I should probably have put this blog post together at the end of the year rather than midway through January of the new year but I didn’t get the chance, and having only started the blog at the end of the year, I thought you might still be interested to see what I made last year (having not seen most of it before).
In my mind, I thought I’d not made that much following my return to full-time work in February. But actually, I achieved quite a bit! I’ve broken them down into categories rather than the order in which I finished them, starting with…
Shawls
This shawl was a pattern from Helen Stewart’s book: ‘The Shawl Society: Season 1’ and I used Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace in the ‘Gold’ colourway.
This one is also a Helen Stewart Pattern (Curious Handmade) purchased on Ravelry. I knit it in Opal 4 Ply in the ‘Pink’ colourway. I made this for Faye’s Year 6 Prom but she didn’t end up wearing it as it was so warm!
Another pattern from ‘The Shawl Society: Season 1’ book. This was my knitting on our special trip to Florida (although I didn’t finish it until we got home). This was my birthday yarn from The Fibre Fox in the colourways: ‘Fairy Dust’ and ‘St Lucia’.
A pattern from this year’s Knitvent (another Helen Stewart / Curious Handmade) pattern! Knit using West Yorkshire Spinners Re:treat Chunky in the colourway ‘Escape’.
Sweaters
My first finished sweater knit in the round using the pattern from Tin Can Knits and yarn is Stylecraft Alpaca Tweed DK in the colourway ‘Sea Breeze’. Although, I believe this yarn has now been discontinued.
This was my official first sweater knit in the round, though I finished it after the Love Note as I got stuck on sleeve island! This was a free pattern from Tin Can Knits using Drops Flora yarn in Amethyst.
My greatest knitting achievement in 2019 was this first colourwork project. The pattern is by Caitlin Hunter of Boyland Knitworks and I knit it using Stylecraft Special DK for Faye. More details can be found in this post.
Socks
Another Curious Handmade pattern from one of Helen’s Sock Societies. I knit these in West Yorkshire Spinners ‘Wood Pigeon’ and ‘Penny’ Royal colourways from their Signature 4-ply range.
I really enjoy knitting basic socks and I always use Winwick Mum’s Basic Sock pattern which I have modified for my feet. The yarn was Stylecraft Head over Heels in the colourway ‘Sugar Loaf’.
I cast these on as part of Ali’s (Little Drops of Wonderful / Starry Eyes Ali) Strictly Sock Along. I did complete them before the end of Strictly but as I couldn’t claim to have knit more than a few rows whilst watching it, I didn’t enter them into the prize draw. I was just pleased to finish them off! I modified the basic sock pattern to make the cuff and leg shorter and used the rest of the WYS ‘Penny Royal’ yarn.
These were another pattern from this year’s Knitvent. I made these for Faye using Coop Knits Socks Yeah DK yarn in the colourway ‘Pigeon’.
Blankets / Throws
I didn’t use a pattern for this throw. I went by a corner to corner crochet tutorial I found on YouTube then when I felt it was big enough (and working out the colour changes), I started decreasing for it to become a square. I crocheted using Stylecraft Special DK yarn in the colourways ‘Duck Egg’ and ‘Parma Violet’.
This was made for a Christmas present for my friend’s little boy and colour-inspired by Marvel. I used Stylecraft Special DK in the following colours: Lipstick, White, Black, Gold, Green, Grey and Royal. The perfect size to cosy up under whilst watching a movie!
Pretty colours for my friend’s daughter’s granny square blanket. More Stylecraft Special DK in Fondant, Lemon, Apricot, White, Sherbert, Candyfloss and Wisteria. I loved crocheting with these colours!
Accessories
A pattern from last year’s Knitvent (Helen Stewart) using Drops Andes in ‘Light Grey’. This was my first completed project of 2019.
This yarn is absolutely stunning. It’s by Amy Florence of Stranded Dyeworks (whose podcast I love watching). It’s BFL DK in the colourway: ‘Naive Watercolour’ knit using the Curious Handmade ‘How Quiet’ pattern, with matching mitts below:
This set was gifted to my lovely mum at Christmas.
I made my mum’s husband, Roy, the Homebody hat using Stylecraft Bellissima DK in the colour ‘Double Denim’ using another pattern from this year’s Knitvent.
Not a great photo of this as it was a bit of a rush before we headed to Bude for Christmas. I hope to get a photo of him wearing it at some point! Made up pattern to his specifications using Sirdar Crofter DK yarn.
