Finally Some Knitting

 I finished one of my striped socks and started its mate over the kitty sitting weekend.

I also finished the mate to the Snowfling mitten. Well, almost. I need to do the thumb. Ugh. I hate colorwork in tight spaces. It took me months to finish the last thumb. I had no patience for it.

 The striped twins are at the toe. They should be done soon.

My patterned socks are taking their sweet time but they are getting close to the toe. After putting all my old socks in my new drawer I'm pretty sure these will all go in the Christmas box so I'm in no hurry.

That new Hawthorne is calling my name though. If I could get a January FO I would be very happy.

More Joy

 Yesterday The Mister put up that extra shelf in my stash closet. That meant emptying a lot of Knit Picks boxes. I tend to buy things and just leave them in the box. I wanted everything back in but in an orderly fashion. Lots got tossed.

 I was brutal. I ended up with a giant bin of yarn to donate and a big trash bag of stuff that didn't bring me any joy. 

 I was equally brutal with my fiber. I got several big bins down to one. Yay me.

 Look what I found in the stash. Valerie was just posting about closing up her shop and I was mourning the loss when I found a box with some of her Slinky Cat in it. Won't it be a beautiful project for the fall? I'm thinking cowl.

 While I was sorting The Mister was trying to fit the shelf in.

 Ta dah....one better organized mess. I still have way too much yarn and other woolly stuff but at least I can see it all now.

Of course that's just the closet stash. I still have my display stash and my under the bed stash. It seems like every few months I sort it out but the mess never really gets any smaller. It just moves from place to place.

Sparking Joy

I know I promised you knitting but as soon as he rolled out of bed yesterday morning The Mister was all go about getting the finishing touches done on the bedroom. First up was the curtains. They're not actually done. I forgot to get the end pieces. Oh dear, another trip to Ikea. Poor me. 

 With all the furniture moved back in I had to go through all my clothes. I did the Marie Kondo thing and piled everything up on the bed. I evaluated it piece by piece. I had to say thank you and goodbye to lots of it.

 Here's some knitting. One of those big drawers in the new closet is all about the socks. I do have a lot of socks but they all fit in. Hallelujah.

 I bought a lot more of those pretty covered containers in all shapes and sizes Friday so I had plenty of room to store all my precious knits.

I still have the sweater bin to go through and put away but I should be able to get them all in these big boxes.

 Ta dah....a new bed cover. I really wanted something bright and happy so thank you Ikea. They were just putting these new sets out the day I was there. You can't get happier than this.

Kitty Sitting

 I know just how you feel kitty. Mom and Dad went away for the weekend and left you with the crazy lady again.

Spending time at Daughter's is like living in a cat crazy fever dream.

Her house is one big playroom for her cats.

 It did give me a chance to meet the new kittens. They are not kittens anymore but are still very playful. They look so much alike I have no idea which is which. They are all just Kitty to me.

 The senior member of the house was very chill this weekend which is odd. She usually drives me nuts begging for food and screaming all night. I'm not complaining. It was actually a pleasure. They were all very good.

 So good that I had plenty of me time in front of the big sunny windows.

Knitting and stitching is so much easier in good natural daylight. I got all of the February sheep done and it's not even February. I'll show you my knitting progress tomorrow.

And....while I was there the baby from the crazy baby shower we threw in December decided to show up. He's a big healthy boy and Mom couldn't be more happy and relieved-as are we.

And....the ice dance team Daughter went to cheer on, McNamara and Carpenter, came in 4th at Nationals! Not bad for their first time in senior competition.

And...a little girl we know who used to skate at our rink came in 5th in Ladies! It was her first time at the senior level also. It's amazing to see how these little kids have all come so far. It takes so much work and dedication.
If it had not snowed in Detroit causing Daughter to have to sit on the runway forever for de-icing before she could fly home it would have a been a perfect weekend.
You can't have everything.

Snow Much

Last month I lost my mind and bought this card kit when the last thing I needed were more snowmen or penguin stamps.

