New Year's resolutions are a tricky business. I love the dawn of a new routine. I think it's because I loved school and schedules as a child. Ask anyone I work (or live) with and they'll tell you all about my obsession with new pens, pencils and agenda books. I love seeing all those unworn erasers and fresh pages, unmarred by failures or disappointments. Everything is possible when you start. But setting impossible goals is another of my obsessions. Whether it's swearing off caffeine (Forever. Seriously. This time it will happen!) or trying to be the perfect daughter/wife/friend/employee, I tend to set myself up for some serious failure. My to-do lists aren't reminders; they're the graveyard of unmet expectations. So this year, I'm trying something new. I'm making some resolutions I can live with. My health goals are less "I'll go to the gym every day" and more "Try to drink more tea than coffee." Personal growth ones are less "Be the perfect friend" and more "Listen more, talk less." Words like all, nothing, never and always have been banished from the list. Creating some crafting resolutions was where it got more difficult.  My first draft looked a lot like my annual panic-inspiring to-do list. Tina's Original 2011 Crafty Resolutions

1. Learn to crochet.
2. Finish Christmas Fair quilt early!
3. Finish quilt for [person who shall remain nameless who may read this blog].
4. Make king-size quilt for our bed.
5. Finish Old Port sweater.
6. Learn to sew clothes. Maybe McCall's M5591?
7. Make a pile of knitted stuff for Christmas craft fair: hats, slippers, mittens?

....and so on and so on.  Crazy, isn't it? But now, gentle readers, armed with the knowledge that all-or-nothing thinking is no one's friend, I submit to you my revised list. It's lighter on the shoulds and heavier on the trys.  (Star Wars fans, please forget that Yoda says, "Do or do not; there is no try.") Tina's Kinder, Gentler 2011 Crafty Resolutions

1. Make what I love.
2. Take my time and enjoy the rituals of crafting.
3. Get a really nice tea that I can drink while I knit.
4. Invite my work friends to craft with me at lunch more often.
5. Share my skills and my passions with others (especially my niece, who wants to learn how to knit).
6. Try new things when they pop up and inspire me.
7. Take a break when a project is driving me nuts. Without feeling guilty.
8. Eat more s'mores squares at The Purple Purl (one of my favourite local yarn shops).
9. Chat more with fellow crafters when I'm in a crafty place.
10. Wear, look at or sleep under what I've made more often.

Doesn't that sound better than getting up at 5:30 and going to the gym every day? Happy New Year, everyone!