Livin' La Needle Loca

...I've been a little busy in the studio! First, some eye candy. There are dahlias blooming: Hydrangeas: and the Blenheim apricots are almost ready! Hope we get some before the squirrels completely strip the tree! In studio news, we received our new IKEA Kallax bookcase and assembled it. We moved it and the Expedit bookcase together and I was able to load my fabric. Hooray! I also was able to move the photo boxes containing small tools, craft supplies, and office items into the room. The space above the bookcases are perfect for them. Yesterday, we built the new cabinet that will house the cat litter box in the studio. It has a door that will hide the box from view when they are not in there. It also has an odor control feature. The studio is my biggest WIP right now, but here's the WIP update that I missed posting on Wednesday. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Morgana (cross stitch) Working up the torso to the upper body. Studio Star...

...and a first look at the studio! Technically, it's all eye candy to me but we'll start with the garden first. We harvested the first blackberries of the season: And the dragon fruit has set flowers: The Husband wasn't sure whether these flowers would get properly pollinated. They are usually pollinated by moths and we don't have a lot of those. The Husband pollinated these two at night when the flowers were fully opened. When the third flower emerged, he noticed that a fat black bee was on the job. Good to know for the next season! On to the studio...while it's not quite finished, it's finished enough that I could take photos. The only things remaining to be done are installing the retractable screen for the slider and some clean-up. Before and After of the main area:   Before and after of the alcove area   Before and after of the slider   Before and after of the outside   The bathroom! I can't wait to reload my stuff in there!...

 ...and an updated WIP photo. My current mermaid, Morgana by Mirabilia, is coming along well. I finally finished the tail and was able to turn the project. I'm now working upside-down, which is not as hard as you would think. I'm one of those people who doesn't look at the picture when I do a jigsaw puzzle. I approach each connection by shape and color, but not necessarily by what the thing is. I do the same with cross stitch. I look at each section of color and how it relates to the other colors in the area, and whether I can move from one color to the other without crossing any open areas. This approach allows me to focus on that section and not be distracted by other design elements.  This approach also allows me to easily work upside-down. The only thing I have to worry about are the symbols. When I work on a mermaid. I photocopy the color chart. I trim it down and tape it to another piece of paper for thickness. I then place it in a memo...

 ...and there are more flowers! The Husband bought me a few more flowers for Mother's Day. Between the new plants and the exzisting plants, we have flowers every where. New to the garden are Raspberry Lemonade nemesia: and Orange jessamine: Our primroses are going strong: and the blanket flowers are back: I also finished the Flock of Emotional Support Chickies [ Ravelry ]: Specs: Started 5/8/2026 Finished 5/11/2026 Emotional Support Chicken® Little Chickie by Annette Corsino Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Paints in Springbrook; Loops & Threads Soft & Shiny Ombres in Shimmer; Loops & Threads Soft Classic in Peach Tree Multi and Bluebird Multi; Trendsetter Yarns Tonalita in Rio

...because I was so involved with a knitting project that I didn't want to stop to post. I've been working on these cute little Emotional Support Little Chickies by Annette Corsino [ Ravelry ]. I needed something other than cross stitch to work on and this pattern filled the need. Once I got the hang of the pattern, I love how quickly they come together. I personally have a problem with wrap-and-turns, but this pattern is fairly easy to follow. After a couple of missteps, I now know which rows need my complete attention and that I must double up the yellow yarn that I am using to avoid large gaps in the stitches. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Flock of Emotional Support Chickies (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Stuffing and finishing 5 chickies; deciding whether to do another in a different color. Morgana (cross stitch) Still working on the lower fins. I have hit an area with long sections of the same color and it's a little boring. ...

 ...I had a great Mother's Day!  The Daughter sent these beautiful roses on Friday for Mother's Day.  We went to her house for lunch and enjoyed spending more time with her. Between the trip to Cabo and Mother's Day, we've probably spent more time with her this month than than we have in a long time. Not than I'm complaining in any way!  We're nearing the end of the studio remodel and I can't wait! There are so many things that I want to order for the room, but I need to wait until we're sure that we can get in there without getting in the way. The only thing I've been to do is partially set-up the laundry area. The laundry area is tight and there's no way that I could have a cabinet that would house both the cat box and laundry necessities.  I bought magnetic shelves to put on the side of the W/D tower to hold detergent, dryer sheets, paper towels, etc. It's working very well so far. I just need to get a ...