Last Eye Candy for October...

...and I don't have much.

This rogue sweet pea bush showed up in our front yard:

This was taken just after the small rainstorm we had earlier in the week. And that's all I have...

Up this weekend: Other than giving out candy to the trick-or-treaters tomorrow, we have nothing specific planned.

I do need to make sure that I have enough candy. Since one of our neighbors started having a haunted house, the number of kids who come to our door has increased significantly. I think we've seen the last of the 2 trick-or-treater Halloweens.

I ended up frogging the Canto de Sirena shawl [Ravelry] that I started last weekend. I wasn't happy with the way it looked. Since I wasn't that far into it, I decided to frog now rather than waiting until I completed the first pattern repeat. I'd like to make a bit more progress on the shawl over the weekend.

Now that I have the fabric for my next sewing project, I'll to get the pieces cut out and start working on them. While not a completely stealth project, as the recipient knows I'm working on it, I am not sharing too many of the details as I'd like her to be as surprised as possible.

If I have time, I'd like to see whether my wheel will hold up long enough to finish the yak-silk I have in progress. If not, I'll take it into the shop for repair.

And I really should get my sewing machine in for a tuneup. However, I don't think I can have both my spinning wheel and my sewing machine in the shop at the same time. The world might end!

WIP-it Wednesday...

...with a first look at the new project.

This is Canto de Sirena shawl (Siren Song) [Ravelry]:

I am using a Marine Silk fingering in Star Sapphire from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. The color is more purple than blue, which is fine with me! I'm not very far as each row is 362 stitches. I'm a little concerned that the yarn overs are making large open areas, but I'm going to keep going until I have the first pattern repeat. The repeat is 16 rows long so that should give me a good idea of how it will look.

WIP Roll Call:

Worked on:

1. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
   Working on the linen stitch section, about 8 inches into it.
2. Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
   On row 7
3. Sail (cross stitch)
   Working on the letter "S"

Works In Progress, did not work on:

1. Calypso handspun (spinning) [Ravelry] 
2. Empress handspun [Ravelry]
3. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)

UFOs/Hibernation:

1. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
2. Going Snow Global quilt (quilting)
3. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
4. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)\
5. Tuscon Twilight (needlepoint)

WIPs To Be:

• A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.

Top-of-the-Waves Tuesday...

...and the weekend report.

•  I went to a local fabric store (The Granary) to look for the fabric I needed. I'm hapy to report that I found a fabric in the correct color of red that I can use for my sewing project! I also found a gold that will work for a small amount of applique that I need for the same project. Score!!
• I felt so good about finding the fabric, that I visited my local yarn store (Purlescence Yarns).  They were having a Cascade 220 sale I and was looking for a yarn to use as warp for a weaving project. I found a yarn that I can use, some Greenwood Fiberworks fiber that had to come home with me, and some gorgeous gray cotton for weaving. 
• While I was at Purlescence, I talked to them about my spinning wheel problems. They recommended that I bring my wheel to the shop for repair if I didn't want to do it myself. That sounds like the best idea because they know about wheels. I'm too afraid that I will do something wrong and wreck my baby!
• I worked on the Sail cross stitch project on Saturday. I've finished the cross stitch portion for the letters A, I, and L. I'm working on the letter S. Still to do are the decorative elements at the top of the design, the back stitching, and attaching the buttons.
• I started a new shawl project.  Yeah, I know...I didn't really need to start another project! However, I had the yarn and the pattern, and I've been waiting to start this project since June!  Actually, I bought the cowl version of this project at Stitches West in February, thinking that I could just make it a scarf. Then the designer released a scarf/wrap/shawl version of the pattern, and I was hooked!
• I continued to work on the Be My Baby for My Baby project. [Ravelry]
• Call me crazy, but I want to work on the quilt that is currently a UFO: Going Snow Global. It is a Christmas quilt after all, and we are getting perilously close to November...

Eye Candy Friday and F.O. Friday ...

...here are a few photos from Pacific International Quilt Festival.

