2019 Year in Review

Well, that wraps up 2019. Not the best year on record I'm afraid. I lost both Mouse and Soccer and my Mom got some bad health news. I suppose the good thing about Mom's news was it forced me to go see a doctor myself for the first time in far too long. My results are all good except for high blood pressure.

Mom's bad health news will mean a rough year in 2020 so I feel like I'm bracing myself for it. Deep breath.

Starting with pets

Mouse left us in March after a sudden, brief illness. It is astonishing how much of a hole such a small, quiet cat left behind.

Then a second whammy when Soccer passed in July. I miss the stubborn, pushy old fellow.

Ahab is enjoying being the only pet, it's also possible we've been spoiling him. Just a little.... OK, fine; maybe a lot. His health seems to be fine so far (touch wood) still just a little arthritis in his joints slowing him down but otherwise he's in excellent health.

No changes with Eclipse either, she does like being a pasture potato. Best retirement ever.

And moving on to knitting

First thing finished in 2019 was a pair of socks, the usual basic socks made with interesting yarn. Kept these for myself. That's right, I selfish knit.

Then I finally, finally finished Spruce. This sweater took two years because I stalled out on the yoke, and it took me months to figure out that I didn't want another raglan style. I don't know if the yoke I ended up using has a name or not but I must like it because I've now made several sweaters with this yoke or a variation on it.

Then I made myself an Ugly Christmas Vest. Yes, in January. I even wore it this Christmas. This picture doesn't have the buttons but they're there now.

I always need a few socks right away at the start of the year since there are a cluster of birthdays all at once. Here are my Niece's socks. My Dad and Nephew's socks were finished in 2018 during an impressive sock run.

Then I finished Parchment. The first of three fingering weight cotton/acrylic blend sweaters, the yarn is Knit Picks Comfy Fingering Weight, I would love a couple more of these. A dark grey and a light grey perhaps..... Or maybe a bright red..... decisions, decisions..... I ended up taking the neck out of this sweater and re-making it, you can see my second attempt in the second picture.

 

I had a need for some socks for my own sock drawer so three pairs of socks dripped from the needles in rapid succession. Including my Time Traveler socks at last. If you don't know which pair that is or why they're called Time Traveler you need to turn in your Nerd Card.

 

Then I finished a sweater that was too small. Urgh. No idea why I continued until after blocking it before I admitted defeat but I did. It is now being re-knit a little larger.

Ravelry says I completed a pair of booties next but apparently I didn't take a picture and I'm not exactly sure where they are.

Then I completed the second fingering weight cotton/acrylic sweater. This one is a lovely dark green. You can see I did a much better job with the yoke where the sleeves attach compared to Spruce. The neck is just slightly too snug on this one, I have to take my glasses off to put it on or off. But, once it's on it fits great.

Then I needed some summer socks. These are a cotton/acrylic blend. I really don't like knitting cotton socks so these took quite a while to finish.

Next a wool vest. Not sure I will be keeping this one as I don't like how the shoulders sit or the way the weight of the hood pulls at the yoke. It may get re-made into a different vest.

Next came my pride and joy for 2019: my very own Star Wars Scarf! I love this scarf and have been wearing it at the slightest hint of cold. Unfortunately it was too warm for it when I went to see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. This is a double knit fabric and I have fallen in love with this technique, the fabric it makes is wonderful. The down side is that it is a fairly slow technique since you basically have to work each stitch twice every time. It is totally worth the effort though.

Then came two sweaters for my Wee Niece for her birthday. I usually do socks for birthdays but she was spotted in a video call wearing another sweater I had made for her so I decided on a sweater. Then made her two because she's still small enough I can still make her a sweater pretty quickly. And she wears the sweaters; this is important because there is no point in investing all the time and yarn needed for a sweater that won't be worn. There have been multiple sightings of her wearing the heathered sweater since it arrived, apparently it is currently one of her favourite sweaters. One really must take advantage of this willingness to wear hand knit sweaters while it lasts.

 

A hoodie sweater for myself came next. This was a re-knit of another sweater that didn't work out quite right. Wool yarn isn't cheap so I didn't want to have an unworn sweater sitting around. I have worn this one many times since it was finished. Or re-finished.

Another car seat baby blanket came next.

And then came Celestial, it was this project where I perfected the yoke for this series of fingering weight cotton/acrylic blend yarn. Unfortunately, I don't know if you can see it in this picture.

After something of a sock drought these were finally finished and went to Mom for her birthday.

Then another baby blanket, this one is not meant for a car seat. I made up this pattern and I really like how the textured stripes came out.

Since my Wee Niece got sweaters for her birthday this year she got socks for Christmas. I don't do a lot of Christmas knitting, too much pressure, but I'm willing to make an exception for someone who wears so many of my knits. Plus my other Niece and Nephew have reached the gift card age.

