Well, it's not like we've been doing nothing. There has been progress made and fun had in a sort of slow, Februaryish way.

This is a little bit that will be part of a baby quilt by the end of the weekend. Number 2 in a series of at least 4 baby quilts I will be making this year. Let me know if you are pregnant and I will put you on the list! This is certainly the year of the baby in my circle.

I made granola using Little Birds' easy and customizable recipe. Yum. I used maple syrup, unrefined coconut oil, almonds and walnuts this time. Next time I have a peanuty version in mind. Also, I cut down both the sugar and fat by about a quarter/third without any ill effects (though I'm sure it's better with more!).

This is the Ice Queen's Palace, built by Thadeus when we were in Tahoe last weekend. I can't wait to have babies with this man. Did I say that out loud?

And last, but not least, the skirt. In-progress shot number one thousand.

Liberty of London prints: how could you not love each and every one of these more than anything in the world?

I am making a skirt in slow motion. The zipper alone has taken a week.
My ardent hope is that this skirt will illuminate all future projects. That once I finish this skirt, beautifully fitted garments will pour forth from my fingers in a righteous gush. I'm feeling very biblical about the whole process.

I am feeling the need to make my own clothes once again. I like this back neck button closure. Extra bonus points: it looks great with pigtails.

edited to add: I spent a half hour on Sunday meticulously putting in an invisible zipper flawlessly, but backward. This could be tricky.

for future reference: how to make those big grids of photos

The Annie's Annual Catalogue is incredible! I must admit that I had given up on Annie's, it seemed too esoteric for me (which is saying a lot! hello, rebel without a cause, I love esoteric!). Looking at the website, I couldn't figure out what plants would really look like and they all seemed so exotic but not in a good way. I didn't think they would work where I live and it gets so hot in the summer, unlike temperate Richmond in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now the catalogue has changed everything. There's a whole page devoted to plants that like hot weather. There's a few page spread on cottage gardening and each blurb explains exactly what is better about each plant than something else you might use. The catalogue is free and I highly recommend it if you garden in California or closeby.

I made this Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake for a treat for Thaddy on Valentine's Day. We haven't eaten it yet, but I did break my normal rule of no excessive bowl licking, the batter was that good.

I wanted to finally post this baby quilt because it is officially my final project completed in January. This is a "baby" quilt for an old friend who I just got back in touch with when she had somewhat recently had a baby. That was over a year ago now. So this is sort of a toddler quilt at this point. I made it extra large so hopefully he can use it for toddler/little kid snuggling for a few years to come.

I planned the quilt around the back fabric because once I saw it, I wanted to use it. It's this Freespirit print from a line called Follow Your Imagination by Cath Derksma and Kersten Junor. I love the name! Also, the kid is old enough to know what he likes now and I don't know what he's into: dinosaurs, animals, rainbows, firetrucks? So this design is pretty safe but I still think it is beautiful and I hope they like it. The orange quilting sort of helps to keep it from being too matchy. It's still sitting here where there isn't a baby, but hopefully it will get itself into the mail soon.

This weekend I begin Phase 1 of my Super Secret Project! It will involve drinking root beer and I will also make bread. In case you didn't notice, I've decided against my thing-a-day February idea. I've much bigger fish to fry this month.

This part actually made me tear up:

Cook. And if you can, plant a garden. To take part in the intricate and endlessly interesting processes of providing for our sustenance is the surest way to escape the culture of fast food and the values implicit in it: that food should be cheap and easy; that food is fuel and not communion. - Michael Pollan in the New York Times