August 31, 2018
Stumbling into a goal of making 12 tops in one year and learning to believe in myself.
I didn’t make the goal of knitting 12 tops in 2018 until June. At that point it wasn’t even a goal, I just realized that I had 6 tops made and therefore was at the halfway mark. Even then I didn’t think it was something I could accomplish. My summer job makes knitting in July nearly impossible, and I remember saying, “Yeah, 12 tops would be achievable if I were somehow able to knit two in August.”
Here we are at the end of August and I’ve got two finished tops sitting next to me. Granted, one is a tank top, which is why I can’t say I’m knitting 12 sweaters in 2018. And the other is a bulky fluff ball that I can’t imagine being comfortable in as I sit with the fan on in 80-degree heat (like the weather, that will change). But they are tops, I can wear them outside without being arrested for public indecency or being charged by the fashion police, and they count.
There was no reason for me to think this was an unattainable goal. I was already halfway there! I can knit a fingering weight sweater in two weeks. I can’t be positive how long the chunky Stitch and Story jumper took me, but I’m pretty sure if I didn’t have to wait for more yarn to be sent I would have finished it in less than a week. I have the skills, I am up to the task, but my doubts and fears were holding me back.
I haven’t mentioned any of this online, I’m worried that once I tell people I will lose all motivation to knit sweaters. But that is silly because I love knitting sweaters and it’s about to be autumn, aka sweater-wearing season! I have so many ideas for what I want to knit in the next four months, and I even have the yarn for most of them!
So I’m publicly stating that this is my goal. I want to prove to myself that I can see it through. If I don’t, that’s ok too. I’m not going to put any unnecessary pressure on myself. I will continue knitting while reminding myself to find joy in every stitch.
