In the Wool #61 (free)
Your Craftiest Year Yet
Welcome back…
…and to our first edition of 2023! Firstly I’d like to say thank you for bearing with me on the delay this week and for the well wishes regarding my health. I’m throwing myself into recovery and everything is going really well but the pain medication left me with a foggy brain so I’ve been a bit slow to finish this edition! Secondly, I hope you’ve all had a lovely break over Christmas and New Year, and that you’re ready to hit the ground running and make this year your craftiest one yet. I’ve got some exciting features to share with you in this edition so let’s jump right in and see what’s new!
I thought the best way to kick off Yarn Corner for 2023 was with something supreme! Wendy Supreme DK is a top notch double knitting yarn that has become a customer favourite in our yarn shop, beating out other dk ranges that have been around a lot longer. As double knit is also one of the more popular yarn weights, I thought the discount for this range would come in handy as you start planning for your 2023 projects. Let’s take a closer look!
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January Giveaway!
As our theme for this edition is making 2023 your craftiest year, I thought a notebook would be a great giveaway prize this month to help you stay on track with your projects and write down any ideas that you have. This notebook is from our Emma Ball collection and features a very cute design called ‘Sheep in Sweaters’. If you have a premium subscription to In the Wool, you are automatically entered into our giveaway every month!
Commit to Your Craft in 2023!
To help you get off on the right foot with your crafting this year, I’m running a special offer on In the Wool premium subscriptions. You can save 50% on an annual subscription to this newsletter meaning you’ll get all 24 editions this year for just £15! It also gives you access to our full archive of articles and past editions. Your new subscription unlocks your exclusive yarn discount code in every edition and enters you into our monthly giveaway (UK only).
I have lots of exciting things in store this year to help you develop your favourite hobby, so why not commit to your craft and join our creative community? Click the button below to redeem this special offer (expires Monday 20th February 2022).
Your Yarn Horoscope for 2023
This year I thought it would be fun to give you your horoscopes for 2023 in relation to the one thing we all love: YARN! Whether you’re in tune with the zodiac calendar or not, your yarn horoscope can give you some inspiration for the year ahead and help you make 2023 a crafting success. I’ve created some predictions and tips for you based on your star sign so I hope this article can help you set some creative intentions for this year or, at the very least, make you smile!
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Spring Cleaning
Even though it’s not quite spring yet, the beginning of the year is a great time to have a quick sort out of your yarn stash or creative space. I don’t know about you but my good intentions of being organised always end up with me finding yarn in the most random of places, so it’s good to take stock every now and then and make sure everything is in the right place. As you’ll see pictured below, I like to store a lot of my yarn in shoe boxes. I have a shelf in my wardrobe that’s quite high up and shoe boxes are the perfect size for it. I keep post-it notes on the boxes so I know what’s in them and it’s easy to just slide one or two off the shelf instead of a larger storage box.
Even with this *state of the art* storage system, I still end up with discarded projects and tangled up ends all over the place. Every time I have a sort out I’m always amazed with what I find. This time around I came across a sample square from a scarf I designed a couple of years ago, some crochet motifs I made for practice, and a crochet scrunchie that had reached the end of its life span. Discarding just a few random bits like this still gave me a refresher and made my space feel much tidier.
I also came across the crochet baby hat pictured above. This was from at least two years ago when I was making a baby set and wanted to design some accessories for it. The final design ended up looking a little different from this one as this was the first version, but it’s still a wearable hat. So I decided to sew the ends in and get it finished up so it can be donated. The last task on my spring cleaning to do list was to empty my bucket of yarn scraps from 2022. I keep every odd and end so it can be used as toy stuffing but I haven’t made any toys recently so the bucket ended up overflowing. I’ve now emptied it out and have a bag full ready to go when they’re needed, and an empty bucket to fill up throughout 2023!
INTRODUCING: The Yarn Journal
It’s time for the big reveal! As I mentioned in the last edition, I’ve been working hard on a project to help you develop your skills as a maker whilst incorporating more mindfulness into your practice. Introducing: The Yarn Journal! I’ve designed printable journal pages to help you reflect on your craft, set goals, and keep track of your projects. I will release new pages every month for you to fill out; even just 5 minutes of reflection each month can be beneficial for understanding your crafting style and to slow down and appreciate the moment. As it’s the start of 2023, there are a couple of extra pages in this first set so that you can think about your goals for the year ahead and look back at 2022. Each month will also include a tip, journal prompt or recommendation that you can try. I will be joining you on this journey, filling out the pages and sharing some of my reflections with you along the way. I really hope you enjoy this series and find it helpful for developing your favourite hobby; let’s make this year the craftiest one yet!
Keep reading to download your printable Yarn Journal pages and to learn more about how to use them. In retrospect, I realise I should’ve probably released these pages in advance of January… so you can expect February’s pages in the next edition!
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As it’s the beginning of the year, I’m releasing a couple of Yarn Journal pages for free to get you started! Click the download button above to print yours.
Before we delve into the project currently on my crochet hook, as promised here is the final Christmas present I was working on in December but couldn’t share right away. It is a crochet head warmer made with Hayfield Bonus Aran 20% Wool that I made for my mother-in-law. It matches one of the crochet hats I shared with you recently that was for my father-in-law so they got matching accessories for Christmas.
The final seasonal make I have to share was just for fun. I began teaching my mother-in-law, Nancy, how to crochet as she has wanted to learn for a while. I thought it would be nice to make little decorations for our Christmas tree so I came up with the idea of making simple squares that could be turned into gifts. The squares are just rows of double crochet (UK terms) and this was a great way to learn and practise the stitch. By the end, Nancy’s stitches were flying off the hook! We then added some Tinsel Chunky eyelash yarn to tie a ribbon over the squares; this did end up looking a little messy but we didn’t mind as it wasn’t a serious project, and we hung our finished decorations on the tree with pride.
After rounding off the seasonal makes, I began thinking about the new year. The main question I asked myself was: which projects don’t I want hanging over my head in 2023? The answer to this was my filet crochet scarf. I started this project a couple of months ago and was really enjoying it, but it did end up getting sidelined for Christmas gifts. As this was supposed to be a relatively quick project, I decided I really wanted to…
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Free Patterns!
As it’s the start of the year, my theme for these free patterns was organisation. Baskets especially make great storage for yarn and other craft supplies so I thought these designs would be useful and could help you give your creative space a refresh! As well as knitting and crochet patterns, the last design on this list is for sewing.
Hanging Baskets on Dowel by Yarnspirations (crochet)
Suzette Double Hanging Basket by Made by Gootie (crochet)
Remote Caddy by Crochet by Retrofresh (crochet)
Nifty Needle Case by Moogly Blog (crochet)
Hanging Basket by Ashley Collings (knit)
Perin Wall Basket by Alice Quarterman (knit)
Knitting Needle Case by Briney Deep Designs (knit)
DIY Tote Bag Organiser by Gina Michele (sew)
Keep Reading…
Article: Celestial Season- 30 Free Knitting and Crochet Patterns (click here)
In the Wool #60: Crafting at Christmas (click here)