Knitting Goals for 2023: Update

2023 is swiftly chugging along, and so are my knitting and crafty goals. Well, some of them are. The rest I haven’t touched yet and that’s okay.

1. Knit fun stuff for me, not just others.

3 repeats into the Candy Mountain Cowl and still very much at the beginning. An orange stripe, Dark Grey Stripe, and A light Blue Stripe with Taupe as the Main Color.

So far this year I’ve started a pair of socks, more on those later, and the Candy Mountain Cowl (<- Ravelry link) just for me! It’s nice to have a big project and a small to switch between.

2. Knit with new yarn while it’s exciting.

The Bearded One got me a mini skein kit from Hazel Knits for Christmas. Instead of putting the yarn on a shelf to admire while I worked on other things, I paired it a full skein in light, neutral taupe. I love how it’s working up in the Candy Mountain Cowl so far.

3. Knit with really old stash.

Haven’t had to dig deep down for anything just yet.

4. Just knit - not every day, but most days.

I set up a daily tracker in my planner to track all sort of random things - like if I knit that day. So far I’ve knit on 33 days of the past two-ish months. Not bad.

5. Mend holey socks.

Still the same amount of holey socks around here.

6. Finish lingering WIP’s.

A look in my project basket showing the eight Snowflake ornaments I’ve knit so far and yarn to make more.

I picked up this lingering WIP I started at the beginning of 2022. It’s definitely scratching that itch to knit color work.

7. Knit a blanket for a friend.

All the upfront planning is done, and I’ve got the first few pieces knit and blocked. Haven’t knit on it in the past few weeks though because I’ve been busy trying to finish gift knits with more pressing deadlines.

8. Try knitting different sock heels.

A toe-up sock on the needles laying on top of a halloween themed project bag.

So far, I’ve paired the shadow wrap short row heel with a mini gusset (looking forward to trying it again) and I’m in the middle of knitting a strong heel toe-up. I’m trying to follow the Vanilla Reversed Socks (here’s a Payhip link too) but my row gauge and the pattern row gauge are very different. Figuring out how to tweak the directions for a heel construction I’ve never knit before has been a struggle. I’m not giving up on it though.

I also picked up Andrea Mowry’s DRK Everyday Socks to give the Fleegle Heel another try. The last time I knit that particular heel was when I was just learning to knit socks. Seems fair to give the construction another try now that I have a better idea of what I’m doing.

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As for my non-knitting but still creative goals, I’ve got a few I’d like to share here too.

• Get my spinning wheel out of storage, clean it up, and spin some yarn. As of 2/21/23: It’s still waiting on me.

A pair of purple fingerless mitts laying on top of a log.

• Publish three knitting patterns. I even know which three I’m going to work on.

  As of 2/21/23: Think I’m going to modify this goal a bit. Instead of published three patterns, I’m going to design three patterns and maybe publish them. This change in thinking is courtesy of a pair of fingerless mitts I had the pleasure of designing from scratch as a gift. I might publish it. I might not. Haven’t decided yet.

• Set up a shop on Ko-Fi to as a Ravelry alternative. You can download all of my knitting patterns here on WithWool, but it’s not a shop. Ko-if makes it easy to pay what you want, and I’d like to give it a try.

  As of 2/21/23: Waiting on that first new/updated pattern for this to really be a priority.

• Blog more by focusing on shorter posts instead of saving everything up for one long post that I’ll never get around to publishing.

  As of 2/21/23: I’d say I’ve been doing better at blogging this year thanks to keeping things short. This is my 4th post of 2023, when I only published 11 times in all 2022.

I feel pretty good about what knitting and crafty goals I’ve accomplished so far while also keeping up with the day-to-day and my other projects. Think I can keep this up too which is good news for the rest of 2023. How are your crafty goals and projects for the year turning out?

Knitting Goals for 2023

I’ve got so many plans and goals for this year, that I could fill a Bullet Journal keeping track of them all. And I intend too, but we’re here to talk knitting. So, here are my knitting goals for 2023:

1. Knit fun stuff for me, not just others.

This goal is pretty self-explanatory. Don’t worry, I’ve got a list filled with color work (Cowls, mitts, and hats! Oh my!), cute socks, complicated shawls, and a sweater or two to keep me busy.

