I didn't do much of anything for New Years this year, and so have been up for a few hours already on this crisp New Years Day. Happy 2013 everyone!
As I go through by RSS reader backlog and read many a "what I did in 2012" roundup post, I can't help but think about what I did in 2012. And you know what? It wasn't knit. At least not much.
Ravelry tells me that I completed exactly 7 projects in 2012. SEVEN. That is pathetic. That number isn't correct actually, because I made a bunch of other samples of my Loreley Scarf Pattern to send to shops that are stocking my kits, but really. Those hardly count as projects either.
SEVEN projects.
Pitiful.
Although . . . they were all original designs, and two of them were even published in major knitting publications (my Pixel Hat & Mittens in Twist, my Professor Jackson's Scarf in Interweave). So they count more, right?
There are two main reasons I didn't knit much in 2012:
1 - Because I learned to quilt.
In 2012 I finished at least 5 quilts and many more small sewn things like bags and tank tops. I guess 2012 really was the year of the sewing machine for me. I even got a fancy new Bernina in 2012! And set up a quilting site under my new brand, Rose Smoke, and started selling finished sewn items and quilting kits. I even did 3 shows this year to show and sell my sewn items . . . . So yeah, the sewing took over.
2 - Much of my knitting time this year has been spent making kits and Koigu Minis.
Making the minis for my Koigu Minis Club takes a long time. So does making kits for my website and for my retailers. If I had been knitting during those hours instead, I would definitely have more FO's, and probably more knitting patterns too!
As I look on to 2013, I have lots of plans, as usual. After spending the majority of 2012 freelancing and structureless, I've realized yet again that I can't do it all. At least, I can't do it all well. I have way more ideas and interests than I have time, and I'm sick of having so many half-finished projects (and not just UFO's, I'm talking half-finished websites, patterns, businesses, etc).
In 2013 I'm going to take my dad's favorite word of advice to heart and I'm going to focus.
I already started this morning by NOT sending an email to someone suggesting a new website I could build for her.
And you know what else I've been doing with the first few hours of 2013?
Garter stitch + cashmere feels good.