February still counts as the New Year, right?! January has been all about settling in and catching up, while February is about planning ahead. After much reflection, here are my knitting goals for the year ahead:
Only Work With the Yarn Stash I Have
For the last several years, my yarn stash has taken up 2+ suitcases worth of space. Although most of that yarn was hand dyed and intended to be sold, it still took up a lot of room, mentally and physically.
Because of the amount of time, energy and storage it takes to hand dye yarn for sale, I have decided to not pursue this path going forward. Although dyeing fiber is always an exciting project, it feels too labor intensive to make a real profit. Plus, I don’t feel good about the toxicity of the dyes impacting the earth.
Long story short, I’m going to knit using what I have this year and not buy anything more (unless I truly run out). It will be a challenge to see what I can make without running to the store for new yarn, but I’m happy to decrease my current collection. Currently, my yarn stash only takes up 1 suitcase (and there’s still more to sell), but it’s plenty to work with for 2022. I’m excited to see what I can make using this yarn stash.
Make Knit Home Accessories
With my sweater drawer overflowing and spring/summer approaching, I need to face the fact that there are other knitting projects out there besides sweaters! Pot holders, blankets, pillow covers and more are just begging to be made with handmade texture. Maybe I can even pre-make some knit Christmas gifts early this year.
The idea of making knit home accessories is so much fun, because it’s a process that isn’t based on fit, size or silhouette. Instead, the stitch patterns can really shine, and it adds a handmade touch to the home.
Make Mood Boards for Every Project
Although I love Pinterest (Follow me here!) for gathering inspiration, the sheer amount of knitting content on there can be overwhelming. Instead of grazing over a giant collection of photos for inspiration, I want to create curated mood boards for each piece that I make this year. This will make my projects more intentional and reduce the time that gets spent scrolling endlessly.
Take Actions to Reduce Frogging My Knitting
I confess: I have spent countless hours making huge progress on knitting projects, only to rip it up and destroy my work. In 2022, my goal is to reduce this by making mood boards, big swatches and getting clear on the pattern outline before starting a new project.
I used to think of frogging my knitting as a necessary step that would ultimately make the project better, and sometimes that’s true! But in reality, it simply represents hours of wasted time that could be resolved by getting clear on what I’m making before I start a new project
Work on Improving Sizing with Test Knitting & Spreadsheets
It’s time to do better on grading my knitting patterns for all sizes. This has always been a point of stress in the pattern design process, because I want my patterns to be beginner friendly and size inclusive. However, without having live people test different sizes, my patterns will always be relying on math, not real bodies. In 2022, I want to incorporate test knitting into my published patterns.
If you would like to become a test knitter for my new designs, please send me an email (wildleaf.design [at] gmail [dot] com) or a message on Etsy / Ravelry. Not only will you receive a free knitting pattern, but I’ll share your work on Instagram and Ravelry, wherever you post your projects.
Publish 1 Knitting Pattern per Month
Feeling good about this goal so far, since January and February knitting pattens have already been published and March is in the works! Publishing monthly patterns is a big goal for me, because it creates consistency and allows time to work ahead.
Like many people, I love making new things, but have a hard time wrapping up old projects. When it comes to knitting patterns, this has been an issue because I’ll make lots of things, they build up and it becomes hard to publish them in batches later. Things build up and it becomes stressful! Plus, it’s hard to re-interpret knitting pattern notes after they have been sitting around for a long time. It’s much easier to write the pattern as you’re doing it, and truly finishing a project before starting a new one.
Binding Off…
By writing out my knitting goals for 2022, I plan to hold myself accountable to do better, make more and stay inspired. It’s nice to have something concrete to work towards and still have creative freedom to try new things.
Happy stitching!
WILD LEAF design 