I told myself I was going to make use of it so I've been watching all the You Tube tutorials for the Snow Much kit by Simon Says Stamp and following along. Having the big desktop in the craft room takes up space but it's great for tutorials. It's like taking an online class. I love it.

I've made these so far. They are not destined for anyone. They are just for trying out new ideas. It might have been stupid to buy the kit in the first place but it's been fun. The possibilities are endless.

Fruitcake Weather

 Oh, dear. I only have two fruitcakes left. That means I have eaten two whole fruitcakes since Christmas. Shame on me.

In my defense, it has been cold. We did have snow. I need a warm cuppa and a slice of something sweet when the sun starts to go down. I always get a chill around 4 ish and that's saying a lot as I am more often than not in the throes of a monster hot flash.

Speaking of hot flash, look at this little cutie. The sweater I made her kind of fits. It could be a bit wider to cover her well padded backside. The pattern I made up for it worked so now that I have the idea I can add some width and try again with better yarn. And as for that well padded backside, Pup and I both need to put down the fork and start moving. Sigh.

Building a Better Closet

 Before we could put the new closet organizer together we had to get the molding down. I hate that job. It's fiddly and all I do is stand around and hold wood. Boring.

 My Ikea closet came in 24 separate boxes. That's a lot of sorting.

 It was also a lot of cardboard. The Mister's taking a trip to recycling tomorrow.

 It was a long day of work in a very small tight space.

 The Mister always gets the hard part. I get to read directions and sort the doo dads.

 Ta dah.....done. Look at all those beautiful shelves. I decided to not use the hanging bar since I have a large Ikea armoire that will hold all my hanging clothes-after I do a serious sort out.

Today I am on my way back to Ikea to pick up more of these pretty garment boxes. I've never decorated a closet before. This could be fun.

A Quick Fix

The Mister was in the mood for a joy ride yesterday but I wasn't. I wanted a day of peace and quiet so I could clean up my sewing corner and get started on the blocks I had cut pieces for ages ago.

He went off alone and I was off to a good start-until I wasn't.

 Old Faithful, my sewing machine seemed to be having an issue. I could always count on her no matter how badly I treated her but this morning she wasn't having it. After doing everything I knew how to do and checking everything I knew how to check, I discovered that the bobbin wasn't in right. It was in but not in, if you know what I mean. Problem solved.

 In no time I had the pieces for the first block assembled-or so I thought.

 Hmmmm.....something's not right.

 Oh. I went one row too far. Instead of actually reading the directions I did what I thought I was supposed to do. It's a log cabin type construction and I was having so much fun I didn't know when to stop.

 It was a quick fix. Rip. Rip.

No harm done. Now I have one block made up of four pieces that need squaring and assembling. I just need to do that eleven more times. Yikes.

Bomb's Away

 Meet the newest addition to my soap toolbox. Well, not exactly soap but in that general area. They are molds for making bath bombs.

I've got tons of molds but I saw a video of someone using these pricey ones and had to try them.

 I wasn't much of a fan of bath bombs to tell you the truth but when I was in my holiday funk I found a good soak and a good cry worked wonders. I made myself a batch of lavender scented ones and now I can't stop using them.

 In case you are wondering, those packets they are sitting on are to absorb moisture. You don't want your bombs fizzing from the humidity if you keep them in the bathroom like I do.

They are an easy project. Basically they start here and then you add whatever fragrance, oils or color you want. I like to also add Epsom salts, powdered coconut milk and kaolin clay.

 I tested out the new mold with a honeysuckle recipe. Daughter's been going through a rough patch as all ice skating coaches do at this time of year and her favorite fragrance is honeysuckle. I added some pink Himalayan salt to make them have some sparkle.

 I have to go kitty sit for her this weekend while she heads to Detroit for Nationals with some of her skating team to cheer on some rink friends who made it all the way to seniors in ice dancing.  I'm going to leave these in her bathroom as a surprise. After a weekend chaperoning she may also need a good soak and a cry.