midweek crafting update

The sock is coming along nicely. I've turned the heel and am now working the gusset. Knitting socks is not nearly as intimidating or challenging as I previously thought, although it does take some time. I'm glad I've challenged myself to try something new, though.

Slowly but surely I'm getting myself out of the creative rut known as Deep Winter. I've been buying quite a bit of fabric (much to my husband's chagrin), and making plans for a quilt in addition to working on the Boxy Bags. Now, this quilt will take a while. It's a baby quilt for a friend who is not yet expecting, but I've got the perfect idea for it, so I obviously need to plan it out NOW. I've got a few other baby-related projects for a different friend in the works, too.

My darling niece turns one in just a few short weeks. {insert typical comment about how time flies here} She's so adorable, and living so far away is hard. Thank goodness for photos! I've got some exciting things ready for her birthday package, just need to get them all wrapped up and put in the mail. I hope she enjoys them, although I'm sure she'll enjoy the wrapping paper more at this point. :)

Meanwhile, I've added some adorable little girl headbands to my Etsy shop, The Caffeinated Sheep. Check them out! Also available in black/white, purple/black, and brown/white (with a blue headband!).

an adventure in sock knitting

Our knitting group is doing a sock knit-a-long during February. We're having lots of fun with this adventure, and are excited to see how they all turn out. From a knitting perspective, socks have intimidated me for a long time, but they're not as challenging as I thought! Tonight I got through turning the heel. We'll see if I'm feeling adventurous enough to conquer the gusset this week, or if I'll just wait until next week's gathering.

In other (non-shocking) news, I am so done with winter and ready for spring. The weather today was sunny and in the 40s... it was glorious. I almost didn't need a coat when I left knit night. They're predicting 60s later this week... yippee!

Christmas Break Plans

Tomorrow marks the fourth week in Advent. Advent. Such a busy time, but one of my favorites for the whole year. A time of preparation, planning, anticipation, and hope. A time for reflection, renewal, and comfort. A time for longing, peace, and joy.

Now that I'm officially on Christmas break (and an extended one at that!), it seems that, in a microcosmic way, much of this preparation, planning, longing, anticipation, and hope has been fulfilled. I now have time to reflect, renew, be filled with peace, comfort, and joy. What a blessing to have this time off and enjoy it with family and friends.

I can't wait to get started on all my crafting plans for the next few weeks...

• I've got plans to meet up with some friends for some quality girlfriend coffee bonding time.
• I've got plans to meet up with some friends for some quality girlfriend crafting bonding time.
• I've got plans for working on inventory for my Etsy shop to finally get it up off the ground!
• I've got Christmas presents to finish knitting and crafting, and need to get those out in the post.
• I've got sewing plans, movie watching plans, copious amounts of coffee and tea drinking plans, and enjoying my Christmas present plans (D and I decided to go in on one big gift to ourselves this year, so I already know what I'm getting and it's on its way!).
• I've got RELAXING plans. Oh, sweet relaxing, I've been waiting all year for these few weeks.

We've got a nasty-sounding wintry mix storm going on this weekend. This morning we woke up to a nice thick layer of ice covering the stairs and car. It should hopefully melt off this afternoon, just in time for more ice and snow tonight. I'm so thankful I don't have to go to work next week so I can just stay inside and work on projects.

Pardon me while I go look for my comfy pants and pour myself another cup of coffee.

Birthday Presents!

Now that both of my family members have received their birthday presents this month, I'm excited to show them off!

Mom had requested some warm mittens sometime this winter. I had the perfect yarn in the perfect color, and even have enough left over to make myself a headband! Alpaca mittens are sure to keep your hands warm even on the coldest days. She loves them, as I knew she would. :)
Raveled here: Some Birthday Mittens for Mom

She also got this pair of earrings I made out of some leftover beads used for stitch markers.

Don't they remind you of Easter eggs?

She claims it was overkill, but I think she deserves it for being the best mom ever!

D's birthday present was a fairly easy project to put together, and I didn't even need a pattern! (O.K., so I used one to reference material yardage, but after that, I just used one of our old pillowcases as a template.) Seriously, from cutting out the fabric to ripping out seams to sewing up the final seams, it took maybe an hour. I'm quite pleased with the result, even if I don't approve of his team choice! ;)

Mostly, I love how well those two fabrics coordinate. :)

He loves them, and I love that he doesn't think it's lame or dorky at all to get new Vikings pillowcases for his birthday.

My sewing machine has seen quite a bit of use during these snow days. (Seriously, because of all this snow that's been dumped on the midwest, I've worked 1 day during the past week! Crazy!) I'll have more sewing projects to share next month...

Happy Snow Day!

When I left for work this morning, the snow was just barely starting to fall. By the time I got home an hour and a half later, we probably already had somewhere between 1 and 2 inches. It's so pretty out, and peaceful. Thankful today to be safe, warm, and have an opportunity to work on some knitting projects. And very thankful for the moisture this snow brings!