Winter Haven KAL 2025 – Week 3

Can you believe that we are already three Fridays into January 2025?  We’ve passed “Blue Monday” and February is almost in sight so if this is usually a difficult month for you, we’re over halfway now and I hope that spending time in your cosy space has helped the days pass more gently for you.

Thank you again for all of your photos and emails, it’s been lovely to hear from you and to see all of your projects – wow, so many of them!  It’s been lovely to see so many of you back to join me in the Winter Haven KAL again, I have spent so much time smiling at familiar names as I have seen your photos … we might be miles apart but feels like we’re all in the same room together!

We’re back to damp and grey weather again here in Winwick so it’s been nice to light the fire and sit warming my feet whilst I knit!

If you’re new to the Winter Haven KAL, you can catch up on the previous posts – Week 1 is here (and tells you about what you need to join in), and Week 2 is here.

🕯 My space

Well, my space is pretty much the same as it was last week but it turns out that there is more than one Haven Space in our house … there’s only one porthole bed in the shelving unit, though, so you can imagine that there has been some kerfuffle about who gets to be in it at times!  It’s nice to have the cats with me though – this shelving unit is in the bedroom that my husband and I share and use as an office, and it’s nice to have the company when my husband is out and about.

I’ve got more of your Haven spaces to show you this week – I’m conscious of this being a photo-heavy post so I’ve put them into collages, but it’s so lovely to see where you’re sitting to knit, read, and while away a few moments for yourself!  I thought that this year, I’d keep a note of the books that I see you reading in your photos and I’ve listed them in the self-care section so that I (and you!) can find them again later if we’re looking for a good book recommendation!

Source: top L-R: @sarahs_sockknitting via Instagram, Alaina via Facebook; bottom Alexandra via Facebook; Christine via Facebook

Sarah is a prolific knitter and always has such a cosy set up!  I love the way that she is very often colour-themed too … and I always love to see how much further she’s getting through her copy of Project Super Socks!  That’s a lot of socks!  Alaina is knitting two socks at the same time (you can see her progress further down), and Alexandra’s all set up to knit herself a pair of Treasure Socks with Summer Sunset yarn – I’ve got a pair of those myself, and I love them!  Christine is knitting a Basic 4ply Sock but using the helical method, blending Wildflower with Candy Floss which is a great mix!

Source: top L-R: Rebecca via email, Kim via Facebook; bottom (both) Annette via Facebook

Rebecca knitted that fabulous blanket on her chair herself, you know!  She’s a big fan of entrelac knitting and you can tell!  Kim is in the US with her gorgeous furry helper – I can imagine he’s nice and cosy warm to snuggle up to on a cold day!  The bottom two photos are both of Annette’s Haven Space and I expect there’s been a fair few stitches knitted in that comfy armchair!

Source: top L-R: Jeanette via Facebook, Julie via Facebook; bottom (both) Tanya via Facebook

I know that Jeanette’s comfy chair really is comfy because we have the same one!  Ours is donkey’s years old, though, and looks considerably more battered so spends its time covered up with blankets and cushions – Jeanette gets to enjoy her every day and has the footstool too – how fabulous!  Julie’s space looks very organised, and I love that you can just see her cat curled up in the best space on the sofa at the top of the photo.  Our cats like to sit in that join between the cushions too – I wonder if it feels like sitting on someone’s lap?  Tanya’s space looks very inviting with her cosy and the lights, and her little sign made me laugh too …

Thank you for showing us all your spaces again – more next week!

🕯 Project

This week, despite the top photo showing not so small daughter’s Film Reel Sock, I haven’t been able to stop knitting the Wool Revival DK socks that I started last week.  The first sock is done, apart from the grafting, and I’m onto the foot of the second.  They’ve been a quick knit and I’m looking forward to being able to wear them …

You’ve all been getting on with your projects, and it’s been lovely to see such a wide range of them!  First up, this year’s pattern – Trailblazer Socks …

Source: @penberthyarns via Instagram; KathrynCaron via Facebook

There’s only one pair in Winwick Mum yarn this week and that’s in Winter Icicle.  All the others are in lots of different yarns and I love to see how the pattern knits up!  I’m not quite sure which yarn KathrynCaron has used – it might be Yarnsmiths Sock in the shade Fruit Salad, but I do like that you can see her pair of Treasure Socks from last year at the bottom of the photo!