2. Knit with new yarn while it’s exciting.

I have the irritating habit of buying yarn for a project and then not knitting with it because I feel obligated to finish lingering WIP’s. By the time I’m done, that new yarn/project just isn’t as exciting. Just once I’d like to jump in for the fun of it.

3. Knit with really old stash.

4. Just knit - not every day, but most days.

I set myself the Challenge to knit every day in November. When I accomplished that goal, I did it again in December. It was nice knitting, actually finishing stuff, and spending less time on my phone. I’d love to do more of that this year, whether I challenge myself to knit every day for a month or not.

5. Mend holey socks.

6. Finish lingering WIP’s.

7. Knit a blanket for a friend.

I finally found the perfect pattern after years of looking. I’ve got most of the yarn too, though now I’m on the search for a few more skeins to make it truly large and in charge. Not sure if I’ll finish it this year, but I’d like it to be mostly done.

8. Try knitting different sock heels.

The gusset and heel flap is a tried and true favorite for me. The construction fits everyone I knit socks for, and I can pretty much do it in my sleep. Same with afterthought heels. But I want to branch out and learn something new. It’s time to figure out how to make short row heels fit me. I also want to try out the strong heel and give the sweet tomato heel another shot. Plus, I’m sure there’s more heel types that I haven’t heard of, and I might want to give them a try too.

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As for my non-knitting but still creative goals, I’ve got a few I’d like to share here too.

• Get my spinning wheel out of storage, clean it up, and spin some yarn.

• Publish three knitting patterns. I even know which three I’m going to work on.

• Set up a shop on Ko-Fi to as a Ravelry alternative. You can download all of my knitting patterns here on WithWool, but it’s not a shop. Ko-if makes it easy to pay what you want, and I’d like to give it a try.

• Blog more by focusing on shorter posts instead of saving everything up for one long post that I’ll never get around to publishing.

Whelp, that turned out to be about as long of a list as I expected. Sure, there’s a lot on it, but I think it’s doable in bits and pieces all year long. Is your list of 2023 crafty goals as long as mine or are you skipping the whole goal thing this year?

Wooly Links: March 2022

Wooly Links posts are a collection of interesting and helpful fiber arts links (and one or two other cool things) that I’ve found scrolling through the web.

Really appreciated this short demo from Jillian Moreno on spinning from the fold.

And another quick tip from Jillian Moreno about how to spin a yarn with stripes of intermittent color.

Local Yarn Shop Day this year is April 30th.

Why your stitches look different when you knit with different yarns be they singles, 2-ply, 8-ply, or chainette.

Love this quick example of how to cross lace your flyer to spin finer yarns.

What cute crochet rainbow pillow!

A short and to the point video tutorial about how to securely join fiber while spinning singles/plies.

Love the idea of using a three-needle bind off to seam a blanket together. I might use it on my next big blanket project.

Here’s a totally handy round-up of different ways to weave in ends with on a variety of knit stitches and with a variety of fibers.

This is Judy’s Magic Cast-on as I learned it, without having to knit half the stitches through the back loop. I love the structure of it starting out and how clean it looks when the sock is complete.

And now for something different…

How Dinosaurs Thrived in the Snow

How Many Sea Star Species Live in British Colombia?

FO: The Cassidy Sweater

A finished dark green hand knit sweater folded in half.

There are a lot of things I love about this sweater. I love that I knit it from stash yarn in a dark green that I wear all the time. I love that it was a big, yet portable project that I could work on in the car or on the couch. I love the neat rolled edge detail at the cast-on and bind-off edges. I love that my guesses about how the sweater would grow after blocking were spot on. I love the heavily modified sleeves that are just the right amount of long (and actually fit). I love the curved hem, even though I’d like it to be a little deeper.

Close up of the rolled edge and ribbing at the cast-on and neck.

What I especially love is that, on only the second sweater I’ve made for myself, I was able to mash up different sizes to make something that fits me. It’s the right length. Both the shoulders and the sleeves fit which is more than I can say for most of the commercial shirts and sweaters I’ve tried. Just that last part is enough for a chef’s kiss. I’m especially proud of the sleeves because I basically eye-balled and tried them on to get the right fit after completely ditching the tapered sleeve shape that seems to be the default of many sweater patterns.

