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Going into 2022, I didn’t know what to expect. Would this be yet another year of lockdowns and Covid-restrictions, or would this be a chance to restart? Luckily, it turned out to be the latter, and I also re-learnt how to be myself again and my knitting and crochet also benefitted a fair bit from the upswing in mental health. So here’s the fibre-version of my Year in Review…
I launched into 2022 like a rocket. I had completely forgotten how to socialise. Being cooped indoors for almost 2 years meant that office life was a shock to me. I was interrupting, eavesdropping, just desperate to be part of any and every conversation going on. I no longer had the 4 walls of my house to keep me company. But I am pleased to say, I’m a lot more rounded and polite going into 2023.
My yarn stash grew… obviously.
So did my Ravelry queue. As a result? Maybe… I am a fan of ‘assigning’ yarn to a project. My only problem is that I sometimes don’t quite get to that project. So the stash grows… and grows… and did I mention I’m always on the lookout for vacuum bags and storage? Completely unrelated… obviously.
January
January’s first FO was my Super Soft coat designed by One of a Kate. I started this on my road trip around Scotland with my parents in 2021. I’m classing it as a FO although I still have the collar left to do because I’ve still been wearing it. It hangs a little funny as a result, but I’m sure I’ll tidy it up in 2023… maybe. It’s so fluffy and warm and I really ought to fix it up.
Next on the finished list was my Diaphonous Raglan by Jessie Maed, who has been releasing banger after banger this year. The yarn was dyed by my bestie Mad Scientist Yarns and the effect was achieved using 1 strand of dyed mohair (colourway: Pacific Dreams on their Fission base) and one strand of undyed yarn. I started this one in 2021 and finished it on a trip away to Wales. I only had 2 skeins of the mohair and *wish* I had about 50g more so I could have made this a little longer. It is *just* the right length but I opt to wear it with high-waist trousers.
February
February saw me make another Jessie Maed pattern, this time the Ripple Crop to go with the Ripple Buttshorts I made the year before. But man, I hate working bottom-up and I totally misjudged the size of my tata’s and the fit of this top. So it’s a barely-there bra that I will most probably rip out and make longer in the New Year.
My Spectroscopy design was finally brought to life using my 2021 Advent from Castleview Yarns. I had this dream in my head for so long and whittled away until it was near perfect and able to be paraded in front of my friend Kate Kerr‘s camera. The design for this is something I have planned for a 2023 release following a second sample.
April
March was apparently fallow time, if you believe my Ravelry projects. In fact, it was spent finishing off this design – the Igalo Shawl. I started this choose-your-own-adventure-shawl-cum-wrap in 2019 and is my longest WIP to date (that I didn’t put in the ‘hibernation forever’ pile). Again, Kate was a gem at photographing it for me in time for the pattern release. Its such a staple for me when I go on holidays, that I can’t believe I lived so long without it (and without finishing it!).
August
A few more months passed by and I finally finished up my Good Vibrations dress – another epically long WIP – but can you blame me with ALL THOSE ENDS to sew in? I finished this baby just in time to take it to Venice with me, and let me tell you- that cotton S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-D as I walked around the sights. It needs a few adjustments now and some of the seams actually came apart with the weight- so this one probably won’t be seeing the light of day until Summer 2023 and until I can be bothered to pull my sewing needles out, find the right colour cotton (again) and repair this. Its a gorgeous dress but my God is it heavy!
September
From September, my work-life stepped up a gear (or 5) and I was probably in close contention for Swedish citizenship- given the amount of time I spent there. The picture was taken in a weekend off in Estonia after me and my work pals decided to take a cruise over the Baltic and have a weekend completely switched off from work. I was definitely travelling more and more this year to make up for the lack of travelling during the Covid-years. My Wildflowers Blouse that I’m wearing started out as my entry to the Annual Poison Grrls KAL, but with my workload and lack of free time, ended up taking up more time than anticipated and carted around Sweden with me on the 5-hour train journeys between Stockholm and Borås.
I’m sitting knitting my Plumetis by Julie Knits in Paris, and unfortunately this met an early demise in my suitcase when *something* leaked all over it. I frogged back as much as I could, but anyone who deals with mohair knows this is virtually impossible, so I lost a lot of the amazing Fibre Fox yarn that is no longer available. I had put a plea out to the fibre-verse to source a third skein earlier in the year and a lovely lady had sold me hers, and then I lost most of it in this catastrophe that it still makes me sad to think about it…
One day I’m sure I’ll come back to it, but for now that pain is still too real.
October
Frankenbeanie was my pattern release in time for October and all things Halloween and spooky. Again, another design idea that had been in my head for years. The Crafty Bird helped me bring my idea into fruition when she designed the pom just for the cause.
November
Did you notice how the months seemed to drastically skip ahead from April? The one thing occupying my mind since casting it on during my holiday in Montenegro earlier this year was this: Darmody. I had such a love-hate relationship with this pattern. I loved the design, I loved everything about it except for the West Yorkshire Spinners yarn I was using. It meant I spent more time untangling knots (you have to hold the yarn double in some places) than actually knitting.
It didn’t block out to be the length I thought it would, but I have worn it so much since, that it’s probably my most-loved piece. I am SO glad I followed through with it. If I was to make another, I probably would omit my bobble stitches and instead replace them with beads, as the constant back-and-forth required to make the bobble was mostly the cause for the tangles. Also- this is NOT a portable project- why did I take it on holiday?!
December
December saw the completion of TWO projects: the Koi Tee I had sitting in my pattern library for well over a year, and the Rockin’ Around Sweater I had sitting in my uncomplete pile for over a year (missing its final sleeve). The Koi Tee was worked and finished mainly in Egypt, where I had 2 blissful weeks away completely detached from work. The weather was fabulous, the sea was warm, and I saw the most extraordinary sights. While photographed here unblocked, it’s been washed and cleaned up from all the sand and camel residue it might have picked up on its travels.
The Rockin’ Around sweater was intended to be a Christmas sweater LAST YEAR but my infuriation at not finishing the final sleeve before Christmas meant it sat alone and unloved until I picked it up and made sure it would be my 2022 Christmas sweater. Watch this space for a photo!
Special Mention
Special mention goes to my Amour Dress that I was testing this year. It’s a special mention because I’ve completed the Amour TOP portion. I have every intention of finishing this as a dress but I can tell you now it’s getting heavier and heavier as the rounds go on, so I don’t know how long it will be and how long my wrists will last. So I’m counting this as a FO even though it’s listed as open in my Ravelry projects.
I do still have 4 cakes of Hobbii yarn to finish this, but I’m not sure whether I’ll have the same almighty-stretch problems I did with the Good Vibrations dress above – so depending on my mood it might be ripped out and forever a top.
I have so many crochet and knit resolutions for 2023. Want to see whats on my to-make list in the New Year? Check out this post!
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