What a year it has been at Fran’s Friends! As 2025 comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to look back at our journey together, from the tiny stitches to the big milestones.

Why I Started Fran’s Friends

If you’re new here, you might wonder what drives me to spend my days surrounded by fabric scraps and thread. For years, I had a rewarding career as a nurse, but after retiring, I decided to trade my scrubs for scissors. I am a self-taught crafter, and I created this community to turn imagination into reality and share the joy of making things with your own hands. My goal is to inspire you through my own journey—whether we are creating whimsical art dolls or preserving precious memories through sentimental crafting.

A Year of Whimsical Creations

We certainly didn’t sit still in 2025! We kicked off the latter half of the year with marine-inspired fabric fish cushions in July and met Ruth the Horse, a delightful art doll I created using specialized soft sculpture techniques.

As the leaves began to change, we embraced the “spooky” side of crafting. We gave a 1970s “Kitchen Witch” a much-needed makeover and welcomed the “Pumpkin Man” and my Spooktacular Canvas Crow to the family. One of my favorite sentimental projects was repurposing my dog’s old knit coat into a stuffed dachshund, proving that “Christmas Upcycling” and repurposing can happen all year round.

Mastering the Craft

This year was also about growing our skills together. We dove deep into Techniques & Tricks of the Trade, including:

• Embroidery Borders: A masterclass on “jazzing up” project edges.

• Blanket Stitch Beading: A beautiful way to add texture and sparkle to any project.

• iCord Knitting: I shared how I use my Caydo iCord knitting machine for French knitting (or corking) to add unique elements to our crafts.

• Sewing by Number or Letter: We used this method to create the adorable Sailor Bear.

The Road to the Fair

A major highlight of my year was preparing for and entering my crafts into the Country Fair. It was a wonderful experience that led to even more adventures at the local church Christmas Craft Fair, which was a huge success! I loved sharing my tips on how to make your crafts shine for judges and customers alike.

Keeping Christmas Alive All Year

Perhaps the biggest achievement was the 12-Months of Christmas Advent Calendar. We spent the entire year handcrafting ornaments—from the Scandinavian Heart in September to the final “Present” ornament in December—to ensure the festive spirit never faded. We wrapped up the year by making Angel Bears and sharing tips on documenting our holiday memories to relive them for years to come.

Thank you for being part of this resourceful crafting community. I can’t wait to see what we create together in 2026!

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To think of our crafting journey this year, imagine a quilt in progress; each month we added a new scrap of fabric—a new technique here, a finished bear there—and now that the year is ending, we can finally step back and see the beautiful, colorful story we’ve stitched together.