Happy 2026!

 Happy New Year!  I am back at work today, getting caught up, but have found some time to make a post.  

I had two weeks off work and it was fantastic! 

We went to my parents' in Coldspring and spent the week from the 21st-27th.  I ate a bunch of good food and spent some time with my family.  I finished my first Bargello project.  I LOVE Bargello but have some challenges with it.  First off, a lot of the patterns I see online aren't really easy for me personally to follow because I can't tell how many squares to stitch over.  I tried a pattern I downloaded for free and just couldn't get it to work.  Hello Bargello has lovely kits with really clear instructions and patterns, but they are a bit expensive for my budget.  I did get this one on sale, though, and I love it.  It's a sunglasses kit.  

I also got some cross stitches finished.  

Pattern by GrandmaBeWildin

Pattern by Sarcastitich

And here is it... the final cross stitch of 2025 by The Gloomy Gremlin!  I finished 68 cross stitch patterns in 2025.  That's a personal record!

While I was in Coldspring with my family, I finished all of my cross stitch pieces and was itching for a project, so I got this beautiful diamond painting.  I have done a good chunk of it the past week.  I tried to use my diamond painting pen multi-placer to place several gems at a time, but I think I'm better at just placing them one by one. I can't really get the multi-placer straight and it makes big gaps and it looks terrible so I redid a few rows.  But that's okay, I'm not in a rush to finish these.  Like cross stitching and perler beads, I find it meditative to place the beads one by one!  I can't wait to finish this one.  It's so pretty. 

I was finally able to put all of my orts into an ornament for next year's tree.  

I made this gorgeous scarf using one of my knitting looms.  It is SUPER soft- I used the Yarn Bee Dream Spun yarn in Delphinium.  I love love love the color shifts in the Dream Spun yarn and it's so easy to work with.  

When I posted this scarf on my facebook, my aunt-in-law asked if I could make a shawl for a friend of hers.  I have never made one, and there are a couple of styles I have seen.  Luckily, she wanted one that I felt really confident making- the one that's basically a very wide scarf- and so I started on that as well.  I am using a simple knit and purl stitch. 

I also made a "mug rug" which is basically a longer knitted drink coaster so I could use up a scrap of yarn I had and also so I could practice the knit stitch and purl stitch.  It also helped me learn how to block a small knitted piece. 

I also learned the Juniper Stitch.   This is just a swatch of it and I don't intend to use it for anything.  I just, again, had a little ball of yarn to use up and thought I'd use it to practice and learn with.  I like how this one zigs and zags!  When I make my own shawl, I plan to try the triangle shaped one and I want to use this stitch.

Lastly, I made a TON of little things from Perler Beads!  I spent New Year's Eve and part of New Year's day on these. My friend Sarah, who lives back in Texas and has given me a lot of loom knitting tips, is getting these cute dinosaur ones, and then I'm not sure what I'll do with the rest.  I wish I could sell these somewhere but I don't know if people would really buy them.  I used my mini beads and the quarter is there for a size comparison.

So, that's how I've spent the last two weeks and couldn't be happier!