Happy New Year! It's time to officially wrap up my creative year for 2025. This is my 17th year writing these wrap up posts, see previous years here. (That seemed like way too high a number, so I went back and counted. Can confirm!)
Wow! 2025 was challenging. At the beginning of the year, Michael was interviewing for academic jobs, but we had no idea what to expect or where we might end up. Fast forward to the present and we are in our new home in State College, Pennsylvania and he started his new job this week! It was a year of change and a slow goodbye to our life in Connecticut. It was much harder to leave than I would have expected when we first moved there in 2017. We really put down roots and fell in love with our area, home and our neighbors. Hamden (New Haven) will always hold a special place in our hearts, that's for sure. Needless to say, the last six months especially have been tough. Trying to pack, show/sell our house, and move out of state (with a toddler and a kitty) was a lot!! I am glad to be on the other side of all that. We have been settling into our new home and exploring our new town.
Just like last year, I didn't think I made that many things this year, but looking back I made more than I thought. Our daughter dropped her only nap in March, so my crafting time decreased considerably. That combined with needing to pack/move meant I often didn't have enough energy left to sew. Somehow I managed to make some fun things, share some tutorials and host my annual Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along! Let's dive into some of my favorite projects from the year and then evaluate how I did on my 2025 crafty goals.
My favorite quilt finish: Vintage Sheet Schoolhouse Quilt
The most used quilt of 2025: Hello Kitty Patchwork Quilt
My favorite lined drawstring bag: Upcycled Tea Towel Drawstring Bag
My favorite bag project: Upcycled Towel Boxy Pouches
My favorite home decor project: Quilted Tea Towel Pillow Cover
This year I shared 9 free tutorials here on my blog and hosted a sew along:
Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along
DIY Seed Germination Book and My Seed Starting Setup
My Favorite DIY Stain Remover for Oil Stains
Jeni's Dahlia Growing Guide
HST Leftovers Free Baby Quilt Pattern
Upcycling Materials for Lined Drawstring Bags
Tree Quilt Block Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial
Scrappy Color Blocked Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial
Leftover Quilt Block Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial
I also released a new pattern this year:
Starflower Quilted Zipper Pouch Pattern
Let's check in with my 2025 Crafty Goals:
Use up more yardage than I bring in for both fabric and yarn.
I don't think I bought any "new" fabric or yarn this year. Anything I brought in was secondhand and even that was minimal. I got rid of a huge amount of fabric, especially ahead of our move.
Finish up 1 or 2 long-term projects in progress.
I feel very good about how I did with this goal! I put together two quilt tops out of two stacks of super old blocks and sent them out for quilting. I also finally put together my Night Sky quilt which has been in progress for many years. All of those quilts are quilted and one is bound!
Release 2 new patterns.
Made it halfway to this goal, I released one new pattern this year: Starflower Quilted Zipper Pouch Pattern
Destash fabric and yarn I don't think I'll use.
I destashed a lot of fabric, vintage sheets and yarn this year. Somehow I still have a huge stash, but I feel good about what I was able to part with.
Make a mini Making Backpack.
Bummed that I didn't get to this project in 2025. Top of my list in 2026!
Host another quilt along! Hopefully this Spring, keep your eye out.
Maybe this year? I think this was quite an ambitious goal considering how chaotic 2025 ended up being!
Work on a pair of colorwork mittens.
I started the Snowfling Mitts by Tanis Lavallee. I loved knitting her Sweet Nectar Mitts pattern a few years ago!
Try a new craft! I already have supplies to try out marbling, natural dyeing, weaving (with a simple flat loom), bleach dyeing, etc.
I did not try any new crafts this year! Hopefully in 2026.
Continue to experiment and make things with repurposed textiles.
This applies to most of the sewing I did in 2025! I made a bunch of pouches from towels, two vintage sheet quilts, some drawstring bags from napkins and a towel, plus some pillow covers too.
Finish a crochet project.
I don't think I finished any crochet projects this year. I did knit a hat!
I'll be back soon to share my 2025 garden wrap-up post and some 2026 crafty goals. I always look forward to writing the garden post, especially since it's the middle of winter! A great excuse to spend time pouring over gardening photos and dreaming about the next season.
Happy Sewing!
