ElsaXenia2

Tuesday, 13 January 2026

Account for 2025

I was surprised to see how much I knitted last year - 28.6 kg, about lockdown level. My blankets become more simpler and quicker to knit. I still managed to knit several more challenging garments, good enough to wear.

I continue working through my spreadsheet. There is still a lot of Rowan and Noro - they seem never ending and I remind myself of how much I thought I would enjoy the knitting. It is satisfying in its way.

I could not stop buying yarn, but less than I knitted and less than I bought the previous year. I could not resist expensive hand dyed yarn. There was little of interest in charity shops, so I will show the hand dyed yarn I like and the French brand Pingouin. I bought a lot of their yarn prior to Rowan. The yarn shown is thick-and-thin 100% wool and feels good.

Tuesday, 14 January 2025

Account for 2024

I thought my knitting had slowed down even further in 2024, but it reached a respectable 22.5 kg, similar to pre-pandemic levels. And had my hand not been injured early December I would have had time to complete at least two more blankets, raising the total to over 24 kg.

It happened in the storm. A strong wind punched me in the chest, lifted me up and turned me round 90 degrees before letting me land. I came off quite lightly anyway, I fractured a bone in my left hand and bruised my left leg. I've nearly recovered now, but I'm not allowed knitting for more than 5 minutes at a time. It is difficult, especially now that I have started making plans for new projects.

I'm still aiming to use up yarn by date of purchase, and it is a slow process. I tell myself that it does not matter as it is all yarn that has to go. I allow myself to donate yarns to charity shops, those that I don't like very much. The non-standard blankets are now smaller and knitted in simple patterns, the standard blankets take longer.

For the first year I bought less yarn than I knitted. Now I buy hand dyed yarn, Rowan yarn in sales and what I find in charity shops. It is progress of sorts.