Livin' La Needle Loca

...can you believe Halloween is tomorrow?!  That month just whizzed on by! With the recent completion of two projects, let's do a roll call and status of the current WIPs. Status of the WIPs in rotation: 1. Mediterranean Mermaid (cross stitch) By far, she has received the most attention in the last week. It was very satisfying to see her tail take shape. I have rotated the frame and have started working my way up her torso.& This is what she looks like now: 2. The Night is Purple and Full of Stars (Southern Skies) shawl [ Ravelry ]:  In the One-Step-Forward-Two-Steps-Back category: I finished edging repeat number 19 of 58 only to discover that I was off by one stitch. Must have been when I fell asleep in the middle of a row. No, I'm not bored with this project much. Sigh. 3. Carbonized Zombie socks [ Ravelry ] I finished pattern repeat number 2 of 3.9 last night. After measuring the cuff at this point, I've decided that I will probably do only 2.9 patt...

...I have another month to finish up as many little things as I can before December. In that light, I finished spinning the the Windsor Denim and Chocolate fiber from Royale Hare. I finished spinning the single on Saturday and chain-plied them on Sunday. and the close-up: Specs: Started 9/14/2013; Finished 10/27/2013; Merino-Tencel top (4 oz) from Royale Hare; 134 yds chain-plied, 12 WPI I love the way this one turned out!  It is slightly energized, but I think that will come out when it's washed. Like most of my spinning, I don't wash handspun until I decide whether to weave with it. I spent a lot of time stitching the mermaid over the weekend and my shoulders are killing me. Part of the problem is that my wonderful coral chair is perfect for spinning and knitting, but does not work well with my Gripit Legend stitching stand. I need a chair that allows the stand to slide forward more and the coral chair is not open in the front. I've been debating abo...

...and not a moment too soon! Given that I had an eye candy-heavy post on Tuesday withe PIQF pictures, I don't have much today. Here is one picture I didn't show you Tuesday. This is detail #2 from the Life at Water's Edge quilt: Not exactly my typical flower picture, but it will do. :) Up this weekend: Nothing specific planned. I have the typical chores and errands to do.  Of course there is a wealth of craft project s to choose from!  I'd like to make more progress on the shawl. I am on #19 of 58 edging repeats. I'd like to get to the halfway point by the end of the weekend, but I'm not sure how realistic that is given my level of ennui with the border. I want to finish stitching the Mediterranean Mermaid's tail. This is doable. Once I complete the tail, I can flip the frame and start working towards her face. Oh yeah, I have to decide what to do about those weird blue sections in her hair... I want to sew a hanging trash bag for my car. I c...

...and I am now officially in the Halloween spirit!  Here is Be A Witch: Specs: Started 10/16/13; Finished 10/23/13; Pattern by Shepherd's Bush The only modifications I made were to a thread color and a minor oopsie in the hat placement (it's one row higher up than the pattern specified...oh, well!)  I did not have the Crescent Colors for the moon so I substituted a Weeks Dye Works color. One thing I want to change or beef up is the gray used for the details on the gravestone. The specified colors do not stand out enough on the gray background. You can barely see the word Boo, even in bright light. I'll probably leave it alone for now and work on something else. The "something else" is the Carbonized Zombie socks [ Ravelry ]. I am working on the second pattern repeat on the cuff. It's a simple pattern that goes quickly. Of course, you have to actually knit it to make progress! LOL! .

...I don't know if I'll ever have a complete list of my WIPs. I keep finding them in the oddest places! Case in point: I was looking for a project envelope so I could take my latest Halloween cross stitch to work on during my lunch hour.  Well, I found the envelope, but it had this in it: Yup, another WIP.  This is the Love Fob by Shepherd's Bush. I searched my project database to see when I started it and I could not find it. A little more research and I discovered that I had it listed as the Valentine scissor fob and I started it in July 2004. It must of been one of the last fobs I started before I lost my scissor fob mojo.  Anyway, the back is done and I need to work on the front. So I thought I'd stitch on it for an hour on Sunday. And then I remembered why I put it aside. It has people on it. Shepherd's Bush people. SB people are somewhat squat, usually in profile, and very country-looking. I don't like stitching them as there are frequently co...

...Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF) and Spin-In in one day--it doesn't get much better than that! I spent two and a half hours at PIQF and was blown away by many of the quilts.  It has to be said: I really don't like the more traditional quilt. While I appreciate the work that goes into each one and I can admire the techniques used, I just not a fan of Baltimore Album, Double Wedding Ring, or Flower Basket quilts. I prefer the more geometric, story-based, and art quilt styles. So I went through the entire show and did a little shopping in that two and a half hours. So what caught my eye? Here are some examples; you can see more pictures in my PIQF set at Flickr. Breakers by Sheena Norquay (Scotand): I was fascinated by the little bird feet in this panel. Blue Moon in the Milky Way by Karen Van Dargriff (Apple Valley, CA): Loved the stars! Spirit by Georgia Pierce (Seattle, WA): Love the Pacific Northwest images and the quilting on this one. Cosm...

...this week seemed unusually difficult for no particular reason. Some weeks are just like that and I'm glad this one is nearly over. Today's eye candy is a bit sparse. There are nothing but pansies in our backyard and I'm tired of taking pictures of them When I got to the office this morning, I noticed a bunch of pink flowers growing in one of the planted areas. So today, you get a pink flower. They are quite pretty and I have no idea what they are! Up this weekend: Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF) ends Sunday. Spin-In is scheduled for Sunday this month. I'm thinking of combining them into one day and do my normal Sunday errands on Saturday. That means dealing with crazy people and some out-of-control kids at the grocery store on Saturday, but PIQF only comes around once a year, right? There are some logistics to figure out for Sunday. After PIQF, do I go home and pick up my wheel and goodies, and then go to Spin-In? Or do I just take everything w...

...and progress is slow, but at least it's progress!  Here's the WIP update. In Rotation : Mediterranean Mermaid cross stitch : I'm working on the tail fins. I know it seems a bit odd to have only the bottom half of her in progress, but there is a method to my madness. If you look at the pattern picture , you'll see that her hair has blue sections.  The blue seems a bit odd in the midst of that dark hair. Other stitchers have changed the blues for other colors and one even covered the blue stitches with beads (which is quite lovely).  I'm not sure what I want to do about her hair, so it's safer to work on the other sections while I decide. The Night is Purple and Full of Stars (Southern Skies) shawl [ Ravelry ]: I just finished edging pattern repeat #13 of 58.  It doesn't look marginally different, so no picture. It's just taking forever to finish this... Carbonized Zombie socks [ Ravelry ]: Working on the 2nd of 3.95 pattern repeats on th...

...blog and run version. Here is the Pretty in Pink handspun [ Ravelry ] I finished over a week ago: and the close up: Specs: Started: 9/14/13; Finished 10/5/13; Pink Layered batt from Caliope's Fibre; approx 50 yards, worsted weight On Sunday, I finished another cross stitch piece. This is Bulb: Specs: Started 9/15/13; Finished 10/13/13; Pattern by Shepherd's Bush I am trying to knit at least a few rows on the Southern Skies shawl every night.. Trying is the operative word. I actually knit an entire unit last night, but nothing the nigth before. I guess it will even out! I haven't touched the socks in a couple of days, but I'll get some knitting time on them tonight at Craft Coffee. A couple of us get together at a local coffee shop and knit for about an hour and a half. The socks are a great project to work on as they don't take a lot of room. Back tomorrow with a picture of the mermaid's progress. .

...and none too soon!  This week had some interesting work challenges that sapped a good chunk of my brain power. I'm looking forward to a little recharge this weekend. Today's eye candy is all over the board.  First, yesterday's sunrise: Next, a peek at a future project: Yes, the mermaid obsession continues! And last, the latest installment of the Rockin' Sock Club (behind the spoiler): I like the yarn colors and I'm toying with making the hat. However, I need to finish Southern Skies before I start another knitting project! Up this weekend: Absolutely no plans...yay! I do have some housework to do, but that happens every weekend, more or less. Last weekend it was less because of the baby shower and the fact that the vacuum monster croaked. With two cats in the house, we must have a functioning vacuum monster! Our last one was a pet version, which we liked a lot, but it was developing issues with suction and then the brush broke. The Husband ...

