fiber spun up quickly and I was pleased to be on track and have a nearly full bobbin.  The blue alpaca/wool/silk put me to sleep, but the orange superwash was spinning up very nicely. The big problem was a small bump of Spunky Club roving.  Goblin Eyes seemed to be giving me the eye and out of the corner of my eye I could swear it was begging to be touched, to be spun, to be handled.  All those colors mixed up in one lovely roving…how could I turn a blind eye? 

Before I knew it the other spinning had been put aside and Goblin Eyes was on my wheel.  It was a completely happy moment of serendipity.  What would it be like to spin without prepping the fiber? How should I ply it? Oooh, chained singles would keep the lovely colors separate and maybe I could knit a scarf with it...what would it look like and how would it knit up?  All the questions kept me at it and a few days later I had a beautiful skein of handspun (and I'm spinning another bobbin full).

It was Cookie's blog that lead me to Ali's summer knitting goals contest.  I must admit I was tempted.  Look how cute that knitting bag is!  Fortunately my coloring would clash with the yarn and that's reason enough not to join.  The main reason I won't join is just as I stated….something else will come along and the goals will be thrown over.  If I don't make a pronouncement, just keep any knitting ideas to myself, maybe I will get the few things finished.  I don't have very high hopes for the Summer of Socks and don't wish to jinx myself by setting goals for anything else.  I think I'll fly by the seat of my pants instead.

Comments

[bellamoden]

You and me both. To do plans, goals, lists... hah! I don't even wake up or go to sleep at the same time every day. What stays consistent are the things I like to do.... so I'll stay with that and call it good.

[Carole]

I like lists and goals because I like to cross things off when they are done - but you already know that about me. LOL

[Lynn]

I wish I were sane like you. I just made a list (and posted it for the whole world to see, stupidly) of my spinning goals for the next four months. What was I thinking? It's summer!

[Dianne]

I'm right there with you..I don't do New Years Resolutions for that very reason. When I taught we had to do annual goals..what a paper/time waste..esp. when weak administration never read them.
Lately I find I go to my stash and find a yarn I like/love which is most because I don't buy if I don't 'love'..and begin a project..which recently has been neckwear, from where I began this knitting journey..suppose I've come full circle..Here's to 'flying by the seat of you pants..sure is cheaper than by air'..lol

[ruth]

The joy of summer knitting is no goals at all. Just flowing with it.

Unless you're me, and get obsessive and never flow. But it's a nice idea.

[CindyCindy]

Maybe I should read the Summer of Socks thing again. I just thought it meant we were knitting socks together. No real goals. That's why I didn't sign up for the Summer Knitting Goals contest. I'm with you on that, but I still seem to have commitment issues. I'm working on those (guess that's a goal, huh?) I love Goblin Eyes. It's beautiful.

[Manise]

I'm sticking with my 10 minutes a day and see how it goes. Fell off the wagon and now it's time to re-commit. With the end of school looming we'll see how well I do. Love your skein!

[Kim]

I am right there with you! No matter how good my intentions are, I am way to easily distracted and not good with goals in general.

Love that Goblin Eyes yarn....well done!!

[Norma]

I'm exactly that way with goals, too. I do better just going with the flow, and I get plenty accomplished. :)

[Chris]

I like the results of the chained singles! And you know I am SO with you on goals. :)

[Anne]

You do JUST fine, goals or no goals. (I was in your photo album of FOs earlier this week, remember?)

[Knitnana]

I agree with you - on the contest prizes - cute, but not my colors...Lists & I go way back. I do well in work mode with them. And to some extent with knitting "plans" ("goals" & "resolutions" don't work as well for me). But I'm hopeful for Summer of Socks! And of course, I've got a couple of shawls I'd like to finish...

Pretty spinning!
(((hugs)))

[Wool Winder]

My plans/goal when it comes to knitting are always flexible. It's more fun that way.

[Rebecca]

hey Margene, I haven't commented for awhile but I love how you decided to spin up the Spunky. Looks great! Are you going to participate in the Tour de Fleece this year?

[Cheryl S.]

I also hate doing goals, but I went ahead and did 'em anyway. That colorway, of course, is perfect for me!

[Hillary]

Yes, setting rigid goals is certainly an invitation to failure. I do have some goals but they're loose and I'm not married to many of them. I think that the problem for me is not goals so much as must's and promises. A goal for me is something to aim for but if it becomes a must or if I promise that I will do this by a certain date then the stress mounts and the knitting becomes unpleasant.
You're spinning looks great by the way.

[Vicki]

Mmmmm, that's a pretty hank of yarn. If I were to set knitting goals for this summer, #1 would have to be simply to knit -- something, anything! NaNoMoJo.
; )

[deb]

I'm good with no goals. I find them too restrictive - almost saying "This is all you can do!" Which is probably why I never really get anything done, but I'm ready when something fun comes around!

[elizabeth]

I love that yarn! You did a great job keeping the colors together!

This is why I have resigned myself to NOT signing up for KALs. I have good intentions but rarely follow through. There's a lot to be said for surprise projects!

[Cookie]

That makes perfect sense to me.

My goals are all things that I'm doing with or without the list. I can't stand having a pile of lace staring at me and I really need some of those cables back. *L* Plus I'm not the kind of knitter to leave something in progress for ages. Well, unless it's Icarus. *L*

xo

[Beth S.]

Your Goblin Eyes is gorgeous. It has so much purple in it! Mine had almost none at all! How odd.

And I had another thought about the sock mojo. Maybe if the Sock Club for One re-opened, some of the beautiful yarns you set aside would inspire you? :-)

[Julie]

Very pretty yarn you spun with that Spunky fiber!

After a bit of debate with myself, I have decided to jump in and enter the goals contest. We'll see what that does to me :-)

[Lucia]

I'm not very goal-oriented either, and I agree with you that goals change too easily. Sometime last December I saw the Blog 365 thing and thought "I should try that" -- and I did, but I didn't sign up for the group or make any bold statements. I wrote on New Year's Day "I plan to at least try to post every day" -- note the extreme weasel-wordiness there. I've actually made it this far by tricking myself, by never telling myself I had to.

[Opal]

I think I should have gone your way. Instead I joined SoS and Seasons Of Lace. Now I'm nervous about whether or not I'll be able to do either. :-S

[Laura]

Goals. Committments. Both have been kicking my arse for the past month. Ugh!

Margene I'm so sorry to hear that you won't be going to Estes. It's hard to deal with disappointment but sometimes an expected change in plans, we find, is just what we needed. (((HUGS)))

[Laurie]

I agree with flying and seats of pants. Goals are like new year's resolutions - the guilt is not fun.

[Wanda]

I certainly understand what you mean. I make knitting goals every month and they help me to stay focused, and sometimes that's just what I need to keep me from starting 5 million projects at one.

I happen to love making lists and checking them off. It gives me a thrill. If I make long-term goals such as an entire summer's worth of goals, those are destined to fail. if I don't meet all of my goals for a given month, I don't sweat it. Knitting is my hobby, not my job, so I don't get too worked up about it.