Goals for 2016

So, we're now a few weeks into February and here I am writing about what it is I'm hoping to achieve in 2016 (a little late to the party I know!). The truth is, I'm not a big believer in New Year's Resolutions, instead thinking that a healthier way to make a change is to do so organically and when you feel like you need to. So this is more like a general list of things I'm hoping to do, rather than a must-stick-to-it-resolution, mostly because it feels like a good place to start after a little blogging break.

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MAKING GOALS

-I bought myself a second hand overlocker recently, and have not got far beyond learning how to thread it and trying out different tension settings on scraps of fabric. That being said, I'm really enthusiastic about trying it out on an actual project and getting to grips with it. I'm envisaging jersey tops sewn up in an evening (emphasis on envisaging!).

-Try to quit sewing jersey. Not forever, but for a while anyway. It's a bit of a catch 22 situation, because jersey tops and dresses are a) easy to make and b) pretty much guaranteed to be worn. However, I've definitely hit a ceiling with sewing jersey, and I feel like I always seem to learn a lot more when sewing with woven fabric (bias binding, zipper insertion, fitting, to name a few). I've got shirts on my mind at the moment, so perhaps 2016 will be the year of the buttonhole? We'll see.

-Knit from patterns more. Same as with sewing with jersey, a lazy knitting habit of mine is to just cast on so many stitches and to JUST KNIT. Without following a pattern. Sometimes it works, but a lot of the time it doesn't, and I feel like I want to learn new things from following patterns. I already started this at the end of 2015 when I became a one woman sock factory, and I loved the new skills I learnt from actually following a pattern.

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LIFE GOALS

-Finish my second year of studying for a degree. I'm over halfway through studying at undergraduate level, and I want to start to think about studying my 'final year'. At the moment I'm leaning towards splitting my last year into two years just so I can make sure I get the best results I can, but there's still plenty of time to decide this. I'm still really enjoying studying with the Open University, and was thinking of writing a post on what it's like to study with them if anyone's interested (before I started, I could find little information other than what was on the OU website).

-See more art. I was lucky enough to be given an Artfund pass for Christmas, and it's really encouraged me to try to see more art this year. I'm really excited about this Matisse exhibition at Tate Liverpool, and am also really hoping that a trip to some of the galleries in London might be on the cards. This ties in with seeing more of the country as a whole, but I want to see more art specifically because I bloody love galleries (hey, it's what I study after all!).

-Experiment with cooking more. Again, this is a goal that follows on from the end of 2015 when I started cooking more (as opposed to eating a hella lot of cheese toasties). I'm particularly aiming to just try out some new recipes, before settling on a few recipes that I love and I know work that I can put into regular rotation. Hit me up with suggestions for recipe books/blogs!

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BLOGGING GOALS

-To stop using Instagram as a platform for blogging. I love Instagram, and I feel like it's partly replaced what I used to share on my blog, which I miss doing. So, I'm going to reserve instagram for pictures and smaller things, and move some content back onto A+M.

-A reason why Instagram has taken over from blogging for me is that I keep thinking to myself that something has to be BIG in order to blog it. A time consuming project, or a long post, or posts which I felt had a lot of impact were things that I was focusing on blogging, but I miss blogging the smaller things. I actually really enjoy reading shorter blog posts that are more personal and to the point, as well as in depth posts, so I might try to introduce a variety in post length.

-Continue to post a variety of content. I've been thinking of making A+M a blog concentrated on either lifestyle or knitting and sewing, but realistically at the moment it isn't something I want to do because I like writing a mix of posts. So, through 2016 you can expect the usual mix of lifestyle and crafting, alongside whatever else I feel like rambling on about!

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Hope you all had a good start to the year, and I'd love to hear any goals you've set yourselves for 2016!