I took advantage of a few days off to organize my proejcts for 2022 and start a few things:
I cast on for a pair of plain vanilla socks, using a self-striping sock yarn from Desert Vista Dyeworks. The colorway is Halley’s Comet, and it’s alternating stripes of a dark blue and a lightly speckled paler pink/blue. We watched the newest James Bond film last night and I cruised along on these so I’ve just got a couple more stripes to knit and then I’ll pop in a Fish Lips Kiss heel. I pulled a pale pink mini to use for heels and toes on these. This week I’d like to get the heel turned and at least start on the foot.
I also started a new spinning project. (I did finish up the previous one but I’ll have a separate post on that finished handspun laster this week. I was gifted 4 oz of a dark charcoal gray Finnsheep roving from my friend, Jen, at Blaine Fleece and Fiber from her wether, Garnet. I’ve started on the first 2 oz of singles and enjoyed spending some time in front of the fire spinning these up. I’d like to get these first 2 oz spun this week and then start on the second bobbin’s worth for next week.
Finally, I started working towards my 22,000 stitch goal on my full coverage cross-stitch pieces with A Stitching Shelf. This is a full coverage cross-stitch piece, meaning every square in the fabric is covered with a stitch (so it’s more like needlepoint in the density of stitches aspect). You can see the original image here. The artwork is by Aimee Stewart – I love her amazingly detailed art (and you’ll see another one of her images in cross-stitch later this year), and this was the first piece of full coverage stitching I fell in love with. Last year I finished up the first tier of stitching (which was just over 56,000 stitches – this is a huge piece).
This year, I’m starting on the next tier down, underneath the left-hand corner, and added in a few hundred stitches yesterday. I’ll be focusing on this one for the first 10 days of January.
That’s it for me for today. I hope everyone is enjoying some crafting time for the first weekend of 2022!
Knit One, Spin Too 
OMG!!!!!! That needle craft is beautiful, amazing, no words!!! Your socks sound fun. Sounds like 2022 is off to a great start.
LOL – thank you. It’s kind of an epic project at a full yard of fabric wide but it is fun to work on, even if it will take me forever and a year to finish. 🙂
Wow! That is quite the cross stitch. It’s a beautiful picture, such detail! It’s going to be gorgeous.
Thanks! I love her art and am excited to have this one to enjoy on my wall….someday…….
that stitching project is EPIC! truly a work of art!
LOL because I use “epic” all the time to describe the weird things I enjoy. This definitely qualifies!
Sounds like a great week. That cross stitch project is amazing! I can’t wait to see what progress you make on it this year.
It was! And thank you – I’m waffling a bit between focusing on this one or one other (much smaller) piece as a monthly one. I still haven’t decided which will get more time but I’ll be working on them both this month, so I’ve got a while longer to make a final decision.
Your cross stitch project is simply amazing Anne and will be so beautiful when finished! Love your socks and gorgeous spinning.
Thank you so much, Tina! 🙂
The cross stitch looks good, as do the socks and the spinning. I’m looking forward to seeing your progress in 10 days!
Thank you! And happy new year!
That craft is so absolutely stunning!! I cannot wait to see the finished version. Good luck!!!
Ah… thank you! It’ll be a while but someday I’ll actually have it done!
The yarn for your socks is really pretty. The cross stitch!!!!! Yowser. It is gorgeous. It will be a real showstopper when finished.
Thank you! I’m looking forward to that day.. far in the future… when it is actually done! 🙂
I love vanilla socks in a self-striping yarn! They are so fun and relaxing to knit. 🙂 Your other projects look wonderful, too. I look forward to seeing more of them.
They are that and perfect to watch a movie while knitting. 🙂 Hope you had a good New Year holiday.
Plus, I love watching color-changing yarn do its magic. 🙂
Wow that needle point is amazing. Your commitment to it is humbling. I love those striped socks so far, very pretty yarn.
I used to say it was my nursing home project to carry into my ancient retirement. However, I have another piece I’ve started (same artist) but a bit bigger, so now I definitely need to work on a dual-lifetime or something.
Your cross-stitch piece is amazing! At my age, I doubt if I would live long enough to finish something that huge. It is beautiful. The yarn that you spun is wonderful. There is nothing like handspun yarn.
I may have to order some of that Halley’s Comet….love it! Your socks are so pretty! Happy New Year!
LOL… well, it and one other are my nursing home projects. I am just planning ahead. 🙂 Thank you for your kind comment. Handspun yarn really is something unique and special. I love the DVD colorways. This one has been in stash for a while but I love how it knit up!