101 Goals in 1,001 Days

I've always had a thing for self help books, challenges, systems, goal-setting and self improvement in general.

I think I've learned to take it all with a grain of salt, and use what I want and ignore the rest. For example, I do Flylady, but I don't shine my sink daily and I never wear my shoes indoors.

So now I'm on board for the 101 goals in 1,001 days project. I have all sorts of goals floating around my head anyway, and this seemed like a good way to do it. The way to achieve many of my dreams of self-employment and making a living at my craft are not well defined, so I have to define things for myself.

Here is a complete list of rules, and there are some other tips here. I will start a week from today so I'll have some time to plan, which means I'll have until February 21, 2011. I was a little overwhelmed writing the list. Now that I see the end date, not so much.

You'll notice my goals are somewhat lopsided, but maybe so am I. Measurable goals are important, so I threw out some of the more vague things. (Some of these will be better defined later.)

I will refer back to this entry regularly and make changes to it as I accomplish things. I'll link to it somewhere on the blog. In the meantime, I hope you'll consider joining me.

101 Goals in 1,001 Days

1. Get published in Knitty.
2. Design and swatch 20 sweaters. [0 of 20]
3. Knit 3 of the sweaters above. [0 of 3]
4. Enter Herrschners Grand National.
5. Do an energy audit of my apartment and make changes.
6. Go to Stitches West with a good amount of money to spend.
7. Declutter and organize my apartment. Click this link for pictures.
8. Get all my (crap) things out of storage and put them away in my apartment. After I finished this, I moved in with my parents and put it all back in storage. :(
9. Help Mom clean out the shed and have a garage sale. Completed November 2009
10. Sell some of the stuff in storage on eBay. Completed Summer 2010. I sold stuff like this.
11. Redecorate and rearrange my apartment.
12. Sell some of my My Little Ponies and put the remaining ponies on display.
13. Catalog my yarn on Ravelry. Completed in late 2010
14. "Pimp my blog" and have a fabulous contest to promote it.
15. Join the Knitting Guild of America and the Crochet Guild of America.
16. Become a level one Master Knitter.
17. Becomes a Certified Knitting Instructor.
18. Spin 10 skeins of yarn to sell. [0 of 10]
19. Knit all of Cat Bordhi's Socks
20. Knit an entrelac project. Completed 2/6/09
21. Knit a stranded knitting/fair isle/colorwork project. (What ever you want to call it.) Completed 8/18/08
22. Publish 10 free patterns in PDF form on Ravelry. [1 of 10]
23. Publish 5 paid patterns for download and in hard copies.
24. Pay off my credit cards.
25. Enter at least two pairs of socks in Think Outside the Sox. [0 of 2]
26. Be more productive at work.*
27. Educate myself more for work.*
28. Knit a mosaic knitting project.
29. Knit a modular knitting project.
30. Hold a board game night at my apartment with all my friends. Completed 11/20/10
31. Work on a project(s) to fight for mental health care and/or universal health care.
32. Campaign against Rick Perry in 2010. Completed 11/2/10
33. Try acupuncture.
34. Learn to say my own last name properly.**
35. Buy a halfway decent futon or couch.
36. Dye 50 hanks of yarn to sell. [0 of 50]
37. Do a freeform knit and/or crochet project.
38. Decoupage my bedside table.
39. Come up with 1,001 pattern ideas. [40 of 1,001]***
40. Ask my doctor for an Emergency Contraception prescription. Completed 7/15/08
41. Research and decide if I should get an HPV Vaccine, and get one if I decide I should. Long story short, I'm too old.
42. Teach a child/teenager to knit or crochet.
43. Make a list of 50 small things I've been procrastinating on and do them. (ETA 3/22/09 - The list is here.)
44. Learn to be a better photographer.
45. Save a set amount for an emergency fund.
46. Save a set amount for a new car.****
47. Learn to read crochet charts.
48. Go to the Texas State Fair
49. Make an informed choice at the next city election.
50. Get a proper fitting and bra at Petticoat Fair like everyone keeps saying I should.
51. Brush twice a day, floss daily and use flouride treatment daily for 30 days straight. [0 of 30]
52. Make some candles out of all that candle gel I bought on eBay.*****
53. Make crafts out of all those glass Christmas balls I got on sale.
54. Learn to use that sewing machine I found on Freecycle and make a simple dress.
55. Finally knit Morrigan.
56. Figure out the copyright rules for knitting and crochet well enough to write a decent blog entry on it.
57. Buy and learn to use a spinning wheel. Completed 2008-2009
58. Buy and learn to use a drum carder.
59. Knit something that requires steeking.
60. Sew a zipper in a sweater.
61. Do a project in Tunisian crochet.
62. Knit the Susie Hoodie from More Big Girl Knits.
63. Take a self defense class.
64. Make some crazy out of recycled materials.
65. Make something with "dangerous tools."******
66. Learn basic car maintenance.
67. Learn to do a cartwheel.*******
68. Become a volunteer editor on Ravelry. Completed
69. Crochet a sweater.
70. Make and carry a reusable bag so I can cut down on plastic.
71. Find a creative way to display photos at my desk at work.
72. Clicker train Bunny Foo-Foo to come when she is called.
73. Learn to sketch out my designs so they don't look like a two year-old drew them.
74. Make a curtain out of those used gift cards I've been saving.
75. Make or buy a decent blocking board.
76. Crochet a doily.
77. Swatch 50 different yarns. [0 of 50]
78. Open a shop on Cafe Press.
79. Post 25 items for sale at my Etsy shop. [0 of 25]
80. Find at least one advertiser for my blog.
81. Buy a washer and dryer.
82. Find 5 way to be consistently happier. [0 of 5]
83. Go on a long road trip with Jules.
84. Read and preserve the letters my my grandfather sent to my grandmother during WW II.
85. Pick 5 essential feminist and/or political books and read them. [0 of 5]
86. Knit a Baby Surprise Jacket.
87. Knit with "art yarn."
88. Volunteer at a local reproductive clinic.
89. Donate $50 to a charity.
90. Learn to play chess.
91. Perform 20 random acts of kindness. [6 of 20]
92. Think of of 10 good comebacks to have on hand. [0 of 10]
93. Find a drum circle to join locally.
94. Weave a project.
95. Spin enough yarn for a sweater and knit the sweater.
96. Sew a quilt.********
97. Make my own soap.
98. Take Light Rail five times in place of driving my car. [0 of 5]
99. Create a kit and see if I can sell it.
100. Have a big bash for my 30th birthday.
101. Keep a log of my moods for 90 days.

Let's go!

*I'm being purposely vague about my work related goals because I prefer not to get too specific about my job online.
**I can't roll my r's
***Just ideas. I don't have to swatch. (Read this to see why I want to do this.)
****I'm perfectly happy with the one I have, but it won't last forever.
*****You know that greasy looking box in storage? Candle gel.
******Something involving saws, hammers, power tools, etc.
*******This has been a goal of mine since elementary school.
********A small quilt is ok.