The knitting energy that comes with turning the calendar from one year to another

Even in the midst of hibernation season, there can still be a surge of knitting energy

Do you hibernate in the dark blue depths of winter, or do you find it a nourishing season of quiet and calm?

It’s hibernation season again. Even though everything, everywhere is saying it’s time for a “new you,” it’s really just the turn of a calendar page.

It’s still very cold, gets dark very early, and our animal bodies are telling us to slow down and rest. For all these reasons and more, I have been predictably less present on social media.

I’m the holiday magic-maker for my family and, so, more of my creative energy goes into the daily life and care of my family, especially in December. I also like to draw a bit inward during the winter hibernation season. The darker, shorter days mean more evenings with candles burning, more slow cooker meals, and more warm drinks.

I love the cozy season and January is an especially delightful month for me because it reliably means that holiday guests (though beloved) are also gone, the hubbub has quieted down, my caretaking duties are lighter, and I feel well-supported to take extra time to knit, to make things easier on myself, to rest, and to replenish my creative reserves.

Turning the calendar page (and all the various “new year” tasks that go with it) reliably gives me a surge of new year energy, as well, but with this lovely permission slip to rest and dream and plan, rather than to do.

I’ve been thinking about my knitting (while knitting, of course) and wanting to really sink into a few themes this coming year:

I want to remake more things that didn’t feel quite right the first time around. I love the idea that not everything needs to be new. Some older things are just perfect as they were originally made, and other older projects can be made better with new things I’ve learned over the years. For example, I published a sweet little cowl pattern (Fiber Friends, links to Ravelry) in 2019. Part of the knitting was fiddly, which wasn’t quite what I had intended and the shaping wasn’t quite perfect. I’m currently revisiting that particular pattern and making a new sample that improves the knitting experience and the shaping, while still making the most out of two skeins of yarn. This kind of work still feels creative and is deeply satisfying in a not-very-showy sort of way.

Which also has me thinking ….

I want to alter some of my older handknit sweaters that, for one reason or another, don’t quite feel right on my body. I have one, in particular, in mind. It was a new make in 2023 and even though it is a stunning design, it just hasn’t meshed with daily wear for me. I’m not fully sure why, but I’ve decided I can invest a bit more knitting time to try out an alteration. I’ve ripped out the button band and have it back on the needles for a new collar.

I’ve seen so many posts on social media of “all I knit in 2023,” but my days of wanting to round-up everything I made in a year, well, those days are gone. I am no longer craving the production of new sweaters (or hats or shawls) but, rather, I’m craving the thing that’s just right for me. The cozy, gorgeous, reached for, deeply loved hand-knit sweater that makes me feel like I’m wearing my values. I want more of this.

Tell me about your new year. Are you hibernating? How is your knitting energy?

Last call for Harvest Bulky & Birch Path kits

Why yes, my Christmas tree is still up.

Like me, you may be in need of a mid-winter pick-me-up. If so, I can wholeheartedly recommend my new Birch Path cowl kit to you. It’s my deep winter kit offering, and you can still preorder a full kit, but you can also order 2 skeins of my non-superwash, beautifully hand-dyed Harvest Bulky yarn, grab a copy of the pattern, and with just a few nights of knitting, you’ll have a beautiful new cowl to wear.

I knit my own Birch Path (out of Blue Christmas) over the holidays, but because I didn’t have the recommended needles, my cowl is predictably not the size I want it to be. So, today, I will be ripping it out, washing the yarn, and (once the yarn is dry) using my new size 11 needles to cast on again.

It’s just a few nights of knitting, and it will feel deeply satisfying to make this cowl just perfect for me. It’s also going to be a super stylish accessory for walking my beagle Molly on cold mornings!

Order today because preorders for Harvest Bulky and Birch Path kits close tonight.

Next week I’ll be sharing more details about the yarn in the picture at the top of this newsletter, but if you are captivated by these deep blues and teals, you can preview (and preorder) either of these two colorways, Depths of Despair or Evergreen now.

I’d like to create some extra content that creates an incentive to upgrade to a paid subscription, and I would love to know what you’d find valuable!

What would you think of a monthly (extra) deep dive newsletter about one of my makes? It would include pictures (modeled!); all the specifics of the pattern, yarn and modifications I made; what I recommend and also what didn’t work or what I don’t recommend about it.

I have other ideas, too, so here is a (rough) poll:

It’s a tricky thing to decide to write or photograph more because it requires (at least at first) an outsized investment of time. But, it can also help more non-paying subscribers feel that a paid subscription is good value. Right now, I earn the lion’s share of my income from yarn sales, but I’d like more of that to come from writing and content in 2024. So, at some juncture, I need to increase my time investment here.

Please let me know what you enjoy about other Substacks (paid or not) in the comments below or if you want to send me an email, please do! I’m anne (at) littleskein (dot com).