thirteen | jars

I have a *thing* for jars. I can't throw one out. It must be washed and placed on the window sill to gather dust until its as-yet-to-be-determined use is determined. I blame my mum... I always remember the cupboards in our back room being full of jars of all shapes and sizes. It is an environmentally friendly habit though, and they do come in useful...

And the King of jars? These babies, which arrived in the post the other day.

I'm in love!

twelve

A new ironing board cover!

One of the easiest things I've made! I followed this tutorial, and was very frugal/resourceful in using up some cotton fleece that was left over from the back of Erika's quilt, as well as odds and ends of batting as padding. Now if only having a nice cover could make me actually enjoy ironing!

eleven

More macro fun...I'm still getting used to the lens and having a bit of trouble getting the pics to come out exactly as I want, but a lovely new tripod arrived in the post on Friday so that's helping. I call this game "I like it. What is it?" after a very cool poster I spotted on wisecraft the other day...

Every day I promise myself I'll make more time to blog, but every day time seems to vanish... and especially today - the hour went back but I didn't realise until 10pm. Now I really feel like I've lost an hour!

ten

My first snowflake, taken in Snowbird, Utah, with my shiny new macro lens. Very happy, even though the lack of a tripod meant the shot isn't crystal clear. Oh, the fun I'll have with this lens!

nine

Wish I could dance like that!

eight

News of the surprise release of a new album by Radiohead made Monday the best Valentine's Day ever! So very, very excited!

seven | not quite

Not bad, but not great. My first attempt at something like these works of art... My big mistake was using a sticky icing/frosting - of course, when I tried to remove the template, it was stuck to the icing, so the sugar ended up all messy and smudged.

I used the chocolate cake recipe from this book. It called for 8 inch cake tins. I only had 9 inch tins, and of course, the cake ended up too dry. Ah well, live and learn.

six | Groundhog Day

Last night we enjoyed our fourth opera (of five) at the Met - a priceless wedding gift from Simon's uncle and aunt. How lucky are we?! The opera was Simon Boccanegra, and it was really fantastic, particularly the sets, which featured some superbly realistic lighting effects. I have to admit to being very uneducated with regard to opera before we were treated to our season passes, but with each one, my appreciation is growing in a way I would never have anticipated.

This morning we awoke to an ice storm. I have never seen one of those before - it was exciting enough to get me out of bed to take a picture... only of our fire escape though, I didn't brave it outdoors! The temperature rose significantly during the day, so when I went for a run this evening, I was constantly pelted with shards of ice falling from the trees. We're really getting put through the gamut of winter weather here this year.. I'm finding it very hard to believe Punxsutawney Phil and Staten Island Chuck's predictions of an early spring!

Tonight I made a cake for a birthday celebration... I hope I can get a picture of it tomorrow before it disappears!

five

Another week just disappeared into the ether. It felt like the longest week, though there was little time for anything other than work. Progress on all my resolutions has been slow, but I did go for a 9-mile run today, which felt great. Now if I could only drag myself out of bed early enough to go during the week too! And though I haven't been taking many photographs, I'm convinced that I can eventually develop a habit, I just need a little more practice.

four | jack + jill

I wonder if the whiskey had anything to do with that "fall."

Tonight I'm enjoying a glass of 15-year-old Redbreast in one of our favourite nursery rhyme glasses (a little inappropriate, perhaps?), while catching up on John Stewart and trying to finish Nana's shawl (which I still haven't added to Ravelry, d'oh!).

three | waiting

My needles are waiting to be put to use, and I'm waiting for this damned head cold to clear and take the cobwebs of my holiday-brain with it!

two | pants!

Of all the Christmas crafting projects I tried this year, I think the Christmas pyjama pants were the biggest success.

I used Anna Maria Horner's Quick Change Trousers pattern from her Handmade Beginnings book. The pattern and instructions were very straightforward and they were a joy to make. I made four pairs in the 6-9 months size and one in the 18-24 months size. I used Alexander Henry's Yuletide Zoo in natural and green, and they were really perfect for the pattern - the pants are completely reversible, so I used one colorway for the outer side and the other for the reverse side (apart from the larger pair for which I used a solid, Kona cotton in grass, I believe). The turned-up leg openings allow you to see both sides, which worked really well!

Unfortunately, I think that due to the unprecedented weather conditions in Ireland, some of the pairs did not make it to their destinations before Christmas... No matter, I'm sure they will be kept for the next child or passed along.

There was at least one happy recipient though!

one

A habit, even one as ill-formed as mine, once broken even for a few days takes a long time to re-establish. Is it a cliché to say that "blogging more" is a new year's resolution? Ah well, I can only try.

So what of 2010? There are so many aspects of the year's end that I want to remember... the last-minute crafts and presents, the time spent running around Ireland to spend time with friends and family. But something I'll never forget is the weather. Ireland experienced the coldest December on record, and during the week preceding Christmas day, it seemed that the temperature never rose above 0 Celsius. There was travel chaos for many - we were lucky we had taken early holidays and made it home before the craziness began. The snow and ice made for some amazing photographs though - with everything appearing frozen solid, and a steaming-warm sea (so (relatively) warm that I even could take a dip on Christmas Day!).

The windscreen, early in the morning.

Barnesmore and Donegal Bay.

Benbulben.

A hungry robin. My mum kept the birds well-fed!

>

Assaroe Lake, frozen (almost) solid.

Béal Átha Seanaidh.

A very cold Rory Gallagher.

A steamy sea, Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day Dip!

Mehhhry Christmas!

...geddit? Hope it's a great one, wherever you are!

Urgh.. what another long break from posting that was. Life and work were just really busy recently and left no time for anything else. But now I'm home in Ireland for Christmas, and hoping to have lots of time to blog! Which may be the case if the weather turns wintery again and we get more snow. I was gobsmacked when I saw the picture below - taken from a satellite on the 2nd of December... I have my fingers crossed for a white Christmas!

3:55:34

Not as fast as I had hoped, but not bad either. It's a whole week later now and my legs still aren't right!

The City Dreams Quilt

Nothing like a tight deadline to make me actually finish a project for a change! I made this quilt as a gift from our lab to the wonderful Erika, who left us to return to her homeland, Mexico, on the 31st of October.

It was inspired by this quilt. The maps (New York, Paris, London, Tokyo) are actually handkerchiefs, from Muji. The idea was to make something that would remind Erika of her time in New York... but because she's an incredible scientist who is sure to go far, I thought that including the other cities was appropriate; if she hasn't been there yet, she will go soon!

The process was really quite simple. As recommended by Abby, I trimmed the edges from the handkerchiefs before framing them with 1 inch of Kona Cotton in Coral (also used for the binding), and 1.25 inches of Kona Cotton in Coal. The sashing is Kona Cotton in Putty.

Because it was going to Mexico, I decided not to use any batting in the quilt, but backed it with flannel (from an Erin McMorris line). Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the back! Finally, I quilted it with simple straight lines, 6 inches apart.

Erika was very happy with it, which made me very happy! And doesn't Simon make a great quilt model?!

Tomorrow is the marathon!! I'm feeling pretty nervous but I'm sure it'll be great. Especially the post-marathon rehydration pub session! Must go pack my bags... and make sure all the alarm clocks are set - I have a painfully early start, even with the hour going back. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Happy Halloween!

More WIPs

Work is crazy as usual so there's not a lot going on here apart from some subway knitting and frantic last-minute sewing for a going-away gift (based on this quilt) for a friend who's leaving New York on Saturday!