Livin' La Needle Loca

...spring has arrived in our yard even though it's still February. The Husband purchased a bunch of new flowers to replenish our hanging baskets in the backyard. I also asked for a basket for the courtyard so I can see pretty flowers from my studio windows. The blueberries are blooming again: We have some new pansies: These tiny blue flowers are lithodora: He's planted several colors of primroses: New this year are some magenta bicolor senetti: Up this weekend: I had plans to do a neighborhood camera walk, but my sprained ankle is not going to be happy walking a couple of miles. I'm having enough trouble just walking around the office and at home. It's improving, just not as fast as I'd like. I am itching to start the weaving of my new piece! I have four bobbins wound and ready to go. Sweet Heat [ Ravelry ] is ready to ply, but I'm not sure how much treadling my ankle will take. I'll play that one by ear. Other than that, I...

...where all of my plans to take photos this morning were sidetracked when I twisted my ankle as I stepped outside. At least it was after I went to the gym and cleaned up after the cats. :-( So rather than take photos of the moon and my WIPs, I iced my ankle and elevated it. It hurts and is swollen, but I can walk on it and move it. It could be worse. My ankles have been problematic my whole life. When I was a kid, it was not uncommon for me to be walking along with nothing in my way and twist an ankle and fall over.  It hasn't happened in a long time. This morning, I think I stepped on the edge of the doormat and that was enough to catch me off-balance. Sigh. **WIP Roll Call** Worked on: Citrus Hat (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Leaf Monthly Musing (cross stitch) Mermaid's Tale (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Sweet Heat handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Works In Progress, did not work on: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry...

...in a nutshell: I saw lots of pretty things, bought some of them, and had a great time. The longer story below. Thursday I didn't find any classes that called my name, so I signed up for the Opening Day Spotlight-Teachers Luncheon combo, and convinced my friend Loretta to do the same. I had never attended the spotlight or the luncheon, so it was something different to do. Plus, I still got into Market Preview that way. :-) The big draw for us was that our weaving teacher and one of the former owners of our local yarn store were two of the panelists. The topic was "Working Fiber Arts into Your Wardrobe." We enjoyed hearing about the process each panelist used to create their garments. My favorite was the garment created by our weaving teacher, Deborah Jarchow. My least favorite was the felted garment, but I don't like felted things in general. Lunch was fun, but very quick. I had never taken a class from any of the teachers who visited our table, so it was ver...

...blog-and-run style. Today was my second day at Stitches West. So far, I've purchased some wonderful spinning filer and yarn for two weaving projects. I've managed to take photos and create stash entries in Ravelry for everything I've purchased so far. As a result, I'm a little tired and almost forgot about Eye Candy Friday. I'll post a Stitches West when it's all done. On to the photos. The nectarine blossoms opened in the last week: In the neighborhood, the almond trees are blooming: And we have some cyclamen that are going strong: Up this weekend: two more days of Stitches West! Hooray! .

...I am so ready to immerse myself in 4 days of fibery things! I have my Stitches West stuff gathered and in one place. I need to stop at the grocery store to buy a few snacks and something for lunches. Tomorrow will be a full day, but so worth it! The mini-cupcakes that I made for Spin-In. I went back to my roots for spinning and started a Falkland top from Yarn Wench.  I managed to get 75% of the singles spun. I'll finish up the singles in the next week and then ply it. I spent several hours fixing my Canto de Sirena shawl [ Ravelry ]. There were several issues and at first it seemed like I would have to pull out two rows to fix them. I really didn't want to do that as each row is 362 stitches and it takes me a long time to knit that many stitches. Fortunately, I read this post from the Yarn Harlot about fixing errors in lace projects. And, to top it off, she was working on the same pattern that I am. I used her method to correct my errors and although it to...

...I'm ready now, but have a couple more hours of work to get through. Today's eye candy is all blossoms. The nectarine is starting to set blossoms: The apricot is a little further along: and the Santa Rosa plum trees are going nuts: Up this weekend: Spin In tomorrow!! I plan on making some red velvet mini-cupcakes to take.  I need to find something pink or red to spin to keep things in a Valentine's theme. I'm going to spend a little time cleaning up around the house. We need some serious vacuum monster action in the living room. There are little bits and pieces that have accumulated on the tables that need to be put away. I discovered a mistake with the Canto de Sirena shawl [ Ravelry ]. Given that it's in row 3 of the pattern repeat and I'm supposed to be working on row 5, I need to figure out the best and easiest way to fix  it.  A certain amount of brain power is required, so I'll tackle it Sunday or Monday morning. I need to t...

...and the countdown to Stitches West begins! It's one week away! I finally took the time to go through the vendor list and identify the booths to stop at first. I marked up my Erin-of-the-map map ( 2-page PDF here ) and transferred the markings to the PDF version. I've printed out 3 copies and I'm set to go on that front. Over the weekend, I located my badge holder and started making a stack of things that go with me. I haven't quite decided which knitting project I'll take. I'd love to get some traction on Canto de Sirena [ Ravelry ], but it's not exactly a mindless project. I already have a couple of hats to donate to Halos of Hope, but maybe I should just work on another one for them. I finished a cross stitch project over the weekend. This is Be Happy by Shepherd's Bush: Specs: Started 1/17/16 Completed 2/7/16 Nashville Market version by Shepherd’s Bush This was a special design for one of the Nashville Needlework Markets a few years...

...not much in the finished object arena, but at least I finished something! Finished: 1/3 Calypso handspun (spinning)  [ Ravelry ] Yak-Silk (4 oz.) from Greenwood Fiberworks Yardage and WPI TBD 1/23 Sandpiper handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Sparkle top (Merino-Stellino, 4oz) from Greenwood Fiberworks; 223.3 yds.; WPI TBD Books: Raven, Skye Knizley Fresh Blood, Skye Knizley Ashen Rayne, Skye Knizley The Bourbon Kings, JR Ward Blood of the Lost, Shannon Mayer The Beekeeper's Ball, Susan Wiggs The Apple Orchard, Susan Wiggs The Charm School. Susan Wiggs Started: 1/9 Sandpiper handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] IDJ (It's Dead, Jim): Reading: Vampires in the Lemon Grove, Karen Russell Works in Progress: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Calypso handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Empress handspun [ Ravelry ] UFOs: Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Pe...

...obviously, I have not gotten back into the swing of regular posting. Maybe next week! Today, I have baby strawberries: Some lavender: Flowering plum blossoms: Over a year ago, the Husband pulled out an old rosemary bush that we had in the font yard. It had gone woody and was not in good shape. It looks like it's decided to come back! It is setting a few flowers: I also have a couple of finished objects that I have not shown in the blog. This is Calypso  [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started 9/19/2015; Finished 1/3/2016 Yak-Silk (4 oz.) from Greenwood Fiberworks Yardage and WPI to follow (the yarn's at home; I'm at work) This is Sandpiper [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started 1/9/2016; Finished 1/23/2016; Sparkle top (Merino-Stellino, 4oz) from Greenwood Fiberworks; 223.3 yds.; WPI TBD Up this weekend: I need to take a serious look at the Stitches West vendors and prepare my shopping map. Like last yea...