Of knitting and hats...and rituals

Adult Sockhead Hat - pattern by Kelly McClure

Now there’s nothing better than a good finished object - especially when it coincides with Finished Object Friday. But it struck me today as I was taking a photo that there’s more to finishing a piece of knitting and putting it away/wearing it.

For me there is a distinct ritual involved in finishing a project - almost closing the circle if you will. A process that started with an idea in your head, went through the planning and the preparation stages into the actual knitting of it, and finishing with the cast off.

Now of course the actual knitting of it can take a variable length of time and sometimes there are some false starts/swearing/ripping back to do. Sometimes you give up in frustration and file it under ‘nope - move on’. But at some point every project reaches the closing out process.

The part where you reclaim the needles, tidy away the bits that have accumulated in the bottom of the project bag - ah, that’s where your favourite marker pen ended up! - and squirrel away any leftovers into whatever system you have for dealing with these things.

For me it’s like saying goodbye to that phase of the project, before hopefully it moves on to becoming a fully functional and much loved item of apparel or home wear. If not in my house then with someone else. Sometimes I’m more glad to see the back of a project than others. But I always like to do my little finishing ritual before I do final photos and post it on socials.

This hat was an absolute joy to knit by the way. I am absolutely not a hat person normally, but this is wonderfully stretchy and slouchy. It fits me well, I love the colour (yarn is Eden Cottage yarns - need I say more) and it was a perfect downtime project for while I was away between Christmas and New Year. And even better there was only a small amount of yarn leftover.

The perfect project in every way. So much so that I’m having to fight the urge to cast on another one. But I have Things To Do and Designs To Knit, so it will just have to wait for another day.

Or I might just cast on a tiny baby one - you know - just to scratch the itch.

If I’ve tempted you, there’s a free adult sized pattern on Kelly’s blog here, or a paid version on Ravelry with all sizes ranging from tiny baby to huge adult.

Gentle resolutions to try in 2023

The time between Christmas and New Year has to be one of my favoruite times of the year. Free from obligations and expectations. As a family we’ve always spent this week holed up in a favourite cottage, away from the outside world and doing the things that make us happiest -short walks, lots of board games, fires - you get the idea.

This year I’m deliberately resisting all forms of shiny new planners, diaries, reviews and courses. All of them promising a new me, or at least a marginally improved and more efficient me.

I have though taken the opportunity to think about a few gentle resolutions that I want to remind myself of in 2023

1. I'm going to make a determined effort to try something new. I've been thinking I'd like to try Tunisian crochet or double knitting for ages but haven't got around to it. I'd like to free myself of the expectation that I have to make something useful/pretty with it and just experiment with making something small using a new technique.

2. Giving myself permission to frog what isn't working out. I need a perennial reminder on this and I plan to set aside a little time at the start of each month to revaluate what's on the needles. If nothing else it might free up some 4mm tips.

3. Know your worth. I learnt this one a while ago but I still see so many posts from knitters upset that their handknit gifts aren't well received. It's a useful time to remind oneself that your time and skill are invaluable - don't waste it on those who don't appreciate it.

4. Stash review - I need to remind myself that yarn comes and goes. I don't need to be the custodian of it all and if it no longer meets my needs it's OK to pass it on to someone else who will love it and use it. I've successfully whittled my stash down to more manageable levels in the last few years but there are still skeins lurking that I know in my heart I'll never use. Time to set them free I think.

What about you - what would you add to the list of gentle resolutions this coming year?

What to do when you've run out of time for gift knitting

We’ve all been there. Watching the days tick down before the holiday period - acutely conscious that your pile of unfinished WIPs seems to be increasing as the big day approaches. Panic starts to set in as you realise that you have drastically over committed yourself and you start to send up fervent prayers to the Knitting Gods that next year, you promise you’ll start earlier. If only they could just grant you a few more hours of knitting time.

I have to confess that I abandoned the concept of gift knitting a few years ago. It helps that my children are older and no longer expect the elves to bring striped socks on Christmas Eve -also their feet are much bigger than mine. I knit for loved ones throughout the year and if it happens to coincide with a birthday or special event then so much the better. But I don’t place that pressure and weight of expectation on myself anymore. It feels like a way to be kinder to myself at what can be an extremely stressful time of year.

If you are gift knitting though and keeping a firm eye on the diminishing hours, may I present my firmly tongue in cheek suggestions to power through your gift knitting.

1. Knit faster. Yes, I know it’s blindingly obvious but for me I know that I can speed knit in short bursts if I need to or if a deadline looms. I remove all the distractions, leave my phone in another room and put on a tried and tested box set to watch. Setting myself a goal of solid knitting for 1 or 2 episodes of Schitts Creek for example is an excellent way I’ve found to really get some solid inches in.

2. Stop cooking. Drastic, yes but desperate times call for desperate measures. More than once I have suggested we have a ‘picky tea’ - which is generally an invitation to raid the fridge/cupboards/leftovers and compile a meal from the harvest. When the kids were small I would put a picnic blanket on the living room and call it an indoor picnic. Either way, it freed up precious knitting time.

3. Crying and stress eating - not recommended obviously but I’ve definitely done this in extremis. It doesn’t get the knitting done any faster though.

