Heeding The List

I've started doing this wild thing where I write down what I'd like to get done in the month, and then I give it a think and decide how much that means I should do each week, and then I write THAT down, and fellas, I think I've revolutionized this whole productivity thing.

This past week The List told me that I needed to get 13 squares for Beach Walk done in Week 3 of February, and another 13 in Week 4 to get my total of 52 squares by month's end.  I'm well on track, having finished last week's allotment and 5 more for this week's.  No pictures this week; I'll show you again when something interesting is going on.

The List also advised that if I'd like to finish the crochet poncho by end of February, I should add one of the skeins of Mandala to it last week (check) and one this week (on track).  I'll give it some more love over the next couple of evenings and hopefully pull out one more February is for Finishing victory.  Worst case it's done the first week of March, and that's okay too.

These socks were supposed to be finished by last Sunday, but sometimes The List is a jerk and has unreasonable expectations. They're finished now though, so all is as it should be.  This is another 75/25 commercial workhorse yarn that I picked up from Wool Warehouse a few years ago, because no yarn should travel alone, and that goes double for yarn coming across an ocean.  They were just the shot of Valentine's cheer my February needed.  

Pattern is my standard vanilla with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel, this time with 68 stitches, and a 1x1 rib for the cuff.  I ended the toe with 24 stitches on the needles instead of 16 before grafting, to make a wider toe box.  Ever in search of the elusive perfect fit and all that.

also in search of that ever elusive spring - note the photobombing daffodils

In addition to all this yarnish industry, I've also done a spot of stitching, including February Cottage by Country Cottage Needleworks and Big Hearted Tiny Town by Heart in Hand designs. (Links go to 123Stitch to show the designs - my cross stitch photography could use some improvement.) I won't finish either this month, but that's okay.  I've decided, for now anyway, to remain unbothered by my cross stitch WIPs and to embrace the idea of seasonal stitching.  I'll put them away, and odds are good there will be another February next year for me to work on them.

Plans for the rest of the week include finishing up the poncho and my remaining Beach Walk squares, and then on Saturday I may indulge in a spot of starting things.  On the cross-stitching front, there's a March Cottage and Blooming Tiny Town to consider, or perhaps a Hobbit House (or perhaps all three). 

I'll also continue to work on Riptide, start some new socks and try to figure out where I left off on my poor spatchcocked Emotional Support Chicken.

Oh!  And I'll finalize The List for March and see if I can't keep this train on the tracks for another month. 

It does not escape my notice that I'd get more done faster if I were to focus my efforts the tiniest bit, but it's spring, baby, and I cannot be contained.

She Was Like a Bearded Rainbow

It's been another eventful week over here at chez woolly, full of wild carryings on.  We had friends over for a lovely and soul satisfying dinner on Friday, where we did some belated New Year tarot readings and celebrated the birthday of the trees. There may have been a dramatic reading of The Lorax after dinner and wine but all present were sworn to silence.

photo credit to CyberMathWitch

On the finishing front (it being February after all), I have some very exciting news to report.

I had originally thought that I would want to add a black border around the outside of this, but once I got here I changed my mind.  A bit like gilding the lily, I thought.  We'll gloss over the fact that I bought a 400 yard skein of Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply to add a border I ultimately decided against, all in the name of using my stash.  Ya win some, ya lose some. 

In any case, I am beyond delighted with how it turned out.  I feel quite clever for successfully applying a 3rd-grader understanding of geometric shapes and adapting a pattern on the fly, allowing me to use up every drop of my 2023 Advent set from The Fiber Seed.

That's one project ticked off of the list, so I've turned my attention to the Wasilla Poncho. I'd like to finish it in February as well, so I've set myself a goal of adding one skein of the LB Mandala this week, and one skein next week.  I'm also continuing to plug away on Riptide, and of course the ubiquitous purse sock.  No pictures of any of them this time - they all look just like they did last week, only more so.