Source: Vanessa via Facebook; Julie via Facebook

Vanessa has nearly finished her sock in that gorgeous subtly variegated yarn, and Julie has finished her first colourblock Trailblazer Sock.

Source: @lenoremr via Instagram; @imogen.knitting.crochet via Instagram

Lenore is over the other side of the world where it’s very hot has been under the air con rather than next to the fire, but she’s still managed to knit her first Trailblazer Sock in record time – and Imogen has finished hers too in WYS Starling yarn, which has worked out very well!

Don’t they all look fabulous?  I am so thrilled that you have wanted to knit the pattern – and that your socks have turned out so well!

If this is tempting you to have a go at the Trailblazer Socks for yourself, you can get a copy of the free pattern from the blog post here or from the Winwick Mum shop here.  If you download a copy from the shop, don’t forget that there is a tutorial to go with the pattern in the blog post showing you how to work in the increases, and if you downloaded an early copy of the pattern and haven’t started yet, do check the Errata as there were some updates.

In other projects, this week we have lots of Basic 4ply Socks!  The Winter Haven KAL is the perfect time to make good that resolution of learning to knit socks – and I can tell you from my blog stats that a huge number of people are doing just that!

Source: top L-R: Emma via Facebook, Kerrie via Facebook; bottom Julie via Facebook; Stephanie via Facebook

It’s lovely to see so many pairs of socks on the go and so many first-timers too!  I love looking at all the yarns and the stitch markers, the project bags … ooh, it’s always lovely to see!

Source: top L-R: Janice via Facebook, Treva via Facebook; bottom Janet via Facebook; Teresa via Facebook

Janice decided to use the Basic 4ply Shortie Socks version of the pattern which is a good way to use up leftovers; Treva has used the Winwick Mum yarn Wildflower, Janet has chosen a Fair Isle-style yarn and Teresa has found a ball of WYS Tequila Sunrise in her stash – I’ve not seen that yarn for ages!

Lisa started and then finished her pair of Basic 4ply Socks, adding in stripes of contrast yarn to break up the colour.  I think the main colour is WYS Fuchsia and the contrast is WYS Fairy Lights.

Source: Lisa via Facebook

Alaina has also made speedy progress from the balled yarn in her Haven Space photo to now having two socks nearly ready to wear (she’s progressed even from the second photo this week!)

Source: Alaina via Facebook

Also on the go this week …

Source: top L-R: @knitting_boo via Instagram, Alison via Facebook; bottom Jacquie via Facebook; Emma via Facebook

Becky is knitting the Dancer pattern that I designed for the West Yorkshire Spinners Fairy Lights yarn – she’s got the sparkly yarn, too!  Alison has finished her Treasure Sock that she started last week, Jacquie has finished her first Easy Cable Sock and Emma has found the Calcite Socks pattern – and doesn’t it look good in green?!

Sarah has been using sparkly WYS Silent Night yarn for her Easy Mosaic Socks

Source: Sarah via Facebook

And Fiona emailed from Queensland in Australia to show me her Sizzling Rays Summer Sunset socks … and a summer sunset that matches beautifully!  She said it’s been 40 degrees in Queensland.  I went to put another jumper on 🤣

Source: Fiona via email

And I wanted to show these photos from Anne-Mette.  She’s been knitting the Basic 4ply Children’s Socks for some very tiny tootsies … oh, they are so cute! ❤️

Source: Anne-Mette via Facebook

Finally for today, Jo has been knitting the Thoughtful Cowl and I think it’s turning out beautifully with her deep red/pink yarn.  I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished!

Source: @jojotwinkletoes via Instagram

Don’t forget that if you’re on social media and want to use a hashtag, it’s #WinterHavenKAL, and if you’re not on social media and would rather email me your photos, please do!

🕯 Something green

I haven’t bought myself any new flowers this week because the ones I have are still fine!  This might sound like a very strange thing to do, but I stand my vase of flowers on a mirror and I have found that the flowers last longer.  Is it a coincidence?  Well maybe, but this coincidence has been happening all year since I started buying cut flowers again and now I regularly get two weeks and sometimes longer out of a bunch of supermarket cut flowers.  No, this vase is not on the mirror as it usually stands on the dining table and I wanted to photograph the flowers, not the paraphernalia all over the table as well!

I can tell you that the shortbread hasn’t lasted that long.

🕯 Light it up!

