New Year's Knitting Resolutions

Happy New Year's Eve!

In honor of today I thought I would take the time to think about some new year's resolutions for my knitting and my blog. I also want to encourage you to think about your own new year's resolutions for your own knitting. Is there a stitch you always wanted to learn? Do you have unfinished projects that have been cast aside? Is there something you have always wanted to make? If you answered yes to any of the following questions than this is the blog for you and the year to make a knitting resolution. There is so much I have wanted to accomplish with my own knitting, but I always seem to be able to find an excuse for why now is not the time. I think we can all relate to making excuses, but I want this year to be our year, we WILL come out on top.

For 2011, I am making two New Year's Knitting Resolutions, or NYKR for short. As I mentioned in the last post there is so much that I hope to accomplish for this blog and its readers. I was hoping to already have everything worked out and to just be able to blog away at a regular interval, but life always seems to happen. This year there will be no more excuses. I will transform this blog into everything I had ever hoped it to be. However, until then please excuse the scrambled mess of everything. Hopefully I will have everything worked out by the end of January. I will post more about these changes in a little while, but first my second NYKR.

My second New Year's Knitting Resolution is to knit more charity projects. I subscribe to many charity knitting websites, blogs, etc, but I have to admit that I have not done my part. I have started a few projects, but always ended up on a project for a friend or family member.  But after all the knitting I did for everyone in 2010, I am making 2011 about those who really need it. Specifically I am looking into charity knitting for the military and for various ages at the local children's hospital. These are two charities that personally touch my heart the strongest, but they are not the only charities I intend on helping this year.

I know some of you have been wondering what 2011 has in store for this blog, especially in light of all this transformation talk. I am really excited about some of the changes I am going to make. First I will be posting many more patterns up that will be available for download. I will also be re posting the Getting Started booklet for beginning knitters and the Inside My Knitting Bag graphic, which will hopefully help new knitters. I will also readdress various pattern stitches and post written instructions for them as well. I am also going to change pattern identification as well.

Patterns will be listed according to three categories: One Day Wonders (ODW), Weekend Adventures (WA), and Commitment Junky (CJ). Projects are not included in the sections based on physical working time lapsed between beginning and end. I have found that most people are unable to knit for more than a couple of hours at a time. Thus, the sections are divided according to how much one can accomplish while also doing other things. One Day Wonders are projects that take a  day or less to complete. These projects will typically be projects that you can complete in a few hours. Weekend Adventures take a little more time, but are not necessarily more complex, just longer. Commitment Junky projects are projects that you have to commit to, which may be anywhere from a week to a couple of months. I understand that all knitters knit differently, but these projects are divided according to the theory that you will only be able to knit a few hours a day.

There are two more changes I would like to make to the blog, but I am not 100% sure if I will actually make the changes. First, I am looking into recording some video tutorials that will feature One Day Wonder projects as well as stitch explanations. I do not know if I will have enough time to record, edit, and post these videos, but it is something I would like to be able to offer. I also would like to extend this blog to include all crafts, not just knitting, because I know many of us are crafty in all parts of our life. Personally I do many crafts and I would like to make it available to other people as well.  Anyways, I better get back to work, but I wanted to include you all in this process. I should hopefully be able to post a project up later on today or tomorrow.

So, how about you? What are some of your NYKRs? Please feel free to post them in the comment section listed below. I believe knitters, as all people, should encourage and help others accomplish their goals.

Happy New Year's and Happy Knitting!!!

Bring on the New Year

It is only a few days before everyone rings in the new year. The year 2011 promises to be many things, but for me I hope 2011 is the beginning of something new and wonderful. As a part of the new year I am reinventing this blog and I hope to make the content accessible to more people.

Part of ringing in a new year is remembering the past year in all its glory and pain. This year has seen many ups and downs in both the world and my personal life. I have had to part ways with a few loved ones and watched a few more struggle to survive. I have also had the pleasure of witnessing the birth of new life, which is always a wonderful blessing.

This year has also been a big year for my knitting and other crafts. I must have lost my mind because I decided this year I would knit almost all of my Christmas gifts and crochet a few others. I knit four scarves for my boyfriend's family, with a special cheerleader pocket scarf for his sister. I also made a wonderful pair of slipper socks for his grandpa. I still need to sew the leather soles on the bottom, but I wasn't able to get the leather tools until a few days ago. For my own family, I knit an afghan for my mom using various shades of purple Homespun yarn and crocheted a pair of matching slippers. I also crocheted a pair of white slippers with hot pink fur interior soles.

This might not seem like a lot, but combined with being a full time student at UC Davis I have been very busy. Plus I made an afghan for my boyfriend on our second year anniversary back in April. This year has def finitely been a very productive year in knitting. I still have several more projects to complete. Such as finishing the right hand on a pair of gloves, baby booties for my cousin's baby, and a baby blanket for an old friend. Not to mention finally putting some more of my ideas into work.

My number one piece of advice for the new year? PLAN!!! I cannot say it enough: PLAN!!! Planning is the best thing a person can do, whether they knit or not, to relieve stress and keep knitting a relaxing experience. I started my Christmas knitting in late June/early July, which eased my stress tremendously until I abandoned my planned pace and waited until a week before Christmas to finish all of my knitting projects. Fortunately I had finished 3 of the scarves during the summer and most of the afghan and slippers. It was not the quantity of work that proved to be stressful, but the emotions of trying to rush to finish.

My biggest regret of Christmas knitting? Not taking pictures of my work. I have been trying to document all of my crafts because I would really like to be able to expand my crafting business. But I was so busy knitting and rushing to finish so I could wrap them up and give them away that I never took the time to stop and take pictures. Live and learn I guess.

I hope next year is the start of my crafting success and proves fruitful in expressing both my recorded ideas and desire to use my knitting for good. I started knitting gloves for the serviceman, but I hope to extend this to include the neonatal unit at my local hospital as well as many others.

Best of luck in the next year! Happy Holidays and Happy Knitting!