And finally, in the spirit of moving my Beach Walk Blanket towards completion, I'm working on the squares for the outer border.  I'm well on track to finish the squares in February so I can attach them and do the final few rounds in March.

there is no good way to show off 32 granny squares

That's all the news that's fit to print.  Incremental progress on a number of things, as is the way of things around here. 

But that rainbow wrap tho!  

🌈🌈🌈

Mid-February Check-in (I Was Shocked Too)

Here it is midway through the month and I haven't actually finished anything. 

Well, that's not entirely true - I finished the first of my February socks, which by custom here at chez woolly totally counts, since March is for Making Mates. I'm cavalierly flouting that custom and continuing to work on them, since they are my back-pack knitting. 

I spent part of yesterday when I was supposed to be working thinking about crafting goals and plans and current WIPs, and the like. I have a personal notebook in my One Note on my work computer so I can look busy while I'm actually thinking about granny squares. I'm back in the office three days a week, and let me tell you it's cramping my style. Being in the office is also related to why the socks aren't getting sidelined, as I've conditioned my colleagues over the years to think it's normal to see me knitting during meetings. 

I intended to work on cross stitch when I got home last night until dinner, and then knit after -- and instead I played Stardew Valley, so I think I might have sussed out part of why I'm not finishing things as quickly as I might like (my farm is kicking ass though, so there's that). 

I did pull out my Riptide vest after we ate, so partial credit will be awarded. 

It's not that much farther along than the last time you saw it, but slow progress is still progress, and all that.  Riptide is knit top down, starting with the back. After you've knit yay-so-far you pick up stitches at the shoulders and knit the front until it's time to join the whole thing in the round. I’m getting close to yay-so-far on the back, but I’m not quite there yet. I'm planning to finish it in March, so I'm nicely on track. It does occur to me that I'll be finishing it more or less in time for it to be out of season, but it'll be waiting for me in the fall, so I'm not bothered. Global climate change notwithstanding, we do get seasons more or less every year. 

During all of that planning and thinking yesterday I got a little crisper on what I'd like to finish this month, although I'm not sure I factored today's date into all of that planning, so we'll see how we get on. 

I'm planning to finish: 

• it only gets brighter from here (the rainbow wrap) 
• poncho of invisibility (Wasilla poncho) 
• the socks 

I also thought about what cross stitch I want to focus on in February and it occurs to me, perhaps belatedly, that while all of my stitching goals and all of my knitting goals could be accomplished separately … they are likely more than one month's worth of goals when taken together. 

Or as Suzy Izzard would say, "you're British kid, scale it back a bit." 

That being said, I'm holding the cross stitch goals pretty loosely. "Work on February Cottage" is not perhaps a SMART goal as such, but it is nice and easy to cross off, no matter how much actually gets done. 

needless to say, I did not iron

We Listen and We Don’t Judge: February is for Finishing 2025 Style

Well, here we are again on the cusp of February and here I am to confess my sins.  And by “sins,” please understand that I mean “a silly number of scrap blankets.”

 

My WIP list is neither as long as most nor as short as some (what the heck was up with that one year I only had 4 WIPs?  Who was she?)   I’m rocking a total of fourteen WIPs, eight of which are in-progress blankets.  Of those eight, a plump and meaty six are scrap yarn blankets with no clear finish date in mind.

 

With that in mind, I’m going to list my WIPs a little differently this year.  I’m going to list the “regular” projects first, and the six scrap blankets separately at the end.  They are long-term projects that I’ll add to as the spirit moves and the scrap yarns pile up.  They aren’t focus projects, but I do want them to make steady progress every year.  They’ll be done when they’re done, is what I’m saying.

 

Enough prologue.  Here are the lists, oldest to newest, as is tradition.   And let it be noted that my oldest not-blanket WIP is just over a year old.  I don’t know what that’s meant to prove, but there it is.

Note that the links go to my Ravelry notebook.

