Let's try something new

I had an idea on the eve of this new year. It's time for another trip through the Knitter's Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmermann. This is one of my all time favorite books. It's full of humor, history, EZ's stories, knitting know how and patterns. What more could you want?

There are two options for reading/knitting: the original Knitter's Almanac from Dover, a small paperback and the Commemorative Edition, also from Dover, but a hardcover with additional articles from people who knew Elizabeth and color pictures. The book is divided by month with a project (or more) per month with Elizabeth's ideas and insights and a "pithy pattern" for those who want a little more direction.

So, my plan (and I'm already behind) is to knit something from each month, share with my friends and chat about EZ and knitting as we knit our way through 2021. I have started a conversation thread in my Ravelry group page and a group chat on Facebook as well.

I have started this type of plan many times before and have knit many of the projects from the book. One of my favorites over the years has been the February Baby sweater which I have crafted for many babies. The largest project has been the January Aran (which took much longer than one month - especially since I spun the yarn first.) The most unfinished project is the March Difficult Sweater which I intend to work up as a hat instead.

So, I was over at Ravelry and I discovered a new thing: the 2021 Project Challenge. If you go to your Project page, there is a tab at the top that you can click on to create a 2021 Challenge page. This looks like it could be a helpful tool for tracking progress on these planned projects from the KA. I am all about using helpful tools and support from friends.

A few years ago I also started journaling. I created a digital journal document entitled Deliberate which I have utilized in varying degrees over the years. I also started Bullet Journaling which has been a helpful exercise in keeping a calendar to recording important events, prayer lists, dreams, little sketches, tracking disciplines, etc. This year I am looking to use this to help me record my different projects in knitting, spinning, weaving, sewing and other forms of "making". When I do these things I am following my progress, and celebrating that, not looking at what I haven't accomplished. This may seem unrelated: but I also believe it is a healthy way of looking at progress. This summer I lamented how I had not harvested as much of the garden veg as I should have. My son replied that we had still enjoyed the fruits of seeing the plants in the garden.

There are so many ways we can tear ourselves down. Let's make 2021 a year of celebrating our achievements and progress. And let's make 2021 a year of celebrating and our friends' achievements and progress.

Have a happy, creative New Year.

Rebecca