Category Archives: Winter

This Week So Far

Hello. I’ve made some progress this week so far. Yay!

We woke to a rainy morning yesterday. I was determined that this rainy day and Monday was not going to get to me. It was actually the perfect morning to settle down in my studio and finally get some embroidery work done, specifically this sweater coat! Yes, that’s right, another project started in early December!

01-22-2018 3792 For me, embroidering my doll sweaters is like exercise—I’m happy when it’s done. It’s not that I hate embroidering, it’s just that embroidering on knitwear is so unpredictable. Sometimes the embroidery fairies are helpful and sometimes they are little terrors— knotting the back of my work, sending the floss where I don’t intend it to go, choosing the wrong colors for me. Yesterday they were helpful little fairies, which I was most thankful for. By 3:00 pm I was finished.

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Mother Nature was treating us well today too. She stopped the rain and brightened the sky so that some sunshine could peek through, and the temperature was the cherry on top, quite warm for January. I was able to squeeze in a brisk walk to catch the setting sunshine and watched as the fog started rolling in. Really, it was quite beautiful.

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And then, Mother Nature played a joke on us this morning. Not even the television weather people got this right.

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Snowfalls when the temperature is barely at freezing are the amazing. The snow clings to everything; it reminds me of flocked Christmas trees.

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It’s definitely a “fire in the fireplace” kind of day. I hope you enjoy your day, wherever you may be.

Sending you a warm hug from northern Illinois. ❤

Are You Staying Warm?

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I am . . . as long as I am staying inside. It’s still very cold here in northern Illinois, but it has warmed up a bitty bit from the negative minus twenty-something wind chills. I still haven’t been able to get outside for a walk though—same old story as last time. Oh well… maybe soon, I hope.

I forgot to wish you all a very happy 2018, so Happy New Year!!! I hope it’s a great year for everyone; we all need one of those.

Have you noticed the moon lately? One night we watched the full moon rise in the east and the next morning saw it setting in the west at daybreak. For some reason it seemed quite wonderful to me; I’ve never noticed it before like that.

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The sunset that evening was pretty ~~noteworthy~~ pictureworthy too!

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I am still knitting socks. This is my third sock… and it’s not a mere test sock; it will have a mate. This one got finished yesterday—it fits my daughter, and the second sock was started today. Yay. This was made from Susan B. Anderson’s Crafty class, “My First Toe-Up Socks”. I used Knit Picks Stroll Tweed Sock yarn in Garnet Heather. I am still perfecting the fit for the next pair. I think the size large would fit my daughter even better with the foot about a 1/4″ longer. These fit me perfectly though, so this will be my pattern when I get to knitting a pair for me. 🙂

My Little Darlings have been calling to me. I think they want new sweater coats with cute li’l pockets for their tiny snow people to snuggle in. Here are Gina and Lucy wearing sweater coats from last winter. They really do look toasty warm, don’t they? I need to get my needles busy.

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Stay warm everyone! If you are already in a warm climate, sending a few positive degrees my way would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! ❤

Have a great weekend, my friends!

Worth Waiting For

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I’m shouting this from the rooftops, “The sun is out today!” After 6 straight days of fog and gloom, we’ve got a beauty. And the icing on the cake is that it’s 55°F (13°C), but I must say it feels like 70°F (21°C). Woo hoo! Where I live, these days are a rare occurrence in January. I hope you are enjoying beautiful weather today as well.

I couldn’t let today go by without a few photos. Notice the harsh shadows, so very sunny.

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And the blue sky!

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Our grass is still quite green for January. It feels like spring is right around the corner. Ha!

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I almost have Patsy’s “Light Cardigan” knitting pattern ready to be published. The sample I knit up for the pattern was part of my “Blossoms for my Love-ly” ensemble. There will be a short sleeve option in the instructions as well.

I’ve just begun a “Light Cardigan” pattern for the Little Darlings too. This one will have three length options with shaping for a nice a-line shape that flows along the body. I’ll also have three sleeve length options in the instructions, so a total of 9 different possibilities will be available with this pattern.

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