The finished sleeves with all the decrease rows marked with colorful coil-less safety pins.

The only modification which didn’t really turn out was shrinking the body circumference. I did it gradually with one decrease row every inch for 4 inches. The body did drop down to the smaller size, but there’s still a lot of extra fabric hiding under the arms. I don’t quite look like a flying squirrel when I wear it, but I kinda do. It’s a good thing that I wanted this sweater mainly for puttering around the house and being cosy. Next time I need to mash up bigger shoulders with a smaller body in the same sweater (which is basically every sweater I make for myself from now on), I’ll work the decreases over a much shorter length.

Side shape of the heavily-modified Cassidy sweater.

On the whole, I’m really happy with this sweater. It fits well and will help me make even better fitting sweater next time. Plus, it’ll keep me warm and cosy on the snowy and rainy days of this not-quite spring weather.

Pattern: Cassidy by Maria Leigh (Ravelry Link)

Yarn: Mystery Aran Weight Stash Yarn - 515 g (about 1,150 yds)

Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) circulars

Dates: November 12, 2020 - February 1, 2022

2022 Goals

The start of March is a great time to write about goals and projects for 2022. Yeah? Yeah, I think so.

I didn’t really give my crafty goals any thought in November and December 2021. It wasn’t until mid-January that the idea of goals for this year even started to percolate. In February, some of them even sounded doable. Now that it’s March, I’m ready to get started.

My first big goal is the recurring, perennial aim of finishing up the big, lingering projects and the small, lingering projects too. There’s spinning long-overdue handspun for a friend. There’s ripping out a sock because I knit it too long and need the yarn for sock #2. There’s even a sock-monkey without a head kicking around. I want them all done and not taking up space in my WIP pile. There’s plenty more I’m forgetting too, but their time will come.

A stack of yellow and black yarn cakes being held in front of a painted brick wall.

My second goal is to make more stuff for me. I’ve made plenty of gifts for others, but my stuff usually gets pushed to the back burner. There’s a long list of mitts, shawls, socks, and sweaters that I’ve wanted to make for years. The yarns are wound, and the patterns are bought, but the needles are still empty.

Hand dyed spinning fiber is shades of blue and maroon.

The third goal is to spin some yarn, any yarn. My spinning wheel has been packed away for I can’t even remember how long. We miss each other. Now that the kiddo is a little older, I might be able to keep it out where I can use it (and maybe get her interested in spinning too).

My other crafty goals have nothing to do with yarn. I want to learn Inkscape and figure out how to make vector art and my own cut files for my Cricut. I want to blog more and get used to writing shorter, more frequent posts. I want to bind books, make cards again, and play with paper.

This is a pretty short list overall, but I know it’ll keep me busy all year.

How A Challenging Project Changed My Approach To Knit Design and Publishing

I never thought I’d cut my teeth on short row sleeve caps by writing a short row sleeve cap. I always figured that I’d knit one eventually following someone else’s sweater pattern. Okay, let’s back up a little.

A few months ago, a cosplayer friend of mine commissioned me to make the three-legged baby romper from the end of 1991’s Addams Family movie. I loved this movie when it came out and I still regularly watch it. So, of course I was all in when she asked me about knitting it. When I went digging around for a pattern, I found people selling reproductions of the piece, but no patterns. That didn’t frighten me off though. If anything, designing a pattern from something I’ve enjoyed for so long made it a fun challenge. One that’s taken me far longer than expected, but I’m happy with the results. There’s just a bit more of a second sleeve to knit before the whole thing gets a soak and the final finishing touches.

For most of the pattern writing and knitting, the plan was to knit the romper and mail it off. That’d be the end of it. The Bearded One had other ideas, and has been pushing me to release the pattern. I brushed him off in the beginning, but I think I will publish the pattern. Not sure quite when yet, though With Wool Express subscribers will be the first to know.

