Make Nine 2025 photo recap

Although I completed Make Nine 2025 in October, I like to do a recap blog post of the year’s projects—to see photos of them all in one place and “compare and contrast,” the projects, so to speak.

Make Nine 2025 projects, fulfilling these prompts:
Top row: UFO, Mend/Upcycle, UFO
Middle: Make it Again, Simple and Stress-free, Online Challenge
Bottom: Wild Card, Yarn, Wild Card

Above is a photo grid of my completed projects. The grid corresponds to my Make Nine tracker (below). 

Make Nine 2025 tracker at the beginning of the year.

Make Nine 2025 summary

The prompts I chose for Make Nine 2025 were similar to past years. Interestingly, 2025 generated a lot of “books”—five in total—constructed with paper, fabric, or both. The remaining four finishes consisted of two wearables, a mended vintage quilt, and charity quilts—with a glorious batch of kitty quilts that get donated to local veterinarians. Below is how each prompt was fulfilled (left to right, from top left), with links to their stories.

• UFO 1: was a fabric book. I compiled the stitched compositions from my 2023 100 Day Project into a fabric book using a binding technique I learned this year. (finish #6, book #3)

• Mend/Upcycle: This prompt addresses sustainability, minimizing waste, and taking care of and using what we have. I again participated in the Winter Care and Repair Challenge and one of my mending projects was a vintage quilt. (finish #3)

• UFO 2: was the completion of an artist’s book with a kantha stitched cover that I started in a workshop in 2017. The book’s signatures were paper and the cover was fabric with kantha hand stitching. (finish #7, book #5)

• Make it Again: I used a favorite Siena Shirt pattern and a fabric collection called, Perfect Points for this shirt. Blog posts about other versions of the Siena Shirt and various garment makes can be found here. (finish #4)

• Simple and Stress-free: I continue to make scrappy, improv, charity quilts for the cats and dogs at the local vets. I donated 16 in March, and completed 3 additional during the remainder of the year. I also finished 3 cuddle quilts for charity in December. Total charity quilts = 23. (finish #2)

• Online Challenge: This project and finish came early in the year with a book/journal from the Junk Journal January Challenge. (finish #1, book #1)

• Wild Card 1: was another fabric book made through participation in an online Challenge, the 100 Day Stitch Book 2025. This stitch sampler book was the impetus for the UFO 1 project, which used the same bookbinding technique. (finish #5, book #2)

• Yarn: I made a vow to myself that this year’s yarn project was going to be a stash-buster. I succeeded in using only yarn from a shop-and-swap, an impulse yarn purchase from several years ago, and yarns from my stash. The Taos wrap (crochet) was a brilliant success and I love the finished piece. (finish #9)

• Wild Card 2: was another junk journal from participation in the Junk Journal July Challenge, an online challenge. This was my 5th junk journal. I enjoy making and working in handmade junk journals and I know I’ll be making more. (finish #8, book #4)

Make Nine 2025 tracker, December 20, 2025.

I’m pondering prompts for 2026—my 8th year! I may have to include a “bookmaking” prompt next time…

Stash-buster crochet Taos wrap, final Make Nine for 2025

This is 9 of 9—Make Nine, that is! My final project for 2025 for the “yarn” prompt is completed, blocked, and ready to wear.

My Taos crocheted wrap. Make Nine 2025.

My “yarn” prompt: pattern and project parameters 

In late Spring, I decided the "Yarn" prompt project for my Make Nine 2025 challenge was a commitment to use a collection of leftover yarns I had from a shop-and-swap. The parameters were:

• a pattern intended for a variety of yarn colors, or one that could be adapted for my collection of disparate yarn leftovers (a stash buster), 
• an easy-to-memorize pattern—something that required little concentration (no stitch markers, or the need to carefully count stitches),
• a flexible finished size,
• portable for traveling—perhaps something with modular units,
• and, if possible, I wanted it to be a crochet project this year.

I mentioned my search for a portable, scrappy yarn project to Pati, the owner of Louisville Fiber Supply, a lovely yarn shop in Kentucky. She turned to her earmarked collection of patterns on Ravelry and shared inspiration with me. 

