Livin' La Needle Loca

...which is better than limping along, right? It's been a while since I've worked on my needlepoint project. I took it to Craft Night last night and made good progress: I stitched all of the cotton threads for sections 7 and 7a (left side above the shiny blue ribbon divider. I am so not working this in the order that the designer specified!  See that empty area below what I just stitched...that's section 6.  I haven't touched it! I've  stopped trying to manage the color distribution and I'm just letting things fall where they may. However, if it starts getting too pink, I will try to balance it with more blues and teals. This picture doesn't do it justice. It's so much prettier in person. I've narrowed down my food ideas for Saturday's party. The simple one is to do "Queen of Hearts" tarts. I've made mini-tarts many times and they are quick to assemble. The other is Little Mermaid cupcakes...I think I've been watching to...

....from now on. (If I wish it, it will happen, right?) The weekend was somewhat productive. I got a few chores done and went to the grocery store. Mostly, I just hung out on the couch either spinning or knitting. I spun two bobbins of singles for the Freestone Fireworks merino-tencel top I bought at Stitches West from Royale Hare. The Blue Whale shawl took another step back as I was not happy with the way the second section was shaping up. I pulled back to the lifeline and started section two again. It's looking much better this time. I swear I'm doing the same thing I did before...why it's looking better thing tine, I had no idea. I spent a little time looking through my fabric stash and found a couple of fabrics that might work for the wall hanging. The problem is, one of the fabrics is not really in my stash...it's one of the fabrics for the other commissioned piece. Since The Granary was open for the last Sunday of the month, I went in to see if I could f...

...falling from the sky, aye! I'm tired of being cold and wet. My space heater is working its little heart out. I'm wearing so many layers, I feel like Danny Kaye in "White Christmas"...although I wouldn't mid the electric blanket right now. There was a break in the rain this morning and I managed to get some pictures before it started again. The freesias are starting to go crazy, see: Lots of raindrops everywhere... Up this weekend: Oh, I don't know...sleep, maybe? A little housework? A little crafting... I do need to raid my fabric stash and see what I can do about my second commissioned project. I'm making a wall hanging for Jane and we finally had a chance to chat about the specs. I think I might have almost everything I need, but I want to double-check. Truly, all I really want to do this weekend, is stay warm... .

...cold enough that I have to run the space heater in my office all day! The only active WIP I have is the Blue Whale Shawl. Once I finally got the increase problem resolved, it's been moving right along. I have finished section 1 of the pattern and started section 2. The longer the shawl gets the more evident the color changes become. When I spun it, the yarn simply looked like variations of blue. As I'm knitting the shawl, I'm noticing some gray, greenish-gray, and darker blue sections. It's really kind of cool to see these colors emerge! When I finished section 1, I did the smart thing and put in a lifeline before I started the next section. I hope this will guarantee that I don't make mistakes in the next section because I took precautions. (But I'm also smart enough not to hold my breath...LOL!) .

...lots of them lately. (10 points if you started humming Rainy Days and Mondays!) When I went home on Friday, there was a little break in the rain, but it didn't last long. Except for a trip to the grocery store, I stayed inside most of the weekend. I did a little of this and a little of that. I did make progress on the commissioned quilt. I'm working on an element for the backing and it will take some time to complete. I finished the Sebastopol Raspberry Farm yarn [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Sebastopol Raspberry Farm yarn Started 3/13/11 Finished 3/20/11 Merino Bamboo top (4 oz) from Royale Hare Spun and plied on Lendrum DT folding wheel 208.4 yds 2-ply 12 WPI It has long runs of pink and green, with some barber pole sections in between. I don't think the Husband was too impressed by the colors as they are a little bright. In a woven scarf with the right warp though, I think the colors will mellow out. I worked on the Blue Whale shawl fo...

...I'd like a few more sunny days, thank you very much. Tired of cold and/or wet weather. So ready for warmer weather! At least the garden is not looking so drab any more. Things are starting to bloom all over. Our two nectarine trees have set a lot of blossoms. Knowing I love nectarines, the Husband planted a nectarine tree for me...a white nectarine tree. When I told him that I really preferred the yellow nectarines, he went out and got another nectarine tree! In keeping with his tradition of planting something and not indicating what it is, here's a look at some unknown bulb growing in one of the containers. We won't know what it is until the flower opens! The fig tree is starting to set leaves. For a little tree, it produces quite a few figs. Yummy! A new flower to the yard is this red mask flower, very pretty little flowers. Up this weekend: continue to work on the commissioned quilt. I want to cut and prep the binding so it's one more task off ...

...and I have two previously-unseen WIPs! First is the Sebastopol Raspberry Fields spinning. This is the first bobbin: Because of the way it's dyed, it's spinning up with very few blended pink-green sections. I think this will make a great two-ply yarn. Next is the Blue Whale Shawl: I'm not happy with this project yet. It's totally my fault, not the pattern's or the yarn's...I am just not great at M1L and M1R. I always have huge holes at the increases. (I'm much better with KFB.) Anyway, I've started this 3 times because I didn't like how it looked. I've improved the lighting where I knit so I can better see the "bar" to pick up...and while it's better this time around, I'm still not thrilled. [sigh] I need to look at the how-to videos some more. The only problem with that is that they clearly show where the bar is, but I'm knitting with much thinner yarn and it's harder to see which strand to pick up. Wh...

