Hello and welcome to a new year here on the blog.

As we move forward into 2024 I wanted to take a moment to look back at the end of 2023, which in usual fashion hurtled to an end as I tried to keep up, and to have a little think about what the coming year may hold.

My end of year reflections focus around 3 main things.

Firstly, my trip to Lyon which I have written about before but this time I want to talk about the finished object that arose from the trip.

Secondly, my day at La Fierucola in November, which I never got around to sharing, but which introduced me to some new Italian yarns that I’d like to highlight.

Lastly, but by no means least, my visit to the UK which included attending the launch of Susan Crawford’s new book Echoes published by Laine.

All three of these could have been a blog post in their own right but the reason for talking about them together is that they share many things in common, most notably for me, being how they fed and spurred on my knitting mojo, and stimulated my creativity.

Through the summer months last year my knitting mojo disappeared off the edge of a cliff. This is not usual for me and left me feeling a little disorientated. Had it not been the imminent arrival of twins in our family, who needed to be clothed of course, and a couple of ongoing blanket projects I wanted completed for autumn donation, I’m not sure I would have knitted (or crocheted) at all.

These projects kept me going, still knitting one stitch after another, they stilled my mind, but did not inspire a lot of excitement. Don’t get me wrong, the baby clothes were impossibly cute, and mercifully quick, but I found myself simply and strangely, quite happily, following the pattern with little desire to go off piste.

1. Knit Eat Lyon

It was in this context that my visit to Lyon was pretty transformative. While I did question myself for having bought 3 garments worth of yarn when I had only made one sleeveless garment for myself in the entire year, I also felt energised and excited about my knitting again.

So energised in fact that I knitted myself a cardigan. I turned the wonderful dLana Madrilana yarn into Isabel Kraemer’s Elah Cardigan. It was the perfect pattern to make given my ‘overcome by yarn fumes and unable to add up, well multiply, decision making process’ that led me to buy one less skein than perhaps I should have. Knitted top down, I knit the sleeves and tried as I went before finishing the body so I could knit until the yarn ran out. It worked a charm, I reached my desired length and even had a few meters of yarn left.

I love this cardigan, and I still love this yarn as much as I did when I bought it. I took the cardigan on my trip to the UK in December and wore it all the time. It was cold and I had prioritised taking Christmas gifts in my luggage over clothing. Not only was it perfectly warm, the yarn really stood up to all the friction of being worn while carrying a heavy rucksack. The sizing, probably one size smaller than I would have chosen if I’d had more yarn, also makes it the perfect cardigan to wear over a dress, or with wide legged jeans.

2. La Fierucola, Florence

Last year I wrote about my visit to La Fierucola and wrote a series of posts about Italian wool based on what I found there. This year I was able to go again. Coming as it does in the middle of olive picking, this is by no means a given. I was thrilled to see some of the same vendors there again and was able to stock up on a few skeins with some projects in mind.

I went back to the stand of la Tingola Fiemmese and Officina dei Colore Naturale to add to the yarn I bought last year. I loved the colours I had chosen, a combo of two different greens that I think will work wonderfully together, but I had decided that I needed an extra colour to be able to use these existing colours in a garment. Now with the extra couple of skeins I have a plan, of which, more later.

I also went back to Verde Filo to get some extra skeins so that I’d have enough for a garment – I’m still not decided on what – my first idea was nixed when I couldn’t get the combination of gauge and a fabric I liked when swatching, so I need to think some more about that. I just really want to wear that yarn so I do need to come up with something…

My final purchase was of a lovely local tuscan yarn that had been naturally dyed. I need to look into this some more and contact the seller. The yarn is from a conservation project that aims to promote local wool here in Tuscany. When I find out more I’ll share it with you here on the blog. Also if you have any ideas for DK colour blocked garments, please share in the comments. Looking at, well actually touching this yarn again while writing, makes me want to get it on the needles sooner rather than later….

3. Echoes Book Launch, Lancaster

My third event at the end of the year was the much anticipated launch of Echoes, the new book by Susan Crawford, published by Laine. My anticipation was sky high as I’d had been privy to the proofs as Susan had been working through them while visiting us earlier in the summer. As good as the pictures were, seeing the garments on display, and trying a few on, also inspired a rather long ‘to-knit’ list. It was so lovely to meet other knitters, including some of the test knitters, who were also excited about the designs, along with Susan’s team from the studio.