For as long as I’ve been designing knitting patterns (both free and paid), the question of whether anyone else would knit the pattern was one of the first I’d ask. Designing and writing and laying out a knitting pattern, so that people can understand it is no small amount of work. If I was going to put the effort into publishing a pattern, I didn’t want to put my time towards something that would fall flat or be ignored. I have notebooks filled with ideas that never got beyond a few notes and a half-hearted swatch because I didn’t think anyone else would want to knit them. To be fair, those notebooks are also full of ideas that I fell out of love with along with a few nuggets that keep nagging at me years later.

Now that I have a young kiddo and far less free time than I did when I published my first pattern in 2009, my thoughts have changed. I have far less time to be weighed down by my own self doubt, anxiety, and endless questions. I have to commit what time I do have for deep, focused work to the stuff that I want to do. Even if that thing is a knitting pattern that’s not going to take the world by storm. So, I will be publishing the pattern for this three-legged Addams Family romper and whatever pattern idea consumes my brain next. Solving knitting puzzles with yarn is part of what grounds me and makes me happy, so I’ll continue to knit on and share my patterns. Not all of them will be as geeky as this romper, but they’ll be fun and varied.

Yarn Along The Rockies 2019

Yarn Along The Rockies was the third week of August, and I happily joined in. I only visited the closest 3 of the 13 shops, but I still enjoyed myself. One of those shops, FingerPlay, was brand new to me and I’ve been meaning to get down there for months. It’s a cute shop with a great vibe, and frequent knit afternoons/open studios. I’m looking forward to stopping in again soon since it’s been so long since I’ve had a regular knitting group to visit. I also made it to Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins which remains one of my favorite yarn and spinning shops. Maverick Fiber Arts was my other stop and had a nice selection of different yarns and notions.

The stash did get a little larger, but not by much. I have no shortage of sock yarn or spinning fiber, but everything I bought came home with intention. Both sock yarns, Cascade Heritage Wave and Regia Pairfect, made me excited to knit socks for myself again. That’s an exciting feeling after finding it lacking for so long. The fiber, 8 oz of Frabjous Fibers and 4 oz of Hummingbird Moon, will eventually be handspun gifts or play a part in a Nightshift shawl. My plans are still a little murky on that front. I also came home with a pair of sock blockers for the Bearded One’s socks. The blockers are a little shorter than I would like but will still do the job.

While I only visited a fraction of shops on the tour, I enjoyed myself. I got to visit different places, see new yarns, and go on a little adventure. Also picked up a nice project bag which is cool too. I’m glad I didn’t skip the yarn crawl this year, and I’m looking forward to next year.

Yarn, Knitting, and #The100DayProject

#The100DayProject, a project dedicated to 100 days of whatever you choose, kicked off earlier this month, and I decided to join last minute. I’ve tackled this project in previous years with the goals of daily art, and spinning. For this year’s project, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to commit 100 days to. All I knew was that I was so bored of starring at my phone when I plopped on the couch at the end of the day after putting the Mini to bed. I wanted to do something or make something instead of endlessly scrolling through whatever or playing another game for the Nth time. So there was my project. My goal for 100 days was to put down my phone and make something. It’s been an interesting and fun change of pace. I haven’t done a great job of posting my daily progress online (mainly because it’s already after 11PM when I’m done), but I have put down my phone to make tasty desserts, write tutorials, take photos, pick out buttons, and knit lots.

#The100DayProject might be bringing back my knitting mojo. I returned to a pair of floundering socks for the Bearded One. I finished a pair of slippers, and now just need to sew on 12 buttons. The main project that I’ve devoted the past few days to is a new sweater for the Mini. She’s almost outgrown the first sweater I made her, and I want something she can wear through the Summer and into Fall. All of my perusing through Ravelry for baby stuff while I was still pregnant left me with lots of options to choose from. I picked out three sweaters and first up is Marigold Fields by Taiga Hilliard I had the yarn and the pattern already, but the 100 Day Project gave me the kick I needed to actually start. Casting on turned out to be harder than expected because I couldn’t get a fabric I liked at the required gauge. So I came back the next day to figure out how to make the yarn and pattern work together.

