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Do You Have Any Knitting-Related Resolutions?

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Organzing your stash this year? Tell me your crafty resolutionsAs we get ready to turn the page on 2014 and start fresh in 2015, I’d guess a lot of you are taking some time to come up with resolutions or goals for the new year. I have a lot of the usual ones: getting more exercise, eating healthier, finally cleaning up my pit of an office.

But I like to have crafty goals, too. This year, for real, is going to be the year I get better at sewing and actually break my serger out of the box. It might also be the year I try some more complicated lace — as much as I knit I still consider myself pretty beginner when it comes to lace knitting. Or it may be the year I finally start the Master Knitter program, which I’ve wanted to do for years.

How about you? I’d love to hear your crafty resolutions, particularly if they have anything to do with knitting (here’s a list of a few from About to get you started thinking about it, if you haven’t already). Your responses could shape my content choices in the coming year, so speak up!

And allow me to wish you a very happy, healthy and crafty new year. Thank you so much for reading, commenting and sharing. Knitters are the best people!

Comments

  4. I concur with Lyn… Problem is, our LYS is closing and I “might” not have enough yarn to make it through 2015. Happy New Year!!

Have you read?

Learn a Flower Bobble Technique to Knit a Fun Shawl

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier. 

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project. 

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible. 

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge. 

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects. 

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy. 

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project. 

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Xandy Peters]