Chronicle Your Year with Crochet: 7 Cozy & Creative Ideas 

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Chronicle Your Year with Crochet: 7 Cozy & Creative Ideas. Make a crochet book blanket, a temperature blanket, a mood blanket and more!

In every single year a story unfolds. It contains the books we read, the places we go and all those little moments that shape our days. What if you could capture all of that, not in a journal or a photo album, but with crochet?

Crochet has a beautiful way of recording time and holding all those memories we cherish in our hearts. Maybe it’s a temperature blanket that shifts with the seasons. Or maybe you want to make a granny square for every book you read. These are projects that turn memories into something tangible and warm.

If you’ve ever wanted to document your year in a way that feels creative and meaningful, maybe this is your little nudge. And today, I’m sharing 7 different ways you can use crochet to chronicle your year— to turn all those moments into something beautiful.

Chronicle Your Year with Crochet

I’ve been looking for a new crochet blanket project to make, but I wasn’t feeling super inspired. I kept looking through Ravely and Pinterest for ideas, but nothing jumped out or made me want to grab my crochet hook and some squishy yarn. 

But the other night as I was snuggled in my bed reading my latest book, this idea jumped into my mind: to chronicle every book I read this year with a crochet blanket. 

I am an avid reader and listener of audiobooks. I love it as much as I love crochet and that’s saying a lot. 

Floral Granny Square Blanket

The more I thought about this project the more I was drawn to the idea of making the blanket with a floral granny square design. And I already have a little crochet bookmark pattern and tutorial that I think this would be perfect for the blanket. 

Find the FREE Floral Granny Square Bookmark Pattern Here

I’m going to use a heavier weight yarn and a larger crochet hook and for each book I read I’m going to choose colors that represent the book covers. 

I love the idea of this project for so many different reasons. First making a floral granny square based on a book cover makes me soooo excited. 

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By nature I’m a chronicler. I have been keeping calendars, lists and scrapbooks for most of my life. And combining my love of crochet and reading has sparked new creative excitement. 

I also love that I can use up some of my yarn stash. I just ordered a bunch of Premier Basix Worsted for amigurumi projects, but if I’m really honest with myself it will take me a lifetime to use up all this yarn on small crocheted toys, so a blanket is the perfect idea. 

Find Premier Basix Worsted Here

I love this particular yarn for my project because it comes in so many different colors which is ideal because I want the colors to match the covers of each book. It’s also soft and affordable, the perfect combination. 

It also doesn’t feel overwhelming to think about making a square for each book I read. Last year I read a total of 32 books so if I finish a similar number of books, that’s a little less than three squares a month, totally doable. So far this year I’ve read four books and I love how the blanket is already looking. 

I’m going to have to combine multiple years into one blanket because 32 squares isn’t going to be enough for a whole blanket. The good news is that I document every book I read on the Goodreads app, so I can refer back to every book and thankfully it’s organized by the year! See, I told you I was a chronicler by nature!

For each square I’m looking at each book cover and choosing three dominant colors that will represent the book well. This is the most fun part. I also hope that as I look at each square it will remind me of the books I read. 

I haven’t decided how I’m going to join the squares together yet, but I’ll keep you updated as the blanket comes together. 

But maybe you’re not a reader and you’re looking for a different way to chronicle the year and I’ve got lots of different ideas for you. 

Classic Temperature Blanket

One of the most popular ways to record your year with stitches is to do a temperature blanket. There are so many amazing ways to do that. The basics is that you assign a color for a temperature range. 

I found an amazing website to help you keep track of all the data you’ll need to collect for your temperature blanket. Plus you can design exactly how you want your blanket to look in the end and that’s Temperature Blanket.com. This is truly an amazing resource! 

You can plan your entire project on the website! You’ll also find a lot of different yarns listed on the there as well! 

Once you choose your colors for the temperature ranges you can then plan your entire project. You can make small squares for each day and group them into months, you can make chevrons for each day, a continuous square, a corner to corner blanket, daytime/nighttime split rows, plain rows, or even small squares for each day. 

This is an amazing resource to help plan your project. You can also get all of the weather data from past years on the website.

One of my favorite features of the website is the project gallery so you can see what temperature blanket projects other people have done around the world. 

Find the Temperature Blanket Planning Website Here

Amigurumi Temperature Crochet Snake

But if a blanket intimidates you or it’s just too big of a project you could also make an amigurumi temperature snake! 

Planet June has a free pattern and template for a temperature snake that is just adorable! 

What I love about this project is that you can make it in different sizes, small or large and three different lengths (Daily, Every-Other-Day and Weekly).

Find the Amigurumi Temperature Snake Pattern Here

Crochet Weather Blanket

If you’re not interested in doing a temperature blanket you could adapt this fairly easily to do a weather blanket. 

