Livin' La Needle Loca

...and it's the last one for February. It's always a fast month, what with the Daughter's birthday, Valentine's Day, and Stitches West. And this year. we had the Winter Olympics thrown into the mix! We are getting some much-needed rain, so I'm not going to complain about how few pictures I could take this morning. Here's what it looked like when I left for the gym: I managed to get a picture of some raindrops before they hit the birdbath: And this is a new planter in our backyard...very appropriate for a wet day: Up this weekend: For the social engagement part of our weekend, we are having dinner with the Daughter and some friends. Beyond that, I need to do some clean-up and do a serious grocery run. All of my normal household chores went by the wayside due to Stitches West. The Husband has been a trooper, but I need to get back on a normal schedule. Craft-wise, I need to find homes for my new treasures and straighten out the studio. Then ...

...I'm a little behind in reporting, partially due to the fact that the ETC classes run through Monday and I had a bit of catch-up to do at work yesterday. I skipped going to the Stitches West Market on Saturday because I wanted to pick up my new glasses. I wanted to have my new pair for the weaving class. Getting my glasses took way longer than it should have. Note to Lenscrafters: when I buy frames, don't put them back on the shelf! Seriously! Read the glasses order and notice that the frames are missing when you make the lenses! I had to wait for them to find the frames again and then wait while they put the lenses in. And let's just say that the Saturday crew is not nearly as attentive as the weekday crew... Anyway, I ran a few errands after that and did some laundry. I packed up my loom and made sure I had everything I needed for class. I started taking pictured of my new stash. :) Playing with Pick Up Sticks Class, Day 1: I bought breakfast at Starbucks before ...

...my feet are a little tired, but my fibery-self is very happy. First, let's do the eye candy. The roses are blooming in the front yard: and the apricot tree is getting more and more blooms: Another: Stitches West, Thursday: After picking up my badge,  I started knitting a hat while I waited for the Market Preview to start. I turned in the 3 hats I knit for Halos of Hope first thing. Then I started working down my list of items to buy the first night. Vendors frequently bring limited number of certain items, so if you don't get one the first night, you might not get one at all. I wanted a mug mat kit from Buffalo Wool, a vampire sock kit from Knitter's Brewing Co, and a couple of Alpaca-patterned Baggu bags from Mimi's.  Score on all of them! After that I got fiber from some of my favorite vendors: Lisa Souza, Greenwood Fiberworks (mmmm, Camel-Silk), Royale Hare, and Ranch of the Oaks. I also got the yarn I needed for my weaving class. Today I went...

...and pretty much all of my WIPs are on hold. (I'm not excited or anything.) My hands are really complaining about the combination of knitting and spinning that I've done for Ravellenics. I'm going to rest them another day and hope that I can cast on for the next hat on Thursday. I need to have something to work on while I'm contemplating my next purchases at the Market. :) How about a WIPs roll call so we all know what I'm not working on right now? (LOL!) WIPs in rotation : Anasazi by Susan Portra (needlepoint) Working on the center square Denim Alpaca-Merino (5.5 oz) from Ranch of the Oaks [ Ravelry ] About 75% done spinning the singles Mediterranean Mermaid by Mirabilia , originally started 11/6/11; restarted 9/1/13 (cross stitch) Still working on the beading. The beaded swirls that flow off of her fins are very time-intensive. Works In Progress, did not work on: Carbonized Zombie Socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Hive by Shepherd's Bush (cross...

...yeah, didn't think I'd do this two weeks in a row either!  I finished two more items for the Ravellenic Winter Games. I spent a good part of my weekend working on these two projects. First off, another hat for Halos of Hope. This is Basic Chocolate Hat [ Ravelry ] entered in the Hat Halfpipe and Charity Curling events: Specs: Started 2/11/14; Finished 2/17/14; Pattern: Basic Hat from Lion Brand yarn; Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Chocolate Made for Halos of Hope I'm still working down my Stitches West 2011 fiber acquisitions. This is Amazonia handspun [ Ravelry ] entered in the Flying Camel Spin event: and the close-up: Specs: Started 2/13/14; Finished 2/17/14; Zen top (4oz) from Lisa Souza; 219.6 yds chain-ply; 15 WPI I didn't get as much done on the Mermaid's beading, but I did manage to work on it for a couple of hours. My hands hurt and my knees are sore from treadling, so I'm going to take a day or so off before I try for on...

...just in time for the three-day weekend. Here is Ancient Breeds Handspun [ Ravelry ]: Specs: Started 2/8/14; Finished 2/13/14; Ancient Breeds Sampler (5 oz of 5 fibers) from Tactile: A Fiber Arts Studio; 199 yards total; Shetland: 37.2 yds chain-ply, 11 WPI; Finn: 63.2 yds 2-ply, 13 WPI; Icelandic: 31.6 yds, chain-ply, 11 WPI; Gotland: 35.4 yds chain-ply, 11 WPI; Norwegian: 31.6 yds 2-ply, 10 WPI There was a heavy mist this morning that left lots of moisture on our plants. There were many drops hanging from the apricot tree: Lots of small drops on the plum blossoms: and tiny drops on the tiny flowers of this plant: Up this weekend: My plan is to get some housework out of the way so i can concentrate on more Ravellenic projects. I was to continue making progress beading the mermaid...there are so many beads left to do. The other thing I want to do is a little stash diving to see whether I have the yarn I need for my Stitches West ETC weaving class. It...

