MickyFine's 2022 Projects

I'm Micky, 35, and completely fulfill the librarian stereotype as I wear glasses and cardigans and in my spare time I work on various fiber crafts. I do cross-stitch and crochet and have two large projects currently on the go: a cross-stitch Christmas tree skirt and a crochet temperature blanket for 2022. I'll probably post regular updates on both.

I'll probably post photo updates of the Christmas tree skirt as I complete pages of the pattern. The whole pattern is 14 8.5x11" pages although due to the nature of being a semi-circle on a large rectangle the actual pattern is more like 12 and a bit pages. I'm currently halfway through my second page but here's the photo I took after completing the first page:

Welcome, Micky! That's a lovely winter piece. And a cross stitch tree skirt; that will be something to see.

My other major project for 2022 is a crocheted temperature blanket. I'm using a corner-to-corner (C2C) pattern from Ravelry that should leave me with a lovely striped rainbow throw at the end of the year. I had to create my own temperature scale as temperatures where I live can swing from around -30C to over 30C during a year (-22F to 86F). I'll be recording the daily high temperature (I'm using Environment Canada data) in one of the colours below:



The lighter shade of purple is for -30C and below and then I have intervals of about 4-5 degrees for each colour up to the burnt orange colour which is for 31C and above. The yarn is Scheepjes Whirlette and I'm using a 2.75 mm hook. I'm planning to post monthly updates on my progress.

>4 MickyFine: Very interesting projwct

>3 avaland: >5 avaland: Thanks, Lois. I'm excited to see how both of them turn out.

Welcome Micky!

I’m very impressed with you cross-stitch project - I’d never have the patience needed for something like that. And the motive is lovely.

I’ve seen a few people make temperature blankets lately, they always look good. I look forward to seeing yours as it evolves.

Both those projects are very ambitious. I've seen a few quilts that are some a pattern that uses the daily temperature. I think each column represented the months with blocks in the column for the daily temp. (If I remember right).

>4 MickyFine: I had to check where you lived. Winnipeg and Edmonton were what sprang to mind right away, so it was a good guess!

I like the idea of a librarian making a tree book skirt. It will be lovely. I'll also be following along with your temperature project. Not much range here yet: 7.3, 8, -2C. Maybe it would be more dramatic here with wind chill values!

>9 SassyLassy: Why not? Do what works for you. I have similar temperature extremes here as Micky does and when I’ve considered doing a project like this, I’ve toyed with the idea of doing it based on the weather rather than temperature (fewer colours to keep track of) with different colours for sunny, cloudy, rain, snow, etc. Wind chill would work well, I think. Otherwise it’d just be a very nice blanket with a smaller colour range. Would still look nice.

Micky's here! Hurray!
I'm so glad you've joined this group, and I look forward to following your crafting adventures.

>7 PawsforThought: Thanks, Paws.

>8 dudes22: There are lots of variations on it for various crafts and even with crochet I looked at a few different options.

>9 SassyLassy: LOL. We've had a bit of a yo-yo here already. Blanket started out in a pale green as our highs were -8°C and -6°C but we're back into the -20s today so I'll be into the blues and purples I expected for January.

>10 PawsforThought: When I was looking at patterns there was one that gave the option of including silver thread on days there were precipitation. More finicky than I want to be but a cool idea.

>11 lauralkeet: *curtsies*

Oh, the temperature thing looks very cool! I had a friend who was working on a cross-stitch one with colored books on a shelf last year - I should ask her how it went.

>13 melannen: Ooh, a cross-stitch one would be cool too.

>12 MickyFine: I like that idea of silver thread for precipitation days. I have hooked snowflakes with silver wrapping thread, and have also used white yarn that incorporates silver threads. That might work in your blanket. There are also some beautiful pale grey yarns with silver, sort of like fog.

Started another crochet dishcloth this morning. I made 8 for my step-daughter for Christmas as she and her boyfriend are preparing to move out on their own for the first time. Now I can go back to making some for me, as the stash of cloth ones my grandmother gave me when I moved out on my own (10 years ago - I was slow to leave home) have started to grow holes. I use a pretty simple pattern (from Easy Crochet Dishcloths, which I borrowed from the library) but I love how it turns out. Plus I've made so many now, I barely have to look at it while I work on it once I've done the foundation rows. My current one is green but here's a white one I finished around Christmas:



For some reason LT keeps rotating the image. If you tilt your head, you'll see the vaguely flower-ish shape the stitch pattern results in.

>16 MickyFine: Lovely pattern! It looks suitably textured for scrubbing purposes, too.

>17 rosalita: Thanks, Julia. It does a solid job dealing with things that need a bit of scrubbing.

Ooh, I worked through that book for Christmas a couple of years ago (also from my library.) I loved that pattern too, a nice mix of texture and flexibility and it looks very intricate.

>19 melannen: I tried one other pattern from the book (using two strands together) but after doing a few rows, I realized I didn't love it and frogged it to use the yarn to make more of this pattern. :P

>20 MickyFine: You made the right choice, Micky. Always do what you like doing instead of carrying on with something you’re not keen on “just because”.

>20 MickyFine: Yeah, there were a few I didn't bother with because I don't really need a pattern to figure out "do three wide stripes in different colors" or "do a granny square".

