House & Holiday Plan 2026: Week #2 Calendar & Creativity

September 7, 2026September 12, 20262 Comments

Hello, old friends and new readers! We’ve made it through the first week of the House & Holiday Plan 2026! Congratulations! How’d you do?

Week #1 was all about Planning & Paperwork, and we focused on getting our office areas tidied up and setting up a Christmas Activity Center. We also filled out the Holiday Values worksheet, established our holiday budget, and began our Master Gift List.

Debrief: Week #1

I’m still in the process of getting my dining room table full set up for HHP, but I’ve left my HHP binder on it all week and, as a result, used any downtime I had to work on various HHP tasks.

My rolling Christmas cart is downstairs AND I’m in the process of cutting some vinyl wording for it to make it cuter.

I was talking last week about potentially setting up a sewing machine in my Christmas Activity Center so that I could have easy access to working on some projects, but the more I think about it, the less inclined I am to do it. I’m trying really hard to not start new projects until I clear a specific handful from my crafting queue, so I don’t think it’s the year to undertake some impressive Christmas makes at the last minute. [insert super sad face here] However, I do have a knitting project I thought I’d make for Christmas this year, and that’s easy enough to leave on the table, so I might go that route. OH…I think I’ll also get out my Christmas Alphabet Embroidery Sampler and its frame and use some downtime to get it framed. (I TOLD YOU I wouldn’t get back to framing it until the holiday rolled around again!)

Filling out the Holiday Values Worksheet was revealing: As I thought back over last year’s Christmas season, I realized we actually didn’t do much because we were dealing with my husband’s stepfather’s passing, and subsequent out-of-state funeral. We missed concerts, events, just about everything. The only thing we did was attend one of Renaissance’s friends’ birthday celebration on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day was super low-key because we desperately just needed a break.

And then I remembered that Christmas 2024 was a rough one, too, because the last half of 2024 was rather brutal for the Brooke Family.

I think we’re due for a really amazing holiday season this year, what do you think? I’m going all-in, y’all. We’ve earned it.

Week #2: Calendar & Creativity

Alright, Week #2 concerns itself with our schedules and our creative spaces. We’ll get our calendars under control and get our crafting and gifting areas ready for their holiday work.

Week #2 Cleaning Checklist: Craft Room

Declutter and clean creative spaces: I’ll be heading into my craft room, which is bulging at the seams yet again. How does that happen?!?!
- If you’re looking for a kick-in-the-pants method for decluttering, I highly recommend reading Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff, by Dana K. White. I’m not an affiliate or anything; I use it and it’s the best decluttering book I’ve come across thus far.
- A good rule to start with, that I picked up somewhere long ago, is: The floor is not a shelf. When in doubt, clear out a room enough to not have anything on the floor that shouldn’t live on the floor.
Assess stored crafts materials: Do you need to purchase any basics? Do it now and save yourself the “I thought I had that” headache later.

Week #2 Holiday Prep Checklist

Get your calendar filled in: Now that school is in session for most families, it’s a great time to physically write in every game, concert and event the family needs to show up for. Get everyone’s birthdays written down, too!
- I now use a calendar that starts in August and then goes through December of the next year. I tried a new brand this year and am not loving it; I wish I’d stayed true to my favorite Orange Circle version. If I hadn’t already filled my unloved calendar in, I’d totally start all over with this beautiful Fruit & Flora one.
Plan holiday travel.
Schedule necessary household and family upkeep appointments.
- Furnace checks
- Carpet cleaning
- Family photo session, if needed
- Chimney cleaning
- Any family medical appointments that need to be done
Hold a family scheduling session: I call it our Autumn & Christmas Bucket List Planning Session, and I give a heads-up to everyone in the family a couple of days beforehand to start thinking about the activities they’d like to participate in that will be fun and bring them joy through the end of the year. Then we meet, write every idea down and figure out what’s actually possible to do, given time and budget constraints. Click here for the Autumn PDF, and click here for the Christmas PDF.
- When they were younger, I’d then write down all the autumn bucket list ideas on a big piece of poster board and use painter’s tape to affix it to a wall that was easily visible from the dinner table so we could talk about the upcoming events and cross them off as they happened.
  - Bonus: By having it up as a poster, it kept our plans at the forefront of my ADHD brain so I wouldn’t forget about making them happen. I’d also make a Christmas bucket list poster to put up during December, and we’d have another planning session in the week after Christmas to make up our Winter Bucket List poster.
  - I might bring this idea back this year because young children management tactics work well with teenagers and young adults, too. We’ve not been very into activities in recent years and I’d like to change that for the better. Use the tools that work!

