I wanted to start by saying a big Thank You to those of you who follow my blog and take time to write a comment. Your friendship, encouragement and suggestions over the years have been truly heartwarming and appreciated.

The last three years I have done an end of year summary, not just crafting items, but books, holidays and events. So here’s my 2021 Summary!

I haven’t included any craft photos in this post, there is just too much to include and my YOP summary posts have photos of my creative projects. But I’ve included some photos that will remind me of the year.

The year in numbers

• 149 creative projects:
  • 42 fairies
  • 17 lampshades
  • 13 baubles
  • 11 tomte
  • 2 wreaths
  • 1 witch and pumpkin
  • 23 knitted projects
  • 1 crocheted Minion
  • 17 dyed yarns or fibres
  • 8 weaving projects producing 16 woven items (incl. 7 Dorset buttons)
  • 9 fibres (or blends) spun (over 1,000m of finished yarns)
  • 5 sewn projects
• 38 books:
  • 7 read
  • 31 audio
• 15 days out on Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP)
• 6 raised borders replaced = bumper vegetable crop
• 3 Covid vaccinations
• 3 cottage breaks
• 1 new Scottish Isle visited (Bute)
• 1 hair cut
• 1 cinema visit

Like last year, I have included at the bottom a yarn incoming -v- outgoing summary. You may wish to skip down to that section, as the monthly summary is really for my own records. I share it on here because it’s lovely (For me) to have to look back on and I may inspire others to do the same . (I draft this post during the year and add the totals at the end of the year.)

Edit: now December sales figures are in I’m able to record my total sales for the year: 14 baubles, 43 fairies, 25 lampshades, 8 tomte, 3 pictures and 1 wreath.

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Bullet Keys

📚 Reading (📖 book 🎧 audiobook), 🧶 knitting (unless crochet specified), 🕸 weaving, 🌀 spinning, 🗡 needle felting, 🧼 wet felting,🧵 sewing, 👩‍🔬dyeing, 🧹 decluttering, 🦠 Covid-19 continues, 🧘‍♀️ yoga, 👩‍🎓 course or workshop, 🛠 DIY, 👩‍⚕️ medical related, 🏠 house related, 🏄‍♀️ SUP/kayak, 🎟 cinema, 🏡 holiday rental

January

🧶 FOs – ADVENTuresome wrap in Cookston Crafts 2019 Advent, Slip stitch coffee cosy & Main Street coffee cosy in handspun.

🌀 tiny bit of Yak/Silk

🕸 2 x Diamond Stripe towels on 10” loom

📚 📖 A Murder of Magpies, Last of the Magpies and The House Guest, all 3 by Mark Edwards.📚 🎧 The Guest List by Lucy Foley and The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

🧹 decluttered the master bedroom, landing cupboard, main bathroom, kitchen (excluding crystal), utility room, cupboard under the stairs and guest room drawers and wardrobe.

🦠 3rd lockdown – Sunday walks to Highland Farm Cafe, meals delivered by Red Poppy, milkman deliveries started.

February

🧶 FOs – Litmus Cowl in Cookston Crafts 2020 Advent DK. Started – HES socks and Fine Sand in Rowan Alpaca Merino.

🌀👩‍🎓 silk spinning workshop, 🌀 BFL/Seacell, Whitefaced Woodland, Yak & Silk and a Silk cap.

🕸 warped 10” loom with some Harris tweed yarn as a test.

📚 🎧 stopped reading Goddesses Never Age by Christiane Northrup and put her other book in donate pile, when I realised she’s is an anti-vaxxer etc., Playing Nice by JP Delaney, started Audible sleep meditations and Derren Brown’s podcast, started Where the Crawdads Sing (returned unfinished).
📚 📖 Bonsai Book for Beginners by Yuto Kanazawa

🧹 decluttered electronics, study/craft room, sunroom, books, photos, crystal glass, started on games & DVDs

🦠 3rd lockdown continues – Sunday walks to Highland Farm Cafe, Valentine meals from The Storehouse, Sainsbury’s food deliveries

👩‍🎓 signed up to 12 months of Craftsy online lessons for $5!, took some spinning and sewing classes

🌿 1 x raised border replaced

March

🌀BFL/Seacell (now have enough done to knit socks), John Arbon Harvest Hues jumper quantity came out of hibernation.

