Livin' La Needle Loca

...AKA as the Great Fabric Refolding Project. Here is a quick glance: I used about 150 of the 200 comic boards I ordered from Amazon. Obviously, what you see above does not represent 150 fabrics...let's just say the rest are hidden from view.  I'll need more boards as I still haven't touched the Christmas fabric.  I ordered 200 more...yeah, I'll be folding fabric for a while. Amazingly enough I managed to get a few chores done. I also made the Husband's day when I went through about 20 years worth of files that had stagnated in a couple of rolling file folder organizers. Most of it got recycled...no point in keeping old notes from  my System 3-V UNIX days! I did find some old pictures that I though I'd lost, so it was a WIN all the way around. The Husband made great progress on pulling up the old floor in my future studio. We need to move some bookcases so he can continue. That means going through about 200 cookbooks. Goodie!! More purging and org...

...because the day escaped me. Petunia: Pink snapdragons: Pink celosia: Up this weekend:  The continuing reorganization of my stashes. I have  a lot of fabric to fold an then some yarn to sort through. It's slow-going, but worth it in the long run! .

...and there are no new WIPs to show. Here's what I've been working on: Carousel Socks [ Ravelry ]. I am getting closer to having the left cuff be the same length as the right. Avila Beach handspun [ Ravelry ]. I finished plying it, but I'm not completely happy with it. I still struggle with two-ply yarn...I either over-ply it or under-ply it. This time it's under-plied, which is not terrible if I use it as weft. I need to decide whether I'm going to add a little more twist to it before I declare it "done."  I do love the way the colors blended together. Fabric stash: I'll start working my way through the larger cuts of fabric now that I received my shipment of comic book boards. I read about making mini-bolts using comic book boards in this post in the That Girl...That Quilt blog . Amazon had the boards...I ordered 2 packs and they arrived yesterday. Can't wait to try them! Crafts will be put on hold today, though. It's The Husband...

... Boy, do I need to get cracking on a few quilts! LOL! I spent a good chunk of the weekend folding fabrics and organizing them by color and by theme. The smaller cuts are all folder to the same size and should stack nicely on shelves. If' you'd asked me last week, I would have told you that a have mostly smaller fabric piece...you know, fat quarters and half-yard cuts. That would have been a lie. See that chair with the box of fabric in front of it? Those are all 2+ yard cuts of fabric. Whoa. Oh, and this isn't all of the stash.  I've barely scratched the surface of the baby fabrics and haven't touched the Christmas fabric yet. Of course, I have been collecting fabric for well over 20 years. I could open a fabric store... .

...and it looks like it will be a beautiful weekend. Yay for spring weather! The husband has been busy planting flowers and I managed to capture a few of them this morning. More daffodils are blooming: The columbines are back: And so are the irises: This nicotiana is a nice addition: Up this weekend: More organizing! I need to start purging cookbooks and some of the things we have stored in my soon-to-be studio We have a bunch of cr@p stuff we haven't looked at in a long time...old technical books and software, papers, etc. (I know I don't need to keep old versions of FrameMaker, I've just never gotten rid of them!) I also need to go through the things that landed in my sewing room because there was no other place to put them. I have a couple of new organizer cubes that I'm going to start filling with some of the loose things. I know...it's just the tip of the iceberg! On the spinning front, I started plying Avila Beach last night and ...

...because it's Thursday and I haven't posted yet this week. BY the time I think of posting, it's the end of the day. [sigh] So in no particular order, here is an update. Warning : Cookie A and Pro-Verbial club spoilers ahead... Taxes were filed on time, thank goodness! No needlepoint has occurred. I just didn't feel like working on the piece. Maybe it's because I am uninspired by the color combination in Anasazi. I'm working on the Carousel Socks [ Ravelry ] again. Here's what they look like so far: I am working on the left cuff to get it to the same point as the right cuff. Then I will start knitting them two at a time. It's just too slow to do them one at a time.   I finished the spinning the singles for Avila Beach [ Ravelry ]. I't will become a two-ply yarn when I get a chance to ply it.   I received my Pro-Verbial Club installment for April. I love the pattern [ Ravelry ] and adore the fiber: The biggest challenge will be to spin 520 ya...

