Itty Bitty

Here's the hat I made during the first big snow, for a new baby, C. I might have been inspired to pick a bright, springy green by the snow coming down when I was at the yarn store - who knows? Either way, it's super soft, and making that teeny tiny pom-pom was a kick.

Super close up of the knitty goodness. That's a mock cable stitch, which looks super fancy and cabled, but is just a 4 row repeat of knit, purl and a ssk or two. I found the pattern for this itty bitty hat here. It's easy, and very importantly, quick. I made a similar hat for my niece J, when she came 2 months early. I could still get it completed in time to deliver to her tiny little head, just a little over a year ago! Man, time flies!

A Little Something to Give You Hope

That someday, spring will come! Look! There's grass out there, and Love in a Mist in the middle ground. And peonies and sunshine. Someday, people, we will see more green than white, the ground will not try to so hard to make us fall on our butts, and sunshine will once again have an impact on temperature.

Bees will bumble.

Flowers will nod their pretty heads in the breeze.

And we can all - finally - give a big sigh of relief!

I don't know about you, but this winter is truly getting to me. I'm really hanging on for dear life here, and seriously thinking about moving to somewhere more equatorial. Looking at these old garden pictures actually helped some. I hope they brightened your day a little, too.

Roll 'Em Up!

I've finally finished this thing! I sewed the dang thing together right after Christmas, then just kept putting off figuring out the closure. Nestled inside is my complete set of double pointed knitting needles, from 1-13. An excellent gift. Look at them, all snuggled up in there, waiting to be called into action!

I tell ya, it's a pretty nice feeling knowing I'll always have the right size dpn's around when I need them. I think this will eliminate a lot of under the breath cursing involved in my knitting projects. Well, maybe some of the not-quite under the breath stuff as well.

The other great thing about this little roll up, was I figured it out on my very own! I'd sewn a big needle case several years ago - the one in the first Stitch 'n Bitch book. Well, over the years the cat has used it for a bed, and a place to leave hair balls, so it needs retiring. Because I'm, at times, pretty shiftless, it's still hanging around in the basement, so I was able to use it as a reference for my snazzy new roll up.

One of the changes I made was instead of one long ribbon for a tie-up, I made a band, with snap closure. The reason I always left the original laying around open for the cat to hork on, was I hate tying that stupid ribbon. With this closure, it only wraps around once, then snaps closed. Way less work involved (yes, I'm that lazy). Hooray for mechanical closures! ( I won't mention how many tries it took for me to sew the male and female ends of the snap the right sides up. Sigh.)

And I trotted out those needles for a project, this very weekend. A little gift for a new baby. I'll share pics just as soon as it's been bestowed!

10 Things...

I was tagged by Cheryl, earlier this week, for a "10 things that make you happy" list, and I'm finally following through! 

1.  My husband.  When I'm with him, I'm content in a way like no other.  When he's not around, I'm waiting for the moment he's back.

2.  My family.  Mom, Dad, sisters, nieces, cousins, aunt, in-laws.  A family feels like a solar system - everyone's orbiting around each other, tying eachother together, influencing and being influenced.  I'm so grateful they're there.

3.  Old things.  I just love old stuff.  I love that it's survived through a culture that is every more disposable.  I love that it ties us to people who are long gone, and makes them feel real.

4.  Oh, bread!  I don't know if it's a primitive survival thing, or just a carbohydrate thing, but warm, homemade bread with butter is the absolute answer to practically any hunger I have.

5.  Books.  Reading is like breathing to me.  It sustains me, and when I don't do it I feel a little blue and light headed. :)

6.  Being occupied.  Sometimes it's challenging to me to just sit still and not do anything.  It makes me happy to be knitting, sewing, spinning, embroidering - whatever.  My fingers don't like to just hang around, doing nothing.

7.  Flowers and other growing things.  I love my yard and garden.  I don't mind the work, but really it's the result that satisfies me.  It's not a perfect garden, but it's mine, and I love the wonderful things that grow from it.

8.  Being warm!  On a snow storm day like this, I'm fantasizing about saunas, or baking in the sun on a beach.  Hell, even cooking away during the summer, in the back yard, reading on the swing sounds fantastic!  My body was made to live somewhere warm, and it's going to pain me until I take it someplace that it approves of!

9.  Making things.  This sort of falls under being occupied, but really you could be playing solitaire and be occupied.  I like to bring something new into existence.  Hopefully something beautiful or useful or delicious.

10.  Clean sheets, warm out of the drier.  That is just such happiness. Smooth, clean sheets - heaven!

Now I feel like singing "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music!  I'm about to go punch down some bread dough, so some new lyrics might have to be added. 

So - what's your happiness?