So Long, 2008!

Today is the day for all of the blogiverse to recap 2008, and I’m no exception. Personally, 2008 was a fantastic year for us. We celebrated our freedom from debt in May, took some fabulous trips – back to Alaska, and also Rhinebeck! – and I had a good year in knitting, too. Kate and I started the Knit Together podcast, which has been a great blessing to us and we really believe the Lord is using us to minister to people, and with Kate’s move to Carthage in the spring, our local Knit Together group expanded to two locations!
I started out the year with a Plan of all the things I wanted to accomplish, knitwise, in 2008, but my main focus was on socks. I didn’t feel comfortable with sock knitting, and thought that if I committed myself to making a pair a month, that I would get over my lack of confidence, and that definitely happened! I’ve stretched myself farther than I originally thought I could. So here’s the recap of everything I finished knitting in 2008 (the LRB and Vince Sweater were both started in 2007).
Baby: Matinee Jacket, Baby Bolero, and 2 pair of Saartje’s booties (4)
Blankets: Lizard Ridge Blanket (1)
Bags: Everlasting Bagstopper (1)
Christmas Ornaments: 2 mini socks, 2 mini hats, 2 mini scarf, 1 mini sweater, 1 pair mini mittens (8)
Gloves and Mittens: Plain Mittens (1)
Hats: Koolhaas, Odessa, Claudia, Calorimetry (4)
Scarves: Clapotis (1)
Socks: Alana, Basket Weave, Child’s First Socks (Adult), Flame Wave, Garden Path, 2 pair Monkeys, Nutkin, Peace, Pink Ribbon, Southwestern, 2 pair Stockinette, 2 pair Tidal Wave (15)
Sweaters: Vince, Hey, Teach!, Central Park Hoodie (3)
Towels and Dishcloths: Moss Grid towel, Moss Grid face cloth, 3 varied face cloths, 3 Grandmother’s Favorite dishcloths (8)
And the winning number is 46! I have 46 finished objects for 2008. Granted, some were small, but others were big, and even very big! I’m pretty excited about being able to look back and see how the Plan worked.
So, I’m currently working on my 2009 Plan. Next year’s focus will be on sweaters, although definitely not one a month. I also want to do some colorwork, and get stronger in my lace knitting. Anne Hanson will be one of the instructors at The Loopy Ewe’s Spring Fling, so I’m sure I’ll learn a lot there. I also want to improve my spinning, first on the drop spindle, and then on a wheel. I’m thinking about taking a spinning class in a couple of months, and then purchasing a spinning wheel after we get back from our trip.
Some people thought I was crazy for saying I’d knit a pair of socks each month, but it happened. So my attitude now is “It’s not that I don’t know how to do it; I just haven’t learned yet.”
I pray that each of you have a blessed 2009!