2011 was...

I do not make New Year's resolutions, so I don't have much to say about that.  It does seem that all of the blogs that I read have had some mention of them, or at least a sort of a "goal list".  Many bloggers have posted a "looking back on the last year" kind of a thing as well.

I have been thinking about all this and not actually posting anything at all!

Truthfully, I have been busy.  I met two design deadlines that were back to back...December 16 and January 5.  There is a personal joy in that fact; knowing that twice in 2012, I will get to announce the release of a new pattern.  I have had a decent amount of success in my recent submissions, and I hope to do a lot more.  I am beginning to feel like this is a new addiction of mine...I am always on the lookout for new design submission announcements.

2011 was...

The year that I became a designer.  On February 5, 2011, a knitting class I was supposed to teach was canceled due to an expected snowfall (that never materialized).  I did not have much else to do that day, so I finally took the time to read all of the Ravelry help pages that I needed, and I created my designer page and Ravelry store.  I started with two of my oldest and best-tested patterns and offered them for free.

The year that I had my first pattern published in an online magazine.  It was a little later in February when I first read of the Womenheart Scarf Design Contest announcement in Knitcircus, the online knitting magazine.  My work on this went so quickly, and so well.  I had a good feeling about my submission, which I completed and emailed in on March 7, even though it was not due until May 1.  And then on May 16, I received the email from Jaala Spiro, the Knitcircus editor, telling me that I had won the contest and my pattern would appear in Knitcircus, Issue#15, Fall 2011.  I wrote about this in the early days of my blog here and here, and then I wrote more when the magazine was released on August 24.

The year that I began my blog.  One of the many amazing prizes that I won in the Womenheart Scarf Design contest was a small ad space in the Fall issue of the magazine, "to advertise my website or blog".  (I didn't have one.)  I made it my job to start this blog as soon as I finished knitting the scarf and writing up the pattern.  My first blog post was June 12, 2011.  Mine is a knitting blog, which also chronicles my start in knitwear design, with a bit of "life in general" in the mix.  Your comments are always welcome!

I am excited about what 2012 might bring!