Eye Candy Friday...

...blog and run.

Rudbeckia in our backyard:

Arizona Apricot blanket flower:

Moonbeam coreopsis:

Have a good weekend!
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How is is WIP-it Wednesday already?

...this week is flying by already!

So the short weekend report that I missed posting yesterday: I ran some errands, did the laundry, worked on the mermaid, and I started picking up in the studio. That's pretty much it.

I am having a heck of a time motivating myself to work on crafts after I get home from work. Mostly, I play on my iPad, watch TV, and veg out on the couch -- frequently all at the same time. So progress has slowed on many projects. Thankfully, we met for Craft Coffee this week, so I was able to make a little progress on the Charred Teal Shawl [Ravelry]. I must also confess that I started another Pine Mountain pillow for those times when I actually feel like doing cross stitch after work.

No progress photos this week...hopefully, next week!


WIPs Roll Call

Worked On:

• Charred Teal Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
  Still working on Section 3, contrasting color #2
• Christmas 9-patch Pillow (cross stitch)
  Working on the center square.
• Blue on Blue hat (knitting) [Ravelry]
  Still working on the main portion of the hat
• Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)
  Working on the bottom part of the tail.

Works In Progress, Did Not Work On This Week:

1. 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [Ravelry]
2. Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting) 
3. Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
4. Phat Fiber box, Indian Wedding (spinning) [Ravelry] 
5. Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [Ravelry]
6. St. Charles (needlepoint)
7. Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch)

UFOs/Hibernation:

1. All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting)
2. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
3. Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint)
4. Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
5. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
6. Finishing work
7. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
8. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)
9. Tucson Twilight (needlepoint)

Eye Candy Friday...

...and I'm so ready for the weekend!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my camera and I took a walk last Sunday to test out its features. Here are some of the photos I took.

To test the distance capabilities, I took some cloud photos. Here's my favorite:

To test close-up photos, I took lots of flower photos. I likes these zinnias although they are not quite as close as I wanted:

These cornflowers turned out very well:

I've always had trouble photographing lantanas. There are composes of so many little flowers that it is hard to get the right focus. My attempts with the new camera were much better:

Up this weekend: Lots of little chores. My floors need some attention and I really should spend some time getting my studio in order. There are just too many things laying around.

Of course, once one of my projects sucks me in, it will be hard to concentrate on anything else!
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WIP-it Wednesday...

...and a finished object.

Here is the completed Peek a Boo pillow:

Specs:
Started 7/30/17
Finished 9/17/17
Pillow kit from Pine Mountain Designs

This is the Blue on Blue hat in progress. It get very little play, but I haven't yet put it into hibernation.

And finally a progress photo of Mermaid of the Pearls:

WIPs Roll Call

Worked On:

• Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting)
  I cut out a couple of squares
• Blue on Blue (formerly Unnamed) hat (knitting) [Ravelry]
  Still working on the main portion of the hat
• Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)
  Finished page 1 stitching and started page 2

Works In Progress, Did Not Work On This Week:

1. 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [Ravelry]
2. Charred Teal Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
3. Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
4. Phat Fiber box, Indian Wedding (spinning) [Ravelry] 
5. Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [Ravelry]
6. St. Charles (needlepoint)
7. Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch)

UFOs/Hibernation:

1. All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting)
2. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
3. Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint)
4. Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
5. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
6. Finishing work
7. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
8. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)
9. Tucson Twilight (needlepoint)

Top-of-the-Waves Tuesday...

...and the weekend report.

In a nutshell: A little of this, a little of that, and a lot of cross stitching.

• Did the laundry and a few chores.
• Finished reading White Trash Zombie Unchained.
• Worked on the latest hat for an hour.
• Didn't touch the shawl or the needlepoint piece.
• Pressed the Peek a Boo cross stitch insert, added the button, and put the pillow together. I declare it Done!
• Choose the next small cross stitch piece to start and pressed its fabric.
• Cut out a couple of squares for the Attic Windows quilt.
• Took my new camera for a walk on Sunday. I did my normal 2-mile loop and tested the features of the camera. It became quickly apparent that I have to change my behavior when taking macro photos. With the point-and-shoot camera, I get very close to the subject and take the photo. With the new camera, it won't take photos at all if I'm too close. I need to learn how far back to stand to get the photo I want.
  
