Livin' La Needle Loca

...two in one post! First the Eye Candy. The Husband continues to fuel my photographic needs by buying new flowers. This week, he brought home some carnations: Double Lemon Calibrachoa (new flower for me): Pentas "Starla Red": and Flamenco Rumba Cuphea: For the Finished Object portion of the post, I finally skeined Deep Teal Dream [ Ravelry ]: and the close up: Specs: Started 6/21/14; Finished 8/24/14; Merino-Silk top (4.5oz) from Wonderland Dyeworks;  294.1 yds. chain-plied, 14 WPI Up this weekend: It's a 3-day weekend....YAY! I have a few household chores to do, but they won't take long. My main goal is to finish plying Toulouse [ Ravelry ] so I can have another F.O. for the month. After I finish that, I'll cycle through the current WIPs list. I need to piece the backing for the quilt and make the quilt sandwich. The piecing part won't be problem, but if it's too hot, I won't want to be crawling around on the ...

...last one for August! I finally got an OK picture of the Equatorial Nights scarf that I'm knitting.And you kniw I can't leave the name alone, so I've changed it. Here is Beyond Antares [ Ravelry ]: I'm knitting it in stockinette rather than garter stitch...I don't really like garter stitch and I like it less in the round. It's really more that I didn't want to purl 30+ rows (each 240 stitches long!) for the project. Yes, I know it will tend to curl up, but I can live with that. WIP Roll Call WIPs in Rotation: Beyond Antares, aka Equatorial Nights (knitting) [ Ravelry ] On Row 14 Toulouse handspun (spinning)  [ Ravelry ] Plying in progress I'm Just Mad About Citron Quilt (quilting) Top done; need to piece back and make the quilt sandwich WIPs, no play this week: Ghouls, ghosts, and witches...oh, my! (cross stitch) Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Tuscon Twilight (needlepoint) UFOs/Hibernation: Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Rav...

...in no particular order. Spin-In was fun! The company was great, as always, and there were yummy snacks: heirloom tomato bruschetta, assorted cheeses, and some delicious bakery items from Paris Baguette. I managed to chain-ply almost all of my Deep Teal Dream singles [ Ravelry ].   I finished plying Deep Teal just before the final episode of True Blood. I quickly set up the Toulouse singles [ Ravelry ] and started chain-plying that while I watched the finale. The Toulouse singles are very thin so it might take a while to ply. Oh, and the finale...it was OK. A little too much time was spent on Hoyt and Jessica. I like them, but I would have rather had more of Eric and Pam, and more Lafayette!   On Saturday, I went to the local quilt store with a sample quilt square to find a compatible border fabric. I planned on going to two shops, but it wasn't necessary, The lovely people at The Granary helped me pick a lovely white-on-white fabric that echoes the shape of the flowers...

...is it time to go home yet?  I'm completely exhausted by the change in my fitness regimen (read: more than 30 minutes per day). Here's hoping that I get used to this really fast! Today's eye candy comes from the courtyard outside my studio. There is a large pit of vinca right next to the door: The cleome is really enjoying the drip irrigation: and the calandrina spectabilis is producing long stemmed flowers: The Husband is harvesting savina chile peppers...they are hotter than habaneros! Up this weekend: Spin-In on Sunday! I'm going to do a bunch of plying so I can finish something this month. I'm still looking for a border fabric for the citron and gray quilt. I'm going to check my two local quilt stores and see if I can find something that will work. None of my stash fabrics will work...sigh. .

...in which many WIPs were taken out to play. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a serious attention span problem with my crafts. The good news is that I've made progress on many of the WIPs. The bad news is that it's not a lot of progress. Here's a progress shot of a WIP that's currently in play: This is Witches, Ghosts and Ghouls...oh my! by Pine Mountain Designs. It's a pretty simple piece, perfect for stitching in short hits. I tried to get a picture of the Equatorial Nights scarf that I'm knitting, but it really doesn't look like much right now. Maybe as I get further into the project it will be more recognizable. WIP Roll Call WIPs in Rotation: Equatorial Nights (knitting) [ Ravelry ] On Row 11 Ghouls, ghosts, and witches...oh, my! (cross stitch) See picture above. Toulouse handspun (spinning)  [ Ravelry ] Finished the singles; ready to ply I'm Just Mad About Citron Quilt (quilting) One border sewn on; waiting for my fab...

...the weekend report: Quilt top is not done. I'm not happy with the fabric choices for the border, so I ordered more of the yellow dotted fabric I'm using in the squares. I had a serious attention span problem. I worked on  my needlepoint, cross stitching, spinning, quilting, and knitting projects. I could not land on just one no matter how hard I tried. Loved the second episode Outlander! Sad that True Blood is ending, but, man, are they going to have to cram a lot of stuff in the last episode to even come close to tying up the loose ends. As long as it doesn't end the same way the book series does...hated that. I tried a yoga class this morning at my new gym...guess I'll have to stop saying "new"since I dropped my membership at the "old" one. Anyway, I loved it! I am so happy to be doing yoga again! I had been taking weekly yoga classes for 7 years when the California Yoga Center had to close their Mountain View location because of constr...

