Winter Haven KAL 2026 – Week 4
And just like that, it’s the end of January! Where did it go?! The fourth Friday blog post is here and this is the last of the posts for this year’s Winter Haven KAL, although there will be one more round up post next week as usual. I hope the month has passed well for you and that you are ready for a brand new month … on Sunday!
The days are getting lighter already – I’ve noticed that it’s not dark until nearly 5pm now – and I’ve heard the birds singing when I’ve woken up. It’s starting to feel as if we’re moving out of the depths of winter … although I think there’s talk of snow forecast over the next couple of weeks so there’s a good chance of plenty more winter weather to come! The good news will be that we should all have at least one extra pair of woolly socks to wear … 🙂
🕯 My space
We had our chimney swept yesterday and I’ve got the fire lit again now, safe in the knowledge that it’s clean and there’s nothing up there to catch fire. It’s been blooming cold here today so I’ve been very grateful of the extra warmth from the flames, and the hiss and crackle makes such a cheerful, nostalgic sound. I’ve got a lot of childhood memories of sitting next to an open fire and it always makes me feel safe and cosy. It’s even safer and cosier now our sweep has done what he needed to do!
I think we’ll still have plenty of opportunities to light our fire over the next few weeks until spring officially arrives, and I am going to do my best to keep my Winter Haven KAL intentions of sitting and taking a few minutes for myself going for as long as I can. Looking after ourselves shouldn’t finish at the end of January! 🙂
Here are some more of your spaces! The spaces are all very different, but all have a cosiness to them. I love that we’ve got people from all over the world taking part in the Winter Haven KAL and you’ll notice that some of the spaces have a distinct non-wintery look about them. That doesn’t matter to me at all as what’s important is that you’re taking the time to rest – the end of the year celebrations can be exhausting whatever the weather!
I hope you enjoy looking at the photos as much as I did …
Source: Top L-R: Allison via Facebook, Delia via email; Bottom L-R: Debra via Facebook, Lynne via email
Source: Top L-R: Susan via email, Judy-Ann via Facebook; Bottom L-R: @lenoremr, @jancarciofo both via Instagram
Source: Top L-R: Rebecca via email, @sarahs_sockknitting via Instagram; Bottom L-R: Vanessa via email, Tracy via Facebook
Source: Top L-R: George (C), Jacqui both via Facebook; Bottom L-R: Fiona, Sue both via email
Lynne’s in Canada and she sent me this photo of Red Bay in Ontario as she said it reminded her of the Summer Sunset yarn that the Abacus Socks are knitted in. I’ve really enjoyed seeing your pets taking part in the KAL as well this year (ha – I think it’s more likely that they’re allowing you to!) although more dogs than cats, apart from Astrid who is happy to represent all the cats as long as she’s got a box to sit in and crunchy biscuits on demand 🙂
Source: Lynne via email
Mary and Susan are both in the US where there’s a fair bit of snow … it’s no secret that I absolutely love snow, so these photos are for me as I get my snow fix vicariously through other people’s photos!
Source: Susan and Mary both via email
It’s been lovely to see so many of your Haven Spaces again this week, and there are so many photos that I’ll need to keep some for next week’s round up – thank you for sharing them with us!
🕯 Project
I’ve done pretty well with projects this KAL! I’ve finished two pairs of socks for my husband (maybe cheating slightly as I haven’t cast them both on this month 🙂 ) and I’ve also made a start on the Aardvarkish shawl that I wanted to re-check.
The pattern is worked in three sections (two outside sections and a repeated centre section) and I’ve worked a sample of the pattern using just one of the centre sections to remind myself how it worked.
I’m knitting with West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply in Mulled Wine. You can only just see the sparkle in the photo, but I can see it very well when I’ve been knitting in the evening under the light. It’s lovely!
For those who weren’t sure how the pattern worked, you need to move the stitch markers between the lace sections to accommodate the decreases: I’ve updated the pattern and tutorial post on the blog here: Aardvarkish Shawl free pattern and tutorial and there’s a new version of the pattern in the blog shop now too: Aardvarkish Shawl.
I’m only a couple of rows into my “proper” version of the shawl – it’s a 411st cast on so it’s taking me a bit longer to whizz along the rows than a 60st sock 🙂 – but I should have something to show you by next week’s round-up post.
And what about your projects? Well, have I got some photos to show you!
Abacus Socks first … so many of them to show you! I’ve got more photos that I’m saving for next week so that I don’t overload the post with photos – it’s been brilliant to see them all, and thank you very much for showing us your pictures.
Source: Top L-R: Caz via Facebook, Jan via email; Bottom L-R: @aj_bramblewood_crafts via Instagram, Marjon via email
Source: Top L-R: Christine via Facebook, Katie via Facebook; Bottom L-R: Kim via email, @lenoremr via Instagram
Source: Top L-R: Ann via email, Michelle via Facebook; Bottom L-R: Michelle, Pat both via Facebook
There are plenty of other projects on the needles too! It’s always lovely to see which patterns you pick …
First up, Basic 4ply Socks. I never get tired of seeing these because they’re a staple in everybody’s sock drawer and every pair is unique, whether it’s the yarn you’ve used or the unique design features (never mistakes!) that you’ve incorporated. We all do it from time to time (me included) and they’re what make our hand knit socks special 🙂
We’ve got some first socks in this collection of photos which is lovely to see – I’m always very happy to encourage people down the sock knitting rabbit hole!
