Today is my birthday so I'm not at work (yes - I checked with my boss first). Above is what I spent my morning working on and below is my afternoon but right now I'm heading outside to walk Abby in the sunshine. Later this evening we have plansfor sushi and a movie. I hope everyone else is having a lovely day too.

I got two new craft books this week. The first one was an early birthday present (thanks Joyce) that I discovered on my chair when I got in to work yesterday. The second is a book of knitting patterns I ordered a little while ago as a treat.

My birthday craft book is Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori and it is so cute. It's all about how to make cute stuffed animals from socks and gloves.


See the tails!


The first part of the book (where you see all the samples) is a little story and guessing game ("What do you get from a pink sock?"). Even the instructions are cute in this book (and the diagrams are fantastic).

I'm trying to decide which animal to make first.

The knitting book is Whimsical Little Knits by Ysolda Teague and is also very cute. There are ten patterns ranging from a hap blanket to a toy mouse with a lace shawl and a few hat in between.


There is a bookplate for writing my name in ...


... and she signed it! Imagine how her hand must have ached after signing all those books.


I have yarn on order to make the Icing Swirl Hat for my birthday. Hopefully I'll have the right needles.

I was in my studio this morning and just loved the way the sun looked on my blue walls. I probably should have tidied this shelf before I took a picture of it but I don't think it would have had quite the same feel if I had (and the sun would have moved anyway). I kind of like the clutter that collects here: there are bits and pieces from past and current projects (especially on the pin board above), jars of buttons and pincushions at the ready, miscellaneous items that really belong in other rooms (like the earring jar) and even a papyrus scroll left over from a Egyptology course I took at university (we had to write our names in hieroglyphics - my friend Kim and I got papyrus from a stall in the mall and then got fancy with paint and gold pens).

What was I doing in my studio? Oh right. I was working on this.


The top for my scrap scarf. The backing is going to be some pink flannel I ordered but it hasn't arrived yet. Since sewing time with Abby can be iffy I decided to take advantage of the time I got (she's always more manageable on weekend afternoons) and start the project before I had all the materials. As soon as it arrives I'll throw it in the wash and then just sew it on. I still need to do the outer layer for the muff but I only have so much space for laying things out (I don't tempt fate by putting things on the floor).

I also finished the swatch for Rob's sweater. I'd expected to have to go down a needle size but it looks like I'll actually be using the needles called for in the pattern for once. It also looks like I'm going to have to order a longer circular because I don't think the 24" is going to cut it for the sweater body (especially once the sleeves are attached). But sweaters do have sleeves so I'm going to start knitting with those and by the time they are done the new circular should be here (how I long for a local yarn shop).


I laughed when I stat down at my desk this afternoon (after the swatch was washed and laid out to dry) and saw the rest of the yarn cake sitting by my screen. I'm apparently too lazy to put away my swatching needles until I know which ones I'm going to be using.


Notice the new package of 2 mm dpns - I can finally knit socks again.