Livin' La Needle Loca

...can you believe that tomorrow is August! This year is flying! And since tomorrow is August, that means I need to pull a recap together. I'll post one over the weekend sometime. I've been posting Eye Candy Friday pictures for a couple of years now. It's getting harder and harder to find new and interesting things to photograph in my little world. I mean, I've taken pictures of every flower, vegetable, and fruit in our garden at every stage of growth; pictures of stuff in the neighborhood; pictures of the cats; pictures of my stash and projects; and 50,000 pictures of sky. I've run out of ideas. Got any suggestions? So today you get a picture of the Loopy Ewe Anniversary kit that I received yesterday: I love the shape and color of the cup; the yarn color is eerily similar to the Rockin' Sock Club installment for July. I'm not sure what I'll do with the yarn...it could make an interesting woven scarf for someone who loves these colors. Hmmmm... Up this ...

...cuz it's no where around here! I keep trying to finish any of my knitting WIPs—two rows in and I'm bored. Needless to say, there are no updated photos of these projects. Maybe it's time to start quilting again. As promised, here are pictures of the finished Deep Blue Sea shawl, cleverly positioned so you don't see the places that really irk me: and here's a close-up: Specs: Started 7/16/09 Finished 7/25/09 Warp: Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Socks That Rock Lightweight in Narikama; 10 epi Weft: Handspun Seawool yarn (top from Creatively Dyed); 7-8 ppi 95"L x 18"W; Loom: Ashford 20" Knitters Loom I really want to love this shawl, but the best I can manage is "like." The colors are nice and I really enjoyed spinning the seawool, but the misbehaving warp really irritates me. The next weaving project should be better!

...and I spun more than I thought I would. Still not as much as I could have if I didn't have vacation and illness thrown into the mix. Here is my final finished yarn (I made the collage for the Ravelry Tour de Fleece group): Some of the specs are in the collage, but are all of them: Started 7/21/09 Finished 7/26/09 Merino top from Yarn Wench in Sea Nymph 2 Spun and plied on Lendrum DT folding wheel 2 singles plied with Sulky Rayon thread Yield: 229.5 yards; 14 WPI Maybe next year I'll get to spin more for the Tour... I also finished weaving the Deep Blue Sea shawl. I haven't taken any pictures of it yet, so you'll have to wait until Wednesday. I have to say that I was not as thrilled with this shawl as I wanted to be. While I normally love Socks That Rock Lightweight yarn, I was not in love with the skeins I used for the warp. There were knots in both skeins, lots off unattractive over-spun sections, and one weak area that resulted in a frayed and split warp thread th...

...and I have a couple of pictures, and they are not sky pictures! (Don't go into shock now...) First, is the Sea Nymph yarn (Merino top from Yarn Wench ) that I am spinning: I love the colors, but I really don't like spinning Merino. For me, it's never as smooth a process as spinning other fibers. I much prefer Falkland or Merino blended with something. Also, as promised, a picture of the July installment of the Rockin' Sock Club from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Click the spoiler picture to see it: This picture shows the contents of the package except for the sticker, which went up on my wall at work. It says " No Coffee, No Workee "...yup, they somehow knew that it's all about the coffee for me! LOL! Up this weekend: Finish spinning Sea Nymph. Since Tour de Fleece ends Sunday, I don't know whether I'll be able to crank out another yarn after that, but we'll see. I also want to finish weaving the shawl on the loom, and do what whatever else I ca...

...I had to be in the office earlier than normal, so I didn't get to take any pictures before I left. I am continuing to work on my new shawl. I've woven another 10 inches and it's looking pretty good. Last night I started spinning another yarn for Tour de Fleece . I want to finish at least one more yarn before Tour de France is over. (One of these years, I'll actually spin every day of the Tour!) I started spinning Sea Nymph , a merino top by the Yarn Wench (who else?! LOL!). I'm trying an experiment with this one in that I am not pre-drafting. I've split the top length-wise into 8 pieces and will spin them onto two bobbins. I haven't quite decided whether it will be a two-ply or 3-ply yarn. (Or maybe I'll spin it with some ray0n thread. Hmmm...) I still haven't had a chance to upload the reunion pictures yet. But I did get these two pictures up there. The reunion was held at the Fiscalini Ranch, the lovely home of a classmate and her husband. The...

