January always pulls me toward quieter beginnings.
Today was a scouring day — warm water, clean fibre, and the kind of work that doesn’t look like progress yet. There’s no colour at this stage, nothing particularly photogenic, just preparation. And still, everything that follows depends on it.
Scouring is the work that comes before the work. It removes what doesn’t belong, opens the fibre, and gives colour a fair chance later on. Without it, nothing lasts the way it should. I’ve learned that the hard way over the years — rushing this step, trying to move ahead too quickly, only to have colours shift or fade when they shouldn’t.
In winter, that lesson feels especially present.
January doesn’t ask me to produce. It asks me to prepare. To slow down enough to notice what needs care before anything new can take hold. The studio feels quieter right now, and I’m letting that be intentional rather than something to push against.
There’s a temptation at the start of a year to jump straight to the exciting parts — the dye pots, the colour stories, the finished skeins. But I’m trying to honour the unseen labour this season. The soaking, rinsing, drying. The waiting. The patience.
This way of working mirrors how I want the studio to feel this year: steady rather than rushed, small rather than sprawling, focused rather than scattered. I’m planning a very small January yarn update, built slowly and carefully from these early steps. Only a few skeins. One colourway. Enough to stay present with the process instead of racing through it.
There’s something grounding about starting here. Clean fibre hanging to dry. Notes waiting to be written. Space left open for what comes next.
If you’re also easing back into making — knitting, planning, or simply finding your rhythm again — I hope this is a reminder that preparation counts. Quiet work counts. Beginning gently counts.
I’ll be sharing a small January yarn update later this month, built slowly from these early, quiet days.
-Keli
Petal and Purl 