{ Fraternal Twins }

We've been super busy since we closed on our new home at the end of October. Preoccupied, to say the least. I have been able to squeeze in some sock knitting and some sewing. I just finished these plain socks, knit with my first Crazy Zauberball. I love the colors! If you're the least bit anal about knitting socks that match, this yarn is not for you.

{ A Record Finish }

It's not often that my sock projects get finished so quickly. These were cast on 9/27 and finished up on 10/15. A simple pattern helps, of course. I loved working with this yarn from Cherry Tree Hill yarns, Supersock in Spanish Moss colorway.

{ Best.Day.Ever! }

I think this fabric line has become my new, all-time favorite. The Seaside Stars quilt will be quickly moving up the to-do list. {After gift quilts are finished of course}

 

 

{ In my own defense...this is why I get suckered into buying more fabric.}

It happened again today. I received squishy mail from Stash Addict Quilts. It was the Fat Eighth bundle of Best.Day.Ever! that I mentioned in yesterday's post. I stumbled on their online shop by accident two months ago and have been ordering from them ever since. One reason is their great prices, even without  Deal of the Day pricing, and the other is a special gift that comes with every order......a mini Moda charm pack and a coordinating fat quarter. The first time I ordered with them and I saw the gift  I was thrilled. I really believed it was a one time deal for a new customer. Nope. Each and every order has a sweet little surprise included.

This is the way my recent fabric buying binge happened, all thanks to those $%@& mini charm packs and fat q's:

First order: Layer cake of specially priced Mirabelle by Fig Tree & Co arrived with a gift of 25th and  Pine from Basic Grey.

Second order: Four charm packs of specially priced  25th and Pine arrived with a gift of Weeds by Me & My Sister

Third order: Fat Quarter bundle of Weeds arrived with a gift of Best.Day.Ever! by April Rosenthal

Are you seeing a pattern here?

Fourth order: Fat Eighth bundle of Best.Day.Ever! Just received this morning. I was torn. To open or not to open. I wanted to look at the pretty fabric, just for a moment, yet, I was not sure I was ready to view my special gift. I secretly hoped it would be something flowery or juvenile so I wouldn't be tempted again. Please, I prayed, don't be Miss Kate by Bonnie & Camille. The suspense was too much and I looked.....it was not what I had hoped for. Elementary by Sweetwater. Oh crap, I'm in trouble, again.

{ And the List Goes on......}

Sometimes I don't know what's wrong with me. I keep telling myself that I will not buy any more fabric until I've made a quilt using fabric I already have. Then what happens? Another amazing fabric line is released and I get suckered into purchasing it in one form or another.

The latest fabric crack is Best.Day.Ever! by April Rosenthal for Moda. How great are these colors!

They make me happy just looking at them. The line isn't officially being released until October but one of my favorite online fabric shops, Stash Addict Quilts, was offering pre-cuts. I ordered a Fat Eighth bundle and some coordinating Moda Bella solids from Fat Quarter Shop, another favorite place to shop.

So, my {To-Do} list  just got bigger. I already know the pattern I'll be using, Seaside Stars by Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter.

I think I purchased this pattern two years ago but was waiting for just the right fabric. I 'm sure I finally found it. Now I'll have to decide where to slip this project in the line-up. It may be a good quilt to work on during the gray days of winter. Ya think?

{ Come Sail Away }

My sweet niece Sarah is beginning her career as a teacher next month. She'll have her own third grade class. {Better her than me!} It seems that each teacher chooses a theme for their classroom and she decided on a nautical theme.  She also decided that she would love to have a specially made quilt from her Auntie to use on her rocking chair in the reading corner of her classroom.

The next day I went on a mission to find the right fabrics in the colors she requested. I came across Barnegat Bay by Studio 37, for Marcus Fabrics at the Fat Quarter Shop. Great prints and the exact color palette she wanted. I purchased the fat quarter bundle and fabric for the backing and binding and got started.

I finished up last week and took it out for some photo time this past weekend. I'm very pleased with the finished quilt and I'm hoping she'll love it.

{That sailboat had perfect timing.}

I usually just hand write my quilt labels but I wanted something a little bit special for Sarah's quilt. I found a quote from Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go! and hand embroidered the label. I like the extra special touch it adds to the quilt and I'm sure with a little more practice I'll be really happy with the results.

Come Sail Away is ready to be mailed to her new home in Florida, along with a copy of  Oh, the Places You'll Go!.

{ Celebrating Father's Day with Cookies }

My husband is always complaining that I make cookies for everyone else but him. He "never gets any cookies". Of course that's not true. I always sneak a few from whatever batch I'm making so he can sample th

I had every intention of making him a special BBQ/Father's Day collection of cookies. I looked around at all the amazing cookie decorators for inspiration, ordered some new cookie cutters and got to work last week, baking and decorating.

