The past few months have been busy dealing with other aspects of life and I regret to share that not much crafting has been going on. I did complete two pairs of socks in the last three months.
Finished pair one was a vanilla sock with no pattern but some joyful yarn by Ancient Arts Yarn in a colourway called "I met Stephen West and I liked it". I especially loved the black flecks when they came through.
The second finished pair of socks was a pattern called Will O' The Wisp Socks by This Handmade Life in a gorgeous colourway by Frankie Grey Fibres named Kiss Me. I think the pattern and yarn paired beautifully.
3January went by with lots of hot chocolate and evenings with the (fake) fireplace going. Fake or not, I think the fireplace brings the coziness level up a notch for sure.
I tried a new recipe and discovered an even deeper appreciation for cardamom in these fantastic and satisfying Swedish Cardamom Buns.
I dredged up a very old work-in-progress, which was my The Shift by Andrea Mowry. I had decided to make my cowl with handspun yarn, which was all spun up during Tour De Fleece a few years ago and I was so close to having the correct yardage. But... I ended up being just shy and ended up going through my stash to find some closely matched fibre to spin up so that I could finish the project! All the fibre from this project was purchase from Kim at Crafty That Way. I do know that one of the colours was called Mint Chocolate Chip, and another was called Hey There Romeo.
December went by in a blur of cold and snow. It wasn't a fantastic month for finishing up projects, but an excellent month for slow, deliberate stitches and marking time in minutes instead of days.
To recap, I finished a pair of knitted socks. These socks were completed using the pattern Peacock Socks by Alex Anders, I used a yarn from Frankie Grey Fibres in the colourway rain showers. Which was perfectly suited to snowstorms and frost covered trees as well.
I whipped up a quick last minute Christmas Simple Waffle Weave Scarf by the Rogue Weaver for deserving recipient.
I also decided to challenge myself immensely by tackling my first ever Yule Log. Of course, the version I chose was a Baked Alaska Yule Log, because why no bring ice cream into it. It's a perfect match for the weather.
Pair 1 - Some plain vanilla socks made from Arne & Carlos Regia, 2459 Siljan, in honour of Arne & Carlos launcing their new sock yarn. The self patterning in this sock is so fun and makes them fly off my needles.
Pair 2 - These socks were made using a pattern called Minecraft Socks by Heather Cox and they have a really delightful bouncy texture that makes them easy to love. The yarn is one I've saved and petted for more than a few years. It was made with a sock yarn from Flock Fibre Studio in a colourway aptly named Cookies for Santa, I love the pops of red and green, extremely festive.
I tried some new recipes in November. Both, of course, were from the genius of Ruth Tam at Cook Til Delicious.
Baking 1 - Marshmallow-Stuffed Ginger Molasses Cookies, these tasted absolutely incredible. My timing was a tad off and my marshmallow melting got away from me, so not as gooey as they should have been, but definitely did not affect the taste.
Baking 2 - Lemon Almond Poppy Seed Loaf, mine isn't as pretty as Ruth's, both because I do not own a Pullman pan and because I am not as talented a baker as she is. But the flavour was fabulous and we devoured this sucker in one day.
In other news, I helped out a friend and crocheted a sweet baby blanket called Crochet Pattern Alphabet Baby Blanket Puff Stitch by Pam. It can be fun to try patterns I wouldn't normally gravitate towards and I was making puff stitches in my dreams for weeks after!
October flew by in a flurry of baking and a bit of knitting - here is a summary of October:
Finished knitting a pair of Celebration Socks by Alice Kim in a new to me yarn called Wisdom Yarns in Horizon, which was a really fun yarn to work with and hard to put down with the next color change just a few stitches away.
My garden was VERY fruitful this year and I couldn't get enough tomatoes.
I made Apple Fritters! And Dutchies! Wow are homemade donuts amazing! These did not last long at all and seem to be appreciated by everyone who was lucky enough to nab one. The receipe I used was Dutchies and Apple Fritters by Ruth Tam of Cook Til Delicious.
I also made a Spiced Coffee Crumb Cake and tried my hand at a Lemon-Cream Cheese Danish Bread from Ruth Tam's cookbook Baked to Order, both turned out very scrumptious and I cannot wait to bake more from Ruth's cookbook.
The last bit of October baking was Almond Poppyseed Sourdough Scones also on Ruth's Substack Cook Til Delicious, these didn't last the day and I can't wait to make a batch to freeze and eat on demand.
In crochet, I worked on a blanket, taking over for a friend who is having trouble with her eyesight. It was a cute little project called Alphabet Baby Blanket Puff Stitch by Pam.
Somehow September felt like the longest month ever and the shortest month.
This month I finished knitting a pair of socks. I didn't follow a pattern at all, just inserted slipped stiches in lines to breakup the pooling of the colours in an interesting way. The yarn I used is an old colourway from Crafty That Way called Sour Berry Twist in a BFL/nylon.
I finished a set of towels I had on my loom and conquered my fear of sting heddles. Spoiler alert: there is absolutely no reason to be intimated! String heddles were actually super easy to work with once I understood the process.
I LOVE the texture on these towels and can definitely see myself weaving up more towels in other colours. The pattern I used is from The Rogue Weaver called Let it Snow. I highly recommend the pattern, considering I had never used string heddles before and was able to walk through the steps easily.
I'm pleased with how my garden is doing this year! Got some peppers on the way!
This month, I rekindled my love of baking and whipped up some Buttered Toast Sugar Cookies by Ruth Tam. So delicious!
Cut, pieced, and completed an entire quilt! Just the binding needs to be done to finish it off. My mom requested a quilt for my aunt with her favourite colours which happen to be turquoise and orange. I put together a Sparkling Cider quilt, because I've always wanted to make one.
I finished the binding on the Girl's Best Friend quilt I improvised out of the cutoffs from the half square triangles of my Pow Wow quilt. It's been in the wash and dryer to get that divine crinkling installed.
Found a fun new sew along that involves embroidering on hexagons. More to come...
Made a Teapot Cozy and whipped up a little hexagon mug rug with scrap fabric to give as a set to a friend.
There is an adorable pattern that I've been tempted to try for awhile now and had some time to put it together and it was so much fun, but also really hard to commit to a colour palette. The project is The Have It All Wallet by Straight Stitch Society.