And here we are now. The lace yoke is finished. The arm holes are bound off. My mods went off without a hitch. Now I’m zooming through the body with 3” left before the bottom edge. I’m making the 2T size which will probably be a bit big for her right now, but should hopefully fit her for a long time.

I’m glad I committed to #The100DayProject after taking a break from it last year. It’s helping me feel like my old self and remember what I like so much about yarn. Anyone else tackling the Project with me?

A Trip To The Frog Pond

This hat is my white whale. Okay, that might be a little bit of an over statement, but this pattern has been lingering in my “Get It Done” list for years. It’s not that I’m not excited about this pattern or that I don’t like it anymore. Both of those things are still true even 4 years after I first sketched up the initial design and agonized over the color work chart. 

So why the hold up? The hat and my notes on how to make it didn’t get back in my hands until last year. And it wasn’t until the last few months that I started getting everything together to write a pattern that someone else could knit. Detailed notes that you can find are the best. Seriously. Everything sounds good right? Well, there’s one more thing to do before I can get to the important stuff like photographs and tech editing and publishing it. 

As much as I love the color work and the colors, there is one thing that I really don’t like about this hat. It was bound to happen after 4 years after all. The crown and length of this hat is way too long. I love a good slouchy hat, but this is not a good slouchy hat. It just looks weird, and not in a fun way. So it’s time to take a pair of scissors to my stitches and rip out the crown and a few extra inches. Definitely not starting over from scratch. At this point having to rip out part of a project, even a finished project, isn’t frustrating. It’s just a step in the process of making something both that I’ll want to wear and share. Now where did I put those scissors…

FO: Amiga Cardigan

The Amiga Cardigan and I have a long history together. My notes tell me that I cast on January 21, 2014, but it seems like so much longer because I originally cast on for a bolero with the same yarn. I fell out of love with the first sweater (and all my mods) and ripped out all my work. Life’s too short to knit sweaters you’re never going to wear after all. 

Amiga is a simple stockinette raglan. Knitting the giant Norma Blanket was more complicated than this, but the Amiga is special because it’s the first sweater that I’ve ever finished. I’ve swatched and cast on for others but this is the only one I’ve ever been able to wear. So, I’m happy with it even though it turned out completely different than I thought it would. 

It wasn’t that my swatch lied to me, per say, but that it didn’t have all the information it needed to tell the truth. When I swatched over a year ago, I cast on just enough stitches to measure 4” between a garter stitch border. Then I washed and dried it the same way I would the finished sweater. The stitches evened out but the gauge didn’t change. I even hung and weighted it to see if the fabric would stretch. It didn’t and and I got started. 

After the initial excitement of casting on for THE first sweater again wore off, I worked on it here and there. Somewhere in the middle I bought 2 extra skeins which took some doing since the color had been discontinued. The off and on knitting might have something to do with why the sweater grew or it might not. I’m not really sure. Eventually an overwhelming urge to finish all the things took overand I finally bound off the collar, weave in all the ends, and blocked the sweater 20 months to the day after casting on.

The first sign that the sweater wasn’t the same size was when I pulled it from the soapy water of the sink. It definitely looked longer when I laid it out. I measured to make sure everything was even but I didn’t compare the measurements to the schematic. I know you should, but I didn’t want to know for sure. There was no denying it though when I tried it on. Instead of ending mid back, the sweater hung inches lower. The previously three quarter length sleeves were full length. The carefully placed button holes had moved several inches down to my belly button.

Disappointing? Yes, but I also wanted to make myself a light, flowing sweater with plenty of drape. I ended up doing  just that so I’m not going to complain. Next time, though, I’m knitting a bigger swatch.

The Specs

Pattern: Amiga by Mags Kandis

Yarn: 5 skeins Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool - Thunderstorm

Needles: US 10 (6 mm) circulars 

Dates: January 21, 2014 - August 21, 2015

@Ravelry

I-Cord Necklace How To

While I was shopping for beads for an upcoming project, I found a cute turtle pendant that ended up in my digital cart. It was still cute once I had it in hand, but I didn’t have a way to wear it. I knew if I put it away in drawer that I’d forget about it so it stayed on the table. My kitchen table, AKA my desk, is a jumble of books, yarn, knitting needles, spinning fiber, and tech. It wasn’t long before the pendant and the right yarn ended up next to each other. It be much easier to make a necklace for the pendant instead of forgetting to ever buy one. 