 

1. Glittering Snowscape Shawl by Stephen West, using Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply.  Started January 1, 2024.  I loved every bit of knitting this shawl right up until I hit the knitted-on border.  I don’t mind that as a construction technique generally speaking, but this particular application was a bit fiddly, if we’re being honest.  I also don’t mind weaving in ends, but a woman has her limits.   The border involves knitting in short bursts of one of the previously used shawl colors every repeat.  The effect is lovely, but I was not having it last spring.  The plan for this one is to pull it out and get myself reoriented.  I’m going to try another repeat or two and see if I can get into any kind of rhythm. Failing that, I’m ripping what I have done of the border out and redoing it all in one color. 

 

Pictured here with appropriate fortification.

2. it only gets brighter from here (half-granny triangle shawl, modified), using the 2023 Advent from The Fiber Seed.  Started January 21, 2024.  This one’s fun.  The main things that derailed me were a) imaginary internet points, and b) figuring out the best way to use up all of the yarn.   I am working with a full 24 mini skein set in a rainbow gradient, and as the triangle got bigger, each mini went less and less far.  Which totally makes sense since I was increasing every row to maintain the triangle shape.   I decided to play around with the design, and I’m crocheting two right triangles that I plan to attach to each other to make a parallelogram.  The first triangle uses minis 1-12, and the second starts with 24 and goes through 13.  I have some black Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply that I can use as an outer border and if it works, it will be a big rainbowy wrap that will be awesome and funky.  If it doesn’t work, I’m going to be really annoyed.  (It should work.  Why wouldn’t it work?)  Anyway, I’m nearly there, just wrapping up adding in the last mini to the second triangle.  Wish me luck.

As a side note, I shared this plan with my middlest child - who seemed very concerned that I might wear it in public. 

I shared this plan with my middlest child, who seemed very concerned that I might wear it in public. 

3. always our self we find in the sea, using assorted called for acrylics (mostly Stylecraft Special DK).  Started April 13, 2024.  While this is another blanket, it’s neither technically a scrap blanket, nor is it meant to be a long-term project.  Well, a long-ER term in any case, because I always intended to take a year to make it.  This is the Beach Walk blanket by Marion Mitchell.  I’ve done several of her blankets in the past, most recently the Spice Gem blanket.  This one’s a bit bigger than the others, and I gave myself a long runway to get it done.  I’m on track for a finish by March 31, and after that I’m likely to start the Winter Walk blanket.

 4. guess what? Using Malabrigo Yarn Silky Merino, KP Wool of the Andes Tonal (that is at least 100 years old), and various and sundry scraps when I get there.  This, my friends, is going to be an emotional support chicken, if I can get on with finishing it.  We are firmly in the spatchcock phase of chicken construction.  She’s going to be glorious when she’s done. 

5. test (this poor blanket doesn’t even have a proper project name), using Stylecraft Special Aran and Loops & Threads Impeccable. Started June 1, 2024. This is (was) a test for one of Mio’s granny square blankets.  I got completely side-tracked, missed the deadline, and just have a pile of squares.  I need to get this back on track and finished up, so I have some another not-Christmas winter blanket to throw on the couch.  

6. a poncho of invisibility is not quite as good as a cloak of invisibility (but they’re cheaper and easier to crochet), using Lion Brand Mandala yarn.  Started October 24, 2024.  This is actually the Wasilla Poncho by Jennifer Renaud.  My penchant for clever project names might be finally getting away from me.  This just needs a little dedicated attention and it’ll be sorted out.  I’ve added one out of three cakes to it – when I’m out of yarn, I’m done.

 

7. sweet you rock and sweet you roll (vanilla socks), using Truly Wool Rich 4 Ply Sock Yarn. Started January 24, 2025.  These are bog standard vanilla socks in a 75/25 commercial sock yarn.  These are background project, pull out during a meeting, keep in the purse socks.  As one does.  

This yarn is absolutely giving Sweet Tart packaging circa 1983.

8. she's been living on the highest shelf, using Knit Picks Swish DK. Started January 25, 2025.  I’m back on my bullshit and trying to knit myself garments that I will actually wear.  Riptide is a cute sweater vest situation with a simple lace panel down the front and back.  Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy (she says, tempting the knitting goddess to smite her for hubris.)  I added this pattern to my 2024 unofficial Make 9 list… I want partial credit for starting it at all, even if I am a year late.

