2013 Knitting Round Up

Well, hello 2014!
As we step into the New Year it's time to do my annual knitting project round up. So here's 2013 in projects:

The year began with the Milla Mia Charlotte cardigan for Flo
A Mellow cardigan for me
Two Pay It Forward projects of a scarf and some socks
Then a quick hat to warm me up
Followed by two versions of Picovoli, one for my sister in law and a cheeky one for myself
Some baby trousers
A baby cardigan for my nephew
Finally a finish to a long standing blanket project
The gift of a washcloth
A vintage cropped jumper
Speedy cowl knitted on a plane
Baby jacket
The Fieldwork cardigan
My final Pay It Forward of some quick Skipworth mitts
And a shoulder bag Christmas present for my Mum

Looking back I upped my number of projects in the previous 2 years from an average of 11 to 17 projects this year!
I also usually average 1 knitted top for myself per year. This year I managed 1 top and 2 cardigans all for me!
I'm still hitting my average of 1 blanket a year and at least 2 baby cardigans consistently.
The main difference in my knitting this year is that I have managed to knit a lot more for other people. This has a lot to do with the Pay It Forward projects I made, the kindness of my own damn heart and the usual baby making that happens so often round here.

All in all 2013 was a productive one. I'm setting no goals for 2014 except to keep on enjoying knitting and doing it for enjoyment above all else, otherwise, what's the point, right?

Come on then 2014, lets do this.

Pay it Forward #3: Mitts for Leila

Back in January I got involved in the Pay It Forward posts that go around on Facebook. I agreed to make something for three people within 2013 and in turn they then had to make something for some of their friends. I churned out my first two gifts in March, a scarf for Zoe and some socks for Katie, and then let this final one drag on for no particular reason. As we're now at the end of the year, and as I was feeling inspired by the Pom Pom Christmas party, I decided it was time to Pay It Forward for the last time in 2013.

I had wanted to make the Skipworth Mittens from Pom Pom Magazine issue one for ages. They look so squashy and cosy! I used some Rowan Plaid from the horrific first jumper I ever made, but thankfully the variegated yarn is much better in a small project like this. Leila and I used to work together in my first job out of Uni. She's a super bubbly, Scottish lass who always puts a smile on my face. The yarn has all the tones of Scottish heather and so I thought them fitting for lovely Leila.

Did you take part in Pay It Forward this year? Did you manage to get yours made?

Come to think of it I can't remember who was meant to be paying it forward to me! Come on, own up...

I Got Paid

I received my own pay it forward yesterday from my friend Katie. It's a lovely, soft crochet cushion with fleece backing in the perfect colours to compliment the purple accents in our living room. I love it.

Katie is the crochet queen in our knitting group. She is the go to person for any hooking enquiries as most of us are mainly knitters merely dabbling in the mysteries of crochet. A useful person to have in the fold indeed.

Thanks Katie!!!

Pay It Forward #2: Socks for Katie

When I was trying to decide what to make for my friend Katie's pay it forward, I knew I wanted to make her something that she might be impressed by. She's fairly new to knitting and so I thought she deserved something that showed how awesome knitting is as well as encourage her to keep at it. Socks instantly sprang to mind as despite not being as hard as you imagine people never cease to be impressed by hand knitted socks.

This was a super simple basic sock pattern using a German yarn that I got with a subscription to a magazine (I think). I couldn't find the yarn on Ravelry, which actually makes me slightly uneasy. Mystery yarn! It says Sport- & Strumpfgarn on the label, so if you know what it is I'd be interested to know.

The colour way is clearly bonkers but I always think knitted socks should be slightly nuts, otherwise what's the point? I like the idea of you being dressed completely normally but when you take your shoes off people jump back in shock of the hand knitted madness on your feet. It's akin to wearing a natty tie except you're not an old eccentric man - or maybe you are?

The socks were presented at our knitting group yesterday night and Katie seemed to like them very much, which was a relief. I was really glad that she tried them on and then kept them on for the rest of the evening. There is a real joy in wearing knitted socks which I'm sure she felt as her heel and instep were cradled as never before.

Before making these I hadn't realised that I haven't knitted socks since this emotional pair in 2009. That's three years. OMG. It's given me the urge to tackle a more difficult sock pattern for myself but there is still the matter of one more pay it forward to think of, make and send. Best get the thinking cap on.

Pay It Forward #1: A Scarf For Zoe

At the beginning of this year I saw a friend post on Facebook a 'Pay it Forward'. This said that they will hand make something for the first 6 people that replied to the post, with the only condition being that those 6 people pay it forward and post the same thing on their wall. Essentially the point is that at some time within in the year you will get a nice gift from someone for no reason at all and you will make a nice gift for 6 other people also for no reason at all other than to have that nice fuzzy feeling inside. I excitedly replied to my friend's post and in return posted the same message on my wall.

By admission I am a selfish knitter, preferring to make things for myself rather than anyone else, so this pay it forward thing was a big ask for me. 6 handmade things is a lot of things. I was secretly planning on palming a few of them off with homemade cake instead of knitted goods. But as days went by I only had 3 takers. So I decided it had be be knitted items all round.

And so here is my first pay it forward to the lovely Zoe! I met Zoe back in 2011 when she posted on my local NCT online forum asking if anyone wanted to start a knitting group. Now could you guess what happened next? Obviously I jumped at the chance and we went on to have a lovely local knitting group of Mums, all of whom I consider to be great friends now as well as awesome knitters.

Zoe moved out of the area over a year ago and has gone on to start up her own business teaching crafts to the masses in Suffolk called Crafty Baba. If you're in the area and are looking to pick up a new skill she has classes for all your needs including knitting, crochet, curtain making, dressmaking even nappy making and woodwork!

I made Zoe a Scroll Lace Scarf from Ysolda's Whimsical Little Knits 2 using some left over Rowan Tapestry yarn from a cardigan I made years ago. I just love the gold, browns and pinks in the yarn and think that it really compliments Zoe's colouring. As you may have also heard before I love love love Ysolda's designs and so this was a joy to knit.

I hope you enjoy it Zoe!

So, who's next on my pay it forward list? Let's see...