Livin' La Needle Loca

...and it's Easter weekend.  While I'm not a big fan of Easter, I love this time of the year because we have tulips in the garden! Here's what I can see outside of my studio window. A pink tulip: and a few days later it looked like this: an orange tulip: and containers full of tulips and flowers: Up this weekend: I'd like to finish the cats' quilt. I'm about 50% done with the machine quilting, so I think that it's doable. I will probably finish the last few rounds of the Celestarium shawl--I'm on round 150 of 157. I have a couple of more edgings to audition and I hope one of them will be the one . I'd also like to get back to my spinning wheel! I have a wool sample to ply and I'm itching to get back to the Camel-Silk I started at the March Spin-In. We have nothing special planned for Easter. There are just too many bad memories for me with this holiday. If the Daughter was in town, I might consider making a special din...

...yeah, I'm still here. I did manage to get the cats' quilt top finished. I sandwiched and pin basted the quilt on Saturday and started the machine quilting on Sunday. I have to keep reminding myself that the quilt is for the cats and it does not need the same level of quilting detail that I'd do for my other quilts...r-i-i-i-i-ight. I think the Celestarium shawl is finally getting to me. I am on round 144 of 157 (before edging)--the home stretch of the main shawl. I still haven't found an edging that I really love. And I'm ready to work on something else. There is no point in posting a picture at this point since it looks the same as last time. I'm waiting for a couple of books that have edging patterns to see if I like any of those any better than the ones I've tried. I hope to pick one soon! One the home front, the Husband fixed my bathroom sink so it is no longer leaking. Yay! I have almost moved everything back into the vanity. There are a ...

...looking forward to a nice weekend! (Who am I trying to kid? I'm looking forward to the weekend, nice or not!) The garden continues to bloom as the weather gets nicer.  the superbells are doing well: and the freesias are popping up everywhere. Front yard: Backyard: The nectarine tress have been going full force: while the cherry tree was a little late to the party: Love in the Mist is an odd little flower that is in one of the planters on the shelf outside the kitchen window: Up this weekend: We've had a little set back with the new faucet installed in my bathroom. It decided to leak from the highest connection point. The Husband will try to fix it tomorrow. If he can't get it to stop, it's time to call in a plumber. I ordered some polka dot fabric for the cat quilt from eQuilter.com . I received it yesterday and I think I can finish the quilt (or get very close to finished) this weekend. I've auditioned 4 different edgings for ...

...Happy Spring! As I mentioned yesterday, I'm auditioning edging for my Celestarium shawl. I added another pattern repeat to the sample last night, and I'm not in love with it. I think in a lighter weight yarn it would be fabulous, but I don't like the way the sock yarn looks in it. It's partially the yarn that I'm using for the sample. I really don't like the color combo. I think I'll do another repeat and then block it to see how it turns out. In the meantime, I'm on the lookout for another border, just in case. I finished round 133 of 157, so only 24 more round to go before the edging! Woo hoo!  It's getting a little heavy to deal with at this point, but not too bad.  Here is what it looks like now: I have included a tape measure so you can see its approximate size. The pattern says it's 46-inches in diameter when complete. My shawl might not be that large, but I have no idea how it will block out. I'll just have to wait and see!...

...not as busy as last week, thank goodness! Spin-In on Saturday was productive. We were spinning the Jacob bump in our Spin-In sampler. I took some Corriedale fiber to share and someone else brought some BFL and South African wool to share. So now we have more samples to spin!  When I finished the singles for the Jacob fiber, I started a Camel-Silk top from Greenwood Fiberworks. It is a lovely, soft top and spins easily. Sunday was taken up my errands, laundry, and cleaning. I did manage to research more lace edgings and found the bird's eye edging in a free shawl pattern. I printed it out and set it aside for after dinner. I managed to knit two rows on the shawl before I had to stop. After dinner, I found some spare yarn in roughly the same weight as the shawl yarn. I started knitting the first border repeat and it became apparent that I was not able to follow the written instructions for the edging. Part of the problem is that one of the instructions wasn't completely ...

...and I'm ready for the weekend! I mentioned that the Husband bought flowers last weekend for the courtyard are I can see from my studio window. Here are some red snapdragons: an English Daisy: and Bacopa: He also shared this picture of the cats enjoying themselves in the backyard: Tica has camped in the pot that contains catnip. Either Sombra is 'nipped out or is waiting for Tica to move. :) Up this weekend: Spin-In tomorrow! I'm not sure what munchie to take as I'm feeling uninspired at the moment. Cupcakes are easy, but maybe I'll take some cheese and crackers. We'll see how I feel in the morning. One thing I plan to do is to audition some borders for the shawl. But first, I need to learn how to do a knitted-on border!I'm sticking to free charts for now, but I have my eye on a couple of pi shawl patterns that I might have to buy is I can't fins a free one that I like. A little clean up...a few errands...a walk on Sunday....

