I always look forward to the new year. Or, really, any excuse to do any sort of “reset” that makes me feel like I have my life together and under control after a period of chaos. The back-to-school season, for example, always gives me feelings similar to that of a new year after the lack of schedules, routines, etc that the school year gives our family.
So it’s probably no surprise that I love taking time at the end of each year to think ahead to the next year. I spend time thinking both about personal and professional goals, things I accomplished in the last year, things I’d like to do more in the new year, and then make my list of resolutions. Or, rather, I try to implement SMART goals rather than resolutions because, with the way my ADHD brain works, if I don’t actually detail out things then I won’t actually get them done. I take that overall goal, and then work backward on how I can achieve them, and then start assigning tasks and deadlines to myself in my calendar. And then I attempt to hold myself accountable and do monthly and quarterly check-ins to see if or how I’ve moved that goal forward (it doesn’t always work, but attempts are made).
(SMART goals, if you’re not familiar, are goals that are Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Rather than just saying “I want to knit/crochet _____ in 2022”, you break it down and say “I want to knit/crochet ___ pattern (specific) and have it finished by ___ date (time bound). To do this, I will knit/crochet ___ amount of the project each day/week/month (measurable and, assuming you aren’t overestimating your timeframe, achievable) and do the blocking/finishing portion by ___ date (again, measurable).”)
This time of year, though, is great to re-evaluate things as a maker, regardless of your craft of choice. We’re just coming out of the holiday season and you’ve likely been working away to make gifts for people on your list. Take a break from all the making, give your hands a rest, and ponder a few of these resolutions/goals to take on for the new year!
Selfish Making
Now that all of that gift knitting is out of the way, take some time for some selfish self-care knitting. Cast on a project out of that new yarn you received as a gift or stash dive for that gorgeous skein that you haven’t worked up yet. The point of this one is that you’ve invested a lot of your time, skill, and love into gifts for others and now it’s time to invest that time, skill, and love back into a project for yourself!
Finish or Frog a WIP
I think everyone I know has at least one project that has been sitting around, lingering far too long. It’s the project that sits there and taunts you every time you ignore it to grab a different project. Mine? Mine are almost always the projects that I had an issue with and set aside temporarily, thinking I would come back to it when I was in a better frame of mind. And then, instead of coming back to it and taking the 10 minutes or so to figure out what I did wrong… I just keep knitting other things. Or, worse, cast on new items.
Aside from taking up space, these lingering projects, at least for me, also take a mental toll. As I accumulate more projects in progress, it takes me longer and longer to finish anything because I’m constantly bouncing around from one project to the next when boredom strikes.
If you’re like me, then January is a perfect time to take stock of what projects you have already in progress and make some tough decisions. Make a list of what projects you already have in the works and then make note of why you haven’t worked on it. Is the project lingering because you hated the pattern but felt you were too far into it to rip it out? Or maybe you made a mistake in it and set it aside thinking you’d fix it later only to find you never picked it up again? Make your list and then make that tough decision to either finish it or frog it (rip it out) and use the yarn for something else.
(We were just discussing this on Sunday’s open stitch, which was after I had already written this up, but apparently there’s a thing called Finish it or Frog it February, which sounds like a fun thing to adopt if you’re not up for tackling your projects in progress in January!)
Reassess your stash (donate, de-stash, swap with a friend, etc)
Sometimes (ok, a lot of times) buying yarn and other craft supplies is a separate hobby from actually using it. And I often find myself buying shiny new yarns with intentions of making gorgeous things, only to come home and nestle it alongside my lingering stash… where it will likely sit for far longer than I ever intended when I purchased it.
And, listen, I’m not saying having a stash is a bad thing. We’ve gone through shutdowns during a freaking pandemic and my yarn stash helped keep me sane. But let’s be honest – there are likely yarns sitting in your stash right now that were your style at the time but are no longer. Maybe you went through a green phase and bought a bunch of green yarns that no longer give you those warm and fuzzy feelings when you look through your stash for yarn for your next project. Or maybe you’ve bought some lace weight yarns thinking you’d make gorgeous lace shawls only to realize one project in that you hate lace yarn.
It’s okay for your tastes and project goals to change, and it’s okay to let those past purchases go.
If it’s yarn you don’t care about recouping some money on, you are allowed to pop it in a bag and donate it. Otherwise, destash it! Upload a photo and the details about the yarn to Ravelry in your profile’s stash page and mark it “For Sale or Trade,” find a Ravelry destash group to post it to, or post up a destash post on social media with photos, details, and prices, etc. Someone out there is likely more than willing to buy it off of you! Or, if you’ve got a group of friends that all love yarn, organize a yarn swap with them. Swap skein for skein, or run it like a yard sale amongst each other!
Just because you spent money on it doesn’t mean you have to keep it, and you certainly don’t have to let the mental load of it sitting in your stash continue to bother you as you cast on new projects with new yarn!
Start those holiday gifts NOW
OK, maybe not right now. No one wants to think about holiday-making right after the holidays, especially when you have been stressed and rushed to finish gifts. But you’ll be saving yourself a ton of frustration and agony if you at least start planning them now.
Start with your list. Write out what you want to make and who you want to make it for, and then set it aside somewhere to revisit in March when you’ve had a chance to recover from all that manic gift-making. Then, in March, maybe shop for the yarn for a project or two, cast on, and get them cranked out in March and April. In May? Do the same thing for the next project or two on your list. Keep doing this and, before you know it, you’ll be heading into November and December with the bulk of your projects all ready to wrap and tuck under the tree with time to spare to whip up any last-minute holiday gifts that might pop up (and there’s always at least one).
Regardless of what you do – whether you choose to make some resolutions or not – make sure you take some time in January to just destress and decompress. Like the flowers and trees, you can’t bloom all year round – periods of time to rest, especially in the winter, are essential for you, too. <3
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