Wednesday, March 29, 2017

WIP-it Wednesday, now with finished objects...

...hurray!

Here is Victoria handspun [Ravelry]:

Victoria handspun

and the close-up:

Victoria handspun, close up

Specs:
Started 11/5/16
Finished 3/25/17
Yak-Silk (4 oz.) from Greenwood Fiberworks
171.2 yds., 15 WPI

This is Crocus handspun [Ravelry]:

Crocus handspun

and the close-up:

Crocus handspun, close up

Specs:
Started 3/4/17
Finished 3/26/17
Camel-Silk (4 oz.) from Greenwood Fiberworks
182.4yds., 14 WPI

And finally, this is the first look at the Icelandic No-Noro Hat [Ravelry]. (I need take another photo of the hat on Blanca, my head model.)

Icelandic No-Noro Hat, first look

Specs:
Started 3/11/17
Finished 3/26/17
Pattern:  Noro spiral one-skein hat by Manuèle Ducret
Yarn: Super Saver Multis by Red Heart in Icelandic

I started another hat for Halos of Hope. I might just use the same pattern as the last hat, but I won't know how I feel about it until I see how the color variegation works on the ribbing. This is the start of Shimmer and Shiny Hat [Ravelry] :

Shimmer and Shiny Hat, in progress

WIPs Roll Call

Worked on:
  • Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [Ravelry]
    Received my order of a second skein for the weft. Now I can continue weaving.
  • Shimmer and Shiny hat (knitting) [Ravelry]
    Working on the ribbing.
Works In Progress:
  1. 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [Ravelry]
  2. All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting)
  3. Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]  
  4. St. Charles (needlepoint)
  5. Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch)
UFOs/Hibernation:
  1. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
  2. Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint)
  3. Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
  4. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
  5. Finishing work
  6. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)
  7. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
  8. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)
  9. Tucson Twilight (needlepoint)
WIPs To Be:
  • A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Top-of-the-Waves Tuesday...

...I'm alive, sort of.

I managed to catch a cold from some unknown source on Wednesday. By Thursday morning, it was clear that I was too sick to go to work. Given that The Daughter's big night was Friday (and there was no way I was going to miss it!), I stayed home on Friday, too. I didn't get out of bed until 4pm, when I had to start getting ready.

My mission was to make it through her Hall of Fame event without collapsing in a coughing fit. I made it all the way to 9:15pm without coughing. Yay! It was a great evening. It's always wonderful when others recognize how awesome your child is.


 

The Daughter and her first basketball coach (R) and her senior year HS basketball coach (L).

Saturday and Sunday, I spent most of the day doing very little. I discovered that plying the two sets of singles in the WIP pile was a good activity to do. It didn't take much energy and I could take lots of breaks. The Husband did the grocery shopping, allowing me to rest.

I was back to work yesterday, but I haven't made it back to the gym yet.

One step at a time.
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Wednesday, March 22, 2017

WIP-it Wednesday...

...not a lot of progress is happening right now. And it's started raining again, so not outside photo shoots until that stops.

All I really want to do right now is sleep. I have a sore throat that is a precursor to a cold. I'm fighting it with vitamin C and I'll take some Airborne when I get home. Boo!

WIPs Roll Call

Worked on:
  • Icelandic No-Noro Hat (knitting) [Ravelry]
    Working on the main part of the hat
  • Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]  
    Still knitting away on chart 1
  • Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [Ravelry]
    Warped, hemmed on the starting edge, wove about 2 inches
Works In Progress:
  1. 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [Ravelry]
  2. All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting)
  3. Crocus handspun (spinning) [Ravelry]
  4. St. Charles (needlepoint)
  5. Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch)
  6. Victoria handspun (spinning) [Ravelry]   
UFOs/Hibernation:
  1. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
  2. Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint)
  3. Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
  4. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
  5. Finishing work
  6. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)
  7. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
  8. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)
  9. Tucson Twilight (needlepoint)
WIPs To Be:
  • A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Top-of-the-Waves Tuesday...

...and the weekend report. In a nutshell, the weekend was catch-up chores and a little bit of weaving. There was so much catch-up to do!

We've been fighting the battle of the fleas for quite a while now. I think we're almost done, but it required a whole lot of laundry...again. The cats got their 3rd dose of Advantage 2 and I completely stripped the bed and put all of the bedding in the wash except for the comforter, which doesn't fit in my washing machine. That I sent through the dryer on high. The, a lot of vacuuming and spraying everything with the clove-scented flea spray. Whew!

