Livin' La Needle Loca

...and I completely missed posting on Tuesday. Things have been a bit hectic at home and at work. Over the weekend, our washer decided that it did not want to spin any longer. It had a very definite odor of burnt machinery. Unfortunately, it was on the first load of the day. I managed to get the wet clothes wrung out and into the dryer. I hand-washed some underthings and the Husband took his laundry to the laundromat. Our new washer and dryer will be delivered this week. Craft-wise, I worked on the mermaid almost exclusively. She now had a neck and face, plus more hair. After having issues with trying to knit a shawl during Game of Thrones, I decided to start a new hat. I haven't quite decided which pattern to use, so I'm just working on the ribbing. I'll decide what this hat wants to be when I've finished the ribbing. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Charred Teal Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Restarted contrasting color 2. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Fi...

...blog and run. The only eclipse photos I took were of shadows through leaves and through the holes in the scaffolding on our office building: While there is not much new in the garden, we do have some scarlet runner beans: and some society garlic flowers are blooming: Up this weekend: More cross stitching, more quilting, more chores. Just more! .

...and the latest progress photo of the mermaid. I'm working in three areas of the chart: Her neck Her hair The foam in her arms that trails off into the water The easiest section to work on are her neck and hair. I find the metallics in the foam area very tiring, so it's nice to switch off with her neck and hair. As I encounter them in the foam area, I do the floss stitches first and then do the metallic stitches. There's still a ton of metallic stitching to do. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting) I finally found a beach fabric that I think will work. This is good because, I need to cross stitch something for San Jose State. I can't find a vintage t-shirt to use for that square. Charred Teal Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Finished the first contrasting color. Still doing the 2-steps-forward-1-step-back dance. Started and restarted contrasting color 2. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Still working on the foam; started th...

...and the weekend report. I am almost caught up with the laundry. I have an advantage in that the washer and dryer are in my studio. I can work on projects while I keep an eye on the them. The disadvantage is that the washer and dryer are so loud that I get tired of hearing them run for hours at a time. I'm ready for a little peace and quiet before everything gets done. Right now, there are 2 quilts that need to be washed that I couldn't bear doing. I did get the grocery shopping done and actually packed some lunches to take to work. Yay! I spent the majority of my craft time working on the mermaid. I did a little bit of her hair and am working up her neck. I forced myself to do a large section of metallic stitching, but there is still a ton to do. I also worked on the Peek a Boo cross stitch pillow. I completed the first contrast color for section 3 of the Charred Teal shawl  [ Ravelry ]. At Craft Coffee last night, I knit the first two rows of contrast color 2 (CC2) an...

...and I'm ready for a weekend.  The Husband planted watermelons this year and we have a baby in the garden. He'll have it all to himself as I don't like watermelons at all: Our figs are beginning to ripen. This morning we picked the first Panache fig: and a couple of Mission figs: They are very interesting to look at when you open them up: Both varieties are very sweet and tasty. Up this weekend: We never did do a real grocery run last week and not all of the laundry got done. I'll be doing a little catch-up in both areas. I have a few more quilt squares to cut out and then I want to concentrate on the Mermaid. I'm getting the urge to spin again, so I guess enough time has passed since Tour de Fleece ended! .

...and a photo of my new toy. A year or so ago, my Mom mentioned that she had an old Singer sewing machine. She said it wasn't very big and she hadn't used it in a long time. I learned how to sew on an treadle Singer machine that she had given away without asking me if I wanted it. So I asked if I could have this one. She said yes and she put my name on it so it was clear that it went to me. On the weekend's visit, she said it was silly to leave it at her house when she wasn't going to use it again. When she pulled it out to give to me. It was indeed a small machine - it's a Singer Featherweight 221 in excellent condition. OMG! I did a little research when I got it home and determined that it is probably a 1954 model. It was last serviced about 15 years ago, but she hasn't used it since. It is way cool! WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting) Cut out the Jellyfish square using the new fabric; cut out a couple of other squar...

...between the trip to Mom's and visiting with family, Eye Candy anything got lost in the shuffle. Friday's drive to Mom's was horrible. It was stop and go for the majority of the 238-mile trip - 4.5 hours of driving. And I left at noon! I'm glad I didn't leave any later than that! I had a good visit with Mom, my Aunt Rose, and cousins. I also got to spend quite a bit of time with my sister, which doesn't happen very often. Her job keeps her traveling and very busy. The first night, we stayed up until 1am catching up and telling family stories. Saturday morning, my sister brought freshly baked pan dulce from her favorite panderia. OMG< it was fabulous! Pan dulce with coffee is one of the best breakfasts ever! My mom has many photo albums of family pictures starting some where in the 40s. We had a great time going through the albums and sharing information about the photos. I had taken my scanner specifically to scan some of the older photos while I ha...