  I took about 200 photos . Because I was testing various settings, there were a lot that didn't turn out. I threw away a lot of failed photos, but that's the beauty of digital, right?
• I finally finished the first page of the Mermaid of the Pearls pattern. It's the largest of the two pages (of course). I got tired of stitching the never-ending foam on this piece, so I switched back over to her tail. As with the first page, I'm doing all of the floss stitches first before attacking the metallic stitches.

My plan is to take photos of the mermaid, the completed project, and the latest hat for tomorrow's post. We'll see if I have enough time in the morning.
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Eye Candy Friday...

...blog and run.

The Daughter bought my birthday present in Iceland. She brought me 2 skeins of yarn, a hat kit, and two lovely silver Christmas ornaments.

Ans the garden is still winding down. I did find this allium hiding by the pomegranate tree:

I took this photo with the new camera. I need to spend more time with it, but I'm happy with it so far.

Up this weekend: fortunately, no plans! I can work on whatever crafts I like...Yay!
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WIP-it Wednesday...

...and a nearly-complete project.

I've been working on a Pine Mountain pillow kit off and on. I finally finished the stitching:

I just need to press it and put it in the pillow.

I still haven't had much time to play with my camera, but I did take the photo above and this one of Tica:

WIPs Roll Call

Worked On:

• Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)
  Finished the hair and the foam.
• Blue on Blue (formerly Unnamed) hat (knitting) [Ravelry]
  Finished the ribbing; working on the main portion of the hat

Works In Progress, Did Not Work On This Week:

1. 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [Ravelry]
2. Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting) 
3. Charred Teal Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
4. Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
5. Phat Fiber box, Indian Wedding (spinning) [Ravelry] 
6. Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [Ravelry]
7. St. Charles (needlepoint)
8. Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch)

UFOs/Hibernation:

1. All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting)
2. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
3. Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint)
4. Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
5. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
6. Finishing work
7. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
8. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)
9. Tucson Twilight (needlepoint)

Top-of-the-Waves Tuesday...

...and the weekend report.

In a nutshell: the weekend was not exactly what I envisioned.

On my half-day Friday, I was fighting a headache all day. Excedrin wasn't touching it. All I wanted to do was go home and veg. I stopped at the store on the way home to buy brownie mix because I needed to make something for Spin-In on Saturday.

When I got home, I changed out of my work clothes, popped some more Excedrin, and got ready to settle down with my lunch. The doorbell rang--it was my mother and my Aunt Rachel. They dropped in unannounced. I knew they were going to be in the area, but my mother was supposed to call me the day before to let me know when they were arriving so I could meet them somewhere else...not my house. Sigh...

After a short visit, during which I tried to eat a little something, they left. I still had the headache and was feeling off. I ended up not having much for dinner either and dozed on the couch. Of course, I had insomnia when I finally went to bed.

When I woke up on Saturday morning, the headache was finally gone. Hooray!  I baked the brownies and did the laundry until I left for Spin-In.

I had a great time at Spin-In. I hadn't spun anything since July so it took a bit to get back into the swing of things. My wheel behaved itself and did not come apart. Maybe the last fix actually worked!

On Sunday, we decided that a regular grocery run was not necessary. I gained a couple of hours as a result. We were meeting the Daughter for an early dinner, so I read and worked on the mermaid until it was time to go.

We were celebrating my birthday (late) with the Daughter. Her present was 3 skeins of Icelandic wool and 2 metal Christmas ornaments that she brought back from her trip to Iceland. Very cool!

The mermaid is progressing. I'm still working on the foam...it's taking forever! And a lot of it is white floss. Anyone who has read my cross stitch posts knows that I hate stitching white floss. Ugh! And there's still a lot more to stitch.

I've been looking to upgrade to a DSLR camera, but the cost has been more that I wanted to spend. For some reason, my Mom decided to give me money for my birthday. It helped purchase a new DSLR camera. This is my new Canon EOS Rebel SL2 camera that arrived yesterday:

I haven't had a chance to do much with it yet, but I'm looking forward to learning its features. I'm not getting rid of my point-and-shoot camera yet because I like its macro features. Eventually, I'd like to get a macro lens for the DSLR, but I may wait a bit.
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Eye Candy Friday...

...first one for September.

Things are winding down in the garden. Our cherry tomato plant is in peak production mode.

The abutilon is still going strong:

and some pink cyclamen are popping up:

Up this weekend: Spin In on Saturday! I'm ready to get back to spinning after a month off. I hope that my wheel does not act up on me. And we plan on meeting up with the Daughter this weekend.

In between, there's laundry to do, chores, and errands. The mermaid is still capturing most of my craft time.
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August 2017 recap...

