Monthly Archives: December 2010

December has been a very busy month all around. I have been sewing pajama pants like crazy! All in all I made 10 pairs of pj pants/shorts, 1 “Snuggie” and 2 sets of felt play food.

First up the flannel pajamas. I had 5 yards of each of the 3 flannels in the picture above. Out of the argyle print I made 2 pairs of shorts, which includes 1 for me, and 1 pair of pants.

With the dotted flannel I made 2 pairs of shorts, one for my sister above, and 1 pair of pants for myself.

With the brown floral print flannel I made 2 pairs of pants. One for my mom above, and 1 for myself.
I also had 2.5 yds of red flannel for my brothers pj shorts. Originally I was going to make pants for him and my dad but the fabric shrunk so much when I washed it that I didn’t have enough.

These are my dad’s pj shorts. Again, it was originally 2.5 yards that I bought.

I also made a couple of ribbed scarves. The first is a Notre Dame scarf for my dad. It is navy with gold and green stripes. I cast on 42 stitches and did a K2 P2 pattern. I used 2.5 skeins for this; 2 navy, .25 green and .25 gold. I used Lyon Brand Vanna’s Choice Acrylic yarn.

I also made a Chicago Bears scarf for my sisters boyfriend. Again, I cast on 42 stitches with a K2 P2 pattern. I used 2 skeins total, a navy and burnt orange. I used Paton’s brand 100% wool yarn.
This is the fleece print I used for the “Snuggie“, which I do not have a picture of. I made this for a friend. I used McCall’s M5970. I omitted both the front and bottom pockets. I used a total of 3 yards for this. I also have another fleece print that I bought to make myself one. I am going to try to get that done today.

**Updated 8:45pm: I got my “Snuggie” done, using another 3 yards. I also made pj pants for my husband, using another 2.5 yards. Surprisingly I met my original resolution to use half of my stash of 127 yards! More on that tomorrow in my year end review.

I loved watching Oprah’s Favorite Things episodes this year.

I posted in January about my favorite things of 2009 and really enjoyed it.

So, here it is. My 10 favorite non-sewing things of 2010! These are not in any sort of order.

1. My Gray Knitted slippers
While these are not the exact ones I have, they look almost identical. I love love love mine. They are comfortable and keep my feet so warm. They are perfect to lounge around the house in. I recommend everyone get some of these.

2. Sophie Kinsella
Mrs. Kinsella is one of, if not my favorite authors. Her books are great. I have read all but 3 of them. The 3 I haven’t read are on my reading list for this spring. My favorites are the Confessions of a Shopaholic series. I have read it a couple of times. Although The Undomestic Goddess is a close second. These are quick easy light reads.

3. Martha Stewart Everyday Food
Oh Martha Stewart, how I love thee! For those of you who don’t know, Martha Stewart is kind of super amazing. But I suspect that is not really anything new or surprising. I don’t know how I started getting this magazine this year but I am glad I am. I have made so many amazing dishes from it. Some of which include Sweet & Sour Chicken Wings, Roasted Red Potato Soup, Bacon & Egg Breakfast Muffins. Each issue is packed with a variety of different types of dishes, so it has something for everyone.
4. Cashmere Woods Glade candles
This was a surprising favorite for me. I wanted some candles for our new house and this was one of them. It smells amazing! Honestly, the name says it all, which is hard to imagine. It is a rich, luxurious, warm scent. You can even peel the Glade label off the jar and it has a super cute orange and cream tree design on it. It was a limited edition fall scent so it may be hard to find. I bought a couple more of these since it is limited edition.

5. Mondo Guerra
I love Project Runway and Mondo was amazing this past season. I like most other viewers believe that he should have won over Gretchen. My favorite look he did was for a modern day Jackie-O. I love the combination of large horizontal stripes with the purple houndstooth skirt. I also love the print he made and his story behind it. Wow! I can’t wait to see what he has in store for fall Fashion Week.

6. CW’s The Vampire Diaries
I have a serious addiction, like most others, to vampires. More specifically, The Vampire Diaries on CW. This show is in its’ second season. I have been reading the books that inspired the series as well. I am almost done with book #5, The Return: Nightfall, right now. The show is loosely based on the books. Both are addicting.

7. Danskin from Walmart
I really despise shopping at Walmart. Mostly because of the type of people I encounter there. There is even a whole website dedicated to these people. That aside, I will only go there to get the Danskin line of workout clothes. They are very well priced and great for workouts. I have bought several pieces from there line this year and will probably expand my workout wardrobe this coming year.
8. My Nokia 5610
I love my phone! I have had it for almost 2 years. It doesn’t have any super fancy features like a touch screen or down-loadable apps, but it fills my basic requirements for a phone. This year I used the camera to take some great pictures that actually turned out nicely when printed. It also functions as my mp3 player when I am working out.

9. Fatsecret.com
This website is literally my life saver! I have lost almost 30lbs this year thanks to FatSecret. It has great tools to track your calorie intake and those burned. You can participate in challenges and get motivated by others through the boards and groups. I have 30 lbs left to lose in the new year and will continue to use this site.

10. Composite Granite Sink
Lastly, my sink! The picture is not of our kitchen but the sink is almost the same. When we bought our new house the kitchen sink was one thing that we needed to replace immediately. We went to Knapp Supply here in town with the intention of getting a stainless steel sink. I have always preferred those to ceramic or porcelain but hated that they scratched so easily. Little did we know that a composite granite sink existed! I have referred to it several times as my baby. They look absolutely stunning! If you are looking to upgrade/remodel your kitchen this would be the one thing I recommend. They don’t scratch, they don’t stain and it just plain looks H-O-T! We eventually want to replace the counter tops to be black to go with our sink just like the above picture.

So, there you go, my 10 favorite things of 2010! I enjoyed reflecting back on my year and picking out the things that I enjoyed most. What are your favorite things?

This great winter decorating tutorial was in my Craftstylish email. I love it. I tried to make paper snowflakes awhile ago and it ended badly. I am glad it didn’t work out because I found this! It looks elegant and classic. What’s better is it is not to costly to make. You only need round 1″ sticky labels and dental floss.

I know I have been very lax in keeping my blog afloat as of late. Hopefully soon I will have some more time to focus on it. Right now I am working on so many Christmas projects I am spinning in circles. I have 5 pairs of pajamas in progress with 4-5 more still waiting to be cut out. I am also working on 2 more “Snuggies”. One of which is for me. Our new house is pretty darn drafty and I don’t want to shell out the money just to have the heat cranked up so high. I am making some more of the felt play food. This time I have come up with some super cute patterns for a breakfast set and a loaf of bread with a bag for it. And of course I am very busy making my holiday candy. I have add several different speciality fudges, that DH is loving to “test” right now. Once I get everything finished I will try to get some pics up, possibly. The battery required for my camera has randomly stopped being sold, so right now I have a camera with quite a few pics and no way to retrieve them. I wish I could upgrade and get a really nice camera. Maybe next year.

Speaking of next year I will be posting my year in review within the next few weeks. I think I have only met 1 of my sewing goals for this year. I will have to start thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2011.

**P.S. The button tree picture above was not made by me. But you can find instructions here for how to make it.