Livin' La Needle Loca

...and some eye candy, too! Here is the completed Wild Turquoise handspun [ Ravelry ]: and a close up: Specs: Started 5/10/15, finished 5/25/15 Turquoise art rolags from the Yarn Wench; 188 yds auto-plied with turquoise thread, 10 WPI In today's eye candy, we have Belleza Dark Pink Gaura: Red Kangaroo Paws: And almost ripe Blenheim apricots: Up this weekend: more of the same. One thing I need to do is take some photos of completed projects, specifically the needlerolls and scissor fobs. I've made tons of them and the photos that I do have worked for the original version of my website. In the earlier version, I was hosting the photos and I didn't want large photos sucking up disk space. Now that I'm using Flickr for my photos, I need to retake some of the shots. I'm able to use a few the photos, but many of the originals are either misplaced or just not good enough. I'll be adding a bunch of photos to my Flickr photostream i...

...sorry, no photos today and nothing new to report. I still need to take photos of the art yarn I finished on Monday. WIP Roll Call Worked on: Stealth Commission Project (quilting) Still working on the layout of the top. Cycled out two more supplemental fabrics. Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Very little progress, maybe a row or two. Sochi handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Finished spinning the singles; ready to ply. Santa Fe #5 (needlepoint) Started stitching the pottery, which is done in standard continental stitch. Works In Progress, did not work on: Halloween Phat Fiber samples (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) UFOs/Hibernation: Beyond Antares, aka Equatorial Nights (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Going Snow Global quilt (quilting) Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch) Tuscon Twilight (needlepoint) WIPs To Be: A peacock or mermaid quilt...

...wishing that it had been a 4-day weekend instead of 3. I was on a roll! I continue to make progress on the commission piece. I swapped out a couple of fabrics that were just too bright. I'm now in the final layout mode.   I scoped out the fabrics at my local quilt store for border candidates. There are some batik options and some marbled options that could work.   I did not work on any knitting.   I packed up Tucson Twilight and put it on hiatus.   I started the Santa Fe #5 needlepoint project that I showed in this post . I'm using the stitch guides that I kept for my previous Tish projects (Santa Fe #2, Santa Fe #3, and Hopi Horizon) and a photo of the completed project as rough guidelines on how to stitch it. Fortunately, this series uses the same instructions for the border and the pottery, so those will be easy to stitch.   While looking for the Tish stitch guides, I took a hard look at my binders full of free charts and decided that I really didn'...

...hooray! In the continuing series of flowers from our garden, here is Siberian squill (scilla): This kangaroo paw plant is just getting started: and the nasturtiums are going nuts: This is a new flowers for the garden, a Parry's Hybrid Crowea: Up this weekend: a little housecleaning and a lot of crafting! I want to take a quick trip to the quilting store to scope out border fabric for the commission quilt. I have an idea of what I want, but I want to see the options. I want to stash dive in my charts file cabinet to see whether I can find the cross stitch version of the Santa Fe #5 needlepoint canvas. I know I bought one, but I don't know if I still have it, given that it was at least 10 years ago if not longer. Regardless of whether I find it, I plan on starting the canvas this weekend. I'm going to pack up Tucson Twilight and put it away for a while. I just can't look at it right now. And then there are the two handspuns I have in proce...

...halfway to a 3-day weekend. Hooray! The latest WIP is the handspun that I started at Spin-On. This is Sochi [ Ravelry ], a camel-silk from Greenwood Fiberarts: I'm spinning it end-to-end and love the resulting long color-runs. I mentioned that I went through my needlepoint projects to look for an alternative to Tucson Twilight. Here's a look at the project that I want to start: This is Santa Fe #5, a painted canvas by Tish Holland. I'm not sure when I bought this, but the shop is long gone, so at least 10 years ago. I had pulled all the threads for this project before filing it away in the stash. However, I don't have the stitch guide for it. When I bought the canvas, it did not come with the guide, unlike some of the other Tish canvases I purchased. I have stitched two other pieces in the series, so I can use their instructions for the border, pottery, and character's hair. The best I can do for the rest of it is use a photo of the finished piece...