...time to update the list since I finished something and started something new. :) Recent Finish:  10/5 Chain-plied Pretty in Pink (Pink Layered batt). Need to take pictures of the final yarn. WIPs in Rotation : The Sky is Purple and Full of Stars (Southern Skies) shawl [ Ravelry ] - 75% complete. I have completed 11 of 58 edging repeats. I'm a little bored with it at the moment.   Mediterranean Mermaid by Mirabilia (cross stitch) - I divided this chart into 4 sheets, each one contains about a 4th of the chart with some overlap. I have finished the center portion of the design (sheet #3). I'm prepping sheet #4 (the tail fins) by highlighting where the beads and treasures go. I opted to continue stitching the greens rather than start on the torso...I just love the way the metallics look!   Bulb by Shepherd's Bush - about 30% complete (cross stitch) - I've finished B and U; L is about 50% done.   Windsor Denim and Chocolate singles (spinning) - St...

...because it's that kind of day. The baby quilt was well-received. It was nice to hear that she was hoping to get one of my quilts as a gift. I guess have a reputation to live up to!   Sunday's baby shower was in Sacramento, a two-hour drive from home, a four-hour+ round trip. The Husband drove, which left me free to knit.   The Southern Skies shawl is not a car project. I had visions of beads flying everywhere if we hit a bump in the road. I decided against taking it with me!   On Saturday I did a little stash diving and found a Socks That Rock Lightweight yarn in the Carbon Dioxide colorway. It is shades of blue and gray that I though would make a nice pair of socks. I cast-on for Zombie Socks [ Ravelry ] and did a couple of rounds. This was my car project for Sunday.   Sunday's sunset was spectacular. Unfortunately, I was in the car so I couldn't get really great pictures. Here's one that shows the colors even if it's not crystal clear.   I'm...

...two for the price of one First the eye candy. The sky was interesting last Sunday: The husband planted a bunch of flowers in the backyard after he removed the dying tomato plants. A yellow and orange flower of unknown variety: Blue pansy: Lavender pansy: Purple pansy: The finished object is the Bunnies and Duckies and Bears, Oh My!  baby quilt: Specs: Started 9/15/2013 Finished 10/2/2013 Baby Pinups pattern and fabrics from Windham Fabrics Changed out the yellow and white polka dot separators with white and pink polka dot fabric due to a panel cutting error. This was a personal best for me in terms of completion time. The start date is the day I cut fabric and the end date is the day I finished embroidering the last animal name. I'm very happy with the way it turned out! Up this weekend: Saturday's task will be to get the studio back in order and vacuum up all those stray bits of thread and fabric from the last two quilts. I need t...

...and I'm in the home stretch of the second baby quilt! Here's a quick look at one of the corners: I'm embroidering the animal name to make it more visible. I have 9 more squares to embroider. After that, all I have to do it press it and wrap it up! Yay! Everything else has been put on hold until the quilt is done. (Ok, I admit to sneaking in a little cross stitch on Sunday...) When this one's done, I'm declaring a moratorium on quilting. I know I'll want to work on a Christmas quilt when we hit the holiday season, so it will be a short one. I'm actually itching to knit a pair of socks. Gasp!  I know, it's been a while! It's Socktoberfest and I want to join in the fun!  Socks are so much more portable that the Southern Skies shawl.  I know, I know...I need to finish the shawl.  Remind me never to knit two pi shawls one right after another again...'k? .

...craft of the month was quilting. Finished: 9/10 What Do You See in the Sea? baby quilt (quilting) Books: Kiera's Moon , Lizzy Ford Buried in Buttercream , GA McKevett A Demon's Desire , Lizzy Ford Thankless in Death , JD Robb Murder Comes Unraveled, Very Ann Grace And Then You Dye, Monica Ferris Personal Demons, Stacia Kane Chimes at Midnight, Seanan McGuire Heart of Venom, Jennifer Estep Shadowfever, Karen Marie Moning Started: 9/14 Windsor Denim and Chocolate handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] 9/14 Pretty in Pink handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] 9/15 Bunnies and Duckies and Bears, Oh My! baby quilt (quilting) 9/15 Bulb Monthly Musing by Shepherd's Bush (cross stitch) Worked on: Anasazi by Susan Portra (needlepoint) The Night is Purple and Full of Stars (Southern Skies) shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Mediterranean Mermaid by Mirabilia , originally started 11/6/11; restarted 9/1/13 (cross stitch) Works In Progress, did not work on: Celaeno S...