...wish I had the other kind of pie! The weekend went by too quickly. I did a few things around the house on Saturday morning and the afternoon was spent at Savannah's Celebration of Life. It was a lovely celebration, filled with laughter, tears, and many hugs, It was nice reconnecting with some of the Daughter's HS classmates and their parents, and meeting some new people. They showed a couple of slide shows with Savannah's favorite songs playing in the background. The one that really tore us up was "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry.. Her mom said that she loved to sing that song and her brothers would sing it with her. In fact, the boys sang along while it played for the slide show. [sigh] So sad... Sunday, I decided to keep chores to a minimum and concentrate on crafts. I spent a few minutes with my commissioned quite, but really was not feeling like sewing. Since I know that I make too many mistakes when I'm not "into" a project, I decided...

...and spring is coming! The poppies have started to bloom. Sorry, I don't have much else to take pictures of right now. Soon, though. The Husband has tomato seedlings started, and there are a few buds on the hibiscus and rose bushes. Up this weekend: We are attending  Celebration of Life for Savannah on Saturday. It will be the first time we've seen her parents and family since it happened. I'm looking forward to hugging them in person instead of sending hugs through the Ethernet. I need to work on the backing for the commissioned quilt. I don't have a hard and fast deadline for this yet, but I want to keep making progress so I'll be ready when I do get a date. I'd love to start spinning some of the fiber I got at Stitches West...since I'm missing Spin-In on Saturday, maybe I'll just have my own private Spin-In on Sunday!  Sounds like a plan to me! .

...in which all of my WIPs still look pretty much the same as the last time. The Beets Go On socks are still in cuff form. I started to work on them Monday night and remembered why I had put them aside. There were some weak areas of the yarn that resulted in breakage in a couple of places. If I didn't know better, I'd accuse one of the cats of chewing on the yarn! One ball had weak places in a couple of spots and the other just in one. I've cut out the bad areas and used the Russian join for the ends. I'm not too worried about using this kind of join in the cuffs. I hope this is the last issue I have with this yarn! I've started working on the Turquoise Trail again needlepoint. I took it to craft night last night and made some progress. I really want to get this done as I have a Susan Portra needlepoint that's calling my name! My spindle spinning is frustrating right now. While I love the feel and the color of the Wisteria angora-merino top I'm spinning ...

...in a word: productive! We got a few things organized, some stored things packed more compactly, and cleaned up some of Kayla's things. I still look for her when I go out into the Husband's office...it will take a while to stop doing that. We do miss her little face in the window. I finished the top of my commissioned quilt. I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I'm going to have a hard time giving this one up as it's all in my colors! I finally took pictures of the yarn I finished at the end of February. ...and the close up. Specs: Plum Creative yarn [ Ravelry ] Started: 2/13/11 Finished 2/27/11 20% Milk Protein, 20% Seacell, 60% Wool Top from Creatively Dyed 143.3 yards Navajo-plied; 12WPI This yarn did not have a name, so I named it (color RMS6 didn't do it for me). It's very energized in some places...the stuff I spun at Spin-In is a lot more relaxed than the stuff I spun at home! And I finally finished a pair of socks! Yay! ...

...it's been a week! Today, it's all about the flowers. The Husband planted more pansies... and some white primroses. A friend brought me this begonia plant in sympathy for our loss of Kayla. I'm thinking we should plant this in her cat grass planter... Up this weekend: finally take some pictures of the yarn I finished a week ago. Finish the top on my commissioned quilt—totally doable and still have time to do something else! The important thing to do is help the Husband with Kayls's things. There are extra cat dishes, etc. and we need to decide what to keep and what to give away. .

Finished: 2/27 Plum Creative yarn; RMS6 (4oz) top from Creatively Dyed Yarn [ Ravelry ] 143.3 yards, Navajo-plied; WPI 12 2/18 Scarf, in Rigid Heddle Weaving class [ Ravelry ] 2/5 Agate Merino-Silk yarn; top from the Yarn Wench 223.3 yards, 2 ply ; WPI 11 Books: Captive Heart, Anna Winsor Holiday Grind, Cleo Coyle Treachery in Death, JD Robb How to Knit a Love Song, Rachel Herron plus a couple of re-reads Started: 2/13 Plum Creative top from Creatively Dyed Yarn [ Ravelry ] 2/18 Scarf, in Rigid Heddle Weaving class 2/26 Commission quilt using the rail fence block, currently unnamed Worked on: Mochaberry Brambles (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Tealing Groovy quilt top (quilting) Turquoise Trail by Laura J Perin (needlepoint) Wisteria Angora-Merino top from Tactile (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Works In Progress, did not work on: Happy Pumpkin Scissor Fob by Shepherd's Bush (cross stitch) Hexagon socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ]  Jungle Songs quilt Natural Dyes batts fr...

...Miss Kayla passed over last night. Poor little kitty's kidneys were failing...that happens when you are an almost 16 year old cat. She was the Husband's cat and spend part of everyday in his lap. Naturally, he took it particularly hard. He couldn't stay with Kayla as she crossed over so I did. I wanted her to have someone telling her she was loved and that she was a good girl. sigh... .

...and yes, I missed yesterday's blog. [sigh] It seems that once I get to work, it's go go go until I leave. And then I'm too tired to do anything when I get home except eat dinner. So I totally missed blogging yesterday and this post going to be random and picture-less because I have a ton to do before the day is over. Made excellent progress on the commission quilt. All of the block units are sewn and I'm putting the rows together. Note to self: Rail Fence quilt...totally fast (and pretty) to make. Almost ready to do the toes on the Mochaberry Bramble socks. I tried very hard to finish them in February, but I kept falling asleep while knitting them. Finished spinning the February Spin-In yarn while watching the Oscars on Sunday. Haven't had time to take pictures or measure WPI yet. That's it for now... .