Livin' La Needle Loca

...and the weekend report. We spent the weekend in Monterey celebrating our 31/36 anniversary. Technically, our anniversary was Wednesday, but with work and all, celebrating midweek was not possible, We booked a hotel 2 miles from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and within walking distance to several restaurants. We got our dose of the aquarium and then headed out for the beach. The weather was incredible, not that it needed to be, so walking along the shore was pleasant. I took a ton of photos, which I haven't processed yet. (I know, typical!) Here's one, though: During the car rides and downtime, I worked on my coworker's hat. I finished it on Saturday. This is Sarah's Hat [ Ravelry ]: Specs: Started 1/18/17; Finished 1/28/17; Pattern: Classic Knit Hat by Haley Scarpino Yarn: Simply Soft Paints by Caron in Sunset I decided that there was enough yarn left in the skein to make another hat, so I immediately cast-on a second hat. This one is destined for Halos ...

...blog and run. This morning's sunrise: The Husband planted some new flowers for me. I wasn't able to get a good photo of the yellow flowers, but here is a flower-to-be: Up this weekend: The Husband and I are celebrating our anniversary, which was Wednesday. We're going to the ocean!! I can't wait! .

...such as it is. Here's the first look at the the hat in process [ Ravelry ]: I can't post a photo of the baby quilt until it has arrived at it's destination.  Worked on: Sarah's Hat (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Working on the main section. Sea of Dreams baby quilt (quilting) Machine quilting in process, estimate 30% complete. Works In Progress: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting) Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting)  [ Ravelry ] St. Charles (needlepoint) Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch) Victoria handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] UFOs/Hibernation: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint) Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Finishing work Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch) Tucson Twilight (needlepo...

...and the weekend report. I actually started posting yesterday, but got side-tracked yet again. As for Eye Candy Friday, still trying to make that happen. One of the reasons it's been so hard is the rainy weather. It's just not fun trying to fins something outside to photograph when it's poring rain. Don't get me wrong, I completely love that we're getting a lot of rain. The drought went on far too long. I found myself on Facebook a lot more than normal this weekend. There were so many wonderful photos and videos of the Women's March to look at. The hats I made went to San Francisco and San Jose. I wish I had been able to make more than 3! When I wasn't on Facebook, I worked on the baby quilt. I sandwiched it on Friday (love those half-days off!). I used two layers of cotton batting. Between that and the flannel backing it should be warm enough. I started machine-quilting it on Saturday. All of the stitch-in-the-ditch quilting is done. I am now stitchi...

...and I need to start getting serious about crafting. I haven't started my co-worker's hat yet so that's the first thing on the agenda. Here's the yarn I'm using for her hat: I'm going to use a basic hat pattern as she doesn't want anything fancy. I have the pattern, the yarn, and the needles...I just need to convince myself to cast on! Worked on: All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting) And playing with the layout continues. Victoria handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Spinning the single. This might have to go on hold if I can't get my wheel fixed soon. Works In Progress: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting)  [ Ravelry ] Sea of Dreams baby quilt (quilting) St. Charles (needlepoint) Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch) UFOs/Hibernation: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint) Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Cela...

...on a Monday. I finished two more hats for the Women's March. Here's hat # 2 [ Ravelry ]: Specs:  Started 1/9/17; Finished 1/15/17; Pattern: Pussy Hat, 4 Gauges, in the Round by Sarah Keller; Yarn: Pound of Love in Dark Pink by Caron (I think--them yarn was already wound when I got it) Hat #3 [ Ravelry ]: Specs: Started 1/8/17; Finished 1/15/17; Pattern: Pussy Hat, 4 Gauges, in the Round by Sarah Keller; Yarn: Red Heart Grande in Nectar I was going to go back to knitting hats for Halos of Hope, but a coworker asked if I could knit her a hat in acrylic. She is allergic to animal fiber and wants a hat for the cooler weather. I happen to have a suitable color in my stash, so I'll get started on that next. hen it will be back to Halos of Hope hats. I have 3 done already and I'd like to do at least one more before I go back to my own knitting. Saturday was Spin-In. Hooray! I haven't spun since November, so it was really nice to get back to the...

...I've already posted the November, December, and End-of-the-Year recaps. What remains are some photos from the Christmas Day walk we took and a couple of finished objects. The last couple of years, we've been starting some new traditions for the holidays. in 2015, we started the tradition of going outside on the day after Thanksgiving. In 2016, we did the same for Christmas Day. We took our time in the morning. We opened gifts and had a leisurely breakfast. We knew we wanted to go outside, but hadn't really thought it out. We decided to "walk the Dish"--hike to the Stanford satellite dish neat the Stanford university campus. We've done it before and it's one of the Daughter's favorite places to run. Unfortunately, because of our late start and the fact that lots of people thought it was a good idea, we had trouble finding parking. We ended up at one of the furthest entrances to the trail, which turned out to be a god thing. The Daughter had never...

