#but colorwork is pretty difficult actually and i now have this yarn that would pair up actually pretty nicely with the yellow

[o-wyrmlight]

Making a swatch right now for the yellow yarn, but I think I'm going to try to make another directional scarf with these two colors. I'm still going to give the green one as a gift. I wouldn't mind that massive mistake I made as much, if it weren't for the fact that it makes it constantly want to curl in half. We'll see if I learned from last time and whether or not I know how to cast on from the sides properly. We'll see.

I also did this scarf a while ago, but wasn't much of a fan of the color. Looking at the picture now, it does seem rather colorful, in hindsight. It has some wool in it, so it should be warmer. I have another one much like it, but it's white instead of the grey that goes throughout it, so that's probably why this one looked 'meh' to me.

Maybe I'll send this one to my grandma, too. I still need to block both of these scarves regardless: I just don't have enough blocking segments to fit even one fully, let alone two.

Something I noticed with the grey rainbow wool scarf is that it always seems to get a bit wider when it reaches the purple sections. Hopefully blocking it will help mitigate that.

[prettycraft5]

Everything I knit in 2023

This would the final 2023 video on my would-be knitting podcast, but I do not have a knitting podcast so enjoy it on here instead.

I'll go in chronological order since every item is different (there is 1 hat, 1 garment, etc) except for the socks, as I'm delighted to say I knit 4 pairs of!

Keep in my that this is my 3rd year knitting.

Btw, the cost is for the number of skeins I've bought and opened for this project. If I only used half a skein, it will be calculated like a full skein price wise.

Buffalo Rose Beanie by KC Knitting Co

Project on Ravelry. My first stranded colorwork & my first proper hat! I learned a ton of techniques with this, like colorwork and how to construct a basic hat and a new cast on. I did so many swatches before starting this project. I love the rose design but I think my choice of yarn made it a bit squished?

It's slightly too tight and quite too short. The tightness is my own fault (I should have probably used 4 mm needles instead of 3.5 mm), but other people on Ravelry have said that their hat ended up being too short, so I think this might be a problem of the pattern itself. I had to open the top and knit another round of squares and it still doesn't cover my ears (the photo is from before I did this surgery).

Yarn: Mondial Merinos Extra, Mondial Merino Baby

COST: around 15€

USAGE: Not much because of fit issues.

FUTURE: I might knit it again with 4 mm needles & longer but I don't know if it's worth the hassle anyway.

Avo-can-do by handmade by SMINÉ

Project on Ravelry. Used it as a power bank pouch. It served me well over the last year but I've realized that this design with strings is not the best. It doesn't close completely and I'm always scared I'll be losing a phone cable. I remember I didn't do the eyelets for the strings properly either, I should have watched a tutorial.

Yarn: Mondial Merinos Extra

COST: Nothing, from stash.

USAGE: It's been in use for almost 1 year

FUTURE: I'll knit a new version with a different pattern and cotton yarn in 2024.

Cheval qui tien debout | Self-supporting Horse by Kathleen PETTIER

Project on Ravelry. A gift for my sweet little cousin. I was very impressed that I was actually able to pull it off. I used LadyTemeraire notes for this pattern and to her I give my heartfelt thanks. Link on the Ravelry page.

I only have two regrets: I think the back legs are a bit wonky (but nobody is going to notice except for me) and I should have taken the time to make the tail fuller. By that point I was pretty fed up with the project, tho.

Yarn: random yarn I had in stash. I unraveled a scarf and a hat to get the little bits for the rainbow mane, actually.

COST: Nothing, from stash.

USAGE: Dunno. Gift.

FUTURE: Making stuffies is fun and I'd really enjoy making another one for another child.

Nalu Mitts by Leila Raven

Project on Ravelry. A gift. It's a fun project that I would recommend to someone looking for some easy mittens and/or cables. It was fairly quicky to knit up. I did mess up the cables positioning a bit (they are too close to the thumb on one mitten) but oh well. Hopefully my friend won't notice, haha.

Yarn: Mondial Merinos Extra

COST: Nothing, from stash.

USAGE: It was a gift so who knows

FUTURE: I'l probably knit some mittens for myself sooner or later, but not using this pattern because I want fingers.

