Here we are, first day of a shiny new year, all of us thinking about what shape we’d like the year to take. I always love seeing knitters’ “twelve hats in twelve months” declarations, or whatever they may be. But I can tell you with certainty that if I were to make a list of things I’m required to knit within a given year, I would instantly resent and resist all of those things. Nevertheless, I am a believer in goal-setting, so as loose as these may be, here are mine for the year:
1. Knit less. Crochet more. Every time I pick up a crochet hook (as rarely as that is), I’m reminded how much I looooove to crochet. That motion is so calming and pleasant to me. And even more so with Tunisian than traditional crochet. Unfortunately, I have only the most basic skills, don’t know how to read a crochet pattern, and don’t have a lot of good inspiration/ideas/patterns where crochet is concerned. So I want to work on all of that. (Also: weave and sew at least a little bit.)
2. Give it away. I don’t apologize for knitting for myself first and foremost. But I do love to knit for others and would like to do more of it. The things that hold me back are not insurmountable. I think it’s a matter of giving up on the idea of surprising people, and getting their buy-in before knitting the whatever, so I know they want it. Plus resigning myself to using more superwash wools so the care and feeding of the FO is not so much of a concern for either me or the recipient. (This involves building up a list for myself of superwash wools that aren’t too squeaky to work with. Recommendations always welcome.)
3. Specifically and for starters, knit my husband a sweater. I’ve only been promising forever, so this is my one required knit of the year. You may recall the plan more than a year ago (yarn purchased) was to knit Elizabeth Zimmermann’s bottom-up hybrid saddle shoulder. But if I’m going to knit him a sweater, I want it to be something he can’t easily buy anywhere and inexpensively. I want it to be more special — and also more fun to knit. So we’ve been looking for something at least mildly interesting but not more interesting than he would wear, if you see what I mean. We seem to have settled on Fort, so now it’s a matter of finding a washable, not too hot yarn that’s also suitable for the sweater.
4. Continue to push myself. I’m happiest, as a knitter, when I’m stretching my skills — and I’ll continue to do so in every way I can think of this year. But two things in particular I want to really explore are short rows and sock construction. Also, I want to learn about the history of the various colorwork traditions, and to try my hand at more of them.
5. Publish more patterns. I love publishing simple, accessible, free patterns here on the blog. And I want to keep that up — with patterns by both myself and others appearing here, hopefully. But I also want to start designing patterns for some of the sites and brands I admire. I’ve been included in a couple of calls for submissions that I hated having to take a pass on, for lack of time. But this is a significant goal of mine, so I’m stating it here, out loud and in public, so the universe knows I mean it. And maybe you can hold me to it.
Do you make knitting lists or resolutions? I’d love to hear yours below, and what kind of success you have with it. Or if you’ve published your thoughts or resolutions on your blog, etc., please post a link in the comments so we can all see!
.
BTW, those beautiful wooden crochet hooks pictured are coming soon to Fringe Supply Co. Nothing like beautiful tools to motivate me … and maybe you, too!