I liked a lot of the single-color single-strand ones though, lots of things that felt like little variations on shell stitch that came out nice. (I was also using Sugar n' Cream worsted - in an attempt to yet again convince my relatives to actually use them and not put them aside as 'too nice' - so I suspect mine worked up a lot faster than yours. Yours looks incredibly delicate and lacy!)

>21 PawsforThought: Definitely the best approach to crafting.

>22 melannen: I use fingering weight (Scheepjes Catona cotton yarn), which now feels almost chunky in comparison with the yarn I'm using for my temperature blanket.

>16 MickyFine: Oh, I like that!

>24 avaland: Thanks!

Finished the second page of my cross-stitch pattern! Here's the work from that page:



And here's everything I've completed so far:

nice! very detailed!

That look really good, Micky! Amazing details.

That's coming together nicely, Micky. It's fun to see it presented the way you did: the page you just worked, and the entire piece.

Very nice!

That's really very nice.

Thanks all!

Amazing work. Do you use a magnifying glass over your stitching, or do you just have incredibly good eyesight?!

>33 SassyLassy: Just me and my eyeballs. :) This is 14-count aida, so it's not too fine on the spectrum of cross-stitch.

>26 MickyFine: I love that!

>35 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori. I'm loving it too. :)

First month of the temperature blanket complete! Coldest temperature was -28°C, warmest was 6°C (on 5 separate days!), and the most frequently used colour was avocado (for temperatures in the 1-5°C range). Not what I expected January to look like, but beautiful all the same.

Very nice! I like the corner to corner structure.

>37 MickyFine: What a great idea to start in a corner like that - much more interesting. The colours are working out really well.
That sounds like the kind of temperature range here this January (35 degrees or so of difference), although ours was somewhat warmer: -20C to 15C. The normal January low here is in the -1 to -5C range. I did live in Winnipeg for a couple of years though, so know what your winter is like!

>37 MickyFine: - That's really coming along nicely. I like that stitch.

>38 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. This is my third C2C blanket and I do like how it works up. That said this is definitely the finest thread I've used for it, which makes for a different crochet experience. :)

>39 SassyLassy: Thanks! Your temperature range is pretty crazy too. Normal lows of -1 to -5C does sound balmy. I had a job interview in Winnipeg in January once several years ago and it fully lived up to its reputation with windchills of -40C. According to the interwebs, our average low in January is supposed to be around -15C. I think this year, it was higher.

>40 dudes22: Thanks, Betty.

>37 MickyFine: That is a very interesting project!

>42 avaland: Thanks! I really enjoy the in-built randomness of the striping. The final look will be a surprise, which I find really fun.

>37 MickyFine: Love the colors. I made two temperature blankets a few years ago crocheting Granny squares; one for Minnesota and one for Texas. I have made quite a few C2C and except for all the tails, I like making them.
Your cross-stitch patterns are really pretty.

Oh wow! That's not how I was expecting those colors to show up in the blanket, but it looks really nice so far.

We had about a 30 deg C swing here over the month too, from -10 to 20, although never more than 15 in a single day (we may break that today though.)

>44 mnleona: The tails are definitely the biggest pain although with the stripes there's fewer than with some of the other C2C throw blankets I've made. I make myself weave in ends once a week on this blanket and that's been going pretty well.

>45 melannen: We're about to do a nearly 30° swing here too. The first few days of February have been -18°C but later next week they're predicting 10°C. Joys of this project is I'm now more weather obsessed than I already was, living in Canada. 😝

February is over and the blanket is growing. The coldest temperature was -20°C, the warmest was 9°C (on 4 separate days), and the most frequently used colour was rose (6-10°C). The stitch marker at the bottom edge of the blanket marks the end of January. I have a feeling the blanket will be wider than my kitchen table by the end of next month.

I love the way this is turning out, Micky. Your colours work really well together.

>47 MickyFine: This is probably a dumb question, but how do you know when to start decreasing the row lengths again? Is it 6 months of increasing, then 6 months of decreasing?

>48 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. I'm pretty pleased with how well the colours work together too. I was particularly delighted when I had a string of days where I went through the colour gradients from dark blue all the way up to pale green.

>49 rosalita: Not a dumb question at all, Julia! I'm using this pattern from Ravelry. The blanket is rectangular so I'll keep increasing until May 25, maintain the length of rows until August 9, and then start decreasing on August 10.

That makes a really interesting pattern. I like the way the colors work together.

>50 MickyFine: I was also wondering about when to decrease.
This should be pretty when finished.
I crocheted a Granny square temperature blanket a few years ago. My granddaughter got a lot of red for high temps being in Texas and my daughter got a lot of white for cold temps being in Minnesota.

>51 dudes22: Thanks, Betty. I have a feeling it'll be lots of greens and pinks for the next couple months although bursts of wintery temperatures through April (and sometimes even in May) are not unusual in my part of the world. It'll be interesting to see how the colours flow come late spring and early summer.

>52 mnleona: I looked at a granny square pattern that allowed for recording lows and highs but wasn't sure I wanted a blanket quite that large so I opted for this instead. Living where I do we get pretty big temperature swings so I had to adapt my own colour scale to suit it so I'll get doses of both blues and reds. :)

Ooh, greens and pinks through spring will be lovely!

>53 MickyFine: They are large and heavy. I may look at doing one next year what you are doing.

>54 melannen: I'm hoping so.

>55 mnleona: Because it's a thin cotton blend yarn that I'm using the blanket will definitely be a summer weight when it's done. However, I did a test snuggle against my face the other night and it will definitely be cozy all the same. :)

Finished another page on the Christmas tree skirt!



