Today in the US we have a holiday.  I am trying to make the most of the day, alternating knitting in my jammies with lightbulb-changing and handknit handwashing.  Last week at this time, Querido and I were on a train bound for Inverness and the Great Tapestry of Scotland.  As I sit here, well insulated and surrounded by knitting, I am thinking back to our wonderful week and ahead to the new year.

Across the blogosphere, knitters are making resolutions big and small.  A Tangled Yarn and Michelle from My So-Called Handmade Life are doing socks.  Sarah at Whistling Girl Knits is making a Bohus sweater.  The Sarah of Knitting Sarah has a slew of goals with her One Plus One Plus One project.  I am a goal-setter, too, and most years in the past, ambition has gotten the better of me.  For a fleeting moment, I considered setting a goal of knitting twelve sweaters this year (scariest thing?  I have nearly enough yarn to do it).  But in order to knit twelve sweaters, I would have to give up either feeding Querido or sleeping, neither of which are really responsible choices.

Realistically, then, I can set two goals.  First: knit more yarn than I buy.  When I buy yarn, I will always prioritize yarn made from natural fibers from a known source.  I have already made a fresh new copy of my stash spreadsheet from last year.  And get this.  I did not buy any yarn in the UK.  My heart was set on either Jamieson and Smith 2 ply Jumper Weight for a Puffin Sweater or some Excelana 4 ply for a sweater top out of A Stitch in Time.  Yarn store time was limited, and none of the shops I visited had either yarn, so…I will wait and purchase online when I am ready to dig into one of those projects.

Goal the second: submit all materials for Level One of the Knitting Guild of America’s Master Hand Knitter program.  Querido has always insisted I am a master knitter, but truthfully, I am way too haphazard in my knowledge.  I have learned things that I wanted to know and completely ignored other techniques.  The MHK program is a combination of knitting and research, which will give me a chance to push myself to both refine my technique and quantify what I know.  And also beef up my stash of knitting technique books!

Less yarn, more expertise.  What do you think, knitters–can it be done?