This is my second Zipper Sweater, by PetiteKnit. I knit the Zipper Sweater- Man for the Father previously, and this is the standard size pattern. I paired this pattern with my discontinued Shibui Knits, Billow and Lunar, held double. These yarns were incredibly expensive and I purchased them when Shibui was closing and selling off all of their merchandise. These yarns held together create pure bliss. The fabric is soft and fuzzy and just says luxury to me.
What went right?
The sweater is gorgeous. I have nothing but good to say about the end product. Since I had knit the pattern before, there weren’t many surprises. The pattern is very clear and well written. On the Father’s sweater, I had spaced completely and didn’t knit the zipper facing strip down both sides and this created a messy inner-facing on the zipper. The Father said it didn’t bother him and he planned to wear it zipped all the way up anyway. I didn’t make the same mistake on this one. While it was incredibly fiddly I did the strips and encased the zipper as the pattern directed. I am not sure that I used the best quality zipper, but it was in my stash and therefore was used. I also cropped the length and cinched in the waist a bit. I didn’t want the same boxy oversized fit that I have on several of my sweaters. This was a small modification, but it makes a big difference in the way the sweater hangs on me.
What went wrong?
I wasn’t sure I would have enough yarn, and since it was discontinued, I didn’t want to run the risk of running out. I knit the body to below the bust, then put the stitches on a holder and knit the sleeves. There was absolutely no risk of running out of yarn. Good lord, I have one full ball of the Billow left and had three partial balls of the Lunar. It may have been different if I knit the length to pattern, but that wasn’t a deciding factor in the modification. One small error on my part is that the left sleeve is shorter than the right. I don’t know how I let this happen. I used stitch makers at the decreases and (I thought) I knit one sleeve exactly the same as the other. I rarely have issues with gage changes through project, so I doubt that is it. I just made some silly mistake and ended up with different length sleeves. I blocked it out and I barely notices, so I doubt anyone else does either.
I completely love this sweater. The million miles of reverse ribbing is a pain in the fifth point of contact, but the end result is so beautiful. The Female O told me, with no offence meant, that she thought it was a store bought sweater because it looks so professionally finished. No offense was taken at all. I love the sweater and have worn it many times. The fabric is light and warm and turned out to be a very nice dark neutral color. I may make this again, honestly, and if it is for me I will make the same waist modification. Love, love, love!
Hello darling. I kind of feel like this may not be a post-worthy project. However, I am still on the hunt for a good beanie replacement and therefore should document my attempts. This is the Harris Hood by Cheryl Mokhtari. The pictures on the project page look great. It looks like the exact thing I was wanting. I used Ella Rae Cashmerino Aran in a gorgeous cream color, which has devastatingly been discontinued.
What went right?
This is a very well written and clear pattern. I didn’t have to do any guesswork or figuring out. The fabric that the yarn made was squishy and soft and beautiful. The construction was really interesting and while it differed greatly from the construction of the hood on the Traveler, it came together very nicely. I did have to add drawstring holes at the bottom of the hood. There was a drawstring channel, but no holes were mentioned.
What went wrong?
It looks so stupid on me. My head looks like an enormous Q-Tip when the hood is up. If it laying flat on my collar, it isn’t so horrible, but it still looks odd. I have spent some time trying to mentally alter the pattern around the collar to see if it could be made better. I thought about elongating the bottom rib or splitting it on the sides and creating a front and back bib, but none of my ideas seem like good ones.
The bottom line is that while I enjoyed knitting it, I really don’t like this hood. I have placed it in my gift/donate cubby and have considered ripping it out and reusing the yarn for something else. The jury is still out since the yarn is discontinued and I only have a small quantity of it left. I will keep it intact until I finalize my decision. You can’t win them all, and for me at least, this was not a win.
She is done, and she is delightful. I wanted to use up my Berroco Recycled Alpaca, and I wanted to knit something that wouldn’t just use up yarn, like another plain stockinette sweater. I was on the fence about Andrea Mowry’s Traveler, because I had never knit a hood before and it made me nervous. The designer tends to make all of her sweaters bottom up, which is not my preference as I like top down so that I can try it on for length. In the end, I decides to go for it anyway.
The Pattern:
This sweater is very deceptive. It not difficult to knit at all. The pattern is very well written with very clear instructions. What I didn’t count on was that it was A LOT of knitting. I didn’t factor in that alternating the rows between knit and purl would cause the fabric to shrink, so it felt like I was knitting forever. The shrinkage also caused some minor issues with the length of the sleeves. And I mean, it isn’t like she didn’t clearly state that the fabric will grow approximately 18% with wear. Honestly, any issue with this pattern was 100% user error.
