2014 in Knitting Review

2014 is just about over, and I like to take this time to review how the year has gone and how things have changed relative to previous years.  Being me, I then make plots if I can.  

I started knitting in March 2012, and found Ravelry a couple months later.  That marks the beginning of me tracking this sort of data, so while I crocheted before that point, I don't have information on those projects.  Hence the comparison is between part of 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Above is a bar chart showing the total number of projects I completed in the past three years.  Both knitting and crocheting projects are included, though most of those were knits.  As you can see, 2014 was my most productive year, though not by much.  The total number was increased by participating in a few swaps, since those had hard deadlines that forced me to finish.  It was decreased by making scarves for my family, since those scarves took a while.  I had hoped to make it an even twelve projects for this, but that didn't quite happen.

 

The bar chart above shows the total meters of yarn used per year.  Some projects are not included, typically because they used small amounts of yarn.  Here my yarn use has increased pretty steadily in the last couple of years, and I am tickled that kilometers have become a reasonable unit to measure my annual yarn needs in.  I don't need many kilometers, but I can work through a few.

This chart shows what type of projects I spent the last couple years working on.  2014 felt like the year of scarves to me, since those were my focus for the first several months of the year.  If you include the lone 2014 entry in shawls (it was this shawlette), scarves represent the largest number of projects and the largest amount of yarn consumed.  Socks come in a close second.

I also think it is safe to say that the technique of the year was stranded knitting.

When I first started knitting, stranded knitting was a goal of mine.  I thought the patterns could be so beautiful.  This year, I completed three projects using the technique, all of which I am extremely proud of.  It's been a good year for knitting.  May 2015 follow its example!