Monday, December 31, 2007

2007: My personal knitting year in review

It's that time of year again, time to reflect on what was done -- and left undone -- in my personal year of knitting. When I look back over my knitting resolutions, I have to laugh. Of the list of six people I wanted to knit for, none of them received anything handknit. Of the seven general types of projects I envisioned knitting, none of them got finished and only one made it onto the needles, simply to languish there for most of the year, and is still gathering dust somewhere.


And yet, that's not to say it was an unproductive knitting year for me.






I knit four adult-sized sweaters for Knit So Fine, along with the sleeves for another, and an accessory. I fiddled with many swatches for another accessory for the book, along with another sweater and a half -- all of which ended up, in final form, knit by others. I knit two adult-sized sweaters for JCA/Reynolds that will appear in their Spring 2008 line (I hope!) and designed a pair of socks in Soft Sea Wool (also for spring 2008) that were knit by a test knitter. Those projects alone probably set a productivity record for me.

In my "personal" knitting, I finished a baby blanket for a charity project; a skirt for G.; a pair of socks each for N. and G.; have finished a cardigan for G. which just needs buttons sewn on (I need to find a needle with a very small eye for the particular buttons I want to use); two baby sweaters for gifts; and finished a pair of BBF socks for myself. There were some miscellaneous projects which I have forgotten (mostly pre-Ravelry projects), and a few things still on the needles (3/4 of a sock for Elvis, the last 3/4 of a sock for me, the Koigu log cabin blanket come to mind) but that's a very satisfying mix of finished items for me, especially given my time constraints.



Oh yeah, I wrote most of the text of a book, too.

I'm also proud of my continued work on the blog. I enjoy doing knitting book reviews and other technical posts, and it's gratifying that other people seem to enjoy reading them. So I'll add that to my list of knitting accomplishments this year: keeping up with the blog and, hopefully, adding something constructive to the on-line knitting community.
Then there's Black Bunny Fibers. I sold my one-thousandth item on Etsy earlier this year (holy crap!) and am fine-tuning a BlackBunnyFibers.com website. I started the Sock and Fiber Clubs which will begin soon, and even ran my first ad ever (on Ravelry). I've tried to refine my product mix with some consistent regular offerings, while still doing one-offs when I found interesting stuff in limited quantities to dye. I introduced my first plant-derived fiber, too, with the merino/tencel blend sock yarn.
Thank you for all your support, your BBF purchases, your encouragement and enthusiasm about Knit So Fine, and most of all, thank you for still reading.

Here's hoping we'll all have a happy, productive, knitting-filled 2008!






12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Festivus

Rabbitch said...

Well done!

I don't know if I had any goals for 2007 but if I did I'm pretty sure I didn't meet them.

I intend to continue this fine tradition for 2008.

Barbara-Kay said...

'Twas quite a year - you should be well satisfied.

Happy knitting New Year to you. Hope we can keep meeting like this! VBG!

Unknown said...

Happy New Year Carol...I hope your 2008 is the best one yet, and each one thereafter even better.

Carol said...

Rabbitch, I think your goal for 2007 was to worm your way into my affections. At which you succeeded admirably.

Also I think you vowed to get drunk a lot. At which you also succeeded admirably.

Ann said...

Quite impressive! And thank you for your blogging which I'm sure has eaten into your knitting time.

pandop said...

That is a heck of a lot of knitting and writing!

Oh, and I am glad you are keeping the book reviews - I am a real fan of those.

Unknown said...

Happy New Year.

Although I've been knitting for a few years, I've done so at such a glacial pace that I still consider myself a newbie.

As such, I appreciate your thoughtful books reviews and insight into the knitting community. I learn a lot from reading your blog.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that you can be completely irreverent and funny!

mindy said...

You should be proud of all of it- the book thing is huge- and personally, I NEED BBF- would be totally lost w/out it.

Happy 2008 to all.

Liz K. said...

You've had a hell of a year, and 2008 is sure to be even better with your big debut on the publishing scene. It's been a pleasure to enjoy it vicariously.

I'm sure you'll be posting later about how the very best thing that happened to you this year, and really, your whole life, was making friends with me.

Franklin said...

Happy New Year, and I hope your book sells freaking MILLIONS.

Anonymous said...

I haven't been around much lately, so coming back and reading your year in review was quite impressive! I can't wait to get back to knitting and aquiring more BBF