🧵 tissue holder, whale notions case

🧼 attended the IFA AGM and Conference.

👩‍🎓🐑 learned how to wash & prepare fleece and made a start on Shetland X fleece and Soay.

📚 🎧 The Fast Diet and The Fast 800 both by Dr Michael Mosley, The Procrastination Cure and Stress Management (2 books in 1) by Nick Jones and Paul Adams.

🧹 decluttering mojo disappeared!

🏡 trip to the Isle of Lewis cancelled for the 2nd time due to lockdown

🦠 Covid vaccine, veg box from Tollie Croft, 13th Anniversary meal from The Storehouse.

🌿 Eucalyptus tree cut down, trimmed shrubs, 1 x raised border replaced, big delivery of compost arrived, cleaned the greenhouse.

🧘‍♀️ Yoga with Adriene on YouTube.

April

🧶 FOs – 9th pair of Hermione’s Everyday Sock (Thistly Brae), Fine Sand cardigan

🌀 Polwarth breed

🕸 Garden Path Shawl ♥️, houndstooth fabric for Town Bag and phone pouch

🧼 altered my 1st hat, 2 lampshades, a vessel and a clock.

🦠 Shops finally re-opened after months of being closed. 2nd jab.

🛠 sealant around shower, kitchen and WC sink, painted kitchen wall

🌿 replaced remaining 5 raised borders, cut down a dyeing Minion conifer

📚🎧 Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

May

🧶 FOs – Taiga mitts in John Arbon, Twig beanie in homespun baby camel/silk, Rose City Roller socks. Started – Hibernation Throw with 4 ply scraps.

🌀 Dorset horn breed, some Yak/Silk

🧼 5 x 25cm lampshades

🗡 9 fairies and 5 baubles

🏡 Isle of Mull holiday at Treshnish Farm.

📚🎧 How to stop time by Matt Haig, The Other Woman by Sandie Jones.
📚📖 Inside Out by Demi Moore

🌿 cut down a 2nd Minion conifer, did some pruning, planted more vegetable seeds.

🦠 holidays allowed, tested twice before going to Mull.

June

🧶 FOs – Stash Bracelet. Started – Feather and Fan (frogged), Mostly Warmness cowl in Ainsworth & Prin merino/silk 4 ply, simple DK socks in Ryeland yarn

🌀 Finished yak/silk and baby camel/silk #2

🧼 6 x 20cm lampshades

🧵 Town Bag, phone holder and lining for felted bag

🦠 had my first trip to Costa and ate inside for the first time in soooo long

👩‍⚕️ hearing test

👩‍🔬 Shibori dyeing on cotton and dyed some BFL/silk yarn, merino lace yarn, Nature’s Cuddle fibre, Llama Love fibre and Corriedale.

🏠 kitchen design appointment

📚🎧 Don’t you cry by Cass Green, The Vanishing Season by Dot Hutchison

July

🧶 FOs – Deb’s Super Simple DK socks, Mostly Warmness cowl

🌀 finished BFL/Seacell, quit TDF after 1st week

🕸 warped 32” loom with fibonacci pattern tea towels

🗡 19 fairies, first session of Highland Felting Group since February 2020!

🧹 Sunroom footstool and old stereo.

🏄‍♀️ went canoeing and bought a stand up paddle board

📚🎧 Now you see her by Heidi Perks, The Summer House by James Patterson and Brendan DuBois, Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham

August

🧶 FOs – Lake Reed hat for husband in Ripples Crafts merino DK single, Lake Reed hat for me in Ripples Crafts Oldany DK yarn, Quick Sand cardigan #2 in my own handdyed BFL/silk.

