Stuff I've done this year:

Hello again my dears.  Not the next day perhaps, but probably sooner than you expected!

Before we start, here's a very quick update on Stephen and his eye issues - He has now had cataract surgery on both eyes.  His right eye has healed very well, giving him almost perfect distance vision in that eye for the first time since he was a child.  He does need glasses for anything closer than the TV, but fortunately over the counter glasses are adequate for allowing him to read, or use a computer.  He only had surgery on his left eye 2 days ago, so he's still finding that pretty uncomfortable, but he can see through it about as well as he expected.  The retina of his left eye is permanently damaged due to how long it took for him to have that tear repaired, so he's never going to have perfect vision in that eye.  Next week we should find out exactly how effective this last surgery has been, and assuming all is well, in a few weeks he will be able to get proper prescription glasses, and then we can declare him fixed!  

So, now it's time for all of the regulars, and do bear in mind that this is 5 months worth of work, and 5 months worth of yarn purchases!  

I will say, I'm not including anything from The Wool Monty, which I attended last weekend, as I'm planning on including a more comprehensive review of my day there in my next update.

FO's

First of all is a project that I actually finished knitting over a year ago, but I couldn't really call it finished until I'd blocked it:

Celestarium circular shawl, in dark purple yarn, with gold beads, draped over several picture frames against a white wall.

I can't find a way to show this off properly, mostly because Finn has to investigate if I lay it out flat!  So I've gone for draping it over the frames of pictures in our living room!

This is a shawl that depicts the major stars of the northern hemisphere, picked out with gold beads.  I started knitting it in 2016, but stopped when my step-mam began her final decline due to Lung cancer, and dad was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer.  I picked it up again last year, and finished it, but I didn't have access to my blocking mats at the time.  Without blocking, the full beauty of this really doesn't show.  It looks so much better now, even if I can't take a decent photo of it!

The pattern is Celestarium, by Audry Nicklin, with edging from French CanCan, by Mademoiselle C. The yarn is Sparkleduck Galaxy, in the shade "Figgy Pudding", and the beads are size 6/0 galvanised gold myuki round beads.

Skein Austen t-shirt, with knitted lace at the neck and sleeves.

I love the t-shirt designs by SkeinHead, but in general, I hate the neckline of most t-shirts.  So I've taken to cutting a much wider neckline, and embellishing it with knitting, or crochet.  

It seems to be effective, as it turns a basic t-shirt, into something much fancier.  I wore this to The Wool Monty last weekend, and I received so many comments and compliments on it!

The lace pattern that I chose was from The Magic of Shetland Lace Knitting, by Elizabeth Lovick, and the yarn was superwash sock, by Mothy and the Squid, in the colourway "Water like a stone".

Finn the cocker spaniel, wearing a red and black doggy coat

Finn already had a couple of doggy coats, one that we bought for him, and one that I knitted for him, but both are quite awkward to get on and off.  Since we don't put these on him for the cuteness factor, but in an attempt to protect him from excessive baths, by protecting his belly fur from mud, having a garment that is difficult to get off, and that you expect to be covered in mud when you're trying to get it off, is not exactly fun.  So I designed a really simple coat that will cover most of his belly, but can also be easily removed just by undoing a few buttons.

There's nothing fancy to it, a ribbed collar that slips over his head, a wide back panel with a single cable running down the centre, a little bit of shaping at the end, and a ribbed border at the bottom. Then a slimmer panel from the neck to his belly, that fits between his front legs, and fastens with a few buttons on each side.  I chose a yarn that has a highly reflective strand running through it for the main body of the coat, as this makes Finn much easier to see on a dark and wet night.  Although he also has a light up collar that we always put on him when we walk him in the dark, just to be safe.

I could write the pattern up if anyone would like me to, but I've no particular plans to do so at present.

The yarns are King Cole Big Value Chunky, in shade 554 - Black, and Schachenmyer Lumio, in shade 32 - dark red.

Crocheted pouch bag

Finn likes to "help" us unload the car whenever we've been anywhere, especially the supermarket.  If we don't give him something to carry into the house, he will steal something.  Usually bread, or crisps.  These things rarely reach their intended destination in pristine condition!

So I came up with this idea of making him a little pouch bag, that we could put a doggy treat in, and whenever he tries to help with the shopping, we can give him his own little bag to carry, and save our bread from tooth marks!

It's just a pair of granny squares, sewn together on 3 sides, lined with a scrap of cotton fabric, and fastened with a bit of ribbon, but it's effective... when we remember to take it with us anyway!

The yarn is Stylecraft Special Double Knit, in the colourways "Peony" and "Charcoal".

