A Little Overview of My 2024

Hello!👋

Hope you have been keeping well!

This time of year, more than any other, I like to indulge in all the treats that this festive season seems to bring! And I don’t think I am the only one! 😂

Playing cards, watching movies and sipping on hot drinks have become daily activities for us with the kids.

They have particularly enjoyed playing the card game “Go Fish!”, and while one child is super competitive, the other is showing what cards she holds in her hands! 😂

This means I have not had much sewing time. None in fact, for the whole week!

The last thing I sewed was a little Christmas gift for my partner, well two little things, but they form a set.

I couldn’t tell you last week because he reads this before it gets posted and it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore. 

But now I can tell you!

I made him two wrist rests to use while he works on his computer. One is for when he is on the keyboard and the other is for when he is using the mouse.

He already put the wrist rest for the mouse to use and found it a little strange that his wrist was now at the same height as the rest of the hand holding the mouse, but I think in the long run it will be beneficial for him.

Besides this, nothing else had been sewn and I feel like I have hit a block with my sewing.

Since the trip to Portugal at the beginning of the month, it has thrown me off track and it has been hard to get back on ever since.

I still think about sewing all day and endless ideas of potential projects roam around my head all day, but actually getting them done has been another story.

I did get a little bit done on my Breton Sweater though. Watching movies has allowed me to get some knitting done most days.

I managed to stitch together the shoulder seams and then I ditched the instructions from here. 

I was spending way too much time trying to decipher what the instructions meant, and all I wanted to do was watch movies and knit without having to think too much about it.

I feel pretty confident in just doing my own thing with knitting these days, so I decided that was what I was going to do.

The instructions were saying to seam just one shoulder, pick up some stitches along the neckline and transfer the live stitches from the scrap yarn and knit a neckband.

After this, knit 2 sleeves flat, attach it to the bodice and then sew all the sides closed.

Apart from having to decipher the instructions, I felt like this would be more time consuming as well.

Instead, I seamed both shoulders and the sides, and picked up stitches at the armhole to knit the sleeve.

Sleeve number one is just about half way done.

I have been playing with the idea of making a full row of beads just before starting the cuff, and if I decide to do this at the sleeve, I would do the same around the neckband.

Unsure if this vision is what I really want, more so because I haven’t been able to see it anywhere else to get the picture, but I will think about this when I get there.

I may knit up both sleeves without the cuffs first to give me more time to decide because I am pretty sure I will start sleeve number 2 next week.

One thing I had time for this week was to film all the knitwear that I made myself this year of 2024! 🤩

There were many things I gave as gifts, so I couldn’t include them in the video.

I knit a total of 17 projects this year and four of them were given as gifts. 🥰

Overview of My 2024

KNITTING:

1.  Projects Knitted: 17 = 8 Sweaters, 3 Cardigans, 3 vest, 2 cowls, 1 pair of socks

(9 of these projects were test knits).

2. Skeins used: 75 (approx. 14380 metres of yarn which is just under 6 kg)
3. First time: Knitting socks and using cables in a sweater, I had previously only used it in a scarf.
4. Patterns Companies Used: 8
5. Most used company: Rita Made This
6. Money Spent on Yarn: £163.68
7. Most Worn Knitwear: Belle Vest by Rita Made This

SEWING:

1. Garments sewn: 25 = 15 Dresses(9 for me), 4 Skirts(3 for me), 4 Trousers/Dungarees, 2 Tops 
2. Bags sewn: 16
3. Pattern Companies Used: 13
4. Most Used Company: Tilly and The Buttons, Waves and Wild, Nina Lee Patterns
5. Money Spent on Buying Fabric: Less than £100
6. Most Worn Sew: Lander Pants by True Bias

Comparing these results to last year I can see a big difference in one area.

Last year I sewed a total of 58 garments and this year only 25.

This year I focused more on my garments fitting me better and also on the details. I have tried to focus more on quality, rather than quantity.

The latter half of this year, I have also focused my time on bag and pouch designs which have mostly incorporated quilting. It is a newfound love!😍

I also continued on from 2023 to enjoy gifting mostly handmade items this year, with the odd shop bought one for lack of time and I hope to continue this habit into 2025.

I would love it if you shared some of your stats, and this also gives you the chance to see what you are drawn to making, which companies you gravitate towards and so on.

😎Confidence Corner:

All things are difficult before they are easy. -  Thomas Fuller

Every new skill or challenge feels hard at first. 

Whether it's learning to sew, cook, or even starting a new job, the beginning is always the toughest part.

Mistakes happen and things might not turn out how you want them to right away, but that’s okay. Every expert was once a beginner, and every success story starts with a first step.

The key is to trust the process.

With practice, patience, and persistence, what once felt impossible starts to feel natural. Over time, the difficult becomes easy, and you'll look back, amazed at how far you’ve come.

So, if you’re struggling with something new, remember that it’s all part of the journey.

Keep going, ease is just around the corner! 💖

⭐My Favourite Things This Week:

• The happiness my kids experienced on Christmas day opening up presents! 🥰
• Teaching my kids to play card games!
• Making some progress on my beaded Breton Sweater.

🗓️Upcoming Plans

• Enjoy time with my family!
• Continue knitting the Breton Sweater.
• Make sure the written instructions for the Roma Necessaire are ready to go!(Still haven’t gotten around to doing this)
• Plan my next sewing project. 🤔

🎉Upcoming Events

18th of January 2025 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - in Gatley Hill House, South Manchester, 11:45h - 17:15h
Email bianca@beesilva.co.uk and quote reference: SEWBOND013
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond013/

More 2025 Dates!

23rd of February 2025 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event
22nd of March 2025 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event
26th of April 2025 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event

Question of the Week:

Tell me ALL about your sewing/knitting 2024 year!

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Thank you so much for reading it! And if you enjoyed it, please tell a friend about it to allow me to reach more people. 🥰

Bye for now,
B! xx