Livin' La Needle Loca

....love, love love this color! The yarn and the pattern are called Poppy. Sundara used purple poppies as the color inspiration. The yarn is a lot more purple that the pictures show. Here's a closeup: This color is enough motivation for me to start another pair of socks when I'm finally finished with Summer of Love Lace socks. (I've now finished the instep decreases and am working on the foot.) Up this weekend, the final house cleaning before vacation, figuring out which suitcases to use, laundry...you know, all those little piddly things you have to do before you can leave! Plus, I need to get my take-along projects identified and prepped. If I have any spare time, I will do some spinning. I will miss Sirena, but there is no way (and no time) to take the wheel with me.

...and it's my favorite color!! I'm saving its picture for Eye Candy Friday, but believe me, it's beautiful! And Sundara's Poppy sock pattern is cool, too. Guess which project is going with me on vacation! I'm getting closer to finishing the Summer of Love Lace socks, and I need another pair of socks to work on after that! (LOL!)

...and I'm so ready to go (well, at least mentally ready). I went clothes shopping yesterday, looking for pants and tops for the trip. I found some jeans, but I'm having trouble finding short sleeve tops (everything is long sleeve). I have some that are in decent condition, but it would be nice to have a couple of new ones. I guess I better scope out Kohl's... I have been knitting away on the Summer of Love Lace socks, but there are only so many pictures of in-progress socks I can show (the curse of the slow knitter). Since I haven't spun since Sunday, I have nothing new on that front, either. Instead, I'll show you some more pictures of old projects that I have completed. As I mentioned at one point, I'm scanning photographs of my projects so I can upload them to my web site . Today's installment is a cross stitched afghan I did for a friend's baby. (Sorry for the really bad pictures; film was never my medium and having a really cheap camera didn't...

...the window estimate was, to say the least, more than we expected. After we picked ourselves up off the floor, we told the guy we'd have to think about it. Yeah, think about getting them replaced by someone else! I know you have to pay for quality, but, wow! (I can't imagine what the estimate would have been if we'd included ALL of the windows.) So, we are now looking at plan B. Before the estimator arrived, I did some light cleaning and shifted things around in my sewing room to make it easy for him to get to the sliding glass door. I also did a hit-and-run organization pass in the room. After the estimate shocker, I decided to concentrate on getting ready for our trip and working on my crafty stuff...you know, things that are more under my control. (LOL!) I bought the cat supplies we needed, found a few sample-size things and quart-size zip bags, and did my standard errands. I got my wish and got soup weather. In celebration, I made a big pot of chicken soup for Sunday...

This morning's sky: It is much cooler in the mornings now and the sun is barely beginning to rise when I leave for the gym. So last night was the 2-hour season finale of one of my favorite shows, Burn Notice. I decided that I would work on my Season of Love Lace socks during that two hours. And look, I made progress! I am now working on the heel flaps for both socks. I'm not quite an inch into the flap and I need at least 2.25 inches before I can turn the heel. But,when you compare to where I was last Friday , I've done pretty well for me. Up this weekend: We have an appointment with window contractor to get an estimate on replacing 4 sliding glass doors. While I really wanted to have the kitchen worked on, I think the windows are more important right now. Two of these doors are in the living room, which gets very cold in the winter. The other two are in the Daughter's room (AKA my office) and the sewing room. Replacing these 4 sliding doors will reduce our heating co...

...we need the water and I want it to be soup weather! This morning it looked promising: But, see that patch of blue in there? It's taken over and it doesn't look like it will rain today. The newspaper said maybe tomorrow... I've hit a crafty brick wall. I don't feel like knitting, spinning, or quilting. Cross stitch or needlepoint are possibilities, but they aren't really calling my name either. Need to find something that will get me over that wall. (Sleep...now that appeals to me. It's hard to do that at work though! LOL!)

AKA: no picture Monday. Yes, I am a slow knitter. While others just whiz through patterns and whip up socks right and left , I plod along with my one pair of socks. I know part of the problem is that my hands get tired with small needles and I have to take many breaks to keep them from cramping up. And I'm really slow when I have to purl. I've gotten better at purling, but it still doesn't feel natural. I spent most of Sunday on the Summer of Love Lace (Flower Power) socks. I finished the cuffs, steam blocked them, and did the ribbing. For the amount of time I spent on them, I should be a lot farther (or done if I was like some of you speed demons out there!), but no. Saturday was for shopping and spinning. I went to Purlescence to check out the Dreams in Color yarn that just arrived and to see whether they had any new spinning fibers. (I just love going in that store and fondling the yarns! ) After checking everything out, I ended up buying the Baby Tulip Sweater patte...

...'cuz I couldn't make up my mind. First up, this year's duck family. This picture is from this morning's feeding: I may have mentioned before that our office complex is home to a duck family every year. This year the ducks were late in arriving so the family is still here. There are 6 babies (who aren't so little any more) and they are brazen little souls when it comes to food. Because we are in an enclosed area that has limited duck food sources and the babies can't fly yet, the mama duck has a tough time bringing in enough food for them all. We feed them corn to supplement their diets. They love the corn and will come knock on our windows when they are hungry. (The picture only shows the mama and 5 babies; the 6th duck was in the water. Next up, proof that I still knit: This is one of the cuffs from the Flower Power socks. I love how they are turning out, even though they're hard on the hands. So far, I've done 12 rows of the 20 necessary for the cuf...

