Tag: end of year

Saying Good-bye to 2025 and Another Year of Knitting in the Books

A look back at all the knitting projects I’ve completed over the year. Also, what is already in the plans for 2026.

The year of 2025 is coming to an end and this is when I look back to see what I’ve accomplished in knitting projects.

Because I list nearly all the projects I knit on the Ravelry site, all I need to do is go there and grab my list. They have something called the Ravelry Project Challenge. Each year I make a guess (they call it a goal) as to the number of projects I’ll complete before the year is up.

This year my goal was 10 and I’ve finished 11. That number will rise and be at least 12. I’m nearly done with the Magnolia Chunky Cardigan (It’s finished and I love it).

Knitting Projects Completed

This year I knit a few little neck-warmer scarves, a couple of beanies, and a few sweaters. Some knits were re-makes of a favorite pattern, and others allowed me to try out some new yarn.

rust red Sophie Scarf
Sophie Scarf
dual loop beanie
Dual Loop Beanie
Warm up pullover using Peace Fleece wool yarn
Warm Up #2
Ran out of yarn
Scarf No.4
Fair Isle tube hat knitting in navy blue and off-white.
Doublemassa Hat
Solvi sweater finished
Solvi Sweater
Warm Up sweater pullover in black tweed
Warm Up #3
Birthday61 sweater in beige hanging
Birthday61
Sophie Scarf in white
Sophie Scarf
The weekend Hat knit in beige camel yarn.
The Weekend Hat
Sophie Scarf knit in army green color
Sophie Scarf

I was on a roll with the Sophie scarves! I hope to be wearing this little scarf when the weather turns colder and I walk in the morning. The green one was mailed to my daughter in New Hampshire.

Scarf No. 4 – the name of the scarf – was lots of fun to knit, and I love it. I see another of those in my future.

The Dual Loop Beanie came out great, but I wish I’d used a different yarn. I’m knitting another one using tan Camel yarn.

The long, colorwork Doublemassa hat was also mailed to my daughter. She laughed at how big it is, but says it sure keeps her warm! I’ve wanted to knit that hat ever since I first bought the“Hat’s On” book (Amazon paid link).

I had fun knitting another Warm Up Sweater in bold stripes using Peace Fleece wool. Then, I knit a third Warm Up in black tweed. The Warm Up pattern is simple, and it is very easy to make changes to suit your wearing needs.

I did not have fun knitting the Birthday61 sweater … because it took forever! I would never knit that pattern again. I had to shorten the sleeves before I lost my mind. And, it came out small. So that (very long) project was a fail for me. But, because it was soooooo slow going, everything else I knit now seems FAST! So, there’s that.

This past year I also tried some new camel hair yarn. I also splurged and used cashmere for the little scarves.

For the new year, I plan to cast on a cable sweater pattern. I have not decided on a pattern yet. It’s between The Bookclub Cardigan, by Sari Nordlund, Auguste Cardigan, by Johanna Gehrisch, and a few others.

Cardigans are my favorite type of sweater to wear. Not necessarily to knit, because of the button bands. I plan to find a few more interesting patterns to knit in 2026, and of course I will share my finds with you, dear readers. Thank you for reading, leaving valuable comments and suggestions, and sharing your own knitting experiences.

Knit on… and have a wonderful Holiday Season! See you in 2026.

More to Read

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Knitting I’ve Done in 2022

Knitting projects finished in 2022 and my thoughts on each one.

This year, 2022, has not been an especially good one. Knitting has been a great way to escape and be at peace for a while. Looking at my list here, I’ve done a lot of that! I have not checked off “learning brioche”, but I bought a book. I have not steeked anything, but maybe next year.

In the order in which they were finished knitting, here are all the patterns (two were mostly my own) I used this year. My thoughts and info on each come after the title. Each link goes either to my blog post where I review the pattern, or is a direct link to the pattern download / purchase. I will have a link to the actual pattern (if one exists) on the post pages.