...and not a moment to soon! With the 3-days spent at my Mom's for the family reunion and a concert on Wednesday night, I'm beat! So one picture from the reunion. Here are the Esquivel siblings that attended: That's my mom second from the right. We never could get them to line up straight.  My mom is one of 9 kids, so you can see we're missing a few. I'm waiting for a cousin to send a picture of the whole crew. Obviously, I couldn't take the picture and be in it, too. Her camera was on a tripod and she used a timer. My mom has some pretty flowers in her garden. Here are a couple...a pink and yellow rose: and a pink hydrangea: Up this weekend: I need to catch up with laundry and other things that didn't get done while we were gone. I need some serious crafting time. I'm hoping to finish the top of the quilt and then figure out what I'm doing on the back. I have a bobbin full of teal singles that need to be plied. I've bee...

...just really busy with some work stuff. Here's a quick update. After a 3-day weekend away at our family reunion, I'm playing catch-up at home as well as dealing with work. I have to process all the photos from the reunion and may not get to them all until the weekend. Nothing to show there. WIP-wise, I managed to knit a few rows on the Equatorial Night scarf, but that's it.  I still have not taken a decent picture of the quilt, but here is a picture to give you an idea of the layout. I know, it's not great, but I hope to get a better one this weekend. WIP Roll Call WIPs in Rotation: Equatorial Nights (knitting) [ Ravelry ] On Row 9 Toulouse handspun (spinning)  [ Ravelry ] A little more than a third left to spin I'm Just Mad About Citron Quilt Sewed the blocks together; working on the borders WIPs, no play this week: Ghouls, ghosts, and witches...oh, my! (cross stitch) Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) UFOs/Hibernation: Celaeno Shawl ...

...in which we have one real photo and one photo FAIL. Here's is a picture of the Toulouse handspun [ Ravelry ] that I started 7/7/14 (during Tour de Fleece): It is a thin single so it's taking quite a while to get through the 3.9 oz. of fiber. The photo FAIL was a picture of the new quilt. It rained this morning, so the light in my studio was not bright enough to get a decent picture. I'll try again when I have more light. WIP Roll Call WIPs in Rotation: Equatorial Nights (knitting) [ Ravelry ] On Row 4 Toulouse handspun (spinning)  [ Ravelry ] A little more than a third left to spin I'm Just Mad About Citron Quilt Sewed the blocks together; working on the borders WIPs, no play this week: Ghouls, ghosts, and witches...oh, my! (cross stitch) Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) UFOs/Hibernation: Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Going Snow Global quilt (quilting) Halloween Phat Fiber samples (spinning) [ Ravelry ]  Peacock Pomatomus so...

...AKA: Short Hits 'R Us. Capuccino flavored potato chips: Yes, they are as weird (and as bad) as they sound.   My knitting mojo is haywire. I'm knitting, but I'm not enjoying it.   My stitching mojo is AWOL. Please send it home if you find it.   Beadle Needle ( Amazon ): Very cool! I wish I'd had this tool for the Celestarium and Southern Skies shawls!   I just can't seem to stop spinning. You'd think I'd had enough in July!   Outlander on Starz: Love the first episode!! You can watch the first episode for free right now. I have high hopes for the series.   Normally, I dislike yellow. However, I'm loving the yellow (citron), gray, and white quilt that I have in progress.   Our family reunion is happening soon. I hope we can keep the dramaz to a minimum. .

...a typical Tour de Fleece month with lots of spinning. Finished: 7/26 Tropical Fish art yarn (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Merino-silk (3.8 oz) from the Yarn Wench; 120.9 yds thread-plied and autowrapped; bulky 7/20 Renewal handspun [ Ravelry ] Merino-silk (4.2 oz) from the Yarn Wench; 294.1 yds chain-ply, 14 WPI 7/18 Cinder handspun [ Ravelry ] Merino-silk (3.9 oz) from the Yarn Wench; 180.5 yds chain-ply; 11 WPI 7/14 Bejeweled [ Ravelry ] Merino-silk (3.8 oz) from the Yarn Wench;  184.25 yds chain-ply, 12 WPI 7/13 Ember Indigo [ Ravelry ] Merino-silk (3.9 oz) from the Yarn Wench; 258.7 2-ply, 12 WPI 7/12 Stuck in Neutral wall hanging (weaving) [ Ravelry ] 7/10 Plum Honey light [ Ravelry ] Merino-silk top (4.2 oz) from the Yarn Wench; 199.1 yds chain-ply, 11 WPI Books: Red Velvet Cupcake Murder, Joanne Fluke How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back, Diana Rowland Tasting Home: Coming of Age in the Kitchen, Judith Newton The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown Video...

...and I'm so ready for the weekend! Today's eye candy comes from the local elementary school. They have some beautiful rose bushes. and another In a previous post, I showed you a detail of the their ocean-themed mosaic. Here are a few more pictures of the mosaic. Left: middle: right: Up this weekend: I have no clue! Now the Tour de Fleece is over, I'm having a major concentration problem. I can't seem to spend more than a few minutes on a project! I hope to spend some time on the new quilt, but we'll see how that goes. There are always household chores that need to be done; errands to run. Yeah, that doesn't sound that interesting to me either. Maybe I'll just read. .