Livin' La Needle Loca

...last one for July! With the drought, it's harder and harder to find things to photograph in the backyard. Even with the drip irrigation system, some of our flowers are just drying up. Our cilantro plant bolted and now we have some nice coriander seeds growing: Our Asian Pear is doing OK: The Lion's Tail is blooming, just now as much as previous years: And our crazy berry plants are setting blossoms again. They haven;t realized it's almost August: In the F.O. (Finished Object) category, here is Santa Fe #5: Specs: Started 5/25/15 Finished 7/25/15 Painted canvas by Tish Holland DMC floss; DMC Medici wool; Kreinik metallics; Needle Necessities overdyed floss I also finished the stitching for the Happy Wishes scissor fob: Specs: Started 7/14/15 Stitching completed 7/30/15 Happy Wishes Fob kit from Shepherd's Bush It's now joined the other items that need finishing. There are 2 other fobs to finish, so now I can do all of them a...

...sorry, no Finished Object photos.  I ran out of time this morning! With Tour de Fleece completed for this year, it's time to get back to my normal WIP rotation plan. The primary thing I need to do is work on the commission quilt. To do that, I need to get my studio back in order--my work table/ironing surface is deconstructed and I can't easily get to the things I need to work on the quilt. Reality says that it won't happen until the weekend. After working all day, neither the Husband or I have the energy to haul the futon mattress back upstairs! In the meantime, I'll work on a cross stitch piece or my knitting. WIPs: Worked on: Beyond Antares, aka Equatorial Nights (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Working on row 28 of 62 Empress handspun [ Ravelry ] Working on first copp on a KCL Woods spindle Happy Wishes Scissor Fob (cross stitch) Completed the front; working on the back Stealth Commission project (quilting) Need to cut the borders and sew them on. Still need t...

 ...and the last F.O. for the Tour. Tour de Fleece, Last Day (7/26): Squeezed in one last art yarn. This is Clear Skies, from a batt by the Yarn Wench: and the close-up: Specs: Started and finished 7/26/15; Wild Card Bling Batt (4.3 oz) from the Yarn Wench; 55.8 yds, auto-plied with rayon thread; bulky Tour de Fleece, Finale: For the first time, I did not meet my goal of spinning every day. Life and house guests interrupted my normal TdF schedule. With my studio doubling as a guest room, my spinning wheel was in an inconvenient location. On Sunday, The Husband and the house guests went to San Francisco for the day so I was able to pull out the wheel and do one last bit of spinning. Total output: 6 art yarns, 2 chain-ply, 1 2-ply, 1 WIP Total fiber spun: 25.7 ounces Total yardage: 941.85 yds. Here's a collage of my TdF spinning: In the midst of rearranging our house, having house guests, etc., I managed to do a little stitching. I finished Santa Fe #5 ...

...first, the update: No significant progress, at least for spinning. However, reorganizing at home is going well! We are replacing our big tube TV with a gently-used flat-screen TV. While there is nothing wrong with the old TV, it's incredibly heavy. The Husband and I are both getting older and we figured we should replace the old one while we can still lift it! The new TV had been wall-mounted in its previous home and we want to use it as a table-top TV. We found a universal stand at Amazon that works. Next, we will rearrange the living room so we can use the new TV. The new TV has been leaning against my fabric wall in the studio. Once we can finally move it our of there, I can finish rearranging the studio to accommodate two of our four weekend guests. I hope it doesn't take too long to get things in place in both rooms! On to the eye candy. Our garden is in one of those in between times: not a lot of new flowers blooming, but the vegetables are doing OK. We have ...

...spinning progress has slowed down. We are trying to get our house in shape for my niece and her family.  They arrive Saturday so we are rearranging my studio as temporary sleeping quarters. My work table can be easily reconfigured to fit against the fabric bookcases because it is two small bookcases and a desktop. One of the reasons that I never permanently connected them was so I could move it by myself. That was a good plan! Turning part of the studio into a guest room means that I can't easily access my spinning wheel. I'm spindle spinning for now. Tour de Fleece, Day 17 (7/20) and Day 18 (7/21): Spinning the singles for a 2.0 oz. batt from Purlescence Yarns. I received this batt as a prize for participating on Team Spinning Purls in 2013. It feels right to spin it during Tour de Fleece! This is Empress handspun [ Ravelry ] so far: I might not be able to finish this one by the end of the tour, but I'm going to try to squeeze in one more art yarn. We'll...