House & Holiday Plan Autumn Activity Brainstorming worksheet

House & Holiday Plan 2026 Christmas and New Year's Activity Brainstorming Worksheet

Start gathering your holiday ideas: The original HHP plan called this “tear files,” where you’d tear out articles, recipes, and other ideas from magazines because that’s what us “mature” folks did back in the days before Pinterest. If you’re still a magazine person, then by all means, curate an expanding file folder to hold your ideas. If you’re a Pinterest user like myself, set up a new board for 2026 Holiday Ideas and start pinning! I go through all of my holiday decor boards, activity idea boards, recipe boards, etc., and re-pin the ideas that I’d like to do this year to the new board. That way I still have the pins on the original boards, but then I have a focused list of actual possibilities for this particular year all in one place.
Start a shopping list: Paper or digital, it’s up to you.
- Our family uses the Google Keep app and I’ve invited them to the grocery shopping list so we can all add to the same list when things run out and then I have it in my pocket when I’m out.
- Hint for the Gift Tracking app I mentioned last week: If you add a link to each gift’s description, then it will populate it into a shopping list that you can check off. I don’t know why it needs a link for it to get onto the list, but that’s the trick. I just insert thatcraftycara.com as the link when I don’t need to purchase the item online. 😉 UPDATE 9/12: Opened my Gift List app this morning and it had an update that fixed the bug that kept gifts without links from populating into the Shop tab. Huh. (Yay! Thanks, Gift List app developer(s)!)
Review gift lists: Is your Master Gift List from last week complete?
- This is the week I like to reach out to extended family and get sizes, favorite colors, and gift ideas for everyone.
Inventory unfinished crafts projects: It’s time to face the music, Fellow Crafters! When I did this last year, I found I had forty-seven UFOs (UnFinished Objects)!
- Good piece of advice from Cynthia Townley Ewer, the creator of the HHP: “Remember the Crafter’s Rule of Four: If you have more than four unfinished crafts projects, or if any single project is more than four years old, don’t schedule any new crafts! Finish the old ones this year–you’ve already got a head start on the process and the price is right! Rout out projects you’ve begun, and take advantage of the time already invested in them for happy crafting.”
  - Obviously, I don’t abide by this creed…but, as a crafter drowning in UFOs, I do admit its wisdom and wish I did. #goals
Begin a “Gifts to Make” list: Because now is the time to start! Click here for the PDF.
- I try to finish making gifts by American Thanksgiving (November 26, this year), preferably the weekend right before. That way I’m not under a cloud of stress during December when our family has all the music rehearsals and concerts, gift wrapping, social events, and requisite movie and cocoa family time.
- Life Hack: Actually schedule time for working on your handmade gifts. (This is, after all, a crafting blog!) Like, create a recurring event in your calendar and if something comes up that’s trying to be scheduled during that time, say, “I’m not available at that time.” It’s that easy. No one needs to know what you’re doing at that time (and don’t tell, because they’ll try to talk you out of it, believe me!) and if you simply say you’re unavailable, then the people you’re making plans with will move on to the next available time.
  - Only twice in the last twenty years has my protected crafting time actually made it impossible for me to meet up for something important. When it becomes obvious that it’s my schedule that’s causing the problem (when I’ve said, “I’m not available at that time,” for the third time), I stop for a second (Say it out loud: “Give me a second to think here.”), think about whether meeting up for the thing trying to be scheduled is something I actually need or want to do (am I willing to give up crafting/music practice time willingly, or am I being guilted into this?), and then, if I do truly want to be a part of it, I’ll cancel one of the three scheduled crafting sessions/conflicts suggested to make room for the proposed event at-hand.
    - If it turns out that I don’t actually want to be involved in the event, I’ll say, “It looks like my schedule is too busy right now to commit to another thing. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be involved with this after all. I’d forgotten about some commitments I’ve made, but looking at my calendar now has made it obvious that my schedule is too full to add anything else.”
    - Repeat after me: It is better to disappoint others in a small way now (by declining to participate when you know you don’t have time for it) rather than disappointing them in a big way later (by overcommitting and doing a terrible job at, or worse, flaking out at the minute for, the thing you said you’d do because you didn’t have the time or energy to do as it should be done). The event organizer will have time to find another person for the task if you decline upfront. It’s not a big deal. If they can’t find another person, well, that’s their problem, not yours. Also, maybe the event doesn’t actually need to happen? Or maybe it’s a great idea…for next year?