There were some pretty cool quilts. There were several Day of the Dead quilts

A Frida Kahlo inspired quilt (Frida and the Butterflies):

An exhibition of Beatles-inspired quilts (In My Life):

A gorgeous dragon quilt that won 2nd place in the Innovative category of the World Quilt XIX competition:

An my favorite this year was the Best Wall Quilt winner (Song of the Sea):

I also enjoyed the quilted sculpture exhibit by Susan Else. This was my favorite:

In the Finished Object category, here is a photo of the hat I finished last weekend. This is Blue No-Noro Hat [Ravelry], modeled by the lovely Blanca:

Specs:
Started 8/15/2015
Finished 10/18/2015
Pattern: Noro spiral one-skein hat by Manuèle Ducret
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Solids in medium blue
For Halos of Hope

Up this weekend:  Nothing special planned. We arre both still recovering from colds, so we need to catch up on some sleep and try to recharge.

I need to start looking for fabric for the next sewing project. There are two quilt stores close to home and I plan on checking them both for what I need. I'm not holding my breath since the fabric I'm trying to match, at least in color range, is over 5 years old. I'm just hoping for something close!

I also want to see whether I can do the repair to my spinning wheel. I'd love to finish the two items I have in process, but I'm scared that my wheel will fall apart in the middle of them. The repair involves epoxy and I'd like to have fully-functioning brain cells before I attempt the repair.
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WIP-it Wednesday...

...and not much has changed since last week.

I've been processing my photos from the Pacific International Quilt Festival, so not a lot of crafting activity for the last couple of days.  If you are interested in looking at the photos, you'll find them in my 2015 PIQF album on Flickr.

I still haven't processed the photos of the hat.

WIP Roll Call:

Worked on:

1. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
   Figured out where I left off. I have a long way to go with the linen stitch section.
2. Sail (cross stitch)
   Finished most of the letter "I" and I have quite a bit done on the letter "L"

Works In Progress, did not work on:

1. Calypso handspun (spinning) [Ravelry] 
2. Empress handspun [Ravelry]
3. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)

UFOs/Hibernation:

1. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
2. Going Snow Global quilt (quilting)
3. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
4. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)\
5. Tuscon Twilight (needlepoint)

WIPs To Be:

• A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.

Top-of-the-Waves Tuesday...

...it's been an interesting few days since I last posted.

• The Husband's cold caught up with me Wednesday night.  I ended up missing work on Thursday and Friday. 
• Our house guest arrived Wednesday night in the midst all of this coughing and cold stuff. I hope he didn't catch it!
• I was feeling better by Friday night and actually did some knitting.
• The Daughter came for a quick visit on Friday. She was going to her high school's homecoming game with a friend. Her HS is just a block away. It was a brief visit, but it's just as well because we didn't want her to catch our colds.
• Because I was sick, there was no Eye Candy Friday last week.
• On Saturday, I felt good enough to brave the crowds at Pacific International Quilt Festival. In addition to looking at the beautiful quilts, I wanted to check out the Christmas fabric. I have a request for a project and I had hoped to find something that would work. No such luck. I spent a couple of hours taking photos of my favorite quilts and then decided to go home and crash.
• Saturday night was our company's 25th anniversary celebration dinner.  It was held at a lovely old Italian restaurant. The food was great! We had a little entertainment, but not too much, and a couple of speeches, but not too long. It was a wonderful evening.
•  On Sunday, I finished knitting the Blue No-Noro Spiral hat I started in August. I had a lot of problems with this hat, mostly due to the needles I was using and just plain old user error. I've made this hat at least 3 times before, so I knew the pattern was fine.  Sometimes things just don't go smoothly. Photos to follow.
• I have a new hat model. Her name is Blanca and I bought her at Michael's a couple of weeks ago. I've been wanting a Styrofoam head to use for hat photos and Michael's had a bunch for Halloween. She's got a couple of dings, but nothing major. Teddy gave sigh of relief because hats just bury him. :) Blanca will model the new hat.

WIP-it Wednesday...

...this will be brief. I'm fighting off the Husband's cold and my mind is a little muddled.

WIP Roll Call:

Worked on:

• Calypso handspun (spinning) [Ravelry] 
• No-Noro Hat for Halos of Hope (knitting)
• Sail (cross stitch)

Works In Progress, did not work on:

1. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
2. Empress handspun [Ravelry]
3. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)

UFOs/Hibernation:

1. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
2. Going Snow Global quilt (quilting)
3. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
4. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)\
5. Tuscon Twilight (needlepoint)

WIPs To Be:

• A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.

