Knitting Needle Roll

My first sewing project on the new machine was a success! A couple of wobbly corners, and I accidentally put the ribbon on with the matte side facing out, but all-in-all, not too shabby for the inaugural project!

I was going to go with a nice, subdued fabric -- some kind of muted, graphic floral print, I suppose. Then, I saw this....
...and thought "Subdued? Who needs subdued?!" (The fabric -- Los Novios -- came from Joann's.) Many thanks to Lupinbunny for the excellent needle roll tutorial (http://lupinbunny.blogspot.com/2007/02/needle-roll-tutorial.html)!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful!

Well, this old dog has decided to attempt a new trick for the New Year: I have created a blog! (Gasp!) I am hoping it will serve as a nice, easy way to keep the folks back home up-to-date on life down here in the South.

So, what's happening today, I hear you ask? It is a COLD Saturday in Tennessee. We haven't been above freezing in nearly a week, and are set to break a record for the longest number of consecutive days below freezing since the 1940s. It's certainly not a patch on the weather I'm used to from the Great White North, but it's a nice little taste of home, at least! Our very steep driveway is impassable at the moment, so I have been stuck at the top of the hill for two days now. I have to admit, it's kind of exciting -- I don't mind being "snow bound"! My poor husband keeps having to hike to the bottom of the driveway to get to work, and this morning he had to pry his car out of the ice! I just hope it clears up before I have to head back to school next week. If I can't get my car out, it'll be a loooong hike to campus!

I have had a productive couple of days while stuck at home. Yesterday, I spent most of the day working on my dissertation. (Fortunately, I brought home some boxes of artifacts to analyze, so I can get some work done while I wait for the thaw!) Then I spent the evening working on the blanket I'm crocheting, and cutting the fabric for my knitting needle roll project. Today, I begin sewing! I will wrest myself away from crafty projects for a little while today to "do science," as my advisor always says! I've got a cup of coffee in hand, "Lord of the Rings" in the DVD player, and lots of wood for a fire, so I think I'm set.

OK, that's it for the first post, I guess. Once I make some headway on the needle case, I'll post some pics -- for now, low-tech text will suffice!