Livin' La Needle Loca

...in which we talk more about finished objects than WIPs. One project that has been flying low on the radar is a group spinning project. 7 of us in the Spin-In group spun the same colorway of a Lisa Souza fiber. We each spun it differently and created a small sample of our handspun - some knit and some woven. One of the spinners ( Knitflix ) collected our handspun and samples for submission to the California State fair! The deadline for submission was 5/26 so all can be revealed now. Here is a photo by Knitflix of the submission. There are more photos on her blog post about it. Mine is the 3rd one after the fiber sample at the top. Now we have to wait to see what the judges say. As I mentioned yesterday, I finished spinning a Phat Fiber box. What I didn't say was that it was the second Phat Fiber box I finished spinning this month. :) Whenever my eyes could not take any more beading, I'd work on a Phat Fiber sample. I finished the The Bee's Knees sampler [ R...

...and I couldn't be happier! OMG, it had a truckload of beads! There for a moment, I thought I was going to run out of the pearl seed  beads.  I ended up combing the carpet for loose beads that fell during that beading process. Between that and not being able to cram all the beads called for in certain areas meant that I had just enough to finish the piece. The piece needs pressing before I can lace it on to acid-free foam core. I also need to make sure that I actually have the right size foam core board on hand. If not, I'll need to buy some when I go to buy the frame. Here is the first look at Mermaid of the Pearls: As a closer look so you can see the insane number of beads. Specs: Started 6/15/2014 Finished 5/28/2018 (Hibernated 9/1/2014- 5/23/2017) Pattern by Mirabilia Variation: I used pearls instead of glass pebble beads (Mill Hill 5147) I worked on this piece in rotation a total of 1 year 2.5 months. I have no idea how much actual stitching time ...

...it's been a long week. Between family issues and an urgent vet visit yesterday, I'm so ready for the long weekend! This morning's sky was interesting: The pink alstroemeria is blooming again in the front yard: And we have strawberries in the backyard: Today marks my father's 112th birthday. It's hard to realize that he has been gone for 57 years. Here's a photo taken at one of his birthday celebrations; he turned 41 that year. He was the the love of my mother's life and I know she still misses him. I'll call her tonight just to make sure she is OK. Up this weekend: Playing catch up with errands and chores. Lots of things have fallen by the wayside in the last couple of weeks. Then I hope to get back to regular crafting. The mermaid needs more beads and I'd like to start spinning another camel-silk top. Mostly, I want to get back to some sort of normal. Having the Husband at home now will help! .

...and I'm ready for a weekend! Let's hope I get one. Even more important, let's hope The Husband gets one. The Husband has been dealing all things related to getting his mother up-to-date on doctor's appointments, ID cards, and whatever else is necessary to get her life in order. He's been staying there most nights just to avoid driving too much. Fortunately, his siblings are helping out, so it's not completely on his shoulders. There is not much new in the garden to photograph and I haven't had the time to go our and find other things to photograph. To keep this post from being picture-less, here's a closer view of the peony that was in my Mother's Day bouquet: Up this weekend: Maybe a trip to my mother-in-law's. All of the normal errands and chores need to happen regardless. I plan to work on the mermaid while I'm doing laundry. I'm hoping that my bead order comes in today, but I'm not holding my breath. I'll use up ...

...in which there are two WIP photos! Neither one is a great photo because I didn't have a lot of time this morning. But, you get the idea of where I am. I took a quick shot of Mermaid of the Pearls to show some of the latest beading. I hope to get back to this piece over the weekend. I found a few more feature fabrics for my quilt. The goal is to have 80 blocks that represent something in my life. I have a feeling it will end up with a few more than 80. I will have to decide soon! WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting) Purchased a few more feature fabrics and cut them out. Found an image for my college mascot; working on cross stitch pattern for it. Trying to figure out how to do a Tour de Fleece block without using iron-on...painting? Charred Teal Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Finished contrast color #2; starting contrast color #3 Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Beading the torso. St. Charles (needlepoint) Finished the fill-in s...

