Crafting - Early Covid Era (2020-2023)

I was going to post just knitting and crochet projects from this time period, but in looking through my photos from March-May 2020, I can see more cross stitching and other crafting than knitting/crochet, especially in 2020.

I got into cross stitch just before Covid started so I already had plenty of supplies. If you don't know a lot about Minecraft, this is my version of a pig from the game. I don't play Minecraft (it gives me motion-sickness) but my kids were obsessed at the time.

And here is a Minecraft chicken.

I didn't want to get too much into my sewing adventures but I remember sewing masks in April 2020. I had some masks I had ordered in January 2020 (I was already seeing stuff from a friend in China on twitter so I bought masks and stocked up on groceries and essentials early) but I made masks for our family. This looks like some quilting cotton I had from another project and I used scraps of bias tape I had around. In other versions I used t-shirt yarn and even hair ties for ear loops. The hair ties actually worked pretty well!

I shared some masks online and I remember some asshole chiding me for my "little arts and crafts projects". I only wish now I'd chewed him a new one because seriously? I was trying whereas this sad troll was sitting behind a keyboard giving me a hard time. Were my masks the best looking or even the most effective? Definitely not, but I was doing something. I had just gotten better from whatever took me out for several weeks in March and April and was happy to be upright, breathing, and making anything.

The memory blanket grew during this time because I was able to work through my stash of leftovers. Knit Picks wasn't taking orders so what I had on hand was what I had to work with.

So my husband got me a book on subversive cross stitching (I think it was for my birthday) and I don't think he really knew what it meant. I think the patterns are hilarious and he is less amused than I am. This was the first thing I made.

Very fitting for 2020. I think I saw the fire on pinterest and got inspired.

Chicken mask! I found a different pattern and thinking back now, I really appreciate the people who were trying during 2020, especially the people who made video tutorials and shared patterns for masks. This was double-layered/reversible and actually fit okay for what it was. We were avoiding indoors and I think I only wore this one outside a couple times.

My kid was into dinosaurs at the time so I made them this.

You can see my embroidery thread collection here, but this is when I started making fabric squares. In the spring and summer of 2020 I would sit and listen to the radio and cut squares from scrap fabric. The narwhal fabric was leftover fabric from dresses I made for me and my kid. The rest was either from dresses I'd made for me or from sheets I'd thrifted before Covid.

Here's another mask I made and this is when I was able to get some elastic. Elastic was hard to come by because everyone who was into "little arts and crafts projects" was making masks for themselves and to donate to healthcare workers.

Once I was able to order again from Knit Picks I got this sock yarn and made hats for my family.

When I had my yarn booth, yarn companies sent me samples that I held onto. In fall of 2020 I got started making hexipuffs for the Beekeeper's Blanket. My goal was to make one for each day of quarantine and the Quarantine Puff Project was born.

The Quarantine Puff pile grows...

I also started knitting pumpkins...

Lots and lots of pumpkins. I sold a few on etsy but I still have most of these. Last year I put some out for trick-or-treaters and they found new homes.

I made hundreds and hundreds of these.

Some doodles I made -

No, seriously, I made a ton of these puffs. This is when I started hanging them on the wall as a decoration. Eventually the wall was covered.

We didn't go on vacations for a while but I painted this for my husband for Christmas 2020.

My youngest was obsessed with axolotls so I made them this -

Ah, yes, the temperature blanket. I had wanted to do one for years and I finally did in 2021. I used to doze off while knitting those long rows.

Like everyone else, I was obsessed with Animal Crossing. That game got us through spring and summer of 2020. This took me ages but I would absolutely do another full-coverage cross stitch piece.

Lolly is my favorite character in the game. I didn't have a pattern for this one, just stitching by the seat of my pants.

My youngest kid's next obsession was red pandas so I made them a set.

I chose my favorite puffs out of the mountain and donated the rest. I like pastel colors so I decided to make a blanket, finally. Honestly, after making a puff for every day of Covid made me a little nuts and I had to stop.

I bought this sampler pattern on etsy and it was a lot of fun to complete. I enjoyed the satisfaction of finishing each bit. It took me a while but I finally got it framed and I need to find a new place for it since we moved.

This sampler was also a lot of fun and I like the color palette.

I got this yarn from Knit Picks and made myself a cropped sweater top.

That brings me to around 2023 when we started going out and about more. Until then we stayed home unless we really had to go somewhere. I know 99% of people had gone "back to normal" in either 2020 or 2021 and we were the lone holdouts but that was our comfort level at the time. But as you can see, even though I didn't go to yarn shops or big box places (as a side note, Michael's has really good air quality, or at least the ones around here) for a couple of years, I still was able to make quite a bit. And what I posted here was just a selection of things and doesn't include my sewing, which is another post of its own.

What did you make in 2020? I also did a lot of cooking, baking, and gardening. I've always dabbled in growing vegetables but those early covid days pushed me full-on into gardening and I've been at it ever since!