2025 Knitting Plans & Intentions - finding joy in finishing long-term WIPs & ditching color analysis

[@rhiannonleigh5015]

I bought this BEAUTIFUL (to me) hot pink/fuchsia yarn and I started making a sweater with it, knowing it wasn’t in my “color palette” and while I’ve since decided to scrap that sweater and use the yarn for something else, I was SHOCKED it looked SO good on me when I tried on my wip. I truly believe that it looked so good on me purely just because I love love love pink and out there pops of color. I think that the idea of what you were trying to get at is so cool! Like the way the things we love, affect our behavior and really every aspect of our lives, is so special🥹

[@highfiberknits]

I’m so glad that sentiment resonated with you!!

[@morganunraveled]

the idea of trading handmade items with someone of a different craft is so special & beautiful 💗 I feel like trading isn’t something that happens in this era but definitely in past centuries and it’s beautiful you’ve found a way to do that that serves you both!

[@ifeismaking]

I brought my knitting to a tattoo appointment and my tattoo artist actually proposed a trade for a hand knit item in exchange for a tattoo. I was like omg yes that’s a great idea I’m happy to make that skill trade. Community is coolll

[@highfiberknits]

I’m truly grateful that it’s working out this way. I also feel like it takes some pressure off of me to learn so many different crafts when I know I want to spend my time on knitting and crochet!

[@highfiberknits]

That’s so cool!

[@sandracroley9784]

Just pausing the episode to comment on colour. Be prepared to have colour preference change as you age. As a young brunette woman I wore alot of earth tones. Now, as an older grey-haired women, with older complexion, I wear pinks, purples, etc. I do love colour! I do think my being a quilter since I was 19 has helped my colour choices.

[@highfiberknits]

Thank you Sandra! I think having been knitting and making content for over three years now, I am happy to reflect on how my color preferences are changing. A big life lesson from content creation and knitting for me has been being open to changing my mind and welcoming changes throughout the ebbs and flows of life!

[@kathyzacharias9867]

I would love a video about keeping a knitting journal. It seems like you do such a good job of tracking past projects and future plans/intentions...

[@kaitlyntrugman6015]

Never ever skip a new High Fiber video ❤

[@highfiberknits]

Thanks for watching!!

[@rondaboyle9362]

I am loving the humility I am seeing here. I have always thought you have had good insight to share, but I did feel that you were, perhaps, feeling the pressure to have a 'perfect' message or podcast. This relaxed and natural version of you is the real and authentic you! I have watched many, many or your episodes and this is my favourite one so far. You've got this, Emily! Just be you.

[@highfiberknits]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts - I’m so glad the change in approach resonates with you!

[@susanmartinez1485]

I really enjoyed this podcast. You were so informative and precise. I really enjoy your calm and relaxed manner.

[@highfiberknits]

Thanks for the kind words! I’m glad you enjoyed the episode.

[@gingerglitter]

I think the yarn you have planned for your Oslo hat is actually going to suit you beautifully!

[@woolseeknitting]

so much of your reflections and intentions really resonate with me and I'm looking forward to watching as the year progresses !

[@TamiChappel]

I enjoyed this less scripted and more casual video style from you. I feel like I got a better sense of the real you. Thanks for sharing yourself!

[@highfiberknits]

Thank you for this encouragement! I’m glad this approach is coming across well. When I left the room after filming I even said to my partner that it felt good to just talk 😊

[@rondaboyle9362]

@@highfiberknits I love this!

[@janinegiles-holmes1742]

Happy New Year to you too, have a fantastic 2025 xx.

[@nikitinaknits]

I love how thoughtful you are about everything you knit or choose. Nice conclusions, I love your projects and videos 🤎🤎🤎

[@ro_crawford]

Emily you really outdid yourself here-lovely podcast episode. I totally agree-knit the colors you love. Whenever I feel frustrations creeping up in my knitting, I just say “it’s just yarn, calm down”😂 I relate so much to your thoughts here and I look forward to more from you in the new year!🥰

[@highfiberknits]

Thank you so much!

[@Marjolein_vs]

Wow Emily, I haven't watched a video from you in a while and what a joy it was to watch this video. Off course this is just para-social interpretation but as a viewer I feel like you have become less rigid and strict with yourself and your believes about what you 'should' be doing as a content creator/knitter/etc. Thank you for letting all of us enjoy your crafting-contemplations 😊 and happy new year to you

[@highfiberknits]

Thanks so much for your ongoing support! I have definitely evolved a lot throughout the years, and I always want to be authentic for my own sake! Sometimes it can feel like videos need to be super heavily researched or thoroughly planned to give the most value, but the casual approach has been super relaxing for me!