What went right?
Pretty much everything. The sweater turned out beautifully. The combination of pattern and yarn was a dream. The sweater is lightweight and incredibly warm. The color is a good solid neutral blue, and it goes with anything. I almost jumped to my normal practice of lengthening the torso, but decided to follow the process and I am so glad I did. I love the length, and the 18% growth made it a perfect fit. I really enjoyed learning the hood construction. Andrea’s instructions were super easy to follow and I felt very accomplished when I finished it.
What went wrong?
Again, this was user error, not designer. I knit the sleeves too long, so that when I wore it and the 18% growth kicked in, they are slightly too long. I like long sleeves, so that shouldn’t have been an issue, but these go just beyond my preference. I could rip them back and take out some length, but I won’t. Also, the hood is REALLY big. I didn’t do any modifications to it and followed the pattern exactly, and it is still huge. It looks fine when it is laying flat. Wearing it is where I notice the size. I honestly don’t wear the hood, though, so it doesn’t really matter.
All in all, this is a perfect sweater. I have worn it a lot and received many compliments. It is warm and cozy and very versatile. I have another sport weight yarn in a dusty purple and I am flirting with the idea of knitting another one. I think the pattern is beautifully written and she is accurate in her description of the fabric and how it will behave. I really love this sweater.
January is usually a nice calm month, after the chaos of the holidays. I am usually able to sit back and take some deep breathes and bask in the holiday afterglow. Last January was still a health shit-show, so this month was a breeze in comparison. The month was a little spicier than I would have preferred, but it had plenty of chill. I did a whole lot of knitting. I knit most of one sweater and started another. I have also started to plot a new sewing project. While there are no finished objects, I am very impressed with how much was accomplished this month. I am all lined up for Finish It February to be very successful.
New cast-ons:
Harris Hood
The Weekender
Works in progress:
The Zipper Sweater
Knitting my memories blanket
Goals for next month:
Make a Sew Over It- Bow Bag
Knit the bater scarf for Sister #2
Get lined up for Finish It February
Slow Sundays
Knit sample square for blanket re-boot
Before I dive into the knitting itself, did you notice that I have a much shorter WIPs list? I made the decision last month to rip out Shatar, so off to the frog pond she went. I didn’t even have that much knit, but I had sat down and made a completion check-sheet, so it was a bit bittersweet. It was time, though. I knew that even if I was ready to start knitting on it again, I wouldn’t really wear it. I am trying to be very intentional with my knitting now. I want to knit things that I love and want to wear. I am no longer knitting random things in order to use up stash, or knitting a ton of plain stockinette sweaters. I want my projects to have purpose, style (per me), and be exactly what I want to wear or gift at the end of it. I cast on the Zipper Sweater at the end of December and knit all of it in January. The only reason that it isn’t listed as a Finished Object is because in true Mrs. Collins fashion, I stalled knitting the facing and sewing in the zipper. Ridiculous! This will count as finishing a sweater’s quantity of yarn and will be 1/5 of my annual goal. I need to hurry up and finish it. Instead of actually finishing the sweater, I cast on a new Weekender Sweater, by Andrea Mowry. I have knit this pattern before and really like both the process and the finished sweater. I had several balls of a fingering weight wool in black, and had picked up four balls of rainbow wool at the craft reuse store that I always go to when I visit the Father. I loved the idea of pairing them together to make a dark rainbow sweater. I started out with a different pattern, but decide that The Weekender would allow the rainbow pattern to stay cohesive. It is bottom up, which isn’t my favorite, but it worked much better than a yoke or raglan for the pattern flow. I will make a separate post about this when it’s done, even though it is a reknit, because I want to try sizing down the pattern to knit one for Feebs. I also cast on the Harris Hood to combat the battle of keeping my head warm while dealing with full bangs. I didn’t meet my goal of sewing something this month, but I am working out a couple of things that I want to work on in the near future. They will not be super complex or fancy sewing projects, but that is totally okay.