...randomness of the day. I really dislike stitching brown, especially when I wanted it to be copper. Tucson Twilight is going into hibernation because I just can't handle the brown.   I have a lot of needlepoint projects in the queue, but only one is completely kitted--the canvas, all the fibers, and all of the instructions--and it's by the same designer as Tucson Twilight. The rest are chart only, canvas and instructions but no threads, threads and instructions but no canvas, or some other less than useful combination. I really wanted to work on a Susan Portra design, but I need to order canvas and/or fibers before I can start. Sigh...   Be My Baby for My Baby [ Ravelry ]is coming along. I really don't like knitting linen stitch. I'm always getting lost in the middle and having to tink back to figure out where I went wrong. This project is going to take a while!   We had a small group at Spin-In, but it was good, as always. I started a camel-silk top that I bou...

...and this month just keeps rolling along! For Mother's Day, The Husband got a bunch of flowering plants. For the courtyard outside my studio, he hung a basket filled with striped petunias: The rest of the plants are going in the backyard. This Gypsophila Gypsy is very nice: and I like the these delicate Godetia: I love the color and intensity of these Gilia Tricolor flowers: Up this weekend: Spin-In tomorrow! Since it's going to be a small groups, I'm baking some cookies rather that making any thing big. I'm trying to decide whether to take the Wild Turquoise handspun that is on the wheel or take something new. I'm leaning towards the something new as it might be difficult to transport the fiber and auto-wrapping thread without breaking either, or both. I need to do a few household chores before I can get back to my WIPs. I need to decide what to do about Tucson Twilight. My choices are Try to work through the brown and just finish it. Gi...

...it's that time again. I managed to snap a quick picture of the handspun in progress. This is Wild Turquoise [ Ravelry ]: I intended to spin this as a bulky yarn, but the rolags had another thing in mind. I'm getting a little thick-thin action with certain rolags, but I'm just letting it spin the way it wants to. I'm still having some issues with the reading portion of my life. I'm now 2 books behind on my goal to read 105 books this year. Normally, I'm 4 or 5 books ahead, a necessity because it makes up for December when I don't have a lot of time to read. I'm just not having a lot of luck with my reading choices. I finished a book on Monday by one of my favorite authors and it took me 11 days. :( WIP Roll Call   Worked on: Stealth Commission Project (quilting) Did a preliminary layout of the top. Cycled out a supplemental fabric that was too bright Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Frogged about 16 rows because I didn'...

...I finished my last Loopy Academy project! Hooray!! I'm really glad to be done with it. Here is the Irisa Scarf [ Ravelry ]: and a close up: Specs: Started 2/19/15; Finished 5/11/15; Pattern: Irisa Cowl by knittedblissJC Yarn: Socks That Rock Heavyweight (Blue Moon Fiber Arts) in Dip-It-Us; Mods: Made it a short scarf instead of a cowl, added fringe I had second thoughts about turning it into a scarf, so I tried seaming it. Nope...the seam was too bulky and I hated it. So, I stuck with the scarf. At 36-inches long, it's a short scarf, but it might be good for a small person (read: kid). I did a little work on the Tuscon Twilight needlepoint piece. I'm really not into the colors on this project—it's just too brown . As a result, it's going very slowly. I might have to put this one in hibernation for a while. To compensate for the brownness, I started spinning the Turquoise rolags [ Ravelry ] that I bought from the Yarn Wench last month. I...

