I’m a ‘vintage’ crafter in Australia who’s been stitching for approximately 40 or so years and I’m never happy unless I’m learning something new and being challenged by my crafts. After a number of very stressful years, I’m finally getting back to regular stitching again, while also trying to juggle other crafts as well (sewing/patchwork, crochet and cardmaking).

My goals are relatively simple for 2026. The aim is to finish a couple of projects, but also make ‘some progress’ on other existing WIPs as well.

2026 Craft Goals:

Stitching:

Finish three stitching projects (at least one should be a current WIP)
Finish the stitching of a stitching small (eg needleroll or pincushion etc)
Complete at least 1,000 stitches on Chatelaine’s Egyptian Garden Mandala
Remain eligible to participate in WIP Warriors challenges by earning the necessary participation points each month (private Facebook group)
Participate in WIPGO (at least one hour or one length of thread progress on each project)
Make progress on one canvaswork project (WIP or new start)
Finish-finish at least three items in my finishing pile (make into pincushions, ornaments, framing etc)

Crochet:

Make progress on a crochet blanket or shawl
Make progress on at least one project from Crate Crochet or Crochet Society (WIP or new start)

Sewing:

Make a start on the Coral Reef quilt by Tilda
Make a start on the Sea Swept quilt by Laura Flynn
Make progress on at least three class/kit sewing projects (eg Tilda Club, Fee’s SALs, Kitty Rose kits – WIPs or new starts)
Finish at least one existing sewing WIP
Complete all 4 of the recommended free ByAnnie Basics patterns
– Petit Four Baskets
– Piecekeeper
– Call Me
– Easy Does It
Start a printed ByAnnie pattern item (eg Running with Scissors or Sewing Machine Cover)
Start to make a travel organiser (either ByAnnie, eg A Place for Everything 2.0 or Zip It Up 2.0, or Center Street Quilts, eg Atlas or Nightingale organiser)
Participate in 52 week sewing challenge with aim for one project per month

Other crafts:

Complete at least one cartonnage project
Make progress on at least one mixed media project
Start a Kit & Clowder colouring class

Here’s my stitching WIPGO board for the year – I also have another board for sewing projects, cardmaking products, and reading books (it lists all the authors I own the most books from, and I choose a book by that author each month).

Here are photos of most of my WIPs/UFOs as they stand now, just to keep track of any future progress I make.

Slumbermouse pouch by Kitty Rose Cottage

Challenges & SALs, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse 2025 – end of year recap of goals

28 December, 2025 Anne S

Thanks to moving a lot of WIP charts into Pattern Keeper this year, and using a tracking spreadsheet I purchased on Etsy, I can view stats for the year on all of my projects which I find absolutely fascinating. I didn’t actually meet all of my goals this year, but I’m still really happy with my progress, considering this is my first ‘real’ year back stitching again since 2020 yay! (I was also juggling with my main current hobby of cardmaking as well.)

2025 Craft Goals:

Stitching:

*DONE* ❤ Finish three stitching projects (at least one should be a current WIP)
1. Mini Sunflowers by HAED
2. All You Need is Love by Designworks
3. Almost Halloween by The Drawn Thread
*FAIL* Finish Mill Hill’s Three Kings – soooo close to a finish, though – I somehow mislaid the container with the final colour of beads to be done, and I sent one small star treasure flying by accident … so I sucked up my pride and ordered replacements – sadly the shop I ordered from won’t start shipping until 5 Jan. I guess this will be my first finish for 2026 – sooo disappointed, as I was so determined to finish this year waaahhhhh 😦
*DONE* ❤ Hit the 80% completion mark for HAED’s Mini Sunflowers – in fact I hit 100% and it was my first finish of the year
*FAIL* Finish six pages of HAED’s 2025 SAL Jellyworld (this might be a lofty goal) – Cancelled goal because I decided early on not to start it and instead focus mostly on existing WIPs for the year (I felt the timelines meant I would only be able to stitch on this one project all year, which I didn’t want to do)
*PARTIAL FAIL* Participate in WIPGO (at least one hour or one length of thread progress on each project) – managed to participate, but only completed 18 squares out of 25, 7 projects not touched
*DONE* ❤ Make progress on one canvaswork project (new start) – Colour Delights: Seafoam by Needle Delights Originals/Kathy Rees – I also managed to finish this on 15 September 2025
*FAIL* Stitch four Christmas ornaments – not a single ornament was started
*FAIL* Finish-finish at least three items in my finishing pile (make into pincushions, ornaments, framing etc) – not a single item was finished … although I did spend a lot of time thinking about it and planning 😉

Crochet:

*FAIL* Make progress on a crochet blanket or shawl – I didn’t crochet at all this year, so an epic fail on all three goals
*FAIL* Finish at least one project from Crate Crochet (WIP or new start)
*FAIL* Finish at least one project from Crochet Society (WIP or new start)

Sewing:

*DONE* ❤ Start a bed quilt (started the mystery block of the month quilt for Cali & Co fabric bundle by Coriander Quilts, but using my cool-toned Tilda stash instead)
*DONE* ❤ Make progress on at least three class/kit sewing projects (eg Tilda Club, Fee’s SALs, Kitty Rose kits – WIPs or new starts)
– Sewing Day Tote Bag by Fee Fee & Me (sew-along project) – fully finished
– Windy Walk project bag by Kitty Rose – fully finished
– Tilda Club, Issue 36 – fully finished
*FAIL* Finish at least one existing sewing WIP

Other crafts:

*FAIL* Complete at least one cartonnage project
*FAIL* Start at least one mosaic project
*DONE* ❤ Complete at least two cards per week

The actual progress stats for this year are followed by project photos.

I started 7 new projects, and finished 8 stitching projects (4 older WIPs and 4 new starts). I worked on 20 different stitching projects, and even though my stitching was a bit erratic during the year I still managed to complete 43,766 stitches! The projects that had the most stitches entered were Three Kings by Mill Hill, followed closely by Mini Sunflowers by HAED.

2025 Finishes

Stitching finishes

Sewing finishes

Some progress made on these projects during 2025

New starts in 2025, not completed

Works in progress not touched in 2025

Topiary Tree Bookmark by Textile Heritage

Finishes, Mill Hill

Cabana Beach

24 December, 2025 Anne S

This project has been one of the most enjoyable stitches this year – the easy to stitch blocks of colour, along with the beautiful bright hues of the threads made it such a joy to work on. I’m kinda sad it’s finished now, but on a positive note it means I can get it framed up to go on my wall for the new year! 😀

“Cabana Beach” by Mill Hill
Started 29 January 2025 – Finished 23 December 2025
Stitched with kit threads and beads, but I substituted the perforated paper for 28ct linen

Crafts - Needlework

Two finishes

20 December, 2025 Anne S

Woohoo, getting close to the end of 2025, and I’ve managed to finish two more projects over the last week or so.

The first one has a lot of sentimental memories attached to it, as I purchased it during a visit to Paris with my Mum. I rarely do surface embroidery, so I need more practice as this one really challenged me – I have more kits in my stash, though, so maybe I need to prioritise at least one of those for my 2026 new start stitching plans.

“Août” by Un Chat dans l’aiguille
Purchased as a kit from Le Bonheur Des Dames in Paris during a visit
Started May 2020 – Finished 10 December 2025

The next one really makes me smile – the Supernatural TV show has been a firm favourite of mine ever since I watched the first episode years ago, and I regularly re-watch the seasons over and over again. I don’t often gravitate to ‘character’ designs, but I just couldn’t go past this one … Castiel especially makes me smile in this. I think this may end up as a panel insert on the front of a project bag, as I have some fabric scraps with a Supernatural theme on it … time will tell.

“Supernatural” by Pixel In Stitches
Started 20 January 2025 – Finished 19 December 2025
Stitched on 32ct hand-dyed Boo! linen by Silkweaver using recommended DMC threads

Finishes

Girls’ Night Out

8 December, 20258 December, 2025 Anne S

I managed to finish this fun project on 29 October after regularly doing 100 stitches here and there for various stitching challenges. It was such an enjoyable project to work on! I’ll likely turn it into a flat-fold for display next Halloween. The bottom photo is the closest to the fabric colour – it was a hard one to photograph!

“Girls’ Night Out” by Just Another Button Company
(free chart with purchase of the button pack)
Stitched on 30ct Weeks Dye Works Lilac linen, using mostly threads as charted
Started 14 February 2025 – Finished 29 October 2025

Challenges & SALs, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse – November 2025

8 December, 2025 Anne S

Ooops, I totally forgot to finish and schedule this post for my November stitching recap, but better than never right?

Stitching progress:

First up I had a **finish** during the month again! Girls’ Night Out by Just Another Button Company

Cabana Beach by Mill Hill

Hard to see the progress of this one, but I now have a yacht on the horizon and the beach umbrella has started to get filled in. Sadly I realised I need to frog some of the magenta thread in the centre door before I can continue to fill in the white trim, but it’s getting pretty close now to being ready for the beading to commence. I think this may be one of my focus pieces in the new year to get it finished.

Supernatural by PixelsStitches

Another one getting quite close to a finish now – one more rotation slot or WIP Warriors challenge and it’ll be completed yay.