If you read December’s post, you already know that we had the O’s here for New Year’s. We had a lovely time with them and rang in the new year together, like always. The following day, Feebs and I went to see the Father and spend some time with him. We played lots of games and had a great dinner. We didn’t get to do our annual mini-golf game due to the rain, but we did have a lovely time. I also got to swing by Sister #2’s house and see her and her newly finished yard. It turned out great. She is an amazing creative, and was kind enough to make me some care instruction tags on her Cricket machine. I attach them to any handmade gift that I give and had run out. She took my incredibly lackluster and basic design and created fabulous new tags. I wish I had her creativity. The rest of the weekend was spent recovering from the “week off.” We were very mellow and relaxed on the Sunday. That week was spent getting back into the swing of things after two weeks off for Feebs, and a week off for me and the Husband. It was a rough transition for all of us, but we made it. That Friday I had dinner with two of my work peeps and it was a really fun time. We had margaritas, Mexican food, and laughter. The week after was pretty busy. We registered Feebs for a Women in Science conference that will take place in March. It seems like a really cool event and she is excited to go. She also had her first Junior High dance, and had a blast. I guess dances aren’t like they were when I went to school. This one had a movie room, craft room, game room, and dance room. That sounds pretty fancy to me. That weekend was the MLK holiday weekend, and having that extra day off was simply delightful. We had a very mellow and relaxed weekend. I could really use more of those! And I cleaned out the bill case, finally (only took two years). The week was short, but packed. There were appointments to attend, the Father was here for golf, and work was really busy. One of my supervisors has taken a promotion and I spent time with him to learn his desk so I can cover it until I hire a replacement. The following week was my infusion appointments. Nothing super spectacular happened, but we did figure out that the Benadryl is starting to burn my veins. So now we have to dilute it and push it in over a longer period of time. Not ideal, but it won’t hurt anything. I really wish I didn’t need it… I also got to see Ms. C. She came down to have dinner with us. I have missed her so much. Her life is pretty full and she has days scheduled, so we have to work around each other’s lives. We promised to get together more often, so we will see each other again in March. Oh! The other exciting thing that happened in January is that the Husband and I made good on our promise, and Feebs is now in skateboarding lessons. She has taken to it really well and is learning very quickly. It makes me very nervous, but it will give her balance, strength, and confidence. Also, she looks freaking adorable doing it.
Now we are moving on to February, but January was really great. I am grateful that everything stayed rather calm. I am grateful that I have self-imposed Slow Sundays and am not scheduled up to the last minute of my weekend. I am grateful that Feebs found something fun to do that she is enjoying. I am grateful that work is getting better. I am grateful for my family and friends and all of the new memories that we are creating. I am continuing to try to stay positive and look for the good in things. I feel like I am in a better place now, and I want to continue that into 2026. We’ll see how next month plays out.
Holy crap, darling, you are now four! Four years ago I decided to start to memorialize my making and a 30,000 feet view of my daily life. I am not much of a journaler, so I didn’t have great faith that it would last more than six-ish months. Lowe and behold, you are celebrating your fourth birthday. We’ve been through some shit together, that is for sure. We have created a lot of things and documented them in this safe space. I absolutely love that I can go back and see the dates, pictures, and notes of old projects and see all of the trials and tribulations that went into making them. I wanted to be completely honest about the things that I made so that I would have notes not just about how I made them, but also how far I have come in my making journey. I have set many goals within this archive and I have met many of them. I use this blog as a way to motivate myself to keep going. I think for a quick minute I allowed it to pressure me, but over time that has dissipated greatly. I now just want to have something to share each month.
Some of the goals that I have met:
Making monthly posts showcasing all of the things that I have made and the highlights of my life during that time
Documenting my completed projects and posting honest reviews of what I made, the materials that I used to make them, and how I felt I did in the making process
Allowing myself to dream and plot about future projects or goals
Some goals that I have not met:
Posting annual health updates
Backing up everything on my page- I will be devastated if the system crashes and I lose four years of personal history
Posting my monthly makes posts timely, though less than a handful of times have I been more than a month late
Goals I would like to set:
Altering or creating patterns and using this forum to plot them out and make notes- I feel that I did this for my advent gifts this year, and that was a fantastic help
Breaking down difficult project into bitesize chunks, similar to what I did with the Betty Cardigan, to help me stay on track to completing them
Write more dream making posts
Make more connections with other knitters
BACK UP THIS BLOG!!!
I am very glad that this blog has stayed small and that no one that I know (at least I think this is the case) reads this. I know that if I really wanted to keep it completely private, I wouldn’t have posted it on the internet. I did this in hopes of connecting with other knitters. That may still happen, but I still enjoy this being the small corner of my virtual brain. I will keep documenting and keep tracking my life and enjoying the time I spend here.
So, here is to another year with you, darling. Let’s keep going as we have been. Make some improvements here and there, and enjoying the documentation of new memories.
