Happy Christmas to those who celebrate it. I considered not doing a post this week but it’s the half year snapshot post and I did do a few random crafty things this week.

Acquisitions/Stash Management

I gave my sister the name and quantity of yarn I would like for Christmas and gave her 2 colour options for her to pick which one to get me. That’s as close to a surprise as I’m comfortable with lol

So as I’m posting this before I’ve opened my presents I’ll hopefully remember next week to show you. It’s for a 3rd Turtle Dove!

I have moved all the yarn I’m not sure I will ever use into one of the drawers in my Kallax units. This includes some loom waste, mercerised cotton, some acrylic leftovers and other random skeins. If in 12 months I haven’t found them a purpose then I will donate/throw them away.

Crochet

It’s been a while since I did any crocheting but felt in the mood this week. I had a random, deep stash unlabeled ball of wool I wasn’t sure what to do with it. As I didn’t know the length I thought just a straight rectangle would be best. I am not even sure what the stitch name is that I did. It is now on the wee trolley that I have next to my armchair.

Using up some longer pieces of Lily’s Sugar’n Cream cotton loom waste (from making my hand towels) I tied the pieces together and crocheted a couple of dish scrubbies. The knots are all on one side so we shall see if they all come undone when used for tougher scrubbing of pots and pans.

Fibre Prep

Pompoms! I’ve no idea what I’ll use them on but the green ones were made from loom waste (from my woven tote bag) and the others were some random bits of chunky yarn leftovers. I just can’t seem to throw out random bits of yarn 🤦‍♀️.

Knitting

As soon as I make a declaration about what my plan is for the following week you can guarantee I’ll do anything but it! My plan had been to work on Dolores…I didn’t.

Weaving

I made some more Dorset buttons for the tree. I’m really struggling to keep track of which I made when. I did a post earlier in the week about all my Homemade Christmas decorations and this shows them all (I think).

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Other News

Our new washing machine arrived damaged in transit and doesn’t open. They won’t send a replacement until the damaged one is back, and won’t collect it until after Christmas. Rubbish service from Samsung!

Luckily I have a very kind neighbour who let me do some washing and we took some to my mother in law’s on Christmas Eve and I managed to get 3 loads done!

I hand-washed my knitted socks for the first time and they look worse than they ever have after 50+ washes in the machine! Also I didn’t realise the water draining out of the sink was overflowing into the cupboard below out of the washing machine outlet connection 🤦‍♀️ I will not be hand-washing socks ever again! Fingers crossed our new machine will arrive in the new year.

Anyway, I hope you all have a very happy festive period.

On New Year’s Eve I’ll be posting my 2022 Summary. Those posts are really diary entries for me and great to refer back to. Probably not super interesting to my followers though.

Also, for my own purposes, my snapshot of my YOP12 list at the YOP half year mark is below.

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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.) ⁉️ Q1 – I bought 2 skeins of sw DK BFL/Silk at Highland Meet the Makers and 1 skein of sw 4ply merino/silk to have a project to knit on in Wisconsin. Q2 – I bought a Zauberball in Copenhagen, but it’s for the Alaska hat I’d like to make.
• ↪️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.). ⁉️ By week 18 this was a big fail, I have easily another drawer I could fill with new yarn I bought from New Lanark and in Copenhagen oops!
• ↪️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.
• 🆕 Use loom waste and other random small skeins/leftovers or throw them away/donate. ✳️ pom-poms made week 26, crocheted trolley mat using random skein made week 26
• 🆕 Put all yarns I am not sure I will ever use into one drawer and de-stash at the end of the year if no use or plan is found for them. ✳️ drawer filled week 26

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), October x 9
  • Lampshades 20cm – November x 7
  • Lampshades 25cm – December x 4
  • Lampshades 35cm –
  • Lampshades 40cm – August x 1
  • Tomte – October x 2, November x 7
  • Baubles – November x 7, December x 1
  • 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:
  • ↪️ Sunday Sweater by Petite Knits ✅ started YOP11 week 43, finished week 3, altered neck week 21.
  • ↪️ Such a Winter’s Day jumper #2 by Heidi Kirrmaier in New Lanark Aran Bramble ✅ started YOP11 week 42, finished week 18, lengthened arms week 21.
  • Turtle Dove II by Espace Tricot in my handdyed Shetland Aran yarn or New Lanark Aran yarn!

Shawls

• Celtic Myths Shawl by Asita Krebs in Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone DK 🐸 started week 1 and frogged week 21. I’m going to weave with the yarn instead.
• 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.
  • 🆕 How I make my socks by Susan B Anderson. ✅3️⃣ cast on week 23, finished week 25.
• 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 ❗️*oops I bought some new yarns:
  • 🆕️ March Hat by Meghan Babin using Juniper Moon Herriot alpaca yarn* ✅ started week 12, finished week 14.
  • 🆕 The Shift by Andrea Mowry using handspun, Border Leicester and Cochrane leftovers ✅ started week 7, finished week 20.
  • Alaska hat (if I find a non-superwash kit I like at Wisconsin Wool Festival). Update: I couldn’t find non-superwash so I am going to use a zauberball* and existing stash. ✳️ started week 21.
  • 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
  • 🆕 Fair Isle Advent MKALendar by Susanna Winter using Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift ✳️ started week week 23

Other/household

• ↪️ Habitation Throw by Helen Stewart using scrap 4 ply. ✳️ (started YOP 10 week 45)
• 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 ✳️ started week 14
• Gansey Afghan by Lena Skvagerson using Isle of Auskerry/North Ronaldsay yarn
• Dish cloths as required.

Painting & Drawing

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

Sewing

• 🆕 Juniper Bucket project bag ✅ week 16
• ↪️ 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

• ↪️ 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)
• 🆕️ US Rambouillet 1️⃣✅ started week 13, finished week 15. 2️⃣✅ started week 20, finished week 22.
• ↪️ Finish spinning John Arbon Harvest Hues fibre (✅ Started YOP9! Finished YOP12 week 21!!)
• ↪️ Finish spinning 25g breed project (✳️ Started YOP10)
• 🆕️ Merino/silk/flax ✳ started week 3
• Spin 2021 baby camel and silk advent fibres

Weaving

I made some Dorset buttons but lost count of how many.

Rigid heddle loom

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

Inkle loom

• Make some inkle bands from the book my sister gave me for Christmas ✳️ Monk’s belt sample started week 22
• 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.