 

Okay, that’s it for the “normal” projects, and honestly having written it out this way I feel a lot better. Only two of these are more than a year old (and barely, at that).  If you squint, I’m not doing too badly.  Also, if you ever need a rationalization for something, I’m your girl.

 

On to The Scrap Blankets

 

Look.  I can explain.

 

No.   It is too much.  I will sum up.

 

I’ve got six different scrap blankets on the go, and they are each serving a different purpose.  There’s one for commercial sock yarn, one for brights, one for neutrals, one for muted, moody colors, one for all that leftover Christmas sock yarn, and one for little bits and bobs of Stylecraft Special DK. 

 

If you think about it, I’m basically being responsible by using up my scraps.  This is practically an exercise in virtue.  All I’m saying is that there’s a very clear and logical explanation for how we got here, and this is all very sensible, if you think about it.

 

Anyway.

 

9. all used up, using various commercial sock yarn scraps.  Started March 26, 2023.   I’m a pretty prolific sock knitter (I mean, I’m no Crazy Sock Lady, but I do alright).  My socks tend to take about 70 grams or so, give or take, which often leaves me with an awkward bit left over.  This blanket is designed to take care of that problem – I’m holding the yarn double and crocheting a simple 5 round granny square.  Each square takes about 10 grams of yarn, and I’m getting a cool marled affect from the doubled yarn.   Once I finish the squares, I can set my Ravelry stash page to “all used up” which is just the little serotonin boost that one needs in trying times.   I plan to lay the squares out in a pleasing order that distributes the colors across and join using a JAYG method, so I can’t start joining until I’m done making the squares.  I need to stop, count my squares, and do some math to decide what the target is.  In the meantime, I’m just adding new squares whenever I finish a pair of socks in Opal, Regia, Online, Lion Brand, etc. yarn.

This is the same photo I used last year. I've added a ton more squares, but don't have a picture.

10. no YOU started a new scrap blanket, using various merino/nylon sock yarn scraps and minis.  (You can tell by the project name that I was on to my own shenanigans at this point.)  This is the Sweet Shop Blanket by Laura Penrose, started September 11, 2023.  I really dig quilterly knit and crocheted blanket patterns.  This one uses a simple half-square triangle in fingering weight yarn held double.  I’m prioritizing muted and moody colors for this one.

 

11. nobody can resist a jelly baby, using various merino/nylon sock yarn scraps and minis held double.  This is the Jelly Roll Blanket by Kay Jones, started November 18, 2023. Here’s where the neons and the brights come out to play.   We love a modular blanket in this house, and this one is no exception.

Don't let the winter lighting fool you - this really is a bright and cheerful blanket.

12. for its own joy, using Stylecraft Special DK, started January 1, 2024.  African Flowers blanket, by Stouto Creative Crochet.  If we’re being honest with ourselves, here just amongst us friends, I’m not sure I’m really making this blanket.  I did one square last winter and that’s it.  I found it a bit fiddly and then it didn’t turn out particularly square (the pattern doesn’t build up the corners very well moving from the central circle out to a square shape.)  I could figure it out if I wanted to modify it … but I’m not sure I’m feeling it.   Maybe it’s a pillow?

 

13. oops all neutrals, using various merino/nylon sock yarn scraps and minis held double.  Started January 6, 2024.  The greys, browns, and creams end up here.  I really love how this is working up.  I’m doing 4-round granny squares and JAYG on the last round, so I’m building the blanket as I go.

14. here we come a’wanderin’, using leftovers from the #25boxofYulesocks project, started November 15, 2025..  It’s been a minute since I knit a mitered square scrap yarn blanket.  I finished my last one up in 2020, and have been miter-free since.  I have 24 pairs of Christmas socks in my box of Yule socks, which means I have a silly amount of Christmas sock yarn leftovers.  Enter the sock yarn blanket.  It’s going to look like the North Pole went on a bender and threw holiday cheer up all over my couch when I’m done with this thing.   I do plan to use each color more than once in a bid to actually use these yarns up (my previous iteration had over 200 unique yarns in it… I’m crazy, but I’m not that crazy.)