House & Holiday Plan 2026 Gifts to Make worksheet

I had a lot to say about that, ha ha. But crafting is self-care for me, it’s one of the most therapeutic ways to help keep my mind quiet and calm. I respect it as a important tool in my mental health arsenal. I also have to respect my music practice time if I’m going to deliver on any performance I commit to. It’s just that simple. Don’t let people bully you out of your scheduled creative times, or else stop committing to creative projects. Beautiful projects and performances take the necessary time to prepare them well.

And that’s it for Week #2’s tasks! Let me know in the comments how Week #1 went for you, and whatever’s on your mind for Week #2! I’d love to hear about all of it.

Labor Day Yarn Sale Heads-Up: Handmade Christmas prep!

September 4, 2026Leave a comment

Just a heads-up that Knit Picks is having a big Labor Day sale where just about everything on their site is 20% off. Even kits, which are often not included in sales.

So, if you’re starting to think about handmade gifts for Christmas (Hello, House & Holiday Planners!) and they use yarn, this is a really good sale to stock up on all your holiday project needs. Just use the code 8SALE26 at the checkout.

I will be purchasing some of the Knit Picks Stroll Fingering yarn for a pair of socks I’m hoping to get finished in time to gift for Christmas! (All the more reason for me to finish up the Husband Christmas Socks pronto!)

It’s basically a Black Friday sale, but far enough out so that you can actually finish your planned handmade gifts.

Knit Picks Labor Day Sale

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Handknit socks made with self-striping American Flag yarn from The Painted Tiger and royal blue contrasting heel made with Cascade Yarns Heritage yarn.

American Flag Socks: Michael’s Christmas Socks 2025

December 28, 2025December 26, 20251 Comment

It’s the first Sunday after Christmas, which means Michael’s wearing his brand new pair of socks to church for the first time. I made him a really great pair this year! He was completely surprised by them and has dubbed them his most favorite handknit socks EVER.

Handknit socks made with self-striping American Flag yarn from The Painted Tiger.

Details:

Pattern: #216 Beginner’s Lightweight Socks, by Diane Soucy of Knitting Pure & Simple

Yarn: Journey Sock Yarn in colorway “Grand Old Flag” from The Painted Tiger, and Cascade Yarns Heritage in colorway #5636 “Sapphire” from Simply Socks Yarn Company. There’s a fair amount of each leftover, but I haven’t weighed anything to give you specific numbers. I also used two spools of Lang Reinforcement Thread #290, purchased from Simply Socks Yarn Company.

Needles: US 2 (2.75 mm)

Modifications: None beyond the contrasting heel and toe.

We were discussing his growing collection of handknit socks last year after he opened his 2024 pair, and he mentioned that it would be really cool to have some striped USA socks, but it would probably be really difficult to start and stop with the red and white yarns and how that was too much to ask of me. I tucked that little quip away in my note-keeping app and when it came time to decide what to make him for this year’s socks, I decided to take a quick look on the internet to see if some self-striping Americana yarn already existed out there. I happened upon The Painted Tiger’s version and bought it as fast as I could. So exciting!

Handknit socks made with self-striping American Flag yarn from The Painted Tiger with contrasting heels knit with Cascade Yarns Heritage sock yarn in royal blue.

You know you’ve done a good job when you’ve been knitting for over twenty years and your husband opens his present, after squeezing it and saying, “This feels like socks,” and exclaims, “WHOA! Did you make these?!?!” He was so pleased with the colorway! I’m really happy with his enjoyment of how they look already!

I don’t know if I can top these ever. I’m not too worried about it at the moment; it’s just been great to listen to him fawn over this pair. Merry Christmas, my love.

Note: These socks were originally given the code name of “Cherry Twilight Socks” as I worked on them earlier in the year so I didn’t give away their very distinctive design feature. All posts tagged as “Cherry Twilight Socks” have been updated with the “American Flag Socks” tag.

