Finished this before it's too warm to wear it.

This baby alpaca cowl is so incredibly soft and warm.  I just wish I could get the colours in my photos to be a deep and rich as it is in real life. 

The seed stitch adds a lovely texture, and I actually managed to graft the ends together in seed stitch, so the join is virtually invisible.  Other than the grafting, it must be one of the easiest knitting projects ever undertaken.  It's pretty difficult to make a mistake with seed stitch, and if you do, it's immediately noticeable.

First quarter goals for a new year

To say that my accomplishments in 2014 were less than stellar would be an understatement.  Two quilts, a bit of sewing and knitting for the girls and even less for myself.  (On the upside, I listened to a remarkable number of audiobooks, so the year wasn't a total write-off.) This makes assembling my first quarter goal list pretty straight forward--I just have to cut and paste from previous lists.

Number 1 was on my 2014 fourth quarter list (and in the interests of full disclosure, the fourth quarter 2013 list as well).  It's the beautiful Oh My Stars! designed by Sheila at Thought and Found. I'm determined that I will finish this.

Number 2, that I'm calling my Snow Geese quilt was also on last quarter's list.  I haven't touched it either.

And, for number 3, there are the cushion covers of shame, also a carry forward.

Number 4 is a carry forward from 2013, that I've been working on slowly but steadily.  It's about twice the size that it was the last time I listed it as a goal, and I think that there's a good chance that I'll be able to finish this one in the next couple of months. 

I do have a couple of new projects, though.

Elyse's bathing suit has succumbed to chlorine and she needs a new one, but  mid-winter isn't a good time to buy child's swimwear in Canada.  Ergo, I'm making her one.  I've never done this before.  The knit fabric is very stretchy, it has a knit lining, the pieces are small, and she wants me to make changes to the pattern.  It's challenging.  I think that the trick here will be to keep saying I think I can, I think I can...and to focus on the fact that she really needs it.

And, since it is still winter, I'd really like to finish this Ramona cowl in time to wear it this season.  I've finished one full repeat, and there are only nine more to go.  Yes, it's inside out.  That's how I knit stranded colour work.

There are many other projects that need to be finished up (not to mention the new ones I'll start-Kid's Clothes Week is coming up soon), but since I've clearly placed myself in the wishful thinking category already, I'll leave it at that.

Linking up to Adrianne, our new taskmaster for 2015.  Welcome, Adrianne, and thank you for taking this on.

3rd quarter finish!

It's so nice to have a finish that was actually included in my 3rd-quarter goal list.

It's been quite some time since I managed that, and this project has been a goal for several consecutive quarters now.  At least the timing is right.  It's still pleasant here (at least, it is on the weekends), but definitely cooler in the mornings and evenings.  Even so, neither kiddo will need a long-sleeved wool sweater for a while--they're a couple of little furnaces.  In the meantime, these little bamboo toppers will be just the ticket worn over a long-sleeved T-shirt.

And, the obligatory silliness.  This part is so much fun.  The camera was acting a bit odd today, so I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked, but these will do.  Both girls liked their sweaters--the heart-shaped buttons were a hit, and I only heard the pink word mentioned once and not too loudly. 

All part of

Second Quarter Finish Along Wish List

Okay.  Maybe wish list isn't assertive enough, but given my poor showing the last couple of quarters, it may well be the most likely.  In fact, if I manage to finish the three things on my list this quarter, I'll be very pleased with myself.

The first is my Anita's Arrowhead quilt.  I started this after taking Anita Grossman Solomon's Craftsy course, Traditional Blocks Made Simple.  It took me forever to piece the top, but boy--are those points perfect.  Now, it's  basted, but for the life of me, I can't decide how to quilt it, or even what colour thread to use. 

The second is to make covers for these cushions.  Way last fall, my husband made this lovely little daybed for my sewing room.  He used an old mis-matched head and footboard from the 40s.  It fits a toddler bed mattress (the room isn't very large) and it's perfect for sitting in the sun as well as providing nap space for smaller guests.  Those naked cushions have been sitting there for ages, and I really need to do something with them.  I've pulled some pretty scraps for the two rectangular forms.  One will be get a quilt as you go cover, and the other will  probably be a modified Stashbuster block.  The rest will have covers made from blocks that I love, but don't have the patience to make enough of for a quilt.  Blocks like the Octagonal Orb, and Modern Dresden.

And since no list is complete without something for the girls, this time I need to finish up these cute little spring toppers.  They picked the colours themselves. (What happened?  No pink or purple?  Turns out that wasn't an option in this line of yarn, otherwise it certainly would have been the old standbys.) And it will  certainly be easy to spot them at the playground.  I think that I'll make them matching twirly skirts as well.  You can't go wrong with a twirly skirt, can you?

So, that's it for me. Should be doable. 

Linking up to Katy.

New hats

We had a cold snap at the end of January, so I decided to knit the girls new hats to match their red winter coats. As soon as I'd finished, the cold snap ended, and now we're enjoying a beautiful February.  But, February is February and it is followed by equally chilly March, so they'll still likely see some use. 

Both hats are knit from Spud & Chloe's superwash wool/silk blend (following Mandie Harrington's Swirl Hat pattern with a few modifications.

I added flowers with button centres to the smaller of the two and beads to the bigger one--the sparklier the better.  They can be thrown in the washing machine with no worries, and the  smaller one would be fine in the dryer as well, but I'm not entirely sure about the (sparkly!!) beads on the other one.  I can just see all 250 of them melting and turning the hat into a ball of red sludge.