Needlework Update: First Quarter!

Posted by Harper on

Back in January, I set these goals for myself for 2026:


So, what did I accomplish in the first three months of the year? Honestly, more than I expected.



To start with, I'm on track with new patterns. I've published three new patterns for sale over at the Stitch Whisper Designs Etsy Shop. January's pattern was the Wild Things Slipper Socks (knitted). February was the Stroller Sack baby blanket (also knitted). And March saw the Woven Waves Hat and Cowl Set (knitted again), which is a redo of the Woven Waves Hat I published a few years ago and is in my Knitted Hat Collection. I haven't done the rephotographing I plan to do yet. That will involve making new samples for various patterns, but I have set aside some of the yarns for those projects. I also set a goal for increasing sales this year, and thus far you all have significantly exceeded my goals, so thank you all for that, and I really hope you enjoy your purchases!



I haven't done any new pattern collections yet this year, and it wasn't a goal for this last quarter. Since I'm only publishing ten new for sale patterns this year, my plan is to publish those pattern collections in the fall or winter. However, my Knitted Hat Collection and Crocheted Baby Blanket Collection are worth checking out in the meantime!


I did publish my first free pattern for the year. The Mistake Rib Hat was part of my post about mistake rib. It didn't start out as a plan to write a pattern, but ultimately, it felt right.



I did finish my Life Cycle Socks (free), and I absolutely love them. Knitting them was an adventure, and I learned a lot. I'll be writing a pattern review in the not-too-distant future. This was my first time making adult-sized socks with actual sock yarn. I have a bunch of pretty and interesting sock patterns saved, and now I feel emboldened to start making them. Right now, I've moved on to a pair of Strawberry Shorties (free) by Gillian Hagemen, which are much easier, but still a lot of fun. I've officially entered my sock-knitting era.



My oldest sons have January birthdays, and at the end of December, there were comments about needing new mittens. I made a pair of Seersucker Mittens by Sarah Lehto for one son. I used the Marshmallow Worsted in Paint Horse from Mountaintop Yarns for both pairs of mittens, and the colorway kind of overwhelmed the seersucker pattern on the first pair. I used my Log Cabin Mitered Mittens pattern for the other pair, and I like how they came out much better, but both boys were very happy.

By the time I could have started Ekaterina Filippova-Blanchard's Bunny Tail Beanies for my daughters the weather had warmed up. My younger daughter is only turning two this year, so I want to make sure I make hats that will fit for at least one whole winter. I have the yarn for the hats, but I won't be making them until the fall. I haven't started on the Celtic Knot Cowl either. I've just had other priorities. But I'll get there.


I have lots of patterns saved in my Ravelry account, and I also have lots of yarn I want to use, albeit not for pattern samples. One of the reasons I decided to do ten new patterns this year instead of twelve was that I wanted to have time to do some of those patterns and use some of those yarns. The Life Cycle Socks, Strawberry Shorties, and Celtic Knot Cowl are part of that, but so is my plan to make a new sweater for myself. I significantly overbought the yarn I used for the Stroller Sack Baby Blanket, so I bought a couple more skeins of the same yarn and got started on the All the Vines Sweater by Ashley Lillis, which has been in my Ravelry Favorites for a while. It's top-down, and I've done the neck and started the yoke. I had to stop for a bit, because I thought I had the needles I needed, and I was wrong. Now that I've ordered the needles, and they have arrived, I'm making progress again. I haven't started yet on my selection of fancy blanket square patterns, which would require me to pick out yarn for that afghan project. Right now, I'm focusing on projects I already have yarn for.





Some of the patterns I have saved I intend to use for charity stitching. So far this year, I've finished the 6-Day Superstar Blanket (free) from Betty McKnit, Flat Baby Sandals (free) and Newborn Baby Booties  (free) from Annanitato Lolo, the Winter Bliss Hat by Lara Simonson, and of course the Mistake Rib Hat and matching scarf. You might have read my reviews of the Winter Bliss Hat and the Newborn Baby Booties over the past few months. My current charity stitching project is the Sweet Woodruff Hat (free) by Deby Lake, which I'm making to use up some of the yarn leftover from the Superstar Blanket. I have not yet started making any bonding squares or dishcloths for my donation bag this year.

So far, I am achieving my blogging goals. Having a plan for what kinds of posts to do each month has been really helpful for keeping writer's block at bay. You can expect to see me continue with that routine as the year progresses.


Here are my goals for the next three months:
Finally, don't forget to keep an eye out for the annual Mother's Day Sale over at the Stitch Whisper Designs Etsy Shop! That will start sometime around the middle of this month.


What are you working on?


This post has been linked to HIH, Senior Salon, Busy Monday, Inspire Me Monday, WITS, Wonderful Wednesday, The Stitchin' Mommy, Thursday Favorite Things, and Create-It!

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