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!
July came and went. I mostly hid in my house. Here is this month's recap:
Some finished socks! These are Simply Ribbed Socks with Square Heel by This Handmade Life using Biscotte Yarns Felix Self-Striping in the Carousel colourway. These were fun to knit, and being a ribbed sock had lots of knit/purl changes. I did not do anything special in the heel knitting to accommodate for the self-striping yarn, but they turned out great anyway!
I've seen significant growth in my teeny tiny little garden where all I have going is some raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, and some peppers.
Color of my Fiber had a sale and I took advantage and purchased six skeins for future projects (socks!).
After completing a pair of socks, I immediately cast on a new pair, these are Woodnote Socks by This Handmade Life and they are adorable. I used some deep stash that has some micro striping. It may not have been the best pairing, but I was honestly curious to see how the yarn would knit up in a very textured pattern. I did a solid colour heel flap and toes out of some scrap yarn, still ended up with some pooling around the decreases, but that's ok! They are fun and I enjoyed knitting them! I have a decent amount of the yarn left for another project.
Since I yet again, did not have socks on my needles, I got right to it and wound up two 50g cakes for a new pair of socks. I'm looking at Sweet Woodruff by This Handmade Life because I think they would indeed be sweet in the newly acquired Peach colourway by Color of My Fiber.
This month, I came into possession of a huge bag of apples from a backyard apple tree. Lucky me! They were small but tasty. I decided to peel and slice about a hundred of the little suckers and made apple pie filling. My fingertips are still numb but my tummy will be satisfied for months to come.
This month I knit up a pair of Vestigial socks by Beata Jezek, the yarn is Zwerger Garn Opal in an interesting colourway called 11132 Black Dragon 2 - Fantasy Island. This is not the first time I've knit this pattern, it is reliably so elastic and such a comfortable fit.
Went kayaking and explored a new area. There were so many birds, I was wondering if it was time to get a bird book and start a birding life list.
May was an extremely fruitful month! Here's the recap:
My Triangularity Quilt is finished! It is absolutely stunning, I am so happy with all the work I put into it.
I finished my Cute Little Houses calendar and it is everything I was hoping it would be. It was with much exertion, brainstorming, and research, that I was able to patch together a solution to my linen calculation error, and the result is far from perfect.
This project got a frame, a custom mat, and a prominent place in my home, because it truly brings me so much joy.
Completed this month are a pair of socks I knit on request, these are Fairy Maiden by This Handmade Life in English Lavender Socknado by Ancient Arts. I have passed the socks to the requester and heard that they were then passed along to the recipient, who's feet they did indeed fit.
This month I was requested to knit a pair of socks for someone to give as a gift. Information: size 9.5; Favourite colour: purple; Taste: feminine.
After conducting some thorough research, I landed on Fairy Maiden by This Handmade Life, because the pattern felt seasonally appropriate and lovely, especially with a solid colour yarn to highlight the stitch texture. The yarn I chose English Lavendar by Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts Socknado.
Huge headway on my hand quilting! I got the scrappy binding sewed up and ironed, and I've started hand stitch the binding in place. I've decided to use a visible ticking and to switch out the coloured threads along the way, because it's more fun.
More hand-quilting, I can see the finish line here and it's very exciting!
Lots of sock knitting this month, the pattern I chose was Traffic Island Socks by Nicola W and this Sweet Clover Candy by Candy Skein is perfect for March.
How cute is the Halloween Cute Little House!? I am humming Thriller and wishing to skip right over the impending Summer to Fall. Alas, unfortunately I am not a time traveller, yet.
This February, I finished knitting up my made-up pattern socks and decided to dig deeeeeep into stash and came up with a very fun colourway that will bleed perfectly into next month, so I got two 50g cakes wound up and now I'm on the hunt for a pattern that will pair nice with some high contrast variegation. The yarn is Candy Skein's 2014 colour of the month Sweet Clover Candy.