Sleeves and bottom ribbing of a handknit yoked colorwork sweater, made with gray, aqua, and white yarn.

Finding Color in a Bleak Week: A Love Letter to a Local Yarn Shop

December 22, 2025December 24, 20251 Comment

As previously mentioned, our family has spent the last few weeks dealing with the passing of Michael’s stepfather, Carl. This required two separate trips back and forth to eastern Montana amidst both rainstorms and flooding in Washington and snowstorms and ice-covered roads in Montana.

As one would expect, I looked at these upcoming fourteen-hour long drives and immediately began planning a creative project or two to work on. I find knitting to be my best “in a moving vehicle” project, so on the first trip out I packed both my Wee Woolly Sheep Ornament in-progress, and the materials to start making some Fair Isle Christmas ball ornaments. It turned out that I was too keyed up and stressed to be able to work on those projects, so no real progress was made.

Wee Woolly Sheep knitted Ornament in-progress, made with gray and white yarn.

Wee Woolly Sheep is a fiddly pattern, the Fair Isle Christmas balls are too chart-heavy…neither is good for truck knitting.

Arne & Carlos knit Christmas Ball in-progress, made with blue and white yarn.

We had to make another trip back for the actual funeral, so I decided to pack something easy to work on: The Better Days Sweater, which I started at some point during the COVID shutdowns. It’s at the point where I just have to work the body of the sweater in plain stockinette stitch, so I figured I could handle that in the truck.

Well, I could have if I had had the correct size of needles. #strikeone

And if I hadn’t cast on only enough stitches to fit a child’s torso. #striketwo

Derailed further by the fact that the sleeves are long enough for an adult, but with a number of stitches cast on for a kindergartener. #strikethree

“No worries,” I told myself, “I’ll just find a local yarn shop in Billings and buy some new needles and then take care of business.”

The closest yarn shop to our hotel in Billings was Yarn Bar, so we set out for it amongst the ice and snow. Rachel accompanied me into the shop and we both stopped in our tracks upon entering because it was so beautiful. Shelf upon shelf of rainbow hues and tweedy goodness, all brightly lit and displayed with obvious care. A rack of knitted baby sweater samples to stroke, cute hats on mannequins. Fun and happy colors everywhere you looked.

After all the stress of travelling, all the care and worry about the funeral preparations, all the anxiety over the weather…I walked into a yarny wonderland and felt all my troubles lift for just a little bit. It was a sorely needed balm of color and joy that warmed my heart and stoked the embers of inspiration that have been lying too ashen and neglected for too long. I could have sat in that shop all day.

I was responsible and only bought the needles I had planned to buy, but I really wanted to take a lot of their tweedy yarns home, and I spied another Christmas colorway of the West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4-ply that I made my Stripey Christmas Socks with earlier this year. I might have to go and order that after the holidays in preparation for next Christmas.

It was such a warm and inviting space to visit, I absolutely loved it and wish I lived closer so I could frequent it often. It had a lot of the same feel as the now-closed Churchmouse Yarns Bainbridge Island location and the old Black Sheep Wool Company in Salt Lake City before it was transferred to new ownership. I love that homey, traditional ambiance of those types of yarn stores. It’s the traditional wools, tweeds, and good old-fashioned colorwork patterns that really do it for me, knitting-wise. There’s just not a lot of stores that go in that direction anymore.

I was so glad to have had the experience of stopping by Yarn Bar and feeding my soul with all that color and those yummy yarn vibes. I wish I’d taken pictures of the shop, but Michael was circling the block while I completed my quick errand, so I had to hurry away. Oh, it made me so sad to leave that beautiful place, but I kept that feeling of happiness-in-color in my heart as we traversed the blue and icy Montana landscape for the rest of the weekend and on the long journey home. I have new ideas in my head for some really pretty projects that I can hopefully get going on after the holidays.

How good it is to be creative souls that, in the midst of bleak weeks and stressful moments, can just pop into a shop for a moment to be soothed by the materials and tools that we work with to create our art. Such a blessing.

Which is more than I can say for my attempts to resurrect my Better Days Sweater. Truck-ice-skating down the freeway hampered my desire to knit, so I gave up on the idea for the trip home. Now that I’m firmly situated on a stable surface, I’ll be picking it back up soon.