This is the final monthly post for 2025. I have written all of my wrap ups and put my goals for the new year onto the internet (so they must be real). I got A LOT done this month. I am very happy with myself. I knit stuff, sewed stuff and reworked stuff to give it new life. I have started my first sweater for the new year and am using two sweater quantities of yarn (though I will only count one on my Bingo card). I was also able to give away the Christmas makes, so that part is over and done and complete! All in all it was a great month.
Finished objects:
The Traveler by Andrea Mowry. This was knit in Knit Picks Upcycle Alpaca Blend Sport. There will be a separate post about this, so I won’t wax poetic here.
Cambric Shawl by Heidi May. I finally got to use up a small quantity of Cascade Eco+ wool. I knit the size for adult, and it fits 11 year old Feebs just perfectly… There may be a separate post about this, if I decide to knit a much larger version after changing the maths a bit.
Made Everyday- Easy Apron. There is a separate post about this, so this is just her photo-op. Technically, I finished this and cuffs in November, but didn’t want to show pics till Feebs had received them.
Bookmark cuffs- self drafted. Again, finished in November.
All seven CPAP hose sleeves- self drafted. I am so freaking excited that these are done!!!
This is technically not a make it is a mend. I made poor life choices and decided that a white denim jumper would be a great idea for our Mendocino picture this year. I bought it, took off the tag, and realized that I was being insane. So I broke out the bottle of green RIT dye and gave it new life.
New cast-ons:
Zipper Sweater- woman/ unisex
Works in progress:
Shatar Vest
Knitting my memories blanket (which will for sure be reworked in 2026, stay tuned)
Goals for next month:
Use a sweater quantity of yarn
Sew something, even if it is small or mending
Re-organize the bill case (this has been on the to-do list for too long)
Start psyching yourself up to learn how to use your sock machine
Learn to crochet with Feebs
Pick a square to work on from 2026 Knitting Bingo
Work on Shatar Vest
I knit a lot this month. A really big heaping lot. The Traveler is a cropped sweater and doesn’t seem like it would be a huge amount of knitting. That, my darling, is grossly incorrect. Since the fabric is horizontal rib, it shrinks up. It does release, approximately 18%, after being worn. But when you are slogging your way through the sleeves and swearing that you have knit a mile of fabric, but it is only 3 inches, you realize that she is a lot of knitting. As a way to procrastinate starting the hood because is a was scary new technique, I cast on and completed the Cambric Shawl. I am in love with the idea of hoods right now. I have full bangs and am always cold. I knit a crazy amount of hats, but due to the aforementioned bangs, never wear any. PassioKnit Kelsey has the same issue, so she is starting to embrace hoods. Hoods keep your head and ears warm, but won’t smash your bangs. That started me down a rabbit hole of looking for cute hoods. I love the shawl/ hood combination and was jazzed to see that while all of the pattern pics on Ravelry were of children, there was sizing for an adult. I used the recommended needles, slightly thicker than suggested yarn, and my gauge was even correct. It looked ridiculous on me, and is now proudly in Feebs’s possession. She is thrilled. Being that as it may, it was still a good little chunk of knitting. I then finished the hose sleeves. They have all been gifted and are currently being enjoyed across the U.S. Fare thee well! I am so glad they are done! Another making- esque thing I did was my annual yarn organization and Ravelry Stash update. This year, I even got really real and pulled out yarn that I know I will never use and bagged it up to donate to the craft thrift store in Berkeley. I photographed and posted everything new, counted and edited yarn quantities, deleted donated stash, and we-worked where I had everything stored and updated their location on the page. It took 4-5 hours and I regret nothing. It really helped me put everything into perspective and start thinking about stash marriages and new cast ons. I am stoked that it is done.
