2018 Make Nine half year review

Oh my goodness, we are half way through the year. I’m not quite sure how that happened...
In today’s post I am going to share my 2018 Make Nine progress and look ahead to the projects I will work on during the latter half of my year to fill the grid of nine.

If you want a reminder of the Make Nine concept and the Eldenwood Craft Make-along, hop back to this post. Emma from Eldenwood Craft also talks about it in each of her podcasts and in the last one she announced that we could ‘swap’ some of our projects at this mid-year point.

Progress so far
Remarkably I have completed FIVE of my nine projects, and I am working on my sixth which has unfortunately stalled in the last few days due to very warm weather - I am using worsted weight yarn and it’s hot!

Tchaikovsky hat
My first finished object was the Tchaikovsky hat by Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade. This make was one of the projects in the KnitVent collection released by Helen last year. Having previously made the mitts, the hat was a very straight-forward make.

I used some Kettle Yarn Co. Islington DK that I had in my stash - with its silk content it is beautiful to work with and very warm to wear. At some points during the Winter I wore two hats (I feel the cold) and this hat proved to be an excellent ‘base layer’!

Wood Warbler Cowl
The next Make Nine project off my needles was a Wood Warbler Cowl by Martina Behm. I used the recomended yarn, Schoppel-Wolle Gradient, and the project knit up like a dream. It is easy to make and easy to wear. I would definitely make another but not in the same yarn.

I found the yarn varied in thickness and another DK-weight yarn would give a squisher finished result. I also had to do a lot of ‘messing around’ with the yarn to get the gradient effect I wanted which was frustrating.

Hermione’s everyday socks 
I made my Hermione’s everyday socks designed by Erica Leuder during our Easter holiday away. They fit beautifully and despite being sceptical about patterned socks I love wearing them. The pattern is great with a simple and easy to remember repeat. The heel - modified eye of partridge - is my favourite heel and I add it to all of my socks.

The biggest revelation to me with these socks however was the yarn. I used Austermann Step yarn for the first time and it was a complete pleasure to knit with. I’ll talk about sock yarn in a future post but it was soft, plump and consistent in thickness. I have worn these socks a lot and they have washed really well in the washing machine.

Flax Sweater
Just as the weather was getting warmer I finished my Flax Sweater. This beautiful garment deserves its own post but needless to say knitting and wearing it has made me very happy!

Vertices Unite
I really pushed myself out of my comfort zone with my next Make Nine project. I felt that Vertice Unite by Stephen West was  really pushing me beyond my skill level but thanks to You Tube I finished the project! Again this shawl will be celebrated with its own post, but here it is in its glory;

Antler cardigan
On my needles at the moment is an Antler cardigan. It’s going well so far but I haven’t had to do much purling yet!

What’s left
I have three projects left;
Antler mittens
Murata hat
Gingerbread Latte sweater

I will definitely make the mittens - I have the yarn waiting. However, my planned hat and sweater need swapping out.

I’ve worked on a project this year that required knitting into the stitch below and it drove me me completely batty. For this reason I can’t make the Murata hat. Knitting is meant to be fun and relaxing! I want to knit a hat but not sure which hat so I’d love your suggestions!

I have looked more carefully at the Gingerbread Latte sweater and I don’t think it’s for me. I want seamless garments. There is a sweater in Laine that I am tempted to make but I’m also keeping my eye out for any other seamless sweaters before I make my final decision. Do let me know if you’ve seen any that I should look at.

Make Nine
Having the Make Nine structure for my making this year has been really excellent. It has focused my making and my yarn purchases and given my a sense of satisfaction that I have made progress against my goals. I have made a lot of other projects so it hasn’t been restrictive and I will definitely be planning a 2019 Make Nine.

How has everyone else got on? I’d love to hear x