Elephant & Stranded Socks

Well, obviously that 365 project did not go well. I got tired of it, which I should have predicted based on the number of things I am knitting at any given point.

In other news, I knit some socks! I'm gearing up for fair season once again and am getting my spreadsheet updated (doesn't everyone have a fair spreadsheet?) and knits all blocked and clean. First up are my Water For Elephants socks, which were part of a serious yarn saga. My size 5 feet have always made running out of yarn a non-issue, but in this case, I didn't buy enough to begin with. Luckily a nice lady from Ravelry offered to send me her leftovers, and I ended up with the EXACT amount of yarn I needed. Whew! Things got a little tense there for a while.

I think these are my favorite socks that I've ever knit. Even though they are stranded, they only took me the normal amount of time it usually takes me to knit a pair of socks.

The second pair I finished this year are called Show-Off Stranded socks. This is a really great pattern for variegated yarn, as it breaks up the pooling. The yarn is Done Roving Frolicking Feet, which is a long name for yarn. It was a souvenir from our trip to Maine last year.

Project 365: Week 6

February 5: Coming back home on a dreary day

February 6: Kiska gets too warm in her heated bed, so she sticks her front legs out to cool off

February 7: A fan that looks like an eyeball

February 8: My mom sent popcorn for Valentine's day. The cheese flavor is the best!

February 9: The first sunny day in a while. Even though it seems like I'm being healthy by eating the unsalted Almond butter, I'm not. That's all that was left in the store, so I just dumped a bunch of salt into the jar.

February 10: Working on new curtains

February 11: I drink a lot of tea

Project 365: Week 5

January 29: Peanut noodles for dinner

January 30: Colorful dishes in the kitchen

January 31: Finally getting around to taking pictures of things I knit last year

February 1: Making lentil soup for dinner

February 2: I've been decluttering for a month - all of this stuff is going away!

February 3: Planning a vacation

February 4: Reading The Likeness by Tana French

Project 365: Week 4

January 22: Cold morning. I should have taken this picture the following day, when it was 9 degrees.

January 23: Dinner time

January 24: Woke up to snow (Not much, though. So much for the snowy winter we're supposed to be having.)

January 25: I bought a bag of 100 tea lights from IKEA and have yet to use up any.

January 26: Continuing on with my crossword kick

January 27: Sushi for dinner. Spicy crunchy tuna is my favorite.

January 28: Another cat picture. Isn't she cute?

Project 365: Week 3

January 15: First knit night of the new year

January 16: I'm terrible at crossword puzzles but I try sometimes anyway

January 17: Work from home day! Actual top secret work hidden by a cozy cabin picture

January 18: Working on a quilt I started many years ago

January 19: Valentine's Day-themed Pinterest craft party!

January 20: The deck garden looks so sad in the winter

January 21: Inauguration day. I kind of cheated on this one, because Jason took the picture with my camera; I was working (on a holiday!) while he went downtown for the festivities.

Project 365: Week 2

January 8: The power was out all night, and Kiska helped me sort some old letters by flashlight.

January 9: The first in a series of "I forgot to take a picture and it's late, here's one of the cat."

January 10: Blueberries thawing for a cake

January 11: Magnet collection

January 12: A friend's dog, Lizzie. I'm not a dog person but Lizzie is awesome.

January 13: Kiska enjoying her new accidental cat fort

January 14: Tea after work in my favorite big mug

Project 365: Week 1

I have wanted to take a picture a day for a year for a long time now. This year I'm actually doing it; here is my first week:

January 1: Painting in the office/loft

January 2: I already hate the paint color, so I'm choosing a new one

January 3: Working on the crocheted blanket that never seems to end

January 4: These are the best cookies ever made in a factory

January 5: Dishes to be done

January 6: Dinner at Tortacos; I love this strip because you can get Honduran, Mexican, Peruvian, and Salvadoran food all in a row

January 7: Fading light as I get home from work

Windmill Whimsy Quilt

Unlike last year's resolution of keeping my cell phone by me at all times, which I have totally failed at, I actually kept the other one: start early on Christmas gifts. Back in April I started on a quilt for my in-laws, and finished it on time!

My inspiration was this Windmill Whimsy quilt from Film in the Fridge. I hunted around a bit and found a free pattern, which did all of the math for me... score. (Download it here.)

Enter the glorious revelation of pre-cut fabric: you can buy squares already cut, in a variety of coordinating fabrics! The fabric I used is called "California Girl", and I got it at the FatQuarterShop (totally drool-worthy link right there, watch out.) The background is Kona white.

I quilted it in a grid pattern and then washed it; I didn't pre-wash any of the fabric so that it would shrink and crinkle up.

I should mention that I'm now spoiled for life. The days of using Wal-mart fabric are over. I'm a fancy quilter with fancy tastes now. Pretty soon I'll have a room in my house just for quilting! Oh, whoops...