What year is it? I didn’t call this blog ‘occasional crafter’ for nothing. That said, it’s not like I don’t always have some project on the go, it’s just that often it doesn’t feel momentous enough to mention. No matter. These projects are still not momentous, but perhaps an un-momentous life isn’t a bad one. Anyway. Here we are.

In my last post (2021!) I’d made a grey dress for the pink elephant. I decided it didn’t suit her and made her an entirely new yellow one instead:

Much better. I gave her to a friend as a leaving gift and she seemed to like her, so all good. And I gave the grey dress she was wearing to the bear. Feels like that worked? It needs the little cardigan to lift it, colourwise, I think.

…flicks back through photos – Oh! And I put that dress on a dark grey elephant, mostly for this photo – looks like it’s desaturated, but it’s not, obviously:

I made her a new, more colourful dress, but I’ll post a picture of that another time; I think that’s enough elephant pics for now. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been making a bear, for a new baby:

I finished him off and popped him in the post yesterday. I’m hoping he’ll arrive today…

The dungarees ended up taking much longer than I’d hoped as I unpicked them in part and reknitted them. You’ll see (if you’re a knitter) on the left and right of the bib on the chest, there are diagonal rows of knit-2-together and SSK, which should mirror eachother nicely and flow in a nice line. Yet again I’d got them a stitch out, so the line was broken on the bib. The only way I could solve it was:

• on the right, place a stitch marker 2 stitches to the right of the SSK
• on the left, place a stitch marker 2 stitches to the left of the 2tog
• when casting off k1/p1, work up to the marker and then stop

Annnd once I’d done that I was still a stitch out. That’s when I realised I wasn’t casting off the final stitch on the right – the first past the marker. (Don’t worry, these notes are more for me than you, unless you’re about to knit these dungarees). Anyway. It was worth fixing, despite the fact it almost made me late. If a job’s worth doing it’s worth doing well, etc etc. I decided to sew all the clothes onto this chap too – I don’t normally, but thought I’d be extra cautious and remove all the buttons this time as it’s for a baby.

I’m also working on a lighter shawl. I still absolutely love the Almina shawl I made in 2020 – honestly, I really love that thing. But it’s still a bit heavy to take out of the house. (That said, it’s getting softer and more flexible with all the wear it gets at home). I also like having a project I can pick up and put down easily without having to think about. So I’m making Rosi – you can see it in the background of ^ that photo.

I’m still in 2 minds about it, to be honest. Not the pattern, but the yarn choice. Weirdly, it’s the same colour, almost, as the bear:

But the bear is in Cascade 220 Heathers – Doeskin Heather (8012), and I splashed out on some De Rerum Natura Ulysse (Poivre et Sel) for the shawl. Now I’m wondering if it’s *too* lightweight. Or if the needle is a bit big. I dunno. I’m sure it’ll be fine. We’ll see. I’m not sure this picture helps actually, but here it is, on its own.

I also noticed that the socks I made back in 2021 have got holes in the soles now. This is really sad actually, because I like those socks. Which means of course, that I’ll have to try and darn them. I’ll let you know how that pans out, but don’t hold your breath.

So that’s where we’re at. I’ve spared you the other socks I’ve made inbetween. If you’re still out there, I hope you’re well. Have a great weekend, see you soon?