 

Plans

 

And that’s the story: eight things I’d like to finish in 2025, and six more I just want to work on.  I don’t want to carry any of the not-scrap blankets into 2026, so the primary goal is to finish them. But that said, I’m not above frogging if I can’t get it together in the next 10 months.

 

As for February, I plan to finish the improvised rainbow wrap, the socks, and to make significant progress on Riptide.  Once I finish the socks, I’ll add the leftover yarn to all used up.  I’m also planning to crochet the outer border’s worth of granny squares for the Beach Walk blanket in February, so I can join them in and do the remaining border rounds in March.

Other than that, I’ll pick either the emotional support chicken or the poncho to finish, in order to knock the list down a bit.  

Plus, I’ll be cross-stitching, but maybe we’ll talk about that another time.

I Bet You Thought I Forgot: February is for Finishing 2024

Well, hello there!  Here it is already February 5th, and I haven't posted my annual WIP Parade.  

You see, what had happened was, I was out of town for work last week, and then I spent the weekend recovering from that, and ... to be honest I couldn't be bothered. I not proud of this, but here we are.

First thing, I need to tell you that 2023 as "The Year of the WIP" was wildly successful.  I mean, sure, I never came back and posted about it here, but let's not pretend any of us are surprised by this.  What might surprise you is that I was able to finish (or in one or two cases frog) every single WIP that I brought into 2023 with me.  Absolutely everything on last year's list is done like dinner, and the oldest project on this year's list was started in March of 2023.  Hell yeah.

Of course, I have hauled off and started like 5 new scrap blankets, so we're taking another one way trip to WIP-town, but that's just how it goes around here.

Okay, on to the list.  I have 11 projects in progress right now - which seems to be about where my WIP threshold hovers these days.  This number includes the aforementioned 5 blankets, 2 pairs of socks, a pair of mitts, and 3 shawls (2 crocheted and 1 knit).

As is tradition, we'll list these oldest to newest.  Most links go to my Ravelry project pages.

The WIP Parade

1. all used up.  March 26, 2023. This is a scrappy granny square blanket using commercial sock yarn held double and a 4.00mm crochet hook.  Each square is five rounds, and uses around 10 grams of sock yarn.  My socks tend to take about 70 grams per pair, leaving an awkward amount of yarn leftover - but now I have a great way to make sure I can update my Ravelry stash entry to "all used up."  

2. thinking only autumn thoughts.  August 2023. I'm not 100% sure when I started this shawl, actually.  I think it was around August, but for some reason I never entered it into Ravelry, and didn't take a single picture until today. This is The Garden Party Shawl by Toni Lipsey of TL Yarn Crafts. I found Toni through her YouTube channel and she is an absolute delight.  I'm using Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply in Espresso and the SAFF 2017 show color.

3. doubt that the sun doth move. September 1, 2023. This is a test knit that I did for Heidi Nick. I needed to finish one sock for the test, and then I never quite finished the second sock for me. I'm using 2.5mm needles and Rain's Obsessive Stitchery in her Fred base, colorway Jodhpur.

4. no YOU started a new scrap blanket. September 11, 2023. This is the Sweet Shop Blanket by Laura Penrose. I'm using fingering weight held double and a US 8 (5.0mm) needle. 

5. nobody can resist a jelly baby. November 18, 2023. Since the Sweet Shop blanket has a muted palette, I decided I also needed somewhere to put the brights and the neons.  Enter the Jelly Roll blanket by Kay Jones. I'm holding fingering double to get a DK weight, and am using a base of 18 stitches. So far, it's entirely made using Row One minis, and it's loads of fun to knit.

6. I reject your reality and substitute it with my own. December 12, 2023. Another test knit where I only needed one to complete the test.  I think we might be seeing a pattern here, hard to say. These are (or will be) the Subjective Mitts by Shana Cohen of Shanalines Designs.  I got to meet Shana at SSK last summer, and she's such a cool person. It won't take much to get this pair finished up, I just need to get the second mitt started.

