I don't know what happened to 2008 - it flew by at an alarming rate. I rely on crafty pursuits to deal with stress related to school-related stuff, and there was certainly a need for plenty of craft in 2008. I put together one of those photo collages everyone seems to be doing this year to summarize my 2008 crafts:
(Click on the photo to get links to all of the individual photos.)
Themes in my crafting for 2008:
- Socks, socks, and more socks: after totally losing my sock-knitting mojo for most of 2007 and the first half of 2008, I had a hard time knitting anything other than socks for the second half of 2008. A bit part of this change of mind was when I joined the Yarn Pirate's Booty Club - her yarn is so beautiful and the finished socks are so wonderful to wear that I was inspired to pick up the sock needles again. I've settled into knitting socks toe-up two-at-a-time on one circular needle and it's working marvelously for me.
- Combining knitting and sewing: sewing linings into knit bags, backings onto blankets - 2008 was a year for combining crafts.
- Collaborating with others: two good friends (Laura & Steph) and I worked together on a baby blanket for our friend Judith's baby. I've never worked on a craft project with others before, this was a nice change and a lot of fun.
- Colorwork, colorwork, colorwork: colorwork definitely emerged as my favorite type of knitting in 2008. I've limited my colorwork knitting to accessories like bags, mittens, and hats because it really doesn't get cold enough here in Nashville for a colorwork sweater to make sense. There are so many wonderful colorwork accessory patterns out there that I don't see getting bored with them any time soon though.
- Travel knitting: I feel like knitting makes me a much better traveller, less fidgety and more fun to travel with. In 2008, I knit a clapotis during our trip to Japan and socks on shorter trips to Wisconsin, Philadelphia, and Washington DC.
- A new craft: I certainly didn't plan on starting to spin when 2008 started. It just sort of happened. While it hasn't been as easy for me to pick up as knitting was, I feel like I'm getting the hang of spinning and am starting to make some really usable yarns. More importantly, I'm enjoying the process.
I don't know what 2009 has in store from a crafting perspective, other than more socks :) One thing missing from 2008 was any kind of finished sweater and I've got my eye on several ideas for 2009. I'm also participating in the Stashdown group on ravelry - choosing to "shop the stash" before purchasing new yarn, fiber, or even (gasp!) fabric. I feel like my stash of craft supplies has gotten a bit out of control and I need to step back and use some of the fabulous supplies I already have. I've already found a couple of types of yarn I had totally forgotten about! I'm still going to stick with the Yarn Pirate club and also a second club I belong to, a fiber club from A Verb for Keeping Warm (AVFKW). I'll hopefully have some finished items knit from some of AVFKW fiber to share soon!
Best wishes to you for 2009!
