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...

Fairs & Spinning Update

My spinning wheel(s) have been getting quite the workout over the last few months. Here are the results.

This Falkland (from FatCatKnits) became 2-ply heavy fingering (colorway is Quackenbush):

This merino from FatCatKnits also became fingering weight (that seems to be my default.) The colorway is "Cody":

More FatCatKnits, this time some Polwarth, in heavy laceweight, "Tanzanite." (This is currently being transformed into a Holden Shawlette)

Next up is "Lavender Lemonade" from AlohaBlu, superwash merino and nylon, spun up into a 3-ply for socks:

Thought that was it? Oh no, there's more! Chain-plied BFL in "Potluck", from Spunky Eclectic:

And finally, chain-plied merino from Woolgatherings, spun on my Golding handspindle.

I went a little nuts over fair season this year, enabled by my wonderful new boss who enters canned goods into several fairs, and offered to enter my knitting and spinning into the Maryland State Fair. Between the State Fair, Montgomery County Fair, and Damascus Community Fair, I ended up with 24 ribbons, including 12 firsts, 8 seconds, and a Champion (for my Haruni Shawl.) So how can I top this next year?? Must get knitting! I certainly have enough yarn...