Christmas 2020

Like all the Christmases past, I was WAY too optimistic. I did start early, way back in October. I knew that the blanket was an ambitious project. I also know my propensity for frogging my projects, multiple times, before achieving success. Knitting wasn’t my only plans for this Christmas. There was also sewing, baking, candy making and some limited shopping. Christmas cards and gifts to mail. The goal (as it is every year) was to get all of this done before the 24th.

Fruit cakes were started before Thanksgiving. The dried fruit (apples, mangoes, apricots, raisins and cranberries) needed to be cut up and macerated in rum. The fruit cakes were baked on November 27th. For the rest of the world the day after Thanksgiving is “Black Friday”, at our house it is “Fruitcake Friday”. It needs to be baked early to give me several weeks to baste them with brandy. The recipe that they are based on is Alton Brown’s. Unlike last year, this year the fruitcake was beautiful.

In past years, I joined a lovely group of ladies for candy making. This year I wouldn’t be able to join them. It took a little encouragement to attempt candy making on my own. It is A LOT of work without a whole group. Thankfully DW was willing to help, especially since he was the source of the encouragement. 😉

• Peppermint Patties
• Marshmallows – vanilla
• Marshmallows – peppermint
• Marshmallows – cinnamon
• Cherry Cordials
• Chocolate dipped Irish cream candy
• Chocolate dipped coconut candy
• Chocolate dipped coconut candy with almonds
• Caramel Filled chocolates
• peanut butter cups
• Fattigmann cookies

We even were able to get them mailed out before Christmas! 😀

In the midst of these I decided to make more masks for family members and fix stockings from previous year. Why not, I have plenty of time… right?

But somethings didn’t get done on time:

I had been working on this blanket for DIL, when all of a sudden I realized that Christmas was nearly upon me and I hadn’t made Christmas sweaters for Gsons #1 and #2. I knew for sure that I wouldn’t be able to finish the blanket in the remaining time, but thought I could bust out the sweaters. Especially since I’d already made this sweater twice before (2019, 2017). This year I changed it up by not putting a letter on the front and ribbing the bottom and neck edges.

Setting aside the blanket, I cast on the yellow sweater. (Each Gson chose the color of the yarn from the Knit Picks site) After setting it down the first night and coming back to it the next night, I found a huge black mark on the front.

I tried to wash it out. It wouldn’t budge. I didn’t have time to frog any sweaters. I managed to finish both fronts, both backs and one sleeve. They were not going to be done. 🙁

But that’s ok because I also needed to finish the masks, which also didn’t get done by Christmas eve.

Dec 25 – First day of Christmas:

By the time I finished all these, I needed a break from sewing. Out to the living room for a little knitting.

Good thing I had so much help! In my original plans I was going to work the sweaters in the round. This would have been the first time that I worked sweaters like that. Then I figured that I had already made these and figured I could knit them quickly then seam them up (also quickly). I never remember how much time the finishing takes. Seaming up and working in the ends. I don’t mind doing it. I especially enjoy using the Mattress Stitch. It is almost like magic, the way that it closes the seams.

Dec 26 – Second day of Christmas:

With these four masks, I was finished with this project.

After finishing the necks, the sweaters were complete. If only there wasn’t a huge black mark on the yellow one.

Dec 27 – Third day of Christmas:

I figured out a solution.

I am kind of glad that this happened. I like them better with the stripes.

Back to the blanket…