I hope if you celebrate Christmas you had a lovely one. Here’s my last YOP post of 2020. We are now half way through the YOP year. I do also have a 2020 summary post that I am drafting, but that’s not just fibre projects.

Felting

I laid out some fibres to make a seascape lampshade and clock and blended some sari silk and my own hand dyed corriedale to make a lamp for the guest room, but time slipped away from me to actually felt them. Allistar is off work until the new year so they may be my first projects in 2021. My landlady from when I first moved to the Highlands would like two sheep shades for the cottage I used to rent that is now a self catering cottage, so that’s lovely.

My parents love the seascape lampshade I sent them for Christmas. I forgot to take a photo before wrapping but it was similar to others but I did try using some throwsters silk as seaweed at the bottom edge on the sand. It moved during felting so is not very noticeable.

Knitting

When I made my first Turtle Dove I had tried to knit the arms two at a time, without success. This time I lay the jumper on a tray, split a full ball of yarn into two equal balls, kept my waste yarn in the sleeves for the first few rows to help stop the armpits wanting to open up, and I kept the underarm together with a stitch marker and all that seems to have helped avoid big holes under the arms. Keeping the jumper on the tray also helps with there being less friction on the wool.

I lost my notes on when I did arm decreases last time which was a bit annoying. I think I’d made my notes on the LoveKnitting app, but it crashed and when they fixed it my notes were gone. So that’s a reminder to always put my notes in Ravelry instead.

I did a ribbed bottom with no split this time and ran out of wool to do it as wide as the pattern or other parts. I’m very happy with it. The neck is a touch longer (to hide my ever growing chins) and so are the sleeves. So I used 5 skeins of West Yorkshire Spinners Re: Treat Chunky Roving yarn in the colour Adore. It stayed on all day and evening on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and will probably worn until New Year’s Day .

My sister bought me a sock blank in a gorgeous mix of blues which I think should make 2 gorgeous matching pairs of socks (I have tiny feet). It isn’t a self striping one. The 2 lengths yarn are knit together and then dyed. I will need to unravel to knit with but I have been considering knitting them 2 at a time straight from the unravelled ends. Has anyone tried this or do you normally wind them off first?

Spinning

I have started to open my 12 days of Christmas fibre parcels, from Adelaide Walker, but I will do a collective post once they are opened.

I have already used some Christmas money to buy a yak and silk blend fibre to spin. I’ve spun a lot of baby camel and love it and would like to try Yak/Silk. Its deep red with some white and blue.

Other News

The whole of Scotland is now in lockdown again and non-essential shops, restaurants etc. are shut for 3 weeks. There are quite a few Covid cases in our town so that’s us hibernating and we have tons of food. People have been panic buying toilet rolls again.

I did a post earlier in the week with all the advent colours and my contrast skein is grey. I like the idea of a project like Litmus Cowl by Amy Florence. She used 4 ply/fingering weight I think but in the Highlands DK is a more practical weight for winter. I also like the idea of a colour work project. Basically it’s likely to take months to decide but I enjoy the hours of research on Ravelry.

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At the end of each quarter I take a snapshot of my main list page. Throughout the year I maintain that list, adding links, ticks etc. It makes my quarterly and end of YOP year updates much quicker. Before pasting this snapshot I have crossed out some items to make my list more achievable and to allow me to concentrate a bit more on weaving in the 2nd half of the YOP year.

NB. The hyperlinks before the ticks are to the Ravelry pattern or project page, the latter hyperlinks are to the relevant blog post for the finished item.

Key: ✳️ started ✅ finished 🆕 added to list after week 1

Crochet

• Minion by Tremendu (Reminder to myself – bought direct and not through Ravelry!) ✅ Started week 1, finished week 2
• 🆕 Dog hair gifts (rose, snowman & snowflake) ✅ week 6
• 🆕 Start a Havana Afghan ✅ started testing colours and sections week 6 on a sample Book cover, finished week 7; made a mini version finished week 13; then later added extra length and border
• Have a go at an Octopal (octopus or jellyfish for premature babies)
• Some Winnie the Pooh character(s)

Dyeing

• Dye commercial sock yarn in:
  • Self Striping ✅ week 15
  • Another go at Christmas ✅ week 15
  • Speckled
  • Colours for Sweet & Tartan socks
• Dye fibres in my ‘to dye’ drawer
• Dye BFL/Tussah Silk yarn for 2nd Quick Sand
• Try natural dyes

