Despite the ice on Lake Griffy and the small patches of snow left on the ground, spring finally made it here late last week.  My days off coincided perfectly with two of the most beautiful sunshiny days yet.  Saturday Elizabeth and I took her two dogs out to the lake for a long hike and it was GLORIOUS.  There are even crocus up in my neighborhood and downtown.

And Baby Oliver’s quilt has finally been started.  I was getting worried that by the time I had it all figured out perfectly (which I totally don’t), he would be a teenager.  My interest in quilting can be very up and down and right now I am inspired and working hard on two at once (which is sort of rare for me).

Off to give Going Bovine one more chance.  It is one really strange book.

Thank god that February is behind us and we are into March.  Even though today was sunny and beautiful, there is STILL snow lingering.  This makes about 80 days in a row that we have had snow on the ground.   Today I walked (IN THE SUNSHINE!) down to the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show today and while most of the quilt there aren’t really my style, the colors alone are inspiring enough.  I bought some fabric and gearing up for a long overdue robot/space quilt.  I have had a hard time picking the right fabrics, but think it is time to just start cutting.   The quilt above is finally finished and is for an auction to benefit the Community Kitchen, where a friend of mine is on the board.

Knitting Olympics are officially over (as are the real Olympics) and I ended up with three hats, also to donate.  My goal was four, so sort of fell short but it was also the end of February of which the last two weeks were horrible gray hell.  So what can you do?

A tiny fuzzy valentine’s heart for Tim.  In my house, the only Valentine’s requirement is a card.  Everything else is just a bonus, but so far today I’ve gotten a beautiful pair of earrings and a lovely brunch at Uptown Cafe.  I am one lucky girl.  Now back to regularly scheduled Olympic hat knitting.

Lots of love to all my friends and family.

I will be knitting as many hats as I can during the 2010 Knitting Olympics for donation in our community.  The Winter Olympics include some of my favorite sports including ski jumping, curling, biathlon, nordic combined, snow boarding, luge, bobsled, short track speed skating and hockey so there will be plenty of tv time to watch and knit.  Anyone else up for a two week(ish) winter time knitting challenge?

I do love the fresh snow fall, and who can complain of an unexpected day off work…but damn all these gray days.  February is the worst month and I am already anxiously awaiting March when we might see the sun again.  Today I cranked up the music and got out some bright blocks that have been languishing in my drawer.  The top is complete and the back is cut and in the process of being sewn together.  This is for an auction for The Community Kitchen.  Next quilt will be for baby Oliver.  I have a general plan, but probably need some additional fabrics.

Also so far, I’ve been to two cha-cha classes.  I love them, but don’t think that I am a very good follower.  Heh.

Finished just in time for the quilt guild meeting on Tuesday, this is a donation quilt for our Kids Community Quilt project.

Despite having a finished project, I have been feeling a little like a slacker in the making things department.  However, I was sick for part of the time in December and then had either a new or recurring wicked cold again in early January for over a week.  Now Tim is in the middle of it, and let me tell you, this was probably the worst cold I ever had.  Cold (sick) combined with cold (weather) has taken a little skip out of my step.  And I still have February to face.  Sigh.  I am going to start taking a cha-cha class on Monday nights, so hopefully I won’t be terrible and will be one of the fun things to add some happy to the last few weeks of crappy.

I kicked the year off back in the hometown with my brother and was able to spend a wonderful week with my family.  The food is the best at home.  I was also lucky enough to visit with some high school friends, go to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, see a Genghis Khan exhibit and visit the Tattered Cover (two locations!).  I also spent a few days when I got back with Tim before his new semester started up again today.  10 degrees and snow won’t stop us!

So while I did make a bunch of stuff in 2009, I didn’t make 52.  I did make a twin sized quilt for Middle Way house and several other baby quilts for donation.  I made a few gifts, and tried new things.  And that was the point really.  I can get stuck making quilts with tiny little squares and be in my comfort zone, but exploring other fiber/art/craft possibilities out there is what is important to me.  I did also knit a cable scarf for my mom, cuz she is the best.

2. Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving
Irving has created some of the best fictional characters…Owen Meany, Homer Wells, Garp…and now comes Ketchum.  He isn’t really the main character of Irving’s newest, but certainly one of his most memorable.  For me, Irving has missed the mark on some of his more recent titles, but I really enjoyed this one.  Bears, orphans, wrestling and wonderful New England settings show up and one wonders how autobiographical this book is.  Get through the first chapter (primarily about river logging) and if you’ve enjoyed past Irving novels, you will like this one too.

3. Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America’s Soul by Karen Abbot
Interesting non-fiction book that follows the Everleigh Club, a high-end house of prostitution in Chicago at the turn of the century and the two women who owned it.  As a parallel story, we learn of the reformers who are trying to put an end to the houses of vice in the Levee district in Chicago and the enormous amounts of graft and corruption.  Quick and interesting, I would recommend this to fans of historical non-fiction, especially anyone who enjoyed Devil and the White City.

