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
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 Some older things are just perfect as they were originally made, and other older projects can be made better with new things I’ve learned over the years.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?
Such a comfort to read that not everyone needs the New Me of the new year. “I’m craving the thing that’s just right for me” really resonates with me. In the past I’ve been desperate to move onto a new project but recently I re knitted the bottom half of a sweater twice until it properly fitted. Now I know I shall wear it for a long time rather than it end up at the back of a drawer. What a revelation!
I enjoyed your take on January and this continuing to be the season of rest and recovery. Your preorder shades of blue yarn completely have the winter vibe.
Replying to the survey here because the survey doesn’t contain the choices I need. I am a fixed income retiree. I value your writing and your take on the world, and the values you embody and enact in your making, in your business, and in your writing. Your newsletter makes my life better. I think you deserve to be paid for your writing. Yet, I am unable to become a paid subscriber.
At this point, I allocate discretionary media spending to a newsletter with information that helps keep me alive, Your Local Epidemiologist, and on media that is teaching me a specific skill, spinning. That's as far as the checkbook stretches. So, while all your survey categories would be interesting, they fall into a category of totally delightful to be able to partake of while I can for free.
I have limited contact with Substack and had no idea that there was an issue with hate speech and Nazi propaganda. I was considering rebirthing a long neglected blog on this platform. I'll have to seriously reconsider that move. Thank you for making me aware of the issue.