7. Glittering Snowscape Shawl. January 1, 2024. My New Year's start this year is Stephen West's Hiberknitalong KAL.  I'm using Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply (a fan favorite around here) in a gorgeous goldish-brownish-gold gradient.  I'm knitting this with US 6 (4.0 mm) needles.

8. for its own joy. January 1, 2024. Another New Year's Day start, this is the African Flowers Patchwork Blanket by Stouto's Stuff.  I'm just playing and using up scraps of Stylecraft Special DK that I have from all of those blankets I've crocheted in the last few years. This is a patchwork blanket made up of several of squares of this size, and a bunch more that are quarter-sized.

9. oops all neutrals. January 6, 2024.  Look, I don't have to justify myself to you.  But if you must know, I needed somewhere to put all the greys and browns and creams that wouldn't work in either of the other two sock yarn scrap blankets.  This is a JAYG 4-round granny square blanket, using fingering weight scraps held double, and a 4.0 mm hook.  I'll just keep going until I run out of neutral scraps or decide it's big enough.

10. it only gets brighter from here. January 21, 2024. This past yuletide I opened the Fiber Seed's All is Bright advent set. It's a glorious gradient-ish rainbow in delicious eye-searing colors.  I'm crocheting it up into Half a Granny Square Shawl by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas, using a 4.0 mm hook. I'm planning to keep it in my office to throw on if I get chilly.

11. nothing you can make that can't be made. January 29, 2024. My standard vanilla sock with a Fish Lips Kiss heel and a 66 stitch cast on, to try to finesse the fit.  I'm using Freckled Whimsy's Serendipity base in the Norwegian Wood colorway, and 2.5 mm needles.

And there you have it - that's this year's round up. 

February Plan

My specific goals for this February are to finish:

• the cabled sock
• the advent half granny square shawl
• the Norwegian Woods socks

And to make solid progress on the HKAL shawl, and some of the blankets.  I'm targeting the shawl and the mitts for March finishes.

I predict that in about a year I'm going to be super sick of all of those scrap yarn blankets and will do another big push to finish things, but for now I'm having fun, and at the end of the day that's what really matters, yeah?

The State of Things: February 2023

 Long time friends of the show know that February is for Finishing around these parts, and as I mentioned yesterday, we're expanding our horizons a bit this year and declaring a Year of the WIP.  

...could be worse

By the end of 2023 I intend to have every project on this list move on to it's final destination, be that finished, frogged, or set on fire.  I'm really kind of jazzed about it, and I think this is going to be really good for me.

Okay, on to the list.  I'll post these in order from eldest to cast-on-last-Monday, and add a few notes about status, where it may have stalled out, etc.  Note that links go to my Ravelry notebook. Please click with caution.

1. scrappy granny. April 2019.  Look, I know, alright.  I know.  I started this in 2019, got maybe a foot in, and bailed. And then I gave it a break because look, we are not holding 2020 against anyone or anything around here.  And 2021 wasn't much better, and then in 2022... Yeah, I'm out of excuses on this one.  Except I pulled it out of the bag the other day, thinking I was gonna re-home it, and realized it's kind of cute though?  I mean, look at her.

who is she?

So here's the plan.  I'm going to add another three or four rows and see if we can't rekindle what we once had.  It's not like we don't have sock yarn scraps around here.  The pattern is more or less Lucy of attic24's Granny Stripes, and I'm using a 3.25mm hook with fingering weight scraps.

2. Fast forward to 2021, and next up is Aria, also of attic24 fame. I started this blanket on January 9, 2021, and am every bit as in love today as when I first set hook to yarn.  I'm closing in on done with this one - two more rows to go (one of which is already in progress) and then the borders.  