Another set of How Quiet hat and mitts for my little Miss. We fell in love with the yarn by Truly Hooked in the colourway ‘Show Yourself’, inspired by the movie Frozen II.
Home
To cover a very old and dilapidated dark brown faux leather pouffe, I fashioned this cover using Robin Super Chunky in ‘Grey’. The pattern was essentially Lucy of Attic24’s bag pattern, modified to fit the pouffe.
Likewise, this little pot that I’m using to store my toiletries in the bathroom (and need another one making this year)
I bought a kit from the NEC to make this little crochet bee. Sadly, the pack didn’t contain enough yarn (but it was a charity kit, so…), therefore his bum is crocheted in a slightly lighter yellow. But I still love him and intend to make more this year.
I knit these watching my girl swim each week. I used some cotton dk from stash and just cast on 30 (I think) stitches and knit until I thought it was about the right size. I use these every day as face cloths and they have stood up to machine washing very well.
This pattern is from the lovely Jooles of Sew Sweet Violet (another podcast I love to watch!) – her ‘Wondrous Dishcloth’ pattern. I learnt some new techniques with this pattern and thoroughly enjoyed knitting it up. I haven’t yet used the cloth because I want to knit a whole rainbow of them first! Yarn was more cotton dk from stash. I think it’s Stylecraft Classique Cotton which is very soft and squishy and doesn’t split like other cottons can.
Oh, this was a bit of trial. I planned the letters out on squared paper and made the pattern up as I went along. The tricky part was joining it. Firstly, I just crocheted a long chain and sewed the flags on but this was far too droopy, so I unpicked it all and decided to just sew on some florists wire to make it sturdy… sadly I sewed all the letter on back to front so it read ‘NEEWOLLAH’. I unpicked it all… then did exactly the same thing again but luckily realised as I reached the middle. It was very lucky not to have found itself flying out of the window!
Sewing
At little secret about me… I’m actually terrified of my sewing machine. This is completely unfounded as all the things I have made to date have been quite successful, but there is something about it… I have to build up to sewing, so I don’t usually get much accomplished in a year. It doesn’t have the same effect on me as knitting but I really, really want to be good at it. I love fabric and I love the finished items; it’s just that bit in between…
So I was so happy when I managed to make a dress in stretch fabric (one of my 19 in 2019 goals) last year. I used some very cheap ponte roma fabric and the amazing Tilly and the Buttons ‘Coco’ pattern. If you’re a beginner like me, I would highly recommend these patterns.
I made up this little elasticated skirt for Faye as she wanted a bunny skirt for Easter. We were going to work on it together and she happily practiced sewing straight lines on scrap fabric while I cut the pieces out, but when it came to it, she was too scared (a chip off the old block) to actually sew the skirt, so I ended up doing it!
Another made up pattern using a sort of cotton canvas-type fabric. My sewing knowledge is weak, my friends! I had the urge to make very special party bags for Faye’s first sleepover party, so they could have something special to take home and remember it by (as they were going to different high schools too).
A fabric panel bought from the NEC. I spoke about this more in this post.
And more stretchy fabric to make a ‘Coco’ top. The neckline is ‘iffy’ but I do wear this a lot and want to make some more this year.
Miscellaneous
What project is complete without a bit of bunting? I had this oil cloth and bias binding in my cupboard for quite some time. But the scary sewing machine held me back. It needn’t have as this is possibly the quickest project I’ve ever completed and it makes me happy every time I look out of the kitchen window and see it flapping in the breeze. The colour has faded a bit in the sunshine but it still makes me happy.
I always try to make Faye a birthday brooch and this year was no exception. I’m not sure when I should put an end to this… but I’m not ready to yet. She keeps them so I think it means a lot to her too, or maybe she’s just humouring me!
I made this, a bat and a Frankenstein head from a kit but I don’t appear to have a photo of Frankie or Batty and they are packed away until next October now. I enjoyed making these from another NEC kit. I think it was by House of Zandra. I have a fox to make this year with another kit from them.
This had been on my to do list for quite some time and it didn’t take too long. The paint is Annie Sloan Chalk paint which I had leftover from other projects. It did take a few coats but it’s given the tray a new lease of life and this colour makes me much happier!
I feel really pleased with what I managed to achieve last year! Knitting has become a much bigger part of my life and I would say is my favourite craft but I love to see what mood I’m in and be creative in any way I fancy.
Here’s to more making in 2020!!