...which really should have been "One for Wednesday" but I didn't have enough time to post yesterday. I finished another hat for Halos of Hope. This is Red No-Noro Hat [ Ravelry ] using the same pattern as the teal hat. I went up one needle size, making it a faster knit. and a view from the top: Specs: Started 2/9/14; Finished 2/11/14; Pattern: Noro spiral one-skein hat by Manuèle Ducret; Yarn: TLC Ultra Soft in Claret; I've started a third hat using a very basic pattern  and Caron Simply Soft in chocolate brown. I'm also working on spinning the last one-ounce bump in an Ancient Breeds fiber sampler. The sampler came with 5 bumps of fiber: Shetland, Finn, Icelandic, Gotland, and Norwegian. I can't remember which one I have left (Gotland?), but whatever it is, it has more VM that the others. I also found some short cut areas that don't spin easily. All of the other projects are on hold while I make progress on my Ravellenic Winter Games ...

...two finished objects for the Ravellenic Winter Games!  I finished the first hat for Halos of Hope. It is my entry in the WIPs Dancing event. This is Teal No-Noro Hat [ Ravelry ]: Specs: Started 2/2/14; Finished 2/9/14; Pattern: Noro spiral one-skein hat by Manuèle Ducret; Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Pagoda; Made for Halos of Hope The next is an entry in the Flying Camel Spin event. This is Creampuff handspun [ Ravelry ]: and the close up: Specs: Started 2/8/14; Finished 2/10/14; Camel-Llama-Silk top (1 oz) from Knitifacts; 2 ply from plying ball; 65.1 yds,  14 WPI I started another hat for Halos of Hope on Sunday night. I'm about 75% done with it! Onward! .

...and it's raining! Finally!! Everything around here is looking pretty parched. Todays eye candy is some of the few flowers I found blooming today. These are all in the containers byt our front door: Up this weekend: Now that the Olympics are here, we plan on watching some of the events. I'm also participating in the Ravellenic Winter Games on Ravelry, so I'll be knitting or spinning while I watch. I've entered the WIPs Dancing, Flying Camel Spin, and Charity Curling events. Tomorrow is Spin-In and its time for my monthly "Ack! What am I going to take?!" attack. I guess I'll figure it out when I go to the store after work. I'll start my first entry in the Flying Camel Spin events at Spin-In.  While I watch the opening ceremony tonight, I'll work on my  WIPs Dancing entry, a hat I have in progress for Halos of Hope. When I finish that hat, I hope to knit at least one more for Charity Curling. It should be a busy craft weekend! ...

...time flies when you have client work! My quick weekend report: I managed to get some housework done, including bringing the dreaded vacuum monster out of the closet. (The cats disappear very quickly when I do that!)  I worked on Anasazi, the mermaid, and some spinning!  And I started a hat for Halos of Hope on Monday! Here is the current progress on Denim, an alpaca-merino top that I bought at last year's Stitches West. This is from Ranch of the Oaks in Lompoc, CA. I started this at the January Spin-In. I finished beading the tail fins on the mermaid and I'm now beading the "legs" portion of the tail. WIPs Roll Call WIPs in rotation : Anasazi by Susan Portra (needlepoint) Denim Alpaca-Merino (5.5 oz) from Ranch of the Oaks [ Ravelry ] Mediterranean Mermaid by Mirabilia , originally started 11/6/11; restarted 9/1/13 (cross stitch) Noro Hat for Halos of Hope Rockefeller Moon shawl  [ Ravelry ]  Works In Progress, did not work on: Carbonize...

...and I can't believe January is already over! Finished: 1/29 Jack's Cousteau Hat  [ Ravelry 1/1 Cazadero Mist handspun [ Ravelry ] Merino-Bamboo (4oz) from Royale Hare 160 yds. chain ply. 12 WPI Books: Blindsided, Fern Michaels Race to Splendor, Ciji Ware Black Arts, Faith Hunter Fury of the Demon, Diana Rowland Iced, Karen Marie Moning Apple Turnover Murder, Joanne Fluke Key Lime Pie Murder, Joanne Fluke Started: 1/9 Rockefeller Moon shawl  [ Ravelry ]  1/11 Denim Alpaca-Merino (5.5 oz) from Ranch of the Oaks [ Ravelry ] Worked on: Anasazi by Susan Portra (needlepoint) Mediterranean Mermaid by Mirabilia , originally started 11/6/11; restarted 9/1/13 (cross stitch) Works In Progress, did not work on: Carbonized Zombie Socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Hive by Shepherd's Bush (cross stitch) Love scissor fob by Shepherd's Bush (cross stitch) UFOs/Hibernation: Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Going Snow Global quilt (quilting) Hall...