So here we go...
These hats were done in January for my Puck This group and our annual Hat Trick Challenge. Knit 3 hats in January to get a hat trick. No prizes but it is a fun way to knit some hats, use up yarn and see all the different hats. It never fails that I'll add about 3-5 more hat patterns to my library that month.
Hats are usually a quick knit and it can be satisfying to get projects done. But that leads up to my other projects I have for 2020. I try to set some knitting goals for myself like 25 projects completed in 2020. I also throw in a bigger project to challenge myself or learn a new technique.
The year began great with my hat trick and I even finished another project for January.
This cowl used scrap yarn and leftovers so half of the battle was choosing the colors. Choosing colors can bog me down super fast but I think I just plowed forward once I picked the colors. This cowl used worsted weight which is heavier for the SoCal climate but I decided it would be my snowboarding cowl and it worked great. I have some cowls commercially made and I find them a little tight and warm. This one seems to fit the bill, a looser cowl to allow more air flow because it's easy to get hot snowboarding.
On to February!! The beauty of knitting is having multiple projects going at the same time. I think this Blended Shawl was a 2019 goal of finishing 2 shawls. Didn't make that goal since it was started in October 2019 but I picked it back up and got it done for 2020. Every project is a celebration for me and this shawl is so pretty! Didn't use leftovers this time but the yarn was mini-skeins as part of an Advent Calendar from 2018.
Another complete project for February...another cowl knit with leftovers (yep, sock yarn doubled). I have a lot of sock yarn and sometimes I swap with other knitters mini-skeins plus the Advent Calendar yarn...well it's a lot.
So by now, you may be thinking that I am on a roll for 2020 and I was until mid-March. That's when I got COVID-19 and everything stopped. My body and mind had to recover and it took a lot longer than I expected. I don't think I started knitting again until May and even then it had to be a very simple and mindless project. Well, I always have a simple and mindless project on the needles and I finished it.
A 10-stitch blanket is a great project for using up yarn and very adaptable. I don't even remember when I started it but it was in 2019 and it just sits there until I pick it up. After COVID-19, this blanket was a blessing. Only 10 stitches and knit until the corner where a little bit of focus and counting are required and that's it. In May, I realized that my nephew and his wife were expecting their baby early June (so there's my goal).
I was finally getting my knitting mojo back! It was frustrating when my mind and fingers wouldn't cooperate after COVID because I had started a new shawl project in February with a yarn kit that I bought in 2018. This pattern seemed a little intimidating and a larger scale but since my knitting was on fire in February, I started Vacillate.
I love these colors and it was already chosen for me!! I started knitting and it was going along really well, I figured I could finish it at my current rate by the end of March. Well, that didn't happen. But I DID finish it in June!!
So the month of July, I have sort of stalled only because I don't have many projects going. I was so focused on finishing i didn't have many ready to go. I don't why it takes me so long to begin, maybe that's why I need several projects going so I can pick up what suits my mood, attention span etc.
I did complete another cowl by sheer will and nothing else to knit...using mini-skeins again. Looking back, I had a hard time choosing the yarn and order like usual.
So that's it for now...I do have a couple of projects going so we shall see which one will emerge done first.