Here's how the whole thing looks now:

It's lovely! I really like that skirt, but it is an ambitious project!

very nice!

>58 thornton37814: I do love to take on big projects. :)

>59 al.vick: Thank you!

That's looking gooood! Is it going to be round?

>57 MickyFine: How pretty! I admire your work and your ambition. How many pages are there in total? Do any images repeat or is it a continuous scene? It will be delightful to take in the whole when it is complete.

That is so pretty. It tells a story.

>61 dudes22: Thanks, Betty! It will end up being a semi-circle, yes.

>62 beebeereads: Thank you. The patten is technically 14 pages but it actually works out to 12 and a bit with the semi-circle of it all. And yes, it is a continuous scene.

>63 mnleona: Yes, I'm quite pleased with all the details that are worked into it.

The Christmas Tree skirt just keeps getting better! I love all the detail, too.

>65 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura!

The Christmas skirt is really coming along! Will you be doing something a bit more spring-ish in the coming months or are you determined to get the the skirt finished?

>67 avaland: Nah, I usually stick with a project until it's done. I made cross-stitch Christmas stockings for most of 2020 and doing snowy scenes in July didn't bother me so it's not my first time of being out of season. :)

>68 MickyFine: Sounds like a plan :-)

Another page completed. It was really half a page and a lot of half-stitching so it worked up quickly.



And the whole thing as it looks now. There's finally the hint of the curve on the left that indicates this will eventually be a semi-circle.

gorgeous!

That's looking great!

That's really lovely...and so much work!!

I really appreciate how much work goes into this project...lovely!

You are really making rapid progress. I wish I had enough time to do that. I'm hoping to finish one project during an online conference today. I'm monitoring things at both work and on the conference so I'll mostly have the conference screen up with "dings" in my headset for other things needing attention.

Thank you all for your kind comments! *glows*

>75 thornton37814: I think progress will probably slow down as my temperature blanket gets wider. It's just going to take longer to do each row, which leads to less cross-stitch time. But we shall see. :)

Temperature blanket progress as of March 31. This is definitely the last month the blanket will fit on the kitchen table. The coldest temperature was -8°C (on 4 separate days), the warmest was 18°C, and the most frequently used colour was rose (6-10°C).

>77 MickyFine: I am really enjoying seeing this come together. How long is your longest row at this point? Are you able to estimate the finished measurements of the blanket?

>77 MickyFine: - I'm going to echo Laura - I really enjoy seeing this at the end of each month.

>78 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. It's currently 98 cm (38.5") wide, which means it should end up being about 158 cm (62") by 240 cm (94.5"). So bigger than your standard throw but still smaller than a single/twin blanket.

>79 dudes22: Thanks so much, Betty.

>80 MickyFine: Thanks Micky.

Returned to the office this week and finally got to hang the cross-stitch pieces I made to brighten up the very boring chunk of white wall that's right next to my desk. The patterns are all from Lit Stitch, which is a fun collection particularly for this group.

>82 MickyFine: Oh, those are fun!

>82 MickyFine: I love those pieces, Micky!

>82 MickyFine: - What a great way to cheer up your office area.

Thank you, Julia, Laura, and Betty. It definitely livens up my corner. My cubicle wall on the other side already had a bunch of posters and things pinned to it, so now it's not quite so stark a difference between one side of my desk and the other. :)

>82 MickyFine: Those pieces look great there!

>87 avaland: Thanks so much.

I agree with everyone else that the little embroideries look great! Must make the working day easier.

>89 PawsforThought: Thanks, Paws. They do make me smile every time I glance over to that side of my desk.

Blanket update now that April is over. The coldest temperature was -4°C, the warmest was 21°C, and the most frequently used colour was grapefruit (11-15°C). I also finally used up a whole ball of yarn (rose, for those keeping track).

I love the colors you've picked for your temps. It's interesting to see the changes.

Nice! And it looks like it has indeed outgrown your table. Did you have to lay it on the floor for the photo?

>92 dudes22: Thanks, Betty. May will probably be a fair amount of light pink, white, and maybe some yellow so that should really change the look of it.

>93 lauralkeet: Yup, this is the floor in my library. Next month it may have to go on the floor in the basement as there's more space for it to spread out. I should definitely be able to blanket burrito in it when it's finished. :)

Finished another page of the tree skirt pattern today!


The latest page.


The bigger picture.

>95 MickyFine: - That's so nice. I can remember doing some that were intricate like that when I was still doing cross-stitch. Now I marvel at others and wonder how I did it.

>94 MickyFine: You are making progress!

nice!

Thank you all!

I'm a little behind so I just finished the row for May 31 yesterday (June 2). The coldest temperature was 7°C, the warmest was 23°C, and the most frequently used colour was ice (16-20°C). I completely used up a ball of both grapefruit (pale pink) and ice (white). If you look closely at the bottom right corner, you'll see the hints of the rectangle this blanket will be, as I started maintaining the diagonal on May 26. The tape measure I had handy this morning wasn't quite long enough to measure the width of the blanket, but I lay down on the floor next to it and it's roughly as wide as I am tall (5'3"), for those who are curious.

That's really looking good!. I love the randomness of the colors. And they look so good together no matter how wide the stripes are.