Hand knitted socks in orange, purple, pink, and grey stripes, on the feet of a white person with fat ankles.

It's rare that I don't have socks on my needles. They make the perfect portable project.  I started these while I waited for a physio appointment in February.  As they were for me, I didn't worry about making a perfectly matching pair, but they're not that far off.

My usual sock pattern, and the yarn is King Cole ZigZag, in the colourway "Dragonfly".

Chunky crocheted red basket

Many, many years ago, when I first picked up knitting again as an adult, I designed for myself a chunky red cardigan.  I bought the yarn, a super-bulky cotton, then I started knitting it.  I quickly discovered that my fingers and wrists do not like knitting with chunky yarn and large needles, or with cotton.  The project was left awaiting completion for so long that it became almost legendary.  

This year, I decided to give up on ever finishing that cardigan.  The chances are it wouldn't fit me anymore anyway, or at least not the way I wanted it to.  Looking at the yarn though, I thought it would be perfect for making crocheted storage baskets.  And I was right!

I can work with cotton when I'm crocheting.  I don't know what it is about the process that makes it so much less painful than knitting with cotton.  I can also manage chunky yarn and a big fat crochet hook, although I did have to add a disability grip handle to the hook after a while. But I'm really pleased with how this turned out!  It's just made of lots and lots of single crochet stitches.

This one is being used to store Finn's toys.  At first he wasn't impressed, and as soon as I put everything away in it, he picked it up and dragged everything back out of it all over the living room rug, but after a few days he started leaving it alone, and only picking out what he wanted from the top.

The yarn is Sirdar Denim Ultra, in colourway "0657".  I can't say that it's likely to still be available I'm afraid though, as this has been in my stash for roughly a decade!

Bright stripy socks, in orange, yellow, red, purple, and green

Stephen seems to have great difficulty in maintaining control of his socks.  He blames Finn, but I don't seem to lose mine at the same sort of rate, so either Finn just prefers to steal Stephen's socks, or Stephen leaves his socks in a position where they are easy to steal more than I do!

Before I sorted out the dumping corner of our bedroom, Stephen was bemoaning the loss of many knitted socks.  So I started knitting him more.  He chose these colours.  I'm not sure he realised just how bright they actually are, as this was after his cataracts had started to become a problem, and one of the things that cataracts do is affect your perception of colours.  I don't know if he's worn these ones since his operations...

Of course, I located Finn's secret stash of hoarded socks, pants, toys, and other random items under an old duvet when I sorted the bedroom in preparation for the new wardrobe.  So now Stephen is no longer lacking in hand knitted socks.

The yarn for these is King Cole ZigZag, in the colourway "Bumble Bee".

Dark purple faux cable knit leg warmers

After I'd finished knitting Stephen's super bright socks, I was, if I'm being honest, procrastinating about knitting a complicated lace shawl.  I wasn't really in the right mental state for complex lace work.  So I dug another skein out of deep stash, and started making these leg warmers.  Although, they're only half for keeping my legs warm in winter, they're also for preventing stinging and biting creepy crawlies from getting up my trouser legs when I walk Finn at the end of Summer!  I always seem to be the tastiest thing around for every midge and mosquito, and walking through the long grass will always result in my legs looking like the King of the Mountains jersey.  Even writing this is making my legs itch!

Again, nothing complicated about them, just ribbed cuffs, and a faux cable pattern for the mid sections.  I did misjudge how much yarn I'd used, and how much I would need for the second one, so I did end up unpicking part of the first one in order to liberate enough yarn to make them match.  Entirely my own fault for not weighing the yarn and separating it into 2 matching sized balls before I started.  I can't really call it a mistake, it was pure laziness on my behalf.

The yarn I used for these was Pasku Pirkkalanka, by Taito Pirkanmaa, in shade "Dark Purple".  It's another that I've no idea if it's still available anywhere, as it's been in my stash since 2013, and I got it as a destash from a friend!  If you're looking for something similar, it's a Finnish pure wool, worsted weight yarn.

Macramé plant hanger being used to hold a large jar full of buttons 

My final finished object so far this year is a craft that I'd never tried before a few weeks ago.

Stephen's mum was given a plant by a friend, and it's one of those types of plants that trails.  Another of her friends suggested that she should get a macramé hanger for it, or, and this was still her friend talking, she could ask me if I could make one for her, as she was sure I would be able to.

Curious to see if macramé is a craft I can work with, I bought myself a cone of appropriate cord, and a few wooden rings and beads, watched a bunch of tutorial videos on YouTube, and gave it a go.

