Most people do their year-in-review/year-to-come navel-gazing on or about January 1, don’t they. I suppose I do a little of that myself, what with that date being my official blogiversary and all. But for me the real change of seasons comes right now – as one TsockFlock Club year draws to a close and the next prepares to launch.
It’s been an amazing ride, this 2008 TsockFlock year. There was the late launch thanks to the Great (if by “great” you mean “scary-stupendous-boggling”) Yarn Drought of 2008; there was the big strategic game of catch-up – successful overall, to my relieved astonishment. Not that I didn’t think we could do it. But given all the circumstances, the massive changes we went through in the course of the year, I wasn’t 100% sure Jen and I would survive with our sanity intact. Heh. Yet here we are, all in one piece, with a year’s worth of Tsocky goodness under our belts, ready to up again and take another. (The sanity part? Let’s not go there.)
What a year. 2008 was the year in which Jen and family deflocked, sold the farm and moved to a new location and new business identity. 2008 was the year in which I became a spinner, or rather discovered that I was one. 2008 was the year in which we both hit critical mass on being a two-woman operation (and/or each hit critical mass on being a one-woman operation, as the case may be), the year in which our ranks were swelled by two, a host in themselves: Pixie for the Yarn Fairy, Tserf for the Tsarina. Oh happy day. How we ever functioned before that… I can dimly remember, but I’d rather not, thank you very much. 2008 was the year that saw us and our KALs nestled into our cozy niche on Ravelry, where we truly and riotously became a community and a family – again, I can dimly remember what life was like before that, but why would I want to?
Mostly, though, it’s been – if I do say so, and I do – one HELL of a fine year for Tsocks. Let’s review, shall we? Because… well, I’ve got my work cut out for me with the coming season, and right now I just kinda feel like basking a bit first, if I may. (And I may. I say so.)
Something of a baptism by fire(bird) for new club members, as he was worked on US #0 needles. The club rose nobly to the challenge, I might add, especially those bold souls who were new not only to the TsockFlock but to socks in general.
Something of a baptism by firebird for me, too, come to that – at any rate, during its development I found myself sporting a new and interesting kind of personal ornamentation.