#craftygoals: December 2025

December 4, 2025December 4, 20251 Comment

Debrief: November 2025 #craftygoals:

Rachel Brooke, wearing a light pink formal gown, and her family at the Daffodil Princess selection ceremony

Daffodil Princess Dress: The dress was altered and hemmed in time. Rachel looked so beautiful! Nathaniel was her escort and I was so proud of the two of them working together. Rachel wasn’t selected as Daffodil Princess, but she says she learned a lot about public speaking and the like, and she really enjoyed “princess lessons,” so the net sum of the experience is positive overall.
Penguin Party Quilt: I attached the bottoms sashing to two rows before deciding that I really do need to take some growth/width out of the penguin block rows to get them to fit the sashing strips better. Life has been an absolute carnival with Daffodil Princess prep, the school district K-12 musical, battling COVID for the second time this year, and Thanksgiving, so I’ve not got back to working on this since then.
Rachel’s Gingerbread Christmas Quilt: No progress
Woolly Wee Sheep Ornament(s): I started one! It’s a finicky pattern, but I’d say I’m about 2/3 done with it.
Christmas Alphabet Embroidery Sampler: Haven’t done anything with it since finishing the stitching. I have the frame for it in possession and just need to do all the things you do to frame an embroidery piece.

December 2025 #craftygoals:

Time-Sensitive Things That Need Working on ASAP:

Christmas Alphabet Embroidery Sampler: I blasted through finishing up the stitching for this so I could display it this year, so I better get it framed!

Wee Woolly Sheep Ornament(s): They’re meant to go on the tree so I need to finish them.

Fair Isle Christmas Balls: I was on a bit of a kick with planning the Wee Woolly Sheep Ornaments and decided to go all in on knitted ornaments, so I bought the books and yarn to make some Fair Isle ornaments, too. Hopefully I can get at least one done!

Things to Work on After the ASAP Projects:

Machine Stitching:

Penguin Party Quilt: Fixing the width of the rows and hopefully finishing this top!
Say-It Sew Along: Lori Holt has designed the cutest seasonal banners to go along with the release of her newest fabric collection, “TYPE/ography,” and I want to sew along! She released the instructions for the “Merry Christmas” and “Let It Snow” banners at the end of November and I’d really like to make them.
Rachel’s Gingerbread Christmas Quilt: I’d be lucky to get to work on this in December, but I’ll put it on the list anyway.

Hand Stitching:

English Paper Piecing: No plans for anything this month.

Knitting: The above-mentioned Christmas ornaments.

Embroidery: No plans for anything this month.

There’s so much going on in our lives in December, so I’m not optimistic about how much progress I can make on crafty things, but it’s better to have a plan just in case, rather than finding myself with some free time and no idea what to make when I finally disturb the cobwebs in the craft room!

Happy December to you all, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and hopefully I’ll be able to report back with some beautiful progress on some feel-good projects that elicit those wonderful Christmas-y heartwarmings that we’re all in search of in the darkest month of the year! Drink your cocoa and play your happy music!

That Crafty Cara's Crafty Goals for the month

#craftygoals: November 2025

November 14, 2025Leave a comment

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that we’re halfway through the month, but it’s better to do the thing late than to not do the thing at all. And I really do love to read through my #craftygoals posts years later, so here we go.

Debrief: October 2025 #craftygoals:

Penguin Party Quilt: Coming along well. Really thought I’d have the top done by now, but life keeps interrupting. Life be like that.
Rainbow Coin Strip Quilt: Ha ha ha. I think I’m getting too old to have multiple projects in-progress anymore. I don’t think I even literally touched this quilt once.
Peppermint Blossoms EPP quilt: Some progress made, but I need to be honest with myself and admit that I’m just not feeling this anymore, so I should probably set it aside or figure out a way to make something from what I’ve already got prepared, like a pillow or table runner or something like that.
Christmas Alphabet Embroidery Sampler: This was not done at the end of October, but it’s done now!

November 2025 #craftygoals:

Time-Sensitive Things That Need Working on ASAP:

Daffodil Princess Dress: Rachel is running for Daffodil Princess this year, and the selection ceremony is coming up. As such, she needs a dress for it, which we have secured and, SHOCKING, it needs hemming. All I do is hem formal dresses for this kid! Ugh. It’s a very pretty dress, though, so at least I’m working on pretty things. It’d be torture if they were ugly dresses. And this dress doesn’t have five skirts like that one prom dress at one point. That was pretty torturous, that one. So, hemming…STAT.

