Whoosh! Time has flown and here we are on Christmas Eve and almost half way through the YOP year (there are 53 weeks this year). 

Knitting

Jumpers/cardigans

On Thursday I made a start on Turtle Dove II by Espace Tricot. I’m using some Shetland Woollen Spun Aran weight yarn that I dyed (badly) a few years ago. Its going to be splotchy and have some odd bits and I’m using the skein that ended up a totally different shade for the ribbing of the neck, and if there is enough I’ll do the cuff and hem with it too. The yarn only cost me £31 for 7 skeins as it was undyed, so it will be by far my cheapest wool jumper and it will be warm and perfect for round the house and I have my new fancy colour-work jumpers for wearing when I’m out.

Other/household

I made a little jumper ornament for the tree, using some leftover yarn. I will make some more of these, the are so cute and quick to make. 

My gnome is finished and I’ve added the snowflake pattern to the Sgnome-man, I found some silver thread that I’ve held with the yarn to give it a little sparkle.

Spinning

I’ve been spinning more regularly and managed to finish my Alpine Collection (Merino 67%/Alpaca 33% blend) packs from World of Wool. I bought two packs and spun each separately and then plied the same colours together. This has given me a total of 477m of a heavy DK/light worsted yarn…although its not been washed/dried yet. My thought was to make something like another Litmus Cowl with different thicknesses of stripes of colour, its super soft and will be nice and warm. My current one is made in superwash, so is more an early autum/late spring item than winter.

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Other News

If you celebrate Christmas then I hope you have a very happy and healthy one. We have my MIL here for Christmas and I’m cooking. This makes a change from recent years as we have either gone out for Christmas dinner, ordered pre-made Christmas dinners from a local catering company, that we just needed to re-heat in the oven, or last year we went to MIL’s and she cooked. So I actually can’t remember the last time I cooked a proper Christmas dinner!

My plan is to eat lots, watch lots of TV Christmas specials and drink Snowballs and/or the delicious Deer Island spiced rum, we bought on the Isle of Jura, with ginger ale and lime. 

Lastly, I usually take a snapshot of where I am mid-YOP year. This year it is 53 weeks long but I’ve decided to do the snapshot this week, because next week I will be posting my 2023 year summary. The snapshot is for my own reference really so feel free to skip and get back to eating mince pies or cookies!

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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
‼️ abandoned
🐸 frogged

Acquisitions/Stash Management

• ↪️ NO new superwash knitting yarns! 
  Q2 I bought a gnome kit in superwash 4 ply, not realising the same dyer had kits in non-superwash, which is frustrating. But it is only 80g/322m.
• ↪️ Contain my stash and have no overflow containers or bags!!

Crochet

• ✅ Bowl and plant pot cover kit. Started week 5, finished week 6.

Dyeing

• ↪️ Dye more locks for fairies’ hair
• Dye a gradient in fibre to then spin to make the Alaska hat! (On hold)
• Dye fibre for lampshades as and when required (rather than buying)
• Dye undyed fibre in stash to use for future spinning project. (On hold)

Felting

• ↪️ ✳️ Needle felted Ylva (Started YOP9!)
• ↪️ ✳️ Needle felted Highland Cow (Started YOP9!) On hold
• ↪️ ✳️ Make a handbag using the felting ball (Started YOP11 week 24 fibres weighed and test felt)
• Pictures and products to sell/gift:
  • ✳️ Fairies – Oct x 1, Dec x 9
  • ✳️ Tomte – Oct x 2, Dec x 4
  • Lampshades 20cm –
  • Lampshades 25cm –
  • Lampshades 35cm –
  • Lampshades 40cm –
  • Baubles –
  • Wreaths –
• Waste paper bin for living room
• Sewing bin for sunroom
• ↪️ Make plant pot covers On hold

Fibre Prep

If I haven’t washed these by end of 2023 then compost them or use as mulch over winter.

• ↪️ ✳️ 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

Knitting

Jumpers/cardigans

• Knit 3 garments, ideas below:
  • ✅ Selfish Pullover by Sweater Freak in New Lanark chunky (denim/sky) Started week 1, finished week 5. Neck adjusted week 20.
  • ↪️✅ Fern & Feather by Jennifer Steingass in hand-dyed Shetland Aran New Lanark Aran started week 13, finished week 20.
  • Another garment using yarn in stash. Possibly another Jennifer Steingass pattern Avena using existing greens in stash or Goldenfern with Jamieson’s of Shetland. ✳️ Turtle Dove II by Espace Tricot using some Shetland Aran weight I dyed started week 26.
  • Quick Sand by Heidi Kirrmaier in Drops linen/cotton.

