Something of a theme for me recently is saying no. And to get better at saying it without succumbing to a massive guilt attack.

I wrote last week about how I was using No-vember to practice my No muscles and I thought I would continue the theme this week as we head into the Christmas knitting season.

Now, this applies at any time of year of course but especially now, the average knitter often sees a ramping up in requests for “Oh, could you just knit me this”. Such requests often come at a time when you are snowed under with things you are knitting to a deadline or frankly, you just have a lot on your plate and are knitting to retain some element of sanity in the busiest of seasons.

Non knitters frequently underestimate the time and resources needed to make a finished piece. They mean well (usually) but they can catch you unawares so it’s helpful to have a few tried and tested phrases up your sleeve, should you find yourself ambushed by a surprise request.

Oh heck, I think my needles might go on strike if I add any more projects to the mix.
I’d love to but I have projects on my needles older than my first born.
Well, if I start now it might be ready for 2030.
I really like to keep my knitting just for personal projects right now as I find it helps me to reduce stress.
I’d rather keep knitting as a downtime thing than turn it into a job - but thanks for asking.
I’m sorry but I don’t have the capacity for that right now.
I like to knit to relax - if I started taking on commissions I’d need to find another hobby to relax from knitting.
Honestly I just knit to relax - if I had deadlines it would lose all the fun.

It’s easy to forget that we have the capacity and the power to say no, especially when in saying yes to someone else - we are saying no to ourselves.

What’s your favourite way to say no?