>101 dudes22: Thanks, Betty! It's funny that I picked colours that would gradient pretty well but, of course, the temperature around here tends to hop around a bit while trending up (or down for later this year). I've been pleased with how well all the colours have blended even if they aren't smoothly going from one colour to the next.

I agree with Betty, the colors blend nicely. I can see where you might expect more of a gradient but I guess now you've also learned something about your weather, ha. Anyway, the blanket looks great. And as someone who is an even 5' tall, I too am accustomed to measuring things in body lengths so that made me smile.

>103 lauralkeet: LOL It's a handy way to measure things, I agree.

After the heartbreaking realization on Friday night that I'd miscounted and had to frog a few rows, I finally completed the rows for June on Sunday (July 3). The coldest temperature was 15°C, the warmest temperature was 25°C (on two separate days), and the most frequently used colour was Banana (21-25°C). Unsurprisingly, I used up a skein each of Ice and Banana.

Also pictured is Smee, who was super helpful while I was trying to take this picture, LOL.

I guess half-way there. I like the varieties of the stripes.

>105 MickyFine: Micky, your blanket is looking great. On Saturday, I was catching up on LT threads after vacation. If you can believe it, I actually visited this thread and your 75 in hopes of seeing your monthly photo! I'm sorry you had to frog a few rows. You must have been crocheting like a maniac to get back on track.

Is Banana your warmest color?

>105 MickyFine: I've had to frog a little on my cross-stitch project, but fortunately not too much.

>106 dudes22: Yup, officially halfway. It's pretty exciting to be on the downhill. :)

>107 lauralkeet: Aww, sorry to be late, Laura. I'm currently 2.5 rows behind (not including the row for today), which is where I've been hovering lately. I'll catch up for a bit but then various life things happen, I get less crochet time, and I'm behind again.

I actually have two more colours beyond Banana. They're forecasting a warmer than average July for my area so you'll see one if not both of them in the next monthly update, I think.

>108 thornton37814: Cross-stitch frogging is harder, I find. The embroidery floss is so much more fragile that I often end up with frayed or broken threads if I have to do a bunch. Glad to hear you only had to do a tiny bit, Lori.

>109 MickyFine: Oh my, no need to apologize Micky! I'm impressed you're able to keep up as well as you are.

>109 MickyFine: Most of it has actually been because I found a tiny wad on the back side a few stitches back that I want to correct or a stitch that doesn't appear to be laying properly--so it's only a single stitch or maybe two. I'm really trying to make the backs look nice. I didn't even run threads between letters on this current one.

>105 MickyFine: Really enjoying watching your temperature blanket evolve. I may be tempted to do this next year, but it would be a bias knit, as I have no idea how to crochet. We do have a good temperature range here for a project like this (probably about five degrees warmer at each end than yours).

>111 thornton37814: Impressive. I try to keep my backsides tidy but I've never strived for that level.

>112 SassyLassy: Thanks so much! It's a very fun project although I will admit I'm really looking forward to having the rows start getting smaller next month. There are a ton of outlines for temperature blanket options on both Ravelry and Pinterest so I'm sure you could find some cool knitting options.

>113 MickyFine: I'm not nearly as obsessed as some people are. I don't think I could make mine reversible if I tried, but I can loop start and bury thread ends.

>105 MickyFine: That really is a clever and wondrous project. I'd not heard of it before.

>115 avaland: Thanks, Lois! I had seen a few of these floating around Pinterest and I'm glad I tried it for myself but it is definitely an undertaking. I've seen some people who made it for anniversary or birth year, so there's lots of cool things you can document with it if the idea tickles your fancy.

July is done and it definitely has more colour variation than June. The coldest temperature was 14°C (on two separate days), the warmest temperature was 31°C (also on two separate days), and the most frequently used colour was Banana (21-25°C). Given its frequent use, it's not a huge surprise I used up 2 skeins of Banana this month.

Going to shout out a pattern book I borrowed from the library this week and now plan to purchase for my own use. Almost every pattern in Modern Crochet Sweaters, I would make/wear and I love that it's size inclusive (XS-5X). Plus, the designer, Janine Myska, is Canadian. Just in case anyone's looking for some crochet ideas...

>117 MickyFine: Look at all that yellow! I just love watching this evolve.

>118 MickyFine: That looks like a great book although well beyond my abilities. I'll stick to knitting for sweaters! Is it just me, or are there fewer patterns/designers of crocheted garments out there (vs blankets, toys, etc.)?

>119 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura! It is really fun to see what pattern of stripes I end up with every month.

There aren't tons of pattern books for garments using crochet outside of scarves, mitts, and toques, it's true. I think some it is there's just more demand for knitting books in general (I know for my library I always have to order several more copies of knitting books than I do for any other fibre art to keep up with demand). Crochet books might just suffer from the perception that there's a less avid market (although that's pure speculation).

>117 MickyFine: A friend in Cincinnati is doing the temperature chart in cross stitch. She was commenting at how many reds and oranges she had for July, but she did comment that it appeared yellow days were in the forecast.

>121 thornton37814: It's fun how invested in weather forecasts you get when working on a project like this.

>117 MickyFine: That is amazing.

>123 avaland: Thanks so much, Lois!

I like that banana color. It will be a cheerful center of the throw.

>125 dudes22: I agree, Betty. I'm so delighted with how the colours have blended. While I worked to make sure the colours graded pretty smoothly from one temperature range to the next, it's nice to see them working so well as a cohesive whole. Even when temperatures jump over whole ranges/colours.

