How Was Your 2022 year in needlework & other crafts?

*Overall, are you satisfied with your output this past year in needlework and other crafts?
*Any disatisfaction?
*Did you learn anything new?

*Do you have plans for the new year?

I did a lot of crocheting but no embroidery so that is on my list for 2023. I have dishtowels and pillow cases I need to do.

I feel like my crafting year went far better than my kitchen(ing) year.

I made more tops than I thought I would; but I haven't finished many projects. I'm hoping the quilt frame at the library will help with that.

I joined the Modern Quilt Guild and attended the 2022 MQG Sessions Vol 1. The four days of learning was exhausting and fun. It also made me want to attend Quilt Festival classes.

I went to Quilt Festival two days this year with several people.

Plans for the new year include learning to use the library quilt frame.

I think this was a fairly successful year for me. (although, don't we always wish we had done more?) I made those two fruit/vegetable quilts for a wedding gift and I managed make those two memory quilts. And lots and lots of pillowcases.
ETA: oh yeah - I'm working on a quilt for a Christmas present.

As for plans for next year - SO MANY!
1. I'd like to reduce the Christmas fabric I have. To this end, I've decided to make Christmas quilts for my great nieces/nephews. Not sure how many I can finish. (I got 2 done in 2022)
2. I'd like to finish putting the blocks together for my red/white quilt so I can get it quilted. I also have all the blocks done for a Jane's Ladder quilt and I'd like to get that together.
3. I have a bunch of tops that need to be quilted and bound that I'd like to work on.
4. More pillowcases.

That's enough for a start.

I had great plans for 2022 and most of them I didn't manage to reach, but I think considering my work/life situation my crafting level hasn't been too bad. I tried knitting on the train which worked well when the days were longer (in the spring and early autumn) but now that it's dark both in the morning and in the afternoon I'm just too tired to manage it.
I have managed to finish a whole heap of trivets, using a technique (felting) I hadn't really done before. I've also made great headway with my cabled cushion cover, which I'm hoping will be finished by the new year.
I've also almost finished mending the sleeve hems on some of my cardigans, and I think it'll look nice when it's done. I'm quite happy with myself for taking the time to mend my clothes instead of tossing them and buying new.

I've also gotten a bit more organised and have catalogued almost all my yarn (I realised yesterday that I'd forgotten one stash) and made a list of current and planned projects along with the intended yarn and other information. This way I can keep better track of what I actually have (meaning no more almost buying doubles) and can more easily see what I need to stock up on.

I haven't quite settled on my plans for the new year other than finishing started projects (those red shorts need to be done!) and starting on a blanket with domino squares which I hope will make for good TV/commuting (when it's lighter outside) knitting.

I'm fine with this year's output. At this point in my life it's about joy, exploration and fun. The quilter has started on the two older lap quilts I left with her (which means I will momentarily be 'caught up')

I'm hoping to have all the blocks settled on the 'summer' scrap quilt and the blocks taken down from the wall, piled up and ready to sew together. I'm have foot/ankle surgery at the end of this month, so I want to be able to do something constructive in those first three weeks of recovery, before I start the five further weeks of physical therapy.

Otherwise, I have a room full of fabric. Maybe after putting the summer quilt together I can take up another scrappy paper-pieced block quilt.

OR, perhaps I could start the "spring" quilt. I'm open....

Hope your surgery goes well. I'm guessing it's not your "sewing" foot.

Around this time last year I finished the Master Hand Knitting program, and had an immediate desire to take it easy -- no big ambitious projects -- and do some charity knitting. So I made several hats using stash yarn, which was satisfying on multiple levels. I made a bunch of blanket squares and learned a bit about crochet in the process. And I continued taking Yarnworker's rigid heddle weaving courses.

It wasn't until summer that I felt up to a more ambitious project again, which turned out to be the Gansey sweater I recently finished. Now I seem to have my knitting mojo back, in the sense that I'm feeling renewed interest in making garments and trying techniques I have less experience with (lace, color work, etc.).

My weaving has taken a back seat to sweater knitting, but I'd like to get back to it. I have visions of creating a set of "everyday" placemats. I haven't found a pattern or kit that I like yet and might need to figure it out on my own.

My crafting year was everything I wanted it to be. I'm about halfway through cross-stitching my Christmas tree skirt and think I'll probably finish it before Christmas next year.

The temperature blanket was a fun project and one that I did stick with through the whole year (although I'll finish a day early due to thinking I was smarter than the pattern :P).

I made 4 toques for my niblings for Christmas and crocheted my first garment for myself (a simple vest), which has definitely whetted my appetite for future garment projects. And there's always a dishcloth in some state of completion hanging around in my baskets of yarn.

My new year plans include finishing the tree skirt, I've just started a poncho for myself, and I've got various batches of yarn stashed away for a few projects including a scarf and my first sweater (a cardigan). I also recently purchased patterns for an amigurumi Nativity set, which will be a big undertaking, but one I think I'll wait on until the Christmas tree skirt is done.

Considering the constraints I’ve had to deal with (lack of time being the primary one) I think I’ve done okay. I would have loved to have done 10x more than I did but that would not really be reasonable. If I could change anything, I’d give myself more time and energy so I could have finished a few more things.

Not sure if I learnt anything new, but I’ve definitely honed my craft, including being more familiar with knitting cables. I’ve also done a fair amount of felting, which was quite exciting and very scary but mostly turned out as planned. I do have some more felting I’d like to do.

My plans for the new year are rather lax as I don’t know when or if I will have more time to craft again. I’ll try to be happy with whatever I do manage to finish.

