I’m not a huge gift knitter, but this year, I have a few handmade presents planned, and they’re keeping my needles completely busy. While I’m really enjoying making for people I care about, I’ve also started to daydream about what I might cast on when the last gift is cast off! I usually have a thousand and one thoughts swirling in my head about what I’d like to knit next, and the challenge is sifting through all the inspiration to figure out what I need or want to knit most. So the other day, I broke open my new Strickplaner to start getting organised for 2022.

The redesigned Strickplaner has a two-page spread right at the front with some really lovely prompts to get you thinking about what you’d like to get out of your knitting. Questions like what kind of projects you’d like to knit, who you’d like to knit with, and, Arnall-Culliford HQ favourite, what techniques you’d like to learn. As you can see, I’ve only just started to fill this spread in. Since the new Strickplaner is a timeless knitting journal, rather than a strictly annual planner, I want to leave plenty of room for my plans to evolve and grown. I’ve simply started jotting ideas down as they come to me.

Want to hear a bit more about my plans so far? You’ll see the first thing I’ve written under “What kind of projects would I like to knit?” is socks. I almost exclusively wear hand knit socks these days, but my sock drawer is looking alarmingly scant! I’ve lost quite a few pairs (at least temporarily) to holes from wear, which then means I wear the remaining pairs more, which means more holes. Vicious cycle! So I’d really like to focus on building my sock drawer back up this coming year… which is, as it happens, quite convenient as we have some very exciting sock-related plans afoot at A-C HQ for 2022! Did I say that out loud?

Filling in my sock hopes then reminded me to add “improve mending” to the “Techniques I’d like to learn” section, so I can start tackling my sock mending pile. And then it got me thinking about yarns I’d like to knit socks with... Fab Funky Fibres goes without saying (but I put it on the “yarns I’d like to use” list anyway!), and I’d also like to knit a pair of socks or four with Zauberball Crazy yarn. I knitted a pair earlier this year, and they’ve been some of my favourite socks to wear. And I will never get tired of looking at the different colourways we stock… plus, the nylon in the yarn is biodegradable. Win all round!

I’ve also been thinking about what techniques I’d like to try in 2022… there really is always something new to learn. This year, I tried entrelac and seaming a jumper for the first time, and I loved that oh-my-goodness-how-nifty-is-this rush that trying something new brought! Steeking is topping my personal to-learn list for 2022. I’m sorely tempted to cast on for Soorik from The Shetland Trader Book Three the minute I have free needles, but I also really like the idea of knitting an Oorik Tank for my daughter, in order to try steeking out on a smaller garment with the help of Jen’s tutorial. Watch this space!

Luckily, the Strickplaner has a generously-sized section for recording project ideas. You’ll see I’ve already jotted Soorik down. I’m looking forward to slowly filling in the 60 idea boxes as a sort of what-to-knit-next cheat sheet!

Have you made any knitting resolutions for 2022, and, if so, how are you keeping track of them? I can already tell I’m really going to enjoy using the new Strickplaner. So many possibilities start to open up when you do just a little bit of planning! We’ve got just a handful of Strickplaners left in the online shop, so if you’d like to scoop one up, don’t delay. And of course, if you’re looking for new skills to learn, our catalogue of books is a great place to start — with patterns from wildly talented designers, crystal-clear photo tutorials as well as a whole YouTube channel, you can tackle new skills with confidence. Happy planning!