4. Give an IOU. This is obviously the one I have had most success with and the one that I recommend most heartily to you. Unless the recipients are very small (and their gifts are also correspondingly tiny) I recommend taking the pressure off yourself. All good things come to those who wait, after all. By all means take a photo of what the intended item will be - or gift wrap half a sock if it makes you feel better. Those who are truly knitworthy in your life will appreciate that good knitwear doesn’t just fall off trees. And if they aren’t truly knitworthy then you could save yourself the trouble and just buy them a box of chocs instead.

Whatever you choose to do, may I take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very happy and peaceful Christmas, however you are spending it and to say a sincere thank you for being here with me this year.

Tips for avoiding seasonal overwhelm

Plain toe-up socks in WYS Gingerbread yarn.

I’m sure we all know those super prepared people - the ones who have all their Christmas cards written and presents bought by bonfire night, not to mention all of their knitted gifts done and dusted. If you are reading this though, then I’m sure you’ll be heartened to read that I am not one of those people.

Every year around this time of year I swear that next year will be different and that by 1st December I will be wearing a large, sparkly T shirt that says “I’m ready for Christmas”. And every year the festive season hits me like a tinsel covered tow truck. Every single bloody year.

Over the years I have gradually pared down the list of Christmas essentials, eliminating everything that doesn’t bring me joy or that causes undue stress. For your reading pleasure I present a short list of things I have found I can reduce or do without in hopes that it inspires you to declutter your festivities as well:

1. No knitting for others, unless I really want (and have time) to

2. No late-night shopping or activities after 7pm

3. No Christmas cards except for relatives and people I won’t see in person

4. No festive baking - unless I am really in the mood and I want the house to smell nice

5. Stepping away from social media the minute I find myself bookmarking Christmas decor ideas

6. No Elf on the shelf or Christmas Eve boxes - but we do give Christmas Eve books.

7. No hot chocolate stations or similar Pinterest-y fad of the year

8. No present buying for spouse (we each do a donation to Crisis instead)

9. Every Friday I replace my daily bullet journal to-do list with a ‘have done’ list. It’s easy to focus on everything that you haven’t done but I find when I look back at the week and list all the things that I have accomplished it gives me a really positive boost.

In case you think I’m a complete Grinch I do really enjoy (aspects of) Christmas. I just like to enjoy them on my own terms, in my own way and without putting pressure on myself and others. For this weekend that looks like buying mince pies and eating them under a blanket, whilst knitting on some more Christmas socks.

Creativity Matters

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have”

Maya Angelou

This is one of my favourite quotes on creativity - so much so that I have it written in the front of my journal where I see it every day.

Journaling is a big part of how I connect to my creative side - through words rather than images - which sounds a little strange at first. Often when we think of creativity and art we think in terms of painting, drawing and other visual representations - and with that can come a whole set of baggage (complete with wheels and a carry on bag) about stories we have told ourselves over the years.

That we ‘aren’t good at art’ or that we aren’t ‘the creative type’.

I’ve written about this before - You are creative, even when following a pattern - and it’s something I feel really strongly about. I believe that we all have the capacity to be creative, we just might not recognise it in ourselves.

If this sounds familiar to you, I thought I would put together a couple of the prompts that I use regularly in my journaling practice. I find that they help when I’m feeling a bit stuck or I feel that my brain needs a creative boost. I grab a notebook and pen (coffee helps) and let the words do the talking.

If you’d like to have a try at journaling for creativity, please just tap the link below.

Five fun facts about Herdies

Photo credit: chandler-media-xb_oRYa-TJ0-unsplash.jpg

Try saying that 3 times fast :)

Seriously though, Herdwick sheep are the most amazing of creatures and every time we visit the Lake District I’m always thrilled to see these little smiley faces peeping at me through the bracken. Or - more usually - standing stubbornly in the middle of a single-track road.

Over the years I have amassed a few interesting facts about these most handsome of sheep and I thought, in the spirit of Wovember I would share them with you here:

1. 95% of all commercially farmed Herdwick stock lives within 14 miles of Coniston and they have an unparalleled homing instinct which means they can be left to roam free on the fells with very little human intervention. It’s known as being ‘heafed’ or ‘hefted’ - the process by which they actually belong to and are part of the landscape itself. Each flock carries knowldge carried down through generations of mothers so that each sheep instinctinely knows how to not only survive, but thrive in what can be a harsh environment. They know where the best shelter is, the best grazing at a given time of year and they pass that knowledge on from mother to daughter.

2. They are born dark brown (usually with amusingly shaped white eye-goggles) and gradually get lighter over time. A year old Herdwick has a brown body with a light grey head, and over the course of their second year the wool on their bodies also lightens.

3. Herdwicks are smaller than most commercially farmed sheep and slower growing. They are a dual purpose breed - used for both meat and fleece. In the past their use for fleece fell out of favour but thanks to the efforts of conservationists and sheep enthusiasts the unique properties of Herdwick wool are now being appreciated again - in companies such as this one

4. Beatrix Potter was passionate about Herdwick sheep and campaigned strongly to ensure the breeds survival in the 1940s. She bequeathed 4,000 acres of land to the National Trust, with the proviso that it be used for Herdwick sheep farming.

5. They can survive the harshest of winters and there are many reports of them being dug out alive after days trapped in snowdrifts. There are even reports of sheep which have survived such conditions by eating their own fleece whilst waiting for rescue.

In short, they may look cute but they are seriously tough cookies. You never want to mess with a Herdie - and they always get right of way on single-track roads.