...lots of things in progress. Here's a look at Mermaid of the Pearls as of today: Sorry, it's not a great photo. I did a shoot-and-run this morning. I might not get to work on her at all this weekend depending on how tired I am from driving back from Mom's. I'll have to play it by ear. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting) Ordered additional feature fabric. I wasn't happy with the jellyfish fabric I had and I found one that I liked better. Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Working on the bubbles that she is holding. Peek a Boo pillow (cross stitch) Still working on the witches hat Charred Teal Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Working on first contrasting color in Section 3. Works In Progress, Did Not Work On: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Phat Fiber box, Indian Wedding (spinning) [ Ravelry ]  Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [ Ravelry ] St. Charles (needlepoint) Valley ...

...and the weekend report. Errands and chores were (mostly) accomplished. I didn't spend as much time on housework as I should have, but  oh well! I made a little progress with the attic windows quilt. I am waiting for more feature fabric to arrive, so I didn't spend a lot of time on it. Mostly, I mulled my sashing color choices. I'm not completely happy with what I have. I don't want to cut the strips until I know for sure. In the course of stash diving for other sashing possibilities, I decided to do a little fabric rearranging. I keep buying fabric and I'm running out of room. Originally, I had the fat quarters and half-yard cuts, folded and stacked in two rows like in this photo: By flipping them into columns, I have room to put 4 to 6 mini-bolts standing next to the columns. That frees up some space in the mini-bolt cubbies. I'm not done yet, but I like it so far. I'll try to get photos soon. Right now, it's a mess because of the transition...

...blog and run style. I'm back to my normal schedule of half-days on Fridays, so I need to scoot out of here in a few minutes. We harvested some tomatoes and peppers last Saturday. We picked cherry tomatoes: Green chile peppers (I think these are padrons): And two red zebra tomatoes: We have some baby eggplants growing in the backyard. They are pretty, but they are all for The Husband (I hate eggplant)! The container arrangement we planted in the backyard is extremely happy: and the hibiscus in the courtyard is blooming again: Up this weekend: No plans to go anywhere, thank goodness! The only things on the agenda are chores, errands, and crafts! .

...Tour de Fleece = lots of finished spinning objects! Finished: 7/1 Robin's Egg singles [ Ravelry ] Camel-silk (4.0 oz) from Greenwood Fiberworks 204.7 yards chain-ply; est WPI 14 7/3 Grape Fizz handspun [ Ravelry ] Merino-Silk (3.9 oz) from the Yarn Wench 122.8 yds., bulky, 2-ply Plied with variegated rayon thread 7/4 Kilkenny handspun [ Ravelry ] Merino-Silk (4.1 oz) from the Yarn Wench 180.5 yds. chain-ply, 12 WPI 7/4 Antoinette handspun [ Ravelry ] Merino-Silk (4 oz) from the Yarn Wench 120.9 yds. 2-ply, bulky Plied with Bernat Matrix ladder yarn in color 02315 7/8 Moss Rose handspun [ Ravelry ] Falkland (4.4 oz.) from The Yarn Wench 119.1 yds. chain ply, 10 WPI 7/9 Lava handspun [ Ravelry ] Falkland (4.3 oz.) from The Yarn Wench 206.6 yds. chain-ply, 13 WPI 7/13 Kraken handspun [ Ravelry ] Wild Card Bling Batt (3.5 oz) from the Yarn Wench 57.7 yds plied with gold and copper metallic threads; Bulky 7/14 Tidal handspun [ Ravelry ] Falkland (4.2 oz) from the Yarn Wenc...

...and a look at the latest Phat Fiber box. I love Phat Fiber boxes. It's a challenge not to buy one every month as they are filled with yummy fibers and yarns from great Etsy vendors. I love spinning the fiber samples and adding to my stitch marker collection. My wallet, on the other hand, thanks me for not buying one every month! I couldn't resist the Summer Solstice box for June/July. Here it is: Row 1: Gloria Patre, Jager and Yarn, Story Yarns and Beads, Winemaker's Sister, Prairieland Herbs, Mama's Llamas and Alpacas, Zany Pilgrimage Row 2: Fellview Fibers, Purple Lamb, Willow Fairy Wool, Mad Angel, Full Circle Artworx, Wonderland Fibers Row 3: Handmade Hallows, FiberQuirks, Plum Crazy Ranch Fiber Art, Dreadnotix, Golden Threads, Kitty Mine Crafts WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting) Did a stash dive for sashing alternates Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Stitching the torso and arm. Peek a Boo pillow (cross stitc...

...a finished object, and Happy August! The finished object is a cross stitch pillow that I worked on while watching TV. This is Spring 9-Patch: Specs: Started 6/17/17 Finished 7/29/17 Pillow kit from Pine Mountain Designs I bought 18 of these pillow kits over the years and have finished 11 of them. The kits are good purse projects as long as you leave the pillow at home! Random: The Husband and I bought a new shower head for my bathroom. He installed it for me and determined what he needed to do to replace missing tiles and remove the leftover screw. Fortunately, he has many extra tiles to choose from. I didn't get as much done on my quilt as I wanted. I did a little stash dive to see if I had better candidates for the sashing, and came up with an alternative for the lighter color. I'm still not sure what to do. I enjoyed Luana Rubin's presentation at the  San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles . One of my friends was also there and we caught up a little....