There's still a few burps and farts going on with these cookies. I stuck my finger in a beer mug and tried unsuccessfully to fix it and I really need to work on my lettering. I think I need a stiffer royal icing so the letters don't blob together. I'll work on that for the  next batch which I'll be working on next week, Fourth of July & BBQ cookies to take to TN.

{ What happened to quilting and knitting? }
I'm still doing both. I've been working on two pairs of socks and a plus quilt for my niece's classroom. It's almost done and  I'll post some photos after I send it to her. I don't want to ruin the surprise.

{ Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my! }

Well, actually it was more like lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos and monkeys. Zoo animals were the theme for Ronin's 2nd birthday party held over Memorial Day weekend. Last week was very busy around our house ( guests in from out of state for my son's graduation) so I couldn't start baking/decorating until Tuesday night.

I used tutorials from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle for the giraffe and the leaves. She makes everything seem so easy but, let me tell you, those giraffe spots were hell.

The cookies were a hit, especially with Ronin. He helped himself to a lion. I wish I could have grabbed a photo but he's not still long enough.



I'm still practicing the cookie decorating thing and usually enjoy the process. No strict deadlines is really a plus. Now I'll have to check the calendar for the next holiday or special occasion.

{ Sock Therapy }

We've got some fixing up happening in our apartment, an upcoming college graduation with family coming in from out of state, and some scheduled furniture delivery that requires removal of the old furniture first. { Really heavy old furniture} I needed to start a new pair of socks right away to help me relax in the evening.

I decided on a new pattern, Charade, which is free on Ravelry and a yarn that I hadn't used before. It's from Hampton Artistic Yarns .  I purchased it at the Long Island Fleece & Fiber Fair last year and was waiting for the opportunity to use it. It's a super soft hand dyed, hand spun superwash merino blend. The colors are beautiful and it even has a little silver bling. It was really hard  sliding off that yarn band and winding it up.

I had a bit of a sizing  problem with the pattern and had to rip out several hours of knitting, but I made an adjustment and started again. I love this yarn! Luckily in two weeks the LI Fleece and Fiber Fair is returning to Hallockville Museum Farm and I can pick up another hank. { Buying it online is not as much fun as seeing it and petting it in person }

I've been doing some quilting too but I can't spoil the surprise. Post with photos to come soon.

{ Quilting and knitting don't add inches to my hips }

Besides working on two different knit socks, I've been doing some cookie baking. Two baby showers, Easter, and a communion are all requiring I spend more time with my Kitchen Aid than my Singer. The cookie baking/decorating is fun, and tasty, but I find I'm missing the relaxed state I'm in when I set up the sewing machine and pop a good dvd into the player. I really enjoy quilting, every aspect from the cutting to the binding. Guess I love the final product, a lot. The quilt gifts  are appreciated and loved when they go to their new homes. I have three on deck....one for me, one for my sister as a Christmas gift and the other for my niece's classroom. I really need to find more time to sew.

That said,  here's some of the cookies from last weekend. Inspiration from The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle and Lizy B .

{ Weekend Cookie Baking }

We have a new baby in the family. A sweet little boy. I spent some time making cookies this past weekend. This cookie decorating thing is still an ongoing experiment. Some aspects of the decorating process are coming easier to me than others. I definitely have to work on my writing skills.

PS: See the little green heart with yellow polkadots in the front? I dropped it and there's a dent. I didn't catch it before I took the photos. I did switch it with another heart. Just buried that one way underneath the others. {shhhhh}

{ Bluebirds and Daisies }

For last week's baby shower I offered to make some cookies that would be given out as part of the favor. I had purchased the cutest set of cookie cutters, momma and baby bird. I finagled a bit and merged the two cutters to make one cookie. Worked out great! So, 65 cookies pairs and 65 daisies later..........

 

You'll notice three different styles of daisy decorating. I was experimenting. I prefer the one with the piped outline. Next time that's the way I'll do them all.

And, I flavored some of these cookies with almond flavoring instead of vanilla flavoring. Yum-my! Besides smelling incredible as they baked, they tasted amazing. {Yes, I made a few extras for sampling purposes. I had to know if they tasted good...wink, wink} I used decorating tips from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle for the birds. She's so talented and new cookie decorators {me} can learn a lot from her.

{ Meadow Friends baby quilt is done }

By the time this is posted, the  baby shower will be underway and there will be no risk of blowing the surprise. I finished up a couple weeks back and just took photos yesterday while the weather was nice. It's my first "plus quilt" but it won't be my last. I know it's a simple pattern but it's perfect for a little boy or when a gender-neutral quilt is needed.

