Too late for New Year resolutions? 
By this stage in January, some people might think it’s too late to be making New Year resolutions. I heard the term ‘Blue Monday’ being use this week: a day when people tend to give up on their resolutions and feel pretty down about the whole thing.
Christmas and New Year is often such a busy time, that it doesn’t always feel like the right time to be making resolutions to change things or start something new. There also seems to be a rush to finish-off the old year before it even reaches the 31st of January. Maybe giving yourself a bit more time to think about last twelve months, coming up with an idea for resolutions, and starting them well after the festivities are over would be a more successful way to do it?
Last year, I decided to pick a word for the year, rather than making resolutions. I chose ‘growth’, which applied to growth in both my personal life and in my knitting and designing life. Growth was a good word for me – I published my first pattern in Knit Now Magazine and I developed and published my first self-published pattern, Cherry Stone. I learnt new knitting techniques, including two-colour brioche and using beads, and I harnessed my love of short-cuts to come up with or utilise methods of knitting that were easier. For example my ‘picot on the go’ edging and no-closing-the-gap short rows in Cherry Stone, and no-turn bobbles in my upcoming Zastruga pattern.
In these first couple of weeks of January, I have been thinking about a word for 2017. After listening to various podcasters talking about their word for the year, I’ve decided to choose ‘Identity’. Like last year, this is a word that I can use both personally and in my design business. I would like to grow my business in 2017 and come to a sense of identity with that work – a certain style or look that is particular to my designs and my aesthetic. At the moment my knitting group tease me that I’m all about the bobbles…well I do like a bit of texture!
Last year, as a way to remember my word of the year, I had a leather bracelet made with the word ‘Growth’ engraved on it. This year, I’d like to make something that includes the word ‘Identity’ to use as a reminder. This seems appropriate for a year that is hopefully going to bring a lot more making, of many kinds, into my life.
View and buy my patterns here:
http://www.ravelry.com/designers/maddie-harvey
Other links:
Podcasts:
www.taraswiger.com
www.curioushandmade.com
www.martineellis.com
Bracelet (on sale until end of week):
http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/graciecollins/product/personalised-leather-francis-bracelet
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