In between loads of laundry, I warped my rigid heddle loom with some yummy Blue Heron rayon-metallic yarn in Rosewood. The color is copper with a slight pink caste to it:

Rosewood yarn

I've used this yarn for weaving twice before and I really love how it turns out. However, I really need to have at least 1.5 skeins of it for a shawl, and I only have 1 in the stash. I'm going to supplement the weft with a couple of novelty yarns that I have in the stash, but that still won't be enough. So I decided to just buy another skein...the order is on its way from Blue Heron.

The other thing I did this weekend was buy a dress and shoes for the Hall of Fame dinner we are attending on Friday. The Daughter is being inducted into her high school's hall of fame. We are so proud!
.

Friday, March 17, 2017

Eye Candy Friday...

...blog and run.

Nectarine blossoms

Nectarine blossoms

Violas

Violas, ready to plant

Crabapple blossoms

Crabapple blossoms

and Bleeding Heart.

Bleeding Heart

Up this weekend: Catch up with everything that didn't get done last weekend because I was at Mom's. I also need to finish buying the components for a dinner we are attending next Friday. It's cocktail attire so it requires more that what I have in my wardrobe.
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Wednesday, March 15, 2017

WIP-it Wednesday...

...and no progress to report.  I'm still trying to catch up from the weekend at mom's, both in sleep and in chores. I hope to get back to knitting tonight.


WIPs Roll Call

Worked on:
  • Crocus handspun (spinning) [Ravelry]
    Ready to ply
  • Icelandic No-Noro Hat (knitting) [Ravelry]
    Ribbing is done ready to start the main part of the hat.
Works In Progress:
  1. 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [Ravelry]
  2. All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting)
  3. Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [Ravelry
  4. St. Charles (needlepoint)
  5. Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch)
  6. Victoria handspun (spinning) [Ravelry]   
UFOs/Hibernation:
  1. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
  2. Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint)
  3. Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
  4. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
  5. Finishing work
  6. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)
  7. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
  8. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)
  9. Tucson Twilight (needlepoint)
WIPs To Be:
  • A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Top-of-the-Waves Tuesday...

...and, yes, I missed Eye Candy Friday.

I drove to my Mom's Friday afternoon and by the time I got there I was exhausted from driving in traffic for most of the trip. All I wanted when I arrived at 5:30pm was dinner.

My nephew and his family came over later so I could give them the knitted baby items and the quilt.

This is Sea of Dreams:

Sea of Dreams quilt

...and the label:

Sea of Dreams quilt label

Specs:
Started 11/4/16
Finished 2/12/17
Sea of Dreams panel and related fabrics from South Seas Imports

On Saturday, Mom and I just sat and talked. We sorted a bunch of loose photos that she had. I found a few that I wanted to scan right away and she let me take those with me. There are many more to scan, but I need to get a scanning setup that is portable so I can bring it to her. She really doesn't want to let me take many more photos home with me. We got to babysit my grand-nephew Saturday evening. I'd forgotten how small month-old babies are!

Theron and his Great-Grandma

I drove home on Sunday, arriving in the early afternoon. Laundry took priority at that point.

I did very little crafting while I was at my mom's. However, I did manage to finish spinning the singles for Crocus handspun [Ravelry]. I now have two handspuns ready to ply. Now I just need to fund the time to ply them!
.

Wednesday, March 08, 2017

WIP-it Wednesday...

...already!

Not much happening on the WIPs front. I didn't have the energy to work on anything last night.

With my we trip to Mom's this weekend, I need to stash dive for more hat yarn. While I could probably work on the shawl while I;m there, it would be safer to work on a simple hat. I'm having enough issues with this shawl when I can concentrate on it. I won;t have that level of concentration at Mom's.

WIPs Roll Call

Worked on:
  • Crocus handspun [Ravelry]
    Almost done with the singles...about 0.25 to 0.50 ounce left to spin
  • Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
    Working on row 40 (of 64) for chart #1. That will be followed by 30 rows of chart #2, and then chart #3 (which looks really confusing right now, but might make more sense when I get there).
  • Victoria handspun (spinning) [Ravelry
    Ready to ply,
Works In Progress:
  1. 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [Ravelry]
  2. All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting)
  3. St. Charles (needlepoint)
  4. Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch)
UFOs/Hibernation:
  1. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
  2. Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint)
  3. Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
  4. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
  5. Finishing work
  6. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)
  7. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
  8. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)
  9. Tucson Twilight (needlepoint)
WIPs To Be:
  • A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.

Tuesday, March 07, 2017

Top-of-the-Waves Tuesday...

...and I finally got the final photos of the Camo Baby Sweater and the Macaw hat.