...fewer quilting and stitching projects; same number of spinning projects; and almost the same number of knitting projects. I also read fewer books and IDJ'd a bunch that I didn't want to waste any more time on. (If you are not on Ravelry, you can see pictures of these items in my Flickr photostream and sets: Knitting , Spinning , Quilting/Sewing , Needlework , and Weaving .) Finished: Christmas Baking, etc. Bark and fudge: 8 pounds Biscotti: 468 Breads and fruitcakes: 9 mini-loaves and 12 cup-size loaves Cookies: 537 Spicy nuts: 1.3 pounds Sugared nuts: 15.25 pounds Knitting 3/29 Citrus Hat 7/24 Costa del Mar shawl 8/8 Pine Hat 12/30 Woodland Animals 12/27 Snowy Owl 12/31 Icelandic Halos of Hope hat Stitching 2/7 Be Happy by Shepherd's Bush (cross stitch) 3/13 Leaf Monthly Musing by Shepherd's Bush (cross stitch) 4/3 Linda's Dream (needlepoint) 5/30 Friendship Star (needlepoint) Quilting/Sewing/Beading 5/22 Quilt hanger for The Haw...

...soon to be followed by my year-end recap. [Edited to add Christmas presents that were delivered after the first of the year.) Finished: 12/31 Icelandic Halos of Hope hat (knitting) [ Ravelry ] 12/30 Woodland Animals (knitting) [ Ravelry ] 12/27 Snowy Owl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Christmas baking (less than last year at my family's request) Bark and fudge: 8 pounds Biscotti: 468 Breads and fruitcakes: 9 mini-loaves and 12 cup-size loaves Cookies: 537 Spicy nuts: 1.3 pounds Sugared nuts: 5.25 pounds 12/23 Christmas goodie cookbook hard-copy for the Daughter 12/16 Christmas goodie cookbook PDF (desktop publishing) 12/16 Christmas goodie recipe cards and gift cards Books: The Champagne Queen, Petra Durst-Benning Raven, Skye Knizely Sisters One, Two, Three, Nancy Star Started: 12/27 Woodland Animals [ Ravelry ] (knitting) 12/27 Snowy Owl [ Ravelry ] (knitting) Works In Progress: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] All That Glitters Christmas quilt ...

...way overdue. Finished: Nothing crafty Books: Promise the Moon, Hailey Edwards Angel's Heart, Nalini Singh Liam, Shannon Mayer Kill Switch, Laken Cane Dog with a Bone, Hailey Edwards Heir of the Dog, Hailey Edwards Lie Down with Dogs, Hailey Edwards Old Dog, New Tricks, Hailey Edwards Started: 11/4 Sea of Dreams baby quilt (quilting) 11/13 Icelandic Halos of Hope hat [ Ravelry ] (knitting) Works In Progress: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint) Finishing work  Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting)  [ Ravelry ] St. Charles (needlepoint) 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: ...

The blog is 11 years old today! I'm still enjoying the process. As an online journal, I think it's been very successful. It is very cool to be able to look back to see the progression of projects, the issues I encountered, and how well they turned out. Blogging on a regular basis for the last 6+ months has been a struggle, mostly due to a lack of time. it became particularly difficult when I cut back my work hours in November, followed by the madness that is the holidays. I hope with the new year, I can get back into a regular blogging schedule. I'm going to try to blog 3 days a week...they just might not be the same 3 days every week! So, keep checking back periodically. I'll continue to write about my trips and projects, and post photos of things that catch my eye, like this morning's sky: .

...time to review the things in process and set priorities. I am taking some time away from my normal projects to help my boss with his knitting project. He's knitting 10+ Pussy Hats for the Women's March in DC and needs some help. I'll do at least a couple for him...more if I have the time. Worked on: All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting) And playing with the layout continues Pussy Hats (knitting) Pattern and yarn selected; just need to find the right size needles Works In Progress, did not work on: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint) Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting)  [ Ravelry ] Sea of Dreams baby quilt (quilting) St. Charles (needlepoint) 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 ] Finishing work Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Peacoc...

...it's back to work I go. Having two weeks off was great, but I do wish that I had spent a little more time on my own projects. In addition to the fact that I had so much to do for Christmas, I found myself easily distracted by TV and other things. One thing that I couldn't seem to get into was reading. I have decided that I can no longer read Anne Rice novels, even when they are about Lestat, my favorite vampire. Her style of writing no longer appeals to me. Fortunately, the book I was reading, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis , was an ebook from the library. I didn't spend money for it, thank goodness! I did manage to do a little knitting. I can't show one of the two projects I finished as it is a gift and hasn't made it to the recipient yet. The other is the Icelandic Hat [ Ravelry ] that I started in November: and another view: Specs: Started 11/13/16; Finished 12/31/16; Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Icelandic Pattern: Modification ...