Source: Top L-R: Dawn, Shirley both via email; Bottom L-R: Delia, Elysa both via email
Source: Top L-R: Mary, Janice both via email; Bottom L-R: Sue, Debra both via email
Ruth has made a pair of Split Mittens – in fact, I think she may now be onto her next pair as her family have decided they all want some …
Source: Ruth via Facebook
Tracy and Debra are both knitting Nutmeg socks …
Source: Tracy via Facebook, Debra via email
And in this collage we have Neat Ripple socks, Sound Waves socks, Noelle socks and Easy Lace Socks …
Source: Top L-R: @angiequilts via Instagram, @yarnforcalm via Instagram; Bottom L-R: Sue via email, Karen via Facebook
Phew, that’s a LOT of socks and mittens on the go – thank you so much for showing me your photos! Don’t worry if you’ve not spotted yours – I’ve got some left for next week so hopefully it’s in there!
It’s not a problem at all if you haven’t finished your project for this month – there’s no deadline so you can continue at your own pace, and I hope you might consider keeping your Haven space on for a bit a winter isn’t over yet!
🕯 Something green
My flowers from last week are still going strong so I haven’t bought any more this week. There’s not much change in the garden either – it’s been wet and windy and I think all the flowers that are out are probably feeling as if they were a bit hasty now!
🕯 Light it up!
It’s still very much candle season for me – now that I’m in the habit of lighting them, I never feel quite right if I’m sitting down and I don’t have one lit.
My family know very well now not to buy me candles that are “too nice to burn” – that is, candles in any kind of shape that will disintegrate as it burns. Pillars, blocks, candles in jars or tins are all absolutely fine, I just can’t bear to watch wax teddies, owls, balls of yarn, beehives or any other kind of candle shape melt away into a disfigured mess. One of my (many) quirks, but that’s how it is 🙂 My girls bought these for me. Not so small daughter found the tea light holders, and big daughter’s friend makes the candles so we’ve had a number of them from Haddican & Sass and they all smell fabulous.
🕯 Listen up!
I’ve been out in the garden a fair bit this week (despite the weather) and I’ve been listening to Spotify playlists. I don’t pay for Spotify so it decides for me what I get to listen to for the most part. I can choose a playlist either of my own or a preset one, but after a while, Spotify decides that it’s had enough of that and will play “something similar” which is sometimes fine, and sometimes I have to stop what I’m doing, pull my gardening gloves off and press the “change track” button in the hope that I’ll like what it finds next. It’s a bit like a musical lucky dip and for the most part, it’s OK and I have enjoyed what’s come up. I’ve listened to a surprising number of Pet Shop Boys songs this week, though, which was quite unexpected! “In a West End town, a dead end world …”
🕯 Self-care
My self-care this week has been to be out in the garden. There’s a lot of structural work to be done before the leaves start to appear – I’ve got hedges to cut, dead branches to remove, an old compost bin to get to the tip … lots of jobs that of course take longer than half an hour, or even a couple of hours in some cases, so I’m just taking myself outside when I can and plugging away at it. It’s very tempting to leave it all till the weather starts to improve, but by that point the birds will be starting to build their nests and I don’t want to be cutting hedges then, so I’ve just got to pull my jacket and hat on and get on with it!
I’ve also been doing that self-care thing that I said I wasn’t going to recommend in the Winter Haven KAL – I’ve been soaking in the bath after being in the garden. I’m very good at getting myself out of my dirty gardening clothes into my joggers and a jumper and then just carrying on with my evening, but I have been making a point of drawing a definite line between my gardening work and my evening rest. Observing the boundary between daytime and evening isn’t something that I’m always very good at, and previously, you would often find me working until quite late on my computer because I’d got something I needed to – or at least, something that seemed very important to me.
Self-care this week has also been being firm with myself about work boundaries. Working at home doesn’t mean that you should work every moment (this is a lesson that should have been learnt from Covid times!) and I need to be more strict with myself about clocking-off times!
🕯 Thank you
Thank YOU for still being here with me at the end of the month!
It’s always so lovely to be able to chat with you either through email or social media during the Knit-along. I know it’s not always easy to be able to leave comments and not everyone is on social media, but every connection that I have with you reinforces why I host the Winter Haven KAL every year and I very much appreciate all the contact – thank you! xx
I’ve loved seeing all the pairs of Abacus Socks and other patterns too – some that I had forgotten about! – and I hope you have enjoyed knitting them. Most of all, I have been overjoyed to see brand new sock knitters taking part in the KAL, starting and finishing what will hopefully be the first of many pairs of socks.
Thank you too, to everyone who has bought me a brew (the donation button is in the left hand side bar in case you wondered how they did it 😉 ), bought a copy of my books or a new pattern; your support means a great deal!
Writing down what I have been grateful during the Winter Haven KAL is always a good reminder for me that the magic of gratitude works best when you remember to do it! I am very good at remembering to be thankful for things as I am lying in bed at night waiting to go to sleep, but not always so good at writing it down, and apparently it’s the writing down that’s important so I’m going to do my best to keep it up for as long as I can again. I say this every year, and every year it falls off after a while – but I’m sure that every year I do keep it going for a little bit longer so eventually it’ll be the whole year!
I’m going to write a round-up post again as I have done for the last couple of years and I’ll post that next week. I’d love you to be part of the post with me, so if there’s anything you’d like to show – finished projects, part-finished projects – or you’d like to share, please get in touch so that I can include you!
Don’t forget that the social media hashtag is #WinterHavenKAL, so you’ll still be able to see posts on Instagram and Facebook if you’re a social media user, and you can get hold of me through email as well.
I hope you have a wonderful week in your Winter Haven – see you next Friday for the round up! xx
