{ 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.

{ Christmas Cookies }

For the first time in a zillion years I made rolled sugar cookies for Christmas gift giving. My Mom reminded me that I used to make such pretty cookies when I was a kid but they really didn't taste very good. (Thanks for telling me 35 years later Mom) I looked around the internet for cookie decorating blogs and came across Sweetopia.  There were recipes, decorating tips and videos to aid me in my beautiful and tasty cookie quest.

I picked up all the required ingredients and decorating tools, baked one day and decorated the next. I'm happy with the results, both the look and the taste. These babies took a long time to decorate. First they had to be outlined, then flooded with royal icing. Some needed secondary decorating so I had to wait for the first layer to dry a bit before starting the next layer. Oh, and mixing royal icing for 10 minutes with a hand mixer was hell. I'm hoping to find a stand mixer under the tree from Santa this year.

I have to bag them and pack them up for gift giving. A few I'll be keeping for myself, just to look at.

{ Island Waters }

The last pair of knit socks designated a Christmas gift is finished!

The pattern is Duckies by Samantha Hayes. The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Sport. The pattern was very easy to follow for a relative beginner like me. I already finished a pair using fingering weight yarn. You can see that post HERE. 

Now I have to start making hats. Three of them before Christmas Eve. Ready, set, go!

{ Walk in the Woods }

I managed to finish up another pair of socks this weekend. I love the color, Forest Heather from Knit Picks, and the pattern, Simple Skyp. I'm definitely goingto be making another pair using this pattern.

{ Beach Plums }

Another pair of Christmas socks is complete. I'm finding it can take me anywhere from one week to one month to finish one sock. I still have at least one and a half pairs to complete. I was hoping for some shorty socks to be finished too, but that may be too ambitious.

I really wish work didn't conflict with crafting time. Between kniting socks and finishing my daughter's quilt I have to squeeze in cookie baking for Thanksgiving. I'm trying out the cut sugar cookie-royal icing cookies for the first time. All my supplies arrived today and Thursday they and I have a date.

{ Blogger's Quilt Festival: Fall 2013 }

Yay! I actually have a completed quilt to enter into the Blogger's Quilt Festival this time around. I'm entering it in the { Quilt Photographer } category.A big thank you to Amy at Amy's Creative Side for hosting this wonderful online quilt festival.

I called this my Friendship Quilt. I had been hoping to make a quilt for some special friends who live in West Virginia. They are our Colorado hiking/snowshoeing buddies. Whenever we drive to TN to visit my girl in Vet School, they kindly open their house to us on the way down. It's nice to break up the drive and get to visit with them.

The fabric choice was Odds & Ends by Cosmo Cricket for Moda since the colors matched perfectly with their decor. I used the pattern Avalon Scrappy Summer from the Moda Bake Shop which worked up very quickly. I hadn't purchased any yardage but did have some stashed backing fabric that worked well {I have no idea of the name} For the binding I dipped into my treasured stash of Strawberry Fields fabric. The green gingham was perfect.

I sent the finished quilt top, backing and batting to Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting to work her long arm magic. She does such nice work and her turnaround time is usually about a week. I had it bound and washed in two days and could not wait to take her photo. All the outdoor photos were taken in Mattituck, Long Island.

I hope you all enjoyed peeking as much as I liked showing. Please leave me a comment. I'd love to hear what you think.

CLICK HERE to view all the beautiful entries.

{ Can I Get a Hell Yeah? }

I love when I've finished sock #2 of a pair, kitchenered the toe closed and weaved in the tails.  It took me just over a month to finish these socks. I love the yarn color. Woo hoo for self striping yarn. It makes non-knitters think I'm doing something very special.

I may not be able to wait until Christmas to give these to Steph.