So Long, 2011!

I finished one of these two things today, and the fact that you see the needles still in the sleeve of this Wanda Nell is a dead giveaway. I know you had your doubts (as well as I should have) that I would get this cardigan done in time to wear tomorrow. One reason is that I used some of my time this week finishing Little Dorrit! I am so jazzed! I have been trying to read this novel for about the whole of 2011 because I insisted on trying to do so before falling to sleep every night. Well, that's the only time most days when I'm not knitting (I have only knit in bed once in my entire life!), so I thought it would work. Well, it turns out that reading this novel when you're on the edge of dozing and not able to soak it all in is just nearly pointless.

I decided about the middle of last week that if I was going to get this novel finished by today (my goal) I would have to read it on the other end of my night's sleep--in the mornings with my mandatory two mugs of coffee. I cut short my morning routine of looking at photos on Instagram to allow reading five chapters of Little Dorrit each day this past week to try and finish. Boy, did that work out better. I wish I could go back and read the whole thing over again, especially the parts I skimmed in my doziness over the past ten or so months. This all started with watching the 2008 BBC film adaptation in early February and deciding that, heck, I was finally going to read it. I love Dickens and was already heartily familiar with David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations. I taught the last two in high school English classes for years. I don't know why Little Dorrit is not more widely read and appreciated. Probably because of its length! Fortunately, I had a copy of it in my Great Books (volume 47), which fools you into thinking it's not so long, with its onion-skin pages and semi-fine print. 

Now I just have to decide what's next. A Suitable Boy? Pride and Prejudice? I'm perplexed!

Along with deciding what's next is figuring out my goals for next year. First, I'll make a list of some things that got done this year:

Five new patterns rolled out for Figheadh--all sweater patterns, no less, and four of them 13-page Fundamentals.

Four new patterns went live with Ravenwood and a new fifth one was released recently (Brackenhill).

I got a sweater design and article done for a magazine, which will be out next May.

My sock pattern is in Clara's new book!

Finally updated my portfolio in Flickr (it had only been a year since the last update--groan).

We started raised bed gardening here at home.

We nixed cable TV and I haven't seen a TV commercial in months.

Fred and I celebrated 10 years of marriage.

I kicked artificial sweeteners!

I let Jillian Michaels into my living room and I feel a lot better for it.

That's just a partial list, of course. I don't want to lose you--this is going long! And as for the list I so bravely set for myself in this post? Well, I am sad to say I only completed a couple more of the 16 items I had set out to finish by the end of the year. At the time of that post I had already completed seven, so this means I am far behind, having only checked off nine of the bunch. I think my downfall was trying to hit too many different things each day. If I've learned anything this year, it is that things get done faster if you focus on one task at a time. You get long novels and whole sweaters finished that way--seemingly much faster than if you try to do too much.

Looking forward, I hope to accomplish a few things in 2012:

Finally add new patterns to the Mirth line--it's been almost two years!

Design two fabulous sweaters for two great freelance jobs already in the works.

Get those glove designs released (sigh).

Finish my mom's knitted blanket.

Jog...regularly.

Renew my passport.

Do some instructional videos.

Pay down debt...way down.

Build a second raised bed so we can plant more veggies.

See family down South!

This list is also partial, of course. Still fleshing it out. I hope you've gotten your own lists sorted out, at least in your head. I wish you much success with those and I wish you the most fun ringing in 2012. I hope to see you here in the coming year and I hope you'll leave your two cents' worth when you stop by. Thank you so much for reading and for joining me in my wacky adventures--yarny and otherwise!

Happy, Happy New Year!