Needlework Update: 2021 in Review

Now that we are on to 2022, I'm going to wrap up what I did in the last quarter of 2021. In my third quarter update, I set the following goals:

1. finish the charity blanket and fish mittens that are my current projects 
2. make myself cabled mittens to go with my seaman's scarf 
3. do some prep work to get a head start on next year's patterns 
4. work more on the free patterns here on Stitch Whisper
5. maybe work on a fish hat for my second son, to go with his fish mittens
6. start working on the samples I need for a Fairisle technique tutorial I've had in mind for a while (hoping to put that out there next year)
7. I've been planning on some small crocheted baskets for a while, and I might get started on those as well.

I did not do numbers 6 or 7, and my son did not want a hat to go with his fish mittens. I did, however, finish the fish mittens and the charity blanket I was working on. The fish mittens were the Fiber Fish pattern by Laurie Corriveau.  I really enjoyed that pattern. Instead of making cabled mittens to go with the seaman's scarf I finished earlier in the year, I'm making some lace gloves, using a Falling Leaves, by Sarah Ohman, which is free on Ravelry.  However, I've altered the pattern a little to account for gauge differences.

I've finished editing and made the samples for two hat patterns I'll be publishing later this month. I also published two new free patterns here (Rainbow's End Scarflet and Kids' Mittens and Fingerless Mitts), and I edited one of Practical Crocheter's free patterns on this blog and republished it as a PDF (Crocheted Device Cover).

I made a reversible entrelac scarf for myself, using Chanterelle, by Kim Brody Salazar, which is another free pattern I found through Ravelry.  I didn't like the dimensions of the original patter, which called for sock yarn and size 5 needles, so I followed the original instructions, but used worsted yarn and size 10.5 needles. I love this scarf.

I made fingerless gloves and scarf for my 8yo son and fingerless gloves and a hat 6yo daughter, mittens for and hat my 3yo son, and gloves for my 12yo son.  The fingerless gloves for the 6yo and mittens for the 3yo are my most recent free pattern.  The fingerless gloves and scarf for the 8yo are free patterns from Ravelry (Kid Mitts, by Jessica M. Henderson and Rippenshchal, by Margarete Dolff, respectively), as is the hat for the 6yo (Almost Newboy, by Lydia H.).  I enjoyed the fingerless glove and hat patterns, both of which were very fast and easy.  The scarf pattern was a good pattern, and an interesting take on cables, but, honestly, I found it a bit tedious after a while. The gloves for the 12yo are a free vintage pattern I found on Ravelry, and I posted about it here. I also made some basic socks for my 1yo, although the yarn wasn't in very good shape.  I'll probably need to replace them soon.  

In addition to finishing the charity blanket I was working on at the end of the third quarter of 2021, I've made 3 hats for charity, a pair of slippers, and started on another baby blanket.  One hat was the No Gauge Hat by Stefanie Bold, which is free on Ravelry.  It used an interesting construction technique, but wasn't really my thing.  Another hat was another free Ravelry pattern (Homestead Cables from Unsupervised Studios), and the third was my Upside Down Hat pattern.  The slippers are the Mitered Slippers pattern in the Pixie Slipper pattern book Practical Crocheter and I published last year. The baby blanket uses Practical Crocheter's Endless Granny Square pattern, which is free on this blog. 

Now that we've closed out 2021, here are my goals for 2022:

1.  I have another dozen patterns lined up to publish for sale this year, starting with two patterns in January.
2. There will also probably be a few free patterns.  I have one on the back burner right now.
3. I want to finish my lace gloves.  Right now, I have the first glove finished, and the second one just needs fingers, so I'll probably finish them up in the next couple weeks, depending on whether other projects get in the way.
4. I'm going to finish the Endless Granny Square Baby Blanket that is my current charity project.  Like the gloves, it's mostly done, so I should finish it before the end of January.
5. I'd like to make the baskets I listed as a goal last quarter.
6. I'm also finishing up a gift for a friend in the next few days. It's a surprise, so no pics until I've given it to them.
7. I need to make a scarf for my 3yo.  It's going to be a birthday present at the end of January. I'll be using the Child's Truck Scarf pattern from Frugal Knitting Haus.
8. My big personal project for the year is to make a bedspread for my king size mattress. I've selected 18 different 12" square patterns that I'll be using to make a big sampler blanket. I've also picked out colors.
9. My small personal project is to make myself some socks.
10. I'm going to do the Fairisle tutorial that I mentioned in my listed goals from my third quarter update.  This is something I've been thinking about for years, and it's time to get it done.
11. I want to finish the Patricia Kristoffersen doily that's been hanging around forever. 
12. Finally, I plan to continue doing charity stitching every week.

This post has been linked to Busy Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Heartsie Girl, Stitchin' Mommy, Wow Me Wednesday, Wonderful Wednesday, Thursday Favorite Things, Friendship Friday, and Happiness is Homemade.