Creative goals, 2018

Each January, I like to gather all the ideas, motivations, and plans for projects that are jumbled up in my brain and document them here, in a more organized and tangible way. I've found having a plan for what I'm making helps me actually finish more projects, plus its fun to plan creatively! I've grouped them into categories below, based on project status.

Knitting:

General knitting plans/ambitions:

I want to continue to plan ahead and knit wearable items, and don't give up until the fit is just right. For the last few years, I've been pretty good about this. Of course, I plan to continue to knit from my stash, which is gradually getting smaller, and to have a specific plan for yarn before purchasing. I have a lot of yarn in my stash that I cannot wait to knit with, so I want to get to it! Again, I've done pretty well with this the last few years, so I want to keep up with it. And since it's good to challenge myself, I want to knit a colorwork garment this year.

In-progress:

• a Mae sweater, knit as a KAL with my friend Maeve (not to be confused with my May cardigan I knit in 2017)
• Treehouse hat in a salmon pink, in which I learned my first new skill of 2018: the 1x1 tubular cast on. I love it.

(I like the color scheme of 2018, so far)

Future/planned projects, that I already have materials for:

• Something knit with a rust-colored Quince and Co Phoebe yarn, either a cabled hat like Lake Reed, or a cowl like A Very Braidy cowl
• DK weight textured shawl of some sort, knit in pink Quince Phoebe (yarn I received for Christmas from my sister-in-law)
• Wrist warmers with BT yarn I have in my stash

Items I'd love to knit but do not have exact plans and/or yarn for:

• a Colorwork sweater (pullover). Lighthouse pullover is still a strong contender (perhaps in Quince and Co Lark or O-Wool balance) or, a Ninilchik Swoncho, in neutrals (probably), yarn to be purchased with birthday/Christmas money from my birthday and Christmas that I've been saving for just the right "big" project
• a worsted weight cardigan, I still love the idea of Truss
• or a Cline sweater , since it looks endlessly wearable
• another cozy pullover, with simple lines/raglan shaping, maybe the Plowline sweater with st st sleeves, Bobbie, or perhaps a shorter, boxy version of The Weekender
• maybe a two-color fingering weight shawl, knit with two special sock yarns I have in my stash, or I might just knit those yarns into socks. One can only wear so many shawls, you know?
• Socks. I want to try a pair of Emily's favorite socks for myself. One night, I stayed up until 2AM researching sock fit and construction (yes, I can't believe how nerdy that is, either), and I'm learning a lot. That particular pattern didn't fit Nicholas well, but the more I'm learning about sock knitting, it's not a one-size fits all, particularly with heel shaping. With my high arch, I want to try some patterns that use a longer heel flap (or modify patterns to suit that), so we'll see. I have a lot of partial skeins of sock yarn in my stash that I'd like to knit into scrappy socks. And I'd like to knit at least one or two more pairs of socks for Nicholas this year.
• Maybe a pair of traditional Scandinavian colorwork mittens or another small-scale colorwork project like the Cardamom Coffee hat (which I could knit with leftover yarn)

Sewing

General sewing plans/ambitions:

I want to continue to get more comfortable with sewing anything and everything. I'd like to make a few home goods, and then focus on using fabric (and PDF patterns) I bought in the fall (see below), along with generally, more garment sewing. And I want to learn how to use the serger that Nicholas gave me for Christmas!

Future/planned projects, that I already have materials for:

• Metamorphic dress, in olive and ivory rayon, just need to print out the pattern and piece it together
• Toaster Sweater, in grey quilted sweatshirt material, have fabric and pattern
• Ebony Tunic (x2), with tree-printed jersey fabric, and dark green striped jersey fabric, using my new serger!!

Items I'd love to sew but do not have exact plans/fabric for:

• Oversized kimono jacket (if it's a silhouette I'd wear?)
• a simple, sleeveless, split hem linen tunic
• another quilt? It is quite the undertaking, so we'll see
• simple baby leggings for friends who will have babies this year
• Carolyn pajamas (not confident it will happen, but it sounds fun!)
• Farrow dress, not sure about sleeves or no sleeves yet, but I like this version and this version
• a sewn tote bag, maybe a Wax and Wool tote or an Explorer tote
• a Stowe bag

Regardless of what I actually complete, it's nice to start out the year (and my 2018 making) with some direction and with the intent to use what I have and enjoy the process. I expect my sewing plans to be a bit more fluid than my knitting ones, as most sewing projects are less time-consuming, but I'll ride it out and see what happens! I've been enjoying seeing so many #2018makenine creative plans and so I'd love to know what are your creative goals or plans for the year, if you'd like to share!