Nice to see your blanket coming along, Micky!

>127 PawsforThought: Thanks, Paws!

Finished the August rows last night. Definitely the hottest month so far. The coldest temperature was 18°C (on two separate days), the warmest was 32°C, and the most frequently used colour was Sizzle (26-30°C). Used up a whole skein of Sizzle (red) this month and a second is nearing its end.

Micky, this is looking so good! I commented on your 75 thread but only on a second sighting did I notice that the rows are now getting shorter. Hopefully that will make it easier to keep up!

I love the way those colors move - it's so interesting with the unequal amounts of color.

>130 lauralkeet: Yup I'm finally in that sweet, sweet decreasing zone. Looking forward to when blanket rows won't be the only craft I have in the evenings or on weekends.

>131 dudes22: Thanks, Betty. I'm curious to see how September will look. I'm traveling and planning to do the local temperatures and the long range forecast right now is pretty consistent for a week+. Might be a very solid white stripe in there next time.

The folks doing the temperature charts for cross stitch also commented on how "red" their August charts were.

Some of you know that I recently returned from a trip to Newfoundland. One of the things on my must-purchase list was some locally-dyed yarn and I was so delighted with what I found:


(Dyer's photo, not mine)

I bought two skeins of Wild Partridgeberries and I've got a scarf pattern picked out in Ravelry that I think will do it justice.

For those curious, the dyer is Windswept Fibres and Design. They specialize in Newfoundland inspired colours. I bought the yarn at Wool Trends in St. John's, which is a super cute and well-organized shop and was literally only a block away from the Airbnb where my husband I were staying.

That yarn is to die for. The color is gorgeous and it looks wonderfully squishy.

gorgeous color!

Love that color!

>135 lauralkeet: It's such lovely shades of red, Laura, it grabbed my eye immediately. And it's got a good squish to it too.

>136 al.vick: >137 dudes22: I love it too! 😍

Three weeks in another province and still stayed on track with my temperature blanket. Woot! The coldest temperature was 12°C (thanks, L'Anse aux Meadows) and the warmest was 31°C (thanks, Labour Day weekend heatwave at home). The most frequently used colour was Ice (16-20°C) and I used up a skein each of Banana and Ice. I've got a whole bunch of ends to weave in though. Sigh.

Congratulations on keeping up with your blanket during vacation. I guess some of those colors you used in the beginning will return soon?

I find this so interesting. You've picked great colors.

>139 MickyFine: It looks great! Something I've always wondered about these temperature blankets: When you are away from home like that, do you use the temperatures of where you are or the temperatures from back home?

>134 MickyFine: I envy you your trip to Newfoundland, it's high on my list of places to go before I die.

>139 MickyFine: That really is the coolest thing. It's turning out wonderfully.

>140 lauralkeet: In theory, yes, I should be headed back towards pinks and greens but we're having an abnormally warm October so far so we'll see how it turns out.

>141 dudes22: Thanks, Betty.

>142 rosalita: It's really up to the crafter, Julia. I opted to do the temperature of where I was while we were away.

>143 avaland: It's a beautiful island, Lois, and highly deserving of its place on your travel bucket list. And thank you for the kind words on my blanket. :)

>142 rosalita: I have a friend doing the temperature chart in cross-stitch. She lives in Cincinnati and is using home for all--even if she's away.

>144 MickyFine: >145 thornton37814: Thanks for the information. I think it's great that people can do what suits their own preferences.

>139 MickyFine: Loving the way this is going.

I'm already trying to work out a colour scheme for next year. I was wondering about that question of the temperature where you actually are on a given day versus the temperature where you live, but I guess the temperature where you are is the one that's most important to you.

L'anse aux Meadows is amazing. I only got as far up the peninsula as Woody Point this year.

>147 SassyLassy: Thanks.

Picking colours is definitely a big part of the fun.

It was a long drive to L'Anse aux Meadows but so worth it. Plus we got plenty of gorgeous views on the way up there.

So now that the daily rows on the temperature blanket are starting to get less time consuming, you'd think I'd devote the free crafting time to my cross-stitch tree skirt. Ha!

Yesterday I had the brilliant brain wave of making toques for my brother's kiddos (henceforth referred to as the niblings) for Christmas with the abundance of yarn I have leftover from a blanket I made in 2020-21. There are 4 niblings so it's a fair size project. I bought a couple patterns in Ravelry and started the first of the toques yesterday. I'm trying to challenge myself a little so these are rated intermediate for crochet skills (so far, all is well). The first hat uses puff stitches, which I have to say are pretty fun to do. Photos as hats are completed, I promise.

>149 MickyFine: I'd love to see that tree skirt! I need to stitch my Britty Kitty Christmas stocking, but it's going to be a 2023 project, I think.

Looking forward to the hat pictures. I'm sure the niblings will appreciate their gifts.

>150 thornton37814: There isn't much exciting progress beyond what's in >95 MickyFine:. Mostly just more sky and the beginning of some trees.

>151 PawsforThought: Thanks, Paws. I hope they like them. :)

Ok friends, I have questions about how you select yarn for your stash. My Mom and I are going to the Edmonton Fibre Frolic next month (which has the best name ever), and while there are workshops, we're just going to look at and buy yarn on the vendor floor. However, this is really my first time going yarn shopping without a specific project in mind. So how do you all decide how much yarn to buy when you fall in love with something but have no project to go with it? Most of the vendors will be hand dyers so in many cases, I may not be able to track down more of the same later if I run out. I'm really curious about how others approach this kind of scenario.

