I was looking forward to doing so many things in 2020 – that was until a global pandemic and various other life issues got in the way. No lovely yarn festivals for most of the year and limited opportunities to meet with fellow knitters and yarn lovers. However, I did manage to get to the Riverknits open day in very early March, before we were all plunged into lockdown, where I had a lovely day, rounded off by playing a few folk tunes. I also enjoyed exploring the old ordnance depot site with my camera (some of the photos are in the gallery below).
In terms of designing, I started the year with a couple of exciting collaborations; one with Louise from South Downs Yarn, who I had met at Edinburgh Yarn Festival the previous year, and another with Ishrat of Fruitful Fusion, who I had met at Yarningham and Nottingham Yarn Expo. The resulting patterns were Rustington Hat and Nafura Mitts.
I started lockdown with a host of pattern ideas in my head, but then resorted to a lengthy spell of stash-busting as a form of comfort-knitting (better than comfort-eating I suppose!) before I got back into turning my ideas into patterns.
I am now publishing some new patterns, inspired by my 2019 trip to see the Silk Road cities of Uzbekistan (back in that fantasy time where travel was possible) and I have some other designs in the pipeline which I hope will follow soon.
Hoping for a better 2021 for everyone!
Skein Reaction 