crochet

All the makes- December 2025

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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.

Loves,

M

2026 goals- Changes

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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.

Loves,

M

All the makes- October 2025

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Another month down. And October is the busiest month of the year and is always packed. We always have something the first week of the month (generally it is Mendocino), then our anniversary, then the back to back train of birthdays, then Halloween. I am always exhausted by November 1. I am happy to report that I have made some stuff this month. I finished some projects, ended some projects, and launched into some new projects. It has been going pretty great and this will be a very long post.

Finished Objects:

Remake socks for Feebs using my vanilla sock pattern. I knit these (for the 3rd time) using the yarn from my old socks and a contrast heel, toe, and cuff.

Ribbed hats for teacher gifts using my self drafted ribbed hat pattern. Technically, I finished one on November 1, but I am just going to call it an October win. The yarn is Yarnalia Marvel held double with Dauruma Silk Mohair.

New cast ons:

The Traveler, by Andrea Mowery

Tonya Leg Warmers, by Victoria Chaplina

Works in progress:

Shatar vest

Knitting my Memories blanket

Advent day 25- apron

Goals for next month:

Finish the Advent gifts- apron and book marks

Sew the sleeve hoses

Cast on a hat for the Husband

Start thinking about 2026 goals.

I am so happy that I finished those socks for Feebs. Weaving in the last end felt like I had climbed a moderately sized mountain. I knit the original socks for me when she was just a bean and I didn’t have my sock formula down yet. I rarely wore them because they were too loose and the cuff was too short. They sat in my closet for a long time. When she saw them and loved them, I thought I needed to remake them in a smaller size. Little did I know how much Princess Thunder-Toes’ feet would grow. Knitting them a second time and finding that they were too small for her completely sucked. I am proud of myself for not just scrapping them. I have knit them a little shy of fitting me. That makes them too big for her now, but I feel confident that they will fit her before too long. The ribbed hat pattern is so easy and goes so quickly. I feel pride every time I knit one, because I figured out the pattern. But, when you have to knit 5 in a row it gets incredibly boring. I am happy they are done and I don’t have to think about them again. I started the apron project, and I think it is turning out so damn cute. I have no idea if it will be too baby for her, but I love the combination of the kitty print and the polka-dots. I know that my sewing machine isn’t appreciating the areas with 6-8 layers of fabric, due to the double layer, plus double fold bias tape. In fact, I had to take old girl apart completely and clean her because the needles kept bending. It turns out that I had broken a needle at some point and the tip was still in the bobbin carriage. It was also filthy, so it was good that it was cleaned out. The instructions say not to oil the machine, but the YouTube video I watched showed the guy oiling it, so who knows. Sadly, I got to the final stages of the apron and my machine just quit. It was starting to eat the fabric, so I had to stop right in the home stretch. It was incredibly frustrating. Luckily, I had found a travel/ kid size Janome sewing machine, still in the box, at Urban Ore a few years ago. I bought it for travel sewing (like I am that dedicated to sewing…) or for Feebs if she got a hankering to learn. I have to take my machine to get fixed, but I will bust out the smaller one to use in hopes of completing my projects before I lose steam. I finally found a couple of knitting projects that 1.) I am excited to knit (hooray!) and 2.) Use up a good chunk of yarn. I cast on the legwarmers using some of the Eco+ yarn that never seems to run out. I hope to use up at least one of the two remaining balls of that yarn. The second project took some serious Ravelry searches. I wanted to use a sweater quantity worth of yarn, and found a gorgeous knitting pattern that uses sport weight yarn. I reviewed the pattern info and it showed sizes XS- XL. I paid $9 for the pattern. I print it out and and go to start highlighting my size info and find that it is only in size XS. Darling, I am not an XS. I have sent a message to the designer, but have had no response. This really pisses me off. That was not a cheap pattern and it was false advertising. I don’t know if I can report her to Ravelry, but I will try. That is crap. So my search for a pattern recommenced. I now wanted to use sport weight yarn and found that there were a lot of The Traveler sweaters made. So, I jumped onto the bandwagon and bought the pattern. I was going to use the Houndstooth Fiber purple yarn for the XS sweater, but I wouldn’t have enough yarn for The Traveler. Instead I decided to use Knitpicks Recycled Alpaca yarn. I bought that yarn for a long cabled poncho with buttons on the side. Once I bought everything for it, I fell out of love with the pattern and shelved it. I am hopeful that this pattern will use up the bulk of the yarn. I don’t know if you noticed, but I no longer have the Kaylen Mesh Shawl under Works in Progress. I didn’t make the deadline of Sister #3’s birthday and the more I thought about it, the less I thought she would want another shawl. That woman owns every piece of clothing she has ever had and a million and six accessories. I finally sat down and ripped it out. It just didn’t make sense to keep going with it. I am also pondering ripping out Knitting my Memories and starting over with a different design. I am still very much considering adding a light neutral color and knitting hexipuffs. I like the idea of them and I think the design could come out really freaking cute. I could do it like Retro Claude and make groups of flowers to attach. I could also wait and finish all of the hexies and arrange them in a way to get a cool faded striping pattern. I don’t want to spend a $1m dollars on contrast yarn, and I am not having much luck finding cones of natural color superwash yarn. I may wait till closer to Christmas and check out the Knitpicks holiday sales. Another cool thing that happened is I found a ton of t-shirt yarn at a craft thrift store in Berkeley. I really want to make a crocheted handbag like I saw Amazing-ish Grace make for her friend’s birthday (Loose Ends Triangle Tote, though I accidently bought the Dusk Bag). I am not great at crochet, but I would like to give it a try. I probably bought enough yarn to make 12 bags, but… Oh well. I have never done something like this before and I don’t want to run the risk of running out. I won’t let myself start on it until after all Christmas making is complete.

