2022: A knitting year in review

It's that time of year where I catalog and review all the projects I've knit in the course of the last year. I find it interesting to note trends in my making, and to look back on how my creativity has served me in that time.

But before I get into the details of my 2022 knitting, I wanted to mention a few knitted items that I've finished in the last several weeks/few months, especially as some were gift knits that I wanted to wait to share.

I enjoyed the new-to-me heel construction on these.

Cabin slipper socks

Such a cozy pattern. The cuffs are double thick (somewhat tedious, but very interesting construction), not too tight, and easy to pull on. I knit them on magic loop and actually enjoyed the method, even though DPNs are usually my preferred type of needle. I chose and knit this pattern for my Grandma Donna, but now my mom will wear them and they can remind her of her mom (she already sent me a picture of her wearing them on Christmas Day).

Self-patterning socks for my dad

I knit these back in October for my dad as a Christmas gift. I used the "recipe" that seems to fit his foot the best. Paton's Kroy self- patterning yarn is one of my very favorite yarns with which to knit socks. I think he liked them a lot!

Christmasy DK-weight socks

I cast these on as a treat and for some vanilla knitting after completing my fluffy vest test knit. The yarn is so beautiful and festive, although I will say that the skein saturation varied greatly from the first half of the skein to the second, so the socks do look markedly different. I don't mind since I knit them for myself, however. They are cozy and I knit them rather quickly, and I'm actually wearing them as I type this.

Purl Soho bandana cowl

Wanting to use some yarn that my family gave me for my birthday, I cast on a Bandana cowl from Purl Soho (free pattern) the night before we left for Minnesota. I knit this very quickly, in part because of the chunky yarn, but also because I had a lot of car knitting time and it's a small project. The FO is incredibly cozy and soft, and I'd love to knit another one. I love a good one skein project in a special yarn. Here is the link to my Ravelry project page.

I've listed all my 2022 projects (those finished in 2022, that is), sorted by type and recipient demographic (kids vs adults). All links take you to either a blog post or ravelry page with more details and photos of the given project.

Adult sweaters

Towns sweater for Nicholas

Child sweaters/vests

Oscar cardigan for Cooper
Fluffy Vest (in testing, but to be released in January – edited to add: here is a link to the blog post I wrote about the vest and the test knit)

Adult accessories

Lavender align mitts
Blue scrappy align mitts
Peach and blue align mitts (you can tell I knit this pattern a lot)

Adult hats

Grey marled Musselburgh hat

Baby/kid accessories & baby gifts

Socks

New Year socks for Nicholas
Speckled socks (Cyril Socks sans the twists)
Winter self-striping socks for my dad
Red DK Morrison socks
Worsted weight scrappy socks
Self-patterning worsted socks
Lavender blueberry waffle socks
Cozy cabin socks (see above)
Self-patterning socks for my dad (see above)
Christmasy DK weight socks (see above)

Neckwear (shawls & cowls)

A few quick notes:

I knit a total of 27 items this year.
I knit a lot with marled yarn (namely, the Improv cowl, the Towns Sweater for Nicholas, and the grey Musselburgh hat).
I did one (really great!) test knit for a baby/kid's vest (more on that in a separate post soon)
13/27 of my completed projects this year were socks of various sizes

General trends in my knitting

I only completed three garments: a sweater for Nicholas, a cardigan for Cooper, and a vest for Finn (one for each of my boys). Both the Towns Sweater for Nicholas and the Oscar cardigan for Cooper required involved and time-consuming sweater surgery to adjust the length, and I reknit the hem of Nicholas' sweater three times. I'm pleased with all three garments, even if I found it frustrating at times to knit and reknit (and reknit). I enjoy the process of knitting, but is is also important to me that what I make fits as it should, and so sometimes, that means reworking something a few times until it's right.

2022 was a year where we welcomed a new baby and we went through grief and loss as a family. Socks are my go-to comfort knitting, the ultimate lightweight, pickup-and-knit wherever project. I did a lot of knitting while nursing Finn and knitting while wearing him in the carrier, etc. And I knit in the days just before and after my mother-in-law's passing, just to keep my hands occupied. It is of no surprise to me that I knit a lot of socks this year.

I think I hit my stride with small, very wearable accessories. This is the first year in some time where I didn't knit a large shawl project, but instead made smaller projects like the improv marled cowl (which also became a comfort knitting project, aka I-don't-have-to-look-at-my-knitting project), the Sophie scarf, and a few Scarf No. 1s. I still love wrapping up in my big shawls at home, but in these days of baby-wearing on errands and walks, I really like a small, cozy scarf or cowl around my neck that stays in place and gives Finn some breathing room.

Overall, I continue to find that three(ish) projects is my sweet spot for motivation without overwhelm. And documenting and brainstorming in periodical creativity posts is helpful to frame out some longer-term or bigger projects.

Also of note, I wrote a post about the how and why of travel knitting, spurred on by how I pack for knitting on the go, and what benefit it has for me.

I find so much enrichment, encouragement, community, and comfort from this craft of knitting. I'm thankful for another year of busy needles and full hands, and a lot of knitwear for a little extra warmth.