...and the last day of my vacation. Boo! Tomorrow it's back to work. This morning I was in Morro Bay, all fogged in. I drove home to sunshine and warm temperatures. The cats really missed us and they've been whining all about how alone they were. LOL! We had fun at the class reunion...it was great seeing classmates and reconnecting. I have several pictures to upload to Flickr over the next few days. We took a little side trip to my high school just to see how much it had changed. I realized how much I loved the area and being in a small town--the rolling hills, the ocean, and the fog were all things I missed. However, I wasn't very happy about having no cell reception and limited wireless connection. Yes, I am spoiled by living in Silicon Valley! HA! I didn't do much craft-wise. However, when I got home, I started some laundry and picked up the loom to do a little weaving on the new shawl: The warp is Socks That Rock Lightweight from Blue Moon Fiber Arts in "Narika...

...I'm on the way to my hotel after a nice visit with Mom. No eye candy today because there wasn't a whole lot of interesting on Hiway 101...sorry! I'll try to make it up to you!

...I'm getting some quality time at the wheel while I'm on vacation. My goal was to finish at least two yarns for Tour de Fleece and I have met that goal. I won't have any time to spin after Thursday (unless I can sneak some spindling in), so I'm enjoying it while I can! I finished the Seafoam yarn: ...and the close up: Specs: Started 7/5 Finished 7/14 BFL top from Yarn Wench Yield: 322 yds, Navajo-ply WPI: 15 I started and finished Shipwreck: I spun this one a bit thicker and then did a two-ply. Here's the close-up: Specs: Started 7/13 Finished 7/14 Scarlet O'Hara Roving by Yarn Love (bought at Loopy Ewe Yield: 300 yds 2-ply WPI: 13 Sorry the pictures are a bit off. I took them at night because I wanted to submit them to the daily prize drawing in the Tour de Fleece [ Ravelry ] group...the pictures must be posted by midnight and I didn't want to wait until today's drawing (I'm impatient that way! HA!). Sirena has been quite happy spinning and ply...

...and I'm enjoying it. We had a BBQ yesterday and as usual we had more food than people. Some how I've never learned to cook for less than an army! At least the leftovers are good...London Broil, grill chicken, and corn on the cob. I've been feeling a lot better the last couple of days. I think part of it is that I know I don't have any pressing deadlines to meet; the other is that I am now in week 3 of this thing and the healing is well underway. I've been able to do a bit of spinning for Tour de Fleece and that makes me happy. Tomorrow, I'm going to warp my loom and that will also make me feel great. The Husband survived the Seattle-to-Portland ride quite well. Now he's off for a little R&R. We'll meet up at the end of the week for my class reunion. Since I have no WIP pictures yet, here are some garden pictures. First up, an eggplant blossom: ...and baby eggplants ...and a green tomato. There are a lot of green tomatoes in the yard, but nothing ...

...and you get a sky picture . ...because my crafting right now is hit-and-miss. Since I'm spending most of my vacation at home, I hope to catch up on my sleep and fit in as much crafting as I can handle. The Husband is off on his annual Seattle-to-Portland bike ride trip, so I'll have some "me" time after the Daughter's visit. In addition to the socks I'm knitting, I'm working on a little spinning fo r Tour de Fleece ..this in particular: This is Seafoam (BFL) from The Yarn Wench (of course!). I'm normally not much of a "green" person, but I love this combination of colors. Up this weekend: A visit from the Daughter and a BBQ for some of her friends, a few errands, and some spinning thrown in there for good measure.

