Livin' La Needle Loca

...hurray! Here is Victoria handspun [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started 11/5/16 Finished 3/25/17 Yak-Silk (4 oz.) from Greenwood Fiberworks 171.2 yds., 15 WPI This is Crocus handspun [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started 3/4/17 Finished 3/26/17 Camel-Silk (4 oz.) from Greenwood Fiberworks 182.4yds., 14 WPI And finally, this is the first look at the Icelandic No-Noro Hat [ Ravelry ]. (I need take another photo of the hat on Blanca, my head model.) Specs: Started 3/11/17 Finished 3/26/17 Pattern:  Noro spiral one-skein hat by Manuèle Ducret Yarn: Super Saver Multis by Red Heart in Icelandic I started another hat for Halos of Hope. I might just use the same pattern as the last hat, but I won't know how I feel about it until I see how the color variegation works on the ribbing. This is the start of Shimmer and Shiny Hat [ Ravelry ] : WIPs Roll Call Worked on: Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Received my order o...

...I'm alive, sort of. I managed to catch a cold from some unknown source on Wednesday. By Thursday morning, it was clear that I was too sick to go to work. Given that The Daughter's big night was Friday (and there was no way I was going to miss it!), I stayed home on Friday, too. I didn't get out of bed until 4pm, when I had to start getting ready. My mission was to make it through her Hall of Fame event without collapsing in a coughing fit. I made it all the way to 9:15pm without coughing. Yay! It was a great evening. It's always wonderful when others recognize how awesome your child is.   The Daughter and her first basketball coach (R) and her senior year HS basketball coach (L). Saturday and Sunday, I spent most of the day doing very little. I discovered that plying the two sets of singles in the WIP pile was a good activity to do. It didn't take much energy and I could take lots of breaks. The Husband did the grocery shopping, allowing me to rest....

...not a lot of progress is happening right now. And it's started raining again, so not outside photo shoots until that stops. All I really want to do right now is sleep. I have a sore throat that is a precursor to a cold. I'm fighting it with vitamin C and I'll take some Airborne when I get home. Boo! WIPs Roll Call Worked on: Icelandic No-Noro Hat (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Working on the main part of the hat Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ]   Still knitting away on chart 1 Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Warped, hemmed on the starting edge, wove about 2 inches Works In Progress: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting) Crocus handspun (spinning) [ 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...

...and the weekend report. In a nutshell, the weekend was catch-up chores and a little bit of weaving. There was so much catch-up to do! We've been fighting the battle of the fleas for quite a while now. I think we're almost done, but it required a whole lot of laundry...again. The cats got their 3rd dose of Advantage 2 and I completely stripped the bed and put all of the bedding in the wash except for the comforter, which doesn't fit in my washing machine. That I sent through the dryer on high. The, a lot of vacuuming and spraying everything with the clove-scented flea spray. Whew! In between loads of laundry, I warped my rigid heddle loom with some yummy Blue Heron rayon-metallic yarn in Rosewood. The color is copper with a slight pink caste to it: I've used this yarn for weaving twice before and I really love how it turns out. However, I really need to have at least 1.5 skeins of it for a shawl, and I only have 1 in the stash. I'm going to supplement the...

...blog and run. Nectarine blossoms Violas Crabapple blossoms and Bleeding Heart. Up this weekend: Catch up with everything that didn't get done last weekend because I was at Mom's. I also need to finish buying the components for a dinner we are attending next Friday. It's cocktail attire so it requires more that what I have in my wardrobe. .

...and no progress to report.  I'm still trying to catch up from the weekend at mom's, both in sleep and in chores. I hope to get back to knitting tonight. WIPs Roll Call Worked on: Crocus handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Ready to ply Icelandic No-Noro Hat (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Ribbing is done ready to start the main part of the hat. 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 ...