...I got a lot of reading done, but not much else!

Finished:

• Nothing crafty finished
• Books:
  1. Memory in Death, JD Robb
  2. Origin in Death, JD Robb
  3. Survivor in Death, JD Robb
  4. Visions in Death, JD Robb
  5. Divided in Death, JD Robb
  6. Remember When, JD Robb
  7. Time of Death, JD Robb
  8. Imitation in Death, JD Robb
  9. Portrait in Death, JD Robb
  10. Purity in Death, JD Robb
  11. Reunion in Death, JD Robb

Started:

• 8/27 Unnamed hat (knitting)

Works In Progress:

1. 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [Ravelry]
2. Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting) 
3. Charred Teal Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
4. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)
5. Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
6. Peek a Boo pillow (cross stitch)
7. Phat Fiber box, Indian Wedding (spinning) [Ravelry] 
8. Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [Ravelry]
9. St. Charles (needlepoint)
10. Unnamed hat (knitting)
11. Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch)

UFOs/Hibernation:

1. All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting)
2. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
3. Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint)
4. Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
5. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
6. Finishing work
7. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
8. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)
9. Tucson Twilight (needlepoint)

WIP-it Wednesday...

...I was so busy catching up from the day off that I forgot to blog yesterday.

Weekend report: It was blazing hot, making it difficult to think and doing anything crafty. The weatherman was wrong: it was hotter than predicted. I did manage to get some cross stitch done. But when it's 107 all you want to do is cool off! Fortunately, Sunday was only in the 90s(!) and Monday was in the 80s.

Monday was my birthday, so I got to shop for my birthday present. I wanted a new pair of cycling shoes for my spin class. While my current shoes are still usable, I'm tired of the shoelace-Velcro combination. I got a new pair of Shimano shoes that have two Velcro closures and a buckle. They will be much easier to deal with.

The new washer and dryer will take a little getting used to. There are so many settings on each one. I like that the washer displays the number of minutes the load will take. However, it takes longer to do a load in the new one. The dryer settings are a mystery. I think I'm setting it for the right dryness, but I sometimes need to put some of the pieces back in to dry completely. At least it's not just me. The Husband is having the same issue. Once we figure out the settings that will work, it will be fine.

I couldn't face using the sewing machine because it give off a certain amount of heat when in use. I had plenty of heat, thank you!

I spent most of the long weekend working on the mermaid. It was a relatively cool project to work on. I finished the hair and stitched the bubbles that hang off to the left. I also did some of the back stitching. I'm not completely happy with the back stitching on the upper arm and may redo that.

WIPs Roll Call

Worked On:

• Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)
  Finished the hair and the foam.
• Peek a Boo pillow (cross stitch)
  Finished the ghost, monster, and the witch; working on the fence (last part!).

Works In Progress, Did Not Work On This Week:

1. 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [Ravelry]
2. Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting) 
3. Charred Teal Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
4. Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
5. Phat Fiber box, Indian Wedding (spinning) [Ravelry] 
6. Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [Ravelry]
7. St. Charles (needlepoint)
8. Unnamed hat (knitting)
9. Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch)

UFOs/Hibernation:

1. All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting)
2. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [Ravelry]
3. Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint)
4. Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
5. Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [Ravelry]
6. Finishing work
7. Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [Ravelry]
8. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch)
9. Tucson Twilight (needlepoint)

Eye Candy Friday...

...and Happy September! Yeah, September...how did that happen?

We have a few things blooming the yard this week. I had to make sure I took photos today because they could all be dead by the end of the day. It's supposed to hit 104 today, completely out of character for our area. We rarely reach the 90s, much less the 100s. Mother Nature's air conditioning is on the fritz.

In the courtyard, we have Blue Throatwort:

By the front door, we have more canna lilies blooming:

In the backyard, we have lobster flowers:

and a Candy Corn plant (cigar plant):

Up this weekend: The first thing I need to do is put the studio back in order. I had to move all of the furniture to make enough room for the delivery guys to take out the old washer and dryer and put in the new ones. I'll take this opportunity to mop the floors and vacuum the rugs that are normally covered by furniture.

Then it's time to catch up with the laundry that didn't get done due to the broker washer.

In between that and trying to stay cool, I'll work on some crafts. The mermaid is my primary focus, but I might start cutting out the sashing for the quilt squares. If it gets too hot, reading mmight be the only thing I can do.

Maybe the weatherman will be wrong...
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