...and my vacation is over. Sigh. It was really nice being able to play all day! Tour de Fleece, Day 13 (7/16): Spun the singles for a 3.8 oz. Yarn Wench batt. Tour de Fleece, Day 14 (7/17): Plied the singles with rayon thread and sequins. This is Wild Nile handspun [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started 7/16/51; Finished 7/17/2015; Wild Card Bling Batt (3.8 oz) from the Yarn Wench; 215.9 yds, plied with rayon thread and green sequins; 12 WPI Tour de Fleece, Day 15 (7/18): Spun the singles for a 2.0 oz. Faerie Mountain batt. Tour de Fleece, Day 16 (7/19): Wound the singles into a plying ball and made a 2-ply yarn. This is Faerie Purple handspun: and the close-up: Specs: Started 7/18/15 Finished 7/19/15 Merino-Silk batt (2.0 oz) from Faerie Mountain 117.25 yds. 2-ply, 14 WPI My spinning output will be considerably less now that I'm back to work. In addition, we have family coming for the weekend, so I don't know whether I'll h...

...I ran out of day....too busy spinning! Our Starla Red Pentas have been going nuts again: This hummingbird followed me around while I tried to find something to photograph: Up this weekend: Spin-In tomorrow...hooray! .

...still spinning along. Tour de Fleece, Day 11 (7/14): Spun the singles for yet another  Yarn Wench batt. Tour de Fleece, Day 12 (7/15): Plied the singles with silver thread. This is Wild Shell handspun [ Ravelry ]: and the close up: Specs: Started 7/14/15; Finished 7/15/15; Wild Card Bling Batt (2.5 oz) from the Yarn Wench; 95 yds, thread-plied with metallic silver thread; 9 WPI WIPs: Worked on: Happy Wishes Scissor Fob (cross stitch) Started 7/14, working on the front Santa Fe #5 (needlepoint) Completed 60% of the white background stitches Stealth Commission project (quilting) Squares are all sewn together; purchased the border fabric Works In Progress, did not work on: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Beyond Antares, aka Equatorial Nights (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) UFOs/Hibernation: Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Going Snow Global quilt (quilting) Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [ Rav...

...still making progress! Tour de Fleece, Day 8 (7/11): Spun an art yarn from a Yarn Wench batt. This is Rust Verde [ Ravelry ]: and a close up: Specs: Started and finished 7/11/15; Wild Card Bling Batt (3.5 oz) from the Yarn Wench; 24.2 yds, thread-plied with copper poly threads; bulky weight Tour de Fleece, Day 9 (7/12): Spun the singles for a gradient batt from the Yarn Wench, Tour de Fleece, Day 10 (Rest Day 7/13): I decided to spin even though it was a rest day. I chain-plied the singles from yesterday. This is Gradient Violet [ Ravelry ]: and the close up: Specs: Started 7/12/15; Finished 7/13/15; Wild Card Bling Batt (3.1 oz) from the Yarn Wench; 102.4 yds, chain-plied; 10 WPI I've really been enjoying my vacation. Being able to do whatever I wanted, when I wanted has been incredibly energizing. :) .

...and it's F.O. Friday, too! First, a little eye candy. Our spider lilies are blooming like crazy: Not much else to show you at this point as there is nothing new. I forgot to show this ornament that I finished on 6/28: This is my favorite of the 3 Southwestern angel ornaments, but I really dislike this fabric. Last night, I finished stitching the Scaredy Sheep scissor fob: I've added it to the stack of finishing projects that I'll work on when I've made significant progress on the commission piece. Tour de Fleece, Day 5: I continued spinning the turquoise Crazy Batt [ Ravelry ] from Faerie Mountain on the spindle. Tour de Fleece, Day 6: I checked out my wheel to see what's wobbling. It looks like it's the hinge. The bushing it still seated so it's not the problem now. I cut a piece of that spongy shelf lining and put it between the folding components, taking care not to catch it in the hinge. Once I tightened the knob, the wheel...

