December Knitting & Reads

I love words + pictures so much that this is too long to read in an email. Read the entire article in the app or online at coastalknitsandpurls.com.

December has come and gone. We kicked off the holiday season and somehow landed straight in a new year. Time is flying! Grab a cup of something warm and take a look at what I’ve been knitting and reading lately.

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Knitting

FOs (Finished Objects)

None this month. December was firmly in the “all things in progress” era, and I leaned into it but I am so so close to finishing both pairs of my Christmas Socks.

WIPs (Works in Progress)

(This pic doesn’t reflect where I am with the socks now. I was too lazy to turn them right side out and photograph them in their current state🙂).

December was all about Christmas socks for Sockmas, and I’ve got two pairs on the needles.

First up are my Scrappy Christmas Socks, a joyful mashup of festive minis from my 2024 Elf Advent yarn from Southern Skeins (One of my favorite Florida yarn dyers.). I’m also working on my Cranberry Christmas Socks, which have a rich, cozy holiday vibe that feels perfect for the season. These are from the main skein of the 2024 Elf Advent yarn, and the cuffs, heels and toes are/will be from some leftover cranberry yarn.

The big milestone: I’m almost done with the feet on my Cranberry Christmas Socks and the toes of my Scrappy Christmas Socks.

At the beginning of 2025, I set a goal to knit my first sweater. While I didn’t finish the sweater in 2025, I did cast on and continued to knit the body of my modified DK Flax sweater until the end of 2025. Hopefully, I’ll finish it sometime in 2026.

• Yarn: Lion Brand Pound of Love – Sugar Cookie

• Needles: Chiaogoo Red Twist Interchangeable US Size 6

Reading

December was a solid reading month. Here’s what I finished:

• The Night Before Christmas ⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Murder at an Irish Christmas ⭐️⭐️⭐️

• One Big Happy Family ⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Parents Weekend ⭐️⭐️⭐️

• The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year ⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Christmas with the Queen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am currently reading Needled to Death and The Favorites.

You can order my December reads through Bookshop.org to add them to your bookshelf or TBR pile. Every purchase gives back to local bookstores and contributes to my Wool Work for Yarn Fund. Win-win!

I read 122 books in 2025! I thought that was something worth saying.

December shaped up to be slow, steady, and full of stitches. I’m expecting lots of sock rounds, plenty of reading, and probably a few new knitting obsessions to kick off the new year. 🧶✨