in review...

Well in an effort to clean up the sidebar at right, I thought I'd take a moment to look back at everything I managed to knit in 2007.

Shockingly, it's a loooooong list.

Jade Empire cardigan
Fetching fingerless gloves
felted slippers
Gretel beret
Dashing fingerless gloves
Apple Pie kerchief
Alpaca Cowl #3
converse booties #2
kerchief scarf #2
Foliage "snood"
le slouch #2
Anouk pinafore
Baby Surprise Jacket
Saartje's booties
Angora mittens
Phildar Vest
Balthazar Vest
Aspen hat
Drops Jacket 103-1
Phildar Sailor sweater
Argosy scarf #2
Kid Silk scarf
Pi kitty bed
baby "ugg" booties
Fulled lopi tote
Fruit cozies/protectors
Chevron Scarf
chuck taylor booties
half clapotis (#2)
Alpaca Silk Kerchief scarf
Garter stitch jacket & hat
Baby Bonnet
Angora baby Booties
Argosy Scarf
Fleece Artist Merino socks
Alpaca Gilmore Vest
Pimlico shrug
Cabled newsboy cap
Flair (Wendy Bernard)
Cashmere Cowl
Lopi Hödd hat
Le Slouch
Angora Gossamer Scarf
Koigu Purl Beret
Sleepytime Eyemask
Rowan tweed DK beret
Baby Alpaca Cowl
Ribbon scarf #8
Clapotis
Vintage Cardigan
Ribbed scarf
Seaman's Toques
Stitch n Bitch Cat Bed
Catnip Toys

How is this even possible? For the most part I feel like there are about zero seconds in the day to spare for anything, let alone a humble meditation like knitting!

I think my mom taught me "how" to knit in high school (or maybe it was even junior high?) but like most of my interests back then --perms, Rick Springfield buttons pinned to the shoelaces I used to tie up my hair, polka dot button earrings, rubber bracelets and fingerless gloves (yeah I could go on an ON)...it was an interest that lasted about a day.

Then about 5 years ago (maybe even more now...) I took a knitting class with a guy from work, and my interest was *kinda* re-newed again. I knit a garter stitch scarf. It was 100% acrylic. Neon pink and black. It was hideous, but I wore that thing everywhere.

And then I lost interest again.

All of a sudden last Christmas, after not having knit in years I decided one of my cats needed a new bed and that the 9 other people on my team at work all needed handmade hats and scarves. A RIDICULOUS undertaking, I know, but once I put my mind to something (I've been told...) I can be pretty stubborn about it.

Within two months I had all of that done, and was officially on board as a knitter.

January of last year I began my first Clapotis for myself, and the rest as they say, is history.

Given that I've really only been knitting for about a year now, I'm impressed with my own learning curve, and how quickly you can actually grow as a knitter. Things that are second nature to me now mere months later I would have never dreamed of undertaking this time last year.

I think that knitting was something that had lain dormant within me for many years, waiting to surface. And it came to me just over a year ago when I found myself in the depths of a depression I'd never experienced before, one that I am just now really finding myself truly starting to swim out of. Knitting helped pull me through, keep me pre-occupied, and had a large part in helping me maintain my sanity, so for that I will be eternally thankful.

What will 2008 hold for me in the knitting realm? I guess that remains to be seen. I'm not one for a lot of resolutions. There are definitely things that I want to do, but in some ways I prefer to be surprised by what happens next.

Though if I had to take a stab at things that I've been putting off but do hope to learn this year (and you know I will...):

-Learn to crochet. Finally. How hard can this be? What am I so afraid of?

-Some form of colour work. I really don't know what this will entail yet.

-Magic loop. why do I still not know how to do this?

-De-stash. I need to get a handle on the stash monster. In an effort to not set myself up for failure, at the very least I should be knitting away more than I'm taking in.

Ok, I'm going to leave it at those three for now. Truthfully I've set the bar pretty low I think. In my first year of knitting I managed to crank out about ten sweaters (ok, one was a kid's jacket and about three of them were vests...) but ten garments nonetheless, so I'm confident that I can at least have somewhat of a comparable year.

Unless of course the apathy sets in, or something else really major takes my fancy. That's always a killer...

And finally, I can't look back at 2007 without a shout out to you --the people who read and comment and who just generally make this blogging business worthwhile, (particularly as I approach my 10,000th hit in an 8 month span!). If blogging about knitting were my job, your comments, encouragement, advice, INSPIRATION, and general commraderie in this amazing online knitting community that we share --all that stuff is my paycheque, and the very basis of what sustains me here.

So, before I go any further waxing poetically about how much you and all of this means to me, and make a total ass of myself (god you'd think I was drunk as I type this...) let me sign off by wishing you a BOUNTY of knitterly goodness for 2008, and a simple and heart-felt

thank-you.


meow.