I know that I always talk about how chaotic the months are and how chronically busy we are, but I didn’t feel that way about December, oddly. I felt like it was a very relaxed month. There was one very stressful (re: people-y) month. But other than that, it was actually really chill. The first week was treatment, which went fine. I had to take a dresser from my mom’s to my dad’s on the first weekend, which was a lot of driving, but was fine. I got to spend a little bit of time with him. You should have seen the look of disappointment when I showed up without Feebs. I was afraid he wouldn’t let me inside. Ha! I also got to see Sister #2 and her oldest. They helped unload the dresser since it a solid wood beast. Sister and I went for coffee after and had a delightful time. I believe I stayed home the next day and only took off my jammies in order to take a shower and put on clean jammies. The following weekend was supposed to be a group work weekend at Ab’s, but the Female O got sick, as did Feebs, so only the two men folk went to help her. I had wished that Feebs had felt a bit more spry, but we still had a nice dinner with the Mother and did a little shopping and snuggle time. She got to sleep in my bed with me for the first time ever, which was fun. It felt very odd sleeping in that bed without the Husband his moderate mountain of pillows. Fortunately, the guys were still able to get a lot done up there. We will all be going back in the next couple of months. The following week was the stressful one. There were a lot of holiday festivities, including group lunches, my office holiday party, and then my family’s Christmas party over the weekend. It was A LOT of people. I was very anxious and incredibly grateful when we got to Sunday and it was all over. I loved seeing my family and talking to everyone to catch up. I also loved going home and sitting in the quiet for the next 24 hours. I don’t know if it is my aging or my nerves or what, but I just don’t tolerate large groups well anymore. I am not 100% sure I ever did, but I know it is getting worse. The next week was Christmas week and work was very quiet. We had a lot of people out and not much happening. Christmas day was very relaxed, which was so nice. We spent a few hours with the local Sister-in- law and her family. It was a really nice visit. I have really missed seeing her. Hopefully we will be better about getting together this year. I worked the day after Christmas and it was a very quiet day. After that, my week of “vacation” started. It began with treatment the first two days. Then Wednesday was New Year’s Eve and it was our year to host. There was a lot to get done in preparation, and I didn’t have much time at the beginning of the week, so it was a big scramble to get it finished before the O’s arrived. Feebs and I completed the annual bonus room clean up, where all the toys, Legos, and making stuff was all wrangled and put away. It felt incredible. I am still sitting in a relatively tidy space. It’s amazing. The adults went to dinner that night, and the girls got to have dinner with the Mother. They were all thrilled because none of them wanted to go out for dinner. When were done, we went to pick them up and we all rang in the new year together. I made it to 12:00 am and was in bed by 12:05 am. It was lovely. The rest of the week will be talked about in the next post. Needless to say, it was a wonderful, but very busy week off. The holidays were so relaxed and mellow. I think all years should feel like that. It was a very nice end to very productive year.
And that is all she wrote for 2025. I am eternally grateful that my health stuff has calmed down. I am grateful for the family, chosen family, and friends that have brought so much joy and security to my life. I am grateful that Feebs is my best girl and we are both making some big changes in our processes and how we think about things. I am hopeful that these changes will help us ease into the teen years a bit. I am grateful that I have a husband that I love and can count on through anything. I am grateful that my parents are relatively strong and healthy and a big part of my life. I am just grateful to be who I am, where I am, and with who I am. I can honestly say that I am happy being me, warts and all.
I’ve got my mind set on goals right now. Goals for the end of the year and for 2026. I have so many things that I want to accomplish next year, but don’t want to overshoot and become overwhelmed. My new Bingo cards are ready and a bit hodge-podge, but I am happy with them. I really want to use up some stash yarn and fabric this year. I have one project planned and am looking for a pattern to go with another sweater quantity of yarn. I am wanting more complex patterns this year. I don’t want to tear through projects and end up with a bunch of plain stockinette sweaters. This was what appealed to me about the Traveler sweater. I wanted something with texture and new techniques. That is my goal going forward for all of my making. I only want to make things that I really want to wear, use, or gift. Financial goals are set and I feel are realistic. My health goals are set and completely necessary. It is time to get back on track and put my physical and mental health on the priority list.
Making goals:
Use five sweater quantities of yarn
Learn how to crank sock tubes
Use macrame book
Cross stitch project for Abs
Cross stitch project for me
Crochet a handbag
Use two stash fabrics
Teach Feebs how to crochet
Financial Goals:
Pay off car (August?)
Save at least $15,000 for truck
Save $10,000 for school
Continue to track dining out spending
Set monthly savings amount
Reset budgeting app
Open 529 plan
Review retirement plans
Health Goals:
Get more exercise
Improve diet- protein and fresh foods
Take more mental health breaks
Improve core strength
Knitting Bingo (yes, I know there is a crochet project)
Sewing Bingo
I am happy to report that my word of the year has chosen me. Changes in 2026. I really wasn’t sure about my word this year. I was really kind of getting stuck on the word Goals, but it didn’t feel 100% right. The more I thought about it, the more Changes seemed to fit properly. I feel like there are some big changes that will be coming in 2026. I am really hoping that most of them are positive changes. Aside from the things that may happen, there are several changes that I feel I need to make in 2026. I want to change the way I look at work. I want to change the way I interact with Feebs about her school/ homework. I want to change the way that our lives seem to be constantly busy. My word last year was Home and I feel like we did a great job at living that word, but there is always room for improvement. I am going to be setting a block on one weekend per month. This weekend will force us to stay home and have down time. The Husband and I are still negotiating terms for this, but he seems on board too. I want to start maintaining our lives more and procrastinating till we have big projects. This won’t go over well with everyone in my house, but I feel like it is a necessary change that we all need to make. I want to change how I am treating my body and overall health. I know I need more movement again and I need to change the way that I continue to remove it from the list of priorities. There are many changes that I need to make and I need to start identifying them.
