2016, another year of making

New projects in the new year. I cast on a Sawmill River Hat with some yummy Brooklyn Tweed Loft that I have been so keen to try for so long.

Now that we have flipped over to the new year I wanted to share my making goals for 2016. I'm not going to be as specific as last year's post that listed what I aimed to make each month over the course of the year. I do have similar goals this year based on when the birthdays of family members fall but I think there's no need to write them out again.

My general making goals for 2016 are:

• To stash less and to knit my stash.
• To continue to try new things especially more colourwork. 
• To continue to build my handmade wardrobe and the kids' wardrobes.
• To participate in more KALs and even try a MKAL*.
• To always have a pair of socks in progress because socks make good travel knitting.

Stash less

I have been thinking about this goal a lot and I have come up with a plan to help me stash less. My aim is to select the yarn that I wish to work with and to cast on the project that I had set it aside for. I have usually been a person who finds a pattern and then tries to match yarn for it and often I feel like the yarn in my stash is not suitable because I have either already intended it for something else or I don't think it is the right yarn for the project. Then I start looking for some new yarn and of course we know how the story goes. Therefore, by committing myself to knit the beautiful fibres that I already own I get to not only stash bust but also to make those patterns that I have been queueing for so long.

New techniques

As a maker there are always new things to learn and I am still such a newbie at knitting and sewing. Everything that I attempt with the sewing is new for me so in this area I won't find it hard to broaded my skill set. With knitting I want to try more colourwork, especially stranded colourwork techniques and possibly attempt a fair isle styled project. I will also hopefully develop more confidence with pairing colours together to make pleasing and attractive garments.

Handmade wardrobe

This will involve attempting to make those jumpers that I have been dreaming of, not only for myself but also for my children and husband. I have also been building a bit of a fabric stash so I really need to get onto the sewing machine and smash out some tops, dresses and shorts for myself and the kids. The new machine that my darling Hubs gave me for Christmas will definitely help with achieving this goal. Such gifts show me that I am truly blessed to be known and loved.

KALs and MKALs

There is such a buzz when you are making something socially. There is the joy of chatting about pattern and yarn selection and the kudos you get when you actually finish the object and post it in the forums. I'd like to try a mystery knit too because it sounds like a fun and interesting challenge to take on.

Socks

I have already cast on a pair of toe up socks and I'm knitting two at a time on magic loop. There are surprisingly so many aspects to sock knitting and so many different techniques and styles. Just working on socks will be helping me to learn new things and they make great projects to take along everywhere.

I predict that throughout the year I will be making for my family and friends as usual but I hope that there will also be a fair bit more 'me' knitting in the months to come.

What are your goals for the year? Wishing you all a happy new year and I look forward to seeing your making in the year to come.

*MKAL = Mystery Knit a long.

2015 in review

Some of my handmade Christmas gifts: Honey Cowl for my mum, stockings for the kinder teachers, Purl Soho skirt for my neice.

It's the last day of the year and as the year draws to a close I inevitably begin reflecting upon the days that had passed. This year has been a big year for me as a maker. I learnt many new things and achieved some of my goals but also failed at things too because some things are a bit beyond me for the stage of life I'm currently in.

Looking at the post I wrote back at the beginning of January where I set out my goals and making list for 2015 I feel pretty happy with what I managed to tick off in the months that followed that post. You can read the full details of the post, or just for a recap here is what I aimed to achieve in 2015:

2015 Making List

Some general aims I have for this year are:

1) To stash less* and knit from my existing stash as much as possible.

2) To knit up those patterns that I have queued.

3) To finish those few projects that I hibernated a long time ago.

4) To give handmade = knitted gifts.

5) To keep trying new things and learning new skills.

6) and under the influence of ex-physio husband; to take care of myself physically as a knitter - stretching and resting the hands, shoulders and neck muscles regularly etc.

