2012 and Looking Back

2012 Knitting For the last two years I have been doing retrospective and looking forward posts as the years end and begin, and this year is no different. I am using December 30th, as the cut off day for finishing projects in 2012.  Unlike last year I have some projects carrying forward into 2013 and I'm okay with that.

So 2012 in numbers looks something like this, 2011 and 2010 numbers are in brackets. Note, that this year I added a loom so these number include woven projects as well.

2012 by the Numbers:

  • 20.56 (14, 23) miles of yarn acquired during the year
  • 33 (22, 18) miles of yarn currently in my stash
  • 8.7 (6.2, 4.5) miles of yarn knit/crocheted/woven into projects
  • 1.82 (2.15, 3.93) Ratio of yarn acquired to used
  •  1,092 (2,771, 426) yards of handspun yarn
  •  2.5 (6, 5.7) pounds of spinning fiber acquired
  • 12.7 (12, 5) pounds of spinning fiber in stash
  • 1.37 (2.85, 4.68) ratio of stashed fluff to spun yarn
  • 1 (6, 7) pairs of mittens
  • 4 (5, 14) hats
  • 7 (3, 6) shawls or stoles
  • 10 (0, 3) scarves
  • 0 (2, 2) bags
  • 0 (2, 0) blankets
  • 8 (6, 1) cowls
  • 13 (3, 1) pairs of socks
  • 1 (10, 0) dishclothes
  • 2 (0,1) baby sweaters
  • 3 (0,0) toys

The big difference this year was the addition of socks, in a big way, to my repertoire.  Ultimately, I acquired more yarn this year than almost any other but I also used much more than any year.  I also had the smallest fluff acquisition ever, but I did hardly any spinning. I found that with my crazy work schedule I never was all that compelled to sit at my wheel, I'm hoping to change that in 2013.

So to see how I did on the goals I set for myself in January 2012.  I didn't often look at this list when making decisions about what to make this year so, I think I didn't do very well meeting my own expectations, but I had a great year in knitting, crocheting, weaving (and an okay year in spinning) so this is just an exercise in curiosity at this stage.

In 2012, I:  (goals I have met are struck through)

- Spinning -

  • Participate in the Tour de Fleece in July - NOPE didn't even try
  • Spin a truly woolen-spun yarn - Not this year but I will try again next year
  • Spin a useable sock yarn - Didn't even attempt this one, but I have some ideas on how to accomplish it.
  • Spin a 2-ply laceweight of at least 800 yds from 100g of fluff - Nope, another one for 2013
  • Spin at least 3lbs of fluff - I did 1.8 lbs, so more than halfway, which is good for not really spinning
  • Tailspin some locks - Nope, but didn't get my hands on any locks so that was extra challenging
  • Spin hand carded fleece  - Yep, but I hated the yarn I was making so I just tossed it, but I do want to get a drumcarder one day because I do prefer spinning carded batts to combed top.

- Knitting -

  • Knit 12 pairs of socks during the year – I have all the yarn in my stash - YES, and you can read about all my socks HERE.
  • Finish one large shawl/stole, more than 1000yds of laceweight - Nope, I had nobel ideas, but none came to fruition, I am going to relist this goal for 2013 as I have a crocheted stole lined up to use about 1,200 yards of laceweight I hope to have done before summer.
  • Design a pattern that is appropriate for submission to an online knitting magazine - Nope, but again, I have some ideas that are at least suitable for self-publishing, something I want to set as a goal for 2013.
  • Participate in at least one Knitalong - This goal was kind of a gimmie, because I was already planning on participating in the January TFA KAL and then I went on to do several more through the year, one of which actually won me a prize.
  • Knit more than 10 miles of yarn - With 8.7 miles of yarn used, I am short of my 10 mi goal, but I think I still want to aim for it, because I have big plans for 2013.

- Crochet -

  • Start a sock-yarn Babette Blanket from my scraps - Nope, but I got a RH loom which I have been using to use up scraps and I LOVE it.
  • Crochet a shaped item (mittens, hats, shrug, etc) - AMIGURUMI are fun!  I had no idea that might be what I made in shaped crochet, but I have more yarn and patterns on the way to make many, many more.

- Fiber/Yarn -

  • Take undyed fluff and turn it into a finished object, which will included dyeing, spinning and knitting.
  • Process some raw fleece, preferably from a local producer.
  • Knit down my stash
  • FAILED on all these counts, however, a chaotic summer (with a daily 2hr, 100mile round-trip commute) killed some of my inertia to accomplish these during the summer.  

Looking at it I didn't really accomplish many of my goals for 2012, however I don't see this as a failure, but a representation of how hard it is to see into the future, when I was sitting at my desk in January, I had no idea that I would be where I am today.   So I will set goals for 2013 and post them here tomorrow, January 1st, but here are some of the things I accomplished this year which were not on my list for 2012.

Also in 2012, I:

I still have a few 2012 FO posts to share in the next few days as I get better pictures (or in one case block and take pictures, its a lace shawl so it really needs blocking), but I am ready to dive into a new year of fiber fun!