I like to keep a record of my craft projects, particularly those that I gift. Long before I started blogging, I photographed my finished cross stitch pieces. Who knows? I might one day need a portfolio of my work. Well, probably not, but I still like the idea of having something other than a pattern and my memory to remember them.
When I started knitting, I kept all my yarn labels not exactly knowing what I would eventually do with them. It seemed important to do so. I happened across the cutest, little notebook in a dollar bin one day. The cover is a photo that looks knit with buttons sews on to it. To justify buying it, I told myself that I would use it as a knitting journal.
I made an evening out of getting the journal started. First, I got together all those yarn labels I’d been saving and cut the important pieces down to a size that would fit my journal pages. I then used rubber cement to paste them into the journal. For those yarns that I use frequently (Lion Brand Homespun!), I created a cover page with the basic information from the label and then made individual pages for each color of yarn.
After each page with a label, I wrote down the projects that I made with that particular yarn and how many balls it required.
As my knitting skills have improved, I’ve started tweaking patterns and coming up with some of my own. I write these down in my knitting journal as well.
I’m very pleased with how my knitting journal turned out. It’s very handy to have everything knitting-related in one spot. A smarter woman would record each new project right after it’s finished. I tend to let them pile up, which turns this into a memory game when it’s time to update the journal.
Although my focus with this journal is knitting, you could make one of your own that focuses on your preferred craft. I’m considering a beading journal next. It’s much easier to flip through the pages of a journal than the corners of your mind when you need to recreate a project. Happy crafty journaling!
What a fantastic idea! I think I’m going to have to use this one.
Good! I’m glad you find it useful.