We are immersed in that time of year in the Pacific Northwest when it seems as if we will never see the sun again.  While I remind myself that at least we don't have to shovel rain, it does get a little wearing.  We need to keep lights on in the house during the day and yesterday when I was driving at noon, I felt I needed my headlights.  On the bright side, as I was walking Maggie during a rare break in the rain the other day I saw some bulbs poking their little heads out of the ground.

Also on the bright side, I am so enjoying my new, improved sewing room.  Being able to see all of my projects, I am determined to put a dent into the huge pile of UFO's.  I finished sewing the tops for the granddaughters' quilts and got them spray basted.  I'll start machine quilting them on Monday (pictures to follow later).  I'm also enjoying having the space to spread out and handquilt:

As you can see, I have my little nest with coffee cup, thread, scissors and remote controls handy.  My ancient little TV bit the dust during the transition, so yesterday I got a new small flat screen so I can watch my cheesy disaster movies while I quilt.  Truly my little bit of heaven on earth.

On the knitting front, I'm also trying to finish some UFO's before starting new ones, although my unfinished pile there is quite a bit smaller.  First up is finishing Isobel's Dale of Norway sweater.  Last night I finished the first sleeve:

The body is done, so as soon as the other sleeve is done I can start putting it together.  Toward the end of the sewing room project I finished the pair of Sunshine socks I was working on and found myself truly bored for the first time in a long time.  Hubby was putting in the floor, which is really a one person project.  I couldn't clean because my sewing room stuff was scattered all over the house.  I obviously couldn't sew.  I couldn't work on Isobel's sweater because it was at the bottom of a pile somewhere.  I finally found a stray skein of sock yarn toward the top of the pile.  It was left over from my Landscape Shawl and there seemed to be enough for some socks, so I was able to cast on.  I had told Marguerite that I would make another pair of Sunshine socks, but probably not right away.  However, I was in such doldrums that I couldn't even drum up enough energy to look through the mess for another pattern.  The pattern for Sunshine was sitting in my knitting bag and I had memorized most of it, so that's what I cast on.  First sock is already done:

The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy, color Into the Mystic, pattern Sunshine by Cookie A.

This afternoon I get to go meet with my dear friends in my Round Robin group.  I do so love this group of ladies and we always have such a wonderful time!  Next week I'll try to get my act together and show you what we're working on.