HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! 🎉
I’m kicking off the new year in sending my well-wishes to you all; I hope you have a prosperous year ahead! Whilst I’ll be back very soon to have a chat with some of our Woolly Workers regarding any resolutions they may have, I myself haven’t really thought much about any!
As for my crafting goals for last year, it was a mixed bag of results. Yet I’m taking any completions as a win, so I’m not going to hold myself prisoner to what I’d hoped for way back when! Safe to say my Tomb Raider pieces are still unfinished, however I have moved my Tomb Raider III stitch to my Nurge hoop after taking it off a larger frame.
When I’ve got the stitching bug, I tend to fly through projects with the second size of the Nurge hoops, as I personally find them such a nice size to work with. I was concerned about creases, but keeping it on my wide frame (as pictured on the left, taken in June last year) meant I wasn’t working on it.
Safe to say Lara’s seen more daylight in less than a month than she has in about four years! Creases there may be, but I can see some semblance of a finish line on the horizon now. Nothing a good few rounds of pressing can’t sort out!
As for completions, last year saw me on a ColorfullySarah hype, as I just love her designs! Her patterns are so clear and easy to work from, with features you can quickly get through. I’ve learnt over the years that the large, forty-shade plus completions look great, but man are they time consuming!
It’s lovely to have these smaller projects on the go that I can just pick up and take with me. It’s nice to see these bloom a little quicker; the only trouble is I’m a bit lax at framing some of them. But hey, at least the main bulk of the work’s done, right? I’m trying to practice some patience and refrain from starting her Retro Games pattern that I have kitted up – time will tell on how I fair with that!
As always when I’m crafting, or practically doing anything (lol), I’m always in good company with something to listen to. For my 2026 roster, I’m pleased with what I’ve got planned for you all, as I’m featuring some fresh new favourites that I’ve discovered, along with more of my hall-of-famers, so fingers crossed you’ll enjoy them, too.
As per, be sure to check your content warnings before diving into these listens as they may contain sensitive topics and/or language. With that said, let’s get started!
📖 Audiobook – Beautiful Ugly – Alice Feeney
Our first audiobook of the year goes to thriller author Alice Feeney. I’ve read and listened to a fair amount of her work, yet Beautiful Ugly has to be one of my favourites. Featuring dual narration from Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton, this audiobook’s direction leans more towards a drama in its wonderful performance and audio production.
Thriller Author Grady Green’s having his best day for a long while; yet while on the phone to his wife, Abby, Grady’s day is quickly spoiled to say the least, as he hears her car screech to a worrying halt.
Managing to track her down, Grady finds Abby’s car, however his wife is nowhere to be found.
A year after her disappearance and still racked with grief, Grady’s move to a remote Scottish island feels like the perfect place for him to try and start again – until he sees someone who looks exactly like his missing wife.
With fantastic audio design, stellar performances from both actors, and Feeney’s writing on point here, Beautiful Ugly offers a story that will keep your intrigue from start to finish as you work your way through those rows.
🎙️Podcast – Chaotic Neutral – Trident Digital Media
In the summer of last year, my partner and I discovered No Rolls Barred, a board game channel on YouTube, and both he and I have been howling at them ever since. However, their ‘sister’ channel, Chaotic Neutral, offers more tabletop role playing games, mostly covering Call of Cthulhu ‘based’ themes and narratives.
I was pleasantly surprised to see just how much I enjoyed it. After a bit more of a dive, I discovered that you can actually listen to the games as a podcast on Spotify, so I was sold.
With Dom Allen typically in the role of games master, his acting background really shines through with the stories he tells to typical NRB cast members Sullivan Beau Brown, Tilly Steele and Laurie Blake. Yet with rotating guests and different themes, each game always feels fresh, well thought-out and downright hilarious.
Many games have a couple of episodes, yet they do offer the occasional ‘one shots’. Personal favourites of mine have to include Pulp Cthulhu! Yorkshire Smith and The Accursed Cutlery, simply for its mayhem, alongside The Y Files – a tale that definitely takes quite the turn!
With tons of laughs and great storytelling, Chaotic Neutral is a great show to stick on for a few hours per episode to laugh your way through your WIP!
💿Album – Layo(v)er – V
The journey in discovering Layo(v)er has been a fun one, to say the least. As far as BTS goes, I’ve been a fan of Jung Kook for a few years now, but had never really explored much of the group’s music. Rewind to October, I took my mom (who’s a big fan of the lads!) to see a BTS concert at the cinema and ever since, they’re pretty much all I’ve been listening to! After diving into their impressive solo projects, I discovered this absolute diamond among an already glittering discography.
Although short, what this EP offers is nothing short of brilliant. It’s a beautifully cohesive piece of work, featuring tracks that roll wonderfully after the other, making Layo(v)er feel like one extended track.
V’s rich tones and vocals are really on display here, as he takes us on a journey through memories, lost love and heartbreak.
I was so pleasantly surprised that his solo work sounded like this. It’s a perfect blend of Lo-Fi, R&B, and Jazz, with a peppering of Neo Soul to top things off.
Each month, I typically regale you with my standout tracks, yet with only six on offer here, I highly encourage you to hit play and be swept away by every element of it.
Featuring thoughtful lyrics and melodies, Layo(v)er delivers a perfect concept album, with each repeated listen feeling just as fresh and inviting as the very first. Of course, the March comeback is something myself and millions of others are excited for, yet with this to tide us over until then, I think we’ll be okay.
A lengthy one to start the year with – thanks for joining me! As always, I’ll be back each month with some new listens to keep you in good company. See you in Feb! 📻