2015 GAL round-up

Before the 2016 GAL starts, now seems like a good time to reflect on the projects I made last year. I completed ten items all together, one bag, four hats, two toys, a pair of socks and two light sabres. Yes, you read that last one correctly!
All apart from the toys and one hat are from designers who are participating again this year.
Let's take a look at those finished objects....

My first, cast on on the first day of the 2015 GAL, was This Little Piggy Went to Market by Dana Gervais. This cotton market bag has had so much use over the last 12 months, coming in very handy for carrying my groceries back from the shops. It's especially useful having such a long handle as I can put it across my body so it can't slip off my shoulder, and it folds down into its own internal pocket making it easy to store. 

​The next is Riles by Talitha Kuomi. This one was a gift for my son's before- and after-school childminder. No fault of the pattern but unfortunately she found the wool I used a bit itchy on her forehead, but she likes the hat so much that she just wore a thin fleece hat underneath it to keep it off her skin and keep her head extra-cosy.

The only pair of socks I completed during the 2015 GAL were these All Of My Ducks In A Row by Amy Kenagy. This pattern was great because I needed something that would work for this multi-coloured yarn, and the pattern was designed specifically to enhance short-colour-repeat multi-coloured sock yarn. These were a gift for my mother-in-law who gets quite a lot of gift socks from me, for two reasons. Firstly she appreciates them, and secondly we're the same shoe size so it's very easy for me to check that they're going to fit!!

The next pattern was a fun one, of which I made two. Light Saber by Emily Ringelman is one of the more unusual things I've knitted, and I had to make two, one for each of my boys. They still play with them a year on! 

My final projects were two of these It's Cold Outside hats by Handarbeitskram. I used two strands of heavy DK held together for both of them, rather than the super-chunky yarn that the pattern is really written for, but they came out just fine. I have only very limited crochet experience and these were my only crochet projects in the GAL last year, but if you're looking for a very quick gift, even a beginner can whip one of these up in little more than an hour.

All of these designers are taking part in the GAL again this year, so if any of these projects take your fancy, you can make them as part of the GAL again this year.