Close up shot of my macramé work

I'm genuinely quite pleased with how most of this came out!  My crown knots weren't as neat as I'd have liked them to be, but my half square knot spirals, beads, and square knots all came out beautifully!

Josephine Knot

This is what I'm most proud of though, I learned how to work a Josephine knot, and they're lovely!

Macramé seems to be one of those crafts that's currently on the rise, and as an aesthetic the bohemian 1970's look that goes with macramé artefacts on display in your home seems to also be quite popular right now.  So maybe I'll do more of this craft at some point.  I don't think it will become a favourite craft though.

I made this design up off the top of my head, simply combining a few knots that I'd watched tutorials for, and to be honest, I haven't a clue how a macramé pattern would be written anyway!

The "yarn" is JollyEst Natural Macrame Cotton Cord.

WIPs

There's far fewer of these, so don't panic!  Although this section does include projects that I've worked on since December, but that I'm not necessarily actively working on right now.

A king sized bed with a partially complete mitred squares knitted blanket covering almost half of it.

This is how I left my Mitred Squares Blanket when I finally put it away at the end of winter.  As the weather gets warmer, it becomes more and more uncomfortable to be working with a growing wool blanket in your lap.  Right now I can barely manage a cushion cover in my lap, so this always gets put away over the summer, and comes back out again once I've finished any Christmas knitting I might have planned.

I reckon I'm currently about a third of the way through this blanket.  I think I may already have enough mini-skeins and scraps to finish it too!  Although I'm still not 100% certain about how I'm going to finish it off.  Originally I'd planned on a black border to square off all of the pointy edges of the squares, but I don't know if I'm still going to do that.  I probably have another few years left before I finish it though, so I don't need to worry too much about that just yet.

The pattern is the Mitred Square Blanket by LuAnn Krug, and the yarns are a vast array of different sock yarns, both commercial, and indie dyed, left overs from other projects, and mini-skeins.

The beginnings of a lace shawl in a green to purple gradient yarn

This is the shawl that I'm procrastinating about by knitting other things.  It's a truly gorgeous pattern, and stunning yarn, but it's formed in modules, that you work together in a number of repeats that will produce the exact design you want, and will use most of your yarn, without leaving you at risk of failing at Yarn Chicken.  It's perfect for gradient yarn, because you don't need to worry about finishing before the gradient has run its course.  But of course this modular design means I have to think, and plan, and do maths.  That on top of the fact that lace work isn't the sort of knitting that you can do while half asleep in front of the TV.  Most of my knitting right now has to be the sort that can be done while half asleep, as I'm permanently knackered, and my brain has space only for regular chores, and keeping track of progress in Eye-mageddon.

My friend Becky is/has been making this shawl too, so I thought it would be nice to make it along with her.  Instead I've been a terrible friend, not just to Becky, but to most of my friends, as I've just disappeared into my own little world, desperately trying to keep hold of some shred of sanity, while not dropping the ball on looking after Stephen, or medical appointments galore.

When I pick this project back up again, it will be a sign that I'm feeling better.  Less stressed, less overwhelmed.

The pattern is Wood-Nymph, by a Catnach, and the yarn is Bluefaced Leicester & silk Gradient Lace, by Natali Stewart, in the colourway "Sea Thistle".

The beginnings of a purple jumper

You can tell that I'm doing better at knitting from stash, because this is another yarn that I got from a friend's destash, and another pattern that's been in my queue for years.

This is the beginnings of a jumper for myself, one with a deep V-neck, and a general style that I'm hoping will be reasonably flattering on me.  Although I will of course have to wear something underneath it, otherwise it will just be indecent.

The pattern is Poet's Pullover, by Ashley Knowlton, and the yarn is Rowan Organic Wool DK, in the colourway "Purple".

Monochrome mitred squares

I spoke about barely being able to cope with a cushion cover earlier, and this is what I was talking about.  One cushion remains without a suitable cover in our living room.  I don't know why, but I decided that I would make this one entirely in shades of grey, black, and white.  

Some of the greys are a little bluish, or a little greenish, but in general it seems to work reasonably well. 

The plan is that the front of the cushion will be this collection of little squares in different yarns, but the back will be just one big square.  Only 2 seams should need to be sewn, as all of the rest will be picked up and knit.

The pattern is derived from the Mitred Square Blanket listed above, and the yarns are mostly Opal mini-balls, with a few indie dyed mini-skeins, and a few scraps from larger balls of commercial sock yarn.

