Hi friends, and happy new year! How’s 2017 treating you so far?
I’ve been enjoying seeing people’s New Year’s knitting resolutions pop up in the blogosphere and on Instagram. And I’ve been trying to think about what my knitting goals for 2017 might be. I could say I’m going to finish all my longstanding WIPs, or that I’m not going to buy any yarn this year, or that I’m going to knit a pair of socks every month. But knitting’s my down time, the way I unwind … and I don’t want to turn it into some sort of chore. And I really don’t want to make resolutions that I know I won’t keep.
And to be honest, I’ve never been one for hard and fast resolutions at the beginning of the year. I much prefer setting little goals as and when they seem right.
So no big resolutions around here for the New Year, but I do have a few modest, ongoing goals that I think are mangeable for me, some of which are already under way.
The first is to get my sizeable stash in hand and to make sure I’m being very intentional about new additions to it. This is something I’ve been working on since before the holidays, and I’m excited to tell you more about it as I finish it up in the next few weeks.
The second is to try to keep a pair of simple socks on the needles. From about May on of last year, I had a pair of easy socks on the go — they were perfect for times I was too tired to focus on a pattern and made great commute or travel knitting. And as much as I’ve loved knitting my Droving socks, I have missed plain jane, no-thinking-required socks of late! And I love wearing handknit socks, so this is a no brainer!
My last goal is to try to participate in Olive Knits #knittingmiles challenge. You can read all about it here. I saw it on Instagam, and I love the idea of acknoweldging and celebrating the yards, meters, miles we knit, without focusing so much on end result.
What about you? Are you a resolution maker? Setter of loose goals? I would love to hear what, if anything, you’re planning for 2017 in the comments! Also, my lovely friend Kate has a brilliant idea for setting yearly knitting themes, rather than resolutions — if you’re looking for inspiration for the new year, I definitely recommend checking out her post here.
And just to leave you with a little actual knitting … here’s a before and after of my recently begun Rail Trail. I’m worried about having enough yarn for the sweater, so opted to cast on, block it and check my gauge when I’d gotten far enough in. The first picture shows my progress from casting on Christmas evening through New Year’s Day; the second, the post-gauge check unraveling — it was too loose! So my Rail Trail’s getting a fresh start for 2017!
As always, thanks for stopping by! xo Katherine
fiber and sustenance 
The colors are lovely together! It’s going to be fabulous.
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Thank you! I’m looking forward to getting it going again!
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Do you have a favorite plain sock pattern you use or do you mix it up each time?
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Often, I don’t use a pattern – I know I usually wear a 56-60 stitch sock, and will just knit a tube with an afterthought heel! But I knit Susan Anderson’s Smooth Operator socks this fall, and it has so many tips and tricks that I think it will be my go to for awhile! And I might swap in some socks with very simple, repeatable patterns if I want to spice things up! Do you have a go to vanilla sock pattern?
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I like Rye by Tincan Knits for thicker socks this time of year. Vanilla Latte is usually my plain sock pattern. It’s just interesting enough. I’m going to try Smooth Operator. I have a ton of self striping sock yarn just sitting in my stash.
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I hadn’t seen Vanilla Latte before — adding that to my Ravelry favorites! Rye is adorable — I’ve been wanting to make for awhile, but haven’t gotten around to it!
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Your project looks beautiful! I’m with you on setting loose goals. I haven’t sat down & done it yet, but I’m hoping to this weekend, and writing a short post about them.
PS You’re a wise woman for checking gauge if you’re worried about not having enough yarn. I didn’t do that for my (still-ongoing) socks (which were supposed to be knee highs) & it has been somewhat complicated to sort them out…
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I’ll look forward to seeing your post when you get to it! And oof, sorting out off gauge socks sounds like a bit of a headache! I’m very good about checking gauge properly for sweaters after some real disasters … but hats, socks, etc … I’m not so good about that!
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Oh, the gauge is okay. I just thought I had enough to make two knee highs, but didn’t so have had to partly unravel one. Such a faff.
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Ohhh boo! Unraveling is always a pain!
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I want to finally learn colorwork! I’ll probably take a class at my LYS at some point, I prefer asking someone a billion questions. I’m not big on setting goals either, last year I just said I had to stop letting fear hold me back and look at far that got me!
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I bet you’ll take right to colorwork! I can’t wait to see what you do with it — you have such fabulosu color sense 🙂 Paper Tiger has some colorwork tutorials that I’ve found really helpful — here’s the link in case you want to check them out sometime: http://paper-tiger.net/support–tutorials
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Thank you! I’ll check it out
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Great goals; you go with that blocking.
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I love to see everyone enjoying their process and my resolution is to try to blog more about the things I do to keep busy at home. I don’t think I’d be able to stick to counting the mileage/yardage (as I fail to also count my calories) but I enjoy everything even the fails are an important part of the process I agree! I’d love to knit a pair of socks (or box of sox that I see on instagram) but I’m obsessed with Latvian style mittens at the moment but maybe when it gets too warm for mittens.
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Ohhhh! I can’t wait to see what Latvian mittens you make! (And so far, I keep forgetting to note my yarn progress — oops!! We’ll see how that goes!)
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Interested in knitting pussy hats for the Women’s March on Washington & regional events?
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