  • Solstice Glow Hat, by Bunnymuff (January) – Love the colorwork hat even though this type of hat doesn’t look good on me. End product is so cute.
  • Two by Two ribbed hat (January) – Quick and FREE. Didn’t like the yarn I used, but the pattern is easy to follow.
  • Wrist Warmers (February) A fun & FREE project to play with colorwork.
  • Meadow Moon, by Jennifer Steingass (February) Excellent designer, fun pattern, great sweater.
  • Slouchy Watchcap in Blue (March), by Churchmouse Yarns – Great hat! Long project that was quite boring to knit, but end product is worth it.
  • Lopi Wool Pullover (May) I created this pullover to use up my wool yarn and use some unique colorwork designs.
  • Hidden Gems shawl (June) A fun & FREE shawl to knit.
  • Bonnie Isle Hat (June) The recent, yearly Shetland hat. Mine is horrible and I don’t look good in this type of hat. Last one for me.
  • Warm Up Sweater, by Espace Tricot (June) Free pattern and worth it – great directions. I used up some Lettlopi yarn.
  • Honey Cowl 3 (July) Knit this simply to use up some yarn. Very easy pattern.
  • Kate’s Poncho (August) Fabulous pattern, loved the yarn. Made as a gift.
  • Cumulus Sweater, (September) Nice pattern, I changed the yarn weight to use up yarn. End product is okay and is probably better using suggested yarn.
  • Bulky Turtleneck (September) – my own creation to use up Alafosslopi.
  • Venlig pullover (October) Beautiful end product pullover, and awesome yarn, but pattern is a bear…!
  • Slouchy Watchcap 2 in Orange (October) Wonderful and versatile hat. Same as blue one above. Wearable for sure.
  • Playdate in Blue (December) Knit for a friend’s grandchild. Second time knitting this fun little baby cardigan – pattern by Tin Can Knits – you can’t go wrong.
Solstice Glow chicken hat
Solstice Glow
Goldenfern
Warm Up sweater knit in Lettlopi
Warm Up
Orange flowers sweater
Lopi Wool Sweater
Bonnie Isle
Hidden Gems shawl knitting
Hidden Gems
Construction of neckline
Cumulus
Blocking poncho to dry
Kate’s Poncho
Re-knitting the body ribbing
Venlig sweater try-on with one sleeve complete
Watchcap finished
Finished October 17th, just in time for Halloween!
Playdate

So how did I remember all this? Of course I didn’t. I went to my Ravelry page that shows my projects in order! I found this info in my “projects” section under “challenge”.

I’m finally getting around to posting this on December 25th. It is very cold here in Florida, and I know it doesn’t compare to many places that are suffering with snow and REAL cold, but for us it’s extreme. The banana trees and other tropical plants can’t easily survive teens and twenties. By next week we will be back to normal with temps in the 60s and 70s. Happy knitting all my fiber loving readers.

Merry Christmas!

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End of Year Knitting

End of year knitting projects with self-imposed deadlines.

I’m trying not to get stressed out, but here it is October and I have some projects to get finished for December!

A New Baby

One in particular is a little sweater for a new baby boy. He will be born in December and his family lives in Florida. There will not be too many cool sweater days, so he must get the item ASAP after arriving on the earth.

I’ve chosen Tin Can Knits “Playdate” cardigan pattern. I have knit Playdate before and found it really interesting and fun. I still have the little sweater because it was made for no one. I have no grandchildren, but it is such a cute item. I highly recommend the pattern.

Fox buttons on baby sweater, hand knitted using the Playdate pattern by Tin Can Knits.
Fox buttons on the Playdate cardigan #1

The new Playdate version will be made in the small 3-6 month size in hopes that the baby can wear it throughout Spring. Even if the weather gets hot, stores tend to have icy cold AC blowing and his mom can take it for such outings.

Waiting on the Yarn

I’m currently waiting on the yarn to knit Playdate in a pretty blue color. The yarn order is coming from Miss Babs and will contain more yarn to knit a poncho for my daughter. That yarn is burgundy red.

The swatch has been knit using some Kunlin stash, which is a DK weight. I wanted to see the textured pattern and check my gauge, which is good.

Brodgar poncho knitting swatch
Brodgar poncho gauge swatch

Another Poncho Knit in a Rarely Used Colorway

Do you get in a rut where you want to knit the same types of projects continuously? I just made the Kate’s Poncho for my daughter, who loves it, and now I’ve found another poncho to knit.

I rarely knit anything using red yarn, but I believe this poncho – Brodgar – will look very nice in this beautiful Miss Babs Yowza yarn in “Cordovan”. It is Superwash merino wool, which will make it easy to wash in the washing machine, using a bag, when my daughter needs to clean it. The skeins contain 560 yards, which is quite huge! I opted to pay for winding because the poncho needs 2 skeins. The yarn is dark burgundy and will look very nice with jeans and dark colored pants.

A finished poncho would be a nice Christmas gift, but realistically, I won’t get it done in time. Hopefully I’ll get it into the mail before the cold weather goes away completely in the New Hampshire Spring.

I look forward to beginning both of these projects, with the baby sweater coming first in the queue. Waiting for the new yarn delivery has given me time to prepare for the new projects by finishing up some knits that are currently on the needles. I’m nearly done with the orange watchcap and have completed the Venlig sweater.

orange watchcap
Orange Watchcap
Venlig
Recent knitting projects

Do you suddenly realize that Christmas is coming fast? Do you hurriedly fishing the hat and mitten gifts? What knitting projects are you hoping to finish before the new year?

knitting divider

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