Shawls

• ↪️ A summer weight shawl (maybe Estuary by Tin Can Knits)
• Shawl using Rowan DK merino/alpaca yarn. (Possibly a 2nd Void) On hold

Socks

• Knit more pairs of these socks with stashed yarn:
  • Rose City Rollers (RCR) by Mara Catherine Bryner.
    • 1️⃣✅ using self striping I dyed YOP11 week 22. Started and finished week 7.
  • Deb’s Super Simple DK Socks 2️⃣ ✅ using Ripplescrafts Kingfisher yarn. Started week 24 and finished week 25.
  • Hermione’s Everyday Socks by Erica Lauder
  • Try a new DK pattern
  • Try a toe up pattern (possibly Toe Up Socks With a Difference by Wendy D Johnson) Happy just doing cuff down socks.

Accessories

• Knit using existing stashed yarn or handspun only:
  • ✅ Alaska hat in handspun yarn from gradient I will dye. Colour-work hat using Isager Yarn Jensen leftovers. I’ve decided to do the Alaska hat with this yarn so combined 2 list items into 1. Started week 9, finished week 10.
  • Make 2nd Mostly Warmness cowl and cuff set using Ripples Crafts merino/yak/silk yarn.
    • ✅ Cowl started week 10, finished week 12.
    • 🐸 Mittens started week 13, frogged week 19 (too tight).
  • ✅ Fisherman’s rib cowl with Rowan Brushed Fleece yarn. Started week 15, finished week 16.
  • 🆕️✅ Bisbis Berry by Sari Nordlund. Started and finished week 21.
  • ✳️ Pinwheel Mittens by Ella Austin using kit from Loop London. Started week 22.
  • ↪️ A colour-work project using Black Isle yarns Gotland wool
  • Shrug & More by Martina Behm in existing stash or handspun. On hold
  • The Shift by Andrea Mowry, make a second version in different colours of handspun….maybe using baby camel and silk advent!
  • Make husband something with green New Lanark yarn.

Other/household

• ↪️ ✅ Habitation Throw by Helen Stewart using scrap 4 ply. Started YOP 10 week 45, finished week 12
• ↪️ ✳️ Dish cloths. 1️⃣ week 10.
• 🆕️ ✅ Snow Matter What (Mystery Gnome KAL) by Sarah Schira. Started week 23, finished week 26.
• Knit breed samples into squares.

Painting & Drawing

• Look for a painting group to join and if I don’t or don’t enjoy it declutter painting equipment.
• ↪️ Do a new watercolour painting (carried forward from YOP 11 and then 12)
• ↪️ Do a new pastel drawing (carried forward from YOP 12)

Sewing

• ↪️ Make play suit/jumpsuit with fabric in stash On hold
• ↪️ Make trousers with fabric in stash
• Sew something with handwoven material

Spinning

• ✅ Take part in Tour de Fleece. I didn’t do as much as planned, but I did spin during the calls and when we met up for a team lunch.
• ✅ Spin alpaca/merino fibre colour sets. Started week 21 on Ashford Traveller, finished week 26.
• ↪️ ✳️ Finish spinning 25g breed project (Started YOP10)
• ↪️ ✳️ Spin 2021 baby camel and silk advent fibres (Started YOP 12 week 28) Ashford Traveller and Nano.
• ✳️ Spin Shetland fibre I dyed purple. Started week 22 on Nano 2.
• Spin yarn for Alaska hat

Weaving

Rigid heddle loom

• ✅ Make a woven project using handspun yarns. Scarf woven with handspun Rambouillet held together with handspun yak/silk. Started and finished week 18.
• ↪️ Make a patterned shawl with WYS Exquisite merino/silk yarn.
• Make a selection of hand/dish towels
• Midnight Shawl by Kelly Casanova
• Weave with new cotton from Sara

Inkle loom

• Make some inkle bands from the book my sister gave me
  • ↪️✅ Monk’s belt sample (started YOP 12 week 22 finished week 14)
• ↪️ Make a Minion inkle tablet weaving band
• ↪️ Try another tablet card weaving pattern. On hold

Tapestry

• Try a new tapestry weaving using wool pack from Kincraig Reconsidering

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This is a Year of Projects post. Officially the Group is in its 13th year, but this is my 6th year participating. If you would like to find more about the Year of Projects Group on Ravelry, as you’d be very welcome to join us. (There are 53 Sundays this YOP year, it happens sometimes!).

Year 13 list.