And Dad's birthday socks are all set for 2020.

And a blanket which has been on the needles since Aug. 2018. Glad to have this one done at last. There is a surprising amount of yarn left after finishing this so it may get some matching booties, and maybe a sweater and a hat.

And one final pair of socks for my Nephew's birthday in February. Squeaked these under the wire by finishing them on New Year's Eve. Yup, that's how exciting it is around here.

To recap:
24 projects completed
10 pairs of socks
8 sweaters
7 gifts
3 little blankets
3 things sent to Scotland
2 vests
1 Star Wars scarf

Word of the Year
I think I succeeded with this; for 2019 my word was 'active' and after moving to a new office for work I did start walking the dogs in the morning, my consistency did sort of fade once Winter set in though. More to do with ice than with snow or cold, although cold is a factor for Ahab.

For 2020 the word will be - health.

Current Weather
0C and mostly cloudy, the wind has stopped so I thing the Chinook is close to over.

In Loving Memory

Soccer crossed the Rainbow Bridge this morning. He was bleeding into his stomach; basically bleeding to death internally. He can rest now. He couldn't walk or wag his tail anymore so it was definitely time to rest.

In his youth Soccer wagged his tail constantly, even in his sleep. He considered a 16KM hike a good warm up and always did everything with the utmost enthusiasm. In his old he tried age to keep up the enthusiasm but it became more selected. For years I said I could power my house if I could figure out how to harness his energy. Later he could only have managed to recharged my cell phone.

He hated hoops, hoola-hoops, tires; anything circular. When I tried to teach him to sit in the middle of a hoola-hoop lying on the floor he refused to put a paw inside such a thing. When I taught him to jump through the agility tire, for months he ran around it three times to make sure it wasn't hiding anything sinister before very carefully jumping through. He almost managed to learn to play Flyball. He would run over three jumps until he was bleeding from the nose but refused to run over four jumps. He could be incredibly stubborn.

He was taken from his mom too young and as a consequence had socialization problems all his life; then was abandoned by at least one, more likely two or even more families before he came to me. I promised him I would never leave him. I kept that promise and was right beside him as he left this world.

Cotton Vest Disaster and a Dragon

I made myself a cotton vest, just using some Bernat Cotton, nothing fancy no real pattern.

Then I put it in the wash.

I didn't realize the new sheets were going to shed this much purple/red dye.

It seriously looks like someone bled all over it. A lot. I've washed it a couple times to try to get the dye out but no luck so far. I can't even donate it since it looks like it was part of a murder spree.

The dragon came out much better. Another Tarragon, love this pattern so any excuse to make another one, in this case my boss is having a baby so I made a dragon for his daughter. Will also make one for the new baby, said to be a boy, in blue.

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Iris and Watermelon
Pattern:  Tarragon the Gentle Dragon
Needle: 2.75mm & 4.0mm
Gauge: not critical but you want a firm fabric for stuffing

Pets
Everyone had their annual physical yesterday.

Mouse (17 years old) kept trying to run away from home when we got back even though I told her we were not likely to go back to the vet for a while. Her blood pressure is high so she's going onto some blood pressure meds, hopefully she likes the taste of pill-pockets as she will need to take these for the rest of her life along with some pain killers for arthritis. Blood work shows her just starting to have kidney problems so she's moving to a kidney support diet. Other than that she is wonderfully healthy. Not bad for the feline equivalent of 84 years old.

Soccer (13 years old) is in the poorest health of us all. His kidneys are not doing well at all, but he has gained a couple of kilos over the past few months which is good news as he was terribly underweight earlier this year, to the point where I thought I was going to loose him; the improvement is a huge relief. Waiting for the blood work to see if his kidney values have improved. And will be increasing his daily dose of pain meds for arthritis, he walks with a zombie shuffle in the back end because his hips are failing badly. Getting old is not for the weak. The vet also said that he is one of her favorite dogs ever which is really nice to hear because Soccer is the only dog (so far anyway) that I've had that I needed to seek professional help to train, I guess we got it right in the end.

Ahab (12 years old) is now retired from Scent Hurdle, he needs pain killers for his arthritis to get through the day; sports are done. He's done more than enough for the sport of Scent Hurdle as any dog could as the first tri-pawed to compete (I had to get the rules changed so he could compete) he's earned his retirement. He had more teeth removed in July and his mouth has healed up nicely; we're working on tooth brushing. Other than the arthritis he's doing well.

Current Weather
16C and mostly cloudy. Yesterday the smoke cleared off for the most part, today it seems to be back. We've been chocking on smoke from the BC wild-fires for over two weeks now.