Jan

Finish Rye socks for Ba

High water for Sir S

Bonnet for Baby Cheng

Feb-Mar

Baby cardigan for A’s baby no.2

Livie for Miss L (birthday present)

beanie for Sir S (birthday present)

Apr

Mitini mitts for SIL** (birthday present)

Windschief for Bro  (birthday present)

Softie for Niece L (birthday present); needs to be sent to USA so I've got to work on it early.

May-Jun

Neon ski bonnet for me; in preparation for our snow trip.

Hat for hubby (anniversary present)

Neon ski bonnet for Miss L; because I want to make a matching hat for my little girl.

Jul-Aug

Finish Salander leggies for M; which is an overdue present from last year's birthday.

Bella Shawl or Span for me; I think either of these might be a good knit to travel with, but might turn out to be too ambitious.

Sep

Start Christmas projects; I know it sounds crazy but some of these presents need to be sent overseas so I better get onto them early.

Socks for BIL

Hat for SIL

Quaintly for Niece L

Oct

Scarf for SIL

Socks for Bro

Socks for Ba

Nov

Kinder teachers’ presents

cowl for Ma

Dec

Christmas stockings for the family

I remember beginning quite strongly in January and managing to tick off the items that I had listed and added a few too. Everything was following the list pretty swimmingly until about March when I got a bit too overconfident and started casting on an extra project here and there when I felt a bit bored with the existing WIPs. It was around this time that I took on a comissioned project for a friend. I found the experience of knitting for "work" challenging, but it was mostly because I accepted the project while I was already trying to knock out a couple of birthday presents for family members.

When little Miss L got really sick around Easter and I was majorly sleep deprived the only thing I (and she) found some joy in was a trip to the LYS and the purchase of a sweater lot of yarn. I haven't made anything with that lot of Shilasdair luxury DK yet but it kind of opened the floodgates to the idea that yes, I can be a sweater knitter. 

That leads me to talk about how I went with stashing less and knitting my stash. I failed miserably at stashing less. I probably went the other way than stashing less and actually began acquiring sweater lots of yarn throughout the year with big dreams of knitting so many cosy jumpers to build my handmade wardrobe. In reality I only managed one adult jumper, a tee, a shrug and a half and an assortment of accessories. The handmade wardrobe is slowly building, hence it being "slow fashion", but the stash is not getting any less. There has just been so many yarns calling out to me this year and you know there is always next year to try better at stashing less.

In terms of some of my other goals, I did manage to make most of the gifts that I gave this year. Even when I was feeling completely time poor and overwhelmed with the prospect of knitting another baby gift I felt even more overwhelmed with the thought of taking two children to the shops. So I pushed myself and made lots of baby hats and even a couple of cowls for girls who had invited Sir S to their birthday parties.

Happy Homemade: Sew Chic Kids have easy shorts that even a sewing newbie like me can manage.

I do believe I kept trying new techniques. I learnt to knit cables without a cable needle, I did a circular yoke for the first time, I knit socks cuff down and toe up, I did some test knitting, I did a couple of KALs and I started sewing. I also made it to The Craft Sessions and had a go at dyeing and weaving and in general had a fabulous time meeting lots of very talented crafty people.

As you can imagine with all these new things that I was trying lots of different projects were being cast on and I did kind of lose track of my making list. Everything kind of fell apart towards Christmas as I found myself becoming a bit of a selfish knitter and all my WIPs were 'me' projects. I decided I wasn't going to be able to knit all my Christmas gifting this year so I commandeered my mother's sewing machine and found the simplest and quickest sewing projects that a newbie like me could handle.

I made this apron for my brother and I got the 'pattern' from Purl Soho.

I guess it's no surprise that this year I made more than I have ever made before. I'm still determing what goals I will set for 2016 but I'm pretty sure it'll be another big year for little ol' me. 

Thanks for reading this little blogging adventure of mine. It's been a pleasure to put my thoughts out there this year and also such a delight to know that there are a few readers following my ramblings. I hope you've had a productive year too and look forward to continuing this journey together next year.

