no f.o. friday: deep stash thoughts #2

In the first post in this series, I wrote about being in the middle of things with one's knitting or other art. Today's post is about how to set design goals and make a mood board.

It's tragically simple: the most sure-fire way to leave your dreams unrealized is to fail to make a written plan. 

But since creativity and inspiration are ephemeral things and don't like to be tied down, how do you make plans in your creative life?

If you want to get more out of your creative life, a design goal is a great place to start. Simply imagine a desired outcome, and then write down and complete the steps necessary to achieve your desired outcome.

You probably already have a desired outcome, it just may not be fully defined. Whether it's a desire to learn new techniques or achieve the perfect sweater, there's some new challenge that excites you about your craft -  otherwise, you wouldn't be doing it.

I find the goal-setting process itself to be enjoyable, as well as its results -  I get the knitting results I want, in less time, and with a more manageable stash.

So, let's define a design goal! 

1. Imagine the mood you want to create for a single project, or series of projects.

The goal of virtually all art is to evoke feeling, so start by imagining your desired outcome for a single project or series of projects as a feeling state. Is it light or dark? Rustic or urban? Red or Green? Is it for you, or someone else? 

2. Capture the feeling-state in a mood board. You can sketch, cut up magazines, photographs and images, create lists of word associations, make mind-maps, etc. - whatever works best for you to get your ideas out of your head and onto paper.  

I'm a big fan of creating mood boards on Pinterest. Here's a mood board I've made for my Autumn Sweater Project.

I'm using this mood board to help me design and select the garments and accessories I will wear this fall. It's a big undertaking from a knitting perspective: multiple sweaters and several pair of socks, plus a few new scarves and maybe even a handbag.

Optional homework: 

Create a mood board for one of your projects.

If you post it online (pinterest, instagram, etc.), please post a link in the comments! If enough people join in, I'll make it a contest with prizes.