...and, yes, I missed Eye Candy Friday. I drove to my Mom's Friday afternoon and by the time I got there I was exhausted from driving in traffic for most of the trip. All I wanted when I arrived at 5:30pm was dinner. My nephew and his family came over later so I could give them the knitted baby items and the quilt. This is Sea of Dreams: ...and the label: Specs: Started 11/4/16 Finished 2/12/17 Sea of Dreams panel and related fabrics from South Seas Imports On Saturday, Mom and I just sat and talked. We sorted a bunch of loose photos that she had. I found a few that I wanted to scan right away and she let me take those with me. There are many more to scan, but I need to get a scanning setup that is portable so I can bring it to her. She really doesn't want to let me take many more photos home with me. We got to babysit my grand-nephew Saturday evening. I'd forgotten how small month-old babies are! I drove home on Sunday, arriving in the early after...

...already! Not much happening on the WIPs front. I didn't have the energy to work on anything last night. With my we trip to Mom's this weekend, I need to stash dive for more hat yarn. While I could probably work on the shawl while I;m there, it would be safer to work on a simple hat. I'm having enough issues with this shawl when I can concentrate on it. I won;t have that level of concentration at Mom's. WIPs Roll Call Worked on: Crocus handspun [ Ravelry ] Almost done with the singles...about 0.25 to 0.50 ounce left to spin Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Working on row 40 (of 64) for chart #1. That will be followed by 30 rows of chart #2, and then chart #3 (which looks really confusing right now, but might make more sense when I get there). Victoria handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ]  Ready to ply, Works In Progress: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting) St. Charles (needlepoint) Valley of t...

...and I finally got the final photos of the Camo Baby Sweater and the Macaw hat. First, here is the final photo of Camo Baby Sweater [ Ravelry ]: This is the Macaw Hat [ Ravelry ], another donation for Halos of Hope: Specs: Started 2/2/17 Finished 2/26/17 Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Macaw Pattern: Modification of Malabrigo Head Thingie by Anne Sahakian Randomness: I finished spinning the singles for the Victoria handspun [ Ravelry ]. This one was not as nice a spin as the previous yak-silk top I've spun. Maybe it was the fact that my wheel whacked out in twice during the spin, but I was very glad to be done with these singles! Because my wheel seemed to be behaving itself, I started spinning a camel-silk, called Crocus [ Ravelry ]. It is a much smoother spin! I was getting ready to mail the baby gifts to my nephew when I found out that he and his family are visiting my mom this week. I'll drive down to mom's on Friday and deliver the gifts in perso...

...first one for March. We continue to have crocuses blooming the backyard. This is a Pickwick crocus nearly the end of its bloom: The Blenheim apricot tree is setting its blossoms: ...and the plum trees are going crazy with blossoms: Up this weekend: No trips or events this weekend. I need to do a little catch-up on housework, but then its mostly crafts. I'd like to finish spinning the yak-silk that's on the wheel. I have so many yummy new fibers to spin...I want to spin them all now! However, I'm not sure whether the latest repair of the wheel is going to hold. Keep your fingers crossed for me! .

...Stitches West, our anniversary trip, and a short month = less time to craft. Finished: 2/26 Macaw Hat [ Ravelry ] 2/26 Camo Baby Sweater [ Ravelry ] (knitting) 2/18 Baby Camo Hat [ Ravelry ] (knitting) 2/12 Sea of Dreams baby quilt (quilting) Books: Three Sisters, Susan Mallery Only Mine, Susan Mallery Echoes in Death, JD Robb Only Yours, Susan Mallery Chasing Perfect, Susan Mallery Finding Perfect, Susan Mallery Summer Nights, Susan Mallery All Summer Long, Susan Mallery Started: 2/19 Camo Baby Sweater [ Ravelry ] 2/12 Baby Camo Hat [ Ravelry ] 2/2 Macaw Hat [ Ravelry ] 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) Ca...

...in which I show a (nearly) finished object. This is the Baby Camo Sweater: Specs: Started 2/19/17 Finished 2/26/17 Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Camouflage Pattern:  Five Hour Baby Sweater by Courtney Filner I originally declared it done when I was going to add buttons. I had the buttons picked out and everything. After talking to a knitting friend, we decided I-cord ties were a better choice. I knit one i-cord during a meeting and started the second one. I'll finish the second tie watching TV tonight. I still need to take photos of the finished Macaw hat, probably this weekend. WIPs Roll Call Worked on: Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Trying to figure out where I left off. Works In Progress: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting) St. Charles (needlepoint) Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch) Victoria handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] UFOs/Hibernation: Be My Bab...