Make Nine 2025 “yarn” prompt: the Taos wrap.
16.5” x 66.5”

The Taos wrap

The pattern that had the most potential for what I was looking for was Taos by Cristina Mershon [found on Ravelry]. It checked all the boxes.

Shawls are perfect for stash-busting because they don't require exact yardage and can easily be made wider or longer with additional rows or blocks. The Taos wrap, with its modular units, could accommodate the diversity of colors and fibers that I planned to use up (for example, for fingering weight and sock yarns, I sometimes used two stands held together). The resulting piece would be a beautiful tapestry of my leftover balls and impulse buys! 

Swatching

 

Swatching the motif.

After doing a few test swatches of the units, I realized I needed to modify the pattern because my initial swatching efforts produced diamond shapes rather than the squares. I also needed to accommodate the different yarn weights of the leftover yarns. This meant being flexible with stitch count and adding border rounds of single crochet (if needed) to get them to a 2.75” size (the size of my units). This project was a true exercise in intuitive crochet.

Wrap stats

I worked on this Make Nine wrap from mid-August to early October. The finished piece incorporates yarns of many earthy colors that reflect nature’s end-of-summer to early-fall color palette.  

• motif size: 2.75” square
• 6 x 24 = 144 motifs
• finished size: 16.5” x 66.5”

Here are “before” and “after” photos of the yarns used.

Collection of leftover yarns.

After completing the wrap:

Remaining yarn after the project’s completion.
Several small balls were completely used up. 

I incorporated these yarns from an impulse buy (before photo):

Impulse buy yarn.

I made a dent in reducing these—especially the two balls of the blue-green yarn that was used for joining and the edging. (I actually had to introduce one new blue-green yarn that very closely matched the original in order to have enough yarn to crochet the edging around the perimeter.)

Remaining yarns after completing the wrap.

One of the fun parts of making the motifs was using the variegated yarn. It had long color changes, so I could usually crochet the entire inner or outer motif section before the color changed. The color combinations reminded me of the changing colors of the leaves in the landscape—especially with the leaf-shaped motif of the Taos pattern.

Using a variegated yarn resulted in a variety of motifs.

One of the not-as-fun parts of making many independent motifs with two colors of yarn is weaving in the tails. With 144 motifs… there were A LOT of tails! Here is my thread tail jar [ORTs (odd random threads) jar] from making Taos. 

Empty mayonnaise jar with yarn tail cut-offs—ORTs.

The picot edge

The final detail, and perhaps my favorite, is the picot edge. The edge had 3 rows of single crochet plus the picot row. 

Pico edge detail.

This simple, elegant border treatment provided a beautifully finished look that added a delicate little design element to the wrap. It took minimal extra time to crochet the picot edge, but that detail was so worth it!

Taos wrap with a picot edge.

A stash-buster project is the perfect way to honor the yarn you already own by turning “potential” into “purpose” in a truly unique item. This one came together in a harmonious color story that was not planned, but worked out very well.

I was able to finish and block my new wrap just in time to show it to Pati when I visited her shop again this past week. 

Make Nine 2025 is complete

Make Nine 2025 is “a wrap” (so to speak). I finished this Challenge earlier than usual (in October) and will be looking forward to Make Nine 2026. I’ll post a Make Nine 2025 recap—with photos of all 9 projects—some time before the close of this year.

Make Nine 2025 tracker.

Every year, the Make Nine Challenge pushes me to tackle a new technique, work with a new material or art supply, try a new-to-me pattern, or finish projects languishing on my to-do list. Each project and finish is very rewarding. 

If you’ve been thinking about doing Make Nine or tackling your fabric or yarn stash, let this be your sign of encouragment. Sometimes the best projects are the ones you build from what you already have—and the people who inspire you along the way.

Stash busting on-the-go: a scrappy crochet wrap

One of my favorite things about crochet (and knitting) is how easily it travels. Whether I’m on the road in a hotel room, or catching a few quiet moments outdoors, this small project has quickly become my portable, go-to project—and it’s made entirely from the yarn stash. 

Crocheted modular leaf blocks.

Fulfilling my Make Nine “yarn” prompt

Since early this Spring, I had been searching for a stash-busting project to fulfill my Make Nine 2025 “yarn” prompt. I wanted to use up a stash of odd, abandoned balls of yarn that I collected from a swap shop. I’m combining them with an “impulse buy” that never found a home. It turns out that when putting these stash bin finds together… something beautiful is happening. 