...for no particular reason. Easter weekend was busy between Spin-In and Easter brunch.  I just didn't have the energy on Monday or Tuesday to post. Before I knew it, it was Friday and I still hadn't posted anything. While I have been working on our taxes, it has not totally consumed my time. I guess I just needed a break! Most of today's eye candy comes from a tulip bouquet that the Daughter gave me for Easter. The flowers are now coming to the end of their lives. They have been a colorful reminder of spring during these rainy days. Here's part of the bouquet: A purple tulip taken a couple of days ago: And the same tulip this morning: An orange tulip: and a pink tulip: The lavender has begun to bloom in the front yard, too: This week has not seen any progress on the Carousel socks or my needlepoint. Of course, there was spinning on Saturday. I've done a little reading, but not any more than I normally do. Mostly, I've been crui...

...still having trouble believing it's April. Guess I better get working on the tax return! For today's eye candy we have Marionberry blossoms: This is in our front yard along the common wall we share with our neighbor. An orange rose: This is in our neighbor's front yard. The roses are lovely shades of orange. I don't really like orange, but these roses are beautiful. Up this weekend: Spin-In on Saturday! I need to figure out something easy to make because I have lots of other things to do that day. I'm looking forward to spinning, On Sunday, we are doing Easter brunch for the Daughter and The Husband's parents. That means a little house cleaning has to happen on Saturday, as well as preparing some food ahead of time. We're having Eggs Benedict, cheese quiche, and fresh fruit. I've made Eggs Benedict a million times,  but never for company. Here's hoping the poached eggs turn out company-worthy! .

Finished: 3/4 Nefertem Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] 3/17 Color and Weave Mini-tote Bag, Stitches West class (weaving) [ Ravelry ] 3/24/12 Muir Woods Moss handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Merino-Bamboo top by Royale Hare; 245.6 yds 2-ply, WPI 13 3/25 Occidental Orchids handspun  [ Ravelry ] Merino-Bamboo top by Royale Hare; 156.3 yds chain-ply, WPI 11 Books: Archangel's Consort, Nalini Singh  A Perfect Blood, Kim Harrison Archangel's Blade, Nalini Singh Fair Game, Patricia Briggs Falling for Rachel, Nora Roberts Nice Girls Don't Bite Their Neighbors. Molly Harper Minding Frankie, Maeve Binchey Confessions of a Prairie Bitch...,  Alison Arngrim Angels Flight, Nalini Singh Started: 3/17 Muir Woods Moss handspun (spinning)  [ Ravelry ]  3/8 Carousel Socks  (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Worked on: Anasazi by Susan Portra (needlepoint) Works In Progress, did not work on: Cazadero Mist handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Seaweed Cardigan ...

...wow, that one week of blasting out a client release played havoc on blogging! Let's catch up. I finished some spinning, but didn't have a chance to photograph it until now.  Here is the Muir Woods Moss handspun: and the close-up: Specs: Started 3/17/12; Finished 3/24/12; Merino-Bamboo top by Royale Hare; 245.6 yds 2-ply, WPI 13 I finished Occidental Orchids: and the close-up: Specs: Started 2/18/12; Finished 3/25/12; Merino-Bamboo top by Royale Hare; 156.3 yds chain-ply, WPI 11 The company party on Saturday was fun and my mini pineapple upside-down cakes turned out yummy: The March installment of the Rockin' Sock Club arrived (click the spoiler picture to see it) : The yarn color and patterns are OK...they are not really me. However I think the yarn might make an interesting weaving project if I pair it with a matching color. I can't think of what else I missed, other than the recap. I'll get that posted soon.  I...