Birthday Socks

Finally finished my Niece's birthday socks, only a few days late. In my defense this is only the second time socks have been late in many years. This was also my first stripped socks; not sure why I've never done stripes before, although the prevalence of self-striping yarn might be a factor.

Pattern: Basic Sock
Yarn: West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 Ply in CottonFloss and Blueberry Bonbon
Needle: 2.5mm
Gauge: 40 stitches and 48 rows

Pets
Soccer is not doing well, his kidneys are failing faster than I think the vet initially thought they would. He's on a number of medications now and doesn't have much energy. As I understand it the kidneys produce a hormone that tells the bone marrow to produce red blood cells and since his are not producing this hormone he's very anemic. He's comfortable and still wags his tail when the occasion calls for it.

Ahab is doing fantastic, still loving Scent Hurdle.

Mouse seems to have stabilized after having a number of GI problems earlier in the year.

Current Weather
-12C and snowing. Winter just will not end!!!

Not a New Year's Resolution

There was a dude, I have no idea what his name is and I'm not looking it up, on the Marilyn Denis Show this morning talking about how almost no one ever keeps New Year's resolutions. I've heard this before and I never bother to make them because I know I'll never keep them. But he talked about having a word for the year instead. I admit that makes more sense to me than a massive, vague goal you will never keep.

So, I'm taking the word "finishing" for this year. I'm going to finish the WIPs lingering from last year, including the sweaters I promised my Mom and my Sister in Scotland.

This is the year of finishing!

I'm currently working on finishing my Nephew's birthday socks. No pictures for now.

Current Weather
-7C and cloudy. The warm spell is over and the temperature has dropped back below freezing. It was inevitable. Soccer is not a happy dog; he's feeling the cold a lot this winter. Poor old pup.

2017 Year in Review

Pets

I hate leading off with bad news but I must sadly say that I lost Squish this year. He had been ill for a couple of years with thyroid and, more recently, kidney failure but when he suffered a stroke (I think it was a stroke, he showed all the classic symptoms that EMTs tell you to watch for in a human) and was left partly blind and unable to walk I had to let him go. Rest easy my Squishy-cat; I miss you still.

Mouse has adjusted to being the only cat quite well and has embraced her Siamese genes by mewing constantly, mostly when she wants food; which seems to be every 20 minutes. Unfortunately, she has suffered from IBS for most of her life and has now added pancreatitis to her list of ailments. Watching her suffer through a flare-up is horrifying; the poor little cat is clearly in agony when it happens. And there isn't anything the vet can do for her, no medication or anything; all we can do is watch and hope she doesn't get worse.

Eclipse has not had any change in her health status but she does have cancer so I don't know how long she will be with us. Could be years could be months, with cancer you just never know.

Soccer's kidneys have started to fail so he's on medication for that. And he developed a fat lump on his side very quickly just before Christmas, monitoring for now and it has not become hard so far. He also seems to have a depressed appetite, food doesn't seem to interest him much and I had to move him onto a prescription vet diet; at least he'll eat it, he was refusing to eat anything for a couple weeks last spring and he's not a dog that should skip many meals given that he's always been a bit scrawny. For now he's still eating and doesn't seem to be in pain so we're monitoring.

Ahab seems to be that last healthy pet in the house and still loves playing Scent Hurdle. I'm keeping him running only one heat per race otherwise he seems to be really tired before the end of the tournament.

Knitting and other Fiber Arts

And now, let us take a look at the fiber accomplishments of 2017. I spent most of this year unemployed so my production level was high.


First completed project of this year was a pair of socks for my Niece. My Nephew's socks were completed in 2016 for his 2017 birthday so they show up on last year's review.










Followed immediately by a pair of socks for myself.

Then my Calgary Sister texted me a picture and asked if I could make her a hat like the one I had made for my Niece for Christmas 2015 in black or grey. How can one refuse? I called it Space Wurm not because of the colour (a true black) but because I was watching space documentaries while knitting it. Colour would have been a good reason to call it Space Wurm too.




Next, having learned that my Wee Niece's mauve Wonderful Wallaby just barely fit, I made a larger one for her. I have actually seen her wearing this in several video calls with her! Now, that's the way to get yourself hand knits. Or for your mother to get you hand knits. Either way.





Then came a pair of John Deere socks. I had originally intended these as a gift for a friend but one ended up longer than the other by about 1cm so I'm reluctant to gift them. They're waiting for me to make a decision.




Next I completed the first three of a series of Hats. I had some old Wool-Ease in my stash that I could never think what to do with. I can't even remember what I originally bought it for; so I made it up into a bunch of hats. This also lead to an important question - What do you call a group of hats? My personal favourite was a friend's suggestion of a "snuggle of toques".

