It’s always intriguing to take a look back at the blog for the year and see what caught your interest. It’s also odd to look at, because there are about twenty posts from deep in the archives that are so huge on Pinterest and/or Ravelry that they are just always way out in front, no matter how old they are. It’s possible nothing will ever compete with the tutorial on How to improvise a top-down sweater, the top post for two years running. Right behind it are two of the holiday knitting cheat sheets: Cowls all around and A hat for every head. Then comes Pullovers for first-timers and my most popular pattern, Super Simple Mitts. But as far as which of this year’s posts grabbed your attention, these came out on top:
1. Joining sweater parts at the underarm: Here comes the fun! (Hey, I got there on Christmas day!)
2. Mitts for Miss Casey, which ties in to the aforementioned Super Simple Mitts
3. Knit the Look: Mariska van der Zee’s EZ pullover
4. Knitting in Paradise, about my time at Squam
5. Hot Tip: Mismatch your needles
6. Colorwork patterns for first-timers
7. New Favorites: Lena Samsoe’s fisherman cardigan, precursor to the knitalong
8. New Favorites: Rosa Pomar’s blanket hat
9. Best new hat patterns from last winter
10. Our Tools, Ourselves: Jared Flood, Q&A with the Brooklyn Tweed founder
I love how diverse this list is — a mix of pattern picks, how-to information, an interview, some personal whatnot, and the sweater that fueled the Amanda knitalong, When I ask people in person what they enjoy about the blog, the two most common answers these days are that knitalong and the Tag Team Sweater Project. So it’s clear you guys enjoy a big project, along with the regular features.
Here are some of my personal favorites from the year:
January: FO Sightings: Fancy Amber’s heroic vest
February: Knit the Look: Marte Mei Van Haaster’s perfect grey pullover
March: Sleeveless in Seattle (Flattering or not, I love those photos) and Lemaire’s never-enough knits
April: Sweet spring shawls and Pretty spring scarves (I also LOVED creating these images.)
May: Make, knit, mend — the post I hope I never forget
June: To live and dye in Oaxaca, the beautiful guest post by Jess Schreibstein
July: Future most-worn handknit, the beautiful guest post by Ashley Yousling
August: What I really want is a Kathryn Davey wardrobe
September: Amanda knitalong: Meet the panel! — one of my all-time favorite posts
October: All those WIPs of the Week
November and December: The knitalong FO interviews with Jaime Jennings, Meg Strong and Kate Gagnon Osborn
I’ve also loved every word of Our Tools, Ourselves. And I always love Q for You. I don’t always have the bandwidth to respond to everything, but I read and appreciate every single answer and always learn something (lots of somethings!) interesting. I’m still making my way through all the incredibly meaty answers to last week’s question. The Q that drew the most responses this year, if you’re curious, was Does having a yarn stash work?
So if you’re bored at work or the in-laws today, hopefully that will fill some time! And if you’re inclined to tell me, I’d love to hear what your favorite features or posts have been this year — and what you’d like to see more (or less) of in 2015!
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p.s. There are a few marked down items in the shop this week.