I was sitting knitting this morning (It will help organize my thoughts if I ground myself in what I am doing today) getting started on the first sleeve of my Greige (green so neutral it is beige) sweater.
It's at the stage where it might be called cute. Cute is a little appalling. I am not the cute type. I am aiming for mature woman nice sweater, if you know what I mean. I am aiming for vaguely stylish but mostly comfortable. I hope it will get past cute with sleeves and the collar, which still needs to be decided on. Cowl or turtleneck? Or indeed, ribbed edging. I have no idea which way I am leaning just yet. I have two sleeves worth of time to ponder it.
Looking back to the beginning of 2018, I used Ravelry's brand new challenge feature. I set out ten things I really wanted to get done last year. Some were new and some were WIPs that I wanted to wear. The only challenge project I am working on now that the end of the year has come, is the First Point of Libra Shawl where I am now about 4 garter ridges from the end of the colour gradients and on to the last section of the shawl.
I already know I am going to love this. I did finish a few of the things I aimed for but when I saw there was no way to keep everything I finished in the year out of my own personal challenge, I lost interest.
I wound yarn for the Dancing Reindeer shawl and for the Keynote pullover which were part of my challenge but that was as far as it went with plans. When it came to actual knitting, those two great projects did not move me to knit them. Not that I did not finish a lot of other things. I did. I finished 33 projects, more than in all but one of the other years I have been knitting but so many were small things again this year. I loved knitting them, but I feel just a bit let down by the scope of it all. Somehow, the more I try to set goals, the less joy I am finding in tally at the end of the year. I am not going to focus on that feature this year. This year, I am just knitting.
I already know I am going to love this. I did finish a few of the things I aimed for but when I saw there was no way to keep everything I finished in the year out of my own personal challenge, I lost interest.
I wound yarn for the Dancing Reindeer shawl and for the Keynote pullover which were part of my challenge but that was as far as it went with plans. When it came to actual knitting, those two great projects did not move me to knit them. Not that I did not finish a lot of other things. I did. I finished 33 projects, more than in all but one of the other years I have been knitting but so many were small things again this year. I loved knitting them, but I feel just a bit let down by the scope of it all. Somehow, the more I try to set goals, the less joy I am finding in tally at the end of the year. I am not going to focus on that feature this year. This year, I am just knitting.
All the small things the last few years is showing up in my wardrobe. I am starting to notice a lack in the sweaters department. I knit many sweaters and I wear them intensively. I wear at least one a day and that constant wear and frequent washing does take its toll. You saw that earlier this year with my Freyja sweater, which was no longer fit to wear and is now well on its way to being a really great bag.
All that remains is for the bottom to be squared a bit and a lining sewn. Those things are ready and waiting to be done.
All that remains is for the bottom to be squared a bit and a lining sewn. Those things are ready and waiting to be done.
I still have enough sweaters to get by at home but some of them are things I only want to wear at home. Sadly, one of this years sweaters is in that group.
It may be warm and new but it is too pilly and fuzzy even for my very casual standards to wear out very much. I would have to de-fuzz every time and that is just not going to happen. It's such a shame.
Whether I want to or not, I need sweaters in 2019. So for 2019, a focus on sweaters for sure. Nice cozy plain warm ones. Sweaters to carry the heavy load of wear. Workhorse sweaters that can do nicely when I am out and about and that will be good for about the house sorts of things too. I also need to finish my green jacket so I can start my colourwork jacket, the Ram's Horn cardigan again. One big needle project at a time.
But I also want to knit lace in 2019. I started a shawl plan in 2017 and knit the edging piece of one shawl. That was it. About 6 inches. If it was blocked which it is not. It sits by the TV taunting me. I love knitting the music that lace can be so I really want to knit lace shawls in 2019.
I want to knit socks. I struggled with socks this year, though in the end I did complete 5 pairs. It's meant that I needed to break into the bag of finished socks and make heels to keep my feet warm and while I have a few pairs still waiting, I'd hate to have cold feet because I did not keep up the pace. I want to knit a few patterned socks too, just the the pleasure of it. There are so many interesting ones. So sock knitting for 2019 too.
And wristwarmers. I wear them every day, particularly at night while I sleep. After I scalded my wrist, I couldn't wear the warmers for a couple of nights, and I caught myself always tucking my hands when I could. They always felt a chill. Now that it is more healed, I've been able to wear wrist warmers again and the ache is gone. I need to knit more wristwarmers.
I want to knit socks. I struggled with socks this year, though in the end I did complete 5 pairs. It's meant that I needed to break into the bag of finished socks and make heels to keep my feet warm and while I have a few pairs still waiting, I'd hate to have cold feet because I did not keep up the pace. I want to knit a few patterned socks too, just the the pleasure of it. There are so many interesting ones. So sock knitting for 2019 too.
And wristwarmers. I wear them every day, particularly at night while I sleep. After I scalded my wrist, I couldn't wear the warmers for a couple of nights, and I caught myself always tucking my hands when I could. They always felt a chill. Now that it is more healed, I've been able to wear wrist warmers again and the ache is gone. I need to knit more wristwarmers.
And slippers. And cowls and neck things. And mittens. I want to knit it all. As usual. This year I am not going to focus on any particular kind of thing. I am not going to set goals. I am not putting a focus on a project category. That sort of goal setting seems to lead me to feeling like it wasn't enough.
What I am going to focus on this year is knitting the good stuff. As I dug through my stash the other day, I touched and felt so many good yarns. I dearly love my stash. I pulled a few things and put others away but I did not fill my cabinet with yarns that I have plans to knit right away as I often do when I stash dive. I'd need a cabinet the size of the yarn closet for that because in my heart of hearts I do want to work with every single foot of it immediately. Instead, I filled the cabinet with yarns that are inspiring, yarns for touch, for scrunch, for origins, for history, for fibre goodness. I filled it with the things of my dreams. Just looking at good yarns makes me want to knit them, and wear them and treasure the memory not just of having them in my stash, but to make memories of how they felt as I worked them and how they felt to wear.
2019 is going to be my year of knitting with all the good stuff I have deep in my cabinets, and bins. I hope to do some sweaters and I hope to do some shawls and some small things, but as long as I am working with yarns that are the exact right thing for what I feel like knitting, I am working with my kind of good stuff. Every yarn has a perfect project so every yarn I have is the good stuff. It is all good stuff. So long as I knit, I win.
Now that is a challenge I can look forward to.
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