As 2016 draws to a close I thought that it would be fun to look back on all of the amazing things that have happened this year. Come with me as we catch up on everything that happened with a Marly Bird Yearly Review 2016. *post contains affiliate links*

Thank You:

First, I would like to give a sincere thank you to all of you that have followed me for a long time and for those that have just started to be apart of my community. I enjoy interacting with each of you, learning from you and being able to teach you new tricks along the way. You allow me to do what I love every day and I am so grateful for that. I look forward to what 2017 will hold and I hope that you will join me in the journey.

Marly Bird Yearly Review 2016

New Gig:

My biggest accomplishment this year was being chosen as the new Red Heart Yarn National Spokesperson. This has been an amazing opportunity and I am really enjoying getting to work with such an amazing company. Their support has allowed me to do many new things. Through their partnership I have organized two CAL/KAL’s this year. I have also expanded my YouTube teaching and started a “My First” series where I walk you through making some of their FREE patterns.

Crochet Along/Knit Along:

This year we had a poncho crochet along and a shawl knit along. If you didn’t hear about these projects you can join the respective Facebook groups (CAL Group/KAL Group) so that you know when the 2017 projects will be started.

We started with the shawl knit along in the beginning of the year. It was amazing to see all of the new and experienced knitters gather together and make beautiful shawls. It was the BIGGEST KAL so far in Red Heart History! Thanks so much for making that happen.

Personal Studio:

As part of working with Red Heart Yarns they wanted me to continue to make tutorial videos to help you all with learning new techniques and learning the details of some of their FREE patterns. In order to do this my family and I built a home studio, Birds of a Feather Production Studio, so that I could make all the videos from home. Although this may sound super high tech, it is still just a one woman team! I am always working to make the videos the best that they can be fore you.

YouTube:

Since building my own studio and producing more videos my YouTube subscribers jumped from 10,000 to 30,000 in the past year! Thank you for showing me so much love! This is only my second year producing videos and I love being able to teach you new things. When looking back at all of the videos from this year the BEST Tutorial for Planned Pooling Argyle has the most views of 2016.

The Sidewalk Shawl has been viewed the most times since the start of the channel. The Sidewalk Shawl is a beautiful FREE pattern from Red Heart. You can download the pattern on their site and then watch the video to help you learn how to make it.

I am always looking for new things to make videos about. Leave comment on this post with what you want to learn. Let me know if there is a stitch, a technique or a FREE pattern from Red Heart Yarns that you want to see how to make. I will do my best to add it to my list for 2017 videos.

If you haven’t already, please take a minute to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you never miss a new video.

Podcast:

If you have been following me for a while you likely know about the YarnThing Podcast. The podcast started in 2007 and has been going strong ever since. This year I recorded my 400th episode. We were lucky enough to have Yarn Thing sponsor XRX, Stitches and Knitters Magazine CEO Benjamin Levisay as our guest. Not only is he a great friend but he has BIG news to tell us! If you missed the episode you can catch the show notes on the blog.

The YarnThing podcast is LIVE every Tuesday and Thursday at 10am mountain time. Every week we are super lucky to have guest that can offer amazing prizes. You can call in to win prizes, or you can leave a comment on the show notes (ONLY on the blog) for a chance to win as well. I also have a behind the scenes look of the podcast every episode on the Marly Bird Facebook page and you can join the chat on Blog Talk Radio as well, or listen to past episodes. Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast player to never miss a new show.

The podcast is on a short holiday break but will be returning in 2017. Mark your calendars so you don’t miss an episode.

Patterns:

2016 has been quite a busy year for me when it comes to pattern writing. I have had quite a few patterns published in magazines this year and have published some on my own. This year I have published my 400th pattern. The title of the 400th pattern goes to my Chunky Monkey Hat. This hat was designed as a messy bun hat and is FREE on my blog.

Some of the big trends this year were the messy bun hat, crochet planned pooling and corner-to-corner blankets. I have published some wonderful FREE patterns in each of these categories. You can see some of my other FREE patterns in my Free Pattern Friday posts or on Red Heart’s website.

Corner-to-Corner:

• Heart Throb Corner-to-Corner Blanket Blog Post
• Snowflake Corner-to-Corner Afghan

Messy Bun Hat:

• Ribbed for Him or Her
• Chunky Monkey Hat

Crochet Planned Pooling Argyle:

• Planned Pooling Argyle Poncho

As a special thank you for all of your support please 50% off any pattern by using the code: thanks2016 ONLY in my Ravelry shop. This offer will expire at midnight (mountain time) on January 1st. (I will not be extending the promotion so get your pattern now)

Classes/Teaching:

Along with everything else going on this year I have been teaching away! I was at all of the Stitches events this year, running the PJ party and having a great time. I will be at Stitches again in 2017 so come out and see me and take a class. Make sure you introduce yourself, I love to get to meet you all in person. Don’t forget about the great news that we talked about on the 400th episode of the podcast. Take some time to check out the new Stitches United event coming in 2017.

This year I partnered with Creative Bug to produce a few classes. One of the great new classes is the Knitted Cacoon Cardigan. Head over to CreativeBug to see all of the other new classes from this year. You can sign up for a one month FREE trial subscription.

There is a new Craftsy Class out this year that I recorded. This is the Crochet Colorwork Technique class, and it is currently on sale (sale price may expire at any time based on the terms of Craftsy).

Coming in 2017:

I am expanding my teaching gigs this year and will be attending the Pittsburg Knit and Crochet Festival at the end of March. Take a peak at the classes, I hope to see you there.

Coming in 2017 I will be starting an email newsletter to help keep you up to date with what is going on in my world.

There will be another CAL and KAL this year. Stay tuned for the KAL to launch in spring of 2017. Don’t forget to join the Facebook group for the CAL and KAL to know when the new project will be starting.

Until Next Year:

That wraps up the Marly Bird Yearly Review 2016. I hope that you were able to be apart of many of the events and I would love for you to join me in 2017 as we take more knitting and crochet adventures.