First, here is the final photo of Camo Baby Sweater [Ravelry]:

Camo Baby Sweater, complete

This is the Macaw Hat [Ravelry], another donation for Halos of Hope:

Macaw Hat

Specs:
Started 2/2/17
Finished 2/26/17
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Macaw
Pattern: Modification of Malabrigo Head Thingie by Anne Sahakian

Randomness:
  • I finished spinning the singles for the Victoria handspun [Ravelry]. This one was not as nice a spin as the previous yak-silk top I've spun. Maybe it was the fact that my wheel whacked out in twice during the spin, but I was very glad to be done with these singles!
  • Because my wheel seemed to be behaving itself, I started spinning a camel-silk, called Crocus [Ravelry]. It is a much smoother spin!
  • I was getting ready to mail the baby gifts to my nephew when I found out that he and his family are visiting my mom this week. I'll drive down to mom's on Friday and deliver the gifts in person!
  • I started knitting the Mother of Dragons shawl [Ravelry] again. This pattern is causing me headaches--every 3rd row I make a mistake. The pattern itself is not hard, but the chart symbols are handwritten and the lines separating the rows are faint to missing. The poor quality of the chart in the PDF is not helping. By now, I'm fairly experienced reading a knitting chart, but this one... I'm definitely not fond of yarn-overs before or after stitch markers!

Friday, March 03, 2017

Eye Candy Friday...

...first one for March.

We continue to have crocuses blooming the backyard. This is a Pickwick crocus nearly the end of its bloom:

Pickwick crocus, nearing the end

The Blenheim apricot tree is setting its blossoms:

Apricot blossoms are appearing

...and the plum trees are going crazy with blossoms:

Plum blossoms

Up this weekend: No trips or events this weekend. I need to do a little catch-up on housework, but then its mostly crafts.

I'd like to finish spinning the yak-silk that's on the wheel. I have so many yummy new fibers to spin...I want to spin them all now! However, I'm not sure whether the latest repair of the wheel is going to hold.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!
.

Thursday, March 02, 2017

February 2017 recap...

...Stitches West, our anniversary trip, and a short month = less time to craft.

Finished:

  • 2/26 Macaw Hat [Ravelry]
  • 2/26 Camo Baby Sweater [Ravelry] (knitting)
  • 2/18 Baby Camo Hat [Ravelry] (knitting)
  • 2/12 Sea of Dreams baby quilt (quilting)
  • Books:
    1. Three Sisters, Susan Mallery
    2. Only Mine, Susan Mallery
    3. Echoes in Death, JD Robb
    4. Only Yours, Susan Mallery
    5. Chasing Perfect, Susan Mallery
    6. Finding Perfect, Susan Mallery
    7. Summer Nights, Susan Mallery
    8. All Summer Long, Susan Mallery
Started:
Works In Progress:
  1. 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [Ravelry]
  2. All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting)
  3. Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [Ravelry
  4. St. Charles (needlepoint)
  5. Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch)
  6. Victoria handspun (spinning) [Ravelry]
UFOs/Hibernation:
  1. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
  2. Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint)
  3. Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
  4. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
  5. Finishing work
  6. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)
  7. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
  8. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)
  9. Tucson Twilight (needlepoint)
WIPs To Be:
  • A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.

Wednesday, March 01, 2017

WIP-it Wednesday...

...in which I show a (nearly) finished object.

This is the Baby Camo Sweater:

Baby Camo Sweater, nearly done

Specs:
Started 2/19/17
Finished 2/26/17
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Camouflage
Pattern:  Five Hour Baby Sweater by Courtney Filner

I originally declared it done when I was going to add buttons. I had the buttons picked out and everything. After talking to a knitting friend, we decided I-cord ties were a better choice. I knit one i-cord during a meeting and started the second one. I'll finish the second tie watching TV tonight.

I still need to take photos of the finished Macaw hat, probably this weekend.

WIPs Roll Call

Worked on:
  • Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
    Trying to figure out where I left off.
Works In Progress:
  1. 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [Ravelry]
  2. All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting)
  3. St. Charles (needlepoint)
  4. Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch)
  5. Victoria handspun (spinning) [Ravelry]
UFOs/Hibernation:
  1. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
  2. Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint)
  3. Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
  4. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
  5. Finishing work
  6. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)
  7. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
  8. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)
  9. Tucson Twilight (needlepoint)
WIPs To Be:
  • A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.

Another Finished Object...

 ...yay! I finished the first yarn on my new Lendrum DT. I tried a 2-ply and it turned out OK. Using the plying head was not as smooth...