2020 Year in Review

 Well, that was one for the record books. And not for many good reasons either.

Mom's cancer treatment is finished for the most part so she's now just waiting for her hip replacements; yes, plural she needs both done. COVID is, unfortunately, delaying things as hospitals grapple with near record numbers of patients. But her cancer treatments are done, I'm not sure if she's officially in remission yet but things look good.

So far hospitals have not been over-run in Alberta but we're playing with fire; it could just be a matter of time until it happens. Especially given the number of people flouting public health guidelines. I'm looking specifically at you - the government officials who jaunted off for warm vacations after telling everyone for months to stay home.

Ahab also underwent two cancer surgeries this year to remove lumps on his chest, one in the spring and one in the fall. Yes, the biopsy came back as cancer so every day with him is precious. So far no more signs of cancer for him so that's good. Other than that his health seems stable, he is 14.5 so, like I said, every day is now precious.

I was furloughed for a few weeks in the summer which may have contributed to the number of socks knit during that time.

But to the knitting!

First thing completed in 2020 was Olive Green. This sweater has been in constant use since I finished it.

Then a red t-shirt. I don't like how the neck came out so I've been wearing this to bed.

Then a cotton vest, just in time for me to switch back to wool. Still, it's there if I need it.

I tried out a double knit chemo cap but it has far too many mistakes to take a picture of it.

Then a Cancer Comfort Cap, with a cancer diagnosis in the family you can expect there were a few cancer caps this year.

A pair of socks for my Niece the Elder. Socks came to dominate my summer knitting this year.

A cotton/linen blend pullover. I need to go back and re-knit the sleeves on this one but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

A pair of sparkly socks for myself. The sparkly doesn't show well in the picture.

Another cancer hat, with me modeling.

More socks for myself, there was a lot of self-sock knitting this year.

A Chemo Wurm.

A Chemo Sockhead.

Then the Cherry Zigzag Seed Stripes baby blanket. There were not many blankets this year.

A beige t-shirt. The excitement just never stops.

A cotton vest, and yeah, I'm back to wool now.

Another Chemo Cap, with stripes this time.

A very thick, warm little blanket.

A crochet market bag. Currently holding a number of finished Awwww-poo bags. The awww-poo bags were not recorded as individual projects.

More socks, these sort of look like a stained glass window and I didn't want to disrupt the pattern so I made the heels from a separate black yarn.

Some Awww-Poo bags. Only bothered to take a picture of one but I made several.

A black t-shirt, this one is a bit short and I need to re-knit the hem a little longer. Haven't got to it yet.

A birthday jumper for my Wee Niece. She still wears the sweaters I send her so she continues to get them.

These poor socks are the colour of dried blood so I called them Death by a Thousand Socks. They're warm and they fit fine, this particular dye lot is just a bit unfortunate.

I went on a total sock run this summer and knit a lot, I'll have the final number below, so Mom's birthday socks were done in July. Her birthday is in December.

Then a pair of grey/blue men's socks. These are going to my brother in law in Scotland.

Then a vest for my Wee Niece. For some reason sleeves just were not happening so she got a vest.

Then a silver-grey vest for me. It now has buttons but I didn't take a new picture.

Getting way a head on birthday sock knitting for 2021, I made my Niece's socks in August for her March birthday. She'll get them soon. These are just as violently pink as they look.

A random pair of women's socks, I will be sending these to my sister in Scotland.

Another pair of men's socks, Dad will be getting these.

More random socks, will probably give these to my sister who lives in the same city as me.

More socks, this time for me.

Socks for my Nephew. Birthday in February but finished in October.

Another pair of socks for me.

And finally, a break from socks to make a Hitchhiker scarf. I have worn this a lot this winter, it's a really nice size for when it's winter but not particularly cold. It's supposed to have 42 scallops on the edge but I only had enough yarn for 41, oh well.

And back into socks with another pair for myself.

And, of course, my Wee Niece also needs socks.

At this point I have discovered the Ziggurat Method for knitting sweaters and socks have sort of stopped. I do have to make a pair for my other brother-in-law since the rest of his family is getting socks I'd feel bad leaving him out but his birthday's not until April so I have time.

Totals

Socks = 16

Sweaters = 3

Vests = 4

Crochet = 1

Bags = 2

Scarf = 1

T-Shirts = 3

Chemo Caps = 6

Blankets = 2

Total projects = 37

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.