...and not a moment too soon!  This week has been a bit slow, so I'm looking forward to getting something done this weekend. We're in an in-between period where we're waiting for the next things to bloom. In looking at the archives, I haven't shown you these photos yet. A purple tulip: Purple salvia in a neighbor's yard: and a pink ranunculus: Up this weekend:  It's Mother's Day on Sunday. The daughter has already been spoiling me. On Wednesday, she had an iced latte from Starbucks delivered to my office. Yesterday, she had 4 Sprinkles cupcakes (Red Velvet!!) delivered to the office. We'll get together sometime over the weekend depending on her work schedule. Aside from that, I want to start working on the layout of the commission project now that I have all of the squares cutout.  I suspect that it will take me several days to get the layout to a pleasing look, so this will just be the beginning. I'm itching to finish the la...

...on the heels of the recap and not all that different, but it is Wednesday. :) Worked on: Stealth Commission Project (quilting) Finished cutting the fabric squares and now it's time to do the layout. Purchasing the  backing, binding and main border fabric is on hold until I get the main layout sewn together. Irisa Cowl/Scarf (knitting for Loopy Academy) [ Ravelry ] It's now 18 inches long, just past the halfway point. Works In Progress, did not work on: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Halloween Phat Fiber samples (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Tuscon Twilight (needlepoint) UFOs/Hibernation: Beyond Antares, aka Equatorial Nights (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Going Snow Global quilt (quilting) Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch) WIPs To Be: A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.

...started a few things that I actually finished in the same month! And I'm still trying to get back on track with my rading. Finished: 4/4 Gypsy handspun [ Ravelry ] Wild Card Bling Batt (3.7 oz) from the Yarn Wench ; 48.4 yards auto-plied with copper thread, 7 WPI 4/15 Dreams of Amethyst shawl (weaving) [ Ravelry ] 4/25 Mermaid  Bling art yarn (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Wild Card Bling Batt from the Yarn Wench 106.1 yards thread-plied plus 4.5 yards beaded; bulky weight 4/26 Parritch Bonnet [ Ravelry ] 4/26  Lilac handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Lilac Merino-Bamboo-Tussah Silk top (4oz) from Miss Babs; 124.5 yards, 13 WPI Books: The Book of Unknown Americans, Cristina Henriquez Wormwood Echoes, Laken Cane Last One Home, Debbie Macomber NYPD Red 3, James Patterson Sisters of Heart and Snow, Margaret Dilloway Choose Your Own Biography, Neil Patrick Harris Darned If You Do, Monica Ferris Dark Heir, Faith Hunter Started: 4/4 Gypsy handspun [ Ravelry ] 4/...

...and May the 4th be with you! A quick post to show the latest finished object because it's too cute not to share. Here is Serpiente [ Ravelry ]: and another view: Specs: Started 4/21/15; Finished 5/4/15; Pattern: Striped Stockinette Snake by Purl Soho Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers in Indigo Frost and Liberty Loopy Academy, Semester 2 Variations: Increased the spacing of the stripe at about 45 inches; knit an additional 5 inches in length I did a stash dive in my button box to find suitable eyes. I love the rounded green eyes. No snake is complete without a forked tongue--I used a scrap of red felt and used a large tapestry needle to thread it through the mouth. It was a really fun knit!

...Happy May! First, here is the completed Parritch Bonnet [ Ravelry : and a view of the top: Specs:  Started 4/4/15; Finished 4/26/15 Oatmeal Bonnet pattern by Carolyn Macpherson; Lightly fulled Loopy Academy Semester 2 assignment I'm happy with the way it turned out, I'm glad it wasn't completely felted because I like seeing the swirl created by the decreases on the top. Things continue to bloom in the backyard. The hydrangeas are starting: The yellow ranunculus opened: This purple umbrella flower is new. I like how the dark stems look against the purple of the flowers; the white tips add even more interest. And the feijoa is going nuts again: Up this weekend:  More work on the commission piece. I'm going to try finishing the Striped Stockinette Snake [ Ravelry ] so I can get back to the Irisa Cowl/Scarf [ Ravelry ]. I love how Irisa looks, but I'm tired of knitting the drop stitch pattern. I'm also itching to start ...