We are now set and ready to go. 2026 will be here before I know it.
It is time to review my year. 2025 was a good year, and a vast improvement over 2024. While it wasn’t without its issues, I am still very grateful for all of the good things that happened.
Finished objects- Knitting:
Coffee sweaters- 6
Hats- 16
Sock pairs- 2
Scarves/ shawls- 2
Tops- 1
Sweaters- 2
Finished objects- Sewing
Bookmark cuffs- 3
Apron- 1
Hose sleeves- 7
It doesn’t seem like very much when you compare it to previous years, but I am proud of my accomplishments. I lost my knitting mojo for several months, and sewing has always been a struggle for me. I feel like I was able to overcome the funk that I was in regarding making in general. I am keeping my goals for next year fairly simple so that I don’t feel like I am letting myself down for not accomplishing/ creating great things. At the beginning of the year I set a goal on Ravelry of 20 finished objects. I technically did achieve this, but since I grouped some of the hats and coffee sweaters, it doesn’t look like I did. I will say that overall, I enjoyed the things that I made this year. The Dr. Who- Tom Baker scarf, reknit socks for Feebs, and the hose sleeves were long ago promised projects that were completed this year. They are scratched off of the list and I don’t have to think of them again. I have made the Husband everything he has asked for. Feebs has requested a hat/ scarf/ fingerless glove set, so I will start that in the new year, but that is a very new request. Everything else that she has asked for is completed. The Father didn’t ask for anything this year, so I will wait for a request before I start anything for him. I did complete a couple of little projects, like dying the denim jumper and some mending. They were such small things that I didn’t document them, but I am always excited when I mend something and make it work again.
The rest of life in 2025 was good too. The year started out rough, health-wise. I was very scared that the issues that I dealt with in 2024 would continue forever. When things started to correct in March, the feeling of relief felt by my whole family was immense. By June, my mental fog was starting to lift and I felt like I may not die young-ish after all. Fingers crossed that continues. We got the Mother through her surgery and subsequent health issues. Fingers are also crossed that 2026 brings her a full recovery. Something that completely fell off was my exercise routine. I have given myself some leeway on this, since my brain and body went offline for a year. In the new year, however, that nonsense has to stop. It’s time to saddle up and get moving again.
I feel like I am in a better place at work and have begun the process of accepting the things that I have no control over. Don’t get me wrong, I still spend an unhealthy amount of my day dreaming of winning the lottery and calling in rich and retired, but I am finding my groove again. Once upon a time, I loved my job and I need to get back to that place.
We spent time with friends and family and strengthened some connections. I made it a point to communicate with my loved ones better about my needs and what I was going through. I still felt like a constant kill joy and struggled with how to answer “so, how are you doing?”. I got so tired of bringing down the entire vibe of a conversation with my constant negative news, but I did end up finding some balance, overall.
I have goals for next year that will put us in a better position, financially. But I did pretty well in that category this year. I met my savings goal, and we are on track to buy the new truck for the Husband next summer. I have identified the areas that I need to work on saving for in 2026 and will embrace better financial organization. I intend to keep us on the same budget plan as last year, in regards to dining out and not spending so much unnecessary money. The dining out savings that we had from 2024 to 2025 was almost $10,000. That was very eye opening. I intend to not let it get that out of control again. We did the majority of our big house project this year and that was much chaos and very much expense. I am grateful that it is done and our house is secure and good to go for another 30+ years. We still have projects to finish in order to call it completely done. I need to recover from spending that much money though, first.
My word for 2025 was Home. I ended 2024 wanting to embrace feeling at home, both physically and metaphorically. I wanted to feel at home in my mind and body again and not be so scared of myself. I wanted to feel at home at work and not like I was losing my role there. I wanted to feel like I was at home in the relationships that I have with people. I really drew inward in 2024 and let some relationships drift away. I also wanted to physically be home more. My family is only three people, but we are always incredibly busy and on the move. I wanted to make the intention to stay home more often. We did much better than previous years, but there is always room for improvement. I think in 2026 I may actually block one weekend per month on our calendar to ensure that we are staying home. I actually went looking for my past words of the year and found that I started doing this in 2020. I simply had to find them all and reminisce on what happened during those years. I hope I never stop identifying my word of the year.
