My Crafting 2015

Let's face it 2015 has been a rubbish year for my family. I'm not going to focus on that though. Instead I am looking back at my crafts of 2015. This is after all a craft blog. I gathered all my photo's of my crafts over the last year and put them into their own folder. Unsurprisingly there weren't that many of them. I am sure it would beat 2014 though as I was trying to finish my degree back then.

What surprised me this year was how many pairs of socks I did manage to get finished. There were 8 of them. A whole 8. I was sure there would be far fewer. I give myself a pat on the back for that one. Especially since only 2 of those pairs was done in the basic sock pattern. Only 3 out of the 8 were not made with Lisa's yarn. I'm not sure I can pick a favourite. The last pair in the collage was the last pair I made for my mum so they have a soft spot. It's also one of my favourite patterns which I have used over and over again. You can see the socks more clearly here. The ones that really pop is the yellow and green which was a pair that I did for my gran. Sadly it doesn't looked like I blogged about those socks and I have no idea what pattern I used. I didn't document it anywhere (this is where those organisational posts will come in handy).

As for crochet, I think this has mainly been a year for it. I managed to crochet two blankets. One for a baby shower and another for my mum (funnily enough it's the red one). I also crocheted a couple of squares which contributed to a blanket being given to someone as a leaving gift. There are another three blankets in that montage all of which are unfinished. The first image shows a blanket I started for myself. It's for when I buy my new home (next year people). It's almost finished but I haven't touched it in a long time. As you know the brown and beige squares were originally going to become a blanket for my gran. I am now donating it to someone else who is in the same situation my gran would have been in had she still been with us. The last, is of course the blanket club. I have loved taking part in that. Since my mum worked on some of those squares too it feels like it's a project we have done together, which was why we originally joined up.  The other good thing about this blanket is that I have learned a lot of crochet skills from it and so felt comfortable enough to sign up for the Acer crochet along. I thoroughly enjoyed that and hope to take part in others.

The end of the year has been when I have been at my most productive. I got quite a few things finished and as a result both my sister and I ended up with a set of winter woollies. I quite enjoyed working on this. I plan on doing a set for my sister each year. I want to use different patterns so will have to get searching for next year. The hat will have to have a pom pom though as my sister will insist on it.

Sadly, I have done very little in the way of sewing. I embroidered a bag for Lisa's little boy which was a gift from my mum and I. I stitched a few magazine freebies. I started a clock. And I started a hexie cushion. That's it. I have dozens of other unfinished sewing projects from previous years. I don't think I should start any more until at least one or two are finished.

It doesn't seem like I have had a particularly productive year. I spent most of my focus during the spring and summer on my mum's garden. Most of the work was hers though and I can't take the credit for it. I very much enjoyed photographing the results though.

I was busy with the blog itself. It's had the most traffic this year than any other and I have been trying to evolve the blog into something that people can use as a tool whether it's to try a new idea or to get some inspiration from others. My favourite post is probably the most boring which is the one with tips on blogging. I hope that other people will find it useful and I hope that it will also encourage some of you talented lot to get writing. I've added pages to the top of my blog which I hope that people will find useful and that I hope to continue to add to.

So that's pretty much my 2015. Looking forward to 2016. Please look out for my post at the end of the week. I hope to post about my plans for next year. Oh, and remember, if you would like to be a guest blogger next year let me know.

Sister's Winter Woollies Part 4 - Fingerless Gloves

 I have actually finished my sister's fingerless gloves. They area little neat on me but my sister has tiny hands so I'm not worried. I picked a pattern which had a cable in it. That way it matched the hat and socks I have already knitted up. The cable is a little less central than I wanted but in the end I actually quite like the effect.

The pattern is by Cecilia Brooke. I think I got it from ravelry via pinterest but I'm having trouble finding it again. The title of the pattern is simply, Fingerless Gloves, in case you are interested in finding it yourself. What I liked about it was that it had a decrease and increase for the wrist and the hand. It looks a little odd when sitting on the table but makes sense once they are on.

I have to say that the pattern itself wasn't the best. There were quite a few mistakes in it (including row numbering). However, if you are a fairly experienced knitter you will be able to ignore the mistakes. Other than that it's a fairly easy pattern to follow.