...at least, I started it while it was still morning. LOL! Yeah, I missed Friday's post. I managed to get my Facebook eye candy post done, but never quite made it to the blog.  I had to work a little extra on Friday to make up for earlier in the week, so something had to fall off the list. Shortly after I got home, I received a flower delivery - Mother's Day flowers from The Daughter! They are gorgeous! Since I've been holding down the fort at home, there were several more chores to do before I could start my own stuff. That meant that I didn't have much craft time in the afternoon. Spin-In was on Saturday. I baked some chocolate chip cookies to take. I didn't have the attention span to actually spin at Spin-In. Instead, I took the Charred Teal Shawl [ Ravelry ] to knit. I finally finished contrast color #2 and can start on contrast color #3. On Sunday, after calling my mother and talking to The Daughter, I drove to my mother-in-law's house. Sever...

...with not much to show in the way of WIPs.  We're still side-tracked with family stuff, and I've been too zonked at the end of the day to work on anything. Before everything happened, I started spinning one of my Phat Fiber boxes and I spent a little time on the mermaids.  The only crafty thing I've done lately is to hem 3 pairs of pants for my mother-in-law. I've worked on nothing else since last Monday. I hope we can get things closer to normal soon, but I'm not holding my breath. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Hemming 3 pairs of pants (sewing) Works In Progress, Did Not Work On This Week: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting) Charred Teal Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ]  Finishing work (Shepherd's Bush Christmas ornament.) Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Phat Fiber Caterpillars and Butterflies (spinning) Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [ Ravelry ] St. Charles (nee...

...a couple of finishes and a lot of reading Finished: 4/8 Christmas 9-patch pillow (cross stitch) 4/22 Mirabel handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Merino-Silk (4 oz.) from Lisa Souza Spindle-spun; wheel plied 478.0 yds, chain-ply, 20 WPI Books: Witches Reign, Shannon Mayer Burn Bright, Patricia Briggs Red Alert, James Patterson How to Break and Undead Heart. Hailey Edwards Covert Fae, CN Crawford Traitor Born, Amy Bartol No Good Deeds., Laura Lippman Raspberry Danish Murder, Joanne Fluke Secrets of Cavendon, Barbara Taylor Bradford  Started: Nothing Works In Progress: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting) Charred Teal Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ]  Finishing work (Shepherd's Bush Christmas ornament) Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch) Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Rosewood Wrap (weaving) [ Ravelry ] St. Charles (needlepoint) Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch) UFOs/Hi...

...and I'm very glad that we are at the end of the week. After working partial days Monday through Wednesday, I'm back to working a more regular day. The Husband is spending a lot of time at his mother's house, trying to get all the paperwork in order. I haven't seen much of him, even when we are in the same location, because he's so busy. Some of it will calm down a bit once we get his mother situated. I've only taken a few photos this week. The nasturtiums are popping up everywhere, including in this container of succulents: A closer look at a nasturtium: And this Calandrinia Spectabilis popped up in the courtyard: The only reason I saw the calandrinia was that I was photographing the completed Mirabel handspun [ Ravelry ]: and the close up: Specs: Started 1/15/18 Finished 4/22/18 Merino-Silk (4 oz.) from Lisa Souza Spindle-spun; wheel plied 478.0 yds, chain-ply, 20 WPI I think it will be quite a while before I spin this mu...

...things are going to be scattered for a while. The Husband's father passed away suddenly on Monday and we're dealing with that and all it entails. Needless to say, the Husband is shattered, but pushing through his grief. He is the executor and is the things that need to happen immediately. Fortunately, some of his siblings and their spouses arrived yesterday and can help. Me, I'm just being supportive and trying to get some work done in between. Crafting and blogging are low priorities for now. I'll be back when I can. .