Things to Work on After the ASAP Projects:

Penguin Party quilt made with pastel plaid flannels

Machine Stitching:

Penguin Party Quilt: So close. Really, really hoping the top is done and I’ve got this bad boy in the mail to the quilter by the end of the month.
Rachel’s Gingerbread Christmas Quilt: Prewash the fabric, maybe get some of the cutting done? I don’t know if I’m going to make it to working on this quilt in November.

Hand Stitching:

English Paper Piecing: I don’t know what I want to do here. I might take a break and focus on knitting instead.

Knitting: I want to knit some Christmas tree ornaments. I cast on a Churchmouse Woolly Wee Sheep today, so I think I’ll focus on making those for the next couple of weeks.

Embroidery: Get the Christmas Alphabet Embroidery Sampler framed.

There’s not a lot of November left, and Christmas prep is surging forward, so we’ll see how much we get done on these goals! Wish me luck!

English Paper Piecing quilt blocks that look like red, green, and white peppermint candy discs

Christmas Stitching in October

October 19, 2025October 25, 20253 Comments

I’ve written a little bit about the Peppermint Blossoms EPP Quilt and the Christmas Alphabet Embroidery Sampler, but haven’t shared any actual info or pictures about them. We shall remedy that today!

Meet the Peppermint Blossoms EPP Quilt:

This one’s going to take a very long time. I spent some time in the past week figuring out numbers for it and I think I’m going to end up needing 50 full blossoms and 10 half blossoms, plus whatever insane number of background triangles and diamonds that I’ll math out later. As of today, I have 8 red blossoms and 7 green blossoms complete. Only 35 to go…

Red, Green, and White Peppermint Blossoms English Paper Piecing Quilt units

This project is my current crafting-in-the-van project that gets worked on whenever I’m waiting for kids’ practices to get over and when I’m sitting at church during Mutual because I don’t want to drive back home just to turn around half an hour later to come back and pick them up. Progress is slow on this, but I can usually knock out a full blossom a week now that I’m working on it during Mutual.

I also need to cut out more white jewel pieces for this quilt—113 more, actually. Yikes.

And here’s the Christmas Alphabet Embroidery Sampler:

The Ziploc bag that it’s stored in says it’s from ~2005, so this project is pretty ancient. I think I bought the pattern shortly after we bought our first home and before I got pregnant with Renaissance. I was leaning towards a primitive and folksy decor look, but decided later that it really wasn’t for me. (That, and my house was decorated in “homeschooling chic” out of necessity for the stage of life we were in, lol.)

Christmas Alphabet Embroidery sampler in rustic colors

I’ve been granting myself some “Whimsical Days” each month to work ahead on upcoming holidays and celebrations when my heart desires it, and I found myself wishing I had a slow stitching Christmas project to pick up on my Christmas days, so I unearthed this and have been putting in work on it while watching movies. I’m not worried about when this will be finished; it’s just fun to work on. Maybe it’ll be ready for this year’s Christmas, maybe it won’t.

But I like to keep track of progress, so this guy is at 12 blocks out of 26, which is ~46%, and we’ll subtract 5% from that to account for the border that will need to be stitched at the end, so 41% done.

"Yuletime" #210 Alphabet Stitches embroidery sampler, pattern by Once Upon a Vine (Kim Goodrich), stitched in primitive and folk colors of DMC embroidery floss

And I just noticed that the pattern itself has a 2006 copyright, so I imagine I actually started working on this in 2006. I do love that fabric and yarn will wait for you!

Hopefully you’re able to find some slow stitching time on this beautiful Sunday! The weather is blustery here and so perfect for some down time with needle and thread.

Linking up with:

A daffodil in That Crafty Cara's (Cara Brooke's) garden

Hailstorms, Mishaps, and a Birthday Cake Colosseum

March 16, 2025December 26, 2025Leave a comment

Hello, dear friends! This last week has been a mix of progress, moments of “Whoops!”, and unexpected weather!

