Livin' La Needle Loca

...and the last day of May already. I wanted to take a photo of the mermaid (such as she is) and an update photo of the St. Charles needlepoint this morning, but I just ran out of time. I'll try to get some this weekend. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Charred Teal Shawl [ Ravelry ] Continuing to work on pattern section 2. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Working on the back fin. St. Charles (needlepoint) Working on the outside border. Works In Progress: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ]   Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch) UFOs/Hibernation: All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting) Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint) Canto de Sirena shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Finishing work Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross sti...

...finally got photos of the last two handspun projects, plus a new sewing project! This is the Sunset handspun [ Ravelry ]: and the close up: Specs: Started 4/28/17 Finished 5/21/17 Merino-Bamboo-Silk top (4 oz.) from Greenwood Fiberworks (Stitches West 2017) 215.9 yds 2-ply, 15 WPI This is the Tiger Lily handspun [ Ravelry ] : and the close up: Specs: Started 4/9/17 Finished 5/27/17 Merino-Stellina top (4 oz.) from Greenwood Fiberworks (Stitches West 2016) 270 yds 2-ply, 15 WPI The sewing F.O. is a new project bag. I've been using a flat project bag for the Charred Teal Shawl, but it doesn't work very well with the 7 balls of yarn in the shawl. I wanted something that opened wider. I found this post: open wide zippered pouch: DIY tutorial . The large size seemed like it would be ideal. I had just purchased some beautiful fabric with dragonfly wings that I wanted to use. I did a quick trip to Jo-Ann's to get a zipper, followed by a stash d...

...on a Saturday. After  processing the photos and uploading them to Flickr, Facebook, and Instagram, I forgot about the blog. Oops! The yard continues to bloom. The bee blossom bush has delicate pink flowers: The clematis is going strong: We have some beautiful snapdragons: Even the cilantro is blooming: New to the garden this year are salpiglossis flowers: Up this 3-day weekend: A little spinning, a little quilting, a little stitching, and who knows what else!

...and a progress photo of the Charred Teal Shawl. I am obviously not burying the ends as I go. I have tucked them behind the piece to take this photo so they don't distract from the knitting. I really love this color combination! This is the most convenient project to work on after dinner. Most of the other projects require a piece of equipment or frame (loom, knitter's loom, stitching stand and frame, sewing machine...you get the idea) and are best kept in my studio. I just have to be patient and wait until Friday afternoon to work on something else! WIPs Roll Call Worked On: All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting) Borders attached, backing pieced, and binding prepped. This project will go into hibernation until it's cool enough to wrestle a quilt through the sewing machine. Charred Teal Shawl [ Ravelry ] Working on pattern section 2. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Working on the seaweed below her tail. Sunset handspun [ Ravelry ] Finished pl...

...I have no idea what happened at the end of last week. I didn't process any photos for Eye Candy Friday, so no post there. I finished sewing the top for the All That Glitters quilt. I also prepped the binding and seamed the backing. This quilt is ready to sandwich, which won't be happening until the end of summer when the weather cools down. It's just too hot to quilt right now. I worked on the St. Charles needlepoint project. One of the areas called fro French knots. While I normally don't mind this stitch, it was a royal PITA in this project. I don't know if it's because it used 2 strands of overdyed floss in a small area or what, but the knots kept slipping behind and the ones that didn't looked sparse. I made the executive decision to rip out the knots and just use continental stitch. I'm much happier with the result. And truthfully, the areas are so small that I don't think it makes much of a difference. I worked on the Charred Teal Shawl...

...already! I don't have any new WIP photos, but I do have a photo of a WIP-To-Be. A couple of weeks ago, on of my favorite online stitchery stores was having a 20%-off sale on everything. So, I checked out the newest mermaid pattern from Mirabilia, Aphrodite Mermaid. I decided that while I loved the colors, I wasn't wild about the hair on this mermaid. I looked at the Mirabilia mermaid patterns that I knew I hadn't bought yet and settled on Mermaid Undine. Since everything was 20% off, I also bought the silks and the beads needed for the project. I'll have to invest in some fabric when I'm ready to stitch it. Given that I have Mermaid of the Pearls on hiatus at the moment, that won't be any time soon! WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Charred Teal Shawl [ Ravelry ] Still working pattern section 1. All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting) Cut out strips for the narrow inner border, the wide outer borders, and the binding. Ready to sew them on. Wor...

