BrineyDeep > notebook > projects > In Memoriam: U.S. COVID Fatalities in 2020

In Memoriam: U.S. COVID Fatalities in 2020
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Woman standing on a stepstool holding a long visualization scarf up next to her body. It starts out white at the top and progresses down to red with three big splotches of dark red.
Woman standing on a stepstool holding a long visualization scarf up next to her body. It starts out white at the top and progresses down to red with three big splotches of dark red.
White woman with brown hair standing in front of a red and pink wall hanging.
White woman with brown hair standing in front of a red and pink wall hanging.
Wall hanging made up of small woven hexagons in white, pinks, and reds. Hanging has white fabric pockets along the top edge filled with dowels that hang from the wall by hooks.
Wall hanging made up of small woven hexagons in white, pinks, and reds. Hanging has white fabric pockets along the top edge filled with dowels that hang from the wall by hooks.
Line graph of data represented in the fiber visualization
Line graph of data represented in the fiber visualization
Image of the complete visualization of 2020 data, starting white at the top and ending dark red at the bottom. The dark red is concentrated in 3 patches on a field of red.
Image of the complete visualization of 2020 data, starting white at the top and ending dark red at the bottom. The dark red is concentrated in 3 patches on a field of red.
Close up of woven hexagons sewn together, showing all five colors of the visualization. This represents data from around March.
Close up of woven hexagons sewn together, showing all five colors of the visualization. This represents data from around March.
Long visualization scarf held vertically in front of a woman. It starts out white at the top and progresses down to red with three large dark red sections.
Long visualization scarf held vertically in front of a woman. It starts out white at the top and progresses down to red with three large dark red sections.
View from the January end, with white closest to the viewer and getting progressively darker further away.
View from the January end, with white closest to the viewer and getting progressively darker further away.
Close up of the red and dark red hexagons sewn together in the latter half of the visualization.
Close up of the red and dark red hexagons sewn together in the latter half of the visualization.
Panoramic photo of the entire visualization with January on the right and December on the left.
Panoramic photo of the entire visualization with January on the right and December on the left.
Data from October through November, starting red and ending dark red.
Data from October through November, starting red and ending dark red.
Data from September. Five rows of hexagons, with red on edges and dark red in the middle.
Data from September. Five rows of hexagons, with red on edges and dark red in the middle.
Data from January through August. Hexagons start out white at the top and progress through pinks and red to dark red at bottom. Dark red is clustered in two groups.
Data from January through August. Hexagons start out white at the top and progress through pinks and red to dark red at bottom. Dark red is clustered in two groups.
Data from May through August. Hexagons are red and dark red, with dark red clustered in two groups.
Data from May through August. Hexagons are red and dark red, with dark red clustered in two groups.
Data from January through April. Small hexagons arranged in 18 rows of 7. Top rows are white, then colors progress through two shades of pink, red, and bottom quarter is dark red.
Data from January through April. Small hexagons arranged in 18 rows of 7. Top rows are white, then colors progress through two shades of pink, red, and bottom quarter is dark red.
Hand holding a small wooden pin loom, with a mostly complete dark red woven hexagon.
Hand holding a small wooden pin loom, with a mostly complete dark red woven hexagon.
Data from January, February, and March. Small hexagons connected together in 14 rows of 7 (first and last row do not have 7). Top half of the hexies are white then fade through two different shades of pink to red in the bottom half.
Data from January, February, and March. Small hexagons connected together in 14 rows of 7 (first and last row do not have 7). Top half of the hexies are white then fade through two different shades of pink to red in the bottom half.
Small hexagons connected together, representing data from January and February 2020. There are 57 white hexagons and 3 light pink hexagons.
Small hexagons connected together, representing data from January and February 2020. There are 57 white hexagons and 3 light pink hexagons.
Six woven hexagons sewn together, four on bottom row and two on top row
Six woven hexagons sewn together, four on bottom row and two on top row
White hexagon half woven on a pin loom
White hexagon half woven on a pin loom
Four balls of yarn lined up in a row, left-to-right: light pink, pink, red, burgundy.
Four balls of yarn lined up in a row, left-to-right: light pink, pink, red, burgundy.
photos above © BrineyDeep
Finished
January 8, 2021
March 17, 2021

In Memoriam: U.S. COVID Fatalities in 2020

Project info
Weaving
Tools and equipment
Tiny Turtle
Yarn
979 yards = 4.24 skeins
Knit Picks Palette
189 yards in stash
0.18 skeins = 41.6 yards (38.0 meters), 9 grams
23718 Blush
Knit Picks Palette
453 yards in stash
1.82 skeins = 420.4 yards (384.4 meters), 91 grams
24564 Currant
Red-purple
Knit Picks Palette
88 yards in stash
0.62 skeins = 143.2 yards (130.9 meters), 31 grams
23728 White
Knit Picks Palette
213 yards in stash
0.08 skeins = 18.5 yards (16.9 meters), 4 grams
24569 Cotton Candy
Knit Picks Palette
494 yards in stash
1.54 skeins = 355.7 yards (325.3 meters), 77 grams
24245 Lipstick
Notes

U.S. COVID deaths per day in 2020.

Each 2” woven hexagon represents the number of reported deaths from COVID on a single day in the United States, starting on January 1, 2020 and ending December 31, 2020.

Data from The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic, used under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. https://covidtracking.com/ (Accessed 2021-01-13)

Color key:
0 deaths: White
1-9 deaths: Blush
10-99 deaths: Cotton Candy
100-999 deaths: Lipstick
1000+ deaths: Currant

——

I came up with this project over winter break 2020. Los Angeles, where I live, was the center of a massive outbreak of COVID. At the time, I was actually recovering from having had COVID at the beginning of this third U.S. wave.

I was trying to relax by playing with my new 2” hexagonal pin loom, a Tiny Turtle Fine Sett. Not finding inspiration from other projects that had been done with this loom, I had the realization that the size and shape were perfect for doing a data visualization.

Taking inspiration from the many beautiful hand knit temperature scarves I’ve seen, I decided to visualize one year’s worth of data. The natural choice was to visualize COVID, partly because it was such a devastating year but also because I was frustrated by the lack of leadership which made it so devastating when it didn’t have to be!

I recognize that the visualization is imperfect. Visualizing on a log scale limited the number of yarns I needed to use but obscured the actual values. Also, the numbers I used are definitely an undercount — particularly early in 2020 when people were sick but it was near impossible to get tested. It’s not perfect but seeing all of the data at once is still striking.

I’m grateful to the COVID Tracking Project for providing a central source for this data.

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Finished
January 8, 2021
March 17, 2021
 
About this yarn
Palette
by Knit Picks
Fingering
100% Wool
231 yards / 50 grams

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  • Project created: January 9, 2021
  • Finished: March 17, 2021
  • Updated: January 3, 2024
  • Progress updates: 5 updates