Maybe I'm being a little too ambitious...

...but who cares? I've got a slight case of the blues (being cooped up in the house with two little kids and freeze-your-ass cold temperatures outside will do that to a person) and one way for me to combat cabin fever, at least a little bit, is to Do Crafty Things. I guess it makes me feel productive. Because while I realize that taking care of one's children is a very worthy and productive way to spend one's time, one often doesn't have much to show for it at the day of the day, unless one counts a pile of messy diapers, a tower of laundry, and dinner that may or may not have come out of a box labeled "macaroni and cheese."

But I know you didn't come here to hear me complain about laundry for the bazillionth time (even though it's taking over my life), so on to the Crafty. Last month I bought four skeins of Tahki Savoy in a beautiful, brilliant red and started Backyard Leaves from Scarf Style. I made it through the first repeat on the chart, put it down, and didn't pick it up again. It just wasn't doing it for me, for some reason. Savoy is lovely, soft yarn, but it's almost half silk, so it's all slippery. Combine that with following a somewhat complicated chart and being up half the night with a newborn, and I just didn't have it in me to continue (by "it" I mean focus and concentration).



So I started a different scarf, the classic cable scarf from Erika Knight's Classic Knits.



I like this one much better. It's an interesting pattern, too. It's asymmetrical, for one thing, and there's a slit in the middle, sort of like a keyhole scarf. Of course, you can't see all that in the three inches or so that I've completed, but I'm having fun with this and I anticipate it being a fast knit.

Next, another project for this little guy:



Nope, his mittens aren't done, but we're in a couple days of a warm streak, so there's not a big rush. Instead, I'm making him a flannel comforter out of a pile of scraps my mom sent me.



Very occasionally I dabble in quilting. I don't have a permanent place to set up my sewing machine, so I don't get it out often. When I do, it needs to be for a project that can be done quickly and easily. I admire complicated sewing projects, but I don't have the time for them. This flannel comforter is a perfect example of such a project. I'm making several 9-patch blocks from 6" squares. That will go fast. I won't actually be quilting this, either, just tying knots at the corners. That will go really fast! I should be able to get the blocks made and sewn together in a week or so. Then I'll have to buy a backing and some lofty batting, tie it up and voila! A Flanimal quilt for the Danimal.