Knitting goals.

For some reason, lately I've been taking stock of my stash and people, I have realized that I have a lot of yarn. Most of it isn't even on Ravelry. I could quit my job and do nothing but knit and still have a lot of yarn. Now, it doesn't take up whole rooms, or even whole closets in my apartment. (There is a "yarn closet," yes, but there is also a dresser of tank tops, t-shirts and pyjama bottoms in that same closet. So there.) I acknowledge that it could be a lot worse, but honestly? I don't need this much yarn.

So. What does this mean? It means that I need to shop the stash, friends. I'm not going to say I'm quitting the yarn habit cold turkey (cold sheep?) but before I purchase yarn, I'm going to make a concerted effort to ask myself a few questions, such as:

1. Do I already own something similar to this yarn? This is important because I have a tendency to stick to a general palette of colors, similar fibers and weights. Odds are, if I am standing in a yarn shop, I have something in my stash that is reasonably comparable to the yarn I am currently clutching.
2. What will I make with this yarn? For sock-weight yarn, the answer to this question has always been easy: you make socks with sock yarn, duh. But I have enough sock yarn to knit ::ahem:: a lot of socks. I am not even sure I could give you a rough estimate of how many pairs I could knit.
3. Is this really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to snag this yarn? Aside from situations such as craft fairs and Etsy sellers, the chances of finding this yarn again are probably pretty good. Malabrigo and Koigu are not going out of business anytime soon. (NB: ridiculous sales are exempt from this question — never turn down sale yarn.)

With these simple questions in mind, I feel that I will be able to rein in my yarn acquisition and focus more on the yarn that I already have. While yarn doesn't go bad or lose value over time, the point of having it is to enjoy using it, and I'm not enjoying it if it's all stored in Rubbermaid bins or in giant Ziploc bags, right?

So I present to you, dear readers, my grand plan for the rest of 2010 (I am a fan of the list feature this evening, evidently):

• Finish my dad's vest. This is important, as it was a Christmas gift for 2009.
• Finish my Arwen Cardigan. This sweater is about half done. It would be criminal of me not to finish it in a relatively timely fashion.
• Finish or rip any remaining projects. This does not prevent me from starting anything new, just encourages me to be WIP-free by the end of the year.
• Devise realistic goals for my knitting in 2011. This is where I'm going to need some help. I'm pretty laid-back when it comes to self-imposed deadlines, but I also want to start to take time to do some things besides knit. I know, shocking, right? But I don't think I've read a book since the last Harry Potter book came out in 2007. It's really difficult for me to convince myself to put my knitting down, get off my butt and go work out. So what are some realistic knitting goals? Four sweaters in a year? Eight pairs of socks in 12 months? In my attempt to knit 12 pairs in 12 months, I became extremely bored with socks, so I think keeping it fresh by rotating projects in and out will help a lot.

Let's be honest: making realistic knitting goals is going to require some input. So, what do YOU think is reasonable for me to attempt on the knitting front in 2011?