Step by Step Sweater by Florence Miller

Project on Ravelry. I feel like everyone and their grandmother knit one of these this year. It was an easy pattern, even with the 2 "more difficult" modifications (folded collar and short row shaping). Certainly a good foray into garment-making but it did take me some 5 months to complete it!

I'm proud that after realizing I had chosen the wrong size, I frogged, did the math & casted on the correct size rather than keep going. At the time it made me very cranky but it was necessary.

And now, for the bad. I, once again, used 3.5 mm needles instead of 4 mm. The fabric is way too dense and the yarn (Mondial Merino Plus) is scratchy so I have to wear a long-sleeved t-shirt underneath

I wanted the collar to sit closer to the neck. I don't know if this wasn't the right pattern for that or if it's something I did wrong? But I see lots of sweaters online with this same problem.

The sleeves are too short. It's my fault as I ran out of black yarn so I had to improvise and do some sweater surgery to lengthen the other colours (as I didn't want to spend any more money on this) but they still ended up too short.

Lastly, it gave me clicker thumb and I had to take a month long break from knitting in order to recover so, yeah. Not a really fun knit.

Yarn: Mondial Merino Plus

COST: around 40€, I think

USAGE: only a couple of times but one of the sleeves has kind of started to unravel already in the sweater surgery bit. The yarn is quite scratchy so I have to wear a long-sleeved t-shirt with it.

FUTURE: I think it's fine as it is.

Headband with a twist by Mirella Moments

Project on Ravelry. I wanted a quick way to knit a hat and this seemed like a good choice. It came out pretty well: it fits perfectly and the twist makes it look classy and complicated but was actually so easy to knit. But unfortunately, it's not warm enough for the winter here. I will have to knit an actual hat after all!

Yarn: Mondial Merinos Extra

COST: nothing, yarn from stash.

USAGE: I wore it for a couple of weeks and I immediately got a colt. Sigh. Also, if I wear it for more than 15 min the yarn will start to feel scratchy on my forehead.

FUTURE: Will probably gift it to someone.

The socks

In chronological order, from the top left:

Vanilla Sock with Gusset & Choice of Heel by Jo Torr. My third attempt at sock-making. Yarn: Mondial Kim (6€).

Stolen Bike Socks by Monica S. My pride and joy. Photo taken before I bought sock blockers but really, they are excellent. Yarn: Mondial Kim (from stash).

Simple DK Shortie Socks by Woolfield. A gift that I had to make quickly. The gusset decreases go in the wrong direction but that's ok it became a design feature. Yarn: Schachenmayr Regia (8€).

Togetherness Socks by Little Home Designs. Wonderful stupendous, to die for. My second foray into cables I did have to make the toes a little longer but whatever. Yarn: West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 Ply (£8.95).

Some conclusions

This year I knit 9 objects: 1 garment, 6 accessories, a random home object and 1 plushie. It's a lot more than I thought!

I think the reason why I felt that I didn't knit much this year was that I didn't focus on what I'm most interested in: sweaters and socks. I'm a product knitter. I knit because I need something. All of these things were useful, but one can never have too many socks and my sweater drawer is pretty miserable.

My 2024 knitting resolution: knit 2 sweaters + finish my Deborah cardigan before summer. Then another sweater in autumn. All the while, I'll be knitting as many socks as possible (not vanilla). I also need to knit a hat and a new power bank pouch, but those two are less urgent. I already have a ton of sock yarn (ok not quite but) and will purchase the other yarn after finishing the previous project.

Also, 3 of my projects were gifts. It's nice to knit gifts, but it takes a bunch of time and my wardrobe stays empty. At the end of the day, I'd rather knit for myself and tick something off my "want" list. No, I don't think that makes me selfish.

2024 resolution n2: No gift knitting at all.

Lastly, I hadn't realized that this year I knit almost entirely with Mondial yarn. Mostly because that's what my LYS carries and because I had it in stash from last year. In retrospect, I really don't like it. I find it scratchy, even the merino. But I do still have a fair bit left so I need to find ways to use it up. Perhaps the Mondial Merinos Extra would make decent socks?

New Year's Resolution part 3: Never buy Mondial yarn again.

Thanks for coming to my written knitting podcast. Here is to another year of crafting!