>10 PawsforThought: - Don't feel bad - we all wish we had more time and energy. (and a few extra hours in the day).

I'm fairly happy with my 2022 stitching. I didn't get to everything I wanted to for Christmas, but I have a feeling that will always be the case. There are just too many great designs out there. I'll roll those over into 2023 and just work on some of them as I have time. I couldn't get one project I really wanted because the distributor was always out. My LNS ordered it several times. If I see it for sale elsewhere, I'm just going to purchase it if they don't get it soon. They know I have the fabric and am dying to stitch it!

I learned the pin stitch for starting overdyed fibers or single threads where you can't use the loop method! It's so much easier than running a thread under.

I hope 2023 brings less problems with cross-stitch base fabric and fiber supplies so the fabric and floss dyers can get things out to us! I also hope for less shipping problems. I know Fox & Rabbit out of Australia has had a lot of trouble getting things in and out of Australia.

I'll be participating in WIPGO for the first time in 2023. (Details on my thread.) I set my goals for it pretty low overall because I want to be able to have time for stitching other things that strike my fancy too. Most of the ones that say "finish" are in process and should be able to reach a finish or are smalls. I also need to stitch a small for the smalls exchange at StitchCon which I'll be attending in Cincinnati in June. I'm looking forward to this event! It will be so much fun. I actually started it last night too. Both weekends of StitchCon sold out and the waiting list was filled in a very short time.

I resumed work on my long-term embroidery project in 2022. I completed my first bead embroidery project and have plans for the second. Overall, I'm satisfied with what I achieved given a busy life. The bead embroidery is new.

My goals for 2023 are to make the leather bag and attach the first bead embroidery project to it, complete the second bead embroidery project, continue to work on the big embroidery project--maybe I'll get to the halfway point this year! And maybe try sprang again after attending 2 different online classes in 2020.

Meh. I always have overly ambitious plans and always fall short. But the planning is all part of the fun, so I'm okay with it. Onward and upward!

ETA: I did learn how to crochet this year, so that was a big accomplishment, I guess!

>14 scaifea: Learning to crochet is definitely a big accomplishment! And you’ve been making super cute things with that new skill.

>14 scaifea: - But - wait! You made those cute mug cozies and the animals (I forgot the term - animiga? something like that). I thought those were great accomplishments.

>15 PawsforThought: Aw, thanks!

>16 dudes22: I did. See, that's where the overly ambitious plan thing kicks in; I wanted to do *more*. Silly brain.

Migosh you are all such an accomplished bunch! Lois, I have a quilt I must make for my SIL (fabric all gathered, so just the doing required), one for my brother in William Morris fabric (fabric also gathered), and a small quilt for the 4 season porch.

>18 tiffin: Hi Tui! Pull up a chair and sit a spell. Make a thread if you wish. I know for a fact that you, too, are "accomplished." We'd love to see your work!

ETA: silly me, I just saw that you have in fact created a thread. Off to visit it now.

Glad you have joined us, Tui! Now we have at least two Canadian provinces represented!

Thanks Laura and Lois. Where/who is the other Canadian province?

>21 tiffin: I'll answer that. MickyFine is in Alberta. SassyLassy has also hung out here in the past, and she's in Nova Scotia.

Thanks, Laura.

>13 justchris: How unique.

>14 scaifea: Learning something new is a great thing.

Looking back over 2022, I surprised myself in that I didn't do a single long-sleeved pullover (or cardigan), and those are my go-to projects!

I did do two baby blankets, four short-sleeved summery pullovers, and a shawl, and filled a Christmas request from my sister for knitted dishclothes (8) and felted potholders/trivets (12).

As for learning -- one of the baby blankets had sneaky increases inside cable crossings, and until I figured out I was misreading the charts (assuming they were just plain cable crossings), I couldn't figure out why my stitch count was off. I like the technique, though. The felting was ........ let's call it problematical. I sent a note in that package saying "Welcome to the Goldilocks Potholder Store", since some were too big, some were too small, and some were just right. It was the inconsistency that got to me. Pieces knitted identically with same yarn, same needle size, same number of stitches and number of rows, all machine-felted in the same batch, with wildly inconsistent results. I don't think that's a skill I'm going to pursue, since it has limited appeal for me.

Plans for the new year include getting the stash under control (HAH!) and maybe another colorwork pullover, plus whatever appeals to me. (Certainly more pullovers. I have one finished, one about a third done, and one in the final planning stage.) Maybe some socks, though I'm well supplied at the moment and nothing seems to be starting to have thin spots (knock wood).

I can safely predict it will be an adventure. I will buy more yarn even though I have PROMISED myself that I won't. Some projects will get frogged. Some will get put in time-out. Some may even be thrown on the floor in disgust. Some will turn out well. Some will ambush me out of nowhere and cause the total shutdown of all other knitting and most other activity until they are finished.

Happy crafting, all!

I love that last paragraph. I can relate to all of those situations!

Me too, Laura.

>22 lauralkeet: and I'm in British Columbia.

My 2022 had a number of unfinished projects, but I did complete a small shawl and several lap blankets. The lap blankets were knit with a plush blanket yarn, and were Christmas presents. The shawl used some lovely Fleece Artist yarn (tree wool) I picked up in Nova Scotia several years ago. I'm not sure I like how it turned out - mostly the size and shape, so I may end up ripping it out and knitting it into something else.

In 2023 I want to work on a couple of sweater projects. I am currently working on the second of two rather decorative pieces, that are somewhere between a shoulder cosy and a shawl, using some ribbon yarn picked up at a rummage sale (Lion Brand Trellis, rainbow colourway).