Livin' La Needle Loca

...and another picture from the garden. (And, no, it's not apricots!) It's a chocolate sunflower. It's really more of a red than brown, but very pretty. We have 4 or 5 in the yard right now. The Husband is really good at finding seeds for unusual flowers and vegetables, making out garden very different from most. It's really kind of cool... Up this weekend, the great apricot picking. We need to get the fruit off the tree and into the freezer before it gets overripe. Not much else on the agenda except spinning and knitting! Have a good one!

The mail brought two goodies today. First my Knit Picks order of circular needles (size 2.5, 2.75, 3.0 mm) and DPNs (2.75 and 3.0 mm). I really love the tips on these needles and prefer them for socks. Now I can have a couple of pairs of socks going with Knit Picks needles. The other thing that arrives was the June installment of Sundara Yarn 's Petals Collection. OMG...it's gorgeous. Look (click to enlarge): Here's a close-up of the the other side of the skein: (The true color is somewhere between the two pictures.) Love this yarn! The pattern is interesting and looks pretty challenging. Given my current state of sock mojo, I may want to hold off knitting it! Once I get the Tide Walkers done (and I will get them done if it kills me!), then I'll start the next pair of socks. Even though I have enough needles to start another pair now, I don't want to until I get the current ones done. If I cast on another pair I might be tempted to put aside the Tide Walkers and t...

...right now, it's apricot ! We're fighting off the birds right now who are also loving the 'cots. They are claiming quite a few, but there are still lots on the tree. It's a good thing we didn't thin them! (I've got nothing else..maybe Friday.)

...and I need to find it, quick! So this weekend, I was going grea t guns on my Tide Walker socks and started turning the heel on the first one. It was looking a little long, so I only did a couple of rows before I tried it on. Hmmm...it is too long. About an INCH too long...rats!! (OK, I admit that I said something a whole lot stronger than rats!) I had no choice but to frog them back to the foot and start the heel gusset again. So, basically I am back to where I was two weeks ago. (!@#$?!) This is the third pair of socks in a row that have had issues. [ Rationalization mode ON ] At least this one I can attribute to the fact that these are my first toe-up socks and I am not familiar with how long I should make the foot before starting the gusset increases and how it should look on my foot at that point. [ Rationalization mode OFF] Everything I read said to allow about 3 inches for it and that's what I did. Obviously for my foot, it's a little closer to 4 inches. So, I fr...

...for Eye Candy Friday, I give you nearly ripe Blenheim apricots: I love having this tree in our yard. Not only for the fruit, which tastes better than any store-bought apricot ever could, but for the memories it invokes. Looking at this tree is both heart-warming and heart-breaking. I've spent most of my life in the Santa Clara Valley; it was called Valley of the Heart's Delight before it became known as Silicon Valley. I lived in San Benito county for the first six years of my life and then moved to Gilroy. We often drove to San Jose to visit relatives, and sometimes my dad would let us tag along to San Francisco when he took his boss to the airport. What I remember most about those trips were the miles and miles of orchards that we saw along the way—walnuts, almonds, prunes, cherries, and of course, apricots. Row after row of trees, with green leaves and fruit hanging from their limbs. My grandmother lived in Hollister next to an apricot orchard. We loved visiting her righ...

...brought to you by Spunky Eclectic ! (sorry this is not the greatest picture, but you can see all the wonderful colors!) Left to right: Corriedale - Blue Moon Corriedale - Cheeky Monkey South African Fine - Mermaid Falkland - Chocolate Cherries Corriedale - Peacock I've really been wanting the Chunk Monkey since I first saw it online. I love the color combination! Chocolate covered cherries is one of my favorite treats and I have a plan in mind for Blue Moon. Peacock is just pretty... ...and how could I not buy something called Mermaid? This is the first time I've ordered from Spunky Eclectic and I am very impressed with the speed in which the order was filled and shipped. I ordered it on Friday and received it yesterday! I was also impressed with the service from Yarn Wench , who had the same turn-around time. Both have wonderful color selections, too. You can bet I'll order from these two places again! (Not for a while, though. I have more than enough stuff to spin now...

