Happy New Year!

What are your New Year Resolutions?

Most of us make New Year's resolutions in a variety of areas of our lives. I think the most common involve eating, exercise, money management and clutter. However this is a knitting blog so it’s time to talk about knitting related resolutions. 

UFOs I think almost every knitter has a few unfinished objects hanging around. The exceptions may be the only two knitters I have ever met who claim to work on only one project at a time. One referred to herself as a "monogamous" knitter. 

I'm guilty of the tendency to abandon projects. Usually it happens either because something isn't working design-wise or I get excited about something new.  Go through these projects and make a decision, could they be finished or is it time to rip the item out and choose a different project?

Stash can at times feel like it is weighing us down. If you feel that way one of the things you can do is an item by item assessment. Ask yourself, do you still love it? Try matching patterns to your stash to encourage yourself to start working with it. If you really don't want the yarn anymore you can donate the it. There are many organizations that will happily take your unloved yarn. Or you can have a knitter's yarn swap party and trade it with your knitting friends. Just don't be jealous when they do something fabulous with items you choose to let go.

Swatches Commit to swatching and to properly blocking your swatches. If I have to explain why you must be new to reading my blog! Go here to my topic page and look under swatching if you need to know more.

Learn something new, or not? I'm a knitter who wants to learn new things with every project. I'm also someone who gets to focus on knitting everyday so learning keeps everything fresh for me. I highly recommend this approach. If that's who you are, set goals for yourself. You could take a class, commit to reading more technique articles or make a target list of new techniques. On the other hand if you are a person with a high stress life who uses your knitting as a calming practice embrace that approach and love what knitting brings to your life.