Hello and welcome back to Bilingwool! I hope you are all doing well, and that you have had a lovely holiday. I took some time off over the holidays to concentrate on my projects that I get to share with you now that the holidays are over.
For Christmas this year, I knitted and crocheted gifts for my family members. Over the coming weeks, I plan to take a deep dive into all the projects I made, but for now, I want to share a “teaser” of what’s to come!
I crocheted four gifts – two table runners, a stuffed animal, and a hanging basket – and knitted nine gifts, eight of which were hats, and the other was a shawl.
I wanted to challenge myself this year with my holiday projects, so many of the hats I made were fair isle or contained stranded knitting elements. Fair isle knitting is a relatively new skill for me; I have been working with stranded knitting for less than a year, but I have fallen in love with it. In the featured photo above and the photo posted below, I showcase the collection of hats I made for gifts this year.
Christmas Hats
One of the hats I knitted is something I designed myself and was also the most challenging colorwork project I’ve done to date. I am incredibly proud of it and cannot wait to share the pattern, my design process, and the finished product!
Other than Christmas gift making, I have cast on two projects for myself! Looking back through my finished projects over the years, I noticed I like to start a big project in January/February. Last year, it was the Grenache Shawl and the year before last, I made the Feza Ombre Baby Blanket. This year, I decided to hit the ground running and finally finish my first sweater. I have one sleeve left until it is finished and I couldn’t be more excited to proudly wear my first knitted sweater. I will make a post about my sweater process but if you are interested in my sweater knitting journey, here is my post all about my sweater experience so far.
A sneak peak at my first sweater. Yes, I completely restarted and am now using a different pattern. It’s all part of the creative process, right!?
The other project I cast on recently is the St. Agnes Eve kit from Alice Starmore. I received this kit as a birthday gift from my grandmother and have loved working on the intricate colorwork thus far. Right before Christmas, I posted a photo of my progress on Instagram, which is now my most-liked photo! Yahoo! To any of you who found me through that post, welcome, please make yourself at home and stay a while. We’re happy to have you!
Bilingwool’s most liked photo on Instagram
My crochet hooks have been busy, too, during the holidays. I crocheted some classic snowflake ornaments that look so dainty and are very giftable. I made these using scraps from my 20th Anniversary Fair Isle Hat kit as well as some white Berroco Vintage DK I have laying around. I found the pattern on Pinterest, which I will link here. One day, I’d love to make a Christmas tree full of ornaments I’ve made.
One of my crocheted snowflake ornaments
2021 is off to a great start and I look forward to the growth that this year will bring. Thank you all so much for your support in 2020 as I launched Bilingwool. I have so many exciting things in store for 2021 that are only possible because of the support I received in 2020. From my heart to yours, I thank you!
Until we talk next, happy new year!
Bilingwool 
Are you enjoying the process of knitting a “top-down” sweater? It’s my favorite sweater type because then I don’t have to sew in the sleeves! And, by knitting “in the round” you don’t have to sew the side seams. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished sweater.
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I am loving the seamless design of a top-down sweater. It just makes so much sense! Starting the last sleeve today. Yippee!!
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