Livin' La Needle Loca

...and not a lot of any one thing. I had great plans for finishing my Calla Lily socks this week-end. However, it turned out to be one of those weekends where too many things were calling my name. First off, my red and black quilt blocks came out of hibernation - I stuck them in a drawer when I got frustrated with the layout several months ago. I put them up on my quilt wall and started playing with the layout again. I need to make a lot more to complete the top. Next, I've been looking at all the neat stitch markers that people have been giving/receiving and I wanted to try my hand at making some. So I made a few with some beads I had in my bead stash. OK, that was fun, and fast! Since I'm really bad at bending wire, I strung the beads on tiger tail and used crimping beads to hold things. They look pretty good...I need to make more of these! (OK, so one scissor fob snuck in there...) After that, I spent some time on my Calla Lily socks. I finished the heel turns and finished ...

This week's picture is of the hibiscus bush in our courtyard (some call it an atrium): I love looking at these flowers - they are so vibrant! This weekend, I hope to finish the Calla Lily socks, or at least come very close to finishing. Then I will have to choose between the Hydrangea socks or the Peaseblossom Hippy Crunchy socks...choices, choices!!

I received the August installment of the Petals Collection sock club. Needless to say, it is wonderful! How did Sundara know that these were the colors I was wishing for? The package was as nicely put together as the last time, with coordinating tissue paper and pattern envelope. Introducing, Hydrangea Socks: And a closer look at the yarn...Yummy! Of course, I haven't finished the Calla Lily socks yet...I'm stuck on the heel turns, trying to get rid of the holes that keep appearing with the yarn-overs. (Not to mention the Hippy Crunchy socks from the Rockin' Socks club that I haven't started yet!) At least I'll never run out of stuff to do! LOL!

...I survived the family reunion (LOL!), delivered my sister's present and the baskets, ate too much, and enjoyed seeing my relatives. It can now be revealed: My sister's surprise present was a celestial quilt, called "Sister Moon." I found cool sister quotes panel ( Mini Talking Quilt Quotes ) at my local quilt store ( The Granary ). They became the centers for the squares, alternating with celestial motifs. I used celestial fabrics to make the blocks; sashed the blocks with a plain navy fabric and used a lighter blue border. I had a bunch of the dark blue batik left from my mother's turtle quilt , so I used that for the binding. Here is the label: My sister loved the quilt! My gift baskets were a hit, too. Here's what one looked like before I wrapped it in cellophane (Note: the tulle thing in the back contains a tea light): I did manage to get a little knitting done. I'm now attempting to do the short row heels for my Calla Lily socks from the Petals Co...

...but I finished my sister's present last night (well, technically this morning, but you know how that goes). I just have to put cellophane around the gift baskets and they are done. I still have to pack my clothes for the weekend. We're driving to my mom's this afternoon, so I will finally have time to work on my Calla Lily socks, and maybe cast on the Hippy Crunchy socks. I love that my husband would rather do the driving...it's a nice way for me to get knitting or stitching time! I'm going to go pack now!

... too crafty for my cat... Well, at least she thought so. I didn't pay enough attention to her all weekend and, boy, did she whine about it! I didn't get the gift baskets completely done, but I made good progress: Made 6 bars of Grapefruit-Cassis soap Made 5 jars of Grapefruit Sugar-Salt Scrub Made 5 jars of Lavender Bath Salts Here's a picture of the three items: In the group picture, the soap color is off and you can't see that it is somewhat transparent. Here's a picture that shows the transparency and the color: Still to do: 4 to 6 bars of another soap, probably a tropical scent like Mango, Papaya, or Pina Colada. Then I have to wrap and label the soaps, and wrap the baskets. I also managed to make good progress on my sister's present - this took up most of the weekend. I'm still behind, but I think I have a good chance of getting it done by Friday. No pictures for that yet!

...gotta finish my sister's present, make some soap, and put my gift baskets together as well as do all those other weekend chores like buy groceries. Since I'm going to the reunion next Friday, it means that I can't leave much to finish during the week because there's not as much "week" next week. LOL! This week's entry is the photo I used to make my banner: My daughter took this picture when she was in Costa Rica last summer. I love the combination of oranges and yellows even though they are not my favorite colors. (Click on it to see a larger view.) That's it for now. If all goes as planned, I will have finished objects on Monday and some pictures!

Hmmm, this week is racing by, probably because I have so much to do. I have some things I need to finish in time for the family reunion next weekend (18th) and I'm rapidly running out of time. The primary thing to finish is my sister's birthday present. Now, I've made good progress, but I'm not nearly as far along as I should be. I will have to spend most of my weekend working on this. The other thing I need to finish are some prizes for the reunion. I'm making 4 gift baskets with some of my soaps (oh, yeah, I make M&P soap too) and other bath items. I'm knitting cotton washcloths, one for each basket. I have 3 made and the 4th is on the needles. I still have to make the soap, but since I've been making soap for over 3 years, I have a good repetoire of recipes to choose from. I'm more worried abut finishing the knitting and putting the baskets together. I'll post pictures of the baskets after I get them together. I won't post pictures of my ...

. ..pink ladies in bloom. Have a great weekend!

Our daughter moved to Baltimore yesterday. That sounds so strange to me. It's not like I wasn't prepared for it - I've been anticipating it ever since she decided to do her doctorate work at Johns Hopkins. Their offer was just too good to pass up and the school is fantastic. It's just that she's all the way across the country. Unlike when she was in LA, we just can't hop in the car and drive there in case of an emergency. (Not that we ever had to, but it's the principal, you know...) And the plane fare is a lot more expensive... We are used to seeing her off on her travels, whether to it's long trips to Costa Rica or short hops between here and LA. It's not the first time she's moved away from home; she'd been living in LA for 3 years. But I worry about her being so far away from family and living in a new place. (I can hear her say it now: "Mom, chill!") We have been blessed with a wonderful, intelligent, and caring daughter. I ...

The finished item: Rock and Weave socks from the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Socks Club: and the requisite foot picture: The Recap: Finished: Rock and Weave Socks - I wanted to get these done before I received the new package, but it didn't work that way. Oh, well.. Worked on: Calla Lily Socks from The Petals Collection Sock Club - I hope to get these done before the next package arrives mid-August ! Cascade Fixation anklets (no pictures yet) Kitty Pi bed My sister's secret birthday present At least I finished one thing! LOL!