Feline Friday

Changed plans and another finish

January has not been very good for me so far. I am a bit under the weather and our stove called it quits on Sunday, narrowly avoiding our lunch going out in a blaze of glory. Yesterday the new stove was delivered and today I will take it for a first test drive. We upgraded to a smooth top one, the same kind I had back in Vienna.

I made changes to two of my craft projects. Stonecrop and I just did not click. I normally don't mind knitting from a chart but for some reason I felt too fuzzy headed to work with this one, also the yarn I chose did not show up the pattern very well. So unknit it was and I cast on Ludlow instead with a different yarn. Much smoother ride.

After I used some of the leftover yarn from the Doctor Who Scarf  for the 2015 Crochet Blanket I decided that I wanted the whole blanket to look like that rather than using all kinds of colors, which of course means, that once the leftover yarn is used up I get to buy new yarn to finish the blanket.

I have a small finish, the second washcloth in the KAL. I like this pattern a lot.

I can hardly believe that January is almost over but I can't say I am sorry to see it go. I have already made some plans for February and hope I will feel better then and can get them all done.

Feline Friday

My current yarn PiPs

I seem to have strayed from my own 'one project at a time' rule, on the other hand I have enough projects to switch should I get bored with one of them.

Squares for the crochet blanket 2015.

Two pairs of socks.

The beginning of a new shawl.

A washcloth KAL.

A skull hat.

And my Stonecrop wrap, which is a bit slow going, the pattern is too complicated to knit while watching movies.

The Watcher

Keeping an eye on me while I am hanging out the laundry.

Haekeldecke 2015/Crochet Blanket 2015

Bella, over at herzensuess, is hosting a lovely project for this year. Making a crochet blanket, little by little, a piece every day. And since I really do not have enough projects lined up for this year yet (cough, cough), I decided to join in the fun. I will us this pattern and leftover yarn from previous projects. Here are my beginning squares.

Bella von herzensuess und Simone von lilabuntes haben zum diesjährigen 365-Tage-Projekt aufgerufen, und ich mache mit. Es wird eine Hakeldecke entstehen. Hier ist mein Anfang.

Feline Friday

Fog and frost this morning

Sewing

My first finish in 2015, a curtain for the bath room. It turned out exactly how I pictured it. The strips were left over from an abandoned quilt project.

Feline Friday

Baking

One of my Christmas gifts was a cast iron dutch oven and I could finally try that beautiful bread I have seen on so many blogs. It looks wonderful and we will find out tonight at dinner if it tastes as good as it looks. My dutch oven and I are becoming really good friends these days and it gets a lot of use, from mulled cider to roasting chicken and pork chops it has proven its worth.

A lovely gift

My friend Sabine in Germany gave me this beautiful felted bag for Christmas, and it is the perfect winter coat for my Kindle. I have been really drawn to orange lately and I love it in combination with purple.

Yarn Along

I have decided to take part in Ginny's yarn along again this year. So here we go.
This week I am knitting Stonecrop, a pattern by Jared Flood as part of a KAL. I have just started on the weekend and the thin yarn makes for slow progress. And I am alternating my reading between "The Mysterious Island" by Jules Verne and "Edge of Eternity" by Ken Follett.

Sunrise

It was a rather spectacular one this morning.

Pay It Forward 2015

Hello my friends, it's that time of year again, time to bring a little more kindness into the world and spread some cheer.

So, the first five people to leave a comment on this post will receive a handmade gift from me sometime during this year.

All I ask for is that you do the same on your blog or if you don't have a blog, just go ahead and give some love to five people in your live.

New (and not so new) Projects for January

I have finally decided which projects to work on in January. There are some that are carry-overs from last year, so to speak, and a few brand new ones. Let us begin with the old ones.

I will continue and hopefully finish my monthly heart quilts, I made it to April last year and then it got too warm and my motivation went on a walkabout. So, I will continue with May in January.

The adorable advent animals will be continued, I am currently working on Cashmere Camel who is # 6.

I plan to hand quilt this wall hanging to hopefully turn it into a gift.

And now on to some brand new projects.

I plan to knit at least one pair of socks every month. This is the pattern and the yarn for the January pair.

I will crochet a cat shawl for myself

And I joined the Flood's Flock KAL for which I will knit Stonecrop, a garter stitch lace shawl, with yarn from my stash.

And last but not least I just discovered these adorable cross stitch kitties for each month and found them irresistible.

There will probably be a Christmas project along the way as well but I have not yet decided what it will be for this month. And there is a sweater and a scarf to finish.

These should keep me busy and out of trouble for a while.