No matter what else happens, December is getting-ready-for-the-holidays time, and I’m happy to say that by Christmas, almost all projects were complete, and presents wrapped. The infamous Spiderman afghan (infamous only because it took so long to make and I had to stop from time to time to let my hands recover - and at those times couldn't do anything else) which can be found here stitchnfrog.blogspot.com/2009/07/superhero-dream-catcher-afghan.html uses more than two pounds of yarn and took about a month.

That left Bill’s socks still to be made – and part of one still needs to be knitted.

I’ve been finishing projects, too – I came upon this partially-started one. It was an “I love coffee” needlepoint – but I don’t actually love coffee. I tolerate coffee – far preferring tea. So the “cappuccino” on the bottom became “Earl Grey” and the “Latte” at the top became “Chai;” I turned “I (heart) Java” into “I (heart) tea;” and I’m going to stick green tea in someplace. This needlepoint is 4.5 inches by 7 inches, which turns out to be 31.5 square inches of needlepoint. Which doesn’t look like much when you’re starting, but is actually, stitch by stitch, enough to remind me why I usually spend my needlework time doing something different. Did a little more on the needlepoint between starting this entry and now…

The “different stuff” included dyeing a few threads. I offered our group a handkerchief challenge before Christmas, and it was time to take up my own. But the linen hanky didn’t completely inspire me – it was the same color as the snow that keeps falling outside. One dye experiment later, it’s a psychedelic reminder of the summer of love. I suspect the edging for this had best be in some solid, staid color. Because 2014 arrived before I finished writing this – or to be precise, before I finished taking all the photos – I made a few January resolutions. They included sewing a tatted motif onto a book cover

(I think this motif was in Tatting Times about 9-10 years ago) and really, it looks a whole lot better than it does in the photo! and getting more done on my Civil War reproduction quilt.

The seven sisters motif was done before I penned this resolution, but I did get two easy blocks done today – “Neighbors” and “Empty Spools” and I’m working up to something harder within the next day – maybe one with curves.