Have a happy new year everyone.

Small victories

At the start of the year I wrote a post that set out my making list for 2015 and how quickly the first month of the year has passed.

January has been a productive month mainly due to the fact that my husband has been able to take slightly more flexible work/ office hours and be at home quite a bit. With an extra pair of adult hands around the home things have run a lot more efficiently and it has enabled me to sneak in quite a few knitting moments such as knitting in the car while M drove us to the supermarket. I'm so grateful for the month that we have had together.

Yin Yang Rye Socks for my dad*

Looking back at my making list items for January I have actually finished each of the projects that I aimed to make, plus a couple of extras. I knit the High Water jumper for S, finished the second Rye sock that was meant to be a Christmas present for my dad, sent off a bonnet for my Sydney friends and knit a Garter Ear Flap hat from the Purl Bee blog. I also finished a last minute gift knit for a friend's farewell + birthday party later this week. I knit her Mari Chiba's Chibi Maruko cowl to keep her neck warm during New Zealand's winters. On top of all that knitting I began learning to sew and finished my first project, a super cute bonnet for Miss L. 

Purl Soho's Garter Ear Flap Hat

I'm pleased with this past month of making and it may be a small victory but it still worth taking a moment to reflect and relish over. My list for February - March is probably a bit more ambitious and I've jumped straight in and not wasting any time by starting a Kelly Brooker's Newborn Vertebrae.

Tell me, how do you manage to fit your crafting moments into the day? Any tips for becoming a more efficient knitter?

*I'll explain why the socks for my dad ended up being "yin yang" socks in my next blog post.

Making 2015

I recently read The Craft Sessions' post about her making list for 2015 and this inspired me to get organised with my own making/ knitting list for this year. Building on the fab year of knitting that 2014 was for me I hope that this year will be just as productive.

2015 Making List

Some general aims I have for this year are:

1) To stash less* and knit from my existing stash as much as possible.

2) To knit up those patterns that I have queued.

3) To finish those few projects that I hibernated a long time ago.

4) To give handmade = knitted gifts.

5) To keep trying new things and learning new skills.

6) and under the influence of ex-physio husband; to take care of myself physically as a knitter - stretching and resting the hands, shoulders and neck muscles regularly etc.

Jan

Finish Rye socks for Ba

High water for Sir S

Bonnet for Baby Cheng

Feb-Mar

Baby cardigan for A’s baby no.2

Livie for Miss L (birthday present)

beanie for Sir S (birthday present)

Apr

Mitini mitts for SIL** (birthday present)

Windschief for Bro  (birthday present)

Softie for Niece L (birthday present); needs to be sent to USA so I've got to work on it early.

May-Jun

Neon ski bonnet for me; in preparation for our snow trip.

Hat for hubby (anniversary present)

Neon ski bonnet for Miss L; because I want to make a matching hat for my little girl.

Jul-Aug

Finish Salander leggies for M; which is an overdue present from last year's birthday.

Bella Shawl or Span for me; I think either of these might be a good knit to travel with, but might turn out to be too ambitious.

Sep

Start Christmas projects; I know it sounds crazy but some of these presents need to be sent overseas so I better get onto them early.

Socks for BIL

Hat for SIL

Quaintly for Niece L

Oct

Scarf for SIL

Socks for Bro

Socks for Ba

Nov

Kinder teachers’ presents

cowl for Ma

Dec

Christmas stockings for the family

Phew, deep breath in and slowly out. That list looks pretty epic but I'm praying that I will achieve at least this much plus the extra birthday presents and baby presents that will pop up during the year.

Let the adventure begin, or more accurately continue because really there isn't a day where I don't knit.***

*The series of posts from The Craft Sessions about stashing less have been very inspiring and motivating me to exercise some restraint when it comes to yarn buying.

** Abbreviation for Sister-in-Law etc.

*** Except today because the humidity in Sydney is getting to me and I dislike working with yarn when my hands are clammy.