Selfish Knitting Month

It was Brenda Dayne — she who creates the fabulous podcast Cast-On (you do listen to it, don’t you?  Don’t you?!?) and who just knit this hat with SpaceCadet yarn — who introduced me to the concept of January as “Selfish Knitting Month”.

For knitters and crocheters, the months leading up the holidays are almost always about making things for other people. All our own projects come to a screeching halt as we realise there’s only a few months left(!) and begin to work like mad on our gifts instead. And then, come January, all that is over. And it is time to return to our own projects, our own knitting and crochet. The idea of Selfish Knitting Month magically turns January from cold and dull into something welcome, warm, and cosy. Time to knit for ourselves again!

And I have really taken the Selfish Knitting concept to heart in 2012, in two ways.  The first was actually at the end of December, as I was coming up with the newest colourway for the members of InterStellar Yarn Alliance.  I wanted to create a something that would be a real treat for the members…  to welcome in the new year with something so luxurious and indulgent that it would single-handedly banish January’s cold and grey post-holiday funk.

I saw cold days ahead and they transformed into a warm, moody  plum; I felt a bitter wind, and it was a streak of blue-purple; the welcome respite of a cosy fireside became a rich vein of copper gold; and the whole colourway shot through with dramatic streaks as dark as the blackest night.  And to make it extra special, I laid all these colours down over the sparkles of Lucina.

The colourway, in honour of the month, is called “Selfish”.  …Well, would you give it away?!?

And the other way that I took Selfish Knitting concept to heart?  Well, it wasn’t voluntary, and it wasn’t so much me as my body that made the decision.  After a December which was just insanely busy and in which everyone except me seemed to come down sick, my body decided enough was enough.  This past week, I’ve been sliding ever-so-slowly downhill, until finally this weekend, I succumbed to cold chills, shakes, and muscles that made my neck and shoulders seize up solidly.  I have spent the past two days mostly in bed, propped up gingerly on pillows, moving as little as humanly possible.

Except, I could knit.  And as painful as my shoulders and neck were (oh, and they were!), it’s been a truly welcome respite to just sit quietly and knit — without having to stop for work-demands or family-demands or…  well, not for anything except for another round of painkillers.  Selfish or what!?  Yep, deliciously so, and it felt great.   I took my skein of Selfish and cast on Karrie Steinmetz’s Walnut Grove.  When I can sit up well enough to take photos, I’ll let you see how it looks.

So, Happy Selfish Knitting Month!  What are you doing to celebrate?  Have you cast on something fresh and new, just for you?  Leave a comment and let me know, or even link to you project on Ravelry — I’d love to see!

Oh, there was supposed to be a shop update today, but — for obvious reasons — it will have to come a bit later this week.  Keep your eyes open for it.  And if you liked the look the of this yarn and would like get in on the Yarn Alliance yourself, spaces will open sometime around the end of the February or beginning of March.  Make sure you’re on the mailing list to be the first to hear about it!

…And if you’re in the Alliance, your exclusive email with a chance to get extra skeins of Selfish will be coming soon, so watch your inbox!