This is a couple weeks late, but I wanted to do my annual reckoning for my crafts and reading. This year was not an easy one, and it was not as conducive to getting more accomplished, but I am proud of what I did. My goals for this year are to read more deeply, to finish up more WsIP, and to balance my design work with the most important work of loving and raising my family. It has been a hard balance to keep lately.

You can see up there some of my latest finished projects and the things I am working on now. I did finish my GAL project, though not until a couple days into January. Likewise, I finally got a picture of Nejat's finished stocking, and I am now working on two designs, plus a pair of convertible mittens for Alexander. It would be wonderful to knit as prolifically as I did when we had fewer children and I had more available time, but that is not in the cards for a while, so I am content finishing projects from before, and working on several new ones for this year. I did frog a project that was long unfinished and would not fit the intended recipient and have a new idea of what to do with the yarn for her. So, without further ado, here are my finished items and my read books of 2020

2020 Finished Objects

• January
• De Colores Feather Bookmark for Michelle - Knit
• Diagonal Dishcloth for MIL - Knit
• February
• Sharav - Knit (design for sale)
• May
• Liam's Loops Mittens for Yasmina - Knit
• Vespers - Knit (design for sale)
• June
• Light Bright Hat for Marigold - Knit
• Kabsa - Knit (design for sale)
• Qibli Bookmark for Liliana - Knit
• July
• Mozarab - Knit (design for sale)
• August
• Ember Days - Knit (design for sale)
• September
• Light Bright Socks for Me
• November
• Mozarab Headband - Knit (design for sale)
• December
• Victorian Stocking for Mariam - Knit
• Memorial Dove for Christina - Knit
• Noel Stocking for Nejat - Knit

You can see that it wasn't a lot that I made this year, nor were there any really large projects. However, each was made well and with love and have made at least one someone happy.

2020 Books Read

(including read aloud books, but not picture books/story books)
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• February
• Farmer Boy
• March
• On the Banks of Plum Creek
• April
• Tending the Garden of our Hearts
• May
• By the Shores of Silver Lake
• June
• Little Town on the Prairie
• Babel
• July
• These Happy Golden Years
• The First Four Years
• September
• Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
• October
• Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Magic
• November
• Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Farm
• West from Home
• Hello Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
• December
• On the Way Home

Still no amazing records in my reading, and most of the reading I did this year, or rather most of the reading I completed this year, were read alouds with the kids. As of now, I finished one happy little murder, Chocolate Cream Pie Murder and we are almost finished with Little Women. Nejat wanted to know why it was a sad story, and we explained that it was both sad and happy, the way life is. I finally started reading Desert Queen in earnest. It is a really enjoyable book, though the author shares the modern view that the only intellectual pursuits that are worthwhile are those which are open primarily to men and that women of superior intellect cannot be satisfied with a life at home, as that would never provide them any mental stimulation. It is frustrating to read, especially as instead of elevating women, it instead cheapens and denigrates their accomplishments, and cedes that the only approval worth having is that of the "patriarchy," ironically. However, it is a common prejudice of modernity, and certainly not unique to the author, so I note those annoyances, and move on in my reading.

If you have read far, thank you! Watch this space for an opportunity to win a fun prize next week. There was a mailing mishap with the books I was supposed to receive which included my pattern in Knit Picks Serendipity collection, and they arrived last week. I will be giving one away as a prize here as a thank you to my readers and supporters.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday.

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Labels: Books, Design, FOs, Giftalong, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, WIP, Yarn Along