Livin' La Needle Loca

...no WIP photos, but I do have some F.O. photos. This is the head scarf that I made for the Husband for Father's Day. It's a little large on Blanca - the Husband has a big head - but you get the idea. A side view: Specs: Started and finished 6/16/18 My own scarf pattern with some stash fabric For the Husband to wear  under his bike helmet I finished the Apricot Orchid handspun at Spin-In on Saturday, but I haven't taken it off the bobbin yet. Once I've made it into a skein, I'll take photos. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting) Sewed one side of the window sashing on 80% of the squares. I'm having second thoughts on some of the squares. For example, the pottery square the fabric I choose looks good, but maybe I should use a needlepoint pot that I made. Charred Teal Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Tinked the offending two rows and knit them again, this time with the right count. Hawaii handspun (spinning) [ Ravelr...

...because I totally missed Friday. Marionberries for days... Berries! The hollyhocks are blooming: And we started to harvest apricots: I made an apricot cake with 12 of the ripe apricots. That did not even make a dent in what's on the tree! .

...and another week where I don't have a true WIP photo to show. However, here's a photo of the Apricot Orchid [ Ravelry ] fiber from The Yarn Wench that I am currently spinning. I just finished spinning the singles. I plan on plying it this weekend. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Apricot Orchid 1 (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Finished spinning the singles; ready to ply. Attic Windows quilt for me (quilting) Started piecing the squares Charred Teal Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Still working on contrast color #3; need to tink the last two rows and figure out why I have 2 extra stitches. (arg!) St. Charles (needlepoint) Working on the satin stitches in the center medallion Queued Renaissance Mermaid (cross stitch) Kitted and ready to start Works In Progress, Did Not Work On This Week: 4-shaft sampler (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Finishing work (Shepherd's Bush Christmas ornament.) Hawaii handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] ...

...and the weekend report. Friday night's dinner was great - good food and good company. I usually just go home on Friday and stay home until Sunday morning. Dinner at a friend's was a nice change. Saturday, the Husband wasn't gone as long as expected. As a result, mopping the kitchen didn't happen, but the vacuuming did. I'll have to see if I get another window of opportunity. And, yes, I have to do this when he's out of the house. Invariables, if I mop the floors when he's home, that's the time he'll choose to do a major watering or weeding of the yard. The newly mopped floors don't stand a chance! I was trying to come up with a Father's Day gift for him. He doesn't need more tools, or wine, or a tie. I finally decided to make him another head scarf to go under his bike helmet. I made him one a couple of years ago and still had the pattern. I did a quick stash dive to see what I already had that might be suitable. I really wante...

...and I'm looking forward to the weekend! This week we harvested plums from one of our trees: Corncockles have sprouted up all over the back yard: The flame lily by our front door bloomed: And the berries are starting to come in: Up this weekend: I have dinner with friends tonight, which will be fun. The Husband has plans for Saturday that will keep him out of the house for a while. My chore plan is to mop the kitchen and bathroom floors. Then the vacuum monster and I have a date to attack all of the carpets. Then I can concentrate on my crafting with a free conscious! .

...in which we have no photos of WIPs, but I have a photo of the Mirabel sample. As I mentioned yesterday, our spinning team entered the California State Fair and got second place in our division/category.  Each team member spun the same colorway (Mirabel, a merino-silk fiber from Lisa Souza Dyeworks) and then created a sample of their handspun. It was spinners choice for both the handspun and the sample. Each team member submitted approximately 2 ounces of handspun and a sample. I spun the singles on a Spindlewood square spindle and chain-plied it on my wheel. I decided to spin the entire 4 ounces to give myself options for which two ounces to submit and to have enough for the sample. Originally, I wanted to weave a sample, but my handspun was too thin to use on my little loom - too many wide gaps and it would take too long to get a good sample. Instead, I used the lace pattern from the Charred Teal Shawl [ Ravelry ] that is a current WIP. It took me 3 attempts to get a dec...

...and a lot of catching up! Friday was busy. The Husband had a minor procedure at Kaiser that required me to drive him home. Of course, the appointment was in the middle of the day, meaning that I couldn't do much before the appointment. After I took him home, I ran a couple of errands and then spent the rest of the afternoon spinning. Remember when I mentioned that our spinning team sent an entry to the California State Fair? Well, we received the results on Friday. We got second place in our division/category! See knitflix's updated blog post for photos and info. Yay, team!! Saturday was devoted to mermaids. I did a Michael's run to buy a frame for Mermaid of the Pearls. Since I was going there, I bought the floss that I needed for the Renaissance Mermaid. I figured that I'd decide which mermaid pattern to do next after I had all the materials for both of them. Here is Renaissance Mermaid: Here is Mermaids of the Deep Blue: I chose the Renaissance ...

...and it's late afternoon on Wednesday to top it off. I have not gotten a handle on this week yet and it's half over. Sigh. The weekend was a blur. We got a few chores done, but mostly we centered on family. The memorial for my father-in-law went well. Many friends and family members attended, including some from the East coast. There were tears and lots of laughter, just as it should be. Needless to say, I did not take any new photos of my WIPs. I managed to get a little spinning done, but not much more than that. I had trouble concentrating on stitching, so I spent some time going through the kitted mermaids in my stash. I had trouble deciding which Mirabilia mermaid project should be next. I narrowed it down to these two: Renaissance Mermaid (MD151) - It's on the the Mirabilia site on page 2 of the Mermaids category . It's the first one on that page. Mermaids Of The Deep Blue (MD85) It's on the same page , but it's the last one. While the design of...

...and there are some F.O.s. Yay! Finished: 5/19 Bee's Knees Phat Fiber sampler (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Phat Fiber May 2017 - mixed box Variety of 2-ply, chain-ply, and artyarn spinning 5/26 Caterpillars & Butterflies Phat Fiber sampler (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Phat Fiber March 2017 - mixed box Variety of 2-ply, chain-ply, and artyarn spinning  5/28 Mermaid of the Pearls (cross stitch)  Books: Black Ops Fae, CN Crawford Over the Moon, Hailey Edwards Institute of Magic, Linsey Hall Magic Hunter, CN Crawford The Selection, Kiera Cass Come Sundown, Nora Roberts Daughters of Askara (3 book collection), Hailey Edwards Crime of Magic, Linsey Hall Started: 5/20 Caterpillars & Butterflies Phat Fiber sampler (spinning) [ Ravelry ] 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) Mother of Dragons shawl (k...

...and it's way too soon for June!  Wasn't it just the beginning of May? The garden is doing OK. At least I didn't kill anything while the Husband was taking care of his mom. Now that she's situated, I hope he'll be able to spend more time working on it. The berries are running a little behind, but the apricots seem to be on track. Our amaryllis is blooming: The clematis vines are also blooming: And the corncockles are taking over in several containers: Up this weekend: We are holding a memorial for the Husband's father on Sunday. Family will begin arriving tomorrow, some of which we haven't seen in several years.  It's going to be a tough day for us all. I plan to spend some time at the spinning wheel as a way of reducing my stress. Too bad that won't work for the Husband. :(