Greetings 2026! Now, What are my goals?

Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona, AZ

Hello, it's Jenn. This has become a bit of a tag line for me these days. I have spent the last two years making videos for YouTube, and I always feel the need to introduce myself. This is simply because my channel is Wind Rose Fiber Studio, but that can seem impersonal. Like so many other makers, my studio, in a nutshell, is me. 

It's the beginning of a new year and I do love beginnings. I love making plans, deciding what I want to keep doing and how I want to change. I love to set an intention for myself. What do I want to focus on this year?

I tried to make a Fiber Artist Diary about my goals (Episode 9), but I haven't been filming very much this January, so I ended up sharing just my biggest goal. This main goal is to not buy any yarn in 2026. There must be something in the water because I just watched Toni's latest video from TL Yarn Crafts and she basically shared the same sentiment. I like the idea of 2026 being the year of the destash. Who am I kidding? I will definitely need more than one year to get my yarn collection down to a reasonable size. The only exception I am granting myself is for travel. I may be taking a trip to Norway later this year, and I don't think I can go to Norway without visiting a yarn shop or two. 

I kind of wanted to write this blog post to give myself a chance to reflect on my other goals. I feel I should go back in time a little and explain what I have been doing. My blogging has been sporadic at best over the past few years. I have reached a point in life in which I have more time on my hands, so a couple years ago, I decided to use that time to make video tutorials. I have written quite a few patterns over the years, but I know that many people are visual learners and turn to YouTube when they want to learn how to do something new. This has been reinforced in my mind by the many requests I have received for videos even when I have posted picture heavy patterns here on this blog. I get it because I also love a good visual aid. As a result, I have spent 2024 and 2025 making full length crochet tutorials for most of my patterns. I still have a few more to go, but I am nearing the finish line. There is definitely a learning curve to making a good video tutorial. My hope is that I am steadily improving. I am even upgrading my camera and the lens I'm using this year, so I am excited to improve. In short, my YouTube channel has become a place with a lot of free crochet content. If you like a free pattern, I'm your girl!

Moving into this year and the future, I am excited to get back into designing new patterns. One of my goals for my channel is to share my process like where my ideas come from and how I turn those ideas into finished products. A good example of this is one of my new patterns. I really wanted a telescoping pencil case that was taller that the ones that I found in stores and on Amazon. I ended up crocheting one and sharing it in a short. I received feedback from a couple viewers (my channel is petite) that they would crochet one too, so that is how I ended up writing the pattern for The Telescoping Pencil Case and filming How to Crochet a Telescoping Pencil Case. It was a big project, but so satisfying! 

So often I see things in the world and my first thought is, "How would I crochet that?" That is what I want to continue to explore as I design and film tutorials. YouTube has also become somewhat of a journal/scrapbook for me. I enjoy filming Fiber Artist Diaries and find them especially fun to edit. The diary entries also allow me to share my other interests like weaving and spinning. I even throw in some camping and travel. 

I guess my goals for 2026 are to keep doing what I have been doing with a pivot to more designing content. To use the yarn I have even when it's hard and I'm forced to get creative. I think this is going to be a challenge for me. I'm also planning to slow my roll a bit. I have been posting every week, but now that I am working on new designs and not making tutorials for existing ones, I will need more time. I would also love to have my community grow, not just on my own channel, but I would like to get better about joining in with other maker communities. I am an introvert that tends to admire others quietly and I need to get better about leaving a comment when I watch a video that I like. I know how much it means to me when viewers are kind and I want to be that for others. 

I guess that's it for today. I'd like to say that I'll start blogging more, but I've made that resolution before. I do want to try because I have always enjoyed this little blog. 

Take care and I hope your year is off to a great start!