#yarngoalfail and other musings

I posted three project goals for 2019 on my Ravelry profile page:

1) With the exception of one really long term project, finish all of my works in progress.
I only had a couple projects on the needles when I wrote that, but they do need to be finished.  I've said before, possibly in this space, that un-knitted yarn stresses me out.  It's part of my Myers-Briggs "J" coming out, but I like to work toward goals and finish things.  In the past week, I have finished two WIPs (here and here), which is a huge weight lifted.

2) Knit down my stash.
I don't really have a stash in a I-bought-all-this-yarn-on-a-whim-and-need-to-find-projects-for-it sense.  I can't remember the last time I purchased yarn just to have it.  Years ago, probably.  I think of my stash as carefully planned, but unfinished, projects.  I see it as several pairs of gift socks, a few shawls and sweaters for myself, and two pairs of mittens.  Knitting down my stash really entails following through on all of my project plans.  Many of my family members will be receiving socks this year!

3) Buy no new yarn.
I've already broken this resolution.  Oops.  I decided to use yarn I planned for a shawl to make a sweater with stranded colorwork, needing a perfect contrast color or two.  And while I was ordering those skeins, I threw in a few sock yarn skeins to make more sock gifts.  BUT! I think I can finish all of my projects this year! (And isn't that blue/brown dreamy???)

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I came across this thought while I was reading Charlotte Mason's Ourselves; she writes about using the imagination to picture oneself in all sorts of noble postures (for me that would be finishing more knitting that I could ever hope to):

These are pretty dreams, and there is not much harm in them, except that, while one dreams, one forgets to do, and life is made up of altogether doing and not at all of dreaming...I do not think it is lawful to set Imagination to build us pleasure-houses in this way. In the first place, as I said before, while we are dreaming we are letting all our chances of doing slip by us. 

Dreaming rather than doing.  If anything were to shake me out of my spaciness, it was that pointed observation. I dream about a clean house, rather than tidying as I go, about my children all having wonderful self-discipline, rather than holding them accountable.  Dreaming takes very little effort and produces wonderful, despite imaginary, results!  The effort of doing is where I stumble.

Hoping that this week is filled with more doing than dreaming, friends!