Design Wall Monday::200th Post

It's been a while since my last post, I know.  January and February are not my favorite months.  It's not really the cold but the dark and gloomy weather that gets to me.  This afternoon, as I was driving home from school, the sky lightened just a little (there may even have been a faint patch of blue) and I could feel my spirits lifting.

Despite the general gloom, I have been doing a little bit of sewing.  On my design wall today is this rail fence quilt that simply won't let me quit on it.  I've sewn all the strips, now I just need to join the strips to finish the flimsy.  I've put it aside I don't know how many times to work on other things, and each time it calls me back.  It's gotten to the point where I'm not sure I even like it any more--I just want to get it done. 

I've also been doing a lot of knitting.  Somehow I've managed to get four partially knitted socks on the needles in the past month. How did I ever acquire four sets of needles?   I finished a pair yesterday and promptly started a new one.  I'll post pictures of those when (if!) the sun ever shines again.

My LYS had a sale on New Year's Day (40% off!) and I bought 4 skeins of Noro Kureyon with no plan for what I was going to do with it.  I toyed with the idea of another scarf, but I have plenty and so does my husband.  I searched around the internet and found a pattern for the French Market bag.  It looked very simple and really suited to the rustic nature of the Kureyon.  Unfortunately, four skeins didn't go far, so I had to order more.  Once the yarn arrives, all I need to do is knit the handles and then felt it.  It's my first felted project, so I'm not sure what to expect.  Any advice would be welcome. 

I have a hard time believing that this is my 200th post.  I started reading blogs a little over three years ago and I found so much inspiration in the many blogs that I read.  My daughter encouraged me to start one of my own and I've had a lot of fun writing it and meeting people from all over the world.  The blogging community is very special to me.

So....in an effort to throw off this January gloom, I'm going to celebrate my milestone by having a 200th post giveaway.  If you comment this week I'll put your name in the hat and draw a person to receive a surprise package.  It'll have some quilty stuff and some other goodies.

You can check out what others have on their design wall this Monday by reading Judy L.'s blog Patchwork Times.