...and the weekend report. For an early Mother's Day, the Daughter took us to lunch at one of the restaurants in the Stanford Shopping Center on Saturday. Afterwards, we walked over to the eucalyptus grove on the Stanford campus to check out the Stanford Pow Wow.  The dancing competitions were in progress when we got there, so there were a lot of people in their native dress. There were lots of jewelry artists with some beautiful silver and turquoise pieces. The one artist we wanted to see was the one who made the Husband's ring. However, the artist did not attend so I guess we'll have to go back to New Mexico to get my ring! There were also couple of rug artists, one of whom brought his loom. It was very interesting to see how the loom was set up and the type of yarn he used for warp. He used all wool for the weft, some of it handspun. I wish I felt confident in using my handspun to make a rug! The rest of Saturday was spent doing laundry and some other chores. In parti...

...blog and run. This morning's sun hid behind some clouds for a bit: A rogue foxglove has sprung up in our courtyard: Up this weekend: Looking forward to spending some time with the Daughter for Mother's Day! .

...and some finished objects. This is the Teal It To The Bees hat [ Ravelry ]: Specs: Started 4/13/17 Finished 5/4/17 Pattern: Slouchy Beehive Hat by Flora Cheung Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Pagoda And this is the Puget Sound handspun [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started 4/21/17 Finished 5/7/15 Merino-Tencel top (4 oz.) from Greenwood Fiberworks 314.5 yds 2-ply, 16 WPI WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Charred Teal Shawl [ Ravelry ] Started on Saturday. Sunset handspun [ Ravelry ] Ready to ply St. Charles (needlepoint) Still working on section 5 Works In Progress: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting) Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ]   Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Tiger Lily handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch) UFOs/Hibernation: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Bear Paw pottery (needlepoint) Ca...

...with no photos. I finished the Teal It To The Bees hat [ Ravelry ] on Thursday. I still need to take a beauty shot. This makes a total of 4 hats for Halos of Hope since Stitches West. I worked a bit on the St. Charles needlepoint piece. Every little bit helps! I've really been having trouble sleeping and it doesn't help that both the Husband and the cats snore. I finally was able to get a good 8 hours of sleep on Saturday night. We had lunch with the Daughter over the weekend. It was a belated birthday lunch for the Husband that we have been trying schedule for a couple of weeks. We went to a little restaurant on Oakland that serves Latin American street food...it was excellent! Since it takes about an hour to get to Oakland and the Husband drove, I used the time to start a new project. (I know...the startitis continues). My current shawl project is not going smoothly and I wanted something that was easier to pick up and put down. I started the Gray Area shawl I purcha...

...blog and run. The amaryllis bloomed last week: The watsonia are still going strong: And this morning I found a peach iris in the front yard:

...such as it is. Finished: 4/9 Shimmer and Shiny Hat (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Books: Knit Your Own Murder, Monica Ferris All The Lies We Tell, Megan Hart Pamela, Shannon Mayer Island of Glass, Nora Roberts Started: 4/9 Tiger Lily handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ]  4/13 Teal It To The Bees hat (knitting) [ Ravelry ] 4/21 Puget Sound handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ]  4/28 Sunset handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Works In Progress: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting) Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [ Ravelry ] 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 ] Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Finishing work Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ...

...and the project ennui continues. I'm just going to list my WIPs and go work on a recap. I hope some of my craft mojo comes back soon! WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Blog design I've trying out a couple of different themes. So far there are two themes I like, but they each have items that I find annoying. I wish there was an easy way to merge them. Sunset handspun [ Ravelry ] About 0.5 ounce left to spin on the singles. Teal It To The Bees hat (knitting) [ Ravelry ] 2 more rows and I can start the decreases. Works In Progress: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] All That Glitters Christmas quilt (quilting) Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ]   Puget Sound handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ]  Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [ Ravelry ] St. Charles (needlepoint) Tiger Lily handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch) UFOs/Hibernation: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Bear Paw pottery (needl...

...and how did it get to be May already? The weekend just flew by and it's already Tuesday. I'm still fighting startitis and I'm developing project ennui. On Friday afternoon, I felt like spinning, but I did not feel like plying. So I started spinning another bump of Greenwood Fiberworks stash. It is 4 ounces of Merino-Bamboo-Silk in the Sunset colorway [ Ravelry ]. I am nearly finished with the main portion of the Teal It To The Bees hat [ Ravelry ]. 2 more rows and I can start the decreases. I did not work on my weaving, quilting, needlepoint, or stitching. None of it called my name. I finished reading the book I started last Monday and immediately dove into the last installment of the Chicagoland Vampires series.  The Husband wasn't feeling well on Sunday, so we just hung out at home. I made a nice dinner of roasted chicken and potato salad, but he didn't feel well enough to eat it. :(  And that's about it. Sorry, kind of boring this week. How about ...