October was it’s usual brand of craziness. We generally start the month out with our Mendocino trip, but we had to mix it up this year due to conflicting schedules and as it turns out, a family wedding. The wedding was in Sonora and wow, was that a chaotic trip. We left after work on Friday and headed up. We ended up staying at the modern day Bates Motel with a plethora of problems. We didn’t eat or drink enough the entire weekend (oh, did I end up paying for that!). And the weirdest thing happened to me emotionally. I loved Sonora when the Parents lived there. I had dreams of getting a job at the prison and moving up there and buying a little cottage in the woods. When I found out that the wedding was happening there, I was so excited. Fast forward to actually being up there, and I got absolutely bitch-slapped with sadness. It was crazy! As we drove around the town, I remembered where I was when they lived there, where they were when we lived there and all of the unhappy memories came down on me like an avalanche. I had not anticipated feeling like this AT ALL and didn’t know how to process it. The weekend was pretty crazy and I couldn’t wait to go home. The wedding was lovely, though. The following week was treatment. Due to the aforementioned malnourishment and dehydration, the nurses could not find a viable vein on either day. I had a total of six IVs over the two days. It sucked. I will NOT make that mistake again. Then I took the Mother to a throat specialist and I got to see the inner-workings of her esophagus, which was pretty cool. The following day I went to Reb Bluff to see the red-headed badass and help her for the weekend. The Female O came up on the Friday and we got a lot done around the house. It is so great to see my girls thriving. The following weekend was the Husband’s birthday celebration weekend. We spent Saturday frolicking and enjoying him. We went to breakfast with Feebs and the Mother, then they went to her house for a sleepover. The Husband and I went to Mare Island and then to Santa Rosa. Little did I know at the time, but I ended up leaving my prescription glasses at the restaurant in Santa Rosa. I realized it when I went to use them on Monday and they were no where to be seen. I can’t remember all that happened, but that week was incredibly Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events. It was crazy. That Friday we ended up back in Santa Rosa so that I could pick up my glasses. Ridiculous. After that, I went to have sleep over with the Mother for her birthday. We spent all day Saturday together, plotting out her kitchen. Then we went to Horatio’s, which I hadn’t been to since Grandpa was alive. It was still very good, and I will take the Husband on our next date night. The last week of the month was spirit week at work. We did stripes on Monday, onesies on Tuesday, denim on Wednesday, red carpet on Thursday, and Halloween on Friday. It was so fun and I was really happy with how many people participated. For Halloween, my group were the characters from Inside Out. Naturally, I was Disgust. She is the role I was born to play.

The month was busy, but still very good. I am grateful that I got to celebrate another wedding anniversary (13), another year for the Husband, and another year for the Mother. There was a lot of time spent with my favorite people and that always makes me happy. Work was really busy, but feel like I am starting to get a lot done again. I am not nearly as foggy as I was even three months ago. I am grateful that my health seems to have stabilized. I am grateful for the people that I love. I am excited to see what the end of the year has in store for us.

Loves,

M

All the makes- September 2025

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I must say, it was a good month. There was nothing earth shattering, but nothing dire happened either. I did some knitting and some relaxing. Some family time and some party time. I have to say, it was one of the most chill months I have had in a while. I will happily accept more of those.

Finished objects:

Ribbed teacher hats using my self-drafted hat pattern. I used the three one of a kind Madeline Tosh/ Jimmy Bean Yarns collaboration yarns. They were simply lovely to work with and I am low-key sad that I don’t have any more.

