Hello 2025

Going into is honestly a bit scary. I have no idea what the future brings. All I know is I need more direction in my life. My hope is that by tweaking a few things, it will be one of my best years. 

This year, Chad and I will be working harder on our finances. We will be doing a no spend year (more to come on that). As we do so, we will work harder on paying off debt and building some sort of homestead on our kettle plot of land. I'm hoping this bring us closer together.

My crafting will have a new theme. This will be the gear of gifts. I will be making gifts for friends and family throughout the year. This will save money and break down my yarn stash a bit. I am already working on Eric's birthday present. I will for sure blog about this as I go as well as recap last year's theme, the year of the sweater, in future posts. 

I hope to finish my degree this year, but this is a very scary thing for me. All I have left is my internship unless I get procrastinate too long. Then, I will have to take a few more classes as well. I really want this to be done. I am just not good at being around new people and searching for something like this is terrifying. 

I will continue to work on my faith journey this year. I love that prayer and scripture reading have become a part of my morning routine. I want to incorporate General Confidence talks and regular "Come, Follow Me" study as well. My hope is to also make it to the temple at least once a month outside of our twice a month shift as ordinance workers. I am at a point in my life where I crave spiritual guidance. The more I learn about the Lord and His plan, the more I want to develop my relationship with Him. I hope I am in a better spot by the end of the year than I am now as I continue to grow my faith and knowledge. 

It is scary going into a new year. I hope that these goals will give me the direction and discipline I need in my life. 

Scripture Bag

I have been studying in my scriptures a lot lately. I read in the morning as part of my Miracle Morning, and I listen/watch a scripture study podcast on YouTube called Don't Miss This later in the day. As I have dove deeper into them, I have accumulated some colored pencils and a pen to mark important passages and note insights as I go. The problem was that they kept falling out the flap that snaps down, and I didn't have another way to keep them with the scriptures. 

One day I came up with a solution; I would put everything in a scripture bag. I looked online several places for the perfect bag. I found several that would work but none that I loved or could see myself carrying around. (I am one of those weirdos that likes to bring and use paper scriptures instead of using the app on my phone.) After looking for a few days, I decided I would make one. 

The idea I came up with was to use the left-over yarn from a sweater I made earlier this year to make a modified version of a bag form the same pattern book. The original pattern was a bag that lied flat, but I wanted it to fit around the book, so I made sides for it. Also, the original pattern was twice as tall as I needed it, so I just made it shorter. Finally, I wanted the handles to be shorter because I wasn't looking to have one that went over my shoulder, so I made them shorter. Other than that, I basically used the pattern as written. 

Within two weeks of starting it, I had a bag for my scriptures that I love. It is big enough for the book, gum, and my colored pencils and pen. It was harder than I thought it would be, but it was totally worth it!

Knitting and Crocheting Plans

I have kind of lofty knitting and crocheting goals for this year. My main goal is to knit 3 sweaters. I also have plans for 2 afghans, throw pillows for the couches, some hats, and at least one poncho other than the one I am currently making. Of course, I will finish the things that have been started and take one or two things out of “timeout.”

I have good start on the sweaters. Noel picked out her year and pattern months ago, and I have been actively working on it for about a month and a half. 

Then, I’m going to make the Poison Apple Pullover from the Knitting with Disney book. It will be a great Halloween sweater and nice enough to wear anywhere.

I will wrap up the sweaters with a Christmas sweater. (Was there any doubt that I would?) I have narrowed down three patterns. I’m thinking it will depend on when I finish the Poison Apple Pullover and if I still want to do color work. 

For my couches, I am going to make an afghan and pillows with Friends references from my Friends crochet book. I will be changing the background color to match.

I know other things will be made/completed. Of course, I’ll blog about it as I go. 

Many Projects on Needles and Hooks

 

I have many things on hooks and needles right now, and I am kind of loving it. I have the cushion I am making with my birthday yarn that is a little over half done and put on hold until I get the pillows stuffed in it so I can crochet around the rest. It’s not a huge priority and may wait until I am done with this semester’s classes. I have a shawl that I am mostly knitting at church because it is simple and doesn’t need much attention. Noel asked me to knit her a sweater and even picked out the yarn and pattern, so of course that has already been started. Then there are the socks I’m making for Eric and his girlfriend for Christmas because I have no idea what to get them. I had them approve the yarn and give me measurements, so they know what they are getting. I’m ok with that because I know they will be used. I am of course only making one sock at a time, but it is fast and easy. The last project in my sights has not been started yet but needs to be done for a January birthday for my friend’s daughter: boot cuffs. 