I'm all heart-eye-emoji over here

3. oh for the love of pete, June 9, 2021.  By this time even I was tired of my own nonsense, but something about tiny little crochet squares seemed very appealing that summer.  I blame the pandemic, frankly.  Anyway, having taken stock of the situation, I am absolutely not making a full sized blanket out of these suckers.  They are too fiddly by half.  I think these will make a charming pillow, don't you?

4. simplicity is... August 5, 2021. This is going to be an oversized sweatshirt of a sweater, once I sort out the sleeves.  I was half using Ann Budd's Handy Book, and half making it up as I went along, and my first sleeve attempt was rather disastrous.  I frogged it, and put the sweater in time out.  My plan is to pull it out and try it on, and decide if I need to unpick the 3-needle bind off and shorten the armscye, or if I decide the armscye is okay, I'll need to figure out a proper number of stitches to pick up and the right rate of decreasing so I end up with a wearable sweater.  This is all very doable, I just ran out of enthusiasm for the damn thing.  

Also, this yarn is much prettier than this picture makes it seem. It's a lovely, heathery, sort of olivey green. It's King Cole Forest Aran in the Grizedale Forest colorway. And if this yarn is Aran weight, I'll eat my hat.  I'm knitting the body with a US 6, 4.0mm needle.

So that's it for previous contestants on February is for Finishing.  Everything else was started in 2022 or earlier this year.  So that's something, I suppose.  

5. I'm not really making this.  In the interests of full disclosure, and as evidence that I suffered some sort of out of body crafting experience last year, I'm sharing this bit of a colorwork mitt that I started.  I never took a picture of it (until today), and never entered it into Ravelry, so damned if I can tell you when I started it. I'm frogging it later today, and we'll call it February's first victory.

what the heck, past Bekah? what the heck

6. spice must flow, July 29, 2022.  Why yes, this is another blanket.  No, I'm not sorry, and nor is it the last on this list.   I absolutely frickin' love this thing.  This is everything I want from my crochet blanket experience. This color palette is thoroughly and extremely my jam.

The biggest problem that this one has encountered is that I have a habit of crafting for internet points, and couldn't fit this one in.  In an effort to craft my joy and not (just) for points, I'm pulling this bad boy back out.  I'm using a 4.0mm crochet hook and a variety of Stylecraft and James C. Brett DK weight yarns.

7. hotel of bees, September 4, 2022.  I have no idea what happened here. I am just giving myself partial credit for actually creating a project page.  Yarn is Scheepjes Stone Washed, and I'm using a 4.5mm hook.

8. what to my wondering eyes did appear? Sept 23, 2022. In an effort to use up some leftovers from a previous Christmas blanket (crocheted in 2020, it never featured on the blog), I decided to whack out some granny squares and make another Christmas couch blanket. We will not speak of the fact that due to needing additional yarn for the join, and changing my mind about the color, I will end this stashbusting project with as much or more yarn than I started with.  No, I will not be taking any questions at this time.

Yarn is Loops & Thread Impeccable, with a 5.0mm hook.  It's not my favorite to work with, but it sure does make a snuggly throw.

All that's left is the join and whatever I decide to do for the borders.

9. spontaneity is fine if you plan it out enough in advance, August 2, 2022.  This is an impromptu Rock it Tee along that I'm knitting with a friend.  I mean, to be clear, she finished hers months ago.  More accurate to say that I started it with a friend.  The pattern is by Tanis Lavallee, and I'm using Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply in Petrified Forest and Nutmeg.  I have a very little more increasing to do for the raglan and v-neck, and then it's time to join and knit in the round forever. 

10. by gosh and by golly, November 2022.  I am not sure exactly when I cast these on, but I know it was in November and before Thanksgiving. This is Woolens and Nosh Corriedale Sock, which is a heavy fingering to light sport.  I'm knitting it on US 2 2.75mm needles, because my standard 2.5mm needle was getting me Kevlar.  I'm on the homestretch with these, and thank goodness, because I am kind of tired of Christmas.  (Bad news for me, as you will note when you scroll ahead.)

