Happy new year, knitters! It’s the dawn of a new decade and time to make all of those resolutions. If I’m honest, I’m not a resolution maker. I never keep them, and the ones I think of are all things I should be doing anyway, not BIG IDEAS. I decided to kick off this year by setting some goals instead of setting resolutions. (That’s not the same thing, right?)
Aside from my fitness and financial goals, I have a big knitting goal: Organize my stash. It’s one of the things that’s been weighing on me for a couple of years. I have bins of yarn stacked six feet high, and most of the yarn in them I know I’ll never use. I have stuff in there from the beginning of my knitting life, which needs to go to a new home. So I’m going to sort it into save, sell, and donate piles and go forth! It sounds so easy, doesn’t it?
Here are some more knitting goals from our wonderful Interweave staff.
Hannah Baker, Editor: Explore Crafts Beyond Knitting
To be truthful, I haven’t given any thought to what particular patterns or types of projects I want to knit in 2020. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, because I have already planned to use 2020 as a time to explore new crafts and revisit those that I used to engage in. I’m going to explore a different hobby each month so I can exercise my crafty muscles outside of knitting.
Secondly, my approach to knitting and choosing projects has shifted this year. I went from wanting to knit ALL THE PATTERNS to creating unique pieces dependent on the yarn I have on hand. For instance, I’m currently knitting a basic sweater without a pre-established pattern, made to fit me exactly. I want to continue exploring that way of making in 2020 and see what final products come out of it.
Julia Pillard, Assistant Editor: Knit a Sweater
I’ve been wanting to knit a sweater for a while now, but the idea is a daunting one. The sheer amount of knitting that has to go into making a handknit sweater, the fear that I will screw up and have one arm three miles longer than the other, all of it makes knitting a sweater seem impossible.
This year, though, I really want to buckle down and make a cardigan. I acquired enough yarn in one color and weight last year, and I’ve squirreled it away for the past few months waiting for the right time. I’ve even picked out a pattern: Cesario’s Cardigan by designer Andrea Cull, named for Viola’s alias in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, which is one of my favorite plays. Now, all I have to do is sit down and actually knit!
Laura Hulslander, Mananging Editor: Focus on New Techniques
My 2020 goals are two-fold. First, I want to learn a new technique. I haven’t decided which technique yet, but there are a couple I’ve been kicking around. Double-knitting is ridiculously awesome and can’t be that hard, right? Alasdair Post-Quinn is teaching several double-knitting classes at Yarn Fest, and that might be the nudge I need to actually try it. Brioche is another technique I’ve been thinking about lately. It makes such an interesting fabric and there are so many ways to use it; I recently came across a lace brioche pattern that looks crazy cool.
Colorful Yarn
My other goal is to use up some of the stash. (There’s no way I’m not going to buy more yarn, so I’m not even going to pretend that’s part of this goal.) I have tons of projects in my queue that are all ready to go, and I want to finally make some of those sweaters, socks, and shawls I fell in love with ages ago. I’m the only obstacle between me and all those gorgeous woolies; I just need to get my butt in gear and knit them!
Allison Korleski, Video Producer: Practice Spinning
My knit goals for 2020 are not actually knit-focused, at lease on the surface. Two years ago, I got a spinning wheel. And for two years that spinning wheel has sat in a corner, waiting for me to spend some quality time with it. I’m perfectly capable of spinning a (relatively) consistent single; less capable of plying those singles together to make an acceptable yarn. What really eludes me is the sort of intentional spinning that will make the yarn I need for the thing I want to knit.
In 2020 it’s my goal to spin a little every day, even if it’s just fifteen minutes. I’d like to get enough control over my spinning that I can begin to create the yarn for a specific project, whether a sturdy sock yarn, or a softer, drapey yarn for a shawl. Whether I actually manage to spin enough yarn for that project … that may be a goal for 2021!
What yarny goals do you have for yourself? Please leave a comment and share them with us—maybe we’ll add them to our list, too!
Reference- https://www.interweave.com/article/knitting/2020-knitting-goals/