[@stevie5080]

The Make 9 - YES! Two years ago I didn't make any of my make 9. Last year, I made 3/9, but they were all already on the needles when I made my Make 9. I have three things I am definitely going to make this year, but they're already WIPs, and aside from that I'm just going to see what I'm inspired to knit as the year goes without trying to decide right away what I'm going to want to knit later.

[@y0landa0571]

your voice is so soothing, it’s really nice to listen to!! :)

[@gia3742]

The first podcast I watched of yours you were knitting a sweater for your Nonna. I thought that was so sweet, a wonderful gift knit! I miss my Nonna still!

[@highfiberknits]

My Nonna is a great inspiration to me as a woman. I’m sorry that you have lost your Nonna, but I hope you can continue to celebrate the positive ways her life and presence shaped you!

[@ifeismaking]

I want to make a moonflower collar for my momma this winter. Excited to see yours when it’s done!

[@highfiberknits]

It has been a lot of fun! I’m keeping the neck for transit knitting once school resumes, but I’d should be wrapped up soon!

[@danakobitzky9306]

I can totally recommend the ophelia top! I made it last year and wore it a lot during summer :) I made three patterns of hers and they are really well written! Thanks for the great video

[@highfiberknits]

Thank you for sharing your experience with the pattern! The more I think about it, the more excited I am getting to knit it 🥰

[@Stitchesinstem]

Your thoughts on the make 9 are so interesting to me bc my attitude is the complete opposite 😂 I’m averse to adding projects that I have the yarn for because I feel like it’s a given that I’ll make those, and I want my make 9 to be more aspirational. Hearing you talk about it is making me question that and wonder why I feel a need for it to be more of a “challenge”!

[@highfiberknits]

That’s so interesting! I think it’s totally cool to approach the make 9 as a challenge. I think for me, since I know I usually make a lot more than 9 projects in a year, I question why I would distill a list down to only 9 objects. Seasonal planning has been a helpful solve for that, but then those can be overly ambitious as they often include 9 projects on their own!

[@teyaquarmyne7283]

just an idea- you could probably get the lang cloud while you’re in portugal. i don‘t know how readily available it is there, but if you cant find it in stores you could easily order it from germany where it’s really easy to come by, and it would cost half what it does in the states.

[@highfiberknits]

This is such a great idea! I hadn’t even thought about that as an option!

[@juliaholmedammann7601]

Hey! Love your videos! 😊 For the Lumme pullover: make sure you pick 2 greys with enough contrast! Seems to me you might want to go for a shade darker than the one you showed here (or a lighter one for the lighter grey) - two shades that are too close together often give the optical illusion of blending in colourwork, and you lose the lovely pattern.. just a tip! 😊👍

[@krautkopf65]

Talking about colors. When someone used to ask me what my favorite color was I said red. But I actually never really thought about it. It was my mom’s favorite color and still is. It looks really good on her. I look a lot like her with splashes of my dad. A few years ago (shockingly I was in my early 50s before thinking about it) I actually looked at myself and thought greens look really good on me. Some yellows and last year I knitted a purple tank top that looks so good on me. For sooo many years I wore grays and black. My mom used to say she thought I was trying to hide. Like a gray little mouse. Sad to say she wasn’t wrong. I still like gray and black but now I enjoy different shades of colors especially greens.

[@highfiberknits]

It’s never too late to find new joys and inspirations! It’s also funny how our families can sometimes see things in us that we don’t see ourselves, and how special that can be. Thank you for sharing 🥰

[@nonnasstitchingloungewithr7281]

Good for you on the planning! I was in Portugal last spring, and depending where you go (like Porto or Lisbon) it can be very wet and damp. i took a mohair sweater with me and ended up wearing it under my raincoat almost every night. Southern Portugal can be warmer and less wet, but cool at night. Just a heads up! Rosie

[@highfiberknits]

Thank you! We will be in the south and are planning for lots of long walks and easy hikes, so I’ll definitely have layers!

[@sofiabennett5212]

I do think weather is very relative! What is cold in Toronto is very different from cities like Lisbon. I was there in early December last year and was pretty warm since it was still in the high 50s/low 60s while the locals were bundled up because that is considered more cold for them.

[@My_slow_story]

For the Lang Cloud yarn....just wait till you have confirmed accomodation booked and send to address (hotels are best for that!). That's what I do when travel from UK to Europe...saving £15 on shipping alone

[@rockstarkate78]

I think color seasons are kind of BS to be honest. It's too categorical and people aren't neatly slotted into little bins, we exist on a spectrum. The idea that your skin tone is either cool or warm and you have to figure that out or forever be doomed to looking like a lesser version of yourself is so limiting and unnecessary. The only people who should do color season analysis are people who find it fun! But I feel like its resurgence coincides with an obsession with rigid categorization in many areas of our lives and I find it very much not fun. Much more fun to just express yourself as you like. If you don't like how you look in a color, don't wear it if you don't want to. But we don't need to be prescribed which colors we can wear. It was silly in the 80s and it's still silly now.

