Jump In January

This is working out really well except that I'm having the same trouble that many knitters before me have mentioned. It is almost impossible to knit a year in advance. Everything I've knitted on the last 2 weeks are gifts. But 2 of the projects are hangovers from this Christmas/New Years, one is for right now, and one more is supposed to be for next Christmas but I will gift it as soon as it's finished. So of the 5 projects on the needles only one of them will get squirreled away for next winter.

I can't show photos of any of the projects I'm knitting right now so let me dig up some old ones. I feel like this year of cutesy themed months was spurred on by Slogtober which I did well in but never posted the results.

LFS I finished sweater is great. Good color. Good shape. Mind numbing to knit. The finished sweater is worth it but never again.
Every part of knitting this was a joy. Maybe not the part where I shortened the gorilla arms with a pair of scissors but all the rest was a joy. It took me a while to warm up to the finished sweater. The neck wasn't quite what I imagined and it took a while to forgive it that. Bonus, I learned a new way of applying Icord. It's in one of EZ books and is the best.way.ever. Being Elizabeth's way I'm not surprised.
This is the third* and last time I have knit this yarn. First into a failed sweater, then into a failed wrap, now it's a successful Clapotis. I finally found a project worthy of my pink handspun.

*The failed wrap post seems to think that was my 3rd time knitting it. For the life of me I can't remember another incarnate but maybe...

January Snow

I love January. The fresh year. The only month we really have snow. The very best part of all is no wind. It all adds up to one of my favorite months of the year.
I love shoveling light fresh snow to clear the driveway on a windless day. Wearing a hat and mittens and sweater and not needing a coat from the exertion. Working outside right now makes me feel alive and makes my blood jump and lungs crackle.
I love wearing the layers and layers of knitted clothes inside. Sweaters over sweaters. Legwarmers over long underwear. Hats and fingerless mitts to bed. And no wind. Come February the wind will kick up and no matter how much I wrap up my windows it will leak it's way in through the walls and nothing is warm. But in January I can be cold and warm at the same time. This is knitters weather.
I also love the January secret pal boxes.
I opened this one up right before getting in the car for the annual January trip and I forgot to take photos. I love everything in this box. The spring green yarn made from corn, the pink and burgundy spinning fiber and the mixed batt by Drunkard's Dyelot is all wonderful and so me. It's like my secret pal took a look in my stash to find just the things that I would get for myself but didn't. And the dark chocolate orange. I love that too. Thanks Batty! It's perfect.

Jump!

A few weeks ago as I was working on Slogtober all through October, November, and December I had the idea. Wouldn't it be fun to have a theme for every month in 2011? Like a modern day Knitter's Almanac? I mulled this over from time to time but was held back because I couldn't think of a cutesy name for January, the very first month.

Until today! Today I was mulling over ideas for what I actually want to be knitting in January and it's my Christmas presents for next Christmas....getting a jump start... Jump into January!

I don't want a repeat of this Christmas when life got in the way but I had some knitting obligations I felt like I had to fill and zero time to do it in. Also, I've just picked 2011's year's New Year's Kiddo's sweater theme and want to start while I'm still excited about it. And the best part? The part that truly shows my brilliance. No Photos! It's all a secret. Yes, I'm starting a blog thread with a month I can't blog about. I love it!

I've also joined a Rav group that has the goal of knitting 12 pairs of socks this year.

In the past I've had a jobs were I had to dress up but couldn't wear knitted socks just hose. I've also had jobs were I could wear hand knit sock because it didn't matter what I looked like. Now I can wear hand knit socks but I need to be dressed nice too. In a matching outfit, nice. All my hand knit socks are fun bright colors. All my work shirts are pink, lavender, and aqua. Hard to wear rusty orange socks with that.

So of those 12 pairs of socks 6 of them need to match a work shirt. To make it into my work wardrobe. I wish it was all 12 but looking through my sock yarn it might be hard to make 6. Not much pink, aqua, or lavender in there.

Loosing The Twist

I normally don't do New Years resolutions but had thought to do one this year.

The last 3 months I have been a little exuberant with purchasing. I had a whole post composed in my head about consumerism and re-examining my life of plenty and making a resolution to not buy anything for the next 3 months to make up for the last 3 months. And as I was going over my spread sheet of all my purchases of 2010, with a little look once and a while at my yarn spreadsheet for fun, playing with the graphs and pie charts. I do love a budget pie chart. When a little voice bubbled up in the back of my head....

"You know, you are wound a little tight."

This is said to me from time to time in my Tuesday night spinning group (I miss that group). Mostly I take it as a complement. I think I'm wound just right. But in a flash I had a glimpse of what she is seeing.

After all, with the last 3 months being an exception, last year I spend $40 or less a month. Sure, I could go to zero as an experiment for 3 months and make it too. Or crash and burn and have yet another missed goal to beat myself up over. But what would it matter? A months worth of grocery money in my bank account. And while that is good the pay off doesn't seem to be worth the sacrifice.

So instead; I will keep up my spreadsheets tracking all my spending and my yarn because knowing gives me pleasure and power too. To keep being mindful of my Quaker faith and with that embrace living simply. To empty out my storage unit. That last is a real goal that will impact my budget and my relationship to stuff in a fell swoop. It will be hard too.

Finally, to keep on being wound just right.