WIPs, changes, my word of the year and updates, we’ll cover it all and more.
Things are happening this month, exciting things and with them a lot of that “New Year Energy”. Read or watch till the end so you don’t miss any of the important updates.
Watch Episode 6 of the Knitting Podcast
WIPs
I’m still trotting along on my No Frills by PetiteKnit. Despite being determined to enjoy the stockinette, I’m not. I’m just not enjoying it. The knit rows are fine but the purl rows seem to take forever and a day.
I got a good 6-6.5 cm (2-2.5 inches) done on it this week and that’s decent progress in light of the fact that I’ve had sick children and haven’t been feeling great myself either.
Knitting Books
I haven’t prioritised reading very much this past week but I did sneak in another chapter of The Mindfulness in Knitting by Racheal Matthews. It’s crazy how much I’m enjoying this book. It may become my new favourite book about knitting.
All the Updates
Now let’s get on with all the updates I promised you.
1. New hair
If you’ve watched the podcast, you know I’ve gotten a hair cut and in the words of Coco Chanel
A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life.
2. It’s my birthday week
I’m hoping I’ll get a few knitting goodies as presents this year. If I do, I’ll make sure to share them with you.
My birthday also marks the beginning of a new era in my life. I can’t have any more children. I’m no longer a student. My maternity leave is about to end and when it does, I will be unemployed for the first time in my life. While 31 won’t feel any different than 30, my life is about to change a lot over the next 12 months.
3. Revealinging my word of the year
I’ve done a word of the year for 6-7 years now. 2020, however, has been the first year that word stuck with me all year. It has informed my choices, challenged me and opened up new opportunities.
My word for 2020 was ABUNDANCE.
I remember journaling about how I wanted an abundance of unforgettable memories and copious amounts of time with my family. And then the pandemic hit. So I got what I asked for but in a very different way than I expected. Be careful what you ask for.
You can pick a word out of thin air but I like to choose one through a good deal of journaling and deep thinking. I ask myself what I want more of and what I want less off. Then I audition several words that come to mind. They can’t just fit in one aspect of my life.
My word of the year has to fit the following categories:
- Faith
- Family
- Home
- Studying/work
- Hobbies
Some years, I do my word of the year in the traditional way from January 1st, other years, I choose to begin my year by my birthday, so from late October one year to late October the next year. This year, my birthday felt like the right starting point.
After a lot of journaling, my word of the year for 2021 ended up being CREATE.
I want to create a lot more than I consume and I’m excited to see how the word unfolds during the year.
4. Writing
Speaking of creating. I don’t just want to knit more, I want to write more. I love writing almost as much as I love knitting. This week, I published a round-up of 13 pumpkin knitting patterns. I want to write a lot more about knitting over the next year.
5. Changing the Podcasting Schedule
Based on the journaling I did to find my word of the year. I’ve decided to make this podcast a monthly podcast. I considered bi-weekly, but I don’t think that’s long enough.
It takes me a long time to produce a podcast under my current circumstances and while I enjoy making these episodes, I want to have more to share and I can’t fit in more knitting currently. Trust me, I’ve tried.
Changing to a monthly podcast will give me more knitting to talk when I do record an episode. But it will also give me more time to write and design.
I will still be doing videos in between the podcast episodes of techniques and other knitting related topics. So make sure to subscribe on YouTube so you don’t miss any of the videos.
Watch the previous episodes of the knitting podcast