[@Lisa-vb3gn]

It isn’t silly that certain colors look better on some people and others look better on different people. One can choose to wear whatever color they want-there are no restrictions. The light blue sweater is not going to look as good on her as some other colors would. Will it still be a lovely sweater and will she be able to love it and appreciate it? Absolutely! I look absolutely ill in black, light grey or pastels. I still wear them sometimes, but there’s no use thinking that they look good on me. You can do whatever you want and enjoy it, but there’s are colors that work better together than others.

[@rockstarkate78]

@ ok but why does it need to be divided into these little categories? I think some people look good in colors that you wouldn’t think go together if you believe in “the seasons”. It’s just a system someone made up. If it is fun and helpful to you, great. But I think it is limiting.

[@highfiberknits]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I agree with both of your points. I agree that there are some colors I am going to look better in, but I no longer want to use the possibility that I might not look good in a particular color prevent me from knitting with it in future. Ultimately, I think we all agree that with the abundance of choice we have as knitters, we should be free to make these choices with whichever frameworks or rationales we choose! For me, color analysis helped me to hone in my preferences for a time and reduce decision paralysis while still being discerning, but I don’t feel that it serves me in this same way any longer. I by no means meant to criticize anyone who likes to use color analysis as a tool.

[@amagicalgirlknits]

@@rockstarkate78People make up all kind of categories to describe things in a useful way. That does not make the categories irrelevant. Color analysis provides information about the hue, value and chroma of a given individuals natural coloring. While most clients seem to want to use that information to choose colors that have a natural harmony with their coloring, there is nothing saying anyone has to. I can’t understand why the existence of a tool to inform you of your color qualities makes people so angry and defensive. If you don’t want to use the tool, don’t.

[@rockstarkate78]

@@amagicalgirlknits I am not angry or defensive. I simply don't believe in the system at all. I think there are many examples of people who look good in colors from multiple "seasons" and the system is unnecessarily categorical. Like I said, if people find it fun and useful, that's great and they should use it. But I do not agree that all people fall into these particular categories. The categorization itself is quite subjective and not based on any kind of scientific study.

[@VeeZee2194]

Amazing tip! Thank you. I’ve wanted to try KFO but every time I find a store selling it in Canada it’s 50% more and too little stock in one color for a garment. I’ll order today from their website. Also, the madeleine sweater… please hurry. If it comes out drapey, not stiff, I’ll knit it 😂 I have three sweater quantities of the patons worsted bought 30% off and collected from 3 different Micheal’s to accumulate one sweaters worth of a color: natural mix, the red and Aran. Very much looking forward to seeing your project!

[@highfiberknits]

Hoping to cast on today! Stay tuned 😊

[@ptoste1]

So cool. I’m Portuguese viewer of your podcasts and I’m happy to know that you are visiting my country. I live in Coimbra and if you happen to visit the city and if you need a guide just let me know. I would love to know you and show you the city 😊 Happy New Year 🎉❤❤❤❤❤

[@highfiberknits]

Thank you for this generous offer! We will be spending most of our time south of Lisbon, so I would be grateful for any recommendations you have for the south coast!

[@ptoste1]

@ I use to live in Mozambique for 26 years so I don’t know the south of the country. Usually I go for the beach in Algarve but I don’t know what to recommend you. But I will ask to my family and friends and I will get back to you.

[@jqzou]

i used a yarn similar to the visions yarn to make vexnot studio's so what shruggie! mine is acrylic but i imagine the plant based fiber would make it even better for summer

[@highfiberknits]

Thank you for the suggestion! A shrug to layer with simpler dresses sounds like a great idea!!

[@yarnoveremily]

If you’re not married to the colour changing aspect of the Lang Cloud, Cotton + Merino from Juniper Moon Farms is an absolute treat of a blown yarn. There’s no alpaca in it and it’s relatively easy to find in Canada!

[@highfiberknits]

Thank you for the suggestion!

[@metropolitankreyole]

I actually use gift knitting to try new patters and techniques that I want to use and try but am not interested in owning the finished product.

[@christinemccoy5237]

Great podcast! I was wondering if you are getting your knit picks online or in Toronto?

[@highfiberknits]

Hi there! I’m only able to order KnitPicks from their web shop. There is a price difference since their site is in USD, but I often wait until I have enough project plans to order a quantity that gets free shipping.

[@christinemccoy5237]

@@highfiberknits Thanks for the information!

[@helentkalcic4417]

Hey Emily, my LYS carries Lang Cloud - Fibernook, in Edmonton, Alberta. They sell it for $34 CAD. Just thought I’d share if you’re still looking for some.

