End of December Wrap-Up

 You know what they say about the best-laid plans right? I had some hopes of finishing at least a few projects this month, but the universe decided differently. The day after my last post I tested positive for COVID-19. So, a mandatory week off, but my energy was so low I didn't manage any stitching. I tried knitting one day when I was feeling a bit better and ended up in bed all the next day! So I didn't try that again. 

It took a good 2 weeks to get any kind of energy back, so that was a long time without crafting. I had COVID-19 in 2022 and that took months to recover from. I'm grateful it didn't hit me as hard this time. 

My parents were going to visit earlier in December, but canceled of course because of me being sick. They ended up coming close to Christmas and stayed for Christmas for the first time ever. We had invited them many times, but most of my family is still close to where they live, so they tend to spend holidays with the rest of my relatives there. Santa brought them stockings and DD had some gifts using her art, so they had a nice time as well I think. They headed back to their home on Boxing Day/December 26 and we spent that day mostly vegging and relaxing. I did get a little stitching and knitting in on the days my parents were here, so without further ado, here's where my December crafting ended up. 

You last saw the Bibliophile bookmark here:    

and now:

Bibliophile Blackwork Bookmark by Kincavel Krosses

stitched 1 over 1 on 28ct white Monaco

with Flamenco by Jodyri Designs

Fortunately I don't need more than a skein for this one because Jodyri Designs has closed up shop. I also needed a break from blackwork, which I never thought I'd actually say, but I just needed something a little simpler, so I pulled out a Mill Hill kit, which last looked like this:

and now it looks like this:

I'm tempted to leave it like this without any explanation of what it is, but maybe some of you remember this little kit I started in 2021?

Skating Snowman by Mill Hill

stitched 3 over 3 as charted with kit threads and perforated paper

And that's it for stitching this month. I did do some knitting, as I mentioned. First a sort of completion?

Vanilla sock (meaning no special pattern)

with West Yorkshire Spinners yarn in colour Robin

Only one sock is complete, so that's why it's only sort of complete. I still need to knit the other one for the pair. I went a little nuts on WYS Christmas yarn this year since my local yarn shop had a lot of their colours this year. Especially the Candy Cane one that tends to sell out immediately. One year it sold out in hours and I never got any. This year I might have picked up 4 skeins or so of just that red/green/white colour. 

I knit on this intarsia blanket for DD while I had COVID, and although it's not complicated, apparently it was more than my body was up for since I needed the next few days to recover. It's over half way down now:

The pattern is Rainbow Days Blanket, but DD chose these colours from the LYS. They're all cotton, so it will be very cozy once it's complete. The top row is the center, then the pattern will repeat. I don't know if you've ever tried or know what intarsia is, but you use all those colours and knit across. Yes, the yarn gets tangled, no, I don't know how to make it not tangle. :)

And here we are, a less crafty December than hoped for, but still here and ready to ring in the New Year with a new start today, which is 12/31/23 in the US way, plus a new start for New Year's? We'll see. 

Hope you all have a had a great holiday season and Happy New Year!

Tiffstitch