Stash Acquisition

Let's start with Made by Penguins.  Technically, I'm still receiving yarn from the Little Penguin subscription box each month.  Except for the fact that since shortly after Christmas, Lisa has closed down the shop in order to move house, set up a new studio, and recover from a massive EDS flare.  She's now fully installed in her new home, and studio, and is feeling much better, so we're expecting the shop to reopen very soon!  In the mean time, Lisa has still been sending her subscribers yarn that she dyed in advance, just sometimes she's been waiting and sending a few months all at once.  I'm telling you this so that you'll understand why there isn't a nice neat little box shot for each month.

December 21, January 22, and Flower Power Fund mini-skeins

The last bit of dying that Lisa did before she closed her shop was for the Flower Power Fund - a small fundraising event in aid of Marie Curie care.  I would have gladly bought every set of mini-skeins that Lisa created for this event, had I the money to spare!  Instead I ordered one, but Lisa being Lisa, she sent me some extras, and asked me to donate to Marie Curie as and when I had the money to spare. She also sent my December and January subscription yarns in the same box, and a few crochet hooks too!  You can imagine how confused I was when this comparatively enormous box appeared on my doorstep!

The crochet hooks are perfect for stuffing into a project bag with a few mini-skeins to be an "emergency" project.  Lisa understands this entirely, being a fellow "Spoonie", she knows how easy it is to find yourself sat in a hospital waiting room for hours on end without warning.  When I explained that I have a hospital bag permanently made up, with PJs, slipper socks, a toothbrush and comb, puzzle books, charging cable, 3 days worth of meds, and an emergency project in it, she revealed that she has exactly the same thing!

February Little Penguin box - magenta

March Little Penguin box - purples, and greens

In March, Lisa explained that the disruption of moving house and setting up her new studio would last a bit longer than she'd hoped it would, and sent her subscribers a big thank you for sticking with her.  As well as extra yarn in truly gorgeous colours, and free crochet patterns!

April, May, & June - pinks, yellows, turquoise, and blues

By the end of May, the new studio was ready, but the new house still didn't have internet connection!  It's difficult to launch a new web shop without internet, but at least Lisa could get back at the dye pots!  I can't wait to see what she has in store for us next month!

Cloudborn yarn

I needed some 4.5mm short tips for working the faux cable section of my leg warmers, and the only place that I could find that had them in stock was LoveCrafts, but they also sell lots of lovely yarn, and it seemed sad to be buying something that barely cost as much as the postage!  So I added this skein of Cloudborn Fibres Highland Superwash Sock Twist, in the colourway "Slate Heather", thinking it would do for the back of the monochrome mitred square cushion cover.

Macramé kit

I wasn't sure if I should include this or not, because strictly speaking, it's cord rather than yarn, but it is being stored in my stash, so I guess it counts!

JollyEst Natural Macramé cotton cord, plus wooden beads and rings.

Monochrome sock yarns

I was utterly convinced that I had at least half a dozen monochrome Opal mini's, but when I went through my stash I could only find 3 or 4.  While each one can be used several times in the same project, I didn't think I would have enough to finish the 49 squares that I predicted I would need. So I ordered a couple of full size balls of sock yarn in monochrome colours, and 3 Opal mini's from A Bit Woolly.  Their Opal mini's are randomly coloured, but you can tell them what you like, and they will do their best to provide them.  I explained what I was buying the mini's for, and not only did they send me all monochrome colours, they sent me an extra mini as well!

Cloudborn and Regia yarns

My estimate of 50g of yarn for the back of the monochrome cushion was very wrong!  Even 100g is going to involve a Yarn Chicken moment I think!  When I realised my mistake, I went back to the LoveCrafts site, and tried to order another skein of the Slate Heather colourway. Sadly all but one colourway had sold out, and there was only one skein of that colourway remaining too!  Fortunately for me, it was another beautiful shade of grey, this one is called "Charcoal Heather".  I think that with some effort it can be made to work with the darker grey on the back of the cushion.  

While I was on the site, I spotted this beautiful purple and pink colourway of Regia 4-ply.  I'm always going to have a use for purple sock yarn!

As I was writing this section up, I was worrying that I may have failed already at my goal of knitting more than I buy this year.  Then I remembered that this is 5 months worth of yarn, so it's not as terrible as it looks at first glance!  This works out at approximately 2300m of yarn added to my stash, and Ravelry thinks that I've used 3817m so far, so actually, I'm not doing too badly at all!

Knitting Adjacent

In 2019, I realised that going up to Shetland to visit the Out-Laws, and to drop in on Shetland Wool Week, would be much more difficult, if not impossible, since we'd adopted Finn. There's no way that we would leave him in a kennel in the hold of the ship!  So I asked Stephen's mum if they happened to be in Lerwick during Wool Week, if she could pick up a few bits and pieces of merchandise for me, especially the Annual.

