knitting fearlessly

Welcome to 2008!  And welcome to my new blog!  With a new year in front of me, I felt that I needed a new start at blogging again and I wanted to start fresh.  I plan on leaving some of the personal stuff aside and incorporating a bit more of the other interests in my life right now, such as cooking and my desire to learn to sew.  Thank you for hanging in there with me.

Today, Knitting Daily, posted an email that sparked some thoughts on knitting and how we might like to grow in our craft for 2008.  My knitting suffered for much of 2007 and I really have this desire to dip back into things for the new year.  I am now using Ravelry (find me…I am knitaholicsky) full-force now and it has really created this new energy surrounding my stash and knitting.  I feel like a new knitter, well almost…

Thanks to Knitting Daily for getting me to think today… 

Is there something you haven’t tried because it seems too scary?  Right now, it has to be colorwork.  I really want to try to knit up some Anemoi mittens or Endpaper Mitts and I have the yarn, but I am freaked out.  Suggestions on a practice knit or should I just go full force into one of these?
Is there a technique you want to learn, or learn to do more skillfully?  I would really love to be able to read a knitting pattern and thoroughly understand it before I dive in.  This applies mostly to chart reading and having more patience to interpret what the pattern calls for.
Is there something that stumps you?  Chart reading and I just don’t get along so well.  But I am determined to get it this year.
Is there something that you are dying to try, in your secret knitter’s heart, but haven’t dared because you think you’re not a good enough knitter?  Knitting a lacy shawl out of laceweight yarn.  Again, this ties in with the chart reading mostly, but laceweight yarn frightens the panties off me (almost).

Are you always knitting The Same Old Things, and you’d like to try something new?  In 2007, I feel like I knit projects that resulted in the quickest results without giving a lot of thought to usefulness or actual desire for the finished object.  So in that sense, I tend to knit  the same old items.  But this year, I am starting off with a cardigan.  I am learning that while knitting cardigans/sweaters in one piece eliminates the need for much seaming, I really do like the feeling I get when I finish a piece of the garment.  So on my current project, I am knitting the back, two fronts and sleeves.  I know I am a bit crazy for this, but I think it will result in a finished garment instead of some blob of yarn hanging out in the WIP basket.
Do you always knit for others, and never for yourself? Or perhaps you only knit yourself accessories, but never a lovely cardigan or pullover to wear? I cannot say this is true.  I knit for myself primarily, because at least I know that my efforts will be appreciated.  But I haven’t knit or at least completed a garment for myself in quite some time.  This year, I plan on changing that.

This year, I plan on changing quite a bit…