Grace, Gus and a Finished Pair of Socks

I spent some time organizing things in  my craft room yesterday and emptied out a basket that had some misc. projects in it.  Grace soon discovered it and settled in for a nice nap.  Which kept her out of mischief for a bit.  :)

"Please don't take pictures of me while I'm beauty-napping"

And the always helpful Gus was giving my husband some assistance on the computer.  He loves to sit on my husband's lap and he wasn't going to let a little computer get in his way.  He jumped up on the couch, walked across the keyboard and made himself comfortable.  :)  He always has to go through a little routine of rolling around and getting himself situated just right.  He's been known to get so carried away with that, he rolls right off onto the floor. 

"I am Googling catnip!"

And I finished my first pair of socks for the year. The pattern is the Jaywalker Sock pattern, which is free on Ravelry. Very nice pattern and easy to follow. Now I just need to get February's sock lined up and get to work on those. :)

Heart Coaster - Free Pattern

Here are some fun heart coasters for the upcoming Valentine's Day. :) Click on the "Download Now" link below to get pattern.

download now

When Gus is Bored.....

He has to find something new to get into. And he's bored a lot!  :)  This morning I heard a bunch of racket coming from the laundry room area.  I knew right away that Gus had to be up to something and went to investigate; but when I got there he was no where to be seen.  I figured he must have gotten behind the washer and dryer and was stuck (because he's not the skinniest cat around).  So I leaned over to have a  look, but nope, he wasn't back there either.  Puzzled,  I walked away only to hear noise again coming from the same area.  I headed back, knowing he had to be there somewhere.  Finally, I was smart enough to look up, and sure enough there he was, on top of the cabinet above the washer, just watching me, waiting for me to see him, and I swear he was laughing at me.  As usual, I have no idea how he got up there. But I did go get a chair and helped him down so he wouldn't break his neck.  He owes me big for that one!  :)

On an unrelated note, it's snowing at my house today and here's the view from my front porch.
If I was a fan of snow, it would be pretty.  But I'm not, and it isn't.  :)

Wine Bottle Gift Bag - New Pattern in Etsy Shop

If you like to give a bottle of wine as a gift, here's a fun way to gift wrap it.  :)  Pattern is available in my etsy shop and also can be downloaded in ravelry.

2011....Year of the Sock Yarn Stash Reduction

My Sock Yarn Stash

Several years ago, I took a sock knitting class at my LYS and was immediately hooked, and socks became one of my all time favorite things to knit.  I quickly accumulated a stash of sock yarn, but with other projects always seeming to take priority, I didn't get very many socks made.  I've been inspired by what I've been reading online about the "Self-Imposed-Sock Club" started  by the Yarn Harlot and decided that 2011 would be the year I would make a dent in my sock yarn stash.  I'm not quite as organized as the Yarn Harlot and others, where the goal is to have the yarn matched up with a pattern and stored in a ziploc baggie, one for each month of the year. I'm going to decide as I go what pattern and yarn I will use.   And since some of my sock yarn is of the "non-washable wool" nature, I'm hoping to find other items to make with those, other than socks.  Learned that lesson the hard way after knitting a few pairs of socks that now need to be hand-washed.  They make lovely socks, but since I don't enjoy having to hand-wash them, I rarely wear them.

After counting my stash, it appears that I have enough yarn for approx 37 pairs of socks.  At one pair of socks per month, this endeavor could take me 3 years to complete.  I guess I better get started!  :)