Top-of-the-Waves Tuesday...

...and the weekend report.

1.  We had a small group for Spin-In this month. I made some pumpkin mini-muffins to take and they turned out pretty well. The big bummer was that my spinning wheel is having issues again were it folds I could not get the bushing seated well enough to keep my wheel upright and functional. Fortunately, the hostess has a single treadle version of my wheel. I borrowed her wheel, moved my bobbin over, and worked on Calypso [Ravelry] . 
   
   I learned that I much prefer a double-treadle wheel--it's easier for me to keep the rhythm going. Also, I was a lot slower spinning on it because the stopping and starting added a lot of time to the process. At least, I was able to spin!
    
2. We did some housecleaning in preparation for our Wednesday and Thursday house guest. The Husband caught a bad cold and wasn't feeling well on Sunday, so we didn't get nearly as much done as we should have. I figure as long as the bathroom and the guest room (read: husband's office) are clean, we're good.
    
3. I am fighting hard not to catch his cold!
    
4. I did absolutely no sewing or quilting over the weekend.
    
5. I made a little progress on the Sail cross stitch.
    
6. In the two-steps back category, I had to frog the Halos of Hope hat back to the ribbing. Something was completely off in the pattern. Because of the location of the error, there was no easy way of just dropping down to fix it.  Rats!
    
7. I managed to finish reading a book! Now I'm only 6 books behind on my goal of reading 100 books this year.

Eye Candy Friday...

...it's been a long week and I'm ready for an adult beverage.

The garden is looking pretty sad right now. While we still have salvia and other flowers blooming, I have taken way too many pictures of them this year. Instead, you get this morning's sunrise:

It's hard to see it in this size, but there is a little crescent of a moon in the upper right quadrant.

Up this weekend: Tonight, we're going to make some individual pizzas for dinner. I stopped by Trader Joe's this morning to get the ingredients: frozen naan, pizza sauce, a 4-cheese blend, and some sliced pepperoni. Using naan as the based of the pizza makes things quick and easy. The Husband particularly likes the garlic naan, while I prefer the plain.

On Saturday, it's time for Spin-In!  I'm making something pumpkin-based to take. It looks like it will be a small crew this time. I'm just happy to be spinning. I haven't touched my wheel since the last Spin-In, which means that I need to finish the fiber I started last time.

We're having a house guest next Wednesday and Thursday, so some cleaning is in order. Then we get to see the Daughter on Friday before she attends a local event.


Craft-wise, I have resurrected the Halos of Hope hat I started in August. I'll time-share between the hat and the project for the Daughter. I want her to try it on when she's here next week to make sure that the sleeve length is OK.

Call me crazy, but I have a hankering for finishing another quilt. I have the top and backing ready to go for my Christmas quilt, Going Snow Global. It's a Yellow Brick Road quilt, so the machine quilting is all stitch-in-the-ditch. It's something to consider...
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F.O., Stash, and WIPs on a Thursday...

...because Wednesday just disappeared on me! Spoiler Alert for this post: photos of the latest installment of the Blue Moon Fiber Arts sock club ahead.

First the Finished Object. Here is Beyond Antares [Ravelry] as shown on my office model, Borg:

and another view:

Specs:
Started 7/21/14
Finished 10/3/15
Pattern: Equatorial Nights by Audry Nicklin;
Yarn: Dragonfly Fibers Pixie in Danaerys;
6/0 silver-lined crystal beads

I'm still not happy with the blocking, but I'm not going to obsess about it any more. It's done.

Moving on...here is the latest Rockin Sock Club installment. This is the package:

and the yarn:

I'm not in love with anything in this package. I'm tired of the stitch markers they've been including in each package--once was fine, but not every package. The yarn color combination is not me and the patterns are not calling my name. However, this yarn might make an interesting woven piece with the right warp, so some experiments are on tap for it.

And finally the WIP roll call. I've been taking a break since I finished the commissioned quilt, but it's time to get back into gear.

