What You Were Making In 2022

We’re a little late to all the reviews and wrap ups that traditionally happen at the end of the year or beginning of the new; but I’m sure we can be forgiven due to our tardiness being caused by our change over from Perth Festival of Yarn to The Scottish Yarn Festival!  Still, it’s better late than never and in this post we wanted to share some of your makes with what you’ve found at our events, or special collaborations, during 2022.

We decided to pick a random twelve in a nod to how many months we have in the year, and we’ve made our selection from those we’ve been tagged in on social media, as well as trying to represent both knitting and crochet.  So, without further ado, here are your wonderful creations from the past year which we hope will inspire you all as you plan your projects for 2023.

 

 

The wonderful @woolkinsonknits made a hat with a DK weight skein of ‘Hot Fuss’ by Edelweiss Fibres which was released as part of our 2022 Hit Parade Collab Club.

@unaroodesigns snapped up a cone of DK weight Castlemilk Moorit x Teeswater from Caithness Yarns at our inaugural Scottish Wool Producers Showcase in April and made herself this fab and functional Over It Slipover by Lily Kate Makes.

Our long time girl crush @needleandfred came up from Manchester to visit us at Perth Festival of Yarn this year as she was taking a year out from vending responsibilities, but she honoured us not only by creating our Official Commemorative Skein for the event but also by rocking up wearing a Love Note Sweater by Tin Can Knits in said colourway!

@laurenknitsx picked up the 2020 Advent Calendar Kit from Wee County Yarns in September and in no time at all had whizzed up this wonderful Christmas Socking for her little one.

 

 

@bobbleandbadger_yarns couldn’t resist a skein of fingering weight Bride of Frankenstein from BuzzinYarns to make these vibrant socks.

@h_crochetsthings hooked up this beanie from their own pattern back in February with a DK skein of Summer Nights by @kalokshekellen from Perth 2021.

@eliza_b_makes was another crocheter quick off the mark with her cosy wrist warmers.  She used a @zeensandroger pattern from Inside Crochet and yarn from @zakamiyarns

@hannahkross was specifically on the hunt for a skein of sock yarn she could knit with while taking part in the Kiltwalk this autumn.  She chose this skein of self-striping from @fibrepunk

 

 

@life_at_westering paired her beautiful Zakami Yarn with the Bridesmaid Shawl by Michelle DuNaier which looks perfect with their woollen coat.

@karolines.knits was looking to explore no-nylon sock yarns and after speaking with the inspirational @annfieldangoras crafted these Morrison Socks by Jenny Blumenstein in just over a week.

We were honoured to have esteemed designer and author, @purlemma, join us at Perth last year.  Emma created her Merrow Berries pattern especially to showcase the Haste Ye Back collection of mini skeins we put together as a collaboration with ten Scottish dyers in 2021.

@commuter_knitter snapped up a fingering weight skein of sock yarn from @atthisyarns to use as the main colour in her pair of ‘Perth Socks.’

 

We’d love to feature more of your makes on our Community page throughout the coming year, so please do continue to tag us in your social media posts with anything you have made with yarn or fibre from any of the events we have curated for you since 2016.  Where possible we’ve added the Instagram handles of all makers so that you can go and give them some love and see what other crafty endeavours they’ve been up to.

 

The Makes We Make Again And Again – Part II

Today I’m going to focus on the one knitting pattern that I have – hands down – returned to the most.  The humble Vanilla Latte Socks by Virginia Rose-Jeanes is known to most avid sock knitters on the internet; and I have knit 15+ pairs using this pattern with a slight tweak to insert an afterthought heel.

The reason I have knit so many pairs is that, apart from the pattern repeats being therapeutic, they fit My Favourite Person’s feet with just the right amount of ‘snug’; so much so that he clearly stated very early on into his hand knit sock wearing journey / appreciation that all his future socks should be made this way.

There’s just a certain something about the giving and receiving of hand knit socks, and as some of his six pairs were in various states of wear as a result of now being all that will grace his feet, I decided this summer that I would make as many pairs of Vanilla Latte Socks as I could between then and Christmas, then present them as a bundle.

Fellow yarnivores, I managed seven pairs, caving in and releasing one pair to him a month early, and only managing to get photos to share after two pairs had been put on.  

 

 

 

You may be wondering what’s on my needles now after all those socks…..

 

 

for more about the pattern

Vanilla Latte Socks is sadly discontinued, however it is only a 2 round repeat and is easy enough to work out from pictures online.  To date it has 19,058 projects listed in this pattern on Ravelry, and there are over 1000+ uses of #vanillalattesocks on Instagram.

 

for more about the yarns used

The joy of this pattern is that you can use any sock yarn and get a great looking result.  My Favourite Person is a bin man and walks on average 20 miles a day, 4 days a week in safety boots, wearing his hand knit socks.  For this reason I only use commercial sock yarns of 75% wool and 25% nylon for him.  All the examples pictured are a mixture of Opal, Regia Schachenmayr, Rico Superba, Drops Fabel, and Wollbutt.  All good local yarns shops stock an inspiring and budget friendly range of commercial sock yarns which may include some of these brands, and sometimes you will come across them at our festivals too.  

 

 

St Lucia Day

Many of our fibre-crafting friends in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and across the World are today celebrating Lucia Day, a custom which goes back 400 years.  The day is commemorated with candlelit processions – 13 December is the shortest day in the Julian Calendar – and fika, including gingerbread biscuits and special s-shaped saffron buns called Lussekatt.

Back in 2018 we we honoured to be joined by Swedish knitwear designer and tech editor, Anna Friberg, who is also known as Yarnesty.  Perhaps best known for her sock designs and classes, Anna designed the Sankta Lucia Socks which are available in English, French, and Swedish on Ravelry, and as a seasonal promotion all her patterns are 24% off until Christmas Eve.

 

 

Anna isn’t the only knitwear designer to have been inspired by the Lucia Day celebrations; Finnish born Sari Nordlund has a mystery knitalong happening right now for her Lucia Socks which feature intricate twisted stitches.  The fourth and final clue to the pattern will be released on 19 December and Team Perth can’t wait to see the complete pair revealed.

 

 

for more about the santka lucia socks 

The Santka Lucia Socks by Anna Friberg are available from Ravelry here:  sankta-lucia-socks

If you are unable to use Ravelry please contact Anna by email at yarnesty@knitway.se

 

for more about the lucia socks 

The Lucia Socks by Sari Nordlund are also available from Ravelry:  lucia-socks

Sari also has a YouTube channel.  Her most recent episode is below.