Livin' La Needle Loca

...and the day can't end soon enough! This is the completed Costa del Mar shawl [ Ravelry ]: and a close view: Specs: Started: 3/20/16 Finished 7/24/16 Pattern: Castra by Anthony Casalena Yarn: Marie Antoinette by Yarn Love in Tranquil Waters Overall, it was an enjoyable knit. I'm going to look at this other patterns by this designer to see if there's another one that looks interesting. On to the eye candy. The squash plants continue to set blossoms and are busy producing squash. And the magic lilies have sprung up in the front yard: Up this weekend: Absolutely no plans! There are always crafty things to do. I should finish winding the new warp for the big loom and get that going.  I could also look at my knitting WIPs and my queued projects to determine which one to work on next. I have a candidate in mind for a new project, but I need to track down the yarn and the pattern. I'd really love to just hang out and read! .

...and I'm not sure what my WIPs are any more. I've been taking a (well-deserved) break from crafting, resting my knees and shoulders after all of that spinning. I'm not sure whether to pick up one of my long-term WIPs or just start something new. If I decide to start something new, there's that whole "what should I start?" question. I have a couple of shawls in the queue for which I purchased the yarn, s there's that. There are multiple socks in my queue, but I'm not sure I'm ready to back to socks yet. Of course, I have a perfectly lovely shawl (Canto de Sirena [ Ravelry ]) in progress. Maybe it's marinated long enough and I can be more successful with it now. It's a possibility. However, the start-itis is strong in me today... *WIPs roll call* Worked on: 4-shaft weaving sampler Started winding the new warp in thicker cotton to replace the original warp Works In Progress: Finishing work Needlepoint pottery picture Va...

...and a final look at my output. Tour de Fleece, day 22: I finished spinning Dawn [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started 7/22/16 Finished 7/23/16 Merino top (4.2 oz) from The Yarn Wench 167.5 yds. chain-ply, 11 WPI Non-TdF: I finished binding off Costa del Mar [ Ravelry ]! Tour de Fleece, day 23: My final entry was Rose Copper handspun [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started and finished 7/24/16 Rose Copper Wild Card Bling Batt (4 oz)from the Yarn Wench 72.6 yds. plied with rose sewing thread and copper metallic thread Bulky weight Non-TdF: I blocked Costa del Mar [ Ravelry ]. I'm a little concerned that my shawl doesn't quite look like some of the other projects--one of the wedges doesn't have as much of a netted effect. However, I like the way it looks, so it's done. Tour de Fleece, Finale: Recap: 10th Tour de Fleece 10 finished skeins, four of which were art yarns. Total of 1289.7 yds. from 40.7 oz. of ...

...and into the last weekend of Tour De Fleece. Tour de Fleece, day 20: The Finished Object is Geode [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started and finished 7/21/16 Geode Wild Card Bling Batt from the Yarn Wench 46.5 yds. plied with Berroco Quest in Roseglow Super-bulky weight And in the Eye Candy category, there wasn't anything new in the garden to take photos. In the spirit of Flashback Friday, I went into the archives and pulled out some photos from our trip to Oregon in 2008. These photos are calm and peaceful, something I need after seeing political Facebook posts. These are wild foxgloves: ...wild berries: and a forest scene: Tour de Fleece, day 21: I started spinning Dawn [ Ravelry ]. I spun about 75% of the singes. I'll finish this one up tomorrow. Up this weekend: Spinning for the last two days of Tour de Fleece is primary. It's also the last two days of my vacation, which went way too fast. Sigh.

...Tour de Fleece only has a few more days, so I'm trying to get as much spinning done as possible. Tour de Fleece, day 19: I finished plying the Surprise Box handspun [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started 7/6/16 Finished 7/20/16 Polwarth Surprise Box (4 oz.) from Greenwood Fiberworks 228.9 yds. chain-ply, 14 WPI I think I'll spin another art yarn tomorrow. They spin quickly and then I can concentrate on binding off my shawl! *WIPs roll call* Worked on: Costa del Mar (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Finished knitting all the rows! I've started binding off, but it's going to take a while. Finishing work I finished hand stitching on all of the flats. I need to lace the needlepoint flats and then figure out some sort of hanger to use for all of the flats. Works In Progress: 4-shaft weaving sampler Needlepoint pottery picture Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch) UFOs/Hibernation: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitti...

...I love vacation! Tour de Fleece, days 14 and 15: As planned, I spun an art yarn. I spun the single easily on day 14, but realized that I did not have the color of thread that I wanted to use as a ply.  So on day 15, I took a field trip to Purlescence Yarns. I'm sad that they will be closing at the end of August. In addition to looking for a plying option, I wanted to buy some bobbins for my shuttles and just scope out what they had. I found my bobbins and found a gold mercerized cotton that might work for plying. Since I was out already, I stopped at Eddie's Quilting Bee to check out their specialty threads. I found some great quilting threads to use for plying--I bought 4 spools! I used two of them to finish the art yarn. This is King Tut [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started 7/15/16 Finished 7/16/16 Tut Wild Card Bling Batt from the Yarn Wench 91.2 yds thread-plied King Tut quilting thread in Nile Delta Superior Metallic thread in Jade ...

