I’m back! Although this is my first update in 3 weeks there isn’t a lot to report. The first 11 days of my holiday I didn’t do any crafting at all.

However, seeing as it’s been a while since my last YOP update I’ve done a snapshot of where all my projects currently are and I’ve placed some progress keepers so I’ll know whether I’ve made progress.

Acquisitions/Stash Management

I’ve written a separate post about the gorgeous acquisitions that I picked up from my Canada/US holiday. It also has a group photo of the 8 of us in Wisconsin. If you read BonnyKnits, Mildly Granola, Headknits or Quite a Yarn blogs then you’ll maybe recognise some of the ladies.

I forgot to mention on that post that I picked up 2 x Chiaogoo Bamboo Fixed 2mm circular needles from the Sow’s Ear yarn store. This is the first time I’ve had any Chiaogoo needles and I like them. I notice they are a lot more expensive in the US, than in the UK, but my options were limited as I didn’t want metal needles.

Felting

I made Bonny, from BonnyKnits blog, a purple fairy for her birthday. The fairy is now well travelled having visited Toronto, Michigan and Wisconsin with me and it now lives in Missouri! She was obviously camera shy as I have no photo of the fairy 🧚🏻‍♀️

Knitting

Accessories

Not content with a zillion other projects on the needles, I’ve cast on a hat. The pattern is March Hat by Meghan Babin. I’m using the Juniper Moon Herriot fine alpaca yarn I bought. It’s a 3 ply/light fingering weight, but I’m holding it double and hoping it will work out okay. One skein is Deep Plum and the other colour is Snapdragon, together they give a really heathered look and I think the hat will go really well with my Void shawl which is also alpaca.

My Shift cowl current status.

Jumpers/cardigans

My long neglected 2nd Such a Winter’s Day jumper needs some attention, as the weather is definitely turning chilly here.

Shawls

My Celtic myths shawl is a challenge to photograph as it curls up, but here’s a snap of it over its project bag. I have quite a bit of yarn so suspect I’ll make this really big and it will be a long term project.

Socks

When I was in Wisconsin I started a pair of socks using my new merino/silk yarn from HoneyGold acres. I hadn’t planned to buy any superwash yarn but the Dolores pattern is a bit tricky for knitting whilst socialising so I needed some yarn for knitting an easy project. These will be my first socks with silk in. The colours are gorgeous and I’m glad I got it, despite my enormous sock yarn stash. I’m on the foot but going to keep it for when I need mindless knitting.

Other/household

Dolores the sheep is based on a cartoon by Franklin Habit. I’d bought the kit and had it posted out to a friend I was meeting in Wisconsin. As mentioned it proved a little tricky to knit when away but I did do her ears and made a start on her shawl whilst away.

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If you are thinking this post is all quite purple then you’d be right, and having seen how Lewis Hamilton (F1 driver and 7 time world champion) arrived at the Italian Grand Prix, I’m not alone in my love for purple head to ankle!

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Other News

Well it was a wonderful two weeks away. My travel blog has some posts from Toronto and Michigan, I haven’t done a Wisconsin post yet and I took almost no photos but I will do a post this week, so I have it to look back on. In the meantime…

Some of the ladies and I went to a secondhand shop in the town we were staying in. It looked very unassuming from outside, but inside it had lots of designer handbags etc. As we entered, a lady was just going to the till with a Louis Vuitton bag! I found an 100% cashmere cardigan/kimono for $45 and it was in perfect condition, not a single bobble/pill, so I bought it! When I got back to the guest house I googled it’s price and new it was $245!!!! It is so soft, I’m wearing it as I type this so I’ve included the official photo. I keep stroking myself…it’s so soft!!

After a wonderful few days, I left Wisconsin Monday morning and it was Tuesday afternoon before I was back home after a long journey and a loooong wait at Amsterdam for my flight to Inverness (thanks to scheduling changes 🙄). The rest of the week I haven’t really done very much, I’ve unpacked but not tackled the laundry yet. The weather here is considerably colder so instead of shorts I’m wearing woolly jumpers and soon I’ll be wearing fingerless gloves.

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This is a Year of Projects post.  Officially the Group is in its 12th year, but this is my 5th year participating.  If you would like to find more about the Year of Projects Group on Ravelry. 

Year 12 list.