...counting it out! Active WIPs in the rotation: Lacy in the Sky with Diamonds (Celestarium) shawl [ Ravelry ]: 60% done Pilgrim handspun [ Ravelry ]: Moved from spindle to the wheel over the weekend; 50% done Spin-In Fiber sampler: continuing. This is a group spin, so it will take a few months. Caterwauling quilt: new to the list. This will replace the cats' bed quilt that is getting ragged. Here's a peek at the top so far: Waiting to be rotated in:  Anasazi by Susan Portra (needlepoint) Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Happy Pumpkin Scissor Fob by Shepherd's Bush (cross stitch) Halloween Phat Fiber samples (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Mediterranean Mermaid by Mirabilia (cross stitch) Royale top, 2 oz (Merino-Yak-Silk) top from A Verb for Keeping Warm (spinning) [ Ravelry ]  Sea Foam Wrap (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Candidate for IDJ (It's Dead, Jim) Violet Needle Roll (cross stitch) Hibernating Going Snow Global quilt (quilting) Peacock Pomato...

...in which we talk about how not much has changed craft-wise since last Tuesday. However, we did get a few things done around the house that have been on out to-do lists. The Husband and I took a trip to Orchard Supply on Saturday, He was going to get some more flowers for the courtyard (atrium) and I wanted to look at bathroom faucets. We ended up with a lot more than that! For a long time now, I've been very unhappy with my bathroom sink fixture: it doesn't have a drain pop-up and the handle surfaces are so flat that they collect water. I found a single-handled faucet that I liked and will work well in my bathroom. The toilet paper holder also needed to be replaced and we found one that will work. What else? We got a new garbage can for the kitchen, a one-step stool for our 12-year-old kitties to help them get up on the bed, a new long handled duster, and halogen light bulbs for the track lights in the living room. Oh, yeah, lots of flowers! My studio is totally sepa...

...it's been a busy week and Friday couldn't some too soon!  I had to research a whole bunch of HR topics this week to a a small amount of work done. It just goes that way sometimes. At least you didn't miss much for WIP-it Wednesday as I am still knitting the Celestarium shawl. It doesn't look measurably different, but at least I've passed the 50% done mark. Eye Candy is a little sparse as a result of my not having time to find something to photograph. I did manage to find a couple of things, though. When I left the gym this morning, I saw these doves lined up on the roof enjoying the break in rain storms: When I got home, I found these tiny grape hyacinths  blooming in the front yard: Up this weekend: Who knows!  I haven't been able to think much further ahead than the end of the work day.  I have a deadline next week and that's been my main focus. Once that's done, I hope to get back to normal activities. Yeah, that will happen... ...

...between Stitches West and my Celestarium Shawl, I didn't finish anything except books. Finished: Books: In Their Footsteps/Thief of Hearts, Tess Gerritsen Presumed Guilty, Tess Gerritsen Keeper of the Bride, Tess Gerritsen The Inn at Rose Harbor, Debbie Maccomber The Ideal Man, Julie Garwood Gabriel's Angel, Nora Roberts House Rules, Chloe Neill Ever After, Kim Harrison Started: 2/23 Log Cabin Scarf,  Stitches West class (weaving)  [ Ravelry ] Worked on: Celestarium shawl [ Ravelry ] Navajo Turquoise top from Yarn Wench (spinning)  [ Ravelry ] Spin-In Fiber Sampler (This will take several months to complete as we are working on it together) Works In Progress, did not work on: Anasazi by Susan Portra (needlepoint) Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Happy Pumpkin Scissor Fob by Shepherd's Bush (cross stitch) Halloween Phat Fiber samples (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Mediterranean Mermaid by Mirabilia (cross stitch) Pilgrim top, 2 oz (Me...

...now with some finished objects! I finished (read: washed and trimmed the fringe) the Log Cabin Scarf I wove in my Stitches West class. Here it is being modeled by Borg, my office moose: It will be a great scarf for the snow, but a little too warm for around here. It's an interesting technique and I'm hoping to translate it into a table runner at some point. I also finished the merino top I've been spinning since the January Spin-In. This is Navajo Turquoise: and the close-up: Specs: Started: 1/12/13; Finished: 3/3/13; Merino top from the Yarn Wench; 210.3 yds Chain ply, 14 WPI I continue to make progress on the Celestarium shawl. I have just completed round 119 of 157. At this point, it's hard to tell how big it is as I can no longer stretch it out without popping it off of the needles. When I have completed the 157 rounds, I will make the decision about how wide to make the border. This shawl is very pretty now and I think a spiky border wil...

...Happy March! I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm exhausted!  I still haven't caught up from the excitement of Stitches West and having people over on Tuesday. In preparation for my studio visitors, the Husband planted a bunch of flowers in the containers outside of my studio windows. They are bright and cherry, and very welcome after the winter look of dead plants and bare trees. He planted some marigolds: And various colors of primroses: Up this weekend: We were thinking of going to the Monterey Aquarium, but I really need to rest up. I'm afraid that if we went this weekend, I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself for very long. Given how much it costs to get into the aquarium, I'd like to get maximum enjoyment for my $$. :) I have a few chores to do, but after that I plan on spending time in the studio. I need to find homes for the new stash I acquired at Stitches. Now that I have the alpaca to warp my loom, I could also warp my l...