Lotsa (Handwork) Irons In The Fire

The good news is that I've finally begun to enter my winter hibernation period of doing what relaxes and rejuvenates me.  The bad news is that we're now into February and the winter is no doubt more than half over.  Some of you may even be looking at spring time bulbs pushing up through the cold soil, but way up here near the Arctic, we will probably have snow covering the ground until a fer piece into April.  So I think I can still squeeze some time in for my winter hibernating mode.  That's my plan, and I'm going for it.

Gotta admit in the last couple of weeks I've gone a little crazy with starting new (and, like a good girl, attempting to finish some old) handwork projects.  My creative juices are bursting out all over.  (Not the best picture to paint, right?)

Here's a peek at what I'm trying to do all at once right now.  Or at least what I'd like to do all at once right now.

I made the little blue and white cross-stitch to hang on a cabinet or drawer handle last year.  It came out okay, but I am just not fond of pastels.  Therefore, I'm making another one with an oatmeal colored Aida cloth and dark green thread.

The idea came to me to do this stamped cross-stitch of a snowflake, frame it and hang in a small, narrow section of wall in the kitchen.  I'll prevail upon my daughter to mat and frame it since she's so good at that kind of thing.

This is going to be a couch quilt when finished.  I'm currently sewing the strips together.  The missing fourth strip is on the sewing machine as we speak.  Next is a narrow inner border and then a larger outer border.

I started this new spring time shower curtain last summer.  (Wonder why I never finished it?  Probably because I was never inside long enough to do so.)  But spring will be here before we know it (it always is), and I want to have it finished to hang then.  A problem came about because I was using scraps, bits and pieces of fabric for this project.  In doing so (using only fabric I have in my stash), it's possible I'll run short of something.  The "something" in this case is enough of the light green I used for the outer border.  I don't begin to have enough of it for the binding.  I'm trying to figure out if I can just hem the piece  somehow (it would be the front, the light batting and the backing) rather than using a fabric for the binding that detracts from the whole.

It's necessary for me to have something easy peasy on my knitting needles to keep my hands busy when sitting visiting and still being able to carry on a conversation.  It has to be really simple so I can do the two things at once.  (And maybe chew gum, too.)  Socks are my go-to project for that so a couple of mornings ago, I cast on this sock yarn before going to meet a friend for a catch-up session with each other.

It's been so hard (such suffering!) not to buy any new fabric (I have P-L-E-N-T-Y to use up) . . . but I done failed when I saw this.  (But, but, but, it was on sale!)  Wouldn't it be perfect for the backside of potholders?  Yep, I thought so, too.

On top of this, I'm currently reading two books at once (hope I don't hurt myself), and I'm reading out loud from another one to Papa Pea when we sit down together in the living room before bedtime at night.

Oh, I do love this time of year when I'm able to spend a good amount of time inside keeping my hands and head involved with projects like all of these.  It's a good thing.