On working through my list of completed projects, it appears that 2017 was the year of the bag for me. I started out with the lovely Farmer's Market Gardening Bag completed in March. This bag has become my favorite bag to accompany me to the local library. I ended with the Trick or Treat Bag in October. One of my cats loves this bag almost as much as I do!
During April, I made a collection of drawstring bags, some of which became the samples for my pattern Jelly Roll Jewellery Pouch. The others made from a beautiful Moda Fabrics Jelly Roll have seen a great deal of use as project bags for small knitting projects.
After an August re-vamp of the cupboard I keep my craft supplies in (yep, they are pretty much all in the cupboard under the stairs), I made 5 pencil case size zipper pouches. I do actually use one for pencils. The others have been used for fabric safe markers, cables for crafting devices, knitting notions and I still have one to spare!
As with previous years, I knitted a lot this year. In addition to shawls, I made several hats, most of which were used as Christmas gifts, now that we celebrate Christmas at the cold time of year. I completed 11 shawls this year, including 10 by Boo Knits for the 2017 Boo Challenge. The Challenge was a lot of knitting from one designer, but I have lots of her patterns in my pattern stash, so it was a great opportunity to sit and knit them. Some of these shawls have become my go-to shawls to wear with my winter coat. It is amazing how warm a wisp of airy fluff can keep you!
I released a total of 18 patterns this year, my biggest release to date! I also sold more patterns than I did in 2016, so an enormous Thank You to all who purchased patterns from me.
In October and November, I took part in the on-line class Sulky Art, Fun & Home Fashion On-Line Teacher Certification. It was fun, with great videos and cool projects to make. Making 5 very different projects in 5 weeks became a bit of a challenge for me, when I got inspired by the techniques in this course and started some extra things.... most of which were finished by the end of the year. I still have some more ideas to work with, looking forward to experimenting with these in 2018.
Overall, 2017 was a great crafting year. I tried some new techniques and some new products. It is always good to learn about something new or to use a tool or product in a different way. This has given me some inspiration to tackle some kits that have been quietly waiting in the corner for my attention. As an added bonus, at the end of 2017, I only had 2 projects that were started in 2017, but not completed. One is an upcoming pattern for a tote bag (soon, I hope) and the other is a beautiful crochet Afghan, Atlanticus designed by Hooked on Sunshine. More on these projects another day.....
