Livin' La Needle Loca

...with the long  Labor Day weekend coming up. In general, our garden is winding down with the exception of the melons and the figs. They are both producing ripe fruit now. I haven't had chance to photograph the figs yet, but I did get the first two melons. and the inside: A second melon: and a closer look: Up this weekend: I have some cleaning to do when I get home today. The Husband's youngest brother is arriving tomorrow with his wife. I need to mop the floors and wash the bedding for the guest space. The Husband has been a trooper and steam cleaned the area rugs and the bedroom carpet to make things smell fresher. There was lingering cat fur from where Sombra camped out for the last week of her life, so we knew that rug needed freshening. :( On Sunday, we will have the ash scattering ceremony for The Husband's father. It's taken us over a year  to be able to find a date that worked for everyone. There have been a few delays due to family illn...

...needless to say, I've been a little scattered for the past few days. And my attention span for projects has been hit and miss. Spin-In on Saturday was a good distraction and a little sad on my part. Our host has 4 cats...watching them interact with each other and with their owners showed me just how bad Sombra had gotten. Sigh. I started a Contempo handspun [ Ravelry ], a merino-tencel from Greenwood Fiberworks. It is wonderfully soft and the colors of gray, light blue, and tan are very calming.  I'm spinning it on the thinner side to make the spin last longer. I worked on this whenever I felt overwhelmed on Sunday and Monday. Sorry, no photos yet. I also started a new needlepoint project, mostly because I had all of the fibers for it and I had a piece of canvas that was starting to get crushed. It's Malachite from Laura J. Perin. I put it on the stretcher bars and started stitching the interior borders. Both of these projects were good distractions - the spinnin...

...and we made the tough choice to let go of our beloved Sombra yesterday. She had been having trouble navigating the tile floors with her back legs -- she couldn't get any traction. As long as she stayed on the rugs, she was fine. She was no longer able to jump up on the couch or navigate the stairs up to our bed. :( On Saturday, she was unable to walk straight, but still managed the short distance to the cat box. We moved her food and water bowls closer to where she was camped out. I also keep a water bowl in our bedroom. In the middle of the night, she came in and took a long drink. Rather than go back to her rug, she slept in the room with me. By Sunday, she could no longer get to the cat box. I helped her in and out so she wouldn't pee herself (which she would hate). She would still drink water, but food no longer interested her.  It was clear that she was miserable. She appreciated being petted, but no longer purred. We called the vet on Monday and helped her c...

...yarn version. I haven't been out in the garden to see what's new, so no photos from there. My attention is on the cat when I get home from work. Between medication and trying to get her to eat, time just slips by. You might recall that I was a member of the Rockin' Sock Club from Blue Moon Fiber Arts (BMFA) for several years. I stopped mostly because I was no longer knitting the club patterns and I had enough sock yarn to last for a lifetime. Then, I got the notice for this year's club...the theme is Lost in Space. Yeah, couldn't resist that one. I joined late, so I knew I'd be a little behind. However, BMFA has had supplier problems and loss of staff that caused everything to be way behind. It's not really their fault, but had I known thingd would be this delayed, I might have decided to skip it. Thankfully, it looks like things are getting better. Here are the two skeins I've received so far. This is Alderaan, Socks That Rock Lightweight: ...

...and the first look at the Christmas ornament I finished stitching. This is As Bethlehem Slept: Specs: Started 8/10/19 Finished 8/18/19 Pattern: Shepherd's Bush from the 2005 Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue Modification: Replaced the phrase in the original pattern with 2005 and some extra vines and leaves. I've done this for all of the Shepherd's Bush ornaments. It's 2005 because it's from the 2005 Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue. It needs assembly, but as I've mentioned previously, I like to gather a few things together and do the finishing all at once. Because I intend to stitch at least one more of these ornaments this year. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Saratoga Calypso Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Working on the lace border In the Queue Renaissance Mermaid (cross stitch) Works In Progress, Did Not Work On This Week: Cozy Red Hat 2 (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Finishing work for some old crewel pictures (sewing) Look Through My Window ...

...almost forgot! I finished plying Silver Chalice handspun [ Ravelry ]: and the close up: Specs: Started 7/16/19 Finished 8/17/19 Alpaca-silk (4.0 oz.) from Upstream Alpacas 229.2 yds., 14 WPI I finished stitching the As Bethlehem Slept cross stitch ornament. No photo yet, maybe tomorrow. Our kitty's new blood pressure prescription arrived. It's a trans-dermal medication that needs to apply to the inside of her ear. Because her ears are easily irritated, the vet told us to use a cone-of-shame on her for an hour after the meds are applied. Well, she really hates it, to the point that her little heart starts to race every time I pick her up because she thinks I'm