11. try to keep it all the year, November 24, 2022.  These are my annual "cast on while the turkey's in the oven on Thanksgiving" socks. They got sidelined a bit by a pair of Advent socks, and the Woolens and Nosh socks up above.  Turns out having three pair of socks on the needles at the same time is not actually faster.  Yarn is Lollipop Yarn Quintessential in the Christmas Carol colorway.  US 1 2.5mm needles, with my standard 64 stitch cast on and Fish Lips Kiss heel.

12. the secret ministry of frost, December 21, 2022.  This was my Winter Solstice start, and I'm really enjoying it.  The center was fiddly AF, but I am really enjoying how it's turning out.  The pattern is Touch of Frost by Marion Mitchell (this is the same designer as the spice blanket up above.)  Yarn is various DK weight acrylics, and I'm using a 4.0mm hook.

it is too February for this

13. ya learn something new everyday, January 30, 2023.  I'm teaching myself Tunisian crochet, because why not?  This is a simple stitch washcloth, and I'll stop when it's square or I get bored, whichever happens first.

So there you have it. 13 projects, neither my worst showing nor my best.  But something about this year just hit different, and I'm ready to clear the decks for real this time.

My immediate strategy includes finishing the Woolens and Nosh sock, and then casting on a new pair that's maybe pink or something, because dear gods am I tired of Christmas.  I'll also frog that mitt, and finish up the washcloth.  

Beyond that, I'll add another great whack to the Aria and Frost blankets, and probably go ahead and join the other Christmas blanket since it's so close to done.

Once I see how much progress I can make in February, we'll come back with a new strategy for March and beyond.

Wish me luck!

Get a Grip: 2023 is for Finishing (Not Just February)

Last December, as 2022 closed out and the fresh promise of 2023 lay ahead, I sat down and had a good hard think about my crafting, my WIP situation, what’s been bringing me joy, and what’s been weighing me down.

Good crafting habits that I fought hard to establish over the years have fallen by the wayside, and I seem to have reverted to some older patterns that aren’t great for my overall happiness or crafty-well-being.  (There’s perhaps a larger story to be told here about other aspects of my life, health, habits, and happiness, but that’s an introspection for another day.)

I was starting things that I didn’t really work on and never put into Ravelry, so they were in this weird “is it really a project or not?” limbo.  I was letting WIPs linger long enough that they were beginning to slide into true UFO territory.  I stopped entering yarn into Ravelry as soon as I bought it.  (Don’t get it twisted…I did not stop buying yarn, I just quit adding it to my notebook.) 

My mojo has been intermittent, and I’m feeling weighed down instead of buoyed up by my crafting life.

In short, I need to get a grip.

So here’s what we’re going to do about it.  I’m declaring 2023 The Year of the WIP.  This is a personal challenge, but feel free to play along in whatever manner feels helpful or meaningful to you. 

Here are my rules of engagement:

1. I will finish, frog, or fling everything that was on needles or hooks as of Dec 31, 2022, by December 31, 2023. The only projects coming into 2024 with me will be less than 12 months old.
2. I’ll post a full accounting of what’s in bounds.  This will also serve as my annual “February is for Finishing” post, wherein we all acknowledge that that scrappy granny blanket still hasn’t been touched since 2019.  See above in re: getting a grip.
3. I can cast new things on as I please, this is not strictly speaking a “Project Zero” style challenge.  This is a “clear out what’s weighing me down to make space for the new” kind of situation.
4. I’ll keep both my projects and my stash updated in Ravelry.  I’ve nearly caught my yarn up already, and just need to add my advents and a few other bits and bobs from December.
5. I’m going to be very thoughtful and intentional about any new yarn purchases.  We have yarn at home.

I made a down payment on The Year of the WIP on New Year's Day when I finished up a washcloth I found stuffed in the blue bin in my living room.  This is the bin I shove things in when I am "cleaning" up my crafting before people come over.  

I have no idea when I started it, I know it was sometime last year, but I have no memory of this place.

And as a side note, in case you are curious about the PPN (personal, private number) of WIPs that drove me over the edge… it was 13.  Past me would think that’s hilarious.