The collection of abandoned balls of yarns.

An “impulse buy” from the sale bin at a yarn store.

The Taos pattern

I modified a crochet pattern [Taos by Cristina Mershon, found on Ravelry] to make the leaf-shaped modular blocks. I’m also having to adjust on-the-fly to compensate for the different yarn weights/thicknesses—sometimes holding two yarns together, or crocheting and extra row around the perimeter to get size.

The format of the modular blocks is perfect for portability. The pattern is easy to memorize, and each block becomes its own little surprise when choosing different yarns. I’m especially intrigued with how the variegated yarns play out in these blocks—the color shifts in the skein produce a new color combination every time.

The leaf-shaped centers of these units were created from the same ball of variegated yarn.
They all look different.

My units finish at about 2.75”. While I don’t know the exact finished format and size or the wrap yet, I’m leaning toward a rectangular shawl that I can toss on around my shoulders in cooler weather—something cozy and full of color. The Taos pattern is an L-shape wrap, so that’s an option, too. Either way, my wrap will be a wearable memory of abandoned bits. The yardage of the odd balls, along with the impulse buy, should yield an ample size.

Portable yarn project: tools and supplies in a zipper pouch.

My crochet hook, yarn needle, and yarn stash are packed in a small zipper pouch. For now, I’m just enjoying the crochet process, exploring color combinations, and making bunches of leaf units.

Starting month 9 in my Create Daily Tracker

In January, I started another Create Daily Tracker (my 6th) with the continuous goal to do something creative with my hands every day of the year. No pressure for perfection—just taking a little time for myself, and carving out a space in the schedule for making. 

With over 240 days of making behind me, it’s interesting to see what the year entailed thus far. 

Create Daily Tracker 2025. September 6, 2025.

Over 8 months of creative endeavors 

My creative practice so far this year has included a wonderful mix of mindful stitching tasks, improvisational projects, and a few structured challenges. All were achieved with an assortment of daily short stints and longer inspired binges. Here is a breakdown of the percentages of time spent along with a comparison of the status check from June.

• 2% garment sewing (down from 5%)
• 4% free-motion quilting (down from 7%)
• 47% slow stitching and mending, including the 100 Day Stitch Book (up from 40%)
• 14% patchwork (down from 18%)
• 16% art projects—collage, mixed media, painting, art journaling (up from 11%)
• 17% yarn—knitting, crochet (up from 12%)

Thirty-three entries of patchwork and using scraps paired with 9 entries of free-motion quilting resulted in charity quilts. Sixteen kitty quilts were donated to two local vets early in the year, I’ve made two more this summer, and a few lap quilts got quilted and bound for my guild’s Cuddle Quilt project. 

Free-motion quilting a charity quilt. I attach the binding by machine.

Mending was the uppermost technique during “A Winter of Care and Repair Challenge” and my 100 Day Stitch Book entailed a lot of slow stitching. I found The 100 Day Stitch Book to be a very rewarding project. I learned the slot-and-tab binding method which resulted in the making of two additional textile books of stitched collage compositions from my 2023 100 Day Project. At the suggestion of my students and the urging of my cohorts, I hope to develop a class around soft bookmaking. 

Slow stitching compositions from the 100 Day Stitch Book project.

My art practice included 37 sessions of slow drawing, mixed media, watercolor, and participation in two month-long Junk Journal Challenges—Junk Journal January and Junk Journal July. Following daily prompts, the Junk Journals became tactile, expressive pages with layers of paper, paint, and hand lettering to convey stories and messages. 

Junk journals for January and July 2025.

A few days of garment sewing resulted in a Make Nine finish—a remake of the Siena Shirt using a fun fabric line called Perfect Points. 

Make Nine 2025 worksheet. September 2025.

A log of 40 entries creating with yarn resulted in the stack of hand knit dish cloths. Pattern research last month unearthed a scrap-buster project for my Make Nine “yarn” prompt, so lately, I’ve been heavily engrossed with crochet. I’ve completed 8 out of 9 prompts on my Make Nine list and the last prompt, “yarn,” is well underway. 