Materials

2-3 yds Sport Weight Yarn

2 2.75 mm double pointed needles OR a short circular needle

A pendant, charm, or bead

Tapestry needle

Knitting The Cord

 Cast on 3 stitches and slide them to the right tip of the needle. 

Pull the working end of the yarn behind the stitches from left to right. Knit the 3 stitches and slide them back to the right hand tip of the needle. This method allows you to work flat but still get a closed, round cord when you’re done. 

Repeat until the i-cord is 19” long or the length you want plus 2” to tie the knots. I decided how long to make my i-cord by comparing it the length of one of my favorite necklaces. 

Bind off the 3 stitches and cut the working yarn. Weave in the ends by pushing the needle and thread through the center of the cord for an inch before pushing the needle out and cutting the thread. If your pendant has a small bail or opening, wait to weave in one of the ends. 

While not strictly necessary, blocking the i-cord will help even out the stitches and create a nicer looking necklace. To block, soak the i-cord in cool water for 15 minutes. Wrap it in a towel and squeeze out the excess water without wringing. Lay it flat to dry. 

Tying the Stopper Knot

It might take a few attempts to get the knots in the right spot or looking just so. Keep the tapestry needle ready because it’s a big help unpicking the knots. I re-tied each several times to get the right tension and placement.

Make a loop with one end of the cord. 

Bring the end of the cord behind both strands of the loop…

then pull it around the first loop and into the space between the loop and the wrapping end of the cord.

Pull the end through the first loop from behind and tighten the knot. 

If the photos aren’t helping, check out this animation of how to tie the Stopper Knot. 

Before tying the next knot, string the pendant. If the bail is small, pull the unwoven end through the bail first and use it to pull the cord through. Weave in the end. 

Tying the Slip Knot

Make a loop with the opposite end of the cord.

Bring the end over the legs of the first loop and make a second loop. 

Wrap the end around the first loop’s two legs twice and bring the end out through the second loop. Tighten the knot leaving the first loop open at the end. Done correctly, you’ll be able to shrink or grow the loop as needed. I like the pull the slip knot tight after pulling the stopper knot through to keep the necklace in place.  

If the photos aren’t helping, check out this animation of how to tie the Slip Knot. 

Done! Enjoy your new necklace!

What's In Your Notions Bag?

After years of knitting I’ve got my required notions down to a science so I’ll have what I need whether I’m at knit night, on a plane, or just hanging out on my couch. 

I love getting little peeks at other people’s desks and studios. A knitter’s notion bag is the same thing in a much smaller package. So, what’s in your notions bag? What are the absolutely necessary tools you use to make knitting and crochet easier? Post a photo to Instagram with the hashtag #mynotionsbag or tell me in the comments. I can’t wait to see!

Without further ado, here’s what I keep in mine.

• About the bag itself. I used to carry around everything in a metal tin but it rusted and was hard to open. I went to Etsy when I couldn’t stand it anymore and found this great pencil case from Silke Jacobs. It’s just the right size to hold my notions while not taking up too much space in my project bags. Plus, I’ve got the room to hold interchangeable needle tips and an extra cable too when I need them.
• A simple retractable tape measure.
• Kitty snips! I got a pair to replace collapsable and embroidery scissors when I fly and decided to use them all the time. 
• Tapestry needles in different sizes. I won the set of two smaller Chibi needles last year and was surprised at how nice they are. Added a larger needle as well so I can weave in ends from lace weight up to bulky.
• Stitch markers. Lots of stitch markers. I’ve got locking stitch markers, fancy stitch markers, and plain rubber rings in the bag at all times but the selection varies with the project.
• Needle keys and cable caps. These things are here to keep my interchangeable needles tight and happy. The key makes sure that the needle and cable aren’t going to twist apart. The caps keep my knitting on the cable when I need the needle tips for another project. 
• Lotion and a nail file. The nail file is a recent addition to the group. After growing out my nails, I got tired of snagging them on my yarn every other stitch. It’s nice not to have to go digging to find the one file that may or may not be in my purse.