>153 MickyFine: Oh those fibre frolics! The ones I have been to are called Woolstock, which is also fun.

As to your question: I have a good idea of how much yarn of a given ply it will take to make a given sweater size. For example, if the yarn is a standard 2 ply sport kind of weight, and I want to make a pullover, I will opt for 5X100 g skeins. Lately I have switched to length as my gauge for how much I will need, so for example a pullover might take 1300 m. This allows me to use odd length skeins, which many hand dyers and spinners create, as I can easily figure out how many balls of say 250m length I need.

I'd suggest looking at a few patterns you like in your size. Even if they are not what you are going to make, they will give you an idea of how much is required for an equivalent item. Then, go armed with the weight of yarn required and the yardage, and then buy an extra ball "just in case". That guarantees you won't need the extra ball, but there are all kinds of things you can do with it.

One thing I do notice is that often there will be a beautiful piece displayed in a gorgeous yarn. You can't wait to buy the yarn and make the item, but then discover the pattern is on Ravelry. Nothing against Ravelry, but often the item was made from a pattern several years ago, and that pattern is no longer available. Checking for the pattern on site is not a bad idea.

If you see something you absolutely have to have that costs the moon and the sun and the stars, there are beautiful scarf and shawl patterns out there which don't take much, and failing that there are always wristers or boot cuffs!

Lastly, if you love it, others will too, so act quickly!

Sorry for the lengthy answer, but I get excited just thinking about these events.

PS The Interpretations knitting series has lots of good patterns for guidelines.

>154 SassyLassy: this is excellent advice. I rarely buy yarn without a project in mind, because I get anxious about making a poor decision (like having almost but not quite enough). But the root cause of my anxiety is not being prepared. Planning is key, as Sassy said. Know roughly how much you need for a sweater, a hat, a shawl, etc. (and know those amounts for different yarn weights)*. Then when you get home you can look for patterns that call for the same weight of yarn in the yardage you have.

* Somewhere I have a fold-out guide to this very thing. Can I find it now, or when I need it? No. Sigh.

>153 MickyFine: Oh, that sounds like so much fun! I hope you and your mum have a great time!

I’m afraid I’m not much help - I only very rarely buy yarn without a specific project planned, and when I do (like at a market) I buy for socks or other small projects. I wouldn’t dare buy for a big project without a plan.

>154 SassyLassy: Extraordinarily helpful, thank you!

>155 lauralkeet: I've saved a version of this to my phone:



>156 PawsforThought: Thanks, Paws! We're looking forward to it.

Finished the first of the toques for the niblings! The colour isn't quite right in this photo, it's more of a forest green than this makes it look but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

>158 MickyFine: That's a very nice pattern, Micky! Lovely texture.

>157 MickyFine: That’s a great chart! I’m going to save it, too. Should work well even here, since the difference between yards and meters is in my favour.

>158 MickyFine: It looks really nice! Is that a fan pattern?

>158 MickyFine: - I like that hat. Nibling should be pleased.

>157 MickyFine: Yes! That's just the thing! Thanks for sharing it, Micky.

>155 lauralkeet: >157 MickyFine: Thanks

>157 MickyFine: What a great chart!

>158 MickyFine: What a fun toque, and it looks warm too.

>158 MickyFine: The toque looks so soft and warm!

>159 rosalita: Thanks, Julia!

>160 PawsforThought: It's pretty handy as charts go. The hat uses a puff stitch, which is pretty fun to do, I must say.

>161 dudes22: I hope so.

>162 lauralkeet: Happy to share, Laura!

>163 SassyLassy: Thanks! I'm hoping it'll be cozy. It's too small for me to check on my own head. :P

>164 lesmel: Thanks!

>158 MickyFine: Great hat!

>166 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori!

Time for another temperature blanket update!



The coldest temperature was 4°C and the warmest was 25°C. The most frequently used colour was Ice (16-20°C) and as a result, I used up another skein of Ice this month as well. Environment Canada says we're in for a colder than average November though, so expect some different colours as I narrow to the final corner.

I can't get over how fun that looks.

I love it, Micky! You're in the home stretch now. I'm curious to see how similar the final segment will be to the beginning.

>169 dudes22: Aww, thanks so much!

>170 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura! Well winter arrived quite decidedly yesterday so we're definitely head back into blues and greens for the next week at least.

>158 MickyFine: That's an adorable hat!

>168 MickyFine: That blanket is amazing! Now big is it? (so hard to tell from a photo)

>171 MickyFine: Heard about your winter arrival, but didn't want to mention it!

I'm having fun planning the colour range for mine for 2023 after following your progress this year. It's the only thing that has me looking forward to January! I don't think I will have quite the range of temperatures, especially at the lower end, but who knows in this wonky world of changing weather.

>172 avaland: Thanks, Lois. Started hat #2 yesterday. As for the blanket, it's on the large end for a throw blanket. It's about 5'3" wide (based solely on the fact that it's about as wide as I am tall) and is probably pushing 8' long.

>173 SassyLassy: Ah it's all good as I like having snow for my birthday (it's in a couple days). Ooh, have fun plotting your own temperature project. I'm having a great time with mine but probably won't tackle one again for a long time. :)

Toque #2 is complete!



