Monthly Archives: November 2025

Moss Stitch Squares Temperature Blanket

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2025 Temperature Blanket

This year I chose to make a moss stitch in the square blanket, with each row of the square being one day of the highest temperature, taken at 12 pm each day for Carmarthenshire, South Wales, UK and one square for each month of the year, that will then be joined together to make a blanket. 

You can track the daily temperatures for your area on the Time and Date website that records historical weather data. I keep a spreadsheet with the temperatures on for each day and then do a batch of rows for my blanket each week, rather than one row each day but you can work it however you like to suit your routine. 

Here are the colours used from the Stylecraft Special DK range , but you can use any combination you like and any temperature range you prefer too. 

Stylecraft Special DK Colour & Temperature Range ⁰C

Burgundy 31 and above

Claret 29-30

Lipstick 27-28

Tomato 25-26

Clementine 23-24

Citron 21-22 

Mustard 19-20

Buttermilk 17-18

Apple 15-16

Grass Green 13-14

Green 11-12

Aster 9-10

Denim 7-8

Navy 5-6

Lavender 3-4

Violet 1-2

Purple 0 and below

Yarn colour samples on bobbins that will be used to make a crochet temperature blanket by Sarah Lou Crafts. Top row starts with purples moving through the spectrum to red at the bottom.


MONTHLY UPDATES

*January 2025*
Here we are again with a new Temperature Blanket project for 2025. This year it is Moss Stitch Squares, each row of the square, around the white middle, is one day of the highest temperature taken at 12 pm each day and there is one square for each month of the year that will be then joined together to make a blanket.

Top Temp got to 11⁰C on 5.1
Low Temp was 3⁰C on 8.1 

*February 2025* 
I was going to say “oh,  so much blue”, but then Spring suddenly sprang on 22 February and we had 5 gorgeous days of green before it dipped back to blue again. I am glad though, that the whole square hasn’t turned out to be shades of blue for the month. 

I wonder if we will get to use any of the other shades of green in March too. What do you think?

Top Temp got to 12⁰C on 21.2
Low Temp was 4⁰C on 14.2

*March 2025*
I think you will agree how gorgeous this month turned out to be and a perfect visual representation of Spring so far. With lots of lovely yellows for some stunning warmer days too,  

Top Temp: Got to a barmy 19⁰C on 20.3, shown by the darker mustard yellow row.
Low Temp: 8⁰C on several days, shown by denim blue rows, like on the 4.3.

*April 2025*
The month started off with lovely warm weather and a mix of yellows. 

Top Temp got to 22⁰C on 4.4
Low Temp dipped to 8⁰C on 15.4 

I still need to start joining the completed squares together too, but that is the bit I don’t enjoy. 

*May 2025*
A lovely bright square for the month, even though the rain returned towards the end. 

The top temp was 26⁰C on 1.5 
Lowest temp was a respectable 13⁰C on 4.5 & 5.5 

Do you think we will get to use any of the reds in June? We certainly didn’t get close last year.

*June 2025*
It has been a mixed bag this month and wonderfully warm. I have been able to use some of the red which we were not able to do in 2024. 

Top temp was 28⁰C on 19 & 20.6.25
The lowest temp was a respectable 15⁰C on several days during the first week of June. 

Will we get to use any more reds in July, what do you think?

*July 2025*
Here is the proof of what a wonderfully warm month we have had during July. Look at all those yellows, oranges and reds. If you remember last year’s blanket we didn’t get to use any of the red shades and I had to use them for the border instead.

Highest temp 28⁰C 11 & 13 July. 
Lowest temp 18⁰C shown by the buttermilk yellow on several days.

I wonder if we will dip into the greens again in August or keep the lovely warm colours instead. What do you think?   

*August 2025*
My prediction for August was thankfully incorrect and we had another wonderfully warm month instead. 

Top temp 26⁰C on several days shown by the Tomato orange/red.
Low temp 17⁰C on 1.8 & 2.8 buttermilk cream/yellow.

*September 2025*
Autumn has definitely arrived as we dip back down into the greens and no orange or reds this month. 

Top temp was 22⁰C shown by the yellow row on 6 Sept.
Low temp was 14⁰C shown by the lighter green row on 21 Sept. 

The 2nd photo shows the other square to date, that I still need to join together to make the blanket. 

Which month is your favourite colour combo so far?

*October 2025*
A return to greens as we head further into Autumn and closer to Winter. 

Top temp reached 17⁰C on several days shown by the light Buttermilk yellow rows, like at the start of the month in the middle of the square.
Low temp was still a respectable 11-12⁰C shown by the darker green rows.

I am expecting to drop down into the single digits in November, do you agree?

*November 2025*
The weather has definitely been mixed this month and we have had so much rain here in my little corner of Wales. My prediction from last month was correct we did indeed dip into the single digits. The second photo shows the progress for Jan to Oct and I will obviously need to do a border on the whole blanket in early 2026 too. 

Top temp was 16⁰C on 5.11 
Low temp dropped to 4⁰C on 20.11 shown by the lavender row.

Do you have any predictions for December?

 

November temperature blanket square in rows of greens, blues and a lavender purple row. Crochet squares with different coloured rows in Blues, greens, yellows, orange and reds to show the top temperature taken at 12 pm each day in Carmarthenshire, Wales for the months of January to October 2025.

