And here we are at the end of 2023. It’s been quite an eventful year, mostly in a good way. I just recorded my end of year vlog which is uploading to my YouTube channel, Stitches and Slapdashery, as we speak!

I took the time to look back at the blog posts I’ve written this year, the project pages I’ve set up in Ravelry, and the content I’ve uploaded to YouTube. The events that stand out most for me this year are

March trip to Jersey to see the family – My mum turned 90 and I flew over for a week for the birthday party.

Launching my YouTube channel in June – Stitches and Slapdashery has been a lot of fun, with a total of 16 vlogs, 31 Vlogtobers and 25 Vlogmasses, plus a couple of extra bonus videos.

Quitting my job of 9 years in August and commemorating it with a serious buzzcut – it was time for a change.

November saw my niece having her first child – always a good reason to make stuff and I sent her a box of handmade things.

Our annual anniversary retreat in December – this time we went to Victoria on Vancouver Island for a week, stayed in an Airbnb condo on Fisgard Street, close to vegan restaurants and lots of other interesting places. And then shortly afterwards, my husband’s throat cancer diagnosis, for which he is scheduled to start treatment in January.

According to WordPress, this is my 2081st blog post. Wow!! Activity here has declined a little, as my focus has moved more to YouTube, but I have at least been aiming to do a roundup post once a month.

I think 2023 has been the year of the garment. I realised that I had made so many accessories (instant gratification) and blankets (stashbusters) over the years that, rather than make more of the same, I could divert that energy into clothing.

Sewing

Sewing has definitely taken up more of my crafting time this year, which is evident from my reduced project count on Ravelry! I’ve made baby clothes, fleece hoodies and sweaters, a coat, project bags, quilts, backpacks, zipper pouches, tank tops, T shirts, harem pants and overalls. About 100 items all told.

Knitting

Not as prolific with the needles, I finished a sweater, a machine-knitted cardigan, fingerless mitts and a beanie/cowl set.

Crochet

Some amigurumi (including an Edna Mode doll I was particularly proud of), dishcloths, baby items, accessories, and two cardigans and a sweater.

A total of about 27 yarny items for the year.

Works in Progress

What am I taking into 2024? The Festoon Shawl by DoraDoes is an ongoing crochet project made with sock yarn and a 4.5mm hook, so it’s slow going and not my favourite thing to work on.

I have a cross stitch project, where I traced a seahorse out of a colouring book and I’m making up the colour scheme as I go. Another thing that may take a while.

And I am in the middle of a stashbusting granny square….thing….which was going to be pants (trousers) but really really doesn’t look good or wearable, so there will probably be some unpicking involved so that I can rethink the final product.

2024

The main focus for the first few months of 2024 will be my husband’s health as he goes through cancer treatment. His diagnosis has meant I’ve rethought my plan to look for a new job in January. Instead I am going to take the time to plan and sew for a summer craft market. This will involve coming up with a better logo and business card design for Stitches and Slapdashery to tie everything together, and sew-in labels for the products I make.

I want to decide on a project that I can work on every day of R’s treatment, a bit like a temperature blanket idea, as it’ll be 7 weeks of almost daily appointments and then another couple of months until we know the outcome.

And I also want to make myself a Serene sling bag from Yoan Sewing Studio’s YouTube channel, so that’s probably going to be my first project of 2024.

Thank you for being here and reading my blog. I’d love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment. Do let me know if you’re watching the vlog too. Have a very happy, healthy New Year.