November & December
A festive bumper edition
November & December were filled with lots of knitting, festive activities and the flu! I did start writing a separate November edition, but never sent it out, so I hope you’re ready for an extra long edition.
As always, I hope you enjoy reading what I’ve been knitting on during November & December and plan to knit on during January.
What I’ve finished knitting
Friday Slipover
One of my two November finished objects was my Friday Slipover* (links with a * take you to Ravelry), and as soon as I finished it I barely took it off! I used Wooly Knit British wool in Pine Forest Green paired with Navy Blue Alpaca Silk from Rauma, and I think it makes the perfect is it green, is it blue kind of colour.
The only issue I have with the pattern is that I had to make up a size in between the L and XL, as I have a bust of 102cm, and the XL would have given me 13cm of ease, which is over double the recommended amount, and the L would have only given me 3cm, which felt like it would have been slightly too fitting. I think this is generally how Petite Knit does her patterns, having a bigger cm difference between the larger sizes, so it’s definitely put me off her adult sized garments a bit. But as I think I said when I started this project, I couldn’t find anything similar, so thought it would be easier to adjust the pattern.
Holly Sweater
My festive knit, the Holly Sweater, made (almost) entirely from stash. The only thing I had to purchase was the mohair to go with the cream yarn and a second Kremke Stelaris for the sparkle. The fingering weight yarn is all WoolyKnit cones (Aran Cream Nepp, Pine Forest Green & Burgundy) and the Mohair is Knitting for Olive, Pascuali and Krea Deluxe. I had some sparkle yarns from Kit Couture that went with the Burgundy and Green, and also had one little cone of Stelaris in stash and topped it up with a second.
I made the size L, but I added in 16 extra stitches prior to the colourwork, and just adjusted the chart slightly, as I was worried about it being tight over the shoulders, and then I didn’t have to do the final row of increases as I already had the correct number of stitches. My row gauge was also off, so I knit fewer rows between the increase rounds in the yoke and the sleeves.
I only steam blocked it for the festive period, as I finished it on the 19th December, and I knew it wouldn’t dry in time for anything other than Christmas Day. But to say I wore this to every festive gathering I went to once it was cast off would not be untrue.
I’ve since washed and blocked it, but may still have a few ends to weave in on the colourwork…
2 Wall hanging’s
My go to present for friends babies is an Alphabet Wall Hanging by Lauren Aston Designs, with their initial on, usually as a 1st birthday or Christening present. I made one in November and one in December, and they are such an easy make as they can be done in one afternoon.
While I made 2, I only have a picture of one of them.
Musselburgh Hat
My fourth and final Musselburgh Hat* in the series of striped hats for Scotland I made for my parents and brother. Again in Wee County Yarns Kinross 4ply, but this time with Scots Pine as the main colour, and no Otter.
Here’s some photo’s of the four hats all together before I gifted three of them.
Christmas Striped Socks
My last finished object of 2024 was a pair of socks knit in Gingerbread and Mulled Wine Self Striping Yarn from AndKnit. A really lovely yarn to knit with, and it has a hint of sparkle. Unfortunately not finished in time to wear this Christmas just gone, but they’ll be ready for this year!
Dumbo
My best friend asked me to make a little knitted toy for her new nephew, and picked out the Dumbo* pattern by Claire Garland. It was one of the quicker patterns of hers I’ve done, as it’s quite a small finished object. I honestly thought it was going to turn out horribly when I was knitting it, when just the body head and trunk were done it looked so strange, but as ever it turned out so cute!
Classic Ribbed Hat
A quite last minute gift for a baby shower, I made this Classic Ribbed Hat by Purl Soho using some leftover West Yorkshire Spinners Bo Peep DK. It kind of matches a hat I know the mum to be already has, so I thought it could be a matching moment.
It was a lovely free patten to knit, with lots of clear instructions for stripes and colour blocking.
What I’ve still got on the needles
Almost nothing!! (I might have cast a pair of socks on NYE, but I’ve included it below in the January Cast on’s)
What I’m planning to cast on in January
Making Stories January Socks
As usual, I opened the January Making Stories Sock Box on NYE, and cast on a pair of On the Fence* Socks. It’s definitely not a skein I’d pick up myself, but I am enjoying the warm colours in the very grey weather we’ve been having.
Cashmere Gloves
I haven’t started anything in my cashmere winter set yet, and I think I’ve changed my mind on which I’m doing first. So I’m going to cast on the gloves first. I thought these would be a fun challenge, and I’m going to make this pattern*, the Cardiff Gloves, for a simple looking pair.
Burgundy Cardigan
I’ve definitely mentioned this one before in my what I’m planning to cast on section, but I think I just over planned what I could realistically knit (who knows if this year I’ll be any better!). So this month I promise I will finally be casting this on, in WoolyKnit British Wool 4ply in Burgundy and Knitting For Olive Soft Silk Mohair in Bordeaux and the pattern I’ve chosen is Cocktail*.
Tracking my yarn stash
November
In: 245g purchased
Out: 366g used from stash
From my Friday Slipover and Wall hanging.
Net Position for the month: -121g
Net Position for the year: -1,679g
December
In: 800g purchased
Out: 740g used from stash
From my Holy Sweater, Socks, Musselburgh Hat, Classic Ribbed Hat, Dumbo and Wall hanging.
Net Position for the month: +60g
Net Position for the year: -1,619g
Final thoughts
What a 2024! If you want to read about my stats for the year along with some fun quick fire questions, I’ve done my 2nd annual K1, P1 Wrapped post already:
I’m really glad I had a second year of using up a big chunk of my stash. There’s still a way to go in 2025, but I think it will be the year I finish up all my sweater quantities I have in stash. I also want to make a conscious effort to use up all those leftovers from garment knits, of which I have a large drawer full of!
If you’ve read this far, aren’t already subscribed, and are interested to see how much I get done this month and what’s up next on my to-knit list. Please do consider subscribing to get the monthly updates straight into your inbox:
Feel free to leave any questions about any of my projects or anything else I’ve mentioned, comments or feedback. And I’ll speak to you in next month’s update!
Madeleine