This month wrapped up my 2 Cubed Tea Towels by The Rogue Weaver and they turned out better than I could have hoped considering the new challenges that the double heddle introduced! I love them and have already put them to work.
This month I cast on a new pair of socks. This is a made-up pattern but I'm fairly certain the yarn is called The Wicked One in 80/20 Merino nylon from Crafty That Way.
In the spirit of old projects, I decided to tackle one that got abandoned, poor thing, during the pandemic of 2020. I actually made a massive calculation error and had to ponder how to rectify the fact that I did not initially acquire a large enough piece of linen to house my houses on. Of the three houses going across, in a grid, the rightmost house and that entire column going down are hugging the fabric edge so tight you'd think they were in a Abby Jimenez novel. I love these houses so much, that I am going to continue stitching and pretend I didn't notice. I'll deal with the problem later, or maybe it will magically go away.
This month was a desperate fury of knitting to whip up two pairs of socks to gift. I love a Crazy Zauberball for picky people, but again, not sure either recipient can appreciate the subtle marled gradient but at least I've got a photo of them.
Both knit in simple stockinette and a heel flap with a eye of the partridge heel, because gifting socks is always a fit risk and I think this heel is the most forgiving.
In anticipation of next month, I chose a super cute Christmas colourway in pink, greens, and reds and got to knitting a pair of plain stockinette socks with an afterthought heel to preserve the self-striping pattern. The yarn I used is Biscotte Yarns Felix Self-Striping in the colourway Melon D Eau, and if you know a little French, you will recognize, like me, who read the label after the fact, that this is not at all a Christmas inspired self-patterning sock, but much more suitable for say, July. Maybe Christmas in July. These are Watermelon socks, insert gut laughing at myself.
In an attempt to organize myself a bit, I came across a pile of granny squares I crochet and work on from time to time with no project plan at all. I like to check in on them, pet them a bit, make sure they are all getting along. That sort of thing.
I completed my Cozy Autumn Socks by This Handmade Life and am pleased as a pumpkin with them. I knit these fairly long in the leg and when I blocked them, they consumed my sock blockers like I consume ice cream with apple crisp.
New socks on the needles, September usually causes me to feel like casting on something fall feeling. So I did! These socks are Cozy Autumn Socks by This Handmade Life and the colourway is Leave a Penny by Crafty that way in a 80/20 Merino Nylon.
A continuation of alternating hand quilting and resting my fingers, wrists, and forearms.
This month, I attempted a very challenging project on my rigid heddle loom. This pattern is the 2 Cubed Tea Towel by The Rogue Weaver and was my first attempt to used two heddles on my loom. I figured if anyone could step me through warping two heddles, it would be Tammy... and I was correct. There was definitely some hurdles and some evident mistakes, all my own fault, mostly losing my place in the weft pattern as I have (documented([!]) challenges with my working memory But that's OK! That is literally how I learn, and I like to think the little bloops that I notice won't be noticed by the kitchen appliances.
I chose pink and green 2/8 Cotton by Maurice Brassard in, I think, Rose Pale 1768 and Vert Fonce 1152 for the first and my plan is to switch out the green for a red, maybe Framboise 5193 to make a set of Christmas themed towels that have a vintage feel of pink, red, and green.
Finished knitting my Rainbow fish socks in an unknown yarn with my made up pattern.
I wove a scarf start to finish and used pick up sticks on my loom for the first time. There is a ton of terminology that comes with weaving and therefore things can sound really scary because the names and concepts are foreign. But after reading through the instructions from The Rogue Weaver's pattern Easy Waffle Weave Scarf, I felt confident I could do it, and I was right!
Seriously, if you are having any trouble or want to dip your toes into weaving and have access to a rigid heddle loom, I highly highly recommend The Rogue Weaver and she has so many patterns to chose from that I'm certain you will find something that appeals to you. Bonus, she sometimes offers online classes and in house classes (if you live in her area).