You could assign different colors to different weather conditions like rain, sun, fog and even snow. 

Weather Condition	Color	Description
?? Sunny	Yellow	Bright and cheerful, representing clear skies.
? Partly Cloudy	Light Orange	A warm tone that reflects a mix of sun and clouds.
?? Cloudy/Overcast	Light Gray	A soft, neutral shade to represent cloudy days.
? Rainy	Blue	Cool and calming, like raindrops falling.
? Stormy	Dark Gray	A deep, moody shade for stormy or windy days.
?? Snowy	White	Crisp and clean, just like freshly fallen snow.
? Foggy/Misty	Pale Lavender	A soft, dreamy color to capture misty mornings.
? Hot/Heatwave	Deep Red	A bold, intense color to signify extra hot days.

I love the idea of being connected to the changes in seasons and how the weather varies from day to day. Where I live this would likely have a lot more color changes on a day to day basis, which could keep the project more engaging. One day it might be sunny, the next it’s raining. Every once in a while we get some snow and other seasons we are in a heatwave. 

Crochet Mood Blanket

Perhaps the thought of making of a book, temperature or weather blanket sounds like a total snooze, I’ve got another idea for you! 

Maybe you’re working on your mental health this year and you’re looking for a creative way to feel inspired and track how you’re feeling. A Mood Blanket is a wonderful way to assign different colors to different emotions. This makes me think of the amazing Inside Out movies and how each character is a different emotion, that’s one of my favorite movies! 

LionBrand has a free pattern/planner for you to create your very own Mood Blanket project. You can buy the kit with all the yarn or you can just scroll down to the download free pattern button. 

This is a wonderful way to prioritize taking care of yourself and by the end of the year you’ll have something beautiful to show for all your hard work. 

Find the Lion Brand Crochet Mood Blanket Pattern Here

Event-Based Crochet Granny Square Blanket

This next project would be so much fun to create! This is what I’m calling The Event-Based Granny Square Blanket. For this project you would create a granny square that represents a key event or milestone from the year. 

For example birthdays, anniversaries, trips or even special memories could be made into granny squares. 

The book 3D Granny Squares has 100 different crochet patterns for pop-up granny squares and I could see this book being a great resource if you want to chronicle the events of your life for a year. 

There are squares for holidays like Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and birthdays. There are flowers, animals, and food. There are even beach themed squares for those who like to vacation in tropical locations. There are also squares for your pets like cat, dog and rabbit squares. 

But I think my favorite squares are the ones that celebrate ordinary days like a coffee mug, a rainbow and a sunflower. The older I get the more I appreciate the simple things, those little moments that if we take the time to notice make the day special. 

I’m practically talking myself into doing this blanket too! 

Check Out the 3D Granny Square Blanket Here

Gratitude Crochet Blanket

Find the Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude Here

I’ve been keeping a gratitude journal for the past few months and I’ve noticed that it has helped me to snap out of those negative cycles when all I can about are the problems and challenges of life. It has helped me to focus on the good things each and every day. There are some days that one of the things I’m grateful for is that the day is over, lol. 

But I think the idea of making a gratitude blanket or scarf or shawl could be a wonderful way to prioritize looking for things to be thankful for. 

You could do this several different ways, but I think planning it the same way a temperature blanket works would be how I would approach this project. 

You could do rows, stripes, granny squares or chevrons. Then you could make a color key that represents what you’re grateful for that day. 

Each day or week, you could choose a color based on what you’re most grateful for at that moment. Over time, the blanket will reflect the moments that brought the most joy and appreciation.

Gratitude Category	Color	Description
? Joyful Moments	Golden Yellow	For happy experiences, laughter, and celebrations.
? Kindness Received	Soft Blue	When someone does something kind for you.
? Small Comforts	Sage Green	Feeling grateful for good health, self-care, or rest.
?? Love & Connection	Deep Red	Appreciating family, friends, and meaningful relationships.
? Strength & Growth	Lavender	Learning something new, overcoming challenges.
? Creativity & Passion	Warm Orange	Moments of inspiration and creative joy.
? Peace & Mindfulness	Cream/White	Quiet time, relaxation, mindfulness.
? Resilience & Hope	Light Gray	Finding gratitude even on tough days, showing perseverance.

By the end of this project you’ll have not just a crocheted piece, but a story that reminds you of all the good in your life. With all the craziness in the world these days I have found taking time every single day to focus on the good has helped me immensely and I love the idea for this project.

Each day or week, you could choose a color based on what you’re most grateful for at that moment. Over time, the blanket will reflect the moments that brought the most joy and appreciation. 

Chronicle Your Year with Crochet: 7 Cozy & Creative Ideas 

There are so many different ways to chronicle your year with crochet, the possibilities really are endless. You can get as creative as you like. And I would love to know if you’ve ever chronicled your year with crochet and which project did you make? 

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