Each year, I like to do a recap, a wrap up, of all I have made and read in the year. I will share the update since my last Craft On post, but I will also put that wrap up and the end of this post.

Since my last post, we have had an amazing change! Our newest granddaughter, Madelyn, was born, three weeks earlier than expected. She and mama are well, but of course, everyone's life is a little turned over since then.

During the past two weeks, I did find the buttons for her vest, and I just today finished a little hat for her (which still looks a bit too big!). You can see above that I started a pair of socks in the GAL, and they were quick to make, but I finished the first about the time that Madelyn came into the outside, and life was a little busier after that. Also, I caught a cold from Amelia, while we were caring for her, that it seems she caught from an aunt, and so I've been down for the count since Monday. It is quick moving, but also grabs you pretty suddenly, so while it slammed me pretty hard, I'm also feeling quite a bit better than I was Monday and Tuesday.

Here are my finished projects from the GAL, though the hat was finished after the event ended.

I just finished Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages, so it didn't make it on the 2024 list, but it is a good start to my new year of reading.

For my year end review I will start with my books:

2024 Books

• February
• The Mysterious Affair at Styles
• March
• Mansfield Park
• Romans (N. T. Wright for Everyone Bible Study Guides)
• Paul for Everyone: Romans, Part 2, Chapters 9-16 (The New Testament for Everyone)
• April
• Northanger Abbey
• May
• Charming Colorwork Socks: 25 Delightful Knitting Patterns for Colorful, Comfy Footwear
• June
• Knitting for Anarchists
• Murder on the Links
• The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh
• July
• Sense and Sensibility
• Death of a Knit Wit
• August
• Irish Knit Murder
• Knitmare on Beech Street
• September
• Everthing Sad Is Untrue (A True Story)
• Kitchen Yarns: Notes on Life, Love, and Food
• Survival of the Fritters
• Goodbye Cruller World
• Jealousy Filled Donuts
• Boston Scream Murder
• October
• Beyond a Reasonable Donut
• Deck the Donuts
• November
• Cinnamon Twisted
• Double Grudge Donuts
• Lemon Tart
• December
• English Trifle
• Devil's Food Cake
• Key Lime Pie
• From Crook to Cook

Now for my finished objects. Technically, I have finished a sewing project, but the buttons are still not on it, so I am not counting it this year.

2024 Finished Projects (knit, crochet, or sewn)

• Adam's Rib, Design Sample and Gift - knit January 12
• Nafhat, Design Sample for me - knit January 21
• Fir Cone Ornament, Shawn's parents - knit January 23
• Midnight Snow Ornament, Shawn's parents - crochet January 28
• Sunshiny Washcloth, Shawn's parents - knit January 31
• Cabled Headband, Amelia - knit February 3
• One Tone Tawashi, Shawn's parents - knit February 6
• Shamse Drawstring Bag/Facecloth for H'ammaam, Prototype Sample - knit March 14
• Altilal wal’Akhdud Bath Mitt for H'ammaam, Prototype Sample - knit April 9
• Dahha, Design Sample for me - knit May 8
• Altilal wal’Akhdud Washcloth for H'ammaam, Prototype Sample - knit May 25
• Jamal (Dromedary), Sample for Me - knit August 6
• Jamal (Bactrian), Sample - knit August 23
• Fir Tree Garland, Dominic and Shawn - knit August 30
• Scrap Yarn Basket, Dominic and Shawn - crochet August 31
• Altilal wal'Akhdud Soap Sweater, Sample for Me - knit September 12
• Shamse Bath Pouf, Sample for Me - knit September 27
• Secret Stripe Hat, Liberty - knit October 5
• Shallal Prototype, Gift - knit October 10
• Shallal, Sample for Me - knit October 18
• Newlywed Kisses, Shawn - knit December 16
• Rock, Skip and Jump, Madelyn - knit December 17
• Cozy Stocking, Amelia - knit December 21
• Spruce Tree Garland Alexander and Autumn - knit December 22
• Bunny Tail Beanie Madelyn - knit December 25
• Baptismal Gown Amelia - knit December 26
• Gauntlet Mittens Amelia - knit December 28

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Books, Design, FOs, Giftalong, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 7:52 PM 0 comments

The Indie Designer Gift A Long is underway on Ravelry and you can follow along on Instagram, as well. This year I am highlighting some of the designers on my blog, as well as in my Instagram feed.

