Wow these 13 weeks have flown by and I feel like I haven’t accomplished much. I am going to make a concerted effort to get back into a regular habit of making stock for the shop, finish some projects and do some work in the garden which has been quite neglected this summer.

Knitting

Accessories

I have finished the 3” of rib on my March hat and now ready to start the patterned section.

Socks

I finished my socks. This is my regular adaptation to Hermione’s Everyday Socks (HES) pattern. I cast on 64 stitches on 2mm needles, about 10 rows of 1×1 rib, vanilla leg and foot, heel and toe as per the HES pattern. These are my first socks with silk instead of nylon content. They will be for special occasions! The colour is richer in real life.

I used 49g and so could make another pair of socks, but I may make another Mostly Warmness cowl instead.

Other/household

Dolores Van Hoofen is taking shape with her body in progress.

Her shawl is finished.

Spinning

I went to spinning group on Tuesday evening and made a start on spinning some of my new US Rambouillet fibre. Its gorgeous and soft and fairly quick to spin.

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Other News

Well I’ve had a rather weepy week. I cried a few times during the 7 hours of the Queen’s funeral on Monday and the waterworks kept coming throughout the week. Our Disney+ is coming to an end and so I was cramming in all the Disney movies I haven’t seen, and those Pixar peeps know how to tug at my heart strings. I watched Soul, Coco, Luca and Big Red. Then I watched Cruella which I really enjoyed. I then tried watching the 2nd Malificent movie and remembered I’d not finished watching the first one because the fairies irritated me.

Then on Friday I found out our favourite cafe is shutting down next week. We have bought cake from Ems & Co pretty much once a week every week since before lockdown. Mostly we have got cake to go, but occasionally have eaten in too. We have also ordered birthday cakes from there. My double chin, liver and waistline will probably be grateful but I’m gutted.

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1st Quarter snapshot

Key:
↪️ carried over from a previous YOP year
✳️ started
✅ finished
🆕 added to list after week 1
⁉️ fell at a hurdle but back on track
🐸 frogged/abandoned

NB. There are links to the Ravelry pattern, yarn or project page.

Acquisitions/Stash Management

• ↪️No new superwash knitting yarns (My stash has enough to make socks for many years.) I bought some sw merino/silk to have a project to knit on in Wisconsin.
• ↪️Contain my stash! (Limit stash to only what will fit in existing containers (2 x Kallax unit, rainbow drawers and weaving shelves) and have no overflow containers or bags, only exception to be hand processed Shetland X fleece.)
• ↪️Buy yarn for a larger Havana only once I have made space for it! This is hopefully going to keep me motivated to use existing stash for everything else.

Crochet

• Havana blanket (once I have enough room in Kallax to store the yarn!)

Dyeing

• ↪️ Dye more locks for fairies’ hair
• Experiment with microwave dyeing

Felting

• ↪️ Needle felted Ylva ✳️ (Started YOP9!)
• ↪️ Needle felted Highland Cow ✳️ (Started YOP9!)
• ↪️ Make a handbag using the felting ball ✳️ (Started YOP11 week 24 fibres weighed and test felt)
• ↪️ Make plant pot covers
• Pictures and products to sell/gift/keep. ✳️
  • Fairies – August x 1 (gift)
  • Lampshades 20cm –
  • Lampshades 25cm –
  • Lampshades 35cm –
  • Lampshades 40cm – August x 1
  • Tomte –
  • Baubles –
  • Wreaths –
  • Waste paper bin – August x 1

Fibre Prep

• ↪️ Finish washing BFL/Shetland X (from Katharine) ✳️ started washing and using it YOP 9.
• ↪️ Finish washing Shetland X (from Serena) ✳️ started washing YOP11 week 1
• Practice combing wool fibre

Knitting

Jumpers/cardigans

• Knit 3 garments:
  • ↪️ Such a Winter’s Day jumper #2 by Heidi Kirrmaier in New Lanark Aran Bramble ✳️ started YOP11 week 42
  • ↪️ Sunday Sweater by Petite Knits ✅ started YOP11 week 43, finished week 3.
  • Turtle Dove II by Espace Tricot in my handdyed Shetland Aran yarn.

Shawls

• Celtic Myths Shawl by Asita Krebs in Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone DK ✳ started week 1
• A summer weight shawl.
• Frog any sock yarn shawls I don’t wear ✅ frogged Lintilla and a Hitchhiker week 6

Socks

• ↪️ Knit at least one pair of socks with homespun yarn.
• Knit more pairs of these socks with stashed yarn (# indicates order they were started):
  • Rose City Rollers (RCR) by Mara Catherine Bryner.
  • Hermione’s Everyday Socks by Erica Lauder ✅2️⃣ adapted version using HoneyGold Acres merino/silk started week 11 finished week 13.
• Knit Sweet and Tartan socks by Tracie Millar ✅ 1️⃣ started week 8 and finished week 9. I used Ripples Crafts blue, Cookston Crafts Crathie (incl. some alpaca) and heels in my hand-dyed turquoise BFL/nylon.

Accessories

• Knit using existing stashed yarn or handspun only:
  • Design (for my own use only) a new pair of colourwork mitts using Hastings Mitts by Tracie Millar as a template and New Lanark DK yarn from Alissa.
  • A colour-work project using Black Isle yarns Gotland wool
  • Alaska hat (if I find a non-superwash kit I like at Wisconsin Wool Festival)
  • 🆕 The Shift by Andrea Mowry using handspun, Border Leicester, leftovers ✳️ started week 7
  • 🆕️ March Hat by Meghan Babin using Juniper Moon Herriot alpaca yarn ✳ started week 12

Other/household

• ↪️ Habitation Throw by Helen Stewart using scrap 4 ply. ✳️ (started YOP 10 week 45)
• Gansey Afghan by Lena Skvagerson using Isle of Auskerry/North Ronaldsay yarn
• Dish cloths as required.
• Dolores van Hoofen by Franklin Habit in Valley Yarns Aran ✳ started week 11
• Dolores Transatlantic Travel Ensemble by Fiona Ellis in Valley Yarns 4 ply and Tahki Yarns Donegal Tweed

Painting & Drawing

• ↪️ Do a new watercolour painting
• Do a new pastel drawing

Sewing

• ↪️ Make a project using denim from old jeans
• Make trousers with fabric in stash
• Make play suit/jumpsuit with fabric in stash
• Make top (test version) with fabric in stash
• Make actual top with handwoven cotton fabric I make
• Make something else with handwoven wool fabric I make

Spinning

• ↪️ Finish spinning John Arbon Harvest Hues fibre (✳️ Started YOP9!)
• ↪️ Finish spinning 25g breed project (✳️ Started YOP10)
• ↪️ Baby camel and silk colour #4. (✅ started YOP11 week 14 finished YOP12 week 2)
• ↪ BFL/Shetland Parma violets (✅ started YOP11 week 52 finished YOP12 week 2)
• Spin 2021 advent fibres
• 🆕️ Merino/flax ✳ started
• 🆕️ US Rambouillet ✳ started week 13

Weaving

Rigid heddle loom

• ↪️ Make a woven project using handspun yarns
• ↪️ Make fabric to sew at least one garments.
• Midnight Shawl by Kelly Casanova
• Make a selection of wide hand/dish towels 1️⃣✅ started green hand towels week 2, finished week 3.

Inkle loom

• Make some inkle bands from the book my sister gave me for Christmas
• Make a Minion inkle tablet weaving band
• Try another tablet card weaving pattern.

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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.