...and I am in vacation-mode for the next week. Hooray! There isn't much in the way of eye candy from the garden. Our bi-color carnations are blooming again: The white and yellow dahlias are blooming: Looking up for a change to capture the clouds this morning: Tour de Fleece, day 12: Spun another braid of Sampler box fibers. Tour de Fleece, day 13: This was my first day of vacation. Before I let myself spin, I did quite a bit of housework. Then I started and finished Oxidized Purple [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started and finished 7/14/16 Merino-Silk (3.9 oz.) from The Yarn Wench 163.8 yds. two-ply, 11 WPI Tour de Fleece, day 14: I finished the housework this morning and did a run to Target. My plan is to spin an art yarn because my knees and ankle are sore from yesterday's spin. Up this weekend: More spinning!! I also want to rewarp the loom. Mostly, I just want to alternate spinning with whatever catches my attention. ...

...and Tour de Fleece report (such as it is). Tour de Fleece, days 10 and 11: Continuing to spin the Sampler box fibers. *WIPs roll call* Worked on: Costa del Mar (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Added 4 extra rows to the last section because I wanted the shawl to be a bit longer; working on row 231 of 237 Works In Progress: 4-shaft weaving sampler Finishing work Needlepoint pottery picture Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch) UFOs/Hibernation: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch) Tucson Twilight (needlepoint) WIPs To Be: A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.

...yeah, I know it's very late! Finished: Nothing crafty Books: Knit to be Tied, Maggie Sefton The Rising, Debra Dunbar Night Shift, Charlaine Harris Silver Linings, DebbieMacomber Wildflower, Drew Barrymore Leonard, William Shatner A Girl's Guide to Moving On, Debbie Macomber Started: 6/21 Arachne handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] 6/5 Needlepoint pottery picture 6/4 Finishing work (sewing, lacing) Works In Progress: Costa del Mar (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch) 4-shaft weaving sampler UFOs/Hibernation: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch) Tucson Twilight (needlepoint) WIPs To Be: A peacock or mermaid quilt for me.

...I finished another yarn. Tour de Fleece, day 7: I took a rest day...I was too tired to spin after work. I'll make up for it by spinning on one of the designated rest days. Tour de Fleece, days 8 and 9: I started and finished a bulky handspun over the weekend. This is Turquoise and Coral [Ravelry]: and the close-up: Specs: Started 7/9/16 Finished 7/10/16 Polworth-Silk top (4.3 oz) from The Yarn Wench 102.4 yds chain-ply, 8 WPI .

...yeah, and I'll post last month's recap at some point. Eye Candy Friday We planted a lot of flowers to entice bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds into our yard. This spiked gayfeather is supposed to be a favorite of butterflies: The superbells are going string: and our bougainvillea has really upped its game this year: Tour de Fleece, days 5 and 6: Because I don't have a lot of time and energy after work, I decided to start spinning a sampler box from Greenwood Fiberworks. The box contains 7 mini-braids of polworth top, each weighing anywhere from 0.4 oz. to 0.6 oz. I can spin one mini-braid in about an hour, which gives me a sense of accomplishment and keeps me from getting too tired. I'm spinning them one right after another in a random order. Up this weekend: Spin In tomorrow! I have to pull something from the stash to spin as I want to keep the sampler for work days. I only work Monday through Wednesday next week because it's time for...

...first the update. * Tour de Fleece, days 1, 2, and 3 I finished spinning Arachne [ Ravelry ] that I started at June's Spin-In. and the close-up: Specs: Started 6/18/16; Finished 7/4/16; Vervain Silky Roving, SW Merino/Bamboo/Silk (50/25/25) From Mosaic Moon 214 yds chain-plied, 13 WPI * Tour de Fleece, day 4 I spun Surf and Sun [ Ravelry ]. This is an art yarn, spun thick and plied with thread. and the close-up: Specs: Started and finished 7/5/16; Wild Card Bling Batt (3.6 oz) from The Yarn Wench; 80 yds. thread-plied with blue rayon thread and gold quilting thread; Bulky weight It took me about 3.5 hours from start to finish, which is pretty good. I don't think I can keep up that kind of output every work night, though. I might only be able to get an hour in tonight. *WIPs roll call* Worked on: Costa del Mar (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Working on row 223 of 233 Works In Progress: 4-shaft weaving sampler Finishing work Needlepo...

...Happy July! I'm looking forward to a 3-day weekend! A couple of weeks ago, I posted a photo of the foxgloves that were just starting to bloom. They are open now: The tropical milkweed has seeds bursting from seed pods and they are ready for the wind to carry them away: Our spider lily is blooming: And our lime tree has both baby limes and blossoms: Up this weekend: Tour de Fleece starts tomorrow! I have a general idea of what I'm spinning. I just haven't had the energy to go pull the batts and top from my stash. This is my 10th year of participation and my 10th year of being a spinner. Boy, that went fast! The other project is to help the Husband where ever he needs so we can get the kitchen back together. Kitchen? It looks like a bomb went off in there.And I can pretty much take the blame for it. We had a leak in the kitchen faucet that was getting worse. Given that California is not completely recovered from the drought and we don't need t...