I found a great tutorial and printable at  For the Love of George . I cut into the fabrics on a crappy Saturday afternoon and was ready to start laying out the pieces not too long after. I love this fabric collection! The prints are so cute and I even have enough left for a second quilt! You can see the fabrics HERE.

It's been awhile since I basted and quilted something on my home machine. I've been sending the larger quilts out to be professionally quilted. I'm not confident enough to try anything other than straight line quilting on a small quilt. It all can together nicely. I'm hoping this quilt gets lots of use.

{ Socks, did I hear someone say socks? }

I'm on track with my goal of one pair of knit socks per month. Actually,  I'm ahead of the goal so far, I cast on my fourth pair this morning. Both of these pairs are being gifted to friends we'll be meeting in Colorado next week.

The first pair is knit from Knt Picks Felici Sport. The colorway is Stream Bed. This yarn is a dream to work with. It's sooooo soft. Merino wool is definitely my favorite yarn to work with and Felici is priced right too. Well, it was priced right. {Sniff, sniff} The Felici Sport line was discontinued some time ago and I believe the Felici fingering weight is going bye-bye too. I have enough yarn for maybe 5 additional pairs. I wish I had bought more.

These socks were knit with DROPS Fabel 75% Superwash wool/25% Nylon. I love the Vanilla Latte pattern that's free on Ravelry. I think these are the third pair I've made using that pattern. This wool isn't as soft as Merino but they feel very comfy on the feet. And yes, I must try on every pair I knit even if they're not for me.

{ Lattice Quilt for Steph}

I'm a little late getting around to posting photos of the quilt I finished for Steph's Christmas gift. The pattern is Lattice Quilt by Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter and the fabric is Little Gatherings by Primitive Gatherings. This fabric line was perfect to match her living room colors and would even coordinate with her bedroom. Two thumbs up!

{ Welcome back The Walking Dead }

My sister and I are The Walking Dead junkies. She watches in Florida and I watch in NY. We text each other during the show and both watch every marathon AMC runs. {I think I've seen season one  15 times}
Last year and this year we were able to be together to watch the return of the show after the mid-season finale. It's a bonding experience for us.

I brought a special surprise with me on the plane from NY to FLA.... zombie/walker cookies, complete with some bloody guts and exposed brains. I made ' just brain ' cookies too.

Before the addition of guts.

After the enhancement, displayed lovingly by my sister atop her dining room table. 

 My sister loved them! She {we} ate some and decided to save some to display in her office. I'm not sure how long they'll last before they get moldy but she'll hang on to them as long as she can.

This guy's my favorite. I bit his arm off the first chance I got. It was delish!

{ Meadow Friends and a Baby Quilt }

This weekend I'm cutting into this cute stack of fabric. I have a baby shower the third week in March and need to get a move on. I'd love to finish the quilt top in the next two weekends, then get to the quilting. I'm planning on quilting this one myself. It's a pretty simple grid so I should be ok. I will need to make sure I have enough thread; I'm thinking brown.

I've been holding onto the fat quarter bundle of Meadow Friends by Deb Strain for more than a year, just waiting for a boy to come along. I had already purchased some yardage for the backing, binding and a border if the quilt called for it. I love the busy prints loaded with frogs and lizards and bugs, all the things boys love.

I can't wait to get started. 

{ 2014: The Year of the Sock}

I'm not really one to set long term goals for myself. When I've done it in the past I've failed miserably. This year I've decided to try again. My goals for the year 2014:

1. Knit one pair of socks per month. Some for me {yay} and some for gifting. I certainly have enough yarn stashed for 12 pairs. { or maybe even 24 pairs, shhh.}

2. Start and finish some quilts. I have one baby quilt to do before anything else since the shower is in March. I already have the fabric from my stash.{yes, there is a stash for fabric too} The other's on my to-do list are:

*Finish 'Oh My Stars'. It's already cut out, I just have to start sewing.
*Finish the 2012 Mystery Block of the Month Quilt from the Fat Quarter Shop. I already have 10 of the 12 blocks pieced. {yes, I realize it's 2014 and yes, I do have the 2013 Mystery Block of the Month lining up behind it}
*Quilt for my niece using {Flirt} by Sandy Gervais. All the components are sitting patiently in a project box just waiting for release.
*Finish the 'Quilty Fun Quilt-a-long' blocks.

3. Lose 40 lbs. {hubbie and I joined a gym yesterday. Let's see how this turns out.}

Here's my first finish for 2014.......

These were made using the pattern Simple Skyp and Knit Picks Stroll Tweed yarn. I love this pattern and have already picked out more yarn for another pair. These babies are taking up residence in my sock drawer.