As I mentioned on Tuesday, there isn’t much going on with me.  This seemed liked a good time for the 2025 knitting update.  You might not care about what I have knitted in the last year, but it was an especially productive summer of knitting for me.

I started the year by finishing my Qiviut scarf.  It is light and soft and very warm.  I am looking forward to wearing it this winter when I need something around my neck.  Qiviut is musk ox yarn and I bought the yarn last year when we were in Greenland.  It is one of the few things I have knitted that I am keeping for myself.

My first 2025 knitting project was the butterfly hat from Nancy Bates’ book, “Knitting California.”  I got the book as a Christmas gift and it has lots of fun designs in it.  Hats are my favorite thing to knit because they don’t take very long and they can have lots of fun design and pattern changes in a little space.  I was a little disappointed with the butterfly hat because it has a point.  I’ve never had this happen before.  Tom calls it the volcano hat.

While I was at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park I knitted soldier socks for all the rangers who do Civil War living history.  I use a pattern that is authentic to the period and use a good, heavy wool to make the socks more comfortable with hobnailed boots.  I made three pairs and all the rangers were happy to get them.  Rangers Lucas and Layton wore their socks several times over the summer.  I didn’t see Ranger Kymberlyn wear hers.  She said they were too nice to wear.

I knitted several hats over the summer.  The bookstore manager wanted another hat to display with the “Knitting the National Parks” book.  I made her a Mammoth Cave hat two years ago.  This time she chose a Shenandoah hat.  This is a fun pattern with fall leaves and I was happy to make it for her.  She immediately put it on display.

Ranger Neveah asked me to make her a Rasta hat.  She said she had never been able to find one that fit over her dreads.  She picked out colors and I went to work.  I used the Slouchy Rainbow Rasta, alternating colors and adding a couple of sections to make it longer.  Neveah was thrilled with the hat and said she would wear it proudly this winter.

My 2025 knitting included something for most of the rangers, but I had not knitted anything for Ranger Brittony.  I asked her what she would like and we settled on a pair of thick, comfy socks for winter.  I bought the yarn when Tom and I went to Asheville and got to work.  The good thing about knitting socks from worsted weight yarn is that it doesn’t take long to make them.  I had her socks knitted in a couple of weeks.

That left Ranger Olivia and I knew just what I wanted to knit for her.  She and her wife, Ranger Chandler, are going on a big white-water rafting trip in the Grand Canyon in November, so I knitted them identical Grand Canyon hats from “Knitting the National Parks.”  They were both thrilled with the hats.  Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of either of them wearing the hats.  This is a picture of the hat from the Nancy Bates webpage.

My final project in the 2025 knitting bin was a baby blanket for Declan Reilly, son of Krissa and Kyle, who was born in September.  I mailed the blanket to them the day before he was born, so it was waiting for them when they got home.  Krissa sent me a lovely thank you note and a picture of the baby with the blanket.

I’m sure I will be knitting more in 2025, but I am more focused on weaving some Christmas presents right now.  I have a sheep hat on my needles, but it is three stranded color knitting and frustrating me a little bit right now.  I have to focus on it and my concentration hasn’t recovered as much as I would like.  So you will have to wait for sheep hat pictures until the next knitting update.