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More Updates will be posted monthly and in the meantime you can you can read about the 2024 Temperature Blanket: https://buyindie.co.uk/star-temperature-blanket/

and all the other posts at https://buyindie.co.uk/store/sarahloucrafts/blogs/

You can also sign up to my SLC Club newsletter where you will get a special 15% off discount code that doesn’t expire plus exclusive access to pre-launches, behind the scenes news and special offers. Sign up here. subscribepage.io/QffPBo

Free from AI. This post and all posts on the Sarah Lou Crafts blog are written by me from my own rambling thoughts and are typed by hand. Thank you for reading.

How Hiking Mitts Can Help You On Adventures

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Hiking Mitts

I have been adventuring since I was a child, from an active and creative family. Alongside adventures with Guides, Duke of Edinburgh and Scouting, comes a love of craft making. As a parent and multiple dog owner when adventuring I wanted gloves to keep my hands warm but had to keep removing them to get items from the backpack or to hold on to the dog lead so I decided to crochet my own fingerless mitts for people who want practical yet beautiful adventure accessories.


Crochet fingerless gloves are perfect hiking accessories. Even during summer, mountain climbing, beach exploring, or any outdoor adventure can be chilly.


They are available in a variety of colours and sizes, are lightweight and easy to pack. The convenience of fingerless gloves means you are still able to access your phone, navigation device, maps, backpack, dog lead. The list is endless.

Warm Wrists, Warm Hands

Believe it or not but wearing hand-warming fingerless gloves will indeed keep you toasty and warm. Large arteries of the body pass close to the skin at your wrists so they can release a lot of heat. Studies have found that if we were losing heat it was because our wrists are not properly insulated.


Whenever someone is exposed to cold temperatures, the nerves of the skin, blood vessels, and brain sense the colder temperature and then send chemical messages along the nervous system to the arteries of the skin, hands, and feet, telling them to constrict to keep as much warm blood as possible away from the skin, fingers, and toes.


This helps to prevent the body from losing vital warmth through the skin and to keep the blood and inner part of the body (with vital organs like the brain, kidneys, and heart) at the correct warm body temperature. In the vast majority of people, this chain of events just causes the skin to feel cooler than normal.


In some people, however, it can cause severe pain and affect your daily activities or enjoyment of adventures. It is therefore important to layer up and wear warm accessories when and wherever you are out and about.


It’s not easy finding products for us Frosties even during the summer months the weather can be chilly especially if you are more prone than some, to feeling the cold.


Hiking mitts are available in medium and large adult sizes and I recommend you even invest in a large size which gives you room to even add a warmer pouch into the glove. A medium-size will give you a snugger fit depending on preference and they are all long to cover the wrists and forearm area for added comfort and warmth.

How Hiking Mitts Can Help

  • Reduce extreme sensitivity to cold. The body may react to cold-causing pain. Wear Hiking Mitts to reduce your sensitivity.

  • Lessen skin colour changes. Fingers, toes, and/or sometimes the ears, lips and nose turn white due to lack of blood flow (called pallor). The blood that’s left in the tissues loses its oxygen and the affected area turns blue (called cyanosis). As fresh oxygen-rich blood returns to the area, it often turns bright red. Hiking Mitts, Ear Warmer Headbands and Beanie Hats will keep your extremities warm.

  • Avoid coldness, pain and numbness. A lack of oxygenated blood in the fingers triggers these feelings. Numbness is the sensation that the hands and fingers have “fallen asleep.”

  • Alleviate, tingling and throbbing. The quick return of blood to the fingers triggers these feelings, but keeping a warm and even body temperature can ease any tingling or throbbing.

Ear Warmer Headbands

To complete the accessories look are matching sets of ear warmer headbands to keep the crazy annoying wind from giving you terrible earache and that constant battle of keeping your windblown hair from your eyes. 

Beret Hats

Berets are excellent for spring, autumn, or winter weather, adding warmth without the snug heaviness of a thick beanie and thanks to their looser, slouched fit compared to a tight beanie, they are great for keeping your hair style and fit well for those with longer hair too. 

Boot Cuffs

Boot cuffs are short ankle warmers designed to give that extra level of warmth on cold hiking adventures. I created the pattern myself and they can be worn either long or short by folding over the ribbed cuff for added versatility.  

Lap blankets

Are smaller in size, designed to be over your knees while sitting around a campfire when camping or caravanning and therefore lighter and easier to pack too. These blankets can also be used in the home as a comforter / small blanket for children or as a chair or sofa throw.

 

You can shop the full range of handmade gifts and ‘Adventure Accessories’ from Sarah Lou Crafts. 

 

A collection of hand-crocheted adventure accessories winter gear for outdoor enthusiasts, including berets, boot cuffs, ear warmers, and fingerless gloves in various colours and textures.


You can read all my other posts at https://buyindie.co.uk/store/sarahloucrafts/blogs/

You can also sign up to my SLC Club newsletter where you will get a special 15% off discount code that doesn’t expire plus exclusive access to pre-launches, behind the scenes news and special offers. Sign up here. subscribepage.io/QffPBo

Free from AI. This post and all posts on the Sarah Lou Crafts blog are written by me from my own rambling thoughts and are typed by hand. Thank you for reading.