Why the Create Daily Tracker works for me 

My Create Daily Tracker is more than just a checkbox system. It’s a gentle accountability partner that helps me: 

• celebrate small wins that might have otherwise gone unnoticed, 
• stay focused on a daily practice—even when motivation wanes, 
• document my makes,  
• make space to honor the act of creating, one day at a time. 

If you’re on a creative journey or want to develop a daily art practice of your own—no matter what your medium—a daily tracker might be helpful. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Just a simple document to capture successes, new techniques, and creative risks, such as mine shown above will work. Ease of use is the key.

A kantha-stitched book cover: completing a 2017 project for Make Nine 2025

It only took eight years, but I can finally call this small hand-crafted artist’s book “finished”! I’m counting it as fulfilling the second UFO prompt for Make Nine 2025. 

Artist’s book with a kantha stitched fabric cover.
Interior pages consist of various mark-making techniques and collage.

A book of mark-making 

This piece began as a mark-making exercise in a workshop with Dorothy Caldwell in the summer of 2017. The interior pages of this book are made of long, narrow strips of paper that were painted, inked, and collaged—experiments using different mark-making techniques and tools.

A page spread of the book.

Each page spread is a little world—layered with marks, pattern, shadow, and intuition. Some feel like meditative sketches with spontaneous marks. 

Another page spread with inked marks and collage.

The pages are folded into three signatures, sewn together with a woven binding. The book, when opened, can lie flat. 

Woven binding hold the three signatures together.

The kantha stitched cover

The cover was also a long narrow piece of black cotton fabric. The texture and hint of color is created by rows and rows of simple running stitches—the kantha embroidery technique we were learning in the workshop. I used embroidery floss, both single strand and multi-strand, and let the needle meander across the fabric. 

Kantha stitched cover.

The single strands of colored floss provide a subtle contrast to the black fabric base, and a soft, delicate complement to the more dominant, white stitching lines. This cover was stitched intentionally—not fast, not perfect, just by being present. 

Running stitches with colored and white embroidery floss.

Combining cover and signatures… just do it 

The stitched cover and the book pages lay together for years, knowing they were meant to go together. My dilemma, however, was how to attach the cover to the text pages. Make a wrap-around cover with a tie? A cover with a snap? or button closure? This was the step that stalled the completion of the book for so long. 

Returning home with energy and excitement from a recent quilting class at the Folk School, I had a burst of inspiration and immediacy to complete this UFO. The time had come to just “figure it out!” I decided to create a “book jacket” (of sorts) for the book. The two short ends of the cover were turned to the inside and stitched, creating pockets for the first and last pages of the book to slide into.

The ends of the cover folded over to create pockets for the book.

Front page inserted into the book jacket.

The kantha stitching was completed in 2017. The edges of this fabric piece, however, were stitched this month (August 2025) with a blanket stitch to enclose edges and minimize fraying.

The last page inserted into the book jacket.

The final result is a tactile skin for my little book of marks: a soft cover, richly textured with slow stitching, that wraps around pages already brimming with expression. The perfect complement! The imperfections of the stitching as well as the painted and drawn marks show the hand of the maker… from cover to cover. 

Finished artist’s book with a hand stitched cover.

Inserting the signatures into the pockets of the “book jacket” felt like the last step in the ceremony. After all this time, the project finally had its resolution. It was not just a collection of pages and fabric, but a completed book. A united entity unto itself.  

Creativity is not linear

There’s something deeply satisfying about finishing a long-dormant project. It reminds me that creativity isn’t linear—that even unfinished work holds value, and that returning to something old can still feel fresh and alive. It reminded me of the past experience when it was first created, but it also resonates with the present.

Make Nine 2025 UFO prompt fulfilled.

So here it is: another UFO prompt for Make Nine 2025 completed. Not late, just… right on time.

Make Nine 2025 tracker. August 2025.

A Wild Card finish for Make Nine 2025 with Junk Journal July

As with most Challenges, finishing Junk Journal July was a rewarding accomplishment—responding to the prompts, learning how to use cool art supplies, creating pages and spreads, and letting intuition lead the way. A recap of my Junk Journal July is in his blog post. With that, I’m checking off the box for the second Wild Card prompt in Make Nine 2025. 

Junk Journal July fulfills the second “Wild Card” prompt in Make Nine 2025.

