{ 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.

{ 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!