My Crochet Year in Review

New License Plates from my hubby were a birthday surprise!

This has certainly been a very exciting and busy year for me. Just the highlights...

January - First Remembering Rowan Project donation of baby blankets in 2012
February - Shipped off my first completed samples to be published
March - Rose City Yarn Crawl with the Crochet Liberation Front
April - Pluckyfluff Art Yarn Spinning "Camp" with Craftwich
May - First published pattern, "I Love Baby" Blanket in Inside Crochet, Issue 30
June - Reversible Rowan Tree Vest won Grand Prize at CGOA Design Competition
July - Showed Rowan Tree Vest and Rowan's Sampler in Bearing Witness Art Show
August - First published article and Butterfly Wings Blanket pattern in Inside Crochet, Issue 33
September - Self published my first book: ReCrochetions Presents: Rowan's Learn to Crochet Sampler Afghan (the Left-Handed Edition has been selling especially well!)
- Celebrated 40th birthday by meeting so many great designers and crocheters at the Knit and Crochet Show in Reno
October - First US published patterns and article on Reversible Intarsia, Happy Day Playmat and Reversible Intarsia Book Cozy in Interweave Crochet Accessories
November - First Book Proposal......
December - Pinebark Scarf pattern in Interweave Crochet Winter
- Awesome Crochet Blog Award for Most Achievements in Crochet in 2012 from Crochet Concupiscence
- Recognized as a Crochet "Professional" by the Crochet Guild of America

Wow, that's a lot of firsts. Did not realize until I saw it all listed. I have to admit I have been eating, drinking, and sleeping crochet for most of the past year. I stay up until the wee hours writing patterns and fall asleep dreaming of what I want to make next. I crochet on my daughter's playdates (have 'hooked' most of my friends), while watching movies (in a dark theater), rocking my little one to sleep (more dark), and even in the dentist's chair (sold 3 copies of my book at their office!). Even the fiction I read is yarn related (mostly knitting since there's only the one crochet series so far).

As I reflect on the past year and look forward to the next, I know I need to make a few changes, before I burn out and stop enjoying my new "job". Now that I know I CAN get some of my designs published, I want to slow down a bit, and enjoy my little one while she is still home with me. Soon enough she will be in school all day along with her big brother, and I can really try crocheting full time. This does not mean I will stop designing, just means I plan to focus on one BIG project, instead of lots of little ones... For now...

Here's to another great year! Hope yours is thrilling as well!