...I'm working on the Flower Power socks (Rockin' Sock Club yarn), but the size 1 needles are making my hands ache. I can only do a few rows before I have to stop. As a result, I've been working on my fiber project notebook. Mostly compiling the information and still looking for those elusive yarn labels. No spinning this week (so far). I took a picture of the October sky on the bobbin, but it's a little fuzzy. I need a better setup for taking pictures on the wheel (gee, really?). At least you can see the colors. I have no problem with the oranges and the blues; it's the greenish-gold that I'm not thrilled with. (Oh, and ignore the little teal blob on the left...that's part of the leader.) I'm going to try dividing the roving width-wise to see if I can control the colors better. That's it...I know it's boring, but that's how it's been this week!

...unfortunately, they're never long enough and they're followed by Mondays! To brighten your Monday (and mine), a September rose from our garden: We had a wonderful dinner out on Friday, but I ate far too much! The Husband did himself proud in the birthday gift department. He gave me a framed linoleum print of a cat (awww!) and a platinum wedding band that matches my 20th anniversary ring (Yeah!). What a guy! I got the organization bug and alphabetized our DVDs and entered then into the database. We appear to be missing about 6 DVDs...some of them might have taken a trip to Baltimore to visit the Daughter. LOL! On the spinning front, I finished up the first bobbin of the Merino-silk roving and started spinning October Sky, another Yarn Wench roving. I'm not sure I like the way the colors are blending on this new roving, but it will probably look better when it's plyed. I decided to cast-on the Summer of Love Lace socks (the latest Rockin' Sock Club installment) ...

...Firebird yarn ( Blue Moon 's Rockin' Sock Club yarn) in Fawkes Socks pattern (from Socktopia ): Here they are on the cool Blue Moon sock blockers I bought at Stitches West: I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to have finally finished a pair of socks! Not only are they done, but they fit really well! I did the ribbing and the first pattern repeat in KnitPicks size 1(US) needles, then switched to KnitPicks size 2 needles; I went back to the size 1 needles for the toe. In celebration, I worked on the Montego Bay wrap for a bit and contemplated what to do next. The new Rockin' Sock Club pattern seems to be very quick judging from the posts I see in the club blog, but I also need to work on the Daughter's Winter things. Choices, choices! Tonight, the Husband and I are going out to for my birthday dinner at my favorite restaurant, Cascal . I'm looking forward to their Black Bean soup with Sherry and their Spanish flan...Yum! Up this weekend: more spinning, ...

...presenting Blue Moon (pre-bath): and the close-up (with a dime): S pecs: Spunky Eclectic Corriedale Wool roving (4oz) Color: Blue Moon Spun and plied on Lendrum Folding wheel 3-ply yarn: 2 Blue Moon singles plus one variegated metallic thread Yield: 180.8 yards Weight: 12 WPI, Medium (Worsted) weight Here's a picture of the Sulky Metallic thread I used (there is a lot more blue in it than the picture shows): Also, as I mentioned yesterday, here are pictures of my finished sewing projects. First up, the cover for Sirena: I used a purple, pre-quilted cotton; it is lined in the same material so nothing scratchy touches the wheel. I sewed a strap on top that I use to pull the cover off. (Note that I couldn't take a picture of this without Sombra and Tica "helping!" That's Tica hiding behind the wheel.) Here is the latest Knit2 bag. This one uses a Batik on the outside (leftover from my Mom's quilt)... ...and a seaweed-looking lining (leftover from my Tides a...

...It's my birthday too — yeah! Happy birthday to me, and to my fellow Virgos! AND I actually took a vacation day for my birthday. The Husband is on a short mountain biking trip with my brother, so I have the whole day to myself. Woo-hoo! I've been to the gym and done a few chores, so now I'm getting ready to spin the day away. Don't ask me why, but I needed to mop kitchen floor before I felt right about doing what I wanted to do! LOL! Yesterday, I made progress on the Fawkes socks—I'm going to do one more pattern repeat (12 rows) and then start the toe. Maybe I'll finish them tonight (wouldn't that be great)! I also did a couple of sewing projects that have been languishing (a cover for Sirena and another Knit2 bag). I'll post pictures of those tomorrow. Sirena is calling... (we're gonna have a good time!)

Work really impacted my personal life in August and I only finished one crafty thing. I hope September is a little better! Here's the recap... Finished: Yarn Wench 100% Falkland top (3.9 oz) in Cali Spun and plied on Lendrum Folding wheel Yield: 242 yards Navajo plied Weight: average 14 wpi In progress: Knitting Montego Bay wrap in Walking on the Wild Tide yarn, using Montego Bay scarf pattern from Interweave Knits Summer issue . Spinning 4+ oz of Yarn Wench 100% Falkland wool top in Josie; 1.5 spindles-full so far Fawkes socks in the Firebird yarn from Blue Moon 's Rockin' Sock club (almost to the toe!) Spinning 4oz of Angora Cottage 70% Merino and 30% Silk roving in purple Started: Spinning 4oz of Spunky Eclectic Corriedale in Peacock; 1 bobbin Spinning 4oz of Spunky Eclectic Corriedale in Blue Moon; 1.25 bobbins On Hiatus until I can face them again: Hydrangea socks (knitting) UFOs (In progress, but didn't work on): Flip-top mittens (knitting) Just Nan 2002 C...