...finally. Finished: 6/7 Sochi handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Camel-Silk top (4.0 oz.) from Greenwood Fiberworks 176.8 yds, 14 WPI 6/20 Halloween Phat Fiber samples (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Fiber samples from multiple vendors; Some singles, some two-ply, and some chain plied Yardage TBD, worsted weight 6/27 Drake's Bay handspun [ Ravelry ] Merino-Bamboo top (4 oz) from Royale Hare 168.4 yds. chain ply, 13 WPI 6/28 Backstitching on some old cross stitch ornaments Books: Breakwater, Shannon Mayer Recurve, Shannon Mayer Baltimore Blues, Laura Lippman Raintree: Inferno, Linda Howard Prey, Linda Howard After I'm Gone, Laura Lippman Purl Up and Die, Maggie Sefton Candy Cane Murder, Joanne Fluke Started: 6/1 Scaredy Sheep scissor fob (cross stitch) 6/13 Drake's Bay [ Ravelry ] Worked on: Beyond Antares, aka Equatorial Nights (knitting) [ Ravelry ] 5/25 Santa Fe #5 (needlepoint)  Scaredy Sheep Scissor Fob (cross stitch) Stealth Commission projec...

...last day of work before craft-cation! Tour de Fleece, Day 4: I selected a medium-weight spindle and started spinning a turquoise Crazy Batt [ Ravelry ] from Faerie Mountain. It's the same batt I started spinning on the wheel before it collapsed. Here's last night's progress: WIPs: I finished the front of the Scaredy Sheep scissor fob and started stitching the back. It should go pretty quickly, so I can finish it while I'm on my vacation. WIP Roll Call Worked on: Beyond Antares, aka Equatorial Nights (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Working on row 21 Stealth Commission Project (quilting) I think I have the final layout...time to start sewing! Scaredy Sheep Scissor Fob (cross stitch) Works In Progress, did not work on: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ]  Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Santa Fe #5 (needlepoint) Old Christmas ornaments UFOs/Hibernation: Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Going Snow Global quilt (quilting) Peacock P...

...they can be summed up as Good, Good, and Arg! Day 1=Good Completed one handspun. This is Sunrise [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started and Finished 7/4/2015; Wild Card Bling Batt (2.5 oz) from the Yarn Wench; 104.2 yds, thread-plied with copper and gold threads; bulky weight Day 2=Good Completed another handspun. This is Lemon Lime [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started and finished 7/5/2015; Crazy batt (2 oz) from Faerie Mountain;  139.6 yds, thread-plied with green and yellow threads; 10 WPI Day 3=ARG! I knew I wouldn't finish anything given that I had to work all day. I wanted to start the next one, figuring that I would probably finish it on my first day of vacation on Thursday. I sat down at my wheel and noticed that it was wobbly. I tightened the bottom knob a bit and noticed that it didn't tighten at all then my wheel started folding up on me. The bushing was still on the knob's shaft...it had pulled out of th...

...AKA blog-and-run. First off, eye candy. This is what it looked like when I got home on Wednesday: And the salvia in our courtyard is going strong: Up this weekend: Tour de Fleece starts tomorrow! I will be spinning as many batts as I can. They are already set aside so I'm ready to start. Since I'll be spinning every day through 7/26, I took time today to work on some cross stitch pieces.I also looked at the commission piece and made a couple of changes. Mostly, I just enjoyed having an extra day off. :) .

...and Happy July! Here is the latest handspun I completed. This is Drake's Bay [ Ravelry ]: and the close up: Specs: Started 6/13/15 Finished 6/27/15 Merino-Bamboo top (4 oz) from Royale Hare 168.4 yds. chain ply, 13 WPI Here's what Santa Fe #5 looks like now: So close to done! Maybe this weekend... WIP Roll Call Worked on: Beyond Antares, aka Equatorial Nights (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Working on row 21 Stealth Commission Project (quilting) I think I have the final layout...time to start sewing! Santa Fe #5 (needlepoint) See above. Old Christmas ornaments Finishing the back stitching on some Southwestern ornaments I started many years ago Works In Progress, did not work on: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ]  Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Scardy Sheep Scissor Fob (cross stitch) UFOs/Hibernation: Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Going Snow Global quilt (quilting) Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Pea...