Welcome 2026!

• Posted on 18 January 2026
• By Anne
• 0

A new year begins. As do the aspirations I've set for myself. Not will or won't dos, but things that I'd feel really good accomplishing. Here's my vision of a happy new year!

The annual tradition - setting resolutions to aspire to for the new year. I've tried them all. Something to achieve, whether it be lose weight (I hate the person who's never set that one; oh wait, that'd be my husband, so never mind. Love him to the moon and back), stop or start eating or drinking something, learning a new language, or just 'be healthier.' And I usually meet them, just a little. Kind of a wave - good start, fall off in February and March, make progress again around my April birthday and heading toward summer, wane again during summer, make a final push as fall comes around, then totally abandon them as we roll into the holidays. Oh well, at least I've made an effort, right?

I've been listening to all the talk shows with advice from specialists about the best way to do it. The overall consensus is to not make a promise - to do something specific, give something up, or be a better whatever - but to have a vision of what would make you happier and just work on it. No commitment other than to try. So I've embraced two things that would make me pleased with myself if I'm able to incorporate them into my maker's life.

The first one is a modified version of years past - to finish my sock WIPs. I believe the last time I made this promise, it was one pair completed per month. This year, I'm softening the attempt to 'pull out and enjoy knitting my many beautiful sock Wips, with the wish for wearing a pair of my handknit socks on New year's Day 2027.' I'll let you know which lovely pair I'm starting with in my next post. So many to choose from!

On to my second 2026 adventure in finding happiness - spend time with a hook. Over the past couple years, I've found myself dabbling with yarn and a hook. Yup, teaching myself to crochet. Very much a beginner, but have managed to finish a few things. A baby blanket, granny square scarf, cowl. Another baby blanket is underway, crocheted with my granddaughters' namesake custom MadTosh custom colorway 'Gaggle of Girls' (because all little girls deserve a namesake yarn, right?). I pick it up every so often for a moment of peaceful making, as I find the gentle cradle-rocking motion of the hook so relaxing. But I digress. Here's my plan to incorporate crochet into my life of making in 2026.

Huo Loco, a new vendor to us last year, frequently partners with crochet designer Mallory Krall. Just as the holidays came into full swing, they announced an annual crochet along - the Astrid Fractal Hexie CAL Blanket. The hexie squares draw inspiration from nature's fractals - "nature's repeating patterns, repeating endlessly from the swirl of seashell to the branching of trees and the veins of a leaf." And each month reveals a new colorway, again emulating colors found naturally throughout the year - "spiraling teals and violets, coral bursts, glimmering golds, and deep indigo shadows that echo and repeat." (Both quotes from Mallory Krall) So fun! How could I resist? The Astrid Hexie Squares are the same throughout, so I'll get lots of practice - already refining my technique. And I decided to scrounging for colors from my stash and store shelves (I do own a yarn store, after all) rather than signing up for the annual yarn-a-month club. Plus, my gauge made it necessary to go down a hook size and a yarn weight (from DK to Sport).

Huo Loco's January Color "Snowflake"

Madelinetosh "Moonstone"

15 Hexie Squares complete! I made January's with MadTosh Pasmina "Moonstone." Not exactly the same as the January Huo Loco one, but close enough - gray with swaths of lavender and infrequent speckles of dark purple. Mine is lacking the speckles.

Ready for February's reveal and color treasure hunt. Hey y'all, join me! I'll let you know my color pick next month, along with which sock(s) made the cut for my attention.

TTFN (ta ta for now),

Anne

P.S. Finished my Gnandad's Adventure Gnome (just 1). Dang cute, don't you think! just over 10 months 'til I get to do it again!