Fiber Fool

I don’t know if it was the extreme cold of much of last week or what, but words were not flowing whatsoever. While I did not feel I had the time for any fun, I did more or less take the late afternoon and evening on Saturday off. There was a wonderful celebration of ribs at a friends house so I left DH working on a take home exam and attended with a friend who is leaving us shortly. The ribs were fantastic as were all the sides and of course the great home brew of our hosts! The night was capped off with a showing of Real Genius at the local cheap theater, which is always a nice way to end the day. Sunday I multi-tasked once the Superbowl began and had that on in the background. It has been many, many years since I had watched football. Of course I had to put down the work when Glee came on :-)

Crafty:

• Download some freebie valentine printables - a light blue and white gingham treat box, some fun cards and tags, fruit stickers perfect for those who pack lunches for their loved ones
• These look like some fun legwarmers to knit and the pattern is free.
• A fun project to brighten these later winter days and use up scraps of yarn with pom pom flowers!
• I’m loving these lace printed stationary projects and wondering why I didn’t think of it since I used to teach home printmaking techniques. It really is a classic. There are some good tips in the instructions though.
• These gift toppers made from coffee filters would be great on spring shower gifts which will begin popping up shortly!

Yummy:

• When I first met DH I swore up and down that I hated lentils and beans. Likely because my mom did so I wasn’t exposed to them much. But I now love both. I have yet to find a lentil soup that I *love*. But the simplicity of maya*made’s recipe has me intrigued
• When using beans I’d prefer to not use canned, but I rarely am organized enough to get the beans soaked properly overnight, so this article on how to soak them both traditionally overnight and a quick method is going to come in handy!
• DH *loves* risotto, but I’ve been slower to warm to it. Poor Girl Gourmet’s butternut squash recipe in her cookbook has won me over and I think the key is for us to mix up the types we make. A slightly sweeter one with crunch sounds like an interesting twist so I think we’ll be trying the Apple Rissotto with Toasted Pecans sometime in the near future.

Pixely:

• Learn more about RAW files.
• PhotoFocus has 10 suggestions to improve the sharpness and focus of your photos.
• If you follow Gail at We Heart Yarn and enjoy her gorgeous photographs, she’s been applying textures recently. If you like her look, learn how to use textures!

Lust Worthy:

• Loving this collection of photos to brighten the gray/brown days of winter put together by my friend Jeannine of four rooms.
• This mustard Harris Tweed messenger bag would also brighten these days quite nicely!
• This knitting gnome print appeals to my Scandinavian and my knitting side!
• I’m not usually into heart stuff, but I can’t stop thinking about lillyella’s ebony hearts necklace.
• For some reason, week after week I keep getting drawn to printed tea towels. Here is another orange, Scandinavian-inspired one.
• While our kitchen is not nearly kitschy enough to pull off these serving pieces, I can’t help but love them!

Here’s to a better week than the last!