2022 - End of year wrap up and reflections

Previous years here: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016

That was quite a year! I started powerlifting and competed twice. My boss died and I've been doing her job. I lost a cat and gained a cat. We went on an epic multi-day hike and loved it. And throughout it all, I read and knitted.

At the end of last year I said I wanted to read more sci-fi and fantasy, and I feel like I did that. This year I joined Kindle Unlimited and got quite a lot of value from it. Other than that, it was the usual mix of fiction, a little bit of non-fiction, romance and some review books, although my reviewing seems to have slowed to a trickle.

In knitting I completed 50 projects, for a total of 20,386 meters. I went to three year festivals and had a very good time with my knitting friends. I also, finally learnt to crotchet properly and had a lot of fun (especially when I had Covid) making squares. Maybe in 2023 I'll put the squares together into a blanket.

This year I discovered Aussies knitting for War Affected Kids (AWWAK) an organisation that sends packages to kids in Syrian refugee camps. I knit 15 things for them. I have an informal goal to knit at least 12 charity items each year.

I kept the sock knitting under control, with 7 pairs, three of which were given away as gifts. next year I am planning 6 pairs of two colour slip stitch socks, as well as refreshing my sneaker liners.

The stash is a little large, sitting at 25,669 meters over 34 entries. I'm not quite sure how it got that high, I haven't been stress shopping. i guess the yarn festivals, and Dani keeps dying amazing yarn, which I've been buying in doubles. I love pretty much all of it, and my oldest yarn is from March 2021, so nothing has been sitting around too long. That number includes two and a half kilometers of left over sock yarn (LOSY) which I plan to reduce by knitting for charity.

Wishing you joy and peace in your crafting and non-crafting endeavours.

Comments

Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises.

Linky Wednesday - the one with the drama

The drama about the Stephen West MKAL continues, and I can't be bothered with it. It's meant to be a fun, interesting, communal knit and and that's not what this year has turned in to. Stephen has done his best in a difficult situation, but I'm just not feeling it. Meanwhile, Israel is at war, and we (as a country) are going to vote "no" on a referendum that asks for basic consideration for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders. So yeah, lots of turmoil here. It's very tiring. I'm knitting a sock and considering what happens next. Luckily the reading was dramatic in a good way. I'm reading a NetGalley review copy of Last Summer at the Lake House and it's great. Super dramatic family drama about three sisters who loose their father unexpectedly and then find out that the family has secrets. I 've nearly finished it and I don't know what I'm going to read next. I've got a bit of a break between review books, so maybe Sta

Mussleburgh musings

I made a Mussleburgh hat earlier in the year, and even though I thought I was following the directions exactly it did not come out quite right. It was a little bit loose. My head is 51 cm, my gauge was 7 stitches, so according to the pattern I knit the right size. It's also a little bit shorter than I would like it. Too long for a beanie, too short for a good turn-up. I couldn't work out why. I still wore it, but it was not quite right. When I decided to knit one for Elise I knew I wanted to make it longer, and tighter. After I finished Elise's (with 24 fewer stitches) I realised something about mine: Now, this is a knit tube. I know how to knit tubes. When I make sleeves or socks, they don't balloon out in the middle. So I decided to reblock it. The instructions actually specifically say to fold it inside each other after blocking, but I probably folded it and dried it on my head, because that's how I block my hats. Not this time: Now it's longer and thinner

What I made, by Sharon

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