Creative goals for 2025

Every year, I sit down and sift through my plans for knitting, sewing, crochet, etc. for the year. Although I certainly allow for spontaneous projects, I do love having a general list of ideas (pairings of materials + patterns) to refer to, should the mood strike. And most importantly, it helps me to make the best use of the materials I already own. Because ultimately, I buy yarn and fabric to use it. I want to take steps to make that happen! And if I've already addressed some of the mental load of project planning up front, that's one less hurdle when it comes time to cast on or print out a pattern.

First of all, I should mention my three current knitting works-in-progress:

An Isle sweater for Nicholas – I am so close to finishing this! I love this yarn, as it was what I used for my Lodge sweater a few years ago. The pattern is a new release, and it matched my preferred gauge with this yarn. I loved the neck (Nicholas asked for a turtleneck this time), and logistically, a top-down construction is helpful when I'm knitting a sweater for someone else. Just an inch of the body and then the bottom ribbing to go! I knit the sleeves before the body to ensure the fit of the yoke was good (and it is, phew).
An Ollie's Classic Crew for Finn – The body on this sweater is almost done, and then I'll have two small sleeves to go, which should be fast, I'm hoping. I really do want to finish off the neck; that always makes me more excited for a sweater. I plan to prioritize this project once Nicholas' sweater is done. Finn seems excited for it, so far!
A Musselburgh hat – My "on the go" project is a repeat knit. Just miles of stockinette, and this yarn is lovely! I'm using Knitting for Olive Merino (my first time trying one of their yarns).

I will say that since all three of these projects have been on my needles since November(!) I am ready to wrap them up and move forward with other knitting plans. I think I benefit from more staggered cast ons, since that is less likely to result in three longer-term projects only being halfway finished, all at once.

Current projects aside, here, grouped by "fiber genre," are some creative projects of interest for this year:

Knitting

Garments

For all of these garments I'm mentioning, I already have sufficient yarn in stash, and since my goal is to knit with what I have, that's ideal:

Sonder sweater for me, in the prettiest yarn (Purl Soho Good Wool in "Ocean Wave" as the main color and "Winter Grass, undyed" as the contrast) that my family gave to me for Christmas.
A fingering-weight sweater for me in the prettiest butter yellow yarn. I am considering the Need More sweater (a hybrid saddle/raglan shoulder shaping, or perhaps another Slightly Sassy V (I knit one in a more summery blend yarn previously)
Another Lodge sweater (perhaps?), but this time, a striped version, utilizing the leftovers from both my previous Lodge sweater and what yarn is remaining from the 10-skein pack I bought for Nicholas' sweater.

"Honorable mentions" for which I would need to purchase yarn are Spacetime (I love the rolled neck!), Giddy Up, Coffee Date, and the Dagmar Jacket, which would likely take me until 2026 to knit, honestly, but it's beautiful.

Accessories

I have some yarn tucked away that I would love to knit into accessories this year: cowls or hats or small scarves, the like.

Knit another self-drafted "family cowl" in Woolfolk Tynd yarn (this time, alternating every other row for a stripe, or color blocking it to make it reversible). This would be a great, mindless project, and this yarn is absolute luxury (and it wears well, too!) My first version is here.
An Oslo hat with Quince and Co Chickadee in a soft pink
A two-color Brioche cowl, knit with a beautiful variegated skein of blue DK with a skein of yellow DK yarn. Thinking one like the one I shared in this post from 2018! I look so young in that blog post.
A matching hat and scarf or mittens and hat in the medium blue British DK weight yarn. I think I have enough for two items, if I choose my patterns carefully. For the scarf, maybe Scarf No. 4 a Double Espresso Scarf, or the Rikke scarf. For the hat, I love the Leith hat.
Another Purl Soho Bandana cowl with a beautiful red skein of their Plenty yarn (this may be my next cast on, in fact). And maybe a second one in the dark grey (same yarn base) for Nicholas or Cooper.
Maybe another hat with the grey Quince and Co Chickadee (for Nicholas or a gift for someone else)

Socks

A pair of textured socks (pattern TBD) knit in a skein of Amble sock yarn. Thinking maybe cables?
A pair of socks for my SIL, Katelyn for her birthday nexr month, in the dark green and charcoal grey combination. I'm excited to make these!
I would love to knit through some self-patterning and/or gradient sock yarns I have in stash.
Another pair of socks in a soft, lilac-colored hand-dyed yarn, and yet another with a self-striping sock set.

Overall, I want to knit with colorful(!) yarn from stash and I am drawn toward a bit of texture on accessories, namely socks and cowls/scarves.

Crochet

I have my eye on some projects for this year. As a larger project, I'd love to make a scrappy triangular wrap using mostly neutral, DK- or worsted-weight leftovers in my stash (I'm eyeing this pattern). I don't use up scraps very often, so I love the idea of a project devoted to using up every last bit of partial skeins of special yarns. And I'd like to make more dishcloths for us and to gift, this pattern has been my favorite so far. More than likely, I'll also be crocheting some tiny toy-like items for the boys, since they enjoy them so much!

Sewing

Of all the categories, my sewing considerations are typically the least likely to actually come to fruition, since my sewing tends to be much more spontaneous and sporadic. That said, there are some patterns that have caught my eye that I will mention here:

Lil Bucky bag – I love the shape, and I've never sewn anything with a round bottom before. Plus, it's a free pattern!
Pine Raglan sweatshirt – I especially like this version.
A skirt with some light green linen/cotton fabric. I might use this tutorial. Or perhaps I'll try the Fawn Skirt.
A throw-sized quilt using a charm pack of fabrics, paired with a significant amount of a neutral fabric. This is an idea I will need to plan out a bit more, but I'm excited about the concept, and this fabric collection is beautiful.
A Nikko top, sewn out of jersey. Such a versatile pattern, and the long-sleeved version would be a closet staple, and perhaps a good way to ease back into sewing with knits/jersey fabrics.
And I love this free collection of sewing patterns from Bookhou, especially the tote and the pouch.

That's all the planning I'll do for now! I'm excited for another year of creative projects, another year of making useful and beautiful things with my hands.