2020- Growth
2021- Breathe
2022- Boundaries
2023- Connections
2024- Acceptance
2025- Home
Looking back at all of those years and what took place during them was an emotional roller coaster. The fact that in late 2019 I wanted growth, only to be completely stifled in 2020 was a hard memory to dig up. The irony of Acceptance in 2024, when my body and mind completely conspired against me and I thought I was going to die and had to accept all of the hell that came with it. I hope that my 2026 word will be good and bring about something positive. This year was good and I am looking forward to all of the good that is coming.
The fall is falling and making room for winter. It is cold and I am cold and I don’t like it. November always sneaks up on me and ends quickly. It is always packed and I often can’t recall what all happened. My finished object game was pretty on point this month. A couple of November’s finished objects won’t be posted until December, after the advent calendar has been emptied. I also have an almost finished sweater that I did a bunch of work on. I have finally started on the hose sleeves and can’t wait for them to be finished. My want to create seems to be coming back and I am all for it.
Finished objects:
The last two teacher’s hats are completed. I knit these using my ribbed beanie pattern holding a strand of fingering weight yarn with a strand of mohair.
Another Skull & Stormy hat by Brienne Moody. I knit one of these for the Husband previously, but even the largest size in the pattern was no match for his big head. I added one extra stitch per pattern repeat. It’s now a little large on him but I am certain that it will felt and shrink with wear.
New cast-ons:
Cambric Shawl
Works in progress:
Shatar vest
Traveler
Goals for next month:
Complete the Traveler
Finish the hose sleeves in time for the Husband to give/send them out before Christmas
Wrap up my end of year projects
Sort and organize my yarn stash
Finish my financial goals for the year
Knitting has been really good lately. I have found a groove and some patterns that I have enjoyed working on. I got a little burned out on ribbed hats, to be honest, but they knit up so quick and easy. I hope the teachers like them, especially the horrible yellow ones. I love working on the Traveler. It is a lot of knitting because the fabric shrinks up, but it is beautiful and I really like the yarn. Of course, it has been discontinued… I think if I push hard, I can finish it before the end of the year and can check “new technique” off of my Bingo card. I also cast on the Cambric Shawl, which is a shawl with a hood. I am a little nervous about size because all of the pictures show it on a child. There is a size for Adult, but no pictures. It is also allowing me to use up one of the balls of Eco +. I swear that yarn is never leaving my stash. Hopefully it turns out good because the thought of having a nice hood to keep my head and ears warm while not having to wear a hat that makes my hair crazy sounds delightful. I want to cast on one more big project this year and use up a sweater’s quantity of yarn. My goal for 2026 is to use up five sweater quantities at least. I want to get started as soon as I finish the Traveler. I am not being precious about it having to be cast on in 2026, as long as it is completed in 2026. It would be crazy if I could finish two sweaters in two months. I am not going to push myself though. I have started stalking Ravelry, looking at both my stash and possible patterns. The hose sleeves are going well. I nearly broke my back hunching over on the floor to cut out the seven 96 inch strips of fabric. My sewing machine did end up going on the fritz (I don’t remember if I mentioned this in October) and I had to take her in for service. That was frustrating. Fortunately, I bought that little baby Janome machine and was able to use that for the Advent gifts. I LOVE how Feebs’s apron came out! I think it is adorable and it came out exactly like I saw it in my mind. That never happens. I can’t wait to see how she likes it. I did a complete 180 on the bookmarks. I dreamed up the idea to make long rectangles that have snaps on them. That way when she is reading her book, she can snap the bookmark around her wrist and not misplace it. I made two with the polka dot fabric and one with the kitty. I am very proud of my advent game this year, not gonna lie. Hopefully, it has inspired me to sew a couple more things this/ next year.
