Attacking the Pile!!

The pile of WIPs, that is! It's a new year and a fresh start, and as much as I'd like to start a brand new project NOW it feels pretty good to try and finish up some ones that have been set aside for far too long. I won't be making any lofty crafty goals this year as I don't think I accomplished even one that I made for 2011, but I do feel my sewing mojo is back in place and that's a good thing.

First WIP up is my Grellow and Blue Drunk Love interpretation. I started this one almost an entire year ago, declared it would be a king-size for our bed, finished half of it and got sidelined by my pregnancy with Olivia. As we all know, I spent the remainder of 2012 playing with babies and moving and next to zero sewing was accomplished. Well, NO MORE! I finished the last block for this baby yesterday and I will finish the top by tonight come hell or high water! Sure, it's turned into a much smaller 70x70 but that's good enough for me. I have other plans for our bed quilt. So, if you don't see a finished version of this quilt soon, please give me a swift kick in the arse  gentle reminder to get it done!

Next is this simple Loulouthi flannel quilt top I sewed up right before the holiday madness began. I've been a little unsure of how to finish it, and frankly a little frightened to baste it since I'm going to use some slippery-as-an-eel voile for the backing. But it's going to be super cozy so hopefully I'll find motivation soon. I'd really like to hand-quilt this one, but not sure I can make the time commitment. We'll see.

And now that the design wall is open again, it's time to get crackin' on the old Maple Leaf Rag again! I forget how many blocks I have sewn already, but it's nearing the finish line so I hope to get the rest done very soon. I love, love, love this one already and I'm very excited to have it become my first professionally quilted quilt.

There is still a lot going on in knitting-land over here. Not a day goes by that I don't knit at least a few rows on something, and usually a lot more. I've definitely become a knitter for life. There's a little group of us doing an informal sock-along on Twitter, and I was going to bow out until I decided maybe it was just what I needed to get going again on this long-forgotten sock:

Meet Miss Marlene. She's beautiful, but she's a nasty one. Though I think if I ever manage to finish the pair they will be well worth the headache. The yarn is from a Seattle local dyer, Hazel Knits, and it is lovely stuff.

I've also joined a Sweater knit-along on Ravelry, and I'm hoping to finish a sweater a month this year. Sounds ambitious, but I have three partially finished ones (four if you count another for Lucia) and the group is a great learning and motivational tool. I've still got away to go but I made some good progress  on my Coastal Hoodie while sick in bed last week (the whole family got mowed over by some disgusting virus, but we're all much better now). The stripes are lots of fun and the madelinetosh merino/cashmere sport yarn is sheer pleasure to knit with. I'm not looking forward to weaving in all these loose ends but I have high hopes that this one is going to be a daily wardrobe staple.

So that's what's going on around here. I'm hoping to get on track again with blogging so I hope to see you all again here really soon with lots of projects to share!