In which I recount

1. your best FO of the year
   Without a doubt, my Mystery Stole (Charcoal Swan). I'm still somewhat amazed that I went from a laborious garter-stitch kitchen-cotton baby kimono (which I love, don't get me wrong) in June of 2006 to a six-foot lace-weight short-rowed stole in June (July...August...September...October...) of 2007
   
2. best FO of the year made by a blog you link to
   I don't link to any blogs (should I?) but the two knitters' accomplishments I most admire are: Deb Barnhill's 52-pair plunge and Toni's non-buying-stuff-for-a-month.
   
3. best yarn you tried
   Winner: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. I wish it were more affordable...
   Runners Up: Zephyr Wool Silk (laceweight) and Panda Wool (bamboo/wool sock yarn)
   
4. best new book/mag/pattern of 2007
   book: New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi. I just enjoy reading it for the way it makes me think about knitting. I have it on my bedside table.
   magazine: I bought my first issue of Interweave Knits in 2007, so that counts for me.
   pattern: Cat's Coriolis Sock. So simple, so beautiful, so adaptable.
   
5. best new knitting technique or gadget you tried in 2007
   Cheap and genius: Using blue painters' tape to mark my place in a complex chart or pattern.
   Medium and genius: KnitPicks' Options Needles
   'Spensive and genius: Knitting.
   
6. top 5 inspirations–what five things inspired you the most over the past year?
   ...A Cardigan for Arwen in the winter '06 IK...
   ...Elizabeth Zimmermann's writing voice and the way I imagine knitted items growing organically from the needles when I read her books...
   ...Designer Annie Modesitt's unflinching account of her family's trials (Annie, if you are reading this, I am in awe of your courage as a wife, mother, writer, knitter, and designer)...
   ...Alice Starmore. I read Aran Knitting and it changed my life--I'd buy it if I ever had a spare $150 hanging around (damn you, eBay)...
   ...my own need to learn and grow as a knitter and thinker and writer...
   
7. designer who most amazed & inspired you throughout the year
   Stefanie Japel. Ever since I saw this sweater in the spring 2007 IK, I was hooked on her simple and stylish top-down designs.
   
8. knitting resolutions for 2008–what’s next for you and your blog?
   Well...a man-size sweater for hubby...a me-size sweater for me...socks from my new Noro! Sock! Yarn!...continuing to refine my own skills...possibly the next Mystery Stole? And I'd like to learn to knit either combination or continental. Blog resolution Numero Uno: Pictures must rejoin the Knitsmith-Wordpurl experience! And I'd like to get some of the articulate and thought-provoking posts that occur In My Head out onto my virtual page.