Changing Seasons – January 2026

Hello friends, happy last day of January! I am bewildered and flummoxed at where the time has gone this month. I hope you’ve all been settling in well into the new year. Did you create any resolutions? Start any new habits? Crack the spines on any new journals with that perennial optimism that this planner will be the key to unlocking the new you? Because I didn’t. Not a single one. Well actually, I did go to the gym… once. 🙂

I am realizing that January has very much been a month of hibernation for me. It’s been terribly cold, often gloomy, and after snowfall here the roads and sidewalks are perilously icy. All conditions that scream: stay indoors! Winter used to be my favorite month, and I never really minded the cold, but this year I definitely feel like a grumpy, lazy bear. Is this yet another sign of getting older?

So instead of robust gym sessions and vigorous outdoor activity, I spent much of January safe and warm inside. Cooking a little, reading a lot, and starting to explore a new hobby and skill: mending!

I feel proud of myself for picking up a needle and thread and getting around to these small mending tasks that had occupied space in the “need to do” part of my brain for years. There was a surprising sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that came from completing even the smallest project. For example, hemming the cut ends of old towels turned into rags, or stitching the hem of my pullover sleeve.

Or patching this pair of pajama pants that had a rip in the side seam with a corner of an old handkerchief. I’ve been interested in visible mending since last year, and this was my first attempt at it with the materials I had on hand.

Suddenly, discovering a hole in a pocket became a joyful event: I had something else to mend! I might redo the mend of these pockets because I meant to do a blind stitch but ended up accidentally just sewing straight across.)

What’s this? Another pocket hole, this time in my jacket? No problem! Very important to mend as I carry everything in my pockets. Do you see any evidence of the mend? No? Well that’s because I remembered to blind stitch this time. It was very satisfying to pull the sides together at the end.

And yet another hole in a pair of yoga pants. I can wear them again now that the seam is mended.

After building up my confidence with these small wins, I attempted visible darning the holes in my socks. Now, these are socks I’ve mended before with regular thread, but the holes kept coming back, so I decided to try something new. And we’ll see how the weaves last through wash and wear, but for now they look very cute!

A two-color weave for this hole:

Happy that I had orange embroidery floss to match these socks.

It’s been really fun getting comfortable with a needle and thread. Now that I know it’s not scary or hard, my mind is beginning to see new ways to apply this skill in practical and useful ways. Like sewing on a piece of scrap fabric ribbon to make a loop for my dishcloth.

I’ve often said I love all crafts, except anything to do with sewing. I never felt I had the patience for it, but these projects have changed my mind. And the sense of both accomplishment and creative fulfillment that results feels unique and new to me. It’s different than the satisfaction I get from journaling or drawing or creating just for creating’s or documenting’s sake. And it’s a liberating feeling to do something creative and not feel the need to make it Instagram share-worthy. (But it’s important enough to me to share with you, my blog friends!) I think I’d like to explore this intersection of creativity + functionality more this year.

And even though ultimately I did not get around to setting up my reading journal this month, I did have fun brainstorming ideas and making mock-ups for it. I played around with the idea of making my journal dala horse themed, as 2026 is the year of the horse. I got as far as making some paper cut out mock-ups because I thought the bluntness of paper-cut collage would suit the simple designs of the dala horse.

Later, I saw a friend share a prize ribbon she had made with felt and ribbons, and that set off a tumble down the Pinterest rabbit hole of handmade prize ribbons. There are some very cute ones out there made of ribbon, fabric and thread. And so I explored ways to make my reading journal prize-themed (A different ribbon theme for each month! How cute would seasonal and holiday-themed ribbons be?)

Even made some paper ribbons with pieces from my paper stash. I used some of the gold wrapping paper I had saved for years, and finally broke out my hot glue gun from Daiso (alas, discovered the glue gun leaks).

Speaking of Daiso, I stopped by yesterday and picked up a small ball of yarn and a crochet hook for 1000 won each. Watched a beginner’s tutorial on YouTube and crocheted for the first time since… middle school? Maybe high school?

After the first swatch (pictured on the left), my hands, neck and shoulders were aching. Clearly I needed to relax and let the needle do the work, instead of trying to force the stitches through. My second practice piece went better. I think I learned how to control the tension more, and I was left with a decent looking coaster.

Lastly, one of my intentions for this year is to pare down my craft supplies a bit and use up my stash. For example, I have a bunch of beads that I bought during the beading fad during the pandemic. I made a few bracelets and haven’t really touched my stash in any meaningful way since.

Fortunately, I have a very good occasion to use up my stash this year: making freebies to hand out at the BTS concert in April! I can’t believe I’m going, and it feels so good to be putting together concert freebies again. Since the point is to use up my stash, I’m starting with what beads I have and letting the constraints guide what I make. I think I’ll make a separate post on this later, because I want to explore other handmade freebies using the BTS stickers and washi tape I have too.

Lastly, it wouldn’t be a Changing Seasons without mention of some of the things I ate.

There wasn’t much cooking done this month, so this week, in a fit of contrition, I meal prepped a big batch curry in the crockpot. Yes, I did spill a drop of curry on to my new tablecloth. Hopefully that’ll come out in the wash. Not pictured is the big tupperware of shaved carrots too. And I have to admit, it’s been pretty convenient to have a meal ready to go… remember this for next month!

I also finally tried the dessert that has taken Korea by storm: the Dubai Chewy Cookie, or Du-Jjon-Coo. Picture a filling of the Dubai chocolate mix of pistachio paste and kataifi, wrapped in a cocoa-dusted marshmallow. I had seen it everywhere on social media, so this month I finally tried one out. Alas, I realized when I walked into the cafe I had no idea how expensive they are, nor how small. It was literally the size of a golf ball. But soaring demand also means soaring supply costs, and apparently it’s getting harder and harder for cafes to source the ingredients.

Now, size complaints aside, it was pretty good. I did enjoy it. But I don’t think I’ll be lining up at 5:30 AM to try the version available at only six Starbucks locations in Seoul. (Starbucks released their own Dubai Chewy Cookie yesterday and apparently there were lines out the door). Have you heard of the Dubai Chewy Cookie? Or do you like Dubai chocolate?

And that wraps up January, friends. I may not have started off the year on the ground and running, but it feels nice to look back and see the small glimmers of creativity that brought me joy this month. And I am glad to be publishing this month in review to start off the year. It’s been a while since I’ve written a January Changing Seasons.

This post was written as part of the Changing Seasons challenge. You can visit Ju-Lyn’s post at Touring My Backyard or Brian’s post at bushboys world to see how other creatives around the world spent their month.