...or indeed watching a YouTube video about knitting!
Hi and welcome to Knit With Hannah. I'm Hannah. I'm here with knitting natter to help you learn to
knit the easy way. Let's talk knitting habits today. I have seven tips for you to create either a
completely new habit of knitting regularly during the week, or to just build up your knitting so it
does become that habit and it doesn't feel like an intermittent thing, so if you're looking for that
you're in the right place. The first tip I have for you is to set small expectations for each
session. I remember one thing I was knitting a few years ago - it was a scarf for my niece, really
excited about it, it was this gorgeous cable pattern and each part of the scarf had 12 rows to it,
so it was 12 row, repeat. When i sat down it was a 12 row repeat that I promised myself I would
knit. I needed to knit that 10 times to get to the end of the scarf, and when I started I thought "this
is going to be never ending it will never finish ." When I realized I could knit those 12 rows in
15 or 20 minutes, then I would sit down and I would do that and then I'd jump up and do
something else. I'd know "oh I've got 20 minutes. Let me knit that while the dinner's in the oven,"
and i knew i could get those 12 rows in. It felt brilliantly motivating to just keep going with it
and to pick it up and put it down, and pick it up and put it down. Now those small increments can
really help. The other thing is to set mini goals. Perhaps they're slightly larger than those 12 rows,
but know that if you're knitting say five or seven days a week you will meet those mini goals two or
three times a week or once a week, and those mini goals will be motivating if you are the kind of
person who knows that you enjoy a project that lasts that little bit longer. While you're knitting
a bigger project cut it up, so if you're knitting a jumper get really thrilled with yourself that
you've knitted a sleeve, and then you've knitted the next sleeve, and you know that you can do those,
like one week at a time, and every week and every day each of those knitting sessions will just
move you towards that. So those mini goals can be really helpful as well, so we're splitting it
up - the first two tips just explain that the small steps will really help you move towards the larger
steps and the motivation will keep you knitting. So third tip is to make knitting enjoyable.
You can just create the atmosphere which feels better for you. So the first thing might be perhaps
you light a candle in the room so it just creates a more of a fragrant atmosphere as well, but also
the light just changes slightly so it feels really cosy as you're knitting. Perhaps you light the fire
when you're knitting in the evening and that just kind of says "oh yes it's that kind of that
kind of evening. I fancy knitting." Perhaps you have your nice cup of tea, your favorite herbal tea and
you always use the same one when you're knitting. All these little things can make a big difference.
Perhaps even playing music or your favorite podcast, or indeed watching a YouTube video about
knitting! The fourth tip is to attach knitting to another daily habit that is already set in place.
You don't even have to think about it. Such as: having lunch. You have lunch, you knit afterwards, or
you have lunch but you always knit before it while it's in the oven like I mentioned before. Come up
with a habit that you already have during the day and attach knitting to it. Lots of different times
during the day you do things on autopilot. Perhaps you pick up the children from school which means
that you're sitting in the car for 10 minutes. Have your knitting in the car and knit while you're
waiting for them. It can be that simple. Bring knitting into your week in those tiny little
spaces where it feels OK. If you are starting a brand new habit this is a great tip: start it on a
significant day. Now, during the week that might be a Monday or a Saturday. Then you have the drive to
keep going as the week continues with yoga. I can usually just get the mat out but if I realise that
I've missed it for a few days I will say "OK well I'll do it this evening," but then I know I
will get up and do it first thing in the morning on a Saturday or first thing in the morning on a
Monday. It feels better and it feels easier for me to just drive it through the week. If you notice
when you're watching this like in the future, that the first day of the month is next Tuesday then
you say "Hmmm I've only got three days to go, I can prepare, I can work out how I'm going to do this."
Maybe get yourself organized with the knitting bag. It can be really helpful to just build that
motivation maybe the day before and say "OK well I'm starting tomorrow' or "I'm starting in two days
time", and you never know, you may start early, it may be so exciting for you ,and you may feel so ready
to get going. So tip number six is to say pretty much the flip of the one I just suggested and that
is to not start when it's particularly stressful time. You may have two days when you know you have
a lot on your plate. Starting a new habit when you know you're going to struggle to fit it anyway,
and it will actually feel like you're failing because you haven't managed it. Don't let yourself
off the hook. Don't try and start something new when you've got too many things on your plate
already. Knitting is a positive thing, it can be so beneficial in so many ways. That mindful habit
can really, really help on a stressful day, but only when it is becoming part of that stressful time
and when it's become a natural part of every other day as well, but if you're trying to do it and kind
of squeeze it into everything else then just give it a pass and say "I'll start tomorrow." So the last
tip I have for you is to find an accountability knitter or a community. It might even be to just
follow me on Instagram. I'll keep you knitting. I do post very regularly. I try and post every day
at the moment and even if it's not every day then it's regularly during the week so you will see me
and follow other knitters as well, and indeed make sure you subscribe here because every
single week I'm back with more knitting tips, more knitting tutorials, all sorts of things to
just push you into the same way saying "yeah you're a knitter aren't you?" I am a knitter even if I feel
that I don't do it every day you can say "I am a knitter." Say it now together: "I am a knitter!" So yes,
accountability can really help, and at this time of year I do want to invite you as well to join the
Knit-a-long that we've got starting. That's starting in 10 days time, next Friday on the 15th of October,
and what we're doing in this Knit-a-long is actually really exciting. We are doing an
'anything goes' Knit-a-long. Whether you're purchasing patterns courses or kits from the shop, whether
you're knitting something completely different, you've already got your plan organized for this
time of year, you are very welcome to join the knit-a-long. It's £30 to join - you've got three
sessions with me, group calls where you can ask me any, as many, and all questions you like about
what you're knitting, knitting in general, you can chat with everyone else in the community as well,
and it's a real great session if you know that you want accountability to keep you knitting,
and I love the fact that people go "I've got so far," and then the next week everyone's going
"I've got even further" and then we all share what colours we're using and that kind of thing.
And the same thing can happen with an 'Anything Goes' knit-a-long. I'd really love for you to join
us. It's just £10 a session - we've got three live video calls and the beauty of that is that
they are set apart. We have the first one next week, the next one the week after, and then it's
two weeks before the next one. I do hope you'll join me for that and I do hope you'll join me
next week. I'll be back next week with a specific tutorial for a seaming technique and I do hope
you will enjoy that. Thank you so much for being here today. I'll see you again soon. Bye for now. Happy knitting.