Three Kings by Mill Hill/Jim Shore

Getting oh so close to a finish now – other than the remaining few hundred beads in the border (which has been the focus in November), I just have to stitch the stars and add the three ceramic beads. I’m really hoping to meet my goal of finishing this piece in 2025 – surely I can manage that!? (talking to myself there haha)

Periwinkle Promises – Stitching is the Berries

I powered on through in November to finally finish all the Queen stitches in the outer border, phew! Still a few to do in the berries sitting among the blackwork, but the biggest hurdle of all is out of the way woohoo!!

Shepherd’s Bush – Finch Song

I managed 100 or so stitches on the waves border on Finch Song – small progress, but still makes it closer to a finish than it was at the start of the year.

I also managed to start working on the November block for the Cali & Co mystery quilt-along by Coriander Quilts. Smudge keeps sleeping on my project supplies, though, every time I sit down to finish it – so I guess it’ll be a December finish now instead 😉

Which specialty stitches do you find easy? Which ones do you find extremely difficult or are too nervous to try?

I used to detest French knots that I’d do anything in my power to avoid them – either replacing them with Colonial knots or using a petite bead etc. After trying them when the fabric was tautly held in a hoop or Qsnap and attached to my floor or lap stand, all of a suddent they became less daunting and I managed to master them. I learnt that sometimes it just needs perseverance to find a method that works for you individually, then the world is your oyster – I no longer shy away from any stitch, although I’ll admit bullion knots/stitches are the main one that I’ll avoid if I can because I simply don’t enjoy doing them. French knots, though? They’re like a long-lost friend that I enjoy catching up with every now and then 🙂 One of the reasons that I love doing counted canvaswork, they’re filled with unusual and fun stitches, and it pushes me out of my comzort zone to try new things.

Challenges & SALs, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse – October 2025

26 October, 202525 October, 2025 Anne S

I’ve decided to get back to a formal rotation again, because I struggle to decide what to stitch on inbetween WIP Warriors challenges. Some challenges allow me to use one project for multiple challenge prompts, which is great for making good progress, so I’m hoping between the two I’ll see more progress going forward.

I’ve always had printed rotation sheets with ten-square blocks that I can tick off manually as I’m working through my 10-hour rotation slots, but I’ve decided this time to try using a digital version (using Trello) instead to see if that’s easier. An example of my manual sheets if I’m ticking things off physically on paper:

This is how the Trello board rotation looks like, including 10 checkboxes where I can tick off every 1 hour or 1,000 stitches of stitching, depending on the project type. It means I don’t have to have a clipboard next to my stitching chair, and it’s on my phone all the time, plus I have the ability to drag columns around so the current rotation slot is always first on the screen. The app also syncs beautifully between the desktop version and my iPhone. Fingers crossed it works well – it seems to be going well so far 🙂 I’ve since added the project photos to every piece that I’m currently working on each column to make it easier visually to grab the next project in my rotation.

Stitching progress:

And finally here’s my progress through the month of October.

First up I had a **finish** during the month! Creepy Pincushion by Shepherd’s Bush

Egyptian Garden Mandala by Chatelaine

Working very slowly on the bottom right corner – the fabric is so difficult to work on, it’s taking me a long time to make progress. I did manage one full rotation of 1,000 stitches on it, though, this month … although I was super happy when the rotation slot was finished and that I don’t need to look at it again for a number of weeks.

Cabana Beach by Mill Hill

Really loving this piece to work on – my fabric substitution of a 28ct linen was such a good choice (I really dislike stitching on perforated paper), and the colours are such a joy to work with. It’s actually really hard to put this one down, I have to admit. Maybe once Halloween is over, and Three Kings is finished, I might move this to be my focus piece to get it finished.

Supernatural by PixelsStitches

I made some progress on Dean this month, as well as making some great progress on starting Bobby Singer. Just one more character (Crowley) not started yet, and I don’t think it’ll take long to finish. Doing 100 stitches here and there as part of group challenges has really made a dent in the stitching.

Three Kings by Mill Hill/Jim Shore

The beading of the borders has commenced, with two colours completed so far (purple petites and turquoise) – I’m halfway through completing the gold petites in the side borders. This is the most stunning project I’ve worked on in some time, it’s such a pleasure to look at, I’ll miss it when it’s finished.

The Boys Are Back In Town by JABC

I want to change the colour of the grey wording as the colour blends too much into the background fabric – just not sure which colour to go with, a darker black/brown from the vampire, or a green or brown from Frankenstein … oh decisions, decisions!

Girls Night Out by JABC

Great progress on this one thanks to a challenge where I was able to choose this project multiple times. Really hoping to have this one finished before Halloween – fingers crossed!

