Happy New Year! Despite the lack of socializing, it was a busy holiday season around here. Now that we’re on the other side, I can share what’s been happening around here.

1) I made approximately 8,000 knitted gifts for Christmas.

2) Not really. I made 5 1/2 pairs of slippers (the 1/2 pair was one slipper that I then abandoned when I realized it wouldn’t fit the recipient… I’ll get back to the other one eventually) and 4 hats. Felt like a lot more than that though. I decided to do all this knitting after Thanksgiving, so that didn’t give me much time. However, I picked easy patterns made with bulky or super bulky yarn so that made each project go fast.

3) I know you are looking for pictures of all those things, but I only remembered to take pics of a few…

For the Doodlebugs:

These are the Woodland Loafers by Claire Slade.

And for my oldest niece (don’t tell her though, since she hasn’t gotten them yet — they are apparently still stuck in USPS purgatory):

Mine by Faye Kennington. Quickest knit of them all – 3 hours!

4) Again, despite the lack of socializing, I made an embarrassing amount of baked goods that we shared an embarrassingly little amount of with our family…

Salted Caramel Pretzel Blondies from Smitten Kitchen:

Yes, you make your own salted caramel with this recipe and it is SO good.

I used festive holiday pretzels!

Ginger Sandwich Cookies from I Am Baker and Saltine Toffee Cookies (also known as Christmas Crack):

Both were very yummy and the cracker toffee lives up to its nickname…omg.

Black and White Cookies from Modern Comfort Food: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook :

It is surprisingly hard to spread frosting on half a circle…

So many great recipes in this book. (It appears to be on sale at Amazon right now so if you’d like to get it, click on the link up there!) I also can’t wait to make the Boston Cream Pie and the Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese.

5) I read a lot of books this year. 55 to be exact. (My goal on Goodreads was 45.) Here are some I’ve read most recently and really enjoyed:

And here is my TBR (To Be Read) pile for the near future:

6) My last completed knitting project for 2020 is my current favorite thing of all time that I’ve knit (the Chaga shawl by Leila Raven):

It is a humongous, cozy monstrosity of a shawl and I love it so much. I will reiterate what I posted on Facebook/Instagram about it and that is that this project is why I love, Love, LOVE knitting so much. I loved knitting it and I love the finished product. It is basically as big as a blanket and it took me since November 2019 to finish.

Here are some details:

And can’t resist posting this one of the in-progress shawl…

…because, Smudge.

7) My first project of 2021 is the Stay Out of the Forest hat by Jennifer Lassonde:

Jennifer (also know as Boston Jen because….. she lives there) is a talented designer and host of the Down Cellar Studio podcast. She designed this hat because she loves another podcast, My Favorite Murder (#SSDGM). And I love that podcast too! “Stay out of the forest” is one of the many pieces of “advice” that come from this true crime/comedy (yes, it really is both) podcast, as is “You’re in a cult. Call your dad.”

This has been on my list for a while and I decided it would be my New Year’s Day cast on. And guess what? It is also my first finished project of 2021! I knit it in ONE day!

I love it.

Even though last year was hard in so many ways, there were some bright spots and those are the ones I focus on. And I am hopeful for all of us that this next year is easier than last year, and even if it is hard, I hope we can find the bright spots.