My last designer is Nashwa Sakr. She is a designer from Doha, Qatar. Her patterns can be found on Ravelry. I happen to know that her patterns are all 25% off through the end of the day GMT, December 29, 2024.

Her designs are classic, lovely, and full of timeless details that will make them heirlooms. These patterns are so much like vintage knitwear, but usually not knit at the same tiny gauge. She makes such a good use of modern yarns.

Polar Coat (In Infant and Junior sizes).

Miss Orchid Romper (From Infant to 6 years old).

Crossandra Sweater (In Infant, Junior, and Adult sizes).

Diamond and Rose Cardigan (From Infant to 4 years old).

Biskrem Sweater (In Infant, Junior, and Adult sizes).

I love her work. In fact, I have one of those rompers planned for our little Peapod coming soon, and a Crossandra sweater planned for Amelia (to match another GAL project of gauntlet mitts I have made for her). If these patterns intrigue you, please take a look at her whole portfolio and find your own favorites.

Labels: Design, Giftalong, Homemaking, Knitting

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:37 AM 0 comments

It has been a week of finishing and almost finishing. Shawn's stocking was finished and sent (and arrived in time!). Peapod's little vest was finished, but still needs buttons. Amelia's stocking was finished. I started and have nearly finished another tree garland, this time a spruce tree string.

Aside from finishing off the garland, I would like to find a cute baby hat from the Gift Along to knit for Peapod.

I've read a bit in Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages and think I can finish it by the end of the year, even with holidays and our anniversary.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Books, Design, Giftalong, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:59 PM 0 comments

The Indie Designer Gift A Long is underway on Ravelry and you can follow along on Instagram, as well. This year I am highlighting some of the designers on my blog, as well as in my Instagram feed.

This week's designer is Tanya Lavine. Her patterns can be found on Ravelry and her own website.

Tanya has become a friend of mine through both the Gift A Long and the Around the World Stitch Along. Her designs are fantastic and range from color work to texture, lace, and cables. She designs many accessories, but also some garments, which are lovely and flattering.

Ice Queen Wrap

Eat Your Greens

Middleton Pullover

Moss Brioche Cowl

Celtic Cable Mitts

Her patterns are full of delightful little details. I love that some of them are great for leftovers or mini-skeins; many use small amounts of different colors, so even if the pattern calls for two skeins, sometimes that means you can dig up your scraps and still have a beautiful finished object. Please check out her portfolio, and find some new favorites for yourself.

Labels: Design, Giftalong, Homemaking, Knitting

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 8:54 PM 0 comments

The Indie Designer Gift A Long is underway on Ravelry and you can follow along on Instagram, as well. This year I am highlighting some of the designers on my blog, as well as in my Instagram feed.

This week's designer is Melissa Metzbower. Her patterns can be found on Ravelry and her own website. If you are a knit designer yourself, she is also a technical editor.

Melissa is not a new designer to me, but I have always enjoyed her work. I was glad to see her in the Gift A Long again this year. Her portfolio includes a broad range of types of designs and I have always enjoyed making them. In fact, besides the mittens I share below, there are several designs I have made or wish to make from her work. Perhaps this year will be the year for that red headscarf for myself (not sure mine will be red).

Her designs always include beautiful details, cabled or lace, sometimes both, and the construction is always great.

Kansas (part of her United States of Socks series)

Sybie and Marigold

Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail

Cabled Sleeves Pullover

Snow Day Mittens I made five pairs of these one year! They are great mittens. This picture is of the four I made for our children.

If these pictures intrigue you, please do check out her other designs. I'm sure you will find something you want to make.

