Storm Warning

 Well, there it is folks. That's the snow that threw the nation's capital into a tizzy yesterday. I was more than disappointed. I was ready for at least a dusting. We got a sprinkle.

 I watched two episodes of the Gilmore Girls so I could get this lined hat finished for some serious snow play.

I spun it out of leftovers in the fiber bin. It was itchy so it got a soft acrylic lining that took me forever to get done. Talk about a boring project.

 It's warm. Very warm. If we ever get a real snow it will be just perfect.

It's also going to work great as my new headache hat. I find wearing a warm hat when I get one helps a lot. I look pretty silly hanging around the house in one but I can't argue with success.

I also had another ta da moment last night. I finished a dishcloth I started last September when I was dog sitting at the Grands house .

They have an AC Moore down the street so I wandered in one day, picked up some cheapo needles and some new to me brand of kitchen cotton. I have to say, the cheapo needles were better than my usual wood ones for all those knit 2 togs that I hate on the decrease side. The cotton is soft and was nice to work with but the jury is out on how if performs.
As for the snow.....we get another try tonight. Maybe we will get an inch overnight from the top end of the storm that is bringing all the misery to y'all down south this weekend-but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Wait For It

 Miss Kitty is keeping watch for the first flakes. There is snow in the forecast.

 I don't believe it spite of the fact that you couldn't even get a cart at the grocery store today. Those clouds don't look like snow to me.

If it does snow we won't be celebrating with the first fire of the year. The chimney guy said we need $4000 worth of repairs so we don't burn the house down. We can't catch a break. We are still waiting for that itty bitty bit of money the insurance company is going to give us for the car we have yet to replace. Jeesh.

We may not be warm but the outside kibble will be. The kitties got a new heated bowl for water and food to match their heated huts. So far only the possum under the shed has volunteered his/her approval. The outside kitties are still suspicious. Silly cats.

New Stuff

 My birthday and Christmas were pretty much a bust this year in the gift department. We all agreed not to exchange and it makes sense but it still feels a bit lacking. To make up for the lack of presents I treated myself to this yarn from Wandering Cat Yarns. They were having an amazing end of year sale and still had plenty of good stuff to choose from when I went browsing. I decided upon this Alley Cat in this very pretty Heart of the Mountain colorway. It's getting cast on as soon as the latest socks are off the needles which should be very soon. Yippeeeeee....

 Also new is the warp that is now on the warping board from the overshot kit. It's purple. It's thin. Really thin. This is going to be an adventure in warping for sure. Fingers crossed.

 New on the wheel is this Finn fiber. I don't as a rule like Finn but this was so soft that against my better judgement I brought it home from the MDSW this past spring.

 I was surprised when I unwound the braid. I didn't expect it to be half and half. I thought it was variegated.

 I split it half and decided to spin each color separately.

It's going to be a two ply and then I am going to use it for some fancy colorwork on something or other. Some day.

When Quilting Attacks

 This is my new mini quilt kit in action. I am not having fun. You have to fussy cut the paper pieces and I just discovered I'm not very good at it.

Not only that, after I cut off what I needed for the sashing and binding I didn't have enough material to cut out the pieces the directions told me to cut out. There was a lot of cursing going on when I discovered I couldn't even order anymore of this material. The collection is pretty much sold out.

Once I calmed down I realized I could just wing it with the scraps. No one would know that I didn't use the specific flowers called for in the pattern. I won't tell if you won't.

 I also learned that the technique I had learned from watching You Tube was not the best for this particular pattern. Once I got rid of the template I made and just lined up the paper points in the same place on the flowers it all started to fall into place.

The four block centers are done. They are not perfect but it was a VERY steep learning curve. The next time I'll do better.

 Now to cut out and baste the 32 green pieces that finish it up. They are just regular pieces-nothing fussy about them. Thank goodness.

Resolution

 I'm not one for making promises to myself I can't keep but I am really tired of this project staring me in the face. It's been two years.

Honestly, I don't love the hooky thing. I like the way it looks but I hate doing it.

My goal is the finish this bin of colors before it's too warm to make use of the blanket. I've got eleven more double rows to go. Two colors a week is my modest goal. On you mark, get set......go.

Too Good to Last

 I had such high hopes for the new year but noooooo......the yarn gods are still poking me with their pointy sticks.

 For crying out loud. This is the SECOND pair in a row that had a break in the yarn right in the middle of the ball. Grrrrrrr......In my world socks can't have joins. They get too much wear and tear. They also can't have knots because socks should be comfortable. What to do? I untwisted and then soaked the ends in an attempt to splice them.

I twisted and rubbed and rolled that join around until it passed the pull test. I can't see the splice. Let's hope it holds. If not, the recipient can treat these socks as single use. I can always make some more.

New Year, New Projects, Big Finishes

 I'm still stuffed from last night.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, The Mister and I had a Mexican feast planned for New Year's Eve.

 I chopped up $40 worth of veggies. The Mister grilled up steak and shrimp.

 We drank margaritas with unopened mix leftover from my summer binge. Strawberry is not my favorite but after several I wasn't complaining.

 I spent the afternoon looking for something new and exciting to put on the loom. I found an overshot kit and I have no idea what that is. I'm taking a crash course on You Tube as we speak. It's going to be a challenge.

The yarn is also different from what I am used to working with. It's thicker and shiny. The entire warp is in a thin purple and the weft is where the color is for a change. Interesting.

 Ta dah. The big cross stitch project is DONE. DONE. DONE.  I started it in 2015. Two years. Not bad. Not bad at all. Most of my stitching projects never get finished. I've got tons in the works.

It felt good to take it off the frame but that empty frame didn't last long. It already has something else on it but that's a story for another day.
Happy 2017!