And the big news is that approximately 10,000 years ago, I made a quilt top called The Good Old Hockey Game by KristaOCD and for reasons I don't understand, I never got around to taking it any further. Not drumroll, I managed to sandwich and quilt and knock this quilt out in two days! So, that felt really really good, and I made a little human very happy!
This month I cast on some fun new socks, I can't remember what yarn I am using for these socks as I lost the ball band, and I decided to just invent a pattern, which remind me of fish bones, so I am calling these socks Rainbow Fish, because that's all I see.
And I also made some decent progress on my Pink Fizz by Andrea Mowry. I am loving knitting with this 100% alpaca, I am feeling a bit embarrassed that this is my first time knitting with this fibre because, I am pretty sure I will be knitting with alpaca way more frequently.
As a very fun side note, this yarn came from a family run farm, in the same region where I live and the colour name of the yarn is called Cocoa. Guess the name of the sweet alpaca who's fleece this is and whose very whimsical photo came with the yarn? Cocoa!! The fibre is naturally this rich dark chocolate color, just like the aplaca it was sheared from and the name of the colour is the name of the alpaca! So cool! I am in love. I wonder if they would allow me to have an alpaca on my residential city lot? Or maybe Cocoa the alpaca wants to come hang with me and provide me with cocoa coloured alpaca fleece for as long as we both shall live.
This month I finished the scrappy pair cabled socks I had started a couple of months ago.
Out of some Quince & Co. Lark in the River colourway, I knit a Huxley by Jared Flood, I'm thinking, since I haven't been having much luck with sweater knitting, perhaps a vest is what I'm in the market for? This vest is adorable and I am really happy with how it turned out. Will I wear it? I am not sure. I've never worn a vest before in my life and maybe I need to wear it around the house to get used to it before venturing into the wild with it.
A pair of socks I started last month got completed and blocked. The colour pooling is fun in these socks and I am a sucker for purple, overall it was just fun to knit these.
Honestly, I can't help but take advantage of a sale when I see one. Sigh. This time it was Andrea Mowry again with her adorable pattern photoshoots and personality. I know that I said it was time to break up, but maybe just maybe, I can win this. I took advantage of a coupon code to purchase Pink Fizz and by golly I want to make this work, ok, so here is my plan. I am knitting with 100% alpaca, super super soft, super light, super drapey and my hope it that the sweater is not constricting in any way, not itchy in any way AND, I am knitting this in a semi-neutral colour, so all signs point to a successful sweater.
This month, I cast on and made headway on a new pair of socks, this pair is just a simple ribbing I am making with Crafty That Way fingering weight yarn in 100% superwash merino in a colourway called Sweet Surrender.
So, I somehow justified buying myself a rigid heddle loom. I'm told it is a natural fibre progression, knitting, spinning, weaving. I think next is buying raw wool and carding it myself, but I am going to try really hard to resist any futher developments.
I wove a very simple set of towels from a pattern from the weaving genius and brilliant teacher, The Rogue Weaver, who is so generous with her weaving tricks and tips. Her patterns are extremely well written and have so much information, even a raving loon like myself can figure out the steep learning curve that is weaving. She is literally so inspiring, and her weaving projects are the reason I finally caved and bought a loom.
One of my previous handspun yarns is so pretty and I have been trying to figure out what kind of knitting pattern to pair it with, so in the end, I have decided to knit a Madison Scarf by Suzanne Middlebrooks, which is knit with a lace weight yarn. The handspun I knit is very light because I left it as a single ply and I think this pattern will allow for some discretion in varying thickness and the amount of yardage I have available. This was a 100% superwash merino fibre in a gorgeous colourway called Costal Retreat with deep blues and yummy gold green seaweed from Crafty That Way.
This month, I realized I have been missing sock knitting and decided to throw some leftover fingering together to get started. I just made up some cabling for the pattern. I love those flecks of neon in the grey. That's it for this month!