Labels: Design, Giftalong, Homemaking, Knitting

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 7:39 PM 0 comments

Surprise! The stockings are not finished, but they are so close. I'm really making too many things at once. I am well over my three project at a time limit. Besides these two stockings, the little baby vest, and the baptismal gown (finishing all the ends and crocheting the button bands and loops and sewing buttons on it), I also have a scarf design for my newsletter subscribers to finish and get written and ready in time for the January issue and an almost finished mitten pattern that I really want ready for beta knitting at about the same time. So, no pressure or anything.

I changed both stocking patterns a little bit to match my own style of knitting and sensibilities. The vest is really perfect the way it is, and I love its construction. I may start making some other pieces in this same way for myself.

We finished Emma today, and our kids finally like some of the characters. I picked up Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages last night, and I am determined to finish it by the end of the month. It is an interesting book, and it has been on loan to me forever. I am closing my eyes to any other books! I realized, too, that the book book actually ends sooner than I thought, because the majority of the book is actually recipes at the end, and ways to make/use dairy products.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Books, Design, Giftalong, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 1:27 PM 0 comments

The Indie Designer Gift A Long is underway on Ravelry and you can follow along on Instagram, as well. This year I am highlighting some of the designers on my blog, as well as in my Instagram feed.

I have another French designer for you this week! Chloé of Tisserin Coquet is a new designer to me. Her patterns can be found on Ravelry and her own website.

Since she is new to me, I asked for her designer story. Almost all of us became designers because we couldn't find a pattern we needed, or wanted to change something on a pattern, or had an idea we just couldn't see in the patterns available to us. For Chloé, it was that she had a friend selling yarn. She had received a new colourway of Filcolana Arwetta and did not have any idea of how to showcase it for the biggest upcoming yarn fair of the year in France. Nothing she tried worked. Chloé suggested that she should make a sock with it, as it would be lovely paired with a plain light one and with a motif such a broken rib stitch. Her friend dared her to write it up and that’s how Premier Flocon (her first pattern) was born. She fell in love with pattern writing from this and hasn't stopped since then. She especially likes helping knitters realize that they can knit whatever they want and that the magic is in their hands. "They don’t have to be experts to try brioche, socks, lace, all the scary things. Exactly as the saying, if there is a will, there is a way and you just have to find the pattern/teacher/tutorial that speaks to your brain to help you learn the technique."

Chloé hails from Rhone-Alpes in France and I can't help but think that her beautiful environment must influence her designs. Her designs are mostly accessories like socks, mittens and mitts, shawls, cowls, and hats, but there are a few garments for adults and children, as well. Here are some of my favorites from her portfolio.

Aerial

Hanging Gardens

Première Neige

Not Bothered by the Cold

Houx

I encourage you to take a look at the rest of her portfolio. She is an intriguing designer to me, and takes a clear interest in the details of her designs. Those details distinguish her work and give them a depth that isn't always found in patterns.

Labels: Design, Giftalong, Homemaking, Knitting

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:56 PM 0 comments

So, I didn't finish either stocking and I am hurrying and scurrying. I do have a little extra time on one of them, however. The other one really should be finished by tomorrow, and that is not going to happen.

Because of the stockings, I haven't made much progress on my Rock Skipper for the Gift Along, but I do love it in this color.

I thought we would finish Emma by Thanksgiving, but we are still reading. Perhaps this next week, it will be finished. It has been a challenging week. I haven't read anything in Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages this week, because of the lack of brain space. However, I have read another of the LDS mysteries, and started a third. I'm still not quite thrilled with them, they are a little closer to Enyclopedia Brown in the reveal, but it is light and easy to read right now.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Books, Design, Giftalong, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:08 PM 0 comments

The Indie Designer Gift A Long is underway on Ravelry and you can follow along on Instagram, as well. This year I am highlighting some of the designers on my blog, as well as in my Instagram feed.

The designer I am showcasing this week is Christine Roy of La boutique de Jeanne. Her patterns can be found on Ravelry.

She is a delightful French designer, from Bretagne. Largely her designs are accessories, with lovely texture. She designs in a mix of both knitting and crochet. There is also a good mix of items for men and women, as well as babies and children. Here are some of my favorites from her portfolio.