Felting

• Needle felted Ylva ✳️ Started previous YOP year
• Needle felted Highland Cow ✳️ Started previous YOP year
• Pictures and products to sell/gift/keep:
  • Lampshades ✅ so many posts with lampshades!
  • Wreaths – Christmas etc. ✅ landscape wreaths week 22
  • 🆕 Fairies ✳️ 17 made in Q1
  • Landscapes e.g. Loch Carron, Ben Wyvis, Glen Affric, Loch Morlich, Rosemarkie
  • Christmas stocking
• 2nd nuno felted garment
• 3rd Hat
• Picture of Ylva
• Plant pot covers
• Finish making lampshades for
  • study
  • large lamp

Knitting

Jumpers/cardigans

• Strathcona Sweater by Tara-Lynn Morrison (yarn Rowan Big Wool) ✅ Week 20
• 🆕 second Turtle Dove in red WYS Re:treat ✅ started week 24, finished week 26.
• Fine Sand by Heidi Kirrmaier (yarn BaaRamEwe Dovestone in Goathland)
• Second Quick Sand by Heidi Kirrmaier (home dyed Aran BFL/Silk)
• Inside Story by Heidi Kirrmaier (yarn WYS The Croft)

Shawls

• Reyna by Noora Backlund (yarn handspun baby camel and silk) ✅ Started week 1, finished week 5. Detailed post.
• Cabriolet brioche scarf by Carolyn Bloom (yarn Cookston Crafts in Crathie (alpaca/merino/nylon) & Emerald (merino/silk/yak)) ✳️ Started week 34 (previous YOP year)

Socks

• More Hermione’s Everyday Socks (HES) by Erica Lueder ✅ 2nd pair of wood pigeon week 21, ✅ Christmas socks week 24
• More shortie socks (a hybrid of Rose City Rollers with HES heel) ✅ started 1st pair week 6, finished week 8
• Sweet & Tartan Socks by Tracie Millar
• Pair of socks with homespun yarn

Accessories

• Brick and Mortar Cowl by Kim McFall (homespun) ✅ Started and finished week 13
• Project with mini skeins from 2019 advent – I chose ADVENTuresome Wrap by Ambah O’Brien ✳️ started week 23.
• Easy Mittens with Thrums (yarn tbc)
• Evil genius gloves (yarn Mothy & the Squid)
• Doublejay Gloves by Danielle (yarn some leftovers)
• Snowdrop Lace Hat by Robin Lynn

Other/household

• 🆕 make items for my neighbour’s family with their dog hair I spun ✅ heart in Week 6 (other items were crocheted instead)
• Make a variety of dishcloths and wash cloths ✅ during Q2.
• Start another Christmas stocking garland with homespun yarns, perhaps mini socks. ✳️ Started Hat Vent 2019 pattern week 8. ✳️ started making mini jumpers week 23.
• Make some Christmas gifts!!

Sewing

• Sew some face masks ✅ Week 2
• Sew proper hanger to silk banner, I painted this in 2011 and it is still waiting!
• Make a selection of denim items with old jeans
• Make a lining for felted bag
• Make a project bag with internal and external pockets
• Start making kitchen items from kitchen pattern pack

Spinning

• Finish spinning baby camel and silk for Reyna (Started previous YOP year, hoping to finish during TDF 2020) ✅ week 1 during TDF
• Spin some purple baby camel and silk ✅ started week 1, finished week 3 during TDF
• Spin Samoyed dog hair ✅ started week 2, finished week 4 during TDF
• Host a Guild Team for Tour de Fleece 2020 ✅
• Host a Guild Team for BritSpin 2020 ✅ team assembled! We came 5th out of 12 teams. Individual results. Team results.
• Spin some sock yarn (BFL & Sea Cell) ✳️ (Started previous YOP year)
• Spin John Arbon Harvest Hues fibre to make a sweater ✳️ (Started previous YOP year)
• Spin some yarn to make Christmas stocking garland.

Technique Learning

• 🆕 Learn Mosaic crochet ✅ week 5
• Learn Mosaic knitting ✅ week 13.
• Learn Double Knitting
• Learn Intarsia Knitting
• Master Fair Isle/Colourwork knitting
• Improve continental knitting
• 🆕 Master long draw spinning
• 🆕 Get confident with supported spindle
• 🆕 Complete Kelly Casanova’s weaving course before subscription ends.
• 🆕 Braided join

Weaving

• 🆕 Wide handtowels ✅ 1st week 4
• 🆕 Gift scarf ✅ week 7 but no image until week 18
• Wide dish towels
• Scarf with homespun yarns
• Set of placements
• Home-dyed yarn in interesting pattern (tbc)
• Gradient patterned scarf/shawl for myself
• Houndstooth scarf or shawl using Wensleydale Longwool
• Borrow a pin loom from Guild to make some squares

 

Note: On 31st July I moved technique learning to its own section.

This is a Year of Projects post. Officially the Group is in its 10th year, but this is my 3rd year participating. If you would like to find more about the Year of Projects Group on Ravelry.