New year, big plans
Swatches for my new designs awaiting their turn in my workspace.
As is traditional at the turning of the year, I’ve sat down to review the year behind us and plan the year to come. 2020 gave us plenty of reasons to dislike it, but it was the best year so far for my little business. People spending more time at home needed something to do, and many turned to knitting. I more than doubled my income over 2019’s, and I reached the milestone number that I had decided was a “real” income. A number at which I would feel that I was being paid a fair amount for my time. I’m financially very private so I am not going to share exactly what that amount is, but I am proud of myself for reaching this goal that seemed unachievable just one year ago.
However, once I realized that I had reached my goal, I felt rather flat. I did not experience the exuberance and satisfaction that I expected. “Well that wasn’t too hard” was my sentiment. So for 2021 I’ve decided to jump feet first into a big dream that has been lingering in the category of Things That Seem Impossible for the last year. If I can achieve my “real income” amount that I had previously thought was impossible, then why can’t I also do this?
What is this seemingly impossible dream? It is a book. A self-published book of knitting patterns. Over the past year or so, a collection has been brewing in the back of my mind, and I’ve finally decided to make it happen. I’ve settled on designs, picked a color scheme, knit swatches, dreamed, thought, and dreamed some more, and now I am planning to make it happen.
Yesterday I made the first yarn purchase. More will be needed, but I will have to wait for the colors I want to be restocked. My plans for it are all written down on various sheets of paper (not the best way to organize it, admittedly), and I’ve organized my action plan on index cards pinned to my bulletin board. Each quarter of the year has been assigned specific goals, and I’ve broken them down further into specific tasks to be completed in certain months. So far January, February, and March have been entirely planned out in detail. Now I just need to stick to my plan to make it happen.
All the plans neatly organized. Now I just need to stick to it.
The plan to work on this big dream feels scary though. I keep wanting to give myself an out. Put in a “if it works out” or “depending on how things go” somewhere in this blogpost. But if I say that then I’ve decided to fail already. I need to plant my flag on this hill and set about conquering it. To keep myself accountable, I’ve decided to take you all along on the journey. You can share with me the joys and the failures both as I chip away at this big project. Hopefully you will enjoy watching my book take shape.
Writing a book is not my only thing planned for 2021. There are some exciting collaborations coming out over the course of the year, and I will also be doing individual pattern releases. My first collaboration with Bare Naked Wools, Snowberry, will be out in February, and I have a couple of children’s sweater patterns coming out in January and March.
Snowberry is knit in Bare Naked Wools Stone Soup DK
Another big plan for me is related to how I market my patterns. For a while, I have been growing dissatisfied with social media. As we progress through this year, I am planning to move my marketing from being entirely based on Instagram to being focused more on my blog, podcast, and newsletter. I need some better boundaries with social media and my phone, so if you would like to stay in touch with me, please follow along with me here on my blog and sign up for my newsletter where you will be updated on what is going on in my knitting life.
I think I am going to really enjoy blogging. Reading various crafty blogs is one of my favorite ways to relax, and I’m really looking forward to being able to connect with you all more deeply than social media allows. If you also have a blog, let me know in the comments so I can get to know you better as well.
Happy New Year to you all. I hope 2021 treats you well.