Although this dusty blog would suggest otherwise, I am still making stuff (and things)! My output has slowed considerably this year, especially when it comes to knitting projects. Sewing face masks has become one of my top weekend activities, and I've also been doing a lot more cross stitch this year after getting obsessed with The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's postage stamp series. Over the spring and summer, I ended up stitching the Pinata Party, Winter Wonderland and Snow Much Fun at the North Pole.! Fun fact: all 3 pieces were stitched on aida fabric that I dyed myself.
Currently, I'm working on Satsuma Street's Pretty Little Chicago to commemorate the 15 years we spent living in the Windy City.
Not all of my FO's from this year are what I would call notable, though - I won't bore you with photos of every single thing here, but you can check my Ravelry notebook if you're curious. I knit a lot of very plain hats this year, many with handspun, and virtually all of them for the donation bin. Hats have become my favorite way to destash those oddball skeins - in fact, that's how I finally used up one of the yarns from the deepest, dark corners of my stash. In fact, it's been in there so long that the company (Windy Valley Muskox) is no longer in business - I got it in their Stitches Midwest booth all the way back in 2012.
One of my favorite knits of 2020 is one I didn't get to keep - the Aspen Mantle by Jenny Williams, which was a sample for Knit Picks. However, loved wearing the sample so much that I decided to reassign some green skeins of yak yarn I'd been saving for a sweater to make a green poncho for myself.
Last week I finished knitting through the first skein of yarn, which means that I probably won't be finished til next spring if I continue at this pace. And to be honest, I'm fine with that - I'm trying to focus more on enjoying what I'm making instead of rushing towards the finish line. And while I might make less in the months and years to come, I want to make sure that it's stuff I'll actually love to wear....so even if that means frogging a sweater that just needs two sleeves (which is something I did earlier this year), so be it. There's no point if it's never going to be used.
Another favorite project was the Dumpster Fire ornament by Kino Knits. What better way to commemorate this crap year?! Plus, I was able to use yarns entirely from my stash - always a bonus. Since I didn't like how my duplicate stitch was looking, I decided to buy some number charms on Etsy, which allowed me to pay homage to the last 2 crappy years. Two, two mints in one.
But here's something unexpected: after months (or even years) of avoiding sock knitting due to issues with my hands and wrist, I was able to finish a long-hibernating pair of socks AND knitted a brand-new pair of socks PLUS both of my single socks for the Knit 1 Sock Club. For me, that's a historic amount of sockage!
I also knit a really pretty cowlette (Rochambeau by Carina Spencer) with a skein of yarn I bought at the last in-person Stitches Midwest in 2019.
Earlier this month, I found some beaded ornament kits from Solid Oak which I never put together. I decided to take a crack at these candy canes because they looked a lot easier than the wreaths. The candy canes were really easy to do, and fun - maybe I will work up the courage to make the wreaths over the holiday break!
For 2021, I'd like to be better about blogging regularly...although I still recommend signing up to get new posts delivered via email just in case I'm not 100% back to a regular Wednesday post schedule. I'll also be exploring more non-knitting territory (latch hooking, baking, and maybe even my first-ever quilt project?!?), but of course I'll keep knitting. In fact, I even have a few new knitting designs in the works for 2021. Onward to a new and hopefully less crappy year!
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