I love knitting and crocheting (mostly knitting). I love that people are recognizing this talent. It’s making it even more fun!

Using Birthday Yarn

 

My sister bought me yarn for my birthday on Amazon. She chose the type of yarn and sent me a link to choose which set of colors I liked. I, of course, chose the most purple combination offered. 

I have been so involved with other projects since then that I hadn’t taken the time to look for a project that would suit this yarn. However, with the hats for my kids and my sister’s family done and my sweater at the stitching phase, I am now ready to make something with this yarn. 

Yesterday, I sat down and used the advanced search option on Ravelry, put in the attributes of the yarn, and searched for the perfect project. Unfortunately, the first 3 or 4 that caught my eye were discontinued patterns (how does this happen so much). Then, I saw a pattern for a pillow type thing. It is perfect! Would I rather be knitting? Yes! There just wasn’t a pattern with an existing pattern with the yardage requirements that fit what I have. It is a fun project, but I have made a few tweaks that work better for me. I have a feeling this will be another quick project. I wonder what I’ll do next. 

Umbrella Time

 I decided to make an umbrella from the same book as the purple sweater with some of the yarn I have lowing around. I didn’t make this for me or anyone in my family, though. I stuffed it with Hershey Minis and gave it to a friend. It was a fun, quick project that I can do for other friends as well. 

Sewing the Sweater

 I started sewing the seams on my sweater today. Fist, I laid it out on the table to make sure it was set to be seen properly. Once it was laid out, I got start. So far, I have seen the left front to the back. I’m hoping to finish the rest tomorrow. I’m so happy this is working out so well!

Weaving the Ends

 

On the back of my office chair, I have 2 shawls, a scarf, and a lap blanket. These are all projects I have finished over the past few months. They are not there because I get cold easy. It hasn’t been cold enough for such things for the most part. They aren’t there for decoration even though the lap blanket will probably stay for that reason. They are all there because I still need to weave in the ends. 

I love knitting and crocheting. Working with yarn to make something beautiful or useful is a stress relief. The problem is that I hate weaving in ends. I do it fairly quickly when I make hats or when I am making something for someone else. However, when it is something for me that I know I won’t be able to use for a while, I’m in no hurry to complete this dreaded step. I know that I will be kicking myself when I want to wear one of these or when I decide to sit down in front of the tv to do it all. For now, I will just adjust my “decorations” when they slide down each day. 

Back to Hats

I have finished the back, left front, right front, and 1 1/3 sleeves, and I have to stop crocheting for now. My right thumb is not appreciating all of the work I’m putting into this sweater. It doesn’t seems to care how much I want to finish and wear it. It doesn’t care that the more I finish, the more in love I am. It just wants a rest. 

Now, I am going back to my first love, knitting. I don’t need my thumb for that as much. I even have two projects that need to be finished by mid November. Today, I picked up Tommy’s hat and got a lot done in it without causing further pain. I expect it to be done by the end of the week. Then, I will start a hat for my brother-in-law. I am fairly confident that I will be able to finish it in a week or two. Hopefully, my thumb will be better by then. I am considering making one for my dad, too. I need stuff to knit in church, and hats are perfect for that. I just need to find enough people who will wear them. 

New Hook

 

For my Friends sweater, I need two hook sizes. For the most part, I use the larger hook (the one I already broke and had to find a replacement for). However, I needed to use the smaller one for the cuff of the sleeve a few days ago. I was excited to go back to a pretty, sparkly hook, but I quickly realized it was flimsy and worried about breaking it without a backup. I didn’t want to have to go to a boring one. Thankfully, I don’t have to. Through the magic of Amazon, I was able to find a pretty hook with a rubber grip. For only $5 I was able to order it and have it delivered today. I am excited to use it for the next cuff and both frames! 

Feeling Accomplished

 

I’ve been trying to concentrate on my small victories lately because I was feeling like a failure for various reasons. Today, I had more than one victory. 

