2020 Round Up

Despite everything in 2020, I crafted a lot.

My biggest leap in skills was in knitting. It went up at least one notch. I started the year finishing 2 lace scarves. I don't think I like knitting projects which take years to finish. My thang now is knitted toys which are not only fun but fast to knit up. My only fear is I'll injure my hands. Anyway, I won't be able to do any knitting until my left shoulder heals completely. I cannot wait to knit more toys.

I had planned on making lots of garments but that did not happen because hubs had to work from home and took my sewing table as his work table. My daughter worked from home for a number of months and she was very strict about noise so I gave up using the sewing machine for many months. My son too had to study online and there were also group calls and twice a week, he worked as a student advisor on a couple of modules. So more silence required. It was very stressful being cooped up at home and remembering to be quiet. I've never been shushed so many times in my life. (I'm pretty noisy)

I am very happy to report that when my daughter took on a temporary holiday job teaching kids coding and had to wear working clothes, she wore the 2 polka dot A line flare skirts a lot. She wore the yellow/orange blouse a few times but the white/blue blouse, she did not wear a single time. Of course, she bought a ton of clothes as well. I am certain she has more clothes than Imelda Marcos.

Last year I worried a lot about my kids. I know they're young adults already but I never stop worrying about them. My son struggled quite a bit in the last semester. His journey to university has been a very long and difficult one. I was naïve to think the struggle is over once he entered university. Thankfully, he managed to pass all his modules. As for my daughter, she had to do her internship which is a pass/fail module. I know she suffered a lot. The worse part is me and hubs couldn't do anything to help her. I'm just glad she found the strength to overcome her difficulties and managed to pass her internship. I look forward to the day when I stop worrying about the kids. I must ask my mother who has 9 kids how she did it. COVID-19 killed my daughter's dream of studying one semester in Canada. I don't know about my son's overseas summer immersion program yet. It's probably not going to happen either. It's bad news for the kids but good news for the parents. We save a lot of money.

I didn't think I had the ability to produce any bag patterns as it became clear I had to take all my photos indoors instead of in the stairwell as I usually do. In one of my bedrooms, I discovered a golden hour period when I could take photos by the window. So using that golden hour period, standing on the bed, bouncing a little trying to balance and also trying my best not to fall to my death out of the window, I managed to take all the photos I needed to publish 2 patterns. Maybe in the future, I should consider buying proper lights and take my photos at home instead of using natural light.

I don't have big plans for 2021. Just going to spend the year quietly, mind my own business, keep fit, lose some weight, stay alive and try not to lose any organs. Of course I'll be knitting, sewing and baking every now and then.