Livin' La Needle Loca

...wow, that month went by fast! Nothing like being busy to make time fly! Today we have yet-another unknown flower from our garden: The tomatoes are ripening: and the sky on Tuesday was pretty amazing: Up this weekend: Tour de Fleece starts tomorrow! I have my fiber ready to go and the bobbins are empty, just waiting for me to start. Here's what I'm going to try to spin this tour: It seems like a lot, but some of these batts weight only one ounce. One thing I'd like to try is spinning at least one art yarn. I've never just let myself follow the fiber to see where it will take me. The Yarn Wench's batts are an interesting mix of fibers and textures...perfect for an art yarn. We'll see if I'm that brave! When my knees need a rest from all that treadling, I'll work on the baby quilt, the woven shawl, or the Southern Skies shawl. I can't wait to get started! .

...yeah,  I missed WIP-it Wednesday. Clearly, I am not yet back in the blogging groove. Here's my latest list. As I gear up for Tour de Fleece, the list will change a bit. WIPs Recently in Rotation (within the last month): Anasazi by Susan Portra (needlepoint) A Taste of Honey shawl (weaving) [ Ravelry ] The Sky is Purple and Full of Stars (Southern Skies) shawl [ Ravelry ] Baby quilt for one of my "kids" (quilting) Ongoing: Spin-In Fiber sampler: We've spun all of the sampler fibers, but we have a couple of donated bumps to spin Waiting to be rotated in: Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Happy Pumpkin Scissor Fob by Shepherd's Bush (cross stitch--still can't find where I put this!) Halloween Phat Fiber samples (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Mediterranean Mermaid by Mirabilia (cross stitch) Hibernating Going Snow Global quilt (quilting) Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch) Seaweed Ca...

...let's see if I can get back into the groove of blogging this week. The anniversary party went very well. The Husband's parents enjoyed themselves and the food was a hit. We had about 45 guests, which was a little over what we expected but not a problem. In fact, we wished that people ate more because there was a lot more left over than there usually is at these functions. We served two kinds of gazpacho with shrimp: individual veggies and dips, with more veggies on the side: artichoke frittata cut into two-bite pieces: and individual 7-layer dips: We also purchased a meat-and-cheese tray and a tray of tea sandwiches.  For dessert , the Daughter brought Sprinkles Cupcakes as my MIL didn't want a cake. Needless to say, between the food preparation and keeping things running at the party, the Husband and I were wiped out by the end of Saturday. I was too tired to knit! On Sunday, the Husband spent the day in the City with his sister and her hu...

...at least for another hour and a half.  It's been a busy week and a very busy day. The picture this week are the flowers that the Husband bought an planted for his parents. Dianthus a Black Eyed Susan "Margarita" penstemon Shasta Daisy Up this weekend: with the anniversary party this weekend, we're looking forward to seeing family and friends.  Crafts are on a back burner for now. Off to bed for me... .

...and it's been a busy day! today we have plains coreopsis from out garden: a sunflower from a neighbor's garden: some baby birds (in the courtyard at work) and a pink flower in a neighbor's yard: Up this weekend: Finalize the menu for the anniversary party we're giving. Ply the Zen 2 handspun so I can declare it done! Make some serious progress on the woven shawl. Try not to be distracted by my Southern Skies shawl (that's going to be hard!). Have a good one! .

...yeah, I forgot to post on Monday and Tuesday. Sigh... The weekend report: I tested two gazpacho recipes, one red and one green. We decided that they were both yummy, so we're going to make both of them for the party.  The other bonus was that it was an easy way for me to eat my vegetables without having to eat yet-another-salad. Three years of eating salads for lunch and dinner really made me hate salads! Gazpacho, on the other hands, is very easy to est. I managed to finish spinning bobbin #2 of the Zen handspun. Now I just need to ply it. I also worked on the woven shawl for a few hours.  "Worked" is a relative term. I wove about two inches using the 3 weft yarns I chose and really didn't like the way it looked. The plain white wool stood out too much and made the shawl look a bit plaid-y. I unwove everything back to before the first white wool pick just after the Leno insert. I do like the way the white wool looks in the center of the Leno, so I kept that...

...it's June! The tomatillos are flowering... ...and setting fruit. The cosmos are blooming... . ..the marionberries are ready for picking... ...and the apricots are nearly ripe... We'll have to work hard to get any apricots this year. There aren't very many and the birds are already picking off the high ones. Up this weekend: We are in the throes of planning a party for their 60th anniversary. The Husband is helping his parents get their yard in order and I'm planning the menu. This weekend, I need to print a few recipes and try them out. Gazpacho sounds really good right now... I also need to pull out my serving platters and see whether we have enough. We're still a few weeks away, so we have plenty of time. It never hurts to be prepared! We'll pick the ripe marionberries and I'll make a batch of preserves from them. I need to spend some serious time weaving as I have not made much progress on the shawl. Knitting the Sout...

...first let's do the sock club installment. My Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock Club installment arrived today. I've been kind of "meh" about the club this year mostly because I still haven't found my sock mojo. (If you find it, will you please show it the way home? Thanks!) I am mildly interested in the "other" pattern this time, but the sock pattern does not appeal to me. The yarn color is OK. I think it might make a nice woven scarf if I decide not to make the "other" pattern. Anyway, here's the package behind the spoiler: On to the WIPs! I finally took a picture of Anasazi: It's coming along, but I'm not in love with the dark teal ribbon. I think it's the wrong shade to go with the rest of the colors. Either that or the purple Rachel (outside borders) is off. At this point, I'm not changing it -- to replace either section means that I would have to cut out the stitched items and destroy $5+ of fiber...

...another month, another recap. Finished: 5/18 Royale handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] 60% Merino, 20% Yak, 20% silk top (2 oz) from A Verb For Keeping Warm; 169.4 yds chain-ply, 18 WPI 5/11 Pilgrim handspun  (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Merino-Tussah Silk 4 oz. from A Verb for Keeping Warm 325.7yds, 17 WPI 5/5 Tribe handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] 50% silk 50% Camel top from Greenwood Fiberworks 238.2 yds chain ply; 15 WPI Books: 12th of Never, James Patterson Darkness Dawns, Dianne Duvall Dead Ever After, Charlaine Harris Night Reigns, Dianne Duvall Phantom Shadows, Dianne Duvall Dumping Billy, Olivia Goldsmith Marked, Elisabeth Naughton Didn't/couldn't finish The Wolf Gift, Anne Rice (Could not get into it; really didn't care about the characters) Started: 5/19 The Night is Purple and Full of Stars (Southern Skies) shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] 5/25 A Taste of Honey shawl (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Worked on: Anasazi by Susan Portra (needlepoint) ...