First of all, I finished the left front side of my Friends sweater. It only took about a week to do compared to the week and a half for the right front side. I am so extra have started the first sleeve. 

Then, I got the kitchen more under control. It’s Chad’s week to do dishes which means the rest of the kitchen has been a disaster. I did some dishes and cleaned counters while I cooked. 

Lastly, the washing machine cleaner was delivered while I was out. When I got home I started the cleaning cycle before sitting down to finally relax. 

I feel so alive and so accomplished. I want to feel this good more often. 

Broken Hook

 My crochet hook broke yesterday. The one I bought at Walmart when I bought the yarn and hooks for my sweater: the sweater I am excited about. I took this hook camping last week. I freaked out when I lost it more than one. Honestly, I love this sparkly, yellow hook. 

I was a bit sad when it broke, but I thought I could fix it somehow. I searched the house for tape, but it has all disappeared. I searched for a hook that I remembered having even though I don’t like it much, but it has disappeared, too. Then, I remembered I have bullet journal supplies. I taped it with washi tape. It wasn’t strong enough to keep using. Then, I remembered I had a hook the same size with the stuff I used to make animals (my “coworkers”) during the pandemic. Thankfully, it works wonderfully and my gauge hasn’t changed, and I can keep working on the (hopefully) perfect, purple sweater. 

The back should be done today, and I will be able to start one side of the front before I pick up Noel from school. 

The Sweater

I have been really struggling this week. Part of it is that I am in a bit of a transition period after being released from my calling, but I know I will be glad when my classes start in a few weeks to have more time to devote to those classes. Another part is that someone I love very much has had a hard week (that won’t be discussed on the blog). Then there is the fact that I don’t feel like I really get any alone time to do what I want to do without having to pay attention to someone else. What am I doing about it? I am starting a sweater. 

I just bought the yarn to make this sweater:

Could I BE more excited? It is going to test my skills and teach me knee things. I have never crocheted anything this big, but I am ready. Oh, and I’m sitting in my car to work on it alone for a few hours. 

Unicorn Purse

 

I finished the purse for my niece, and my sister told me it was perfect when I sent a picture. This was definitely a labor of love. The patterns are from a book that was translated into English from German which means the instructions weren’t always clear. I can almost the flap at the top has mistakes. Thankfully, six year olds aren’t likely to notice. 

What will she notice and care about? The main color is pink, and not baby pink (she is fairly insistent that big girls don’t like “baby colors”). There are two unicorns (her favorite animal). All of the yarn sparkles. I have a lot of yrn left over because I wanted to make this purse sparkle as much as possible, but it was worth it. I just hope my sister thinks of taking a video so I can see her reaction. 

Project Planning

Yesterday, my sister told me that her six year old, my precious little niece, was devastated because she lost per precious dog purse at a parade. My sister didn’t know what she could even do to help her because it was impossible to find and not able to be replaced with the exact item because it was an item a cousin gave her. My auntie heart broke for this little girl. What did I do? I offered to made a pink sparkly purse with a unicorn on it. (This girl loves anything “dark” pink with unicorns.) I sat on the phone planning with my sister with a unicorn pattern book in front of me as I sent a few concept pictures to her. Thankfully, she is one of those people that appreciates the work that goes into knitting and crocheting, so she agreed with my ideas. I will be making this purse:

With one of these unicorn in the corner:

And some of these hearts:

Today, I found the best main color, sparkly fuchsia. 

I will either go back to Walmart or sift through my stash for the other colors. I am so excited to get this started. As soon as I finish Eric’s hat, I will get out my hook, and start the purse. I can’t have my niece being sad. 

The One Where You Buy a Book

Sometimes you buy the book

because you want the sweater.

Now, I need to come up with the money to buy all of the yarn needed. It looks like it will be about $90. Maybe someone will be generous for my birthday. 

 

When She Asks, I Create

 

Noel has been making plans for the summer and asked me to make her a washcloth and beanie for the first camping trip. Of course, I said I would. (Why would I deny someone who appreciates my craft?) She picked the yarn for the washcloth Friday, and I got to work Monday. It was finished yesterday, so I made a Chapstick holder to go with it. Hopefully, we can make it to Hobby Lobby in the next few days to get the beanie done. Once hers is done, the boys have requested one as well.