Stitching in the New Year

I'm very particular about my calendars, just ask Mr. Cleaver. Every year around this time comes the search for the perfect wall calendar, which usually requires visiting a minimum of three-five places that sell calendars. I figure I have to look at it for a whole year, so it better be good. (For the record, last year's was a Jaime Wyeth one).

This is not my home calendar, but for my wall at work, where I knew I wanted a year-at-a glance format because the majority of my work scheduling revolves around things like 2nd Thursday of every month.

The calendar panel came from SeptemberHouse on Etsy. The inspiration image is a print by Charles Gesmar I found during a search for circus images on All Posters.

This was my first attempt at doing fill stitches and there were definitely times I thought the elephant was turning into a giant grey blog, but I'm really happy with the way it all turned out and now I get to enjoy it for a whole year (after which I'll probably turn it into a pillow and enjoy it even longer!)

Yellow + Blue = Green

With spring's arrival, I start yearning for new springier colors - namely bright yellows, blues and greens. This yearning is particularly pronounced on grey days like today, when I need pick-me-up. And so some colors that have been brightening my days recently.

My "Andi" bracelet from Luxcharm on etsy. I have a thing for bracelets right now. I never used to wear them (though until about a year ago when it broke I always wore a watch), but now I think they're great. This is the first in what may prove to become a bracelet collection.

My green ipod. Yep, we finally gave into the ipod revolution. They lowered the price, so Mr. Cleaver and I could no longer resist. Of course I have about 10 cds on my laptop, so the music isn't too varied right now, but it does make the 45 minutes on the train go a little faster.

My blue sewing scissors. When I bought my sewing machine last summer I also bought a sewing starter kit with scissors, needles, measuring tape, chalk paper, etc and all the appropriate accessories were blue. And so is the shirt I'm currently sewing, though it is more of sky than primary blue. The needle and thread were for slipstiching the inside collar. I hate slipstitching. Actually I have a terribly small amount of patience with any finishing really. Once all the major seams are in place I start wearing the thing. Seriously, I have two dresses that I've been wearing for months that need some finishing done. Ah well...

I did, however, completely finish my Pomatomus socks, which hey - are yellow, blue and green! And considering the number of rows I had to rip back on these socks due to inattention, it's pretty amazing that I finished them as quickly as I did. Then again, knitting also makes that 45-minute commute home much faster.