She decided to start living the life she imagined

2011 was a good year, especially knitting wise.  I passed masters level two and submitted level three.  I joined my local guild and also went to a TKGA conference.  After a disappointing state fair last year, I won a first, second and honorable mention.  I have no idea how many projects I did or how many yards I knit or skeins I bought.  I'll have to keep better records this year - very unlikely to happen.  I do know that I knit the 19 swatches for level three at least three times each - that should count for something.  I designed my first hat (probably the first hat I ever made - they mess up my hair) and cardigan and sold my first pattern - still to be published.  And I started this blog!

This past year was a struggle in many ways as well.  I lost my job in late 2010 - which was not as horrible as it sounds.  I've had good paying jobs in technology and had made some money on stock before the market crashed in 2008.  We won't be on the streets any time soon.  But I've always been someone who defined themselves by what they do for a living.  So the last 16 months have been challenging.  I worked a bit for a start up that didn't turn out as well as the founder was thinking.  I started doing consulting on my own which has been okay but raises problems of health insurance, etc…   But there have been a lot of good things.  Being much more available to my family, having time to work at several non-profits and to work on my knitting.  I've also had new business opportunities open up and while none are full time jobs that you can be excited about, one thing always leads to another.

Through all of this, I have found inspiration in lots of places that has given me more courage to try different things.  One of the blogs that has stuck with me is from A Duck in Her Own Pond.  She wrote a guest post at Sits Girls that you can find here, about living the life you imagine.  I even picked up the graphic she used and put it on my blog. So my wish for all of us in 2012 is that we not only decide to start living the life we imagine but have the courage to follow through.

Happy 2012!