 

This finish can only mean one thing. I have completed my sister's winter woollies set. In fact my sister has not only seen them but worn them. Not sure which was her favourite. She ooed over all of it. Possibly the pom pom. When I knitted my own version of the hat she said I should knit her one with a pom pom. Over and over again! So often that I came close to telling her it was always on the cards. Thankfully she also suited it the colour with her purple hair. I did tell her I was worried that it was too dark a colour for her (she wears black but accessorises bright) but she liked it.

Now I will have to think up a winter woollies set for next year.

Sister's Winter Woollies Part 3 - The Hat

It looks like my sister will get her winter woollies this year after all. I have finished the hat and I am now half way through the left hand of a pair of fingerless gloves. You will recognise this hat as I have knitted this not just once but twice.  Yes, once again I have knitted The Woods by Po Lena. This time using green which kind of fits with the name of the pattern. Also this time, it's not for me. Which explains the one huge difference. This one has a pom pom.

My sister tried to convince me to add a pom pom to mine so it seemed only right that I put one on hers, since she likes them so much. Me, I think it looks better without but then I won't be the one wearing it. I did initially pose with the hat but it didn't look so good on me. Looks better modelled by the banister. With the cables in the pattern it matches the socks I finished last week. Only the cowl will be cableless but I'm sure my sister will cope with that. It's getting to the stage where I know this pattern off by heart. Will be looking out a new pattern for next year.

Oh, and on the plus side of the pom pom, it did allow me to try out a pom pom maker. Which was very easy to use and lots of fun. If you were a pom pom fan then you could make a lot of them very quickly with one of those.

Sister's Winter Woollies Part 2 - the Socks

So the second item in my sister's winter woollies set is now complete.  Using the same yarn (as planned) as I did for her cowl. These will go perfectly under a pair of boots. They are so thick and cosy. They do look a little odd because they are so long and yet have tiny feet (the curse of my tiny footed sister).

Actually, I love the fact that my sister has tiny feet. It makes knitting up socks so much easier and quicker. And they look rather cute. You would be right if you think you recognise the pattern. I finished a pair for myself not so long ago.  They are the Cable and Seed Stitch Denim Socks by Debbie Abraham and can be found in the book Country Weekend Socks by Madeline Weston. I loved seeing the pattern emerge in the solid colour. I especially think it suits this dark shade.

Plus look at those cables! They are definitely a favourite. There is another cabled pair in the book that I want to try but they are knitted on straight pins which is putting me off.

Anyway, I am halfway through my sister's hat which means that I am more than halfway finished with her set. I might get it done this winter after all.

My Winter Woollies 2015

I finished my hat! It's exactly the same pattern as the cream one I knitted not that long ago.  There are two main differences. First of all I used the second skein of yarn from the cowl kit that I bought from Lisa. Secondly I used a larger needle size so that it was more like a slouchy hat.

See! A lot bigger than the last one. It doesn't feel like it's going to pop off my head. My sister feels that it is missing a pom pom but I prefer my hats to be pom pom free. It's warm and cosy, perfect for this horrible weather we are getting.

The colourway of the yarn kind of drowns out the cable pattern but I don't care. I think that it's still pretty and I love the colours. Took no time at all to knit up and was fairly easy to follow. You can see more about this pattern with the first hat I knitted.  You'll also be able to see the cable pattern better.

That's me pretty much sorted for the winter. I have a pretty and cosy cowl and a matching hat. Thank you for the yarn Lisa.

Sister's Winter Woolies - The Cowl

Every winter my mum would make my sister a set of winter woollies. My sister loves a woolly hat and mitts and some years she would even get two sets. I've decided to try and keep this tradition going and I am working on a full set of winter woollies. Watch this space to see if I get them all finished.

Firstly I made her a cowl. I used the crochet pattern from the cowl kit I received from the lovely Lisa. Although she has bought cowls before this will be the first one made for her. So at least I know she likes them.

My sister doesn't like them too close in to her neck so I decided to make this a little longer than mine. I had planned to use 150g of yarn but it turned out the one 100g ball was more than enough.

You can see a close up of the pattern here. It's a simple ripple effect which stands out even in this darker yarn. Once you get into the swing of the pattern it's fairly easy to do and it crocheted up in no time.

The yarn is a lot darker than I was expected it to be. I was hoping for a brighter teal which I think would have looked good against my sister's pink hair. I still like the colour though and I think my sister will too. The yarn is an alpaca tweed by Stylecraft and is one of the softest yarns I have ever had the pleasure of working with. It does cast a little but it's worth it.