Caring

We dusted off the old tradition of holding Family Home Evening this week! Since Michael’s birthday was this week, this last Monday’s FHE was all about him—sharing favorite memories of him, letting him pick the activity and treat, and just having fun the way he wanted to have fun. He chose to have a fire in the backyard and eat s’mores and we spent one of the last normal-weather days of fake spring jumping around the backyard and stuffing ourselves with marshmallows. It was a low-key evening that was very much enjoyed by all.

Michael’s birthday: We did all the things and my guy has been celebrated! We had steak, baked potatoes, Caesar salad, and rustic Italian bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dinner. Renaissance also made a really great Roman Colosseum birthday cake for him. We played Yahtzee and it was just a nice, calm evening at home, just the way he likes ‘em.

Roman Colosseum birthday cake decorated by Renaissance Brooke

Creativity

The King David’s Crown quilt post went live on Tuesday and you guys went nuts for it! Thank you so much for the comments, emails, and pinning of the post, it got a lot of traffic. That was a fun couple of days where I felt like I was able to put something really beautiful out into the world and people appreciated it. Thank you for the love! Now, to finish quilting the actual quilt so I can use said beautiful thing.
Cherry Twilight Socks: I am in the middle of shaping the gusset on the first sock. I wish I could show these to you right now because they look so good! It would be a dead giveaway whose Christmas present they were for if I were to show you, so vague word pictures are all you’re gonna get until after Christmas. Crafters’ lives are weird that way.
Midnight Lark Socks: I’m not sure how I feel about these, but they’re coming along. I’m about 2/3 done with the leg of the first sock.
I put in a little more time on the Star Climber quilt. I always forget how many little pieces go into a scrap quilt! The cutting for this has been more than I expected, but I sure do love the fabrics that will be used in this project. Scrap quilts are such a great trip down Memory Lane, I love making them so much!

An in-progress Woven Star quilt block being made by That Crafty Cara (Cara Brooke) for her Star Climber scrap quilt.

Lowlights

My allergies are pretty bad this year and it’s just hard to get through my days with any energy. I feel like such a grump. My eyes itch really bad and I’ve rubbed them so hard I’ve broken a blood vessel in one. Feeling extra pretty right now. And, of course, the ward choir had a performance scheduled for today so I dragged myself into church to conduct it and then left as soon as I could afterwards.
All of these low energy days are giving way to a lot of introspection, which generally doesn’t make one feel great about themselves. I’m extra aware of my flaws at the moment and trying to improve. Which is the best I can offer!

Highlights

That moment during FHE around the firepit when it’s just gotten dark and everyone just relaxes.
Had a cute conversation with a fellow band parent about the Great British Baking Show and the joys that are gingham and Anglophilia.
The kids had no school on Friday, so Rachel decided to make brunch that day and she made the most amazing creamy chipotle breakfast burrito sauce I’ve ever tasted.
The delight on Michael’s face when he walked into the kitchen and realized that Ren was creating a Roman Colosseum cake for him.
Michael really got into directing us as we sang “Happy Birthday” to him.

The ward choir performance today went really well. We sang one of the newly-released hymns, #1007 “As Bread is Broken,” which Ren’s flute teacher had written a flute part for and I arranged a few of the verses to be slightly more interesting for the choir. A visitor to our service today came up and asked if she could take a copy of it home with her so her ward choir could sing it, too. High praise!

Final Thoughts

We’re just muddling through the allergies and wet weather as best we can, with more time together, some extra stitching, and good food. What else can you do? Hopefully your fake spring survival tactics are working for you as well, and I’ll talk to you again soon!

Handknit socks made with red, green, and white self-striping yarn.

Stripey Christmas Socks

February 26, 2025February 22, 20252 Comments

Hurray! A beautiful finish that will now go live in a trunk for eight months. *groan* I’m really looking forward to debuting these on November 1st while decorating for Christmas while wearing my Hermey the Elf shirt. *happy smile*

Details:

Pattern: #216 Beginner’s Lightweight Socks, by Diane Soucy of Knitting Pure & Simple After all this time? Always.

Yarn: West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply Self Striping/Patterning, colorway #886 Holly Berry, Cascade Yarns Heritage, colorway #5607 Red, Lang Reinforcing Thread, colorway #60.