. ..occasionally. Here's the current state of the "TideWalker"socks: I am working on the gusset increases, trying them on every few rows so I can see whether I need to make any adjustments. This weekend was busy, what with cleaning the house and having the Father's Day/Birthday lunch yesterday. My knitting and spinning time was limited, but I did manage to start a new spinning wheel project. I chose the Lupines and Poppies colorway from Yarn Wench (you can see a picture in the More Goodies/Sold Fibers pages; it's on page 2 today). The colors make me happy and remind me of my childhood on the ranch in Gilroy. They are becoming much more muted as I spin them and the single is very pretty. Later in the week I'll have more on the bobbin and I'll post a picture of my progress.

Today, I'd like to salute the fathers in my family, and extended family. First and foremost is my father. As I've mentioned before, my father passed away when I was 11. I still miss him, especially on his birthday and Father's Day. Even now, 40-mumble years later, some of my memories are crystal-clear...his smile and his voice are still with me. So on Father's Day, I celebrate my father. He wasn't here nearly long enough. I also celebrate the Husband. When he joined our family, the Daughter was 3 years old. It took a lot of guts to become a step-father at 26. He has always been supportive and loving in his relationship with her and he is the perfect partner, as a parent and a husband (Love you, JR!). This is one of my favorite pictures of them: I also celebrate my father-in-law, brothers, and brothers-in-law. They are all great dads and have raised really great kids. And I celebrate all the other dads in my life. I could fill this blog with their pictures, but yo...

Today, you get a collection of pictures because I couldn't make up my mind. (As with all pictures on my blog, click to enlarge.) First up, pansies from the window box... a barrel cactus in the backyard... and the Blenheim apricots are nearly ready! So, while I was standing underneath the apricot tree taking pictures, I was buzzed by a couple of birds. This is not an unusual occurrence in our yard, wild kingdom that it is. However, when I tried to take a picture of the bees feeding on these purple flowers, look who got into the act: This is one of the four hummingbirds that frequent our yard. There are two pairs who fight over the feeder. One pair decided that I was doing something "interesting" and buzzed me. Then they hovered a bit to check out what I was doing. When they got bored they moved on, but not before I got this picture: Hummers are funny little birds...they sometimes get very close to us and watch what we do. And they absolutely adore buzzing the cats! U...

...presenting Burning Bush 3-ply yarn (close to "true" color): and the close-up: Specs: Louet's Northern Lights roving , spaced dyed 100% wool top (8 ounces) Color: Burning Bush (#34) Spun and plied on Lendrum Folding wheel Yield: 390+ yards traditional 3-ply; approx. 50 yards Navajo plied Weight: average 15 wpi; somewhere between weight 2 (fine) and 3 (light) I did a better job of plying on this yarn than on previous ones, but I still need to improve my consistency. I was way off on estimating yardage on the singles. I ending up with a lot more on one bobbin than the other two, hence the 50 yard of Navajo-plied yarn. What was interesting: the two bobbins that came out "even" each weighed 3 to 4 grams more than the bobbin with the extra yardage. The bobbin with extra yardage was also the last bobbin I spun, so my only conclusion is that my spinning was thinner on the third bobbin. So what will this become? I think it looks more like a sweater than a pair of s...

...it was good! I finished spinning the Burning Bush roving and am in the process of plying it. I'm making this a 3-ply yarn, too: I'm still spinning the Moonstone roving, using the new spindle. Here's a picture of my progress: The yarn on the right was spun with my Cascade Little Si spindle; the yarn on the left was spun with my square mini Spindlewood spindle. The lighter spindle has made a big difference on the consistency and thinness of my spinning. I'm making slow progress on the Tide Walker socks (the spinning keeps calling to me!). I have another half inch before I start the heel. I'm off today and tomorrow, so I'll be able to finish plying the Burning Bush yarn. The next picture you see will be of the completed yarn!