Pleased with how it looks in the cream and also delighted with the new tags I ordered from a maker on Etsy. Suede leather with my initials on the front and Hand Made by {my name} on the back.

Started the third toque this morning and I'm attempting stripes of the green and cream and looking forward to seeing how that turns out.

Oooh very nice Micky! I love the tags too. Do they just snap on (no sewing required)? They add a nice touch.

>176 lauralkeet: No sewing required at all, happily. They're a rivet style so I just stick the post through and then screw in the attaching back piece. Quick and easy!

I had a lot of crafting time this weekend and wrapped up toque #3. The seam in the back between colour transitions for each row is a bit more visible than I'd like but I still am quite pleased with how it looks.

Went to the Fibre Frolic with my mom today and had a grand time. Picked up the gauge frame and the yarn sizing keychain at the show. I also fell in love with the yarn colour at the booth from a yarn store that turns out to be in my town. The booth only had 3 skeins and I needed 5 for my intended project. So after we stopped for lunch, we went to visit their storefront location which is adorable. They have both yarn and a coffee shop and I was able to get the skeins I needed, a hook for the project, and I was gifted the button by a staff member who had brought in extras she knew she'd never use. I'll definitely be going back.

Great haul, Micky! That yarn sizing thing is brilliant - I've never seen anything like it (possibly because we don't use the same way to measure yarn size/width).
And the yarn is gorgeous - it looks like the northern lights! Can't wait to see what you do with it.

I'm not a knitter anymore, but I have a friend that I could gift that sizing thingy to. Can you tell me who makes it?

ETA: Oh - and I love the hat.

Oooh you did well at the Fiber Frolic! You can never have too many notions, IMO. I actually have two little bags with roughly similar contents so the notions I use most can live in two different project bags as needed. Plus it was an excuse to buy more notions and cute little bags.

And THAT YARN. Gorgeous. Do you have a project in mind?

>182 lauralkeet: I'm on the lookout for a nice pen case or similar type bag to use for notions. I figure I can move the case/bag between the project bags when I grab one to bring with me.

>180 PawsforThought: Thanks, Paws. I really love the colour too and it's 100% Merino so it feels LUSCIOUS.

>181 dudes22: It's from Maple and Rose. I've linked straight in to their yarn related products but they do laser engraving of wood for all kinds of stuff.

>182 lauralkeet: Both my mom and I came away with the same notions because they're just so handy. And there were a few different sellers who had all sorts of project bags available (and one who also had book cozies in their stash, which was super tempting).

And yes, I do have a project picked out for the yarn. Meet the Peyton vest (a design from Tinderbox on Ravelry):

Ooh nice!

And the last of the toques for the niblings is complete. I think I put the solid stripe a bit too high but it doesn't bug me enough to frog it and redo. 😝

I'm sure it won't make a difference. Like that pattern.

>187 dudes22: Thanks, Betty. It's a cute design and it works up pretty quickly, which is also a bonus. :)

My parents gave me a gift card for my birthday to a local yarn store earlier this month and I used up some of it yesterday. I needed a new crochet hook (I have tons of hooks and yet every time I pick a project, somehow I don't have the right size) and then I picked up these two tools, which are so cool, I had to share.



Like the snap bracelets of my youth, this one has a magnet on it that can be used as a needle minder (so handy).



This stitch/row counter is super cute and has a magnet on the back so that you can attach it to the snap bracelet.

Pretty neat, eh? :)

>189 MickyFine: I’ve been eyeing a magnetic bracelet for months but haven’t got around to purchasing yet. It’s such a great idea! I feel it would be good for both sewing (needles, like you said) and knitting (cable needles, stitch markers, etc.)

That's so cute!

>179 MickyFine: What a catch! Those are gorgeous colors.

>189 MickyFine: The wrist needle minder looks interesting....

I like your hats. That was a nice birthday gift. Happy Birthday.

>189 MickyFine: Cute gifts.

>190 PawsforThought: I'm finding it super handy already!

>191 lauralkeet: I love when something is cute AND functional.

>192 avaland: Thanks, Lois. I'm hoping to start working with that yarn soon. And I'm really loving the needle minder bracelet so far, especially now that I've found that putting it a little higher on my forearm than right at the wrist is more comfortable for me. :)

>193 mnleona: Thanks, Leona.

>195 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori.

The end draws nigh! The coldest temperature was -16°C and the warmest was 7°C. The most frequently used colour was Avocado (1-5°C) and I used up the last bit of a skein each of Avocado and Kiwi. Looking forward to what the final corner will bring (and itching to make other things 😝).

I love that blanket, and have been inspired to make one of my own. I live in Los Angeles, which wouldn't generate lots of color/temp variety, so I think I might make one to represent the year I was born, in the more variable climate of northern Vermont.

I'm fascinated by how this looks.

Wow, the end is truly in sight! I thought the last corner would be more like the first. It's really interesting to see the changes over the year.

>200 lauralkeet: - I thought that too.

>197 MickyFine: Bought my wool this past weekend, and am almost looking forward to colder January temperatures so that I can get started! I check the temperature every day just to get some idea of how it will look. I see there are extreme cold warnings out for Alberta, so it may start looking more like the beginning sooner than you would like!
I understand how you would like to get on with other things though.

>198 KeithChaffee: Great idea about doing the Vermont temperatures.

>198 KeithChaffee: If you got super granular with temperature changes (a degree or two per colour) that might make it more variable for LA? But doing it for your birth year/location is also a great idea!

