Writing About Crocheting and Knitting: Celebrating a First Anniversary

February 18 marks the first anniversary of my blog, www.lilcreates.com.  Happy Birthday to me and get ready to celebrate.  It has been a wonderful year of creating, learning, and sharing.  I have published 58 individual pieces, brought in over 40,000 page views and reached over 21,000 different readers.  Through a variety of Facebook  groups and Pinterest Boards, I have had delightful "written conversations" with so many supportive and talented crocheters and knitters.  I am so proud of this achievement and am ready to take on the challenges and goals for the following year.

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When I first set out on my journey of discovery, creativity, and reflection, I aimed to crochet and knit " art you can wear."  To date, most of my pieces have followed through on that theme.  I love both crocheting and knitting, but find myself crocheting more.  I learned many new stitches and techniques as I explored new patterns and found ways to expand on my favorite blankets, headbands, baby sweaters, scarves, shawls, and fingerless gloves.  I still find most of my yarns at the larger craft stores, but am frequently inspired by special fibers at my local independent shop.  While I am learning every day, my wonderful readers inspire me with their creativity and skill.

My host at Weebly.com offers stats that enable me to track total viewers as well as readers in a particular month for particular blog posts.  I wish there was a way from this platform that I could track total views for a specific post over the long term.  I learned that most articles reach their interested audience in the first four days after posting.  However, I was pleased to learn that new readers discover articles on topics that have been published earlier in the year.  Popular articles continue to pay viewing dividends.  Crocheting articles reach a wider audience than knitting articles  Fiber artists love free patterns. A picture is worth a thousand words, especially those of my smiling, adorable granddaughter, modeling one of my creations. My favorite articles have not always been the most popular, and I have had several unexpected, pleasant surprises.  It still puzzles me when group members on Facebook don't go ahead to seek the actual link to my blog where they will find all the necessary information.

To plan this year, I went back over my list of published articles to answer two questions.  Which articles were my favorites?  Which articles attracted the most readers?  In rereading them all, I gained a renewed appreciation for the writing process and my evolution as a fiber artist and as a blogger.  The most popular articles were:

• http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/crochet-jacket-for-kids-in-blushing-pink
• http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/mens-crocheted-shawl-or-blanket-scarf
  
• http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/what-makes-a-lovely-loveable
• http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/knitting-a-sweater-from-the-top-down
• http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/my-love-affair-with-self-striping-yarn
• http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/crocheted-diagonal-striped-baby-blanket
• http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/crocheting-animal-hats-round-two

My personal favorites were not necessarily among the most popular articles.  However, these articles marked a new avenue for project development or a different way for me to get inspiration or to reflect on my crocheting and knitting journey.

• http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/blankets-with-holes was the first in a series of crocheted baby blankets.  Since that article, I have added  http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/crocheted-diagonal-striped-baby-blanket and a scrap yarn project that worked out form the corner instead of from the middle.  The diagonal striped blanket was fun to crochet and held its shape, even before blocking.  Baby blankets are among my most popular custom crocheted orders.  I like being able to offer a design choice as well as a color choice to a customer.

http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/fingerless-gloves-mismatched-coordinated-handwarmers launched my favorite style for sale, gifting, and personal accessorizing.  A pattern for these intriguing and versatile fingerless gloves has long been in the works.  A partner anniversary blog posting will include the pattern to celebrate my one year anniversary.  I could have waited forever to put together a perfect pdf pattern.  Instead, I decided to go ahead with a rougher free pattern and invite feedback.  This is my first step.  Hopefully, I will have the pictorial formatted pattern ready as a paid pattern before long.  Keep a lookout for my next post.

Articles featuring my adorable, smiling, granddaughter as model and inspiration will always be among my favorite pieces.  Some of these articles are:

• http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/what-makes-a-lovey-loveable
• http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/knitting-a-sweater-from-the-top-down
  
• http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/crochet-jacket-for-kids-in-blushing-pink

http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/a-little-girl-grows-up-a-year-in-sweaters chronicles the development of my granddaughter from the hospital through her first year.  These knitted garments were an essential and varied part of her wardrobe.  They kept her warm and were admired by many. I wrote that retrospective during the holiday season when many creative folks had other things on their mind than reading my blog.  Besides these knitted pieces seemed to reach a narrower audience.  Since that time, I have crocheted the blushing pink jacket and a denim blue ombre cardigan.    I continue to look for crocheted pieces that will have the softness and smooth texture of my knitted garments  Many thanks to my daughter and son-in-law who continue to dress her in these pieces of "art you can wear."

Another pair of unsung favorites was:

• http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/knitting-and-crocheting-a-view-from-the-garden
• http://www.lilcreates.com/lillians-blog/crocheting-and-knitting-with-green-magic

These articles and the crocheted and knitted pieces I created were inspired by the backyard paradise, designed and executed by my husband, Bert.  The florals, the many shades of leafy green, the pathways, and even the rocks led to new designs for headbands, scarves, gloves, hats, and shawls. Fiber artists and other crafters often take their lead from the natural world.

Fellow crocheters and knitters, if you have been following this blog for some time, or even if you are new to www.lilcreates.com, please leave your favorite title with me.  Hopefully, this article has peaked your curiosity.  I invite you to discover or reread articles of interest. I want to make this blog interesting and relevant to my readers.  Please list any skills or topics that you would want me to write about that would keep you reading.

Here's to another year of www.lilcreates.com  bigger, better, and even more creative in 2018.  Let's raise our glasses in a toast to to all of us in the fiber arts communities.