Prospero año y felicidad

A new year. Despite the fact that I despise January, I do like the sound of a new year. It holds so much promise. Anything can happen. I could climb Mt. Everest! I'm pretty sure I won't, but in January, I hate to count anything out.

As a knitter, I look forward to a whole year of projects: clothes for me, new designs, birthday and Christmas gifts. Maybe this year is the year I can KNIT ALL THE THINGS.

(If you're not reading Hyperbole and a Half, you should be. Start here. I'm 97% sure Allie sucked this story right out of my brain while I slept. And don't miss The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas.)

A few days after Christmas, I wound up bunches of yarn for new projects:

(I even have this photo as my iPad wallpaper now--all that yarn holds so much promise.)

And look, swatches!

So, what will I be knitting in 2012? For starters, I thought joining the 12 Socks in 2012 group on Ravelry would be a fantastic idea. Some knitters are signing themselves up for one sock per month, but I'm going full tilt, giving myself the ludicrous challenge of knitting 12 pair. And they're all for me!

Bwah ha ha ha!

And you all know I haven't been able to stop obsessing over the Wildflower Cardigan since I got my copy of Coastal Knits. I finally settled on Madelinetosh Tosh Sport for the sweater--same great colors, but about 2/3 the cost of Pashmina.

Not without its troubles, though. The gauge Alana calls for is 7st/in on sz 5 needles--how she's achieving this astounding feat, I have no idea. I'm pretty sure it defies the laws of physics. I started on 5s, then moved down to 4s, and still couldn't best 6.5st/in. At this gauge, the fabric was already losing its drape, so moving down the 3s wasn't an option. I briefly considered switching to sock yarn, but ultimately decided to knit the smallest size at the larger gauge. Math, though not generally my friend, assures me that the resulting sweater will be 34-35". I sincerely hope math isn't lying to me.

Beyond that, rather than challenge myself with a specific number of projects in varying categories, I'm going to focus on 2 primary goals for 2012:

• Knit from stash
• Learn to spin

I'm not crazy enough to think I won't buy any yarn, but I have quite a collection as it is. (I may have also wiggled around this stipulation a smidge by signing up for Tanis Fiber Arts' Year in Color during the final days of 2011. Oops.) But I will make a concerted effort to stop giving The Loopy Ewe, KnitPicks and WEBS half my paycheck.

And I'm ready to make use of my drop spindle. I really, truly, don't have a clue what I'm doing, but at one point, the same was true about knitting, so I have high hopes!

What are your New Year's knitolutions?