This week, I decided I was going to do some decluttering in the room that I used to use as an office before I moved to share with my husband.  Nowadays, I think of the room as a yarn room where I keep most of my yarn, my stitch dictionaries, my needles, books; there’s limited space in the shelving unit that we share in our office and as you’ll have seen from the earlier photo, one block of it is now belongs to the cats.  The other spaces are taken up by stuff for my day job, paper for the printer, stationary, folders, that sort of thing, so I keep my yarn downstairs where I can get at it more easily.

Whilst I was in there, I found some waxed paper bags of wax melts that a friend gave me one Christmas (I found quite a few things that I thought I’d lost!) and I’ve been using those up this week.  I really liked this one, called Rhubarb and Custard (if you’re of a certain age from the UK, you can probably hear a cartoon theme tune in your head now!), and I’ve enjoyed mixing a few of them together too (Sweet Orange and Patchouli were a definite hit!).  Oh, and eventually, I had the room tidy too! 🙂

🕯 Listen up!

What have I listened to this week?  Well, I spent several hours listening to a Spotify playlist the other day when I was clearing out the yarn room!  It’s such a clever thing to be able to add music that you like to your own list so that you can play it whenever you like, isn’t it?

I’ve also been listening to BBC Sounds this week.  I found the Radio 4 show “I’m Sorry, I Haven’t a Clue” which I’ve listened to on the radio on and off for years, but never thought to look for on the BBC app.  Oh my goodness, it made me laugh so much that I nearly fell off my chair!  I’m so used to sitting down in front of the TV with my knitting that I’d forgotten how funny radio shows can be, and how clever comedians can be when they are relying on their words and not actions to create the humour.  I don’t know how well the humour translates to other countries as English humour can be somewhat quirky sometimes, but I’d definitely recommend the BBC Sounds app as there are lots of different options from podcasts, music, stories and live radio to listen to.

🕯 Self-care

My self-care this week has been to continue with the changes I was making to my working week to make sure that I stop at a sensible time but still get everything done.  Last week was Hard Work and I was exhausted by the end of the week … I mentioned last week that the book I was reading (“The Mountain is You”) talked about adjustment shock to change and once I read that, it was like my brain said, “Oh, that’s all right then” and this week I have been fine!

I’ve been doing more exercise too – I’m making sure that I’m doing my stretch exercises most days of the week and I’ve been to a couple of local classes in Qigong and salsa dancing.  Well, there’s nothing like dancing salsa for an hour to show you how unfit you are! 🤣  At the moment, I’m really enjoying both as they are quite different from each other, but good for me in different ways.  I’ve never really enjoyed going to the gym so finding another way to move has been on my list for a while as in the end, it’s more important to move than not move, and you have to find something that suits you!

How about you?  What have you been up to?

I haven’t finished my books yet although I’ve enjoyed reading them this week.  I thought that this year, it might be an idea to list the books that we’re reading in case anyone else fancies reading them.  Also, in my own interests, it’ll be easier for me to find the list again if I know it’s on a Winter Haven KAL post rather than having to look through the photos! 🙂

My books are:

Sleep, Drink, Breathe by Michael Breus, The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest, Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan and the Oor Wullie annual (all Amazon links)

Your books:

The End of the World is a Cul-de-Sac by Louise Kennedy

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Brady

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

A friend of mine has just finished reading The Ministry of Time and said she really enjoyed it, so that’s always good to know, isn’t it?  I’d like to read more novels this year, so I’ll make an effort to do that.

🕯 Thank you

Have you been remembering to think about what you are grateful for?  It’s good to write it down but it doesn’t really matter if you don’t – the important part is that you think about it as being grateful for what we have opens the door for more in our lives to be grateful for!

This week, whilst I was pulling all the bags and boxes out of the yarn room to put stuff away properly, I found the bag that I keep the toiletries and sanitary items that I take to the food bank, and I was grateful that we had enough to share.  I was grateful that we have enough not to need the food bank, and I was grateful for the food banks and the people who work in them so that those who do need them have somewhere to turn.  There’s nothing like the colder seasons to remind you of what you have to be grateful for if you’ve got warm clothes, central heating and a roof over your head.

On a lighter note, I was grateful for whoever invented Toblerone, because I flipping love it!

Thank you for being part of the KAL with me this week, I have so enjoyed having you here with me again!  Don’t forget to keep tagging me into your posts so that I can have a nosey into your cosy spaces and see your projects – the hashtag is #WinterHavenKAL.

I hope you have a wonderful week in your Winter Haven – see you next Friday! xx