>199 dudes22: Thanks, Betty.

>200 lauralkeet: >201 dudes22: It was definitely a weird autumn weather-wise as it was warm quite late into the year for us so it's definitely not going to be a balanced look.

>202 SassyLassy: Exciting! And yup, there was some dark blue for yesterday.

Discovered last night that I started reducing a day too early and I'm going to finish the blanket on the 30th rather than the 31st. *face palm*

>202 SassyLassy: Are you going to do a border? Maybe that will be for the end of the year? I really like the colors and pattern.

>204 mnleona: I think you meant this for >197 MickyFine: as it is her colours and pattern you can see.
However, when I do mine next year, I will do a border when it's finished, so I guess we're looking at January 2024. Yikes! I usually don't know what I'm doing later tomorrow let alone more than a year from now.

Finished the toque for me today. Just washed my hair this morning and don't want to smoosh the curls trying it on but I'm pleased with how it turned out.

>206 MickyFine: Love that - I'm sure it will do you in good stead this winter. What is the yarn?

Also, I meant to ask about >203 MickyFine:, using the wrong day to start decreasing. Should it be August 10th? I think I wrote down August 9th from a post of yours way above.

Oooh I love the toque too. That yarn adds a nice pop of color.

>207 SassyLassy: It's Manos del Uruguay Franca in Black Forest. It's a bulky Superwash Merino so it's quite cozy.

And yes, reducing should have begun August 10.

>208 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura!

Completed the final finishing touches on my vest this evening and I'm super pleased with the results.



Pattern: Peyton Vest from Tinderbox
Yarn: Malabrigo Rasta in Solis
Hook: 15 mm

Very nice Micky! That's a really interesting pattern and the yarn worked up beautifully.

Well done Micky! The colour of the yarn is gorgeous and suits you really well!

I love the color and it looks so good on you.

>211 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura! It's a pretty easy pattern to crochet and being super bulky yarn, it worked up super fast.

>212 PawsforThought: >213 dudes22: Thank you, both!

I'm with Betty, that's great work and it a great color on you!

>215 avaland: Thank you so much.

I wore the vest to the office today and have gotten a bunch of compliments on it and the extra glow of being able to say, "Thanks, I made it." has been lovely.

Started a new crochet project today as the end for the blanket gets ever closer. Making a poncho for myself that will probably live in my work from home office space. Hoping it will be a) cozy for my chilly basement and b) an easy thing to throw over whatever shirt I've got on so I can look professional for short notice video calls. 😆

I'm using the Uptown Poncho pattern from CrochetDreamz on Ravelry. I did my gauge swatch last weekend, which came out perfect (yay). I'm using a cream coloured yarn for it so it should turn out pretty similar to the sample photo:

Ooh, that's really pretty. Have you chosen buttons yet? Will you go with ones similar to those in the pattern (looks like wood tones) or something different?

>217 MickyFine: Are ponchos back in style again? That's lovely (much better than what I had in the 70s!)

That's going to be very pretty.

>217 MickyFine: That's a great pattern! Are the buttons functional or decorative?

>218 lauralkeet: I haven't picked buttons yet but am leaning towards wooden ones. Going to have to see what I can find.

>219 avaland: I don't know about back in style but I'm happy to wear it, lol.

>220 dudes22: Thanks, Betty. I hope so.

>221 rosalita: The buttons are purely decorative on this one.

Not quite done here as I do plan to post final photos of the temperature blanket, which I'll finish today, but the link to my 2023 thread is below. :)

>223 MickyFine: Looking forward to it, and quite excited about starting mine next week.

>224 SassyLassy: Excited to see how your project turns out!

The temperature blanket is officially complete!

In December, the coldest temperature was -31°C, the warmest was -2°C (on 4 separate days), and the most frequently used colour was Kiwi (-4-0°C).

Over the course of the year, I used every colour at least once and used approximately 7,735 m of yarn (yes, over 7 km - it shocked me too). Final dimensions roughly 5 feet wide and 8 feet long.

Yarn: Scheepjes Whirlette
Hook: 2.75 mm
Pattern: Adapted from C2C Temperature Blanket by Esther Dijkstra on Ravelry

Well done, Micky. The blanket looks amazing. Thanks for posting the close-up too. Like a doofus I imagined it would look like knitting so it's nice to see what the stitches actually look like. I'm impressed that you stuck with it through the entire year. And 7km of yarn is pretty impressive.

>227 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura! I'm really happy with how it turned out. ❤️

I like this a lot too. At first, I was a little surprised that it wasn't more symmetrical, but then I realized that Jan-Mar here is much colder than Oct-Dec, so that makes sense. I've even been looking at various quilting patterns for temperature quilts.

>229 dudes22: Thank you, Betty. We had weird weather this year, which made it less symmetrical than I anticipated too. We had a longish cold snap in April and our September and October were unusually warm. It's fun to see what the year was like this way.

If you tackle a temperature quilt I'll be fascinated to see what it turns out like for you.

Thanks so much for posting the final picture - it looks great! I'm revising my colour scheme, having decided that I don't need a colour for -20 and below, with luck not even for -15 and below. Then I was missing the colour for 10 - 15C, and tomorrow it is supposed to be 11, so moving the colour gradient up to now start at -15 for the lowest high, fills in that gap.

>231 SassyLassy: Looking forward to seeing how your project turns out!