First upon the ‘to-knit’ list was the Miller hat – Just my style and the same shape as the hat I had left on the train to Lancaster – If anyone found it and kept it, enjoy, it was my favourite hat and a prototype for an upcoming design of my own! I cast on there and then and have been wearing the hat for a while now despite not having FO pictures…

Second on the ‘to-knit’ list is Mortmain, a short sleeved yoke sweater of the sort I wear all the time. It’s on the needles, it’s bottom up and and the body is done. I now need to make the 2 short sleeves to join before working the colourwork yoke, for which I have some lovely naturally dyed South Downs yarns that I bought at the last Edinburgh Yarn festival.

Third on the list is Vita, an all over colourwork cardigan which will probably exhaust my supply of the odd balls of Excelana 4 ply I have in the old colours. I made a swatch cap to check my gauge. These are not my chosen colours, I needed to keep all of those for the actual cardigan as some might be a bit tight, but it’s the same yarn and I wanted to swatch in the round as my in the round and flat gauges can differ somewhat. I used the Miller hat [pattern as the basis for this as the colourwork charts have he same number of stitches, couldn’t be simpler.

Fourth we have Virginia, another colourwork project, but just a tank this time. This is the project for which I want to use my Tingola Fiemmese yarn. I have a dark and light green for the main colour and a beautiful amber ginger brown/orange for the contrast. Whether I’ll be able to resist casting this on I’m not sure – I need to get to the Colourwork yoke of Mortmain before I crack and cast on a colourwork project.

Also on the list is Dalloway This is top down and I’ve swatched for it and now this too is taking all the will power not to actually cast on right away. I have a mustard yellow yarn for the main colour and a single skein of Old Maiden Aunt in Green’s Last Gasp for the colourwork, which I haven’t wound up yet because I know if I do I’ll cast on and get sidelined on the Mortmain. I want to cast on with the green because I’m not convinced about the mustard so close to my face, I love the colour but I’m not sure it loves me, so the green for the neckline it is.

Anyway, perhaps I should stop there. Suffice it to say that if I work my way through all these garments I’ll have a lot more to show for my knitting time this year than last! I’ll also be breaking even on the number of garments worth of yarn I bought last year versus the numbers knitted up. But if I don’t, I don’t and the yarn will still be there next year ready for my needles to head in their direction.

Despite all the additional acquisitions and lack of knitting mojo, the combination of baby clothes and blankets, and blankets for charity meant that my personal yarn store did actually shrink rather than grow.

I have been keeping a record of what I knit and my yardage out and yardage in for the last 4 years. In 2023 I passed the net reduction of over 50,000m. This is a testament to both the size and flexibility of the personal yarn store that I have built up over a good number of years. For example, as I did my annual tidy and reorganisation this year I wondered if this would be the year when I find a use for the 2 skeins of Rowan left from the sweater I made my partner over 20 years ago.

My yarns are not all so fancy though but just as precious, for example, the body of my Mortmain is being made in Forsell Touch of Silk, a cone of which I picked up in the Cancer Research charity shop for £2.75, and which is knitting up beautifully.

I also spent the first week of the new year working out my plans for this years blankets for donation. I like to have one crochet DK and one knit worsted/aran design on the go at any one time. The materials sit in bags next to the couch so that if I’m watching TV and my actual project is at a complicated point or, heaven forbid I’m between cast ons, I always have a project I can pick up and work on. That said, I may need to complete some DK weight projects as I seem a little short on leftovers for that one…

As for other plans for the year. I’m really hopeful that this year will see the release of some new designs. One existing design that has been long overdue a re-format and some new pictures has been done this week and will re-launch soon. Once the flu that accompanied me into the New Year is fully banished, there will be some photoshoots and some new patterns will be on their way and I can’t wait to share them with you.

I hope you all have some exciting plans for the New Year, for your knitting and beyond.

Take care and see you soon, Happy knitting, crochet or whatever fiber craft is filling your heart right now.

Tess xxx