Micah at 4 days old on his Fly Away Blanket.
Year end wrap up posts are so incredibly overwhelming to me. How can you possibly wrap up an entire year in a nice little blog-sized post? I can't do it. Rather than try I've decided to highlight a few of my favourite projects from last year. My very favourite? Well, that's a no-brainer, the very best thing I made in 2015 is sweet baby Micah. The Fly Away Blanket I knit for him will always be a personal favourite since for me it's a huge momento of his babyhood. The Rocky Joggers I knit for him are a close second, I love them so much and I think I'll keep them forever.
Publishing my Christmas In July pattern was another highlight of the year for me. I had been working on this pattern for a long time and it's the first pattern that I've released that is sized from baby all the way up to adult. Though I love the original rainbow colour scheme that I used for mine I'm especially fond of this one that I made for Rowan in shades of turquoise and green. Take it from me, it is technically impossible to wear a Christmas In July sweater out in public and not get a few compliments from strangers. It's a show stopper.
In 2015 I designed 6 patterns for the TFA Year In Colour Club and though I truly do love them all, I think that the Belmont stole is my favourite. I'm also CRAZY about the Fig colourway. Followed closely by the Ah Caramel mitts (and the Caramel colourway!). All of the 2015 Club patterns will be available as individual pdf's soon.
Looking back, I think that these are the only things I knit for Chris last year. Funny that they both rank among my favourite projects of the year. Chris' Cordova was a big undertaking and turned out beautifully. He loves it and I love it. It is so rewarding to knit for someone who truly appreciates your work. These Smokestack Socks made it onto this list because I really love the special experimental yarn that Chris dyed for this pair. We started off the year prioritizing these sorts of experimental dyeing days but then things got crazy and we ran out of time to play. These socks are a reminder of why that's so important. The colour is really fabulous.
This last one might catch you off guard. It's my Classic Cuffed Hat. No impressive cables or lace, just a dead simple hat that is utterly perfect. I have worn this hat almost exclusively since I completed it in the fall and get a surprising amount of compliments on it considering how minimal it is. It's soft, it's decadent with the super soft merino and that lush pompom. As a knitter I can get lured into intricate patterns and complicated constructions but this hat reminds me that simple knits with perfect execution are not to be overlooked.
It is so hard to pick favourites! I probably should have just done a collage of all the projects I knit in 2015 and called them all my faves. Check out my Ravelry page under the 2015 tab to see all my other projects. There are a few projects that never made it to the photographing/Ravelling stage (things like quick kids knits that were promptly put on tiny hands, necks and heads before their photo shoots) maybe I'll get around to those in 2016.
Honourable mentions go to Wolfriver, Indigo Dreams, Veronika, Mini Reverb Pullover, and ALL the striped socks I knit last year. Yeah, I totally should have just made a collage of all the projects. 2015 was a good year for knitting.