4. Deafening by Frances Itani
Wonderful!  This book is about Grania, who becomes deaf at the age of 5 due to scarlet fever at the turn of the century in rural Canada.  Grania is curious and quick to learn language from her sister and grandmother as a girl.  These parts are interesting as she struggles with language and meaning.  Grania eventually gets sent to a school for the deaf and grows up to be a capable and intelligent young woman who marries a hearing man.  Unfortunately her husband is sent to Belgium during World War I, and his letters and descriptions back home to Grania are heartbreaking.  I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary lit and especially those interested in the combination of language, sounds and words.

5. Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
Exhausting.  Hopkins has written several books for teens, and Tricks is her latest.  All of her books deal with drug abuse, molestation, and/or suicide, and this newest continues to be about controversial topics – this time teen prostitution.  Her books are all written in prose, and are therefore quick reads.  I had a hard time getting through this one – pretty depressing as it follows 5 different teens as they eventually make it by turning tricks in Las Vegas.  Her books are all popular, but I would only recommend this with hesitation based on the hard subject matter.

6. The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris
I loved Ferris’ first book, And Then We Came to the End…it was super funny and original.  The Unnamed is his follow up attempt and it wasn’t anything like I was expecting.  His first book was laugh out loud funny (a coworker and I still reenact parts), and this one is anything but.  Not that I didn’t like it, I did.  Tim Farnsworth is a high powered attorney who lives the good life (other than his sulky teenage daughter) except for the walking.  And there is a lot of walking and it disrupts his life and eventually disrupts his whole being.  This book is disturbing, well written and interesting.  I didn’t love it, but glad I read it.  I just wish he would go back to the funny.

7. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
After the super seriousness of The Unnamed, I decided I needed something funny and light.  I’ve read a few other Hornby books and knew I was in for a sure bet…despite this book starting off with 4 people who are going to commit suicide on New Year’s Eve.  This book started off hilarious and then sort of dragged a little from there, but I am glad that I read it and needed some laugh-out-loud funny in the overcast of a southern Indiana winter.  Out of the four characters, I thought that it was the least likely to be likable at the end was the best character for me.  Some of the others felt a little flat, though I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to anyone looking for something fun and different.

8. Jane Bites Back by Michael Ford
So, Jane Austen is a vampire and working at a book store in upstate somewhere.  She publishes a book and runs into Byron and Charlotte Bronte (also vampires) and complications arise between her vampire world and her human world.  Jane is pissed off at the Austen craze that has taken over current publishing and she would be no less happy with this one.  I would recommend this to someone who also enjoyed other Austen-follow ups.  It was light and fluffy and not really my kind of reading.

9. Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose
Even though I am a history major (through and through), I have never read anything by Ambrose.  Picked up this title and found it well written and interesting, made all the better by the details picked up by survivors of this World War II company.  I would recommend this to anyone interested in military history or American history in general.

10. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
The last time I read this was probably college and I only had dim recollections of this classic.  I remembered very little about this book and despite the despair and horror, I am glad that I read it again.  I’ve been a wee bit fixated on WWI fiction lately, and a fellow librarian suggested this.  This book paints an anti-war picture and gives a really good idea of the generational gulf of veterans of this inhumane war.  The end is almost a relief because even as a reader we can’t imagine anything else.

11. Blankets by Craig Thompson
I loved Thompson’s travel graphic novel, Carnet de Voyage do decided to pick up what he was best known for.  This coming of age graphic novel is beautifully illustrated but left me feeling a little flat.  I enjoyed it generally and glad I read it, but not as enamoured with it as I was his newer work.

12. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson
I do not understand the publishing delays of this third book in the Millennium Series.  Not wanting to wait until May, Tim and I purchased this from Amazon UK for not much more than we would have paid for the hardback here in the states.  I am glad that I read this book, though I think it is excessively long and needed a little editing in the middle.  I know that the government conspiracy is important to the story, but I’m not sure I needed to know exactly how the Swedish government runs.   Still waiting for the first movie to be released here!  Action/thriller/mysteries aren’t my genre, but the characters and setting are so intriguing, I can’t pass up this series.

13. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
As part of my job, I try to pick up and be familiar with YA authors.  I tend to be drawn to the books that are more for older teens, and lacking somewhat in my ability to pop off the top of my head some good titles for younger teens.  This series was really popular, so I thought I would give it a try.  And?  I really liked it.  I mean it isn’t rocket science, but it was sweet and interesting.  Mostly revolving around four best friends it isn’t just a romance book, which was nice.  There is romance, but the focus stays on the friendships and navigating the teen world.  I can see why this was so popular.  If I was 12 or 13, I would have LOVED this book, I’m sure.

14. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
Hell yeah, what happens next.  heh.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris, The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block and City of Thieves by David Benioff.  My favorite book of the year was probably The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.

I also am really enjoying Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson.

Least favorite of the year?  Either Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan or Our Lady of the Forest by David Guterson.  Blech.

Here’s to another 52+ books in 2010….

I do work all week, but was lucky enough to come home early today and do some holiday party baking with Tim.  Kyla made these cookies for Halloween and they were fantastic, so we whipped up a batch this afternoon for a party tonight.  I think we both need to work on our decorating skills, but they are still pretty tasty.  Also, persimmon pudding is in the oven.  Persimmon pudding is one of those desserts you either love or hate.  I am a total convert, despite not having grown up with persimmons.

One more (long) day at work before three days off out of four.  I am looking forward to calling people, lounging, reading, eating and movie watching.