Here’s the thing about knitters (and crafters in general). For those of us who have the insane idea that we need to make gifts for people, our time and sanity pretty much disappears from September – December (months subject to change from person to person). Not to mention throughout the year as our friends get married and have children.
Now the holidays are over, the running around has stopped and the insane amounts of knitting have stopped, I’m finding that I’m knitting even more than I was before the holidays. It made me stop and think for a little bit. Something about January brings up this urge to cast EVERYTHING on. Then Yarn Harlot posted her “News Item” the other day and it got me thinking… After the crazy of the holidays it’s nice to sit back with no deadline and just knit.
Don’t get me wrong, I love knitting for other people, I really do! If I only knit for myself I’d run out of places to put the hand knits. I knit for a lot of people for Christmas this year. My final count was:
- 3 Christmas Stockings
- 1 pair of socks
- 2 pairs of slippers (3 if you include an early January birthday
- 1 hat
- 1 blanket
I’ll probably do it all again next year. That’s the joy of knitting… there is always something new to knit.
One of my favorite podcastsers once said “January is selfish knitting month.” Thinking back to the last few January’s, I realized that couldn’t be more true. In the midst of resolutions, there’s the urge to start fresh. All of the projects we’ve been building up since September that we want to knit for ourselves can finally be started. Normally that would sound like a good thing… until you realize just how much is on the needles and how many projects are really in your queue.
I really want to finish things this year, instead of continuously casting things on. So far this year I’ve finished a scarf (half knit in 2010 half in 2011), knit an entire pair of felted clogs, knit half of a mans hat and knit a sock and a half out of Sock Innovation (pictured above).
We’re only 12 days into the year. I thought I was doing great, until I came up with an idea for a sock.
While looking up plane tickets to Vegas the other night I charted out the sock. Shortly after that, when I went to look for a pair of needles I picked out yarn for the sock. Then I paused to think about how badly I wanted to start this pair of socks. At the moment I don’t have a ballwinder so without an hours worth of winding these socks would need to be put on hold. I have a pair of socks and a hat to finish.
This year is about finishing… right?
Now if only USPS takes their time delivering my ballwinder I’ll be all set.