I didn't set a lot of goals last year, but I did accomplish one that I explicitly stated and I got a little ways towards the other. The first was finishing my calendar magnets, so now I have the whole year all done! I should have changed up a couple of the lighter colors (or used the darker perforated paper), but all in all, I'm happy with how they turned out.
And the other was a partial success - I still have A LOT of things that need to be fully finished, but I did managed to frame three projects, two of which had been pinned for ages. (The other was the Mill Hill "Moonlit Kitties", which was on perforated paper, so pretty easy to slap into a frame.) I also bought a point driver to do the final finishing on the custom frames I've been ordering. So, here are the fully finished versions of "Moonlit Kitties" (stitching finished last year), "Wonders of Space" (stitching finished in 2020), and "Halloween Fairy" (stitching finished in *cough cough* 2010). "Wonders of Space" will be going to work eventually, assuming I still have some room on my office walls for it. And I'm so happy with the frame I chose for "Halloween Fairy"! Oh - and I fully finished "Panic at the Desko", which was my final finish of 2024 (and that one is at work already and has received quite a few chuckles).
I also finished a few WIPs this year, including two of the Cricket Collection seasons, "Spring" and "Winter". I worked on "Winter" a little at the beginning of the year, but then finished the stitching in December. "Spring" was a start in 2023, which I worked on some more in 2024, but then I was able to really get some work on it in 2025 and finish it. Part of that was that I finally figured out the type of stand that I *really* needed to work on these wide designs. And not surprisingly, it was another product from Ukraine! Now I just have "Summer" to finish (which I started this year) and I'll have all four seasons hanging in the closet waiting to be framed. :) I also finished "S'Mores, Anyone?" (started in 2023) and "Mediterranean Flavors" (a Dimensions kit, started in 2021). I switched out the kit fabric on "Mediterranean Flavors" and I now wish I had used a slightly lighter floss for the shading half stitches, but I still think it loooks fine.
I also had a couple of small-to-medium sized projects that I started and finished this year. First up was "Jaws Sampler" in honor of the movie's 50th anniversary. I made a couple of color changes in this one on the guys' clothes to better match the colors in the movie (yes, I actually pulled it up on my computer and paused it and held up colors against the screen... I'm that much of a nerd) and I changed the colors on the waves around the edges to be a gradient since I thought it would look cool (and I'm happy with how it turned out).
And I finally did two small autumn designs that I had kitted up ages ago - "Apple Pumpkin" and "Halloween Pumpkin Silhouette":
I also did four small Mill Hill Kits (and started a larger one, "Spooky Gate") - "Taco", "Enchanted Moon", "Taboo Kitty", and "Fall Fun" (taco picture coming later since it's at work):
And finally, I did the cute little "Purranormal Activity" from this year's Just Cross Stitch Halloween special issue:
I finished the May block in "A Year at Hawk Run Hollow" but haven't started any of the other months yet. Something for 2026! (I decided to put the whole piece of fabric in the photo so I can do similar progress pics as I continue on it - definitely the largest project I've ever done!) I also did a little more on "Sleepy Hollow" but was really struggling with it. I'm kind of tempted to scrap this version and start again on a different fabric, because I think that's what's holding me back from progressing more on it. I really like how it looks on that fabric, but I really struggle with 32-ct linen these days.
And the one major non-stitching project I did was to finally finish the miniature room kit that I started in 2024. I have two more that I purchased last year, but I'm going to hold of on starting those for a while. These are fun to do, but I think I'm going to have to explore some different types of glues and glue applicators before I do another (at least another with the variety of surfaces - plastic, paper, etc. - that this one had). I'm really happy with how it turned out though!
Goals for 2026
I have a couple of other WIPs that I didn't touch in 2025, and I think I can get at least a couple of them finished this year, if not more. After watching some year end WIP Parades on FlossTube, I realize that I have far, far fewer WIPs than the typical stitcher (assuming that's a representative sample), but I do tend to have far *older* charts, kits, projects, etc. than other people do. I have some 30-year-old kits in my stash! Maybe I'll pick one this year and start working through some of them (although I'm definitely modernizing the fabrics).
Most of my purchases in 2025 were from a fabric of the month club and buying DMC and specialty floss to kit up some charts that I hope to start on soon, including some Nora Corbet fairies, more Hawk Run Hollow designs, and a couple of the Cricket Collection month designs (since I'm nearly finished with the seasons). So I'll probably start a few of those projects once I finish getting all of the floss.
Happy New Year everyone and I hope you all have a good crafty year!