Crafts 2017 (no advertising thread)

Dear users and authors,
what projects would you like to complete in 2017?
Is there a technique you’d like to learn or improve? Would you like to do more crafts than in 2016, or about the same amount?

Dear Josefa,

that’s a lot of questions all at once....

I’d like to finish the vest for my dad, the two patchwork blankets for my daughter, and the crocheted blanket for my son. Also, the cat mobile for my friend’s daughter (who turns 1 in May) and the bonnet for another friend. I’ve already started all of these, and they’ll be finished in 2017—some sooner, some later.

There are many techniques I’d still like to learn. But in 2017, I’m going to learn how to felt. My son learned the basics at school and has agreed to give his “old mom” some lessons. I hope I’m as quick a learner as he is.

It’s hard to say whether I’ll do more or less handicrafts than in 2016. I’m always happy when I’m crocheting, knitting, or embroidering—and hopefully when I’m felting, too. And I’m grateful for every minute I can spend doing these things.
But honestly, I’d much rather spend time with my kids and my husband, and I’m making sure to invest more time in that before the little ones are all grown up. But if I had to guess, it’ll be about the same as in 2016.

In 2017, I’d like to experiment a bit with fashion. There are so many beautiful ways to make clothes by hand. But I still have a lot to learn.
I also have a few amigurumi projects ready to get started.

In 2017, I plan to create at least two new patterns every month—but definitely at least one per month. 2016 was the year of quantity. In 2017, the focus will be on quality and the projects themselves. The patterns will be written and designed with care and will be of even higher quality.

Other than that, I hope to double my sales from 2016. But I won’t put too much pressure on myself. As we all know, things go a little better without pressure.

My goal is to publish one—or even two, if possible—patterns per month. Maybe there’ll even be a sweater or two among them.

I’d love to learn how to spin—as I’d actually planned to do this year.
I already have the fiber and a hand spindle; I just don’t have the time. ;-))

And I’d love to dye my own wool again. 

I’d really like to get more comfortable with my sewing machine. I can sew straight lines, but everything else is really hard for me. However, I only ever sew when my husband isn’t around, since the clatter of the sewing machine bothers him. Of course, I could go to another room (which is what I do when I want to finish something), but I actually prefer to be near him when he’s around. I’m always “allowed” to crochet, too—that doesn’t make any noise! :-)
I don’t plan out crochet projects; they just happen naturally.
After all, there are way too many great patterns here

Well, I can’t do any more than that.
My plan is simple: to design beautiful things that my husband doesn’t like, but that my customers will love all the more

Since I’ve restocked my yarn supply (much to my husband’s chagrin), I’ll be tackling quite a few projects—both big and small—in 2017. Sweaters, cushion covers, and slippers are already on my list. I also still have about 1,000 g of Bobble yarn—the colors aren’t really my thing—but maybe I’ll make a blanket for cool summer evenings (I miss summer :( ), so there’s definitely more to do than there are days in the year. Plus, the CAL for the Granny blanket is planned for the beginning of the year—I hope you’re all still up for it?!?

@Nadeleule,

Restocked my yarn stash???

If my husband sees my next delivery, he'll have a heart attack :-)
Somehow I couldn't control myself again—this yarn addiction!
If I ever find a form of therapy, I'll post it... promise, and until then I'll think about whether a blindfold for men wouldn't be the easier option...

I know all too well what it’s like to have a yarn stash. I’ve already told my husband again that I’ll be ordering quite a bit in the new year.
He always objects and ends up ordering more car parts for his classic car. So it all balances out, and we’ve still managed to find space to store our things.
Although my husband is now planning a new garage. The four we already have are getting too small.... And my car certainly isn’t going to sit outside!

I like the idea of dyeing yarn. I hadn’t even thought of that yet. I’m adding it to my “things I still need to try” list right away.

I can’t do any more than I’m doing now—I’ll soon need an extra room for all these little creatures, even though I’ve already sold so many at the Christmas market. I plan to work through some of my yarn stash. A triangular shawl like Michaela’s would definitely tempt me—we’ll see.

@Lucygurumi,
those little critters are the least of my problems; I’m always being cleaned out of them.
It’s just that I’ve ordered 70 balls of yarn again... I think they’ll soon be stacked in the pantry; I still have a little space there between the jam and ko :-)

@Sabine—hihi, then you’re just like me—you have to eat yarn for breakfast!

I'd rather crochet over breakfast :-)


My husband has noticed the order now.... he's rewriting the materials list to convert the attic ;-))

I’ve decided to learn how to crochet cable patterns. I bought a magazine that describes over 100 different cable patterns. They’re so great.

I hope I’ll have a little more time for crafts in 2017 than I did in 2016, and hopefully that means I’ll be able to come up with at least one new pattern per month.
As for new techniques, I’d like to work out a few new stitch patterns for shawls in crochet and, overall, try to whittle down my yarn stash a bit… my husband thinks it’s far too big—which is probably why I’ve been waiting for more than two years to get a yarn cake for Christmas or my birthday; that item always gets skipped on my wish list…

@Tanzende Nadel
Oh yes, crocheting a cable pattern—I’d like to do that again, too. :-)

For me, knitted bags are first on the list, since I’m teaching an adult education course on them right at the start of the year. Later on, there will be another course on nautical crochet. For that, I’d like to make seashells, fish, and so on.
I’ll also be making a few more shawls—I already have endless ideas in my head, and I’d especially like to make multicolored ones. And definitely a proper Fair Isle jacket :-)
I’m afraid quite a few more projects will be added as the year goes on.

After New Year’s Eve, I finally want to get started on the amigurumi I’ve been meaning to make since the summer. It’s a project close to my heart—it has to be perfect; every stitch has to be just right. I want to tackle it right away, without putting it off again.

Then I’d finally like to crochet a motif blanket, either using a photo as a template or making a Harry Potter blanket or something similar.

  I’d also like to try my hand at making clothing items other than hats and scarves.

Yes, I have a lot more ideas in mind, but whether any of them will actually come to fruition is another question.
We’re just starting to build our house, and I strongly suspect that means I’ll have less time for crafts rather than more ;) 

I’d finally like to try out my electric needle felting machine and make new animals with felted heads, paws, and bodies made from old clothes.

And then I have tons of yarn that needs to be turned into a poncho and various sweaters. We’ll see if that turns into any patterns, but I’m taking it in stride—if not, then so be it. :-)

@Tina: Crocheting a motif blanket?
I’ve never heard of that—how does it work? Do you have a photo of one you’ve made before? Sounds really interesting

I’ve never made one myself, but there are various apps and such that turn a photo into a pattern. You just have to enter your gauge, the desired size, the colors you want, etc., and then it shows you how to crochet it.
They often look great!

You can make comic-style motifs, for example, using the C2C pattern. With a looooot of effort, you can even create them yourself by simply coloring in the squares on a graph paper sheet however you like—or maybe there are some programs out there for that, who knows :) 

@Krea-Tina,

do you mean the Wolltasia app?

I just checked out the Wooltasia app, but it’s not available for iPhone/iPad... too bad—it sounds really interesting.

Yes, exactly—I have the Wooltasia app on my phone (Android), for example.

If you’re interested in something like this but don’t have an (Android) smartphone, you can also check out Stribidak. 

(If I may share a link: http://stribidak.de/de/ )

Here, you can also have custom templates created.
It costs a little, but the big advantage is that the template isn’t created by a program alone—there’s someone behind it who makes sure it turns out as well as possible :) 

Okay, thanks a lot! I’ll check it out right away.

Yes, thank you very much. I’ll take a look later, too.