Last year I wrote a post about all my big 2015 goals. I’ll give you a recap of those goals in short form and then I’ll talk about where I failed:

• Finish knitting my sweater and then take on a more difficult knitting project.
• Learn how to mount insects.
• Carve my own wooden spoon.
• Be more active in our Mycological Society.
• Be more diligent about saving money.
• Try more new recipes.
• Continue with my blog.

In all honesty, I did kind of horribly! That sweater is half finished and I haven’t touched it in…8 months-ish? I see it every day looking so sad and I feel guilty. The insects and the wooden spoon are still things I want to do – I have not lost interest in those ideas, I just didn’t get to them last year! We did get out with the Mycological Society a couple of times, but not nearly as much as we’d wanted.  Saving money? Ha! I decided to start a second handmade business, so saving money didn’t work out so well. Cooking? Does trying new flavors of frozen pizzas count? And the blog? Well, you know exactly how that went.

So I failed with all of my goals. But I’m not too worried about it – in all honesty, I focused my time on learning weaving, started Secret Wool Society (which included participating in a couple of handmade markets), and working on other knitting projects (socks, socks, socks!). I don’t feel like I failed in 2015, I just shifted my focus. I will continue to want to learn insect mounting and spoon carving, and I will continue to go out with the Mycological Society when I can.

What do I want for 2016? Mostly the same things, to be honest, but there are a few things in particular that stand out in my mind:

• Continue participating in stitch ‘n bitches. In 2015 I began participating in some various knitting/crocheting/embroidering/general crafting circles and they have been really good for me. As an introvert, I’m much more comfortable at home in my stretchy clothes, covered in blankets, tea in hand, some British crime series on the TV, and cats by my side. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy the company of others occasionally, it was just finding the right fit for my social needs – crafting friends seem to fit.
• Continue focusing on my handmade business. The more I work at it, the more successful it is (duh), but I also really enjoy doing it. It can be stressful at times, but mostly good stress. I want to apply to a few handmade markets as well, but mostly I want to expand my weaving skills in to fabrics (this requires a new loom, which I have already started a fund for) – I’m very excited about this goal.
• Learn a new craft. I’ve already signed up for a ceramics course and I am very excited about it. But crochet is also high on the list – at least the basics. And I’d love to learn tatting. But I don’t want to set unrealistic goals for myself, so for now, just ceramics.
• Let’s try that saving money goal again. This basically just means paying off debts (car, house, credit cards), but also spending less on things that I don’t really need (like buying lunch during the week, cutting back on magazine subscriptions that I don’t really read, using up yarn in my stash instead of buying new, etc).

Aside from that, I’m just going to keep doing the things that I enjoy – tending to my garden, watching my British crime stories, hanging out with my kitties, cooking, and doing lots of knitting! I think the theme for 2016 is keep it within reason!