2016 Recap: Craftiness

Hello there.  Thank you to the lovely ladies who messaged me over my long absence, and especially those who ferreted out my email after my last post.  Your kindness and concern was really, really appreciated though I couldn't bring myself to reply to you.  Things are starting to fall back into place again.  Routines are a good thing for me even if a bit "boring."

Though 2016 didn't end on a particularly high note, I still wanted to do a crafty recap post for it because it wound up being one of my most productive crafting years to date.  Rather than a large assortment of pictures, I will put the list from my finishes pages here and a collage of each craft.

1. February - Uno - knit fingerless mitts, pattern found here (ravelry)
2. February - June Wild Roses - 14-count ecru huck towel, freebie pattern found here
3. February - Lemon-Lime Potholder - thermal crochet, freebie pattern found here  
4. March - Speaker Cozy #2 - crochet, pattern from Star Book No. 78: Television and Radio Scarfs
5. March - Shamrock Dishcloth - knit, freebie pattern found here (ravelry) 
6. June - Dolphin Washcloth - knit, freebie pattern found here (ravelry) 
7. July - Rathian - 20-count light tan jobelan, pattern by me
8. August - KitKat Hat - knit, freebie pattern found here (ravelry) 
9. August - House Slippers - crochet, freebie pattern found here (ravelry) 
10. August - July Delphinium - 14-count ecru huck towel, freebie pattern found here
11. September - Brachydios - 20-count light tan jobelan, pattern by me 
12. September - Mittens - knit, freebie pattern found here (ravelry) 
13. October - Kitty Prints Scarf - knit, freebie pattern found here (ravelry), modified by me 
14. October - Fan Bookmarks - crochet, freebie pattern found here (ravelry)
15. October - Jack-o-Lantern Bookmark - crochet, freebie pattern found here (ravelry) 
16. October - Haunted House Dishcloth - knit, freebie pattern found here (ravelry) 
17. November - Yellow Potholder - thermal crochet, freebie pattern found here
18. November - Green Potholder - thermal crochet, freebie pattern found here

Totals:  7 knit items, 7 crochet items, 4 cross-stitch

the knits

I'm glad I completed the "kitty set".  They came in handy this winter and the hat especially got a lot of smiles and comments.  The fingerless mitts taught me how to do cables which, at the time, was very exciting.  And then never again for the remainder of the year.  And the washcloths are plain ol' fun.  I like themed items obviously.

the hooks

Lots of thread crochet this year, which is good, I am very fond of it.  After finishing the two thermal crochet potholders in November, I started a third, very large potholder (think 9x13 casserole dish) in a combination of the yellow and green and a couple skeins of white.  This is the only project I had out as all my yarn/floss/notions/life/sanity was packed away.  I finished it February 3rd (though as it's 2017 it's not a 2016 recap but more of a catch-up).  Of course, I still had a small bit of yarn left over so I made one more smaller potholder, again with the white/yellow/green combo.  I finished it February 10th. It felt nice to have some new things to unpack for the kitchen and it made me feel good to make space for new yarn use up stash.  The collection is the (small, I know) picture on  the far right.

the stitches

A fairly dismal year for cross stitch though.  I finished two of the lovely huck towels and two more sides to the husband cube.  I still love how Brachydios turned out.  I have yet to fish out my cross stitch stuff.  The mojo just hasn't been there.

I also managed a lot of progress on FFIII but it wasn't a finish like I had hoped.  It went from here...

before

...to here.

after

So it's getting there, slowly but surely.

📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚

Also, I read a few books.  I had originally intended this to be its own separate post but for reasons, it's getting tacked on here.  I like to read but am not a very avid reader (gee, I wonder if all the other hobbies take up too much time). I tend to stick with old favorites, rereading them as many times as I please.  I did not include any manga I have read although several series were sprinkled in throughout the year.

Italicized is a book I have never read before.   
Italicized and bolded is never read and a new-to-me author.

1. The Diamond Throne (David Eddings)
2. The Ruby Knight (Eddings)
3. The Sapphire Rose (Eddings)
4. Domes of Fire (Eddings)
5. The Shining Ones (Eddings)
6. The Hidden City (Eddings) 
7. The Redemption of Althalus (Eddings)
8. Hyperion (Dan Simmons)
9. The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
10. The Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
11. The Two Towers (Tolkien)
12. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (Terry Pratchett)
13. The 5 Love Languages (Gary Chapman)
14. The Return of the King (Tolkien) 
15. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Rowling et al.)
16. Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)
17. Anne of Avonlea (Montgomery)
18. Anne of the Island (Montgomery)
19. Anne of Windy Poplars (Montgomery)
20. Anne's House of Dreams (Montgomery)
21. Anne of Ingleside (Montgomery)
22. Rainbow Valley (Montgomery)
23. Rilla of Ingleside (Montgomery)

I received both the Elenium and the Tamuli series by Eddings for Christmas 2015, and then just felt like rereading Althalus because he's fun.  Yes, I had never read a Terry Pratchett book before!  It was in our library's book sale for 25¢ and I took a liking to the ridiculous title. 5 Love Languages was interesting.  I found both my husband and I "speak" the same language: Acts of Service.  I hated Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  It was like a horrible fanfic with none of the magic of the original books.  I put it in bold because surely Rowling did not write such a jaded view of the adult magical world.  I was fully intending to purchase this book but after reading it through the library it will never find a home with me!  strong feelings  One cannot just read one Anne book.  I can never pick a favorite of the series.  Maybe 1-3 and 5.

And then all my books were packed away for the move that felt like it was never-ending.

Okay, I think that is enough for this recap / catch-up post.  All of those items seem so far away, from a different life.  I'm not even going to do goals this year and just take things as they come and enjoy life outside of boxes.  Eventually.  The boxes are never-ending as well.