Blog-iversary!

Holy cow, I just realized two really weird things:

1. I have been blogging for a year now.

2. I apparently decided to put up my first post on Feb 29th last year, and I'd completely forgotten it was a leap year then.

So, since the next leap year is 2012... does that mean I'm going to skip my blogiversary until 4 years have passed? No way! Also, since I really didn't feel like doing a year-in-review of my knitting and spinning at the beginning of January because it would have included a lot of projects I didn't blog about, I'm going to do that now. Seems like a good time to put some perspective on my knitting, my stash, and whatnot right before my next trip to Stitches! So here's some statistics on my nearly-1-year-old blog, my knitting and spinning over this year, and some random thoughts:

• Number of posts: 78 (not counting this one)
• Average posting frequency: 1 post every 4.7 days

This is a little misleading, because my posting frequency was really closer to 1 post every 2 days over the summer, and has tapered off over the last month or so to one post a week.

• Knitting projects completed during this blogyear: 20

Huh. I thought I knit more than this, but I guess two of those projects were sweaters, and I really did amp up on my spinning this year, so I guess that sort of cut into knitting time? Maybe? I'm not sure! Oh, and one ginormous lace stole was in there, too.

• Percentage of completed projects that were also mittens: 20%

This means that nearly one fifth of my knitting output was spent on mittens. I may have a problem.

• Percentage of completed projects knit with handspun: 35%

A little more than one-third of my projects are handspun and handknit. Shiny!

• Skeins of yarn spun: 30 (some big, some small)
• Bumps of spinning fiber acquired: 44 + 1 fleece (ouch)

So my intake was greater than my output as far as spinning goes, and the word "output" hardly applies. Spinning did not significantly reduce the stash, because I only knit 7 of the skeins I produced. The upshot is that my long-term stash is slowly being converted into handspun. This also means I need to put a little more time and thought into planning projects for my handspun.

Ok, shifting gears back to some more regular-blog-type stuff. I have gotten back on the mitered squares wagon. Since the previous post, I've finished another 2 and a half blocks (four squares each) and it's starting to feel as though I can taste the finish line. I've also started the second Brie glove, and I'm itching to cast on my Buckland yarn. I'm thinking the Zeebee Hat. I also have a backlog of stuff to photograph and put up on Flickr (those new mitered squares, plus some gift yarn from Vancouver).

And, of course, Stitches West is now on! I'll be going on Sunday with a bunch of friends and maybe (just maybe) going on Saturday if I find the time. Next week I'll be back with the haul, the damage, the sights, the sounds, and the start of a new year of knitting and spinning. One last thing before that... I think it's time for a new banner photo, or at least a second one in rotation with the current one. Right now what's up there is a close-up shot of the leg section on a pair of socks I knit out of Claudia Handpainted sock yarn, in the colorway Ingrid's Blues. So which one should I take a rectangular chunk out of and start using?

Handspun w/ tile:


Handspun without tile:


Or, should I try to create a new photo for the banner, specifically and from scratch? What do you all think?