Casting off 2025

This year wasn’t really about how much I finished. It was about how I made things — slowly, with pauses, rethinks, and the growing confidence to frog something the moment it stopped feeling right.

I crafted constantly, but I finished fewer projects than usual. I also shared less, partly because two of my biggest makes were surprise baby blankets and I didn’t want the mums-to-be discovering them on Instagram before seeing them in person. Imagine scrolling and thinking, “Is that… my baby’s blanket?” Absolutely not.

This was also the year I made peace with frogging. I started a jumper, learned a lot from it, and then unravelled the whole thing because it wasn’t quite what I wanted. For my first jumper, I think I need a proper pattern — something that holds my hand a little more. Undoing it didn’t feel like failure. Honestly, frogging is just getting more yarn without having to buy any, which feels like a win.

A few projects did make it to the finish line: those two baby blankets, a Christmas stocking, some dice bags, and a handful of hats. Fewer than last year, but last year I’d just opened my Etsy shop and everything felt exciting and urgent. This year had a slower, more experimental pace.

There was also a chenille amigurumi ladybird, made for a friend’s daughter. I freestyled most of it, worked with chenille for the first time, and immediately questioned my life choices. It turned out soft, squishy, and very cute — but I don’t think amigurumi and I are destined for a long-term relationship.

Not everything stayed on schedule. My year-long temperature scarf fell months behind and is still catching up. I also thought I’d get better at jogless joins. I did not. There will be leftover yarn, which I’m planning to turn into knitted baby blankets because I’ve found some beautiful patterns I can’t wait to try.

I also bought yarn for crocheted shawls, but they’re big, absorbing projects and I’ve learned I can’t make them back to back. I paused the rainbow virus shawl partway through, but I’ll come back to it. Lately I’ve been enjoying knitting more, and letting my interests shift has made everything feel lighter.

2025 was a year of process and learning rather than churning out quick projects, and I’m more than okay with that. Swatching, reworking, changing my mind — it all became part of the craft instead of something to push through.

As the year winds down, I’m carrying forward what worked, letting go of what didn’t, and leaving space for curiosity. New ideas are already waiting patiently in the yarn stash.

Thank you to everyone who supported, followed along, bought, or quietly encouraged this little making world. Here’s to another year of stitching, un-stitching, and slow, cosy crafting.