An Increasingly Not-Quite-Annual Update

Apparently eleven months between posts wasn't a reasonable self-improvement goal (or it was fine, and self-improvement was the unreasonable part). I had grand ideas of posting at least a photo and a sentence for each finished object in 2020, and that didn't happen. It's a shame, because at the moment I don't really remember what I made last year. Time to dig through the photo stream...

It was a year of much knitting, and after much grief in trying to work out how to do the angled joins, I finished my Arbus. It's so nice that I'm mostly afraid to wear it.

I also took the plunge on modifying last year's Marled Mania, as I never did manage to get along with the wooly funnel neck. My method was a bit too extreme, as I spent ages pulling the wool back to where I decided to pick up the stitches, and then had to re-knit most of it since I didn't want an off-the-shoulder sweater. But when I finally finished I had a scoop-neck sweater that I loved wearing and got a good bit of use out of, in spite of the worst of winter being gone by the time I finished. I particularly enjoy the built-in mitts, as I feel they make my stubby fingers look a bit longer and slimmer!

I took a great shine to the Ranunculus knitting pattern in 2020 and knitted two; I'm currently on my third one. My first was knitted in gorgeous silk fingering from Black Elephant yarns. The yarn didn't cake well, but it was lovely to work with and made an incredibly drapey and luxurious top.

My second Ranunculus was in a yarn whose name I can't remember, but it's really nice. The band said it was fingering weight as well, but it came up much thicker and warmer (still nice though) than my first. I really like this color as well, which I think of as chocolate-y purple. Sounds strange, but I feel like it works for me.

Although this photo doesn't show it, I finally finished my Rose cardigan in 2020. (Only two years from start to finish? That's pretty good for me!) It came out absolutely huge and still barely touched several of the skeins of yarn from the kit I got for it (I'd be more annoyed, but I think the leftovers are pretty versatile colors and I can find someplace else to use them). I'm not sure the final garment is that flattering on me, but I've still enjoyed wearing it around the house and going out on errands, and it's incredibly warm. In spite of being expensive for the kit, it's probably my second-most worn hand-knit (the first being a scarf I paired with one of my coats years ago and have never bothered to swap out).

I also completed a crocheted blanket as a baby gift early in the year. It's been a while since I've seen it, and I like it better with some distance between me and its construction.

Speaking of blankets, I also dug out my old beach blanket kit and added a few more waves to the water line that had been barely started. Still miles to go, though...

And for a hat trick of blankets – crocheted, knitted, and quilted – I finally started on the Bargello quilt pattern I've hoarded for years. I've gone a bit crazy on the fabrics and materials for the project, but I wanted it to come out well. It's still in progress, but I have finished the key section of the quilt top:

I didn't do too much in the way of sewing, as my quilt was quite the investment of time and energy, but I did make the French Poetry Luna (Lune?) dress. I still haven't found a solution I really like for addressing the very low v-neckline. I went with the usual triangle of lace to preserve modesty, but I feel like it compromises the lines of the dress. Maybe someday I'll find the perfect solution which provides modesty and still looks nice; in the meantime I was still happy with the rest of the dress. I did have to add ties across the back neckline, as the back v-neckline isn't something I know how to tailor well enough to not have the shoulders constantly slipping off.