New cast ons:

Another ribbed teacher hat

Works in progress:

Shatar Vest:

Re-make socks for Feebs

Kaylen Mesh shawl

Knitting my memories blanket

Goals for next month:

Finish the teacher hats

Work on the hose sleeves

Figure out Feebs’s advent gifts

Identify any other Christmas knitting needs

Figure out Mendo knitting

I didn’t blaze knitting trails this month. I didn’t get all of my to-dos done. I did make a start though. I had planned to use the assortment of hat patterns that are in my Ravelry Library to knit the teacher hats. After review, the hats are all rather feminine and they may not be as usable for the male PE teacher. I decided to knit the ribbed hat pattern that I used for the Husband. It worked out great. I decided that since I don’t know these teachers, and ribbed fabric is more forgiving, I would knit them all using that pattern. Feebs went rogue and has asked that I used yarn that matches the color of each teacher’s “house.” So we have the PE teacher with no official house, so his is green, the core teacher who’s in ruby (red), and the math teacher is in emerald (teal green). I had the yarn in stash for them. The science teacher and the communication teacher are both in the house of citrine (yellow) and I was fairly shocked to find that I own absolutely no yellow yarn. So now I have to buy yarn, which kind of hurts my feelings. I will purchase that next month and knit them up so that I am officially done with teacher stuff. She also asked that I knit a hat for her school counselor. I had already knit the Alpine Bloom Hat as a future gift and she really wants to give her that one. Easier for me! I started looking for my notes on the hose sleeves, and I have no idea where I wrote everything down. It is kind of pissing me off. The sewing will be cake, but I need the dimensions. Yes, it’s not hard to figure out, but I had already figured it all out. I don’t want to do it again! My brain is lame sometimes. I think I also figured out what to make for Feebs’s advent- an apron. I have to look for patterns before I fully decide. I still haven’t figured out a happy knit yet. I found a gorgeous pattern and pulled everything out to knit and and immediately fell out of love with it. It is all still in a bag, sitting in time out. Again, my brain is so lame sometimes.

The first week of the month started with a holiday, which is always nice. The only bad thing is that it throws me off for the week, trying to figure out what day it is. I got to see the little cousin before she left for her Japan adventure, which was really nice. I am so excited for her and I hope that everything is as she hopes it will be. Sister #2’s birthday was that week, and we got together to celebrate. We met at our usual half-way spot. Fenton’s no longer sells potato skins, and I am afraid they are now dead to me- food wise. I will still go there for the amazing ice cream, but I will eat food elsewhere. The absolute nerve! We still had a wonderful time together. I wish we lived closer to one another. That next week was my infusion. It went well, all things considered. I did end up feeling like poo toward the end of the week, but that seems to be the norm now. Considering where I was this time last year, I will gladly take a day of feeling crappy. That weekend was completely free, and oh my god, Becky! It was so nice. I had a lovely dinner night with the female Mc. We decided that we will try to do it again with all four girls. We also had a nice chill adventure day with beverages, snacks, and the 3001 Would you Rather book. I love those days for us. The only sad thing was that my car needed it’s 60k mile service, and that was not cheap. However, I went to my favorite craft thrift store and found the most fabulous t-shirt yarn. I have really wanted to try to make the purse that Amazing-ish Grace made for her friend and have been looking at the yarn for it. I was floored to find it for 1/4 the price at the shop. I won’t let myself start it until the Christmas hats are done. The following week, we had pizza night with the Mc family, which was a lot of fun. Their house project is finished, and the kids pretty much made use of the new rooms and left the adults alone. The next day we headed up to EDH for the youngest O’s 11th birthday party. We met at a brewery and then went to a concert in the park. I was fairly wired that day, so the noise and crowd didn’t go great, but we survived. The next day was the party and the kids had a lot of fun. I can’t believe how old the girls are getting. I think I say that every year… That week at work was Big Ed’s retirement party. It is crazy that he will no longer be a part of my team. He is well loved by everyone and will leave a large vacancy. The party was a lot of chaos, but ended up fine. The party fell on Annie’s birthday, so we postponed her celebration till Friday. We went for dinner at the good Mexican restaurant where I got two blackberry margaritas (they are sooo good). It was a really fun night. I love getting together with fun work people outside of work. The three of us also got our flu and covid vaccines that day. The Husband had a reaction, but Feebs and I were just fine. The Mother and I spent the day together, which was really nice. We went to lunch and shopping. Shopping isn’t really my thing, but it made her happy. I needed shoes for the upcoming orchard wedding so I got that taken care of. The last few days of the month were very uneventful.

So all in all, the month was really good. I got to catch up with friends and see my sister. I got to spend time with the Mother. I am so grateful that my health has completely turned around since last year. I can’t swear that I fully trust my body again, but I am working on it. I am so grateful that we had some down time and could spend time relaxing this month. We all needed it. I am grateful for my amazing family and support system. Next month is going to be very hectic, but it will be filled with good things.

Loves,

M