Slogging through January

 When I potted up this amaryllis bulb last autumn, I had hoped for a nice Christmas display.  Mother Nature has her own timeline though -- so, blooms to celebrate MLK Day -- and they are just as lovely.

Sewing projects have been scarce lately, but I've picked up the slack with some hand knitting. I finished the Alby scarf and am looking forward to wearing it.

I really liked working with the Finn Dandy yarn -- it felt so nice running through my fingers. The black contrast yarn was some leftover Loft by Brooklyn Tweed in the cast iron colorway. I had used it as the darkest color in the Aranami Shawl by Olga Buraya-Kefelian (not previously shown here) and was hoping to use the ball up, but no such luck. I'll have to keep looking for some small projects to use up my leftovers.

I like to use charts for my knitting projects, so I treated myself to a new tool -- the Maker's Board from Cocoknits. It's a bit pricey at $36 USD, but it works so much better than the flimsy plastic document holder from the office supply store I had previously used. I use the included ruler under the line I'm knitting from a chart, and the magnetized back holds it firmly in place. Despite the firm hold it is easy to move the ruler up the chart as you work.  Plenty of additional magnets and a needle gauge are also included, and of course you could stick any additional metal objects (needles, pens?) to the board.

Despite my lack of sewing I have still managed to order a few pieces of fabric for some eventual spring projects. Couldn't resist the shirting sale at Fabric Mart -- I really can't be trusted on any fabric sites. Some things just never change!