Continuing my art practice

July may be over, but I continue to fill the extra pages in my July Junk Journal with collage, hand lettering, and slow drawing. The creative practice from doing Junk Journal July continues, but now it’s a calming contrast to the fast pace of daily prompts, and a chance to slow down and create more deliberately—when the muse strikes and without any pressure of a deadline. 

Collaged spread in the junk journal.

The journal is becoming more complete and meaningful as I continue to work in its pages.

In-progress spread in the junk journal.

Journals with longevity

I’m glad I had the forethought to add extra pages in my junk journals—more than what is needed for the month of the Challenge. It gives my journals longevity. It provides continuity to the creative process. 

A page spread with slow drawing.

There is space for making more art… or to go back into earlier pages to add detail. Sometimes, meaningful creative moments come when we allow ourselves to wander and play without a plan. 

Collage and hand lettering page.

Here’s to another Make Nine finish and filling more journal pages in the months to come. Letting creativity evolve… even after a challenge has concluded.

A 100 Day Project made into two textile books;a Make Nine finish

A revisit to my 100 Day Project from 2023 resulted in a two-volume set of stitched and collaged textile books. I learned the slot-and-tab binding technique through this year’s 100 Day Stitch Book project, and decided to use it to compile the individual stitched and collaged compositions from 2023 into a finished piece—a book. Learning from the experience with the 100 Day Stitch Book, the assembly for these two books was smooth and I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.

100 Day Project 2023.
Volume I (left) and Volume II of stitch and fabric collaged compositions.

The new books required covers

With 18 compositions to work into a textile book (a lot of pages that would make a very thick book!), I decided to divide the compositions into two volumes. This made the assembly more manageable and allowed the compositions to relax and expand on the pages.

Making two books/volumes required making two [new] book covers. With these newly stitched covers, I was able to document the name of the project. This is the cover for Volume I (a 12-page book + cover) …

Cover for Volume I. Measurements: 9.75” x 9”

… and this cover is for Volume II (an 8-page book + cover).

Cover for Volume II. Measurements: 9.75” x 9”

In my group of stitched compositions, I had one partially finished page. I decided to finish it so there would be less blank pages. This made a total of 19 compositions divided into two books.

• Volume I: 12-page book with 11 stitched compositions.
• Volume II: 8-page book with 8 stitched compositions.
• Front and back covers are in addition to the inside pages.

A partially completed page from 2023 was finished in 2025 and added to the book.

The inside compositions/pages were all 9” square. The front and back covers, as well as the inside front and inside back covers, were cut slightly wider, at 9.75” x 9”, to accommodate the spines. 

View of the book spines.

View of the front and back covers that wrap around to create the spine.

Discoveries, notes, and tips

To make note of a few things for future slot-and-tab books:

• All the pages are yarn-dyed fabrics [from Diamond Textiles] which are a dream for hand stitching.
• The surged edges of the book’s pages helped when turning the signature right-side-out.

Sewing past the corners on each side.

• When sewing the signatures, I sewed off the edges at the corners (rather than pivoting and turning). The stitch line was used as the guide for turning the corners right-side-out.
• I love the stitching on the backs (wrong sides) as much as the stitching on the fronts! So, I took photos of the compositions (fronts and backs) before assembling the signatures. 

Back sides of two of the stitched compositions.

• The paper folding dummies were extremely necessary as the slot-and-tab assembly does not follow the conventional pagination scheme for book signatures. 
• I’m thinking about adding a pocket in one of the books to hold the paper dummies.

Paper folding dummies for pagination.

Four-page signatures.

Here are a few of my favorite page spreads.

Page spread. 100 Days of Stitch and Fabric Collage, 2023. 

Page spread. 100 Days of Stitch and Fabric Collage, 2023. 

Page spread. 100 Days of Stitch and Fabric Collage, 2023. 

The left page on the spread (below) was the newest composition that was started in 2023 but completed this year.

The additional, new composition is on the left.

A Make Nine 2025 Finish

These textile books are fulfilling one of the UFO prompts for Make Nine 2025.

Make Nine 2025 “UFO” prompt.

Make Nine 2025 tracker. June 1, 2025.

The last page of Volume II.

I’m happy to have these stitched compositions from my 100 Day Project from 2023 in book form. And I do see more slot-and-tab textile books in my future.