Plans for 2008...

After reading Sandi Wiseheart's latest Knitting Daily newsletter, I have decided that I very much like the idea of becoming a more "fearless knitter" in 2008. To accomplish this, I am choosing projects that will help me stretch my abilities in a variety of ways, by:

1. Experimenting with color. To that end, I have ordered some of Knitpick's "bare" yarn in worsted weight to dye myself. I have also joined "Project Spectrum," in which you work with specific colors during specific periods of time - the goal being to explore those colors in a creative way in your projects, at the same time as other members.

2. Experimenting with new yarn. I have long admired the beautiful lace stoles, shawls and other garments I have seen in various knitting books, blogs, and magazines... and been too scared to try my hand at any of them. So, I also ordered several batches of lace yarn from Knitpicks - on clearance. This way, if it turns out to be too much to handle, I'll feel less guilty if I decide it's not working and I'd rather trade, give away or sell the yarn. (Though I picked some lovely colorways to encourage my efforts!)

3. Learning new techniques/skills. I plan to work on projects that will incorporate skills I haven't tried. For example, the Heart scarf I am currently working on involves knitting two identical pieces that are grafted together in the middle (I'm almost there, at the grafting step...). I also want to work on socks - to improve my toes and heels. I have plenty of sock yarn already in my stash!

4. Finally, I want to approach knitting in general in a more organized fashion... lining up some specific projects to work on, utilizing more of my stash, and making things for specific people that I have (up 'til now) thought about more in the way of "Some day, I'll..."

As in:

• "Some day I'll get to that sweater I was planning for my hubby with the yarn I bought on sale..." (The yarn has been sitting there in my stash for months...)



• "Some day I'll knit Clapotis. " (Yet to get going on that one...)



• "Some day I'll complete a pair of Jaywalker socks for myself ." (The pair I started needs to be frogged and restarted.)

Etc., etc., etc. ...

Ravelry is such a great new tool and resource to organize my knitting and my stash, so I don't lose track of things that I really want to work on. I have been busily putting my ideas, yarns and patterns into my Ravelry notebook...

How are you thinking about your knitting in 2008? Are you planning to knit fearlessly?

In other news, my order from my CafePress shop just arrived. I am really happy with the sweatshirts and tile coaster.
I also have more ideas that I'll be adding to the shop in the near future...

Here's an update photo on Heart:


I have only four heart motifs left to knit before I reach the grafting!

Finally, a tip:


An empty wipes dispenser (this one is for Lysol antibacterial wipes) is a great yarn holder. The extra large size holds two balls of sport merino comfortably. It even has a handy feeder hole for the yarn!