At first, it seemed like such a silly word to choose.

Top obvious. Too common. Too…selfish?

This past week, as I journeyed through the process of reflecting on the past year and dreaming about a personal theme for the year ahead, the word that kept popping up for me was…

JOY.

Even as it kept rising up, I kept pushing it back down. Shouldn’t my theme be something related to my work, my mission? After all, it’s our 10th Anniversary Season for Knit Stars, and our 20th year in business since opening Loops. Shouldn’t the word be more…extraordinary?

And then it hit me.

All these years I’ve had really complicated goals. Intertwining businesses. Expanding systems, technologies, teams. Like a never-ending queue of works in progress, each more complex than the last.

What if it were simpler than all that? What if I just spent the year in pursuit of joy…and shared it with you?

Making things I love to make.

Going new places, learning new things and spending time with fascinating people.

Plenty of beach walks, sandy paws and salty puppy kisses. 🌊🐾💕

I wanted to share a photo with you that encompasses joy, so I went to my photo library and typed “joy” in the search bar. Here is what popped up – and it made me catch my breath.

This was the day we bought paddleboards and took our first stand-up paddle in the Gulf of Mexico. You can see the joy all over my face. And then I zoomed in…

The brand of boards we bought is called YOLO (for “You Only Live Once”) – and in the reflection, it spelled J-O-Y.

And so I invite you to come along with me on a year of joy. I look forward to sharing it all with you – and to hearing about the joy that arises for you, too.

xoxo,

Back in the first decade of Loops I coined a term that’s now become pretty commonplace in the yarn world. I dubbed January “Selfish Knitting Month.”

The idea was, you’ve just spent a whole season panic-making gifts for others. Now make something that’s just for you.

So here’s a radical thought. What if you made 2025 your selfish knitting year? Or to put it perhaps more positively…you only knit or crochet things that bring you joy? No more obligatory making. No WIP guilt. No stash shame.

Simply resolve to make stuff when, where and how it brings you joy.

So in that spirit, I have a few ideas for you.

Idea #1: Ring in the new year with “Put A Ring On It”

Originally designed for the now-retired LoopsClub, this pattern has become a cult favorite. I know one person who has made at least 36 of them (hi, Carol! 👋). It’s simple. It’s forgiving. And it somehow makes any skein of fingering weight – no matter how subtle, speckled or wildly colorful – look elegant in the finished product.

This pattern is my gift to you this week. Just click on this link to download the original pdf.

And bonus, there’s a crochet version too. Same link as above.

Idea #2: Silk Scarf with Tassel

Sometimes you just want some simple stockinette and a really luxurious fiber. This “Silk Scarf with Tassel” pattern is just the thing for those precious skeins that have been sitting in your stash, waiting for the “perfect” project.

Wait no longer. Knit with that gorgeous stuff, and wrap it around your neck. Life is short!

You can download this very simple pattern for free, here. (Once you get there, click “Free PDF” in the top right corner).

Idea #3: Make Gnome Mistake

A couple weeks ago, we had our monthly Yarniverse membership live Zoom with special guests Chantal Miyagishima and Sarah Schira, founder of Imagined Landscapes and our Rising Star of the month.

Sarah has created an entire brand around a magical world of hand-knitted gnomes. And she is every bit as delightful as you could imagine for a person who’s created a magical world of gnomes. 😍

In the live, Sarah said something so wise.

“I get to bring people to fun and joy in their hobby,” she said. “I think a lot of knitters get so serious, like I’m not allowed to buy more yarn ‘til I’ve used up all the yarn from this festival, or I’m not allowed to start a sweater for myself until I finish this gift.”

“And we get all these should’s and have to’s, but a gnome is just fun. There’s no ‘good’ reason to knit a gnome other than joy. But you can also use them to learn skills because wonkiness is gnominess. So if your first cable pattern is a gnome and it looks kind of wild, that’s just going to be more personality.”

So my third joyful knitting idea for you is to make a gnome. I personally think this “Make Gnome Mistake” is adorable, but you’ll find an entire world of them at Sarah’s website, here.

P.S. Sarah does design other things, including some clever accessories, and if you join her mailing list you’ll get access to a bunch of free patterns.