WIP Roll Call:

Worked on:

• Sail (cross stitch)

Works In Progress, did not work on:

1. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
2. Calypso handspun (spinning) [Ravelry]
3. Empress handspun [Ravelry]
4. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)
5. No-Noro Hat for Halos of Hope (knitting)

UFOs/Hibernation:

1. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
2. Going Snow Global quilt (quilting)
3. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
4. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)\
5. Tuscon Twilight (needlepoint)

WIPs To Be:

• A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.

Top-of-the-Waves Tuesday...

...no-photo version.

• I finished Beyond Antares [Ravelry]--yay! But I hate the way it blocked out--boo! Not sure what to do about it. The cowl definitely needs to be blocked, but the yarn is quite malleable and the edges are wavy and show where every pin was placed. Given that the piece is for me, I should just let it go and move on.
  
  When I get a minute, I'll take a photo and do a F.O. post.
• I found the floor in my studio! I folded and put away a lot of the fabric scraps and other fabric that managed to find its way into my studio. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the remaining Hawaiian shirt fabric as there is too much to toss.
• I found the kitchen floor, too! The Husband was gone for a few hours, which gave me a chance to sweep and mop the floors in the kitchen and both bathrooms. That was very satisfying. It would have been nice if I'd been able to vacuum the rugs too, but I didn't quite get there.
• I did a little work on the Sail cross stitch project, but not enough for a new photo. I also decided to swap out the over-dyed blues with some DMC blues. Not the ideal color replacements, but they are much more evident on the fabric now.
• It took me a bit, but I found where Be My Baby for My Baby [Ravelry] was hiding so I can get it back into rotation. I didn't actually work on it, but at least it's now in my knitting bag.
• I read quite a bit and that was a luxury. I finished one book and started another in the series. That makes two books I've already read this month and it's the 5th. Maybe I'm finally getting back on track. (It's about time!)

Eye Candy Friday...

...Happy October!

Today's eye candy is a combination of cut flowers and garden flowers.

When I delivered the commissioned quilt, my client gave me a small bouquet of flowers. It's very cut, and perfect for my desk at work.

I haven't had a bouquet that contains ornamental cabbage before. It's very cool:

Our hibiscus bush is going strong:

Our roses, on the other hand, are dying of thirst. They haven't bloomed in quite a while an a couple of the bushes look dead. That's why it is was a complete surprise when I saw that the pink rosebush had a few flowers this morning:

Up this weekend: I need to take my sewing machine to the shop and have it tuned. It gets really hot after a couple of hours and I want to make sure that it's not dying on me. That would be sad as I love this machine!

I need to catch up on some of the housework that was neglected while I was in quilting mode. In particular, my studio looks like it's been through a tornado...scraps, thread, and dust everywhere!

As for craft projects, I just finished row 51 of 62 on Beyond Antares [Ravelry] and I'd like to get closer to done this weekend. I'm also debating whether to do Socktoberfest, but Beyond Antares takes precedence.  Then there are all of the other projects I have in process.

Yeah, there's always another WIP...
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September 2015 recap...

...I'm lagging on the reading front. Now that the commission is done, I might be able to pick up speed again.

Finished:

• 9/7 Summer 9-Patch (cross stitch)
• 9/20 ...And Your Little Dog, Too doggie pillow (quilting and sewing)
  AKA Stealth Commission project #2 
• 9/27 The Hawaiian Shirt Off Your Back quilt (quilting)
  AKA Stealth Commission project
• Books:
  1. Pale Queen Rising, AR Kahler
  2. Devoted in Death,  JD Robb
  3. Archangel's Enigma, Nalini Singh
  4. Dark Fae, Shannon Mayer
  5. Red-Rose Chain, Seanan McGuire

Started:

• 9/6 Sail (cross stitch) 
• 9/19 Calypso handspun (spinning) [Ravelry] 

Worked on:

• Beyond Antares, aka Equatorial Nights (knitting) [Ravelry]

Works In Progress, did not work on:

• Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
• Empress handspun [Ravelry]
• No-Noro Hat for Halos of Hope (knitting) [Ravelry]

UFOs/Hibernation:

1. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
2. Going Snow Global quilt (quilting)
3. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)
4. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
5. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)\
6. Tucson Twilight (needlepoint)

WIPs To Be:

• A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.