New Year Resolutions

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A new year feels like a fresh start for many people. We set resolutions and think about goals for the coming months. I often think we fall short of those goals because we choose ones that are too lofty. They appear too far off in the future. For the past couple of years I've shifted my focus from the final goal to attention on tiny little improvements. As knitters we know that small things (stitches) add up to big things (blankets) when given regular attention over long periods of time.

Planing fallacy refers to the phenomenon that people and organizations tend to underestimate the amount of time it takes to reach a given goal. The opposite seems to occur when we look at large tasks or goals and give up before we even start because the end seems to be impossibly far away.

I often hear non-knitters say they don't have the patience to knit but we knitters know knitting helps you to be more patient. This year, if you are thinking about making habit changes which seem overwhelming, try remembering your last knitting project and know according to Things I Learned From Knitting: ...whether I wanted to or not by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee a pair of adult socks takes about 22,000 stitches. When I look back over my knitting career I simply can't imagine the total number of stitches I've created! All those tiny little steps have added up to an amazing number. It makes big projects broken into tiny steps look much more reasonable doesn't it?

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.

 

Knitting Resolutions for the New Year

How many of us are making resolutions for the the coming year of knitting? I am, I just can't help it. I like resolutions almost better than I like goals because they are more immediate and they define the action for right now. Goals often seem to exist somewhere out there in the distance future. I have also learned that I am more successful if I write my resolutions on my to do list as a reminder. It seems to help to establish new habits.  

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle

To help you decide on your resolutions, assuming you want to make any, I have a list of questions below to prompt your thinking. 

• What one word could serve as a theme for the coming year? In the past I've used words such as fun, organize, more and extraordinary.
• What concrete actions do you want to take to change your life? Do you want to learn a new skill? Do you want start a knitting group?
• Know that some people hate saying no to themselves. If you are one of that group phrase your resolution in positive not negative terms. "I will start my Christmas 2013 knitting in June." not "I won't leave my Christmas knitting to the last minute and make myself crazy"
• What do YOU want to do? Try to eliminate the "I should" from your thinking. 
• Ask yourself about accountability. What are you going to do about tracking your progress? Hint, being accountable to others is one of the strongest motivators.
• Pay attention to things that are making you unhappy. Do you spend too much time knitting for other people? Would you be happier knitting more for other people? Only you can answer that question.
• Pay attention to things that are making you happy. If garter stitch scarves are soothing in a stressful life, keep knitting them. If gigantic lace weight shawls with multiple stitch patterns are your escape from ruminating about negative aspects of your life, keep knitting them.

The questions may prompt thinking about other areas of your life as well. I hope so! 

Happy New Year