November was a good month and it was really packed. The first weekend we took Feebs to a theater performance of Sponge Bob The Musical which was put on by our local junior college. While Sponge Bob isn’t my jam, the performance was fantastic. The cast did a wonderful job and we all enjoyed ourselves. The next two days were treatment, and that didn’t go as well as I would have liked. It is just another reminder how important it is to hydrate and eat properly before I go. The following weekend we were supposed to spend the weekend with the Father, but Feebs got sick and we had to stay home. We ended up getting ready for our annual Mendocino trip instead. We also had to go buy a new dishwasher, which wasn’t the greatest thing to have to do. The Husband and I both took the Monday off and spent the day running errands until it was time to get Feebs from school. We left for Mendocino the next day. The trip was wonderful, but not without it’s issues. Feebs was super behind at school and we had to dedicate a good chunk of each day doing homework. This wasn’t the best thing for any of us, but it had to be done. Other than that, the trip was a delight. We had a lot of down time and good food. The Husband and I always have a night away, then we give the adult O’s a night away. It works great for all of us. We had our amazing seafood lunch each day and weren’t deterred by the rain. We had our hot tub evenings and the girls got to spend time together. We took our annual pictures- the three of us in the front yard and the girls in front of the fireplace. I think this year’s picture is my favorite so far. The following week was my appointment in Redwood City. I love that doctor and I hope to stay with him for as long as I can. He always gives me such good information and doesn’t make me feel like I am crazy when I talk about my symptoms, treatment, or worries. The following weekend was the dreaded porch painting project. We put it off for as long as we could, but then had to get it done. It ended up spanning two weekends. The Husband and I work in very different ways, but we did work together to get it done. We still have the bonus room trim to paint, but once that is done, the big 2025 house project will be finished. Thanksgiving was the following week. Work was very quiet and the week passed quickly. The Mother was supposed to go to dinner with us on Thanksgiving, but she ended up getting sick and staying home. We still went and had a delightful meal. I am constantly shocked and appalled by the pretentious ass-holes that live in that area and how they treat service industry staff, but… I had made an early reservation so we were done with dinner and I am was in my jammies by 6:30. It was wonderful. The Husband’s cousin came over to hang out after dinner and that was really nice. It has been a long time since we have spent any real time with him and it was nice to catch up. The next day, I went to see Sister #2 and her new house. She had some furniture that she was giving to the Mother and I needed to pick them up from her. It was wonderful to see her new house and hear all of her plans for it. I also got to see bro in law and hear about his adventures. They are very excited about their new chapter. As I already mentioned, the rest of that weekend was about painting. We got it done and have set a calendar reminder to do the porch floors in the spring. It is too cold to do it now. I am completely ready to have that job done and clean off the porch. I want all painting equipment out of my house and put back where it belongs.
I am very grateful that November was a good month. I am grateful for my family and my wonderful friends. I am grateful that we get to go to Mendocino each year and create new memories. I am grateful that I seem to have my knitting mojo back, and even a little spark of sewing. I am grateful to have a job and wonderful coworkers who are like a second family to me. I am grateful to be going into December and to start wrapping up the year. I think there will be some amazing things that happen next month, and I am ready to get on with them.
Last year I was asked by the Husband to make hose sleeves for CPAP machines for his friends. I did the maths, made the list, and we went to Joann Fabrics (RIP) so that he could selected the fabric. I purchased everything I needed to complete these, including fancy sinching accessories. We got it home and since my brain was in a state of chaos, I put everything in the cabinet and did nothing with it. Fast forward a year, and I was ready to resurrect this project. I wanted to make these for this year’s Christmas gifts. And I wanted to do it before the Husband asked me about it.
The stuff:
Fleece fabric- 60 inches wide x 84 inches long
Matching thread
Remaining fabric for ties
Specifications:
7 hose sleeves
7 1/2 inches wide x 83.5 inches long- 1/2 inch seam allowance
10 inches for the ties
These weren’t difficult to make. It was mostly long seams on the sewing machine. The tedious tasks were having to crawl around the floor in order to cut the strips of fabric and having to hand tack fourteen raw edges. I did quite a bit of troubleshooting about the ties. I bought the fancy cinchers, but decided not to use them. Then I thought I would use double-fold bias tape, but I ended up not having any in my stash. I then spent several hours and $20 on a suede cord, then decided not to go with that either. Basically, I spent entirely too much time deciding on these ties. Ultimately I decided to use the leftover fabric and cut two strips to sew into tubes. I centered the ties at the top and bottom of the tubes and sewed two lines to secure them. I only had an inch and half strip of fabric left which made me very happy.
I am very happy that these are done. I am happy that they are off of my to-do list. I am even happy with how they turned out. I have tried them all on a hose, to ensure that they will fit, and everything is good to go. The Husband is very happy with them and already has his in use. This project gave me a little bit of a boost with sewing. It also made me happy that I could figure the specifications and use up almost all of the fabric. All in all, this project is a success!
