I decided to participate in #operationsockdrawer for 2017, with the goal of knitting twelve pairs of socks that are just for me. I usually gift the socks I knit (looking at you mom) instead of keeping them for myself, but I’ve decided to be a bit selfish this year. 

The goal is to finish a pair per month, which should be reasonable since I tend to work on something most nights while watching tv or while traveling. 

January’s are complete, although I am cheating a bit since I cast on the first sock in December. I used some long-hoarded Anuzula Squishy (since 2010!) in the Seaside colorway. It’s gorgeous and so soft. The color is hard to capture on film, but it’s a griege-stone-putty color with a slight variation that perfectly captures the color of wet sand. I went with a simple stockinette stitch so the yarn could really be the star of the show.  

I’m finishing up a secret project (I’ll be sharing later) and hoping to cast on my next pair by the end of the week. 

Trimming, piecing,pressing, and more trimming. Tiny bits of fabric that are mirroring the spring landscape. Hints of yellows and greens scattered across the blue skies.

Sharing a glimpse of a current work in progress (WIP) that I’ve had on my to-do list for a while now. Excited to be able to work on something solely for the joy of creating.

I decided a few months ago that I wanted to make another quilt for Joseph for his birthday. As you may remember, I made him one for when he was born and I wanted to carry on the tradition.

I decided to do a simple patchwork pattern and use the remaining fabric I had from Shawn’s old shirts and added in some blue chambray that I had laying around. I like that it goes well with the one I made before but is a bit more casual and “boyish” looking. I think that it should fit his crib perfectly for when we eventually convert it to a toddler bed. I backed it in green minky that I had left over from Roz’s quilt and did a scrappy binding with the last bits of the shirt fabrics.

My favorite part of this quilt is that I incorporated the shirt pockets into one row! I kept imagining Joseph hiding his little cars or action figures in them as he went to bed. Is that cute?

***Enough with the photos, mom!***

I originally planned on making this quilt for my mom back in Wisconsin. I was going to take another quilting class and this was the project quilt. I purchased the fabric and pattern, then they ended up canceling the class!  Honestly, I was a bit intimidated by the pattern, having never done flying-geese blocks and so much piecing before so i put it off in my “to do” pile of projects and moved on to other things. Eventually, I got up enough courage to tackle the project while I was still pregnant with Joseph. I worked on it here and there and finally got it finished n time to give it to mom for Mother’s Day last year.

I used some lovely hand-dyed batik fabrics for it in colors that my mom really loves. The green print has fern leaves in the pattern that you can’t really get from this photo, but I used it for the backing as well. These aren’t necessarily something that I would gravitate to, but I think that it was perfect for mom.

I have to admit that I struggled a little on this one. Those geese triangles were killer and I don’t think that I was accurate enough with the cutting before piecing them together. You can see here and there where they were eaten up a bit. I think that I learned a lot from this pattern and I’m considering trying it out again at some point. The good thing is that mom loves it and could care less about the imperfections. That my mom, finding the good in something and being able to gloss over the bad.

I’d thought that I’d share some of my recent small sewing projects that I’ve done lately. This first one came about while I was playing around with some scraps in my fabric bin one day and decided to make myself a little “mug rug” for in my studio. I’ve seen a million of these made on other blogs before, so I just improvised with what I had on hand after deciding the approximate size I wanted it to be. Finished, it ended up being about 9″x13″, just the right size for a cup of coffee or small snack plate. It came together super fast, I completed it during one of Joseph’s naps!

I hate to admit it, but I really needed one of these. I am a bit clumsy sloppy unaware sometimes and will knock over my drink while working at my desk, or I’ll put it on a shelf, only to forget about it completely. This gives me a designated spot, keeps things tidy, has held up to several washings, and it bring a little more color into my space. Perfect. 

Here’s another little project I whipped up one day during nap time. I made some blocks out of some pink scraps I had laying around and then used them to make some half-square triangles (HSTs) along with some left over white fabric I had on hand. I then figured out the pattern and stitched it up. The finished size is approximately 14″x19″ I’ll be hanging it on the wall in my studio for right now, but I might eventually make it into a throw pillow.

***forgive the atrocious photos. February in Ohio is as gloomy as they come, so the light was terrible. . . . not to mention I was too lazy to press things beforehand.***

I was sitting here thinking, wouldn’t it be nice to show off some recent projects that I made? Then I realized that I didn’t photograph ANY of them. Ugh. Normally, I am fairly good about getting a shot or two of a finished project before giving it to the recipient. Recently, however, I have failed miserably.

I overlooked several projects at Christmas: a knitted hat for my nephew, two pairs of socks for my mom, and a made a quilt for my younger sister Ashley, none of them photographed. I partially redeemed myself by getting a quick shot of Mikey’s and Roz’s quilts.

I just gave our friends a hand-knit receiving blanket as well as some bibs and burp clothes that I made and, once again, I didn’t take one finished photo. Blarg! I was really happy with how they turned out, too.

I vow to be better about documenting my projects more and sharing them with you. I actually have a couple of small things that I’ve done recently that I haven’t shared yet, so I am going to find the time to get some decent shots of them and put them up here. Now, if I could only find my camera charger. . . .

Lots if little projects going on right now while the little guys snoozes. More details to follow.