This year I decided to jump with both feet (and a lot of pens) into a new notebook. A few months ago I purchased My Year in Yarn 2026 ($34.99). For those of us who aren’t sure where to start in building artistic spreads, I thought this journal is a good mix of planner, diary, log and fun.
The book is generally written for knitting and crochet, but I find it could apply to most fiber arts. The first part of the book is dedicated to a 2026 Vision Board and Monthly Spreads. While the monthly spreads can appear a little differently, all includes areas for important dates, monthly goals, notes and ideas, a to do list, and number of projects finished. There’s also a habit tracker in slightly different format for different months. I chose to add exercise to mine (which isn’t fiber related at all), but it could be anything. I’ve added a few stickers and may add more color to the pages as well.
The second section is full of challenges and trackers. There are WIP trackers (works in progress), a Yarn Bingo card you can design yourself, a 30 day organization challenge, and a few others. There are opportunities to write in details or just color if you so choose. I think this section is one of the two that made me most want this book. I look at other folks creative layouts for tracking habits and challenges, and I wanted a bit of the work done for me so I could just do what I love most – knit and spin and sew!
After the tracker section, there’s an index for projects and a 2-page spread for each project you work on this year (30 in total). Each page is rife with details about patterns and yarns and needles used, along with spaces for notes and other fun illustrations. This is the second most important part of this book. I often make projects that I remake again, or want to refer back to. I’m never good about documenting all the details in one place, what modifications I made, what I might do differently in the future, etc. This book has all those blanks just ready for me to fill in!
Finally, at the back there’s space for lists, supplies and some free pages for sketching or taking notes that don’t fit in elsewhere. Here’s where I can track what I buy and use during the year, patterns or yarns I might want to purchase later, and any other ideas for future projects. Also measurements – keep your loved ones’ measurements close for gift knitting opportunities!
I’ve only been using the book for a few weeks, but so far I’m enjoying it. Probably the biggest negative (for me) is that the paper isn’t super fountain pen friendly. There’s not a lot of bleed, or show-through, surprisingly enough, but the ink dries really slowly and smudges all over the pages. So for now I’m mostly likely going to use my gel pens with this one (and oh do I have the motherlode of gel pens coming – stay tuned!) Otherwise I’m finding this a new and fun way to keep track of my hobbies and what I create. I’ll be sure to come back in a few months and let you know if it’s still working for me!
DISCLAIMER: This journal was purchased with my own funds and all opinions are my own. Please see the About page for more details.