Shetland Wool Week 2019 booty

She managed to get me a tote bag, celebrating 10 years of Shetland Wool Week, a selection of button badges depicting 6 of the iconic yearly hat patterns, and of course a copy of the Annual.  

The intention of course, had been that she bring these things down when they came to visit in spring 2020, but we all know how that turned out!  Fortunately, Stephen's parents are organised enough that they remembered to bring them when they finally got to come and visit us this year.

This year though, we have learned that the ferry company have started to allow dogs into a select few of the cabins on board, so it may be that in the future we can take Finn with us, and travel up to Shetland after all.

Dragon shawl pin

When I dropped the wardrobe on my foot, my sister came to check on me, and take me to A&E.  She also brought this gorgeous gift for me!  I've no idea how long she'd been holding onto it for, as for obvious reasons we've not seen a lot of each other in the last 2 years.  I really wanted to be able to wear it at Wool Monty, but it was way too hot for wearing a shawl!  

It's a shawl pin carved from wood, with the loop carved to resemble the stylised wings of a dragon, and the pin shaped to form the head, neck, and tail, and also so that when it's in place, the "head" of the dragon faces forwards, giving a 3 dimensional effect.  I love it!

Knit and Purl can change the world pastel print hoodie

I'm sorry that it's all creased so that you can't see the print properly, but I had to ask Stephen to take the photo, and he couldn't see anything that was further than 20cm from the end of his nose at the time, so all he could do was point my phone in roughly the right direction, and hope!

You already know that I love SkeinHead, but because of this hoodie, I love them even more!  It's remarkably difficult these days to find a decent zip up hoodie.  The prevailing fashion seems to be for pull over hoodies.  With the state of my shoulders though, getting the pull over type hoodies on and off was getting increasingly difficult.  I had managed to find a single zip up hoodie that I liked, and that was available in plus sizes, but I needed another option for when that is in the wash.  And this is it!  snuggly, and soft, and cosy, and representing punk rock knitters everywhere!

Finn

Yep, He's still the cutest thing in the whole world, according to me!

Finn the cocker spaniel, staring at a gently nibbled pink French fancy 

Even though he's a cake thief, and had attempted to steal this French Fancy off his daddy!

Soggy Doggy in the bath

Even though he's a disgusting hound, who likes to roll in things that smell like the Bog of Eternal Stench, and swim in muddy ponds, and eat goose poop!

Snoozy pup using his penguin as a pillow

But just look at him!  He's so adorable!

Adoring pup resting his chin in Mummy's lap

Look at those adoring eyes!  So much love!

It's not at all likely that I'm holding a biscuit, and that's what he's looking at with such devotion!!!

Penguins!

I know this is the only thing some of you come here for...

Chocolate orange cake bars, with a penguin in the wrapper

No, I did not buy these just because they had a penguin on the wrapper, what on Earth would make you think that?!?

4 plushy penguins snuggling in an armchair

My very lovely friend Tony claims that these fell into his basket by accident, therefore they must have wanted to be with me.  I think that the 3 at the back look very smug about this turn of events.  The one at the front seems more concerned...

Big eyed plush penguin, with a glittery beak, and a silly tartan hat

It's my step-dad's birthday at the start of January, and we usually try to get the family all together for a meal out somewhere.  Finn can't really come to these events, firstly as there's just too many people in one house, and secondly as my Step-dad has somewhat out-dated views on how dogs should be treated.  Views that both I, and Finn, disagree with.  So, rather than have a big argument about it, Finn gets to stay with his daddy and be fed more treats than he should, because his Daddy is a big softy, and I get to spend time in motorway service stations unattended...

If you leave me alone in a motorway service station, the chances are that I will come out with a penguin, as well as a croissant and a hot chocolate.  That is exactly what happened here.

Pink penguin stickers

So, I was looking online for a signet ring, of the type that you use to stamp a wax seal...

No, I'm not entirely sure how that ended up with my buying penguin stickers either, but it did.

And that, my dearest darlings, is it!  Excepting the Wool Monty, I am now up to date!

All being well, we shall finally escape from the clutches of Eye-mageddon within a month or so.  Once Stephen has been discharged from eye care, and has procured glasses that work for him, I am most sincerely hoping that our life will finally begin to settle down into something calmer and more predictable.  Of course, I know our luck, so I'm not actually expecting that to happen... but if by some miracle it does, I should be back with another update in a month or so, and that will include details of my day at The Wool Monty.

Until then, take care, and keep safe.