Frimas Cowl

Passe-Partout Cowl

Creamy Guernsey Hat

Winterlude Baby Hat

Easy Daisy Doily

If these designs intrigue you, take a look at the rest of her portfolio. Her designs are often inspired by her regional traditions and local design. She creates beautiful textures and shapes and loves to help others succeed in their crafting.

Labels: Design, Giftalong, Homemaking, Knitting

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:57 PM 0 comments

The Indie Designer Gift A Long is underway on Ravelry and you can follow along on Instagram, as well. This year I am highlighting some of the designers on my blog, as well as in my Instagram feed.

One thing I enjoy about this event is getting to make projects from someone else's designs, that I do not have to work out or calculate or chart or anything. One of my projects this GAL is from Linette Grayum. I have made her designs before, but come back to them because of her intelligent and interesting construction and clear, lovely patterns. Her patterns can be found on both Ravelry and PayHip, and she has a sale bundle on Ravelry for the Gift A Long, as well.

Here are a few of the items I have made from her patterns over the years:

Scheelite Mitts

Acropolis

Togetherness Cowl

The project for this year's GAL is her Rock Skipper. I will be making it in a bright, electric purple Polwarth superwash wool, from a local dyer.

Her designs are usually inspired by nature and are really well written. I honestly believe her work is a hidden treasure, and I would like more people to know about it. She does a lot of traveling around the country (and sometimes around the world) and does so much outdoor activity and camping. She manages to capture nature, sometimes in obscure places, and amplify its beauty. The way she constructs her pieces is always so smart and creative, and usually as seamless as possible, which is a plus to me. She is not only a fantastic designer, but a friend. She is a homeschooling mother and a great baker, too! You can subscribe to her newsletter here, and follow her on Instagram, as well.

Labels: Design, FOs, Giftalong, Homemaking, Knitting

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 7:58 AM 0 comments

The baptismal gown will not dry! Curse you winter! In the meantime, I am working on this stocking, and hoping to have it finished before Thanksgiving. The color on this is more of. a reddish violet, it looks more maroon in the picture. Once the gown is finished, finished, finished, and the stocking is completed, then I will permit myself to cast on something new. There are a lot of deadline knits/crocheted projects that I am starting to get a little nervous about, but I have over a week to finish most of them.

And that something new is likely to be something chosen from the amazing 221 Gift A Long designers! I am participating as a designer again this year, and always look forward to and enjoy making other designers' patterns at the end of the year. Chatter has started on Ravelry already, and you can follow along on Instagram, as well. (Though, is anyone else frustrated that IG is getting rid of the ability to follow hashtags? Now, I will not be able to see all the posts regarding the GAL!) Please join us in the fun and camaraderie in whichever way you can. There are games and prizes, hundreds and hundreds of participants to chat with, learn from, and admire. You will have access to all the participating designers, who will be happy to answer any of your questions and help with your projects. Make a gift or two for the holidays, or make something for yourself!

As a participating designer, I have a bundle of 20 patterns on sale on Ravelry, beginning tomorrow at 5:00 pm / 1700 Eastern Standard Time (2:00 pm Pacific Standard Time) through the end of the day (EST) November 27, 2024, using the coupon code giftalong2024. Because I know some people have trouble using Ravelry, I also have the same bundle of patterns on sale at my PayHip store, with the coupon code giftknitting for the same duration.

We are getting closer with Emma, I have finished both Double Grudge Donuts Doughnuts and Lemon Tart and I've gotten a tiny bit of reading in on Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages. I'm not sure what I think of the Lemon Tart/Sadie culinary series. It is written by an LDS author, from an LDS publisher, and that is fine. However, it gets some non-LDS things, not quite wrong, but a little off. Also, I started the next book in the series, and she identifies American scones as a deep fried item, which is only true in Utah, and makes the main character say disparaging things about tea, rather than just drinking her peppermint tea and being happy.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Books, Design, Giftalong, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 7:55 AM 0 comments