Then came my UK Vacation. There were many adventures, but of relevance to knitting - while on the train from London to Edinburgh it broke down so I had lots of time to work on a pair of socks. I knit most of a sock while stuck on the train then completed the pair in the lounge of the hotel in Edinburgh. They're in my Scent Hurdle team's colours and I've been wearing them to tournaments, well, in winter that is.







And I finished another entire pair of socks while visiting with my Sister in Aberdeen. These went to my Mom for Mother's Day, which is celebrated in March in the UK so she got them early since we were in the UK and they were finished and it was UK Mother's Day. She did not get a second pair for Canadian Mother's Day but only because I didn't have time, I would have if I'd had time.


Upon returning home the hats continued to drip from my needles, it helps that Wool-Ease is a really chunky yarn, giving me a total of nine in various sizes. I originally intended to give these to charity, except for the medium green which I kept for myself, but they kept getting claimed by those who saw them on the table at the front door. In the end I kept the medium green, the solid red went to my Mom, the large charcoal to my brother-in-law, the blue with red stripe and grey crown to my Niece, the large green to my Nephew, the charcoal with red ribbing to my Sister, the small blue to my Wee Niece, and only three went into the charity box. Still, they all found a good home.

Then I did some experimenting with loom knitting, I would like to do more of this but I'm having problems finding the right tools. I have a feeling this could mean I'm pushing the envelope here. Cool beans. I did a small blanket that I ended up not liking because I chose the wrong cast off and messed up the pattern, this may get frogged yet. Plus, I have since found that double knitting works really well when you are working with two colours, so I really I feel I should be pushing this technique more and using three or more colours.


Next a sweater for me. I wore this lot through the cold snap over Christmas and New Years.











Then socks for my Dad for Father's Day.




Another sweater for my Wee Niece. The colour in the picture is completely wrong, it's actually a light blue. Since its in Scotland taking a replacement picture is tricky.






I enlarged the fish from the "A Recipe for Fish" blanket pattern and made a dish cloth.






Followed by a couple of Aww-Poo Bags. Still working on perfecting the pattern for these as I'm not 100% satisfied with it.

A flaming red 10 Stitch Blanket. My awe for the genius of Frankie Brown continues unabated. No particular plan for this at this time. I'm not worried; there's always someone having a baby.






A blue blanket. I had no recipient in mind when I made this but it worked out well when it went to a friend of my Scottish Sister who had a baby boy this year. The friend lives in Canada so there were no shipping costs incurred.




Some cotton socks for myself as I always seem to run out of summer socks. Not that I wear socks much in summer but it is good to have some.






Next some boring and practical dish cloths. As you can no doubt tell from the Franken-Cloth I was using up old stash to make these.

Another Aww-Poo Bag, this one came out a bit small, so still working on perfecting the design.











Another baby blanket, tentatively thinking of trying to sell these. And if that doesn't work out then I have plenty of baby gifts. There is a diamond pattern in this blanket, you can't see it at all in the picture but I assure you, its there.




Reached into my stash and worked up a baby car-seat blanket. The picture may not show it well but there are holes you can buckle a baby car-seat through. That way the baby can't kick the blanket off. This was this year's only crochet project.





I had purchased some alpaca sock-weight yarn to go into my Mitered Square Sock Blanket but I ended up with too much orange so I used the alpaca (why wouldn't you choose the alpaca?) to make mittens instead. There is a finger hole in the right mitten so you can text or use your GPS without removing your mittens.





Then I finished the first Christmas present, my Nephew's Star Wars Scarf. This was my first try at double-knitting and I have fallen completely in love with the technique; it is awesome. Also, I love this pattern and am still debating doing one for myself. I fear that if I do though I'd better also do one for my brother-in-law.




There was enough alpaca left after the mittens for a headband. It is currently far too cold to wear this.






And Christmas present number two, more double-knitting to make a Horse Scarf for my Niece. The colours in the picture are really off, the background should be light beige, same as in the Star Wars Scarf picture, and the scarf itself is dark purple and mauve.



And then another little blanket, blue with a leaf pattern. This picture is pre-blocking, I suspect the pattern will calm down and it will look much better once I take some steam to it.





And finally one last blanket with a single snowflake pattern but mostly stockinette stitch. Finished this on Dec. 30, although like the blanket above it still needs blocking, so it just squeaked across the wire.






Completed this year:
38 projects
36 knitting projects
9 chunky hats
7 little blankets
7 pairs of socks
3 sweaters
3 dish cleaning apparatus
3 Aww-Poo Bags (experimental)
2 double-knit scarves
1 wurm hat
1 pair of mittens
1 headband
1 loom knit project
1 crochet project

Current Weather
A balmy -20C and sunny. After over a week of -30C temperatures -20C feels positively warm.