New Year's Knitalutions 2010

Well, time to review my knitalutions from last year and see how I got on and maybe make some new ones.

Learn to knit socks (and how to knit them 2 at a time as I already know Magic Loop)

I managed the first part of this - knitted 2 and a bit pairs last year and subscribed to a sock club. As for the 2 at a time bit, well I can try that this year.

Be a selfish crafter - knit and crochet more for myself than I do for other people

Don't think I did too well on this one - didn't really finish much for me at all, other than a few hats and pairs of gloves. But I did lots for Trev, which is technically selfish, as it makes me happy.

Learn how to seam knitting properly - I HATE seaming crochet and I'm no good at it, so I need to learn how to seam knitting, especially with my CPH on the needles at the moment

Nope! The CPH is still on the needles, so this hasn't happened. I know how to do mattress stitch in practise, but in reality, ummmm...

Learn to spin! I'm looking at a couple of courses in shops in London. I love the idea of a wheel, but will try out both wheels and spindles to see which I prefer

Yay! This was probably my first achieved goal last year, as I learned to spin in January. Not spent much time trying out a wheel, but have put myself on the list for a Journey Wheel and acquired 7 Bosworth spindles in the process. Still not that prolific a spinner, but hopefully that will come with time.

Learn colourwork/stranding/Fair Isle - not too sure I want to learn Intarsia (maybe in 2010) but would love to make a funky Fair Isle hat or something. Thinking Endpaper Mitts (here on Ravelry) to learn?

Done! The stranding part, anyway. Made the Endpaper Mitts and started on the Fiddlehead Mittens which are also stranded. In terms of Intarsia, unsure whether or not I'll attempt that this year.

To design something knitted, and maybe something hairpin lace

Not yet - having too much fun and learning knitting other people's patterns first.

Learn the "raglan" style of making sweaters - learn how to make stuff top-down and seamless

Still something I want to learn - haven't finished my first sweater yet, so might be a while before I give this a go.

Learn more about how garments are constructed so I can make changes and amend things to fit me

Also on the "still to learn" list.

Learn how to do short row and other shaping to allow for a proper fit in the boobage/waist/hip area

I've learned a little bit about short rows and how they pertain to socks, but in terms of actual garments? Still not there yet.

Learn all my knitted increases and decreases and more ways to cast on/off

I think I made pretty good progress on this. I know most of my increases and learned lots of different cast ons, such as tubular, german twisted, long-tail, cable, invisible, Judy's Magic, etc. Cast offs haven't been quite so many, but plan to add to this - done standard bind offs, sewn bind offs and recently learned Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off which I adore!

So in terms of aims for this year? I think I should be a bit less ambitious, especially as we are likely to have quite a lot on this year - we are thinking about moving up to Leeds, which involves selling the flat and my finding a new job - so that's likely to eat up a chunk of time. But here's a few, hopefully more achievable things:

• Finish everything I currently have in Ravelry as a WIP
• Knit all my Knit Love Club socks this year
• Spin more - try and finish at least 6 full skeins of yarn
• Make another jumper/cardigan of some kind for myself
• Continue to be a selfish crafter - but remember that this means I can knit for other people as long as it makes me happy
• Make sure I save up at least half the money I need for my Journey Wheel
• Try and be more disciplined when it comes to finishing projects - I want to suffer from attacks of finishitis, not startitis.

I think that's enough for now. The socks should keep me more than busy enough for most of year, along with trying to spin more and finish another garment. I know I've got a couple of baby garments I'm going to want to finish, so that should be good practise for making garments of my own.

I'm already making good progress on the WIP thing - will set up another post about this in a sec as I have another FO to show off :)