Winter Haven KAL 2026 round up
And here we are in February! There, that didn’t take too long, did it? All those people who think that January takes 737 weeks to pass obviously don’t have a Haven Space to sit in to pass the time! 🙂
It may be heading towards spring now but it’s certainly still very chilly around Winwick so I have no plans to stop using my own Haven Space any time soon. I don’t need much encouragement to light the fire and get out my knitting at the best of times, so certainly not when it’s still grey outside and the mornings, whilst lighter than they were, are not filled with sunshine and birdsong.
It’s always a bit sad to come to the end of the Winter Haven KAL and so as in previous years, I’ve got one more post to gather together all the photos that you’ve shown me over the last few weeks so that we can admire socks (because it was all socks this year, apart from a pair of mittens last week!) and cosy spaces one last time.
As always, it’s the Haven Spaces first and here’s our last look at them for this year. I’ve done my best to include everyone’s photo that I saw, but it’s entirely possible that I have missed some, so my apologies if you haven’t spotted yours! I’ve got just a couple to show you this week …
Katherine has been working on a pair of Sound Waves socks in her cosy space. You’ll see her finished socks later, but I can tell you that her project bag matches the lovely blue of her socks!
Source: @yarnforcalm via Instagram
Rosy is also very cosy – there’ve been quite a few photos of outstretched legs this year … it’s the way to go when you’re resting! 🙂 She’s got her bee socks on and her Abacus sock on her needles and she’s warm and dry whilst it’s raining outside. Perfect!
Source: Rosy via email
Vanessa has finished her first Abacus Sock (actually, her pair as you’ll see later!) and has a lovely set-up here!
Source: Vanessa via Facebook
Haven’t we had a lot of lovely Haven Spaces to look at again this year? Thank you very much for showing me where you’ve been sitting to knit, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed seeing them! The nights are getting lighter here in the northern hemisphere but they’ll be starting to draw in if you’re on the other side of the world. You might be glad to keep your Haven Spaces going for longer – and why not? Just because this has been a January knit-along, there’s absolutely nothing to stop you having a Haven Space to have a few minutes in all year round!
Let’s move onto the projects now.
For my own project, I’m getting on with my Aardvarkish Shawl after updating the pattern last week. I’m still working on 411sts for this part so it’s not going particularly quickly but that’s OK, I’m not in a rush. The pattern isn’t difficult and once you get your head around moving the stitch markers to accommodate the lace pattern, the pattern for the wide section in the middle is easily memorised so that you can repeat the 18sts of that section quite easily. Yes, you may spot that I have an eclectic mix of stitch markers – some “proper” stitch markers, some lightbulb pins, some safety pins and some paperclips. I don’t think it matters as long as they do the job! 🙂
And now your projects!
I’m hoping I’ve not missed anyone out but even if I’ve not shown your photo, I do hope you’ve enjoyed your knitting this last month!
First up, the Abacus Socks and a last look at your projects for this year …
You may recognise some of these socks from previous photos as they are completed – Panda has finished her lovely green and grey socks. Helena made a pair for her Mum’s birthday and her Mum put her new socks on straight away! Michelle is working steadily through her pair which is absolutely fine as there’s no deadline to this KAL, and Anne-Mette found an abacus to add to her photo – brilliant!
Source: Top L-R: Panda, Helena via Facebook; Bottom L-R: Michelle, Anne-Mette via Facebook
Leanne travels a lot and always takes her knitting everywhere with her. This Abacus Sock has been on trains, to cafes, shopping – and the hairdresser’s! Pat has knitted a second pair of Abacus Socks because she enjoyed the pattern so much – that’s what I like to hear! Amanda’s socks are in the bottom two photos – can you see her cosy lapwarmer? 🙂
Source: Top L-R: @gingerknitz81 via Instagram, Pat via Facebook; Bottom L-R: Amanda (with friend!) via Facebook
Gill posted several photos during the Knit-along so I thought I’d show you them all. At the top are her first pair of Abacus Socks, and then she made a second pair. This time, she continued the twisted stitches onto the foot which I think looks brilliant.
Source: Gill via Facebook
Finally for this year, two more pairs that you’ve seen in progress during the KAL. Sharon has used Autumn Leaves for her Abacus Socks with a Sunflower contrast, and Vanessa has used two lovely shades of blue which show the pattern off beautifully.
Source: Sharon, Vanessa both via Facebook
It’s been really interesting for me to see the reactions to this pattern as it’s been knitted. I knew that twisted stitches would be new for some people and I also wanted to bear in mind that the pattern release date was just after Christmas and New Year when everyone was tired, so I deliberately kept the twisted panel to the top of the sock so that the rest of it was easy rib.
It turns out that the twisted stitches and the Eye of Partridge heel flap of this pattern have indeed been a bit of a learning curve for some people, but just think of how I’m encouraging you to build new neural pathways in your brain! 🙂
Shall we see what else has been on the needles?
Amanda has been busy and knitted one pair of Basic 4ply Socks with the addition of the Eye of Partridge heel (from the Abacus Socks pattern), and is starting her Abacus socks by reversing the colours. The pattern looks good in the green! Bridget has been using up leftovers to make really unique pair of Basic Socks. Carol is an expert at the Maze socks pattern – she’s knitted many pairs now! She’s also been working on her Beekeeper’s Quilt over the KAL and that counts as there’s Winwick Mum yarn in there. I’ve had a lovely time spotting the colourways! 🙂 Sue has used the Hidden Gem pattern with a solid yarn and it shows off the pattern beautifully. This pattern looks more complicated than it is: there are no twisted stitches here in the same way that the Abacus pattern works, just knitting through the back loop of the stitch which twists it. The pattern takes a little concentration to follow, but it’s all good for the grey matter! 🙂
Source: Top L-R: Amanda, Bridget via Facebook; Bottom L-R: Carol, Sue via email
Helen finished her Basic 4ply Shortie Sock just in time for this week’s photos. It looks great with the dark contrast heel! Debra had been knitting two pairs during the KAL and has now finished them both – a pair of Basic 4ply Socks and the Nutmeg socks which was last year’s WYS Christmas yarn pattern. Rebecca is working on her Easy Mosaic Socks, a Winter Haven KAL pattern from a couple of years ago, and I must apologise to this last person who’s made a lovely pair of shortie socks using the Trailblazer pattern (another Winter Haven KAL pattern) as I have downloaded the photo but not made a note of their name or where I saw the photo. If this is you, please get in touch so that I can update the post!
Source: Top L-R: Helen, Debra via email; Bottom L-R: Rebecca via email, unknown
That’s it for this year’s socks – how lovely have all these photos been? It’s been so good to know that you’ve been taking time to sit and knit during January – and this is exactly what I mean in the “getting started” posts for the KAL each year. It doesn’t matter if we are all miles apart, the chances are that we’re sitting and knitting at the same time and that collective activity and energy holds us together. We are all connected by yarn 🙂
And that’s a wrap for this year’s Winter Haven KAL!
I do hope you’ve enjoyed seeing all of the photos, and thank you so much for being part of KAL with me again this year. It’s been lovely to know that we were all doing something similar during January and I have thoroughly enjoyed being connected with you through the blog, email and social media over the weeks of the KAL.
I’ve got every intention of running the Winter Haven KAL again next year and I’d love to know what you enjoyed most about the KAL this year. I don’t want to get boring if I’m showing you stuff you’re not interested in! 🙂
Until next year, I hope you are fully rested and recharged now, and ready to face 2026! xx
