I’ve been crocheting for three years now, but I still consider myself a beginner-intermediate crocheter, as I mostly stick to making the same things: basic hats, bags, and pouches, which are pretty much just rectangular or circular shapes made of single, half, or double crochets. This year, I’ve been a bit more adventurous with my projects and even bought some patterns for the first time! Next year, I’d really like to learn how to gauge swatch and make a properly sized wearable (not just accessories like hats and bags), and learn more about different types of yarn. If I have the bandwidth for it, I’d also like to learn C2C crochet and Tunisian crochet.
My Christmas playlist
As Mariah Carey says… IT’S TIIIIIIIIME! I love Christmas pop songs and covers. I’ve been building on this playlist for a few years and sometimes add a whole album at a time, so I would recommend listening to it on shuffle. It’s still November, but I’ve already been vibing to it while sipping on tea, munching on Trader Joe’s biscuits, and crocheting a new scarf. It’s just started getting a little chilly in LA, so I’m trying to finish the scarf ASAP to get the most wear out of it this season.
My Halloween playlist
I’ve had a Christmas playlist for the longest time, but for some reason I’ve never put together a Halloween playlist. I suppose that’s because I usually opt for Halloween movies (namely Henry Selick/Tim Burton movies and Harry Potter) over Halloween music, whereas for Christmas, I usually opt for Christmas music over Christmas movies (also Harry Potter haha). I’ve only just noticed this about myself. Is anyone else the same?
Anyways, I miss Halloween on the east coast. Halloween is pretty big in LA — people like to get dressed up and the amusement parks have their Halloween themes — but it just isn’t the same when sun is shining on palm trees and it’s too warm to get bundled in coats and scarves. I really feel like a weirdo wearing a scarf in LA unless it’s actually cold out… so I haven’t yet!
And that brings me back to my Halloween playlist. I need all the Halloween vibes I can get! I’ve only got 24 songs on my playlist so far, but I plan to add to it for years to come.
Favourite crochet projects of 2023
After sharing my incomplete crochet projects of 2023, I suppose it’s time to share my favourite crochet projects of 2023!
This past year I crocheted many more love letter book sleeves for gifts and have loved the meditative process of this familiar project. I also tried some new things that I didn’t get around to finishing, mostly due to getting stuck in the design process. But there were also some new things that I did get around to finishing. They’re far from perfect, but I’m (generally) proud of them all the same!
Incomplete crochet projects of 2023
Time is an illusion! Annual goals are arbitrary! Incomplete projects are not failures! There is time yet!
Crochet has been a lesson in living for the journey, not the destination. A testament to this is how compelled I am to share my incomplete crochet projects, not realising until now that I have yet to share my completed projects (this intro is the last part I’m writing in this whole post, trippy). Maybe that post will come haha. Back to the point. I don’t need a million hats or bags or coasters or book sleeves, but I love making them! I’m happy to make the same things over and over, to make different things, to gift away things I’ve made. Frogging work isn’t so unbearable (mostly). Because as long as I’m crocheting, it doesn’t matter so much to me that it’s taking me ages or I’ve had to restart. This is the joy of a hobby, where the reward is in the doing, not some prize at the end.
That said, the amount of Baby Baggus I have lying around with my half-finished projects is getting out of hand, so I’ve gathered my crochet works in progress as a way to take inventory, expound my mental (and technical) blocks, illuminate actionable steps forward, and get your feedback too! There are some projects I’ve simply not gotten around to finishing and some I’m genuinely stuck on.
All the books I read in the second half of 2023
I hit a reading slump mid-year and my reading never really picked back up. In the second half of 2023, I read 19 books or 5261 pages, bringing my 2023 total to 53 books or 16611 pages. I didn’t think I’d hit 52 book this year and had even gone back to readjust my Goodreads reading challenge in the last days of December, lowering it to 50, but I hit 52 books just in time and randomly came across a picture book that got rave reviews from Redditors, taking me to 53. The number doesn’t matter so much to me, but I still wanted to remember reading that book! (I promptly reverted my Goodreads reading challenge goal back to 52.)
I’m a slow reader and turn to books to avoid responsibilities, so I spend more time than I should reading and have been telling myself to read less, or at least not get so caught up in reading the incredible number of books that it feels like so many other bookstagrammers do. Quality, not quantity! That said, I only have one new all-time favourite from the second half of the year and two honourable mentions. Anyways, I’m planning to share my 2023 reading wrap up in a separate post (including top reads), so look out for that!