Seems Like Just Yesterday...

... Do you really want me to finish such a silly little joke ('cause I will)? Or would you rather I just said, February is such a lovely month! All the shiny, muted, frosty, glittery pinks and reds in every store and shop window, how could anyone have a bad mood in February?! I think if February had a texture, it would feel like a giant (pink, of course) marshmallow. Anyway, I was so smitten with February in January that every time I devoted some time to making something it turned out at least slightly reflecting how I was aching for this fabulous little month.
It started off sneakily enough ... just a hot-pink button on "something I was trying out" -- you know, those projects you're just not so sure about, but you'll go ahead with it anyway. I think I've heard just about every negative comment ever posted about eyelash yarn, and how "serious" knitters wouldn't dream of knitting anything with it ... fair enough, I guess I'm not a serious knitter then! I can see how it wouldn't be every one's taste, but I like fashion, writing, music, art--pretty much everything with a little tongue in cheek attitude. Besides, I think we'd all be a little bit better off with a dash of whimsy in our lives now and then, and if that comes in the form of a "fun fur" knitted collar peeking up from the inside of your coat in late winter/early spring, then so be it (for me personally, this wouldn't even be the most ridiculous thing I've worn this week)!

My yearning for February started becoming slightly more obvious with my next creation. This is the one I've been working over and over again in my mind, trying to figure out just how i wanted it to look, and how I'd make it look that way ... instead of a rumpled mess thrown on the floor in frustration! To my delight, I think it totally worked out! I tried a
little search for fabric fortune cookie instructions, but nothing was really giving me the look I knew I wanted, so I just shook it off like a puppy after a bath, and made up my own as I went. Which, I think, is more fun anyway (after my brain stops exploding, at least).

I am absolutely in love with my little fortune cookie pin cushions ... I think they are so sweet, and I can't wait until I have an excuse to use them. I think they would be so perfect for for projects that have you draping on a dress form. Need a pin? Oh, here's some stuck right into the little cookie dangling from your finger by its hot-pink, satin "fortune". I have a thing for fortune cookies anyway, I mean, a dessert that tells you the future too?! What's better than that? Nothing, except maybe one you can keep your sewing pins in, of course. These little guys just completely charm me in every way, I can't help it, I LOVE them!

And then somewhere while all of this was going on, I decided the dictionary needed a new picture next to "tedious" and this is what I came up with: Why yes, those are toothpicks I'm using as knitting needles. I must be a crafting masochist!  I won't be happy until my fingers are officially tied in knots around themselves. In my defense, it's not like I was knitting a scarf or something. I just wanted to see, first of all, if it could be done, and all I really wanted to do was a couple of little patches that I can easily use along the way in another project somehow. So it's not like it was a complete waste of time ... just a partial one!

They are cute though, just look at the tiny leetle knits! Cute enough to do it again? The jury's still out on that one, I've already done it twice, and I'm not sure I've fully recovered. So what kept me from ripping off my clothes and screaming toward the heavens, you ask? My huge, clown-size-17 needles ... even though I was using them to learn how to knit a hat (brain explosion #2) I think they saved my sanity even if ever so slightly. Every couple of rows with the toothpicks I'd have to take a break, and use the big needles so as not to whip myself into a full fledged panic attack sitting right there. Here's a peek at what went down ... there's a big fuzzy pom pom nesting right on top of the blue and green guy.

It was my first time making one of those as well ... yeah it was a success, I mean as far as fuzzy pom poms go. I'm still trying to get this sizing and gauge business down, but until I learn I guess it's a pretty good thing that I also happen to love ridiculous, technicolor hats too! So that's what I've been up to lately, whilst dreaming of February, I hope the streak continues all through the month, and I can polish a few new found skills, and maybe discover a couple more while I'm at it.

Happy February!