Happy 2025!

I’ve been lax on updating, and I apologize. But I got to the point where I knew I wanted to make a video and post it here, and I just kept pushing it back and back and back… I finally got to the point where I don’t care if it’s not perfect anymore, I just want it done and I’ll working on making it better later.

ANYWAY, with all that being said, I’ve posted a video on YouTube about my knitting, crochet, and yarn goals for the coming year. Yes, I will still update about the garden and chickens as things happen there—but there really isn’t much to tell right now. It’s winter and things are quieted down until spring.

At any rate, just in case you’re not interested in watching the video (or you want the links to the things I reference here, but don’t want to go to the YouTube video description to find it), here’s the highlights:

2024 was an eventful crochet/knit/yarn year! I learned so much, but there’s still lots to learn. I’ve broken up my goals into three different categories: Yarn, Crochet, and Knit.

Yarn

Goal 1 - Use the yarn I don’t like and either donate or give what I don’t use by the end of the year to someone who will use it

When I first started crocheting, I thought the most important factors in choosing yarn were price and color. I didn’t know anything about yarn weights, fiber content, or even how it felt to work with. And, because of that ignorance, I ended up with a lot of yarn in my stash that I just don’t like working with. I like the colors, I liked the price—but each one of those yarns has something about it that grates on my nerves. Either it irritates my hands while I work with it, or it’s splitty and hard to work with… or, even worse, it squeaks on the crochet hook. YUCK!

This is going to be a difficult goal to complete because I’m basically forcing myself to do something I know I’m not going to like. But I bought the yarn, I like the colors, and in many cases, I even like the finish projects—I just don’t like working with the yarn itself. So, time to use it all up and move on to working with yarn that is actually enjoyable to use.

Goal 2 - Find a project and use the yarn I purchased for a long-abandoned project.

In March or April, my local yarn shop hosted a Knit-a-Long for the Artus Shawl by Natasja Hornby. At the time, I did not AT ALL know how to knit and I grossly overestimated my ability to pick it up. I thought for sure that I’d take a class, have a few weeks of practice, and then BOOM—I’d be knitting that shawl along with all the other women at the yarn shop. Let me tell you exactly how wrong I was!

I took the knitting class and found out the hard way that knitting did not come as easily to me as crochet did. Something about it just didn’t click—and it honestly still doesn’t click all that much. But I know enough now that I’m confident that I can use that yarn to make something I really like whether I choose to make a crochet or a knit project with that yarn.

Crochet

Goal 1 - Finish my Annie’s Crochet Club Kits

Sometime earlier in 2024, I made the…. “decision”… to get two Annie’s Crochet Club kits. I won’t get into too many details right now (I’m saving that for a dedicated post later), but I still have no finished them. Granted, I think I still have a few months left on the subscription, but that should be ending soon and I am absolutely looking forward to finishing them and moving on with my life.

Goal 2 - Make a Granny Square Sweater Vest

Bella from the Breathing Yarn YouTube channel posted a video of her process of creating her Granny Square Sweater Vest. It came out so cute and I really would like to make one, but I don’t want to just make a replica of the one she made. I’d like to go on a creative exploration to discover what I like in a crochet garment, much the way she did in her video. If you have a chance and are interested in crocheting, I cannot recommend her video enough. I was so inspired by it and am looking forward to completing this project myself.

Knitting

Now this is where the challenge really begins!

Goal 1 - “Perfect” my recipe for a top-down raglan sweater

In 2024, I made my very first knit or crochet garment, and I am so proud of it! I will forever own it and love it, but it’s got some issues. While most of the technical issues are things I learned as I made that sweater, the biggest issue is sizing. I made mine WAY too big. So big, in fact, that the first version was more like a dress than a sweater (it went down past my knees!!!). My goal is to remake that sweater in a more appropriate size. I still want an “oversize” cozy sweater, but maybe not one that I am absolutely swimming in and that falls off my shoulder if I lean over wrong.

Goal 2 - “Perfect” my recipe for knitted socks

A few months ago, I took a sock class and knit my very first pair of socks. I had a lot of fun and I love the socks I made, but, like the raglan sweater, it had issues. I don’t know if I got my gauge correct and I didn’t do enough negative easy, so the socks get baggy after awhile. So, I’d like to knit some more socks and really lock in the best fit and gauge to make socks that feel like they’re the things that were missing from my feet.

This might be too tall of an order for this year, but I at least want to make some good progress toward that goal.

Goal 3 - Knit a top-down raglan version of the Sea Glass sweater

This isn’t just a 2025 goal, this is a “Before Christmas 2025” goal…

“Fa La La La La” and “Boughs of Holly” theme packs by Emma’s Yarn

I have this Christmas themed yarn THAT I LOVE and I want to make the Sea Glass Sweater by Wool & Pine (only with raglan sleeves instead of a circular yoke). Because this yarn is fingering weight and the pattern is made for DK, I’ll have to really dial in my gauge and measurements to make a sweater that fits great with this yarn. But it’s so pretty and I love the way Emma’s Yarns feel, so I’m really excited about this project and want to do it right.

Goal 4 - Learn to Cable Knit

Honestly, I might just drop this one because I really will have my hands full of yarn with all my other goals for this year… but lots of people have told me that doing cables is easy, so I may just be building it all up in my head about how complicated it looks. I still haven’t found a project I love that I’d need to learn cables for, so perhaps I need to look around to see if anything calls out to me before I commit to this one.

Maybe Not So Secret Goal

With the video and this post, there is another goal I have, and that’s to document my knit and crochet progress better this year. I kind of wish I had documented more this past year with all the learning and growing I’ve done, but no use in looking back. This coming year I’ll have plenty more to learn that I will make sure to spend time documenting.

And with that, HAPPY NEW YEAR! May your 2025 be full of blessings and love.