Prairie Schooler – When Witches Go Riding

I almost completed the wording this month – just one ‘b’ left to go. I ran out of the original hand-dyed thread I used in the header, then used 3371 as charted instead which is vastly different, so in the future I’ll need to unpick the header and the tree and start again before I can call this one finished. In the meantime I’ll keep chipping away at it until that’s necessary.

Periwinkle Promises – Stitching is the Berries

Those queen stitch borders are the death of me, it’s soooo slow going. But I did at least manage to complete one round of colour, and I just have the one inner border of queen stitches left to go before I finish the bands. I’m forcing myself to get the queen stitches done first so the rest is like a treat at the end 🙂

Nora Corbett – 2024 Mirabilia Retreat Mermaid

Only about 230 stitches progress on this one this month, but she’s a real joy to stitch using mostly silk threads and beautiful teal colours in the mermaid tail.

Luca-S: Sea View

What retreats or stitching events would you love to attend someday?

I have to be honest I’ve decided for now that stitching retreats just aren’t for me. I’ve been to some wonderful ones over the last 25 years, but I find some personalities at our local ones too stressful to be around, so I tend to avoid them now for my own mental health. It’s a real shame, because I used to get a lot of enjoyment out of attending them. I do have to admit, though, I’d dearly love to attend one of the cardmaking events in the US, but won’t visit there until the current administration isn’t there.

Shepherd's Bush

Creepy Cushion

14 October, 2025 Anne S

I managed a small finish this week, after using this project as part of a few stitching challenges. I was determined to get it finished before Halloween this year! I was really disappointed with the threads in this kit, which is unusual for a Shepherd’s Bush kit – the threads were sooooo short it was really wasteful and caused so many ‘stop and starts’ through this piece that at one point I caved and purchased a full skein of the border thread just because it had started putting me off actually stitching on it. As soon as I had some longer threads to work with it gave me a boost to get it finished.

“Creepy Cushion” by Shepherd’s Bush
Started 20 January 2025 – Finished 12 October 2025
Stitched using kit fabric and threads

Challenges & SALs, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse – September 2025

28 September, 202529 September, 2025 Anne S

I finally got back into stitching again in September by joining in with a few stitching challenges in the WIP Warriors private group. Progress is only 100 stitches in some cases, but that means 100 stitches closer to a finish! 😀 Photos below are before and after progress during September.

Egyptian Garden Mandala by Chatelaine

Cabana Beach by Mill Hill

Supernatural by PixelsStitches

Three Kings by Mill Hill/Jim Shore

The Boys Are Back In Town by JABC

Girls Night Out by JABC

Finch Song by Shepherd’s Bush

Creepy Pincushion by Shepherd’s Bush

Sea View by Luca-S

2024 Mirabilia Retreat Mermaid by Nora Corbett

Prairie Schooler – When Witches Go Riding

Needle Delights Originals – Color Delights-Seafoam

Indigo Rose – Catherine Agnes

Forget-Me-Nots in Stitches – Raphael’s Raspberries

ByGone Stitches – Quaker Christmas II

Periwinkle Promises – Stitching is the Berries

Do you have any sort of record for your finished pieces? Tell us how you record their information.

Honestly I’ve been quite slack in recent years, but in the past I’ve always kept a Word doc every year for all my finishes. These contain a photo of the finished piece, along with key information about the stitch count and fabrics etc used for it. I also include some notes about who I gave the piece to or any challenges I faced during the stitching etc. I then printed the pages out and keep them in ringbinders. This year I started on reworking the format so I could reduce the number of pages if possible, with the intention of having them printed into a book format instead so I can look back on them all in later years 🙂 I also keep a photo in my Flickr albums of each finished piece.

For my WIPs I tend to rely on my blog to keep track of them, and have them all listed on a Works in Progress page. I try to update the page annually, updating the ‘starting image’ for any projects where I made progress in the previous year, but once again have been pretty slack with keeping that updated on a regular basis! I think I’ll probably improve once I gradually get more consistent with doing actual stitching each year.

Tilda

Tilda sewing updates

26 September, 2025 Anne S

I recently joined a Tilda project bag exchange, and this is the pair of project bags that I created for my exchange partner – one larger one and a smaller one that can be used inside the main bag or for smaller projects. My partner’s favourite ranges were pinks/greens so I was pushed outside my comfort zone, and ended up ordering some older ranges from the UK that I wanted to use for the main fabrics.

I also caught up with the Cali & Co mystery quilt-along by Coriander Quilts, after not being well enough to sew for a few months. I was originally going to make these into a queen sized bed quilt, but considering just keeping to the original QAL size instead – I guess I’ll need to officially decide in December after seeing all the blocks finished.