As a team, we decided that 2025 would be a year of action. A year when we just DID things! We as makers are great at creating reasons not to do something or to delay a decision. Pretty yarn? I have to wait for the perfect project. Stunning pattern? I’ll learn that technique someday. A project for ME? I really should finish so-and-so’s gift first…

This year, we hope to be the friend encouraging you to JUST DO IT! Just use the yarn. Just learn the technique. Just make the sweater for YOU. We want to spend the year encouraging you to take the leap, and being here to support you along the way! Watch for a new theme each month as we take action and do the darn things this year!

Here's how our Action Series is designed to work.

➡️  Step 1  |  We announce the theme for each month here and on social media with our rationale for choose that particular theme.

➡️  Step 2  |  We will issue a "challenge" or call to action for you, our dear MFY Family, to participate in throughout the month. These will look and feel different each month, but all will be designed to encourage some sort of action on your part!

➡️  Step 3  |  We hope you'll share your progress on these challenges with us in the shop, via email, on social media - wherever you connect with us! 

➡️  Step 4  |  We hold each other accountable. Even if you don't share publicly, our team will be participating in these challenges right along with you! Let us act as your accountability partner and use our updates as a reminder to check in on your own progress!

As we begin our journey to taking action, let's take some time for reflection. This may sound counterintuitive, but thinking about why we do or do not take the initiative to start something can help us better recognize our behavior in the future.

Our team here at MFY is uniquely positioned to help with this as, in our non-fiber lives, we have professional experience adapting behaviors. Realigning our thoughts and actions can give us a boost of confidence, energy and motivation. What better way to start the year!

JANUARY CHALLENGE

We're going to start you off pretty easy. For this challenge, we are going to ask you to honestly answer three questions. Spend a few minutes on these and let them percolate. You may find you want to edit or add to your responses a day, a week, a month later!

🧶  Why do you choose to start something new?

🧶  Why do you hold off from starting something new?

🧶  What can you start in the near future? What goal can you set?

Click the button below to download the free printable worksheet (with additional guidelines from our team!) to help you work through these questions. 

We all have those times when we need a push to get things done. While you don't necessarily have to finish something you just started in January, there's probably a WIP hanging out there that needs ends woven in, a pom pom attached, or a second sleeve or second sock completed. Maybe you've got a project in "time out" because you needed to re-do a section or learn a new technique. NOW is the time to pull out these hidden gems and get them finished!

FEBRUARY CHALLENGE

For this month's challenge, we are hosting a weekend-long hat make along. Join us February 22-23 for a fun community event we hope will encourage you to jump in and participate. (And embody the themes of both January and February! 😉) 

Our team is recommending the following patterns, but if you have another quick-to-stitch pattern you want to make in a weekend, feel free! We encourage you to join our private MFY Make Along Facebook group to share your plans and progress. 

Knitting ; Super Bulky	Crochet ; Bulky
Yarn Recommendations: 🧶  Malabrigo Rasta 🧶  Plymouth Yarns Encore Mega Quick Tip from Our Experts: "If you're using Malabrigo Rasta, you may want to cast on 40 stitches for a comfier fit. Work the rest of the pattern as is. You'll have more stitches at the end, but that's ok!"	Yarn Recommendations: 🧶  Cascade Yarns Pacific Bulky 🧶  Malabrigo Chunky

Click the button below to download the free printable worksheet that was designed to help you get organized for the make along as well as reflect on how finishing a project makes you feel.

If you've been making awhile, chances are you've accumulated a stash of some sort. (We promise size doesn't matter!) Even if you're new to the fiber arts, it's easy to end up with a skein or skeins that you just haven't convinced yourself to use - for any number of reasons! This month, we are considering why we may hold off on using a particular yarn - or even a tool or a pattern - and encouraging you to take the plunge!

March Challenge

Our challenge to you this month is to commit to using something that you've been hesitant about.

🧶  Have a project bag that has just felt too pretty to be traveling around with you? Be brave and bring it to Community Night and show it off!

🧶  Did you receive a skein as a gift and it's not your normal choice of colors? What better way to honor the gift-er than by turning it into a gift or donating it and passing the love forward!

🧶  Skein been sitting on the shelf because it's "too pretty to use"? Take a few photos and then find a project that lets the color do all the talking!

🧶  Have some special yarn that feels like it has to be used on the perfect pattern? Bring in a friend or outside perspective to find a really great pattern that may end up being the perfect choice!

As hard as it can seem to jump in, we truly believe that the enjoyment and mental boost you'll get from using your item(s) will outweigh whatever had been holding you back. And things can be washed or reused, and most yarns are very forgiving! We're here to support you - even if you decide to frog it later!

Click the button below to download a free printable worksheet that will guide you through activities and questions designed to prepare you for committing to that "Just Use It" project.

We hope to inspire action that makes an impact for you through these challenges As you work through the exercises, we'd love to hear how you're doing! You can email us at social@michiganfineyarns.com or find us on Instagram and Facebook! No personal details need to be shared, but it would be great if our community could come together and support one another to make 2025 a year of action!