Needles: US 2 (2.75 mm)

Modifications: I saw a sock knit up with this colorway and did not like it, so I added the solid red heels and toes. Now that they’re done I realize that I probably would have liked it if I had also knit the ribbing in solid red as well. (I also would have preferred if I had done a 2×2 ribbing on BOTH socks, and not just one…whoops. Doesn’t the 2×2 ribbing look SO GOOD?!?! I’ve been a 1×1 forever, but I will be changing my ways from here on out.)

It’s a late finish, but I didn’t want to rush ’em. This is such a great colorway and I enjoyed knitting these so much! I’m very tempted to commit to the idea of new Christmas socks each year, but even I can recognize the insanity of such a pledge, so these may remain my only handknit Christmas socks (for a while…it’s loads of fun to knit Christmas socks!).

Michael’s Christmas Socks 2024

January 3, 2025Leave a comment

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to each of you, dear readers! December 2024 was a whirlwind of activity, mostly revolving around the constant of music in our family, so I wasn’t able to do a whole lot in the craft room throughout the month, but I DID finish up a pair of handknit socks for my sweet hubby to open on Christmas Day!

Details:

Pattern: #216 Beginner’s Lightweight Socks, by Diane Soucy of Knitting Pure & Simple (As always! It’s a great sock pattern!)

Yarn: Paton’s Kroy Socks in colorway #55102 “Blue Striped Ragg”, 2 skeins with very little leftover. I also tried using a reinforcement thread in the heels and toes for the first time, and ran out of it halfway through the second toe. Note to self: He has big feet and needs two spools in the future. I used Lang Reinforcement Thread #23, purchased from Simply Socks Yarn Company.

Needles: US 2 (2.75 mm)

Modifications: The yarn skeins don’t stop and end in the same place, stripe-wise, so I did my best to match up the stripes, but had to split my second skein to start in the same place as the first skein, which meant I had to join in the last bit of yarn near the toe so it stripes a little weird in the second sock. Fortunately, no one will see it because it’ll be hidden by his shoes when he’s wearing them.

This is the first time I’ve pulled off making a pair of socks for Michael for Christmas two years in a row! Woot, woot! And I barely pulled it off—I finished these during the afternoon on Christmas Eve and got them wrapped and under the tree with only minutes to spare before Michael walked in the door from work.

I love the idea of a tradition of making Michael a pair of socks each Christmas. Back when I started knitting, I eagerly looked forward to the Yarn Harlot’s frantic pre-Christmas circus posts where she’d get through insane lists and spreadsheets of handknits to complete during the holidays, and I loved reading through the posts that featured her handknits in the hands of smiling recipients, Christmas tree lights twinkling in the background. I enjoy going to other people’s circuses from time to time, and her Christmas circus was such a delight to behold in all its urgency and anticipation that would then yield beautiful photos of a happy family and beautifully-knitted gifts and lovely words of love, joy and gratitude. (I miss the old days of blogging, they were really wonderful. Instagram is, really…was, great and all, but I miss the writing that we used to treat each other to back in the day.)

I envisioned the same future for myself, which has basically come true (except for the handknits part), and here we are today with us going through a Christmas circus every year that can only be managed with spreadsheets and to-do lists. It’s mostly all music-related for us Brookes, but I still endeavor to throw some handmades into the mix. These socks were created in all sorts of stolen moments in between putting together the band fundraiser, the Ward Christmas Sacrament Program, and our family’s own holiday celebrations and traditions. I like a little crazy.

Each stitch in these socks is a little bit of crazy, a little bit of peace stolen amidst chaos, a little bit of tradition. A little bit of the holiday experience over and over again. I love having these reminders throughout the year of another Christmas that has come and gone. Each Sunday, when Michael is putting on his church shoes and I see which handknit socks he’s chosen to wear that week, I’m inundated with memories from whichever Christmas and year that particular pair was created. It’s a lot of a memories, over and over again. We’ve been blessed to have so many Christmases together. I hope, twenty years from now, that I’m still making socks for him each year, and that I’m darning the older socks and reliving the glory days of Christmases past—days of our children in footed pajamas, mornings when they were teenagers in flannel pants and messy buns, to eventual days of their own children in footed pajamas and maple syrup-stickied fingers. I learned to knit when I was just starting out as a wife and mother, and I hope I’m still knitting and making memories that include handknit gifts with happy faces and twinkling lights for many, many years to come.