📚🎧 The Second Hostage by Jeffery Deaver, The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell, He Will Find You by Diane Jeffrey, The Cottage by Lisa Stone, Man at the Helm by Nina Stibbe.
📚📖 Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

🏄‍♀️ went out on SUP 8 times, including with new friends.

No felting, no weaving and no spinning!

👩‍⚕️started HRT patches

🌿 lots of shrub and tree pruning

September

🏡 Loch Fyne holiday cottage (Garron Lodge), Isle of Bute visit

🧼 2 x trial lampshades with nepps, 1 x normal lampshade, laid out fibre for others and felted some autumnal colours

📚 🎧 Kane & Abel by Jeffrey Archer (first audio listen, but I have read it many times), Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell, The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell, Beastie Boys Book by Michael Diamond, The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz, Buried by Lynda LaPlante (zoned out during listening) and 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard.

🧶 FOs – Point Edwards Mitts in Ripples Crafts Culkein DK Mulberry Stained Fingers, Rose City Rollers in Cookston Crafts 4ply Thistly Brae. Started – Winding Down jumper in Malabrigo Rios in Hollyhock and Mostly Warmness fingerless mitts.

🌀 baby camel & silk #4

🏄‍♀️ SUP x 3, bought new wetsuit and warmer boots

October

🧶 FO – Winding Down jumper by Heidi Kirrmaier in Malabrigo Rios

🕸 2 x Fibonacci towels

🧼 3 lampshades, Autumn wreath

🗡 Witch & pumpkin set, 4 tomte, 2 vegan fairies, 5 baubles

🎟 No Time to Die

📚 🎧 The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts

🏄‍♀️ Two day SUP course (Glen Affric and Caledonian canal), plus days on Loch Farr and Loch Achilty

Trip to the Wirral, mum’s 80th birthday meal, visiting Elaine, lunch at Jo’s with friends, met some new in-laws.

🏠 moss cleared from roof, kitchen order finalised

💇🏼‍♀️ First haircut in over a year!

November

🧶 FOs – Mostly Warmness mittens by Martina Behm, Versa cowl by Aimee Pelletier, Cup cosy and Rib headband out of scraps. Started Warriston (my first bottom up garment and knit my first pockets).

🧶 FO Crochet – Minion #2

🕸 Dorset Buttons x 5. Bought an Ashford Inklet loom and started a band.

🗡 2 tomte, 12 fairies

👩‍🔬 Masses of dyeing: 200g merino/alpaca/nylon 4 ply; 200g merino/bamboo 4 ply; 200g BFL/nylon; 700g Shetland aran; 200g BFL chunky; 100g BFL/seacell fibre; 200g Norwegian fibre batt; 100g merino/alpaca/nylon; small amounts of handspun white faced woodland, BFL/nylon and Portland; lots of Corriedale fibre.

📚🎧 & 📅📖Will I ever be good enough? Healing the daughters of narcissistic mothers by Karyl McBride Ph.D.
📚📖 The other couple by Cathryn Grant

🦠 Flu and Covid booster jabs

December

🧶 FO – Hastings mitts

🕸 Dorset buttons x 2, first two Inkle bands

🌀 Llama Love fibre spun in July finally plied!

🗡 5 tomte, 3 baubles

📚🎧 Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, A Funny Life by Michael McIntyre.

🏡 Down House, Lower Diabaig

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Yarn usage summary

This year has some positive news on my incoming and outgoing yarn. I have either used, sold or gifted yarn in excess of any incoming yarn I bought or was gifted. This feels good!

If I exclude the de-stashed then I have more incoming than outgoing, but only 1 mile more, which is significantly better than the last 2 years, so I’m still happy.

If I continue to use about 6 miles a year in knitting, crochet and weaving projects then my remaining 40.65 miles of yarn should last me more than 6 years!! However, I really do want to have 2022 as a year where I weave more projects and on a regular basis and that should increase annual usage. I will also be spinning more too and that counts as incoming, so we shall see!

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So that’s my 2021 round-up. Given it was the 2nd year of a global pandemic I think I managed to have a pretty normal and productive year. I have a lot to be grateful for.

Best wishes for 2022 everyone.