Lovin' the Little Things

Finally, a progress picture of the log cabin blanket. It's coming along well, although it's starting to feel a little slow now that it's getting bigger. I've set it aside in favor of working on a couple of other things. I will have to come back to it soon, though, because I'm not sure of the final date for Cyrano's Creature Comforts Drive.

I know that most people say that ripping out an old project is strangely liberating, but I would have to say that I didn't feel much of anything while sending these socks to the frog pond. I just didn't like them anymore. I'm really feeling these baby socks, though. I like the stripes better in small scale. This is the third or fourth pair I've made with Moda Dea Sassy Stripes, and I think the yarn is well-suited to the pattern. I've loved every pair.

I'm off to work on the baby socks now so that I can have them done by tomorrow. I will not default, I will not default, I will not default.

UFO Update

Remember these?



They are my new UFO challenge project for February. Let's face it, the Boyfriend pillow is not going to be done in the next two days. I don't want to default on the challenge, so I'm switching to these socks. I'm not really going to finish them, either, I'm going to rip them out. And make cute little baby socks out of them. I know I can finish those by the 28th. My friend is due in a very short time, and I want to get something done before the baby arrives. I'm not really in love with these socks anymore, so rippit, rippit it is! I probably wouldn't have finished them, anyway.

I have to mention a big Happy Birthday to my Daddy. My sister took us all out for a very nice lunch, and I was able to stop by JoAnn's and get the part for the sewing machine. Yay, bonus! Anyway, my dad says that he's 39 and holding this year. We got a big kick out of that over lunch. Sure, Dad. We all believe you. Age is really just a number, anyway. We love you no matter how old you are!

2007 Softie Awards

Have y'all been following the 2007 Softie Awards like I have? All the stuffed critters and other softies are sooo cute!

My favorite is Manny the Mantis, by Cynic the Lamb. Check out her blog, Knotty Bits, for more shots of Manny.

Munchkin 1 says that Mikey the Donkey is her favorite. I think he's pretty darn cute, too. We also like Gus and, of course, Captain Jack.

Check out all the softies and tell me who YOUR favorites are!

Morning Quickie

I just have a couple of minutes this morning so I'm going to put up a couple links to some things that have caught my eye in the last couple of days.

• I received an e-mail yesterday from MomsRising.org (which I unfortunately deleted) asking me to sign a petition related to PBS. I get these e-mails all of the time, but I signed this particular petition to stop PBS funding cuts. The educational programs on PBS are invaluable to our children. I can't find a link to this particular petition now, but if you are interested in this issue, sign up at MomsRising.org, I'm sure that you will get the same e-mail that I did. It's a wonderful organization.
• I read about the case of Julie Amero on Scout's Swag. Julie is a substitue teacher from Connecticut who has been convicted of four felony counts of "injury or risk of injury to, or impairing morals of, children," due to an incident with pornographic pop-up ads on a school computer. She's facing 40 years. Go here to read more about Julie Amero's case, and go here to donate to her defense fund. I believe the choice to drop the charges is an obvious one.
• The Yarn Harlot has proposed a grand show of knitting power. I soooo want to go to one of the stops on this tour!

That's it for now. I'm off to work, it's absolutely gorgoeous here (almost 60 degrees F) and I plan to enjoy spending the day outside.

Snow!

Today was a great day to start on my little log cabin experiment. It snowed all night last night and most of today. Here are my meager beginnings:

Isn't the snow pretty? This is probably the best Project Spectrum-related pic I've taken yet, even though the blue of the square doesn't look blue, exactly. Oh well, the snow is still pretty, and very, very white.

I'm almost done with the center square of the log cabin, and I'll be ready to pick up stitches along the side by morning. I'm nervous, so we'll see how it goes.

Setting Forth

I'm going to try something new. I've recently become quite intrigued by the log cabin blankets ala Mason Dixon Knitting that I've been seeing all over the 'Net. We all know that I'm not the best knitter in the world, and to me, a log cabin seems like a very big challenge. But I'm also very stubborn, and how much damage can I possibly do with some circular needles and old acrylic yarn?

I'll be using the formula I found over at January One for my little experiment, as I have not acquired the Mason Dixon Knitting book just yet. (Hopefully that will happen soon.) And while I'm at it, I just have to mention that I love how the header at the top of the January One page changes every time you visit. How does she do that?

XOXO

Sorry y'all no crazy Valentines stories or tales of past loves here today. Just:

Happy Valentines Day to all!

5 Things

1) No, the computer is not broken again. I just haven't felt like blogging, to be honest. The Munchkins and I are all battling Round 2 of this year's SuperCold. When I feel crappy, I would much rather crochet than type. To that effect, I've gotten quite a bit of crocheting done. Other than that, not much is getting done around here.

2)The Bears poncho. I still haven't taken pictures of that, have I? (I haven't put the "C" on, either.) To tide you over, I give you this, taken a couple of days before the big game:

I will get around to taking pics of the finished project, I swear. I might wait until I attach that "C", though.

3)I've finally spent some time sewing on my January UFO Challenge project. It's now my project for February, but I plan on squeezing in another little something for the challenge towards the end of the month.

I'm almost finished with both sides now. It's just so much sewing!

4)

I'm working on some pet blankies to send over to HollYarns for Cyrano's Creature Comforts Drive. I have to admit, I was first drawn in by the gorgeous prizes, but I did resolve to craft more for charity this year. So, it's the best of both worlds. A friend from work gifted me with a shopping bag full of acrylic and fur yarns last week, and I've already finished a 16x16 blankie out of some of the acrylic for one lucky homeless animal. I'll be making more and sending them her way.

5) Here's a little sneak peek of something yummy that I'm working on for someone special:

Can you guess what it is?

Super? Bowl

The Bears lost. That sucks. I really did not want to see the Colts win, as they beat my team. Does anyone else share my opinion that Rex Groessman singlehandedly gave the Superbowl to the Colts? I hope they fire him today.

(This will not stop me from posting pics of the finished Bears poncho. I just need some good light to take the pictures.)

Damn Computer

Well, the computer finally went. Lucky me, it was an easy fix. Just had to replace the power source box, and it cost under 100 bucks, so cheap, too. No more 5-day computer outages, yay!

So I'm back now, and I'll try to post a pic of the Bears poncho later tonight. It's looking really good.