[@TheCarolrocha88]

Hello! I’m portuguese 😊 March is cold in Portugal! Algarve is warmer but i recomend you to have a coat and more layers! ❤

[@highfiberknits]

Thank you! We’re planning a few hikes, so we’ll definitely be layered 😊

[@minkedouma1763]

thanks for this video, it is very inspiring! a question: do you know when knitting for olive runs their sales? apart from the advent discounts, I haven't been seeing any but would really like to know. thanks in advance!

[@highfiberknits]

Hi there! To be honest, I usually keep an eye on their instagram for sale announcements since they’ve varied.

About the yarns you want to experiment: the Knit Picks cotton/rayon one could work for a mosaic motif, while the base color is a plain one. I wonder if there is a suitable top like that. Maybe something from Wool & Pine or Andrea Mowry. And the other one, the blown yarn, I come to share my experience with a similar yarn, but in my case it was alpaca + nylon. I've knitted my Sugarplum Jumper by Fabel Knitwear with Catena Ribes by Lanafil and it's the warmest and lightest sweater I own! Perfect to carry in the purse for chilli places, like the airport or hospitals or just to walk the streets in (Brazilian) winter (which might be equivalent to Canadian early autumn, I think). I'd love to knit another sweater in the same /a similar yarn and another color

[@highfiberknits]

Thanks for sharing your ideas and experiences for these yarns! I hadn’t thought of using a plant based fiber for colorwork, and I’m intrigued by the idea!

@highfiberknits old Rowan patterns used cotton for colorwork a lot, and browsing them made me believe it can be done 😁

[@corteofs]

Another great podcast. A question for you , I will have a couple of hours in TO in Feb which LYS should I go to ? I was thinking of Ewe knit and The Knitting loft but if I have to pick only one ?

[@highfiberknits]

Both are awesome and you can’t go wrong either way. The knitting loft is about 30 minutes from downtown on transit, and EweKnit is a little bit out of the core as well but still downtown. I’d say it depends on where you will be!

[@corteofs]

@ thanks, I will be driving from Pearson’s and I will have about 3 hours before driving to my final destination

[@highfiberknits]

If you will be on the 401 from Pearson, then The Knitting Loft will be easiest to get to!

[@ifinditamazing]

You may have mentioned this and I missed it, but is the sweater you’re wearing a handmake?? I’ve been obsessed with this color for months!

[@highfiberknits]

Yes! It’s the storm sweater by petiteknit and I used the Sandnes Garn Peer Gynt in “That Orange Feeling”

[@christinemartens6448]

This was a great video!

[@jilliankonig2759]

You will end up buying less if you limit yourself to colors in your seasonal palette. The right colors will make your skin look radiant even without makeup, and the wrong colors will force you to wear more makeup to look alive. It seems that a lot of the knitting community thinks colors are "garish" and they knit everything in beige or grey, just like the home decor designers. It shouldn't matter if you're seen in the same sweater again; people will think 'there she is in that beautiful sweater that she looks terrific in'. We shouldn't aim to never repeat an outfit; we're not billionaires with thousands of clothing items. Fast fashion came into being because people wanted to have another new thing. It's not good for us or the planet.

[@highfiberknits]

These are all such great points!! I agree on so many accounts 😊

[@chebbiereadsandknits672]

Happy new year. My LYS had knitting for olive but not the heavy merino. For your lumme is it itchy at all?

[@highfiberknits]

Happy New Year to you as well! I do not think the KfO has zero itch factor at all, but if I compare it to Peer Gynt from Sandnes Garn or Wool of the Andes from Knit Picks, it feels the most neutral to me.

[@makingyoufit]

What is the top you are wearing?

[@highfiberknits]

It’s the Storm Sweater by Petite Knit!

[@corteofs]

I don’t believe in those color analysis , we see that being done by so many porcasters and in the end like you said it is more about the style and how you pair the garments

[@nadja9331]

❤🌈🧶

[@RachelCunningham-ut9ks]

i wish i felt like a powerhouse in bright colors, but no, i am a neutrals only please dont look at me kind of human being LOL

[@highfiberknits]

As long as you feel empowered to use the yarns and colors you love!

[@TheSolipsist0]

If you plan to make a color analyzing thing - be warned there are even cultural differences (what you want to enhance). I think knitting is about fun and freeing myself from (male dominated) fast fashion.

[@highfiberknits]

Such a good point! That’s why I found Daily Helen’s points on different kinds of color analysis in different cultural frameworks so interesting! I also love how personal knitting can make our wardrobes!

[@TheSolipsist0]

@ I think we saw the same video from Daily Helen. 😊You really shine in that storm sweater.

[@teslaandhumanity7383]

Please explain pantry ….. ref yarn 🧶. Pantry in UK 🇬🇧 is where food is stored.