Following on from
2017's blog post, it's time for the annual knitting review!
I feel like I haven't really achieved much knitting this year - or rather, I feel like I haven't really achieved many finished objects. There's been plenty of knitting, just very few FOs.
In 2018 I finished just
16 projects.
Last years total was
26, so I'm down by
10. There were
2 shawls.
10 pairs of socks.
3 crochet toys.
1 hat. It was a much quieter year for finished projects, but it's well in line with the goal I set myself for 2018 to
create more mindful knits.
My first finished object of the year was a simple
pair of vanilla socks in
Felt Fusion's stunning candy-coloured Christmas colourway Whoville. I generally use my own experience to make toe-up socks now, but my knowledge retention for making heels is terrible! So, I tend to fall back on
Carle' Dehning's Vanilla Socks pattern just for the heel.
The second was my Ravellenics Games project
Maighdeann-ròin by Nat Raedwulf. It's a glorious pattern with just enough interest to not be dull but it's still a nice soothing knit. It's made with the most squishy, soft
Cosmic Strings yarn as the main colour. I fell so in love with the egg yolk yellow mixed with black and white that I knew I wanted it to be the centrepiece. It's paired with some well-loved and hoaded Sparkleduck (that soft purplish grey) and the coal black Titus.
After that, I tackled Veera Välimäki's
Slow Shawl (see top picture) - a gorgeous stashbusting project that helped me to use up a whole bunch of leftovers and create a colourful shawl that's full of memories. I loved the rhythmic flow of the pattern and it always delights me to work on scraps projects because as you work with each yarn, you're folding in the memories of where the yarn is from, what the original project you used it for was and the times you've worn or used the original item.
After that I put down my knitting needles and picked up my crochet hook to make this cute little Cinderella amigurumi. The pattern is from a kit that I received as a gift and reading all of the new, unfamiliar stitches really scared me. But I'm a big Disney fan, so I decided to buckle down and learn them. It's not the
neatest of FO, but it really represents how far I've come in my crochet journey. So, I can't be mad about it. Check out that popcorn stitch!
My next FO was actually another crochet project. My friend gifted me a
Toft kit for my birthday to make
Bruno the Okapi. The wonderfully weird and shy okapi is one of my favourite animals, so I was super excited to make him (if a little intimidated!). He actually whizzed up pretty quickly, with the only troubling bit being the sewing of his horns.
And...oh my gosh - what's this? ANOTHER crochet project? Say hello to
Don the Golden Retriever, another Toft kit.
I was actually so proud of this little guy -
he got his own blog post.
We're moving back to more familiar ground now, with a whole bunch of socks. There's the beautifully bright
Satsuma Socks.
These
plain and simple beauties.
The
Felix Felicis vanilla socks that I knitted mostly while on holiday in Wiltshire. They even had stitches added at Stonehenge!
The simple, yet stunning
Sakura Socks.
And finally this pair of
Nausicaa socks destined for my friend Adam - who is most certainly knitworthy (which is a good job because he has
big feet).
I ventured into non-vanilla territory for the
Winter Rose Socks by Helen Stewart in a beautifully sunny Sweet Georgia. I'd never used their yarn before, but I'd love to get my paws on another skein. It's so soft, yet strong and feels glorious slipping through your fingers as you knit.
And then picked up a skein of
my own yarn in Wicked Like A Wildfire to make the beautiful
Astrantia Socks by Helen Stewart.
My last sock knits of the year were both pairs of festive socks - and both self-striping yarn. The first is a
Twisted Limone yarn and the second is
London House Yarns.
I also rounded out the year with
Caitlin Hunter's Kobuk hat - in a beautifully fluffy and soft combo of Rowan's Kidsilk Haze and some Exmoor Horn DK I picked up at Yarndale this year. It was a very fun project to knit - I'm most certainly a sock and shawl knitter generally, so I often forget the joy in smaller projects. And I adore bobbles.
2018 was almost certainly the year of the sock. I'm hoping too add a bit more variety to my knitting selections in 2019, with some shawls, garments and mittens. But I'm certain there will be socks too - because there always is!
