The obligatory summing up

I have been reading a lot of blogs where people sum up what they did in the last year, so I thought I'd try to see what I have been up to. It feels like it has been a big year.

Right at the beginning of the year we flew halfway around the world. I'm pretty sure that counts as big.
There has been some diet experimenting for the 2 year old in the first half of the year, the end result was back to where we started with no gluten, dairy, or soy. We are all getting better at dealing with it now though.
We spent a few months looking at houses, and actually managed to buy a new house and settle our insurance claim on the old house. This was definitely huge (final settlement was more than 4 years after our old place was no longer livable).

I've just looked at my projects on Ravelry, and am surprised to see how many things I finished in the last year - 5 shawls, 7 pairs of socks, and a hat, jumper, singlet and pair of slippers for the kids. I hadn't realised I had knitted 5 shawls! I only managed to write up one pattern though, I'm hoping to do better with that in 2016.

I also finished embroidering my Christmas stocking, and managed to get all the stockings sewn together in time for Christmas, and also made A's birth sampler (still need to find a framer for that, I think the one I've used before no longer exists - and anyway, he is no longer just down the road).


The sampler is a modified version of the July birthstone sampler from the Sweetheart Tree. I added in 20 rows in the middle to give space for the name and date (the same number of rows I added to E's one). This meant I also had to rechart the flowers and beads in that area, and I'm pretty happy with the end result.

Finishing the stockings and sampler meant that I could pull out my HAED, Enchanted flute. I am reminded just how insane this project is, but I have managed to fill in all the gaps on two pages so far (out of 24).

As you can see, it's maybe 1/8th done. I don't think it will be finished any time soon, and I am already planning to work on something smaller for a bit after I finish the next page.

I have managed to get a bit of sewing done (some shirts and underpants for the boys, a couple of skirts and tops for me). Sometime soon I should take some photos of my nice new sewing room, which now has lots of shelf space. It is fabulous! My new sewing machine is still going nicely although I probably should swap it out for the old one again sometime. The old one is definitely better quality, but it does lack in stretch stitches!
I made some blinds for our west-facing kitchen (it had no window coverings at all, which was a bit of a problem around dinner-making time).


And this year? I have lots of sewing and knitting plans, as well as dealing with life as it happens. I've just realised that my 4 year old will be turning 5 and starting school in September, so I guess there is at least one big thing on the cards!