A New Year is almost dawning. We are closing the door on one year and opening it again on a whole load of new possibilities.

What do you fancy doing in 2013? Will you take on a new hobby, will you challenge yourself to try something new… Maybe you would also like to challenge yourself to crafting with UK wool too! (or wool local to you…if you do, let me know, I’d love to hear about it)

I will probably say “Ooh! I want to do that!” or “I’m going to learn..” a hundred times.

With knitting though I feel I am always learning and I love to challenge myself. I know I am not the greatest knitter in the world. I know I will never create masterpiece designs, but I truly get satisfaction from what I create. Maybe because I managed to knit with two colours at once (that was a big deal), maybe because I ripped that shawl back ten times before I got it right. A lot of the satisfaction of the thing is how you got to the finished object, isn’t it?

Occasionally my FOs will bear just some small ID tag, which says “This was handmade”. It may not be visible to your eye, but I know its there. Maybe its the slightly loose row on my sweater from when I started knitting in the dark during Skyfall at the cinema. Maybe it’s the extra hole, where a YO shouldn’t be in my shawl. But I like that. It says “I was made by a human person, who is a bit sketchy at some of the techniques used in this garment – but hey! Who’s perfect?!” 

I have loved creating with wool and I know 2013 is going to be another adventure in yarn, but before I begin the next 12 months of waxing knitical about British bred, spun and dyed wool, here are my treasured challenges from the last 12 months.

A very happy, safe, (warm!) and wonderful New Year to you.

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you will continue to wander along with me in 2013.