...carrot harvest picture courtesy of the Husband: Pretty cool...can't wait to try them! Oh, and let me report on the new spindle: LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! Not only is it gorgeous, but it spins smoothly and spins longer than any of my other spindles. It's just what I needed for the Moonstone roving. My weekend plans have shifted a bit, but it's all good. The Daughter is now coming home on Sunday instead of Saturday and the Husband is taking a long bike ride on Saturday. This means I can clean the house Saturday morning and have the rest of the day to spin or knit! Yay!

...at least on the mornings I go to the gym. The socks are progressing, but they are still "toes." And the spinning doesn't look much different at this point. However, look what came in the mail today: My new Spindlewood square mini spindle! The whorl is Cocobolo and Yellowheart woods and the shaft is Flamewood. It weights 24 grams (7/8 oz.). I bought it from the current issue of the Woodland Woolworks WoolRag . I didn't pick the spindle itself; I just told them I wanted a laminate square spindle and this is what they sent. I'm sure if I really wanted to pick, I could have called and talked to them, but it was Sunday...and I wanted it ASAP, so I let the Universe pick for me. What can I say? I'm very happy with my new toy and it spins beautifully! Of course, I also bought some fiber—8 ounces of combed hemp top. I'm saw a cute hemp short-sleeved top at the Art & Wine festival, but it was too expensive. So, I thought I'd try spinning some and see how...

...the berries were ready for picking (and eating!) on Sunday: Of course, no photo shoot is complete without at least one nosy cat... On the fiber front, I spun another bobbin of Burning Bush and made slow progress on the Moonstone spindle spinning. I was getting frustrated with the spindle because the Moonstone roving is a little "soft" and the spindle is too heavy to spin it as fine as I want—the spindle keeps breaking the single. So, you know what that means...I had to order a lighter spindle (Darn! I hate when that happens! LOL!) I also managed to get some actual knitting done (I know !) I morphed the toes of the RSC Walking on the Wild Tide (Grasshopper) socks into toe-up Jaywalkers , or as some club members call them, Tide Walkers. Here's a picture of the front of one sock and the back of the other. I'm really enjoying this pattern and yarn combination. I love the way the colors are working with the pattern! This is a much better combination for my hands. This...

May can be summed up in one word: spinning! Finished: Grape Jelly yarn, 388 yards of 3-ply; Northern Lights 100% wool top in Grape Jelly spindle-spun; wheel plied Emerald yarn, 105 yards of 2-ply; 2 ounces Chasing Rainbows Merino top in Emerald spindle-spun; wheel plied 2-row pattern counter Corrriedale yarn, 10 yards of 2-ply Misc. spinning practice Started: Spinning 1/2 pound of Northern Lights 100% wool top in Burning Bush; 1+ bobbin so far Spinning 2 ounces Chasing Rainbows Merino top in Moonstone; 1+ spindle-fulls so far Knee High to a Grasshopper socks, Rockin' Sock Club in Walking on the Wild Tide Back to Square 1: Grasshopper Socks...these are morphing into Jaywalkers On Hiatus until I can face them again: Hydrangea socks (knitting) In progress, but didn't work on: Flip-top mittens (knitting) Just Nan 2002 Christmas ornament (cross stitch) Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch) Peekaboo mittens (knitting) Queen Mermaid (cross stitch) Sangria shawl (knitting) Sea...

Today's Eye Candy Friday is brought to you by the Husband. Blenheim apricots: Blueberries: Pomegranate flowers: Other flowers (don't know what kind, but they're pretty!) Hasn't he done a fabulous job with our garden? He's off on a camping trip with some buddies, so I took the day off to commune with the garden, the kitties, and, of course, Sirena. A recap post will be coming, but I may not make it today. Have a great weekend!