All I knitted in 2024…

It’s that time of year again when people start posting their “All I Knitted in…” videos. And gosh… they sure did knit plenty of stuff! On the one hand, it’s fascinating—especially when they rate their projects, analysing what worked, what didn’t, and why. On the other hand, it feels overwhelming! I find it hard not to compare myself to them and how little my output is compared to theirs. This year feels a little different, though, thanks to Mr. Ugly Deer.

My knitting world before the rise of the online community

I am old enough to have knitted for decades before the online knitting world existed. Back then, I knew far less about knitting techniques. At one point, I took the train every other week to attend a knit and chat at a local yarn shop, where I picked up a few new skills. We would knit, drink tea and chat -, I’d be the only one not knitting for a grandchild but for my toddler, there were usually three or four of us, it felt cosy and creative.
Mostly, I would buy yarn, use the patterns sold by the yarn brands, knit my projects and be rather happy with myself. As I gained confidence, I reached for more complex patterns, knowing that if I got stuck, the shop owner would be there to help me out. I had very few people to compare my knitting to -mostly just the the yarn shop owner. Even then, knitting was getting rare where I live. Our ever-dwindling numbers led to one yarn shop after another closing down. Eventually, that yarn shop closed down too.

One reason I didn’t expand my skills set much was that I really struggled with written or drawn instructions! ! But that wasn’t the only factor. I only knew one way one left-leaning and one right-leaning decrease method, one way to cast on and one way to bind off – the extent of my unknown unknowns was quite staggering! It hadn’t even occurred to me that my ability to read both German and English could be a major asset when it came when it came to expanding my knitting skills. I had never heard of Elizabeth Zimmermann, June Hemmons Hiatt, or other influential knitting figures. Neither had the other ladies at the yarn shop.
Now this time seems so far away!

More knowledge, more skills… more self-doubt?

The rise of the online knitting community has been a blessing. Discovering the variety of the knitting traditions, all the new techniques- it’s been amazing! I am especially drawn to the Scandinavian tradition. The downside? I now have plenty of people to compare myself to.

This obviously ties into the conversation I started about perfectionism. Whom do anxious people compare themselves to? The best. The most experienced, most talented knitters. The ones who have been knitting lace, colourwork, or cables for the last 20 years! It’s weird, isn’t it?
It’s as if the anxious brain seeks out the highest possible standard and says, That’s what I should be able to do. Anything less is failure. This is, of course, completely irrational. But perfectionism isn’t rational—we’ve already established that. And as the online knitting communities highlight polished, curated projects rather than the messy, mistake-filled process behind them, it’s easy to assume that everyone else is knitting flawlessly all the time. Each January, we watch these All I knitted this year videos and further assume everyone else is knitting plenty of flawless projects that they finish effortlessly rather than two years later. Just writing this makes my anxiety levels rise as I spiral further and further into self-doubt.

Exposure therapy to the rescue

And yet, my self-designed exposure therapy is starting to bear fruit. I have now been living with Mr Ugly Deer being online on this blog for about two weeks and… nothing has happened. Zilch. People still mostly come to read my post about the appalling quality of yarn sold on Temu. No one seems to care about Mr. Ugly Deer. Very few people have read the post. The dozen free subscribers I have have not unsuscribed.
I am finishing a few more things – like a headband that only needed some sewing done and that had been lingering in its Ziploc bag for more than a year. I also cast on a pair of self-designed socks and pushed myself to actually finish them. They’re far from perfect but I wear them all the time.

Wishes for 2025

We knitters have our “all I knitted in 2024 videos”, readers communities have the “how many books I read in 2024”, it seems the gaming community have similar wrap-up videos too. So here’s my wish for 2025: that we allow ourselves to be moderately productive—or even wildly unproductive—without guilt. We live in a society that places so much value on productivity that even in our hobbies, we struggle to opt out. I would love for us to shift our focus, little by little, from quantity to cherished experiences or deeply meaningful creations.

I am thoroughly grateful to all the YouTubers who share their knitting journeys with us. These wrap-up videos are a wonderful way to discover new designers and creators, and it’s truly a joy to see so many beautiful knits. I have admitted that, they can feel overwhelming—but I also find them deeply inspiring. Maybe next year, we’ll watch What I Knitted in 2025 videos instead of All I Knitted in 2025 videos. Wouldn’t that be even better? For viewers and for creators? After all, this tradition doesn’t just put pressure on knitters—it puts undue pressure on content creators, too.

What’s your stance? Does this resonate with you?