...and they look pretty much the same as last time, so no new pictures. The 3 pairs of socks are coming along— they all are past the heel turns and I'm knitting the last 35% or so of each pair. And just because I needed to be tempted by another pair of socks, look what arrived on Monday (behind the spoiler picture): I love the color of this yarn and the extras are to die for! I'm so glad I was able to get into this sock club! I have been spinning a little every day in honor of Tour de Fleece, but not on the wheel. I resurrected the angora-merino top that I started on the spindle several weeks ago and am filling the spindle for a second time. It's slow going because the angora is so soft and separates easily, and I'm still pretty wiped out at the end of the day. However, I am improving and that's a good thing!

...it was a quiet weekend for me. I managed to get a few chores done around the house and few crafty things. I pretty much did what I could and rested when I needed to. The Husband was busy in the garden trying to get the drip irrigation set up so I don't have to do any watering while he's on his trip. He's trying to get other things ready, too. The Daughter will be home for a visit this weekend, so it's time to unearth her room again. The spinning fiber has started migrating to her dresser, so I need to herd it back into my craft room!(HA!) It took me a while, but I plied the Purr-ple yarn that I had ready to go: Started 5/2/09 Finished 7/5/09 Purr-ple batts from Lisa Souza , Superfine Merino and Border Leicester lamb Spun and Plied on Lendrum DT wheel Yards : 300 Navajo-ply WPI : 15 I worked on the Under the Sea socks when I felt like it. I finally got to the heel and turned it...after a few false starts, that is (so not in love with wrap-and-turn) . I'm not ...

...because I couldn't pass up another apricot picture. We're picking the last apricots this weekend. Between the heat and the squirrels, we've lost a lot apricots this year. This morning I watched a squirrel run over to the tree, pick a ripe apricot, and then climb to the top of the wall to enjoy it. At least he ate it all this time! We've been finding lots of half eaten apricots on the lawn. The yellow snapdragons that were in the front planters have finally given up the ghost. I asked the Husband to plant new flowers with different colors...anything but yellow! He picked some very interesting flowers in pinks and purples: Here are some individual pictures. An unknown purple-spired flower (he didn't leave a tag on it so I have no idea what it is): ...another salvia, this one is Marble Arch Mix: ...Dark Rose AngelMist (Angelonia): ...another penstemon, this time purple: I'm thankful that we have a holiday from work today. The week was stressful in many dimensio...

Finished: 6/6 Plumcopper scarf (weaving) 6/13 Purple Silk Wrap (weaving) 6/20 Mas-Acero Shawl (weaving) Worked on: Stranded Hearts socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Fraggled Socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Eleanor de Plume socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Under the Sea socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Purr-ple Lisa Souza wool blend batts (spinnning) Wisteria Angora-Merino top from Tactile (spinning) Started: 6/6 Plumcopper scarf (weaving) 6/7 Purple Silk Wrap (weaving) 6/14 Mas-Acero Shawl (weaving) Works In Progress, did not work on: February Lady Sweater (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Corrugator scarf (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Morning Surf Scarf (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Sea Foam Wrap (knitting) [ Ravelry ] UFOs: Black leg warmers in Caron Simply Soft yarn (knitting) Angora Cottage 70% Merino and 30% Silk 4 oz.roving in purple [ Ravelry ] Cascade Fixation anklets (knitting) Central Air socks (knitting) Chasing Rainbows Heather--one Merino-Bombyx (2 oz) and one Merino wool (2 oz) (spinning) Dogosaurus Rex s...

...I realized that Monday's comment about the "strange" was somewhat cryptic. So a little more explanation is in order (emphasis on "little"). Remember that I had the flu last Tuesday? Well, it was apparently the precursor to a small health problem I've developed...nothing earth-shattering or life-threatening, just something I need to deal with. It's small enough that I can still work full-time (maybe not as efficiently), but by the end of the work day, I'm pretty wiped out. The normal course for this thing is 3 to 5 weeks... What this means to my crafts (and the gym, Pilates, and yoga classes) is that they are taking a back seat for the moment. Sadly, this means my goal to really make a dent in my spinning stash for Tour de Fleece will have to be revamped. Weaving and knitting will be when I feel like it. Mostly I'll be concentrating on getting me back to normal. I'm going to try to keep posting on a regular basis. You just may get more gar...