Happy New Year! I hope you had a good start to the year. We had a quiet but lovely NYE just the way we like it to be.

Looking ahead to this first quarter & my crafting plans I have decided to split my time into sections. I would like to have some dedicated time for each of my current loves; knitting, crochet & cross stitch. In the first quarter of 2026, I have approximately 12 weeks available for craft. I can generally speaking, get some time most evenings to work on my projects. (unless we have plans)

I am invigorated to participate in some challenges this year. Year of WIPs is a cross stitching challenge hosted by Melanie Watkins in Facebook. WIPGO is hosted by Jessie Marie on Facebook. Stitch from Stash is a cross stitching challenge hosted by Stephanie Kyle on Facebook.

I have also been toying with the idea of participating in the 12 cast-ons challenge created by Ang of Yarn N Yarns.

Knitting

I would love to get some more squares done on my Cosiest Memories Blanket. I have most of the smaller mitre squares completed but just now need to mattress stitch them together to then knit the log cabin border around them.

I would also like to cast on some socks. I have not attempted socks yet but would love to have at least 2 pairs in my wardrobe before the end of this year.

I also would like to at least cast on the two cardigans I promised my niece last year. One of them will be the Arctic Coast Cardigan by Gabrielle Danskknit before she much older. For this project, I’m planning on using King Cole Anti Tickle Merino DK yarn for the colour stripes & complete a rainbow order for those stripes. The main colour choice as I write is between Gunmetal Grey & Storm Grey.

The second cardigan for my niece is a WIP that I inherited from my Mum. She had started to make it but lost interest in it so abandoned it. I finished the front & back pieces last year but when I tried it on my niece , it was far too small. I purchased similar yarn last year with a view to starting it before the end of 2025. It’s a pattern booklet from Patons.

I would also like to get the Painting Bricks shawl for my Mum finished this quarter.

Crochet

I would love to make another version of the Seafoam Cardigan in grey. I love the one I made in burgundy & think my wardrobe needs one in grey.

I got some lovely Jewelspun yarn for Christmas this year & have been thinking about what to make with it. I have picked out some potential patterns from the a modern crochet sweaters book I have. Once I have some more concrete plans, I’ll let you know.

I would also love to try to finish the 2 Granny Square Cushion covers I’m making. The pattern is by Kirsten Ballering. I am modifying the pattern slightly to make a removable cover with an envelope style opening.

Cross Stitch

As I seem to have re-discovered my love for cross stitching, I would like to finish Spirit of Christmas by Lizzie Kate. I think this is my oldest cross stitch WIP. I started this in December 2017 when this was released as a 3-part mystery SAL (stitch-a-long)

Looking at the remaining WIPs I have, I would also like to make some progress on Reflections of New York City by Ink Circles & Memories of Summer by Sarah Elizabeth Stitches. (me in a former life)

Let’s see how I get on. What are your plans for the first part of this year?

I talked about my Q3 projects in this post, but thought I would dedicate a separate space for what plans I set out for myself for Q4 of 2025 in terms of my crafting projects.

Knitting

In the last quarter of the year, I would like to get my Stornoway Sweater by Cheryl Mokhtari (Coco Amour Knitwear) completed. I started this project on 8 October this year. It should be a relatively quick knit as it is being knit up on 5mm needles (US 8)

I would also like to get a shawl started & finished for my Mum for either her Birthday or for Christmas. It seems unlikely that I will be able to get a shawl done in less than a month, especially considering it will be knit up in fingering weight yarn. At the time of writing, I plan on making the Raina Shawl by Andrea Mowry (Drea Renee Knits) as I love the look of this shawl. My hesitence comes from the brioche portions of the shawl as it has been a long, long time since I have done any brioche knitting. I just need to relearn that muscle memory a little first.

Crochet

In the last quarter of the year, I would like to make another Plant Coaster to use some of my remaining bulky scraps. The pattern I found on Ravelry is the Eco Plant Coaster by
Krystal Amador. (Eco Minded Stitches) I would also love to try to finish the 2 Granny Square Cushion covers I’m making. The pattern is by Kirsten Ballering. I am modifying the pattern slightly to make a removable cover with an envelope style opening.

Cross Stitch

In the last quarter of the year, I would like to make some progress on Spirit of Christmas by Lizzie Kate. I think this is my oldest cross stitch WIP. I started this in December 2017 when this was released as a 3-part mystery SAL (stitch-a-long)

Looking at the remaining WIPs I have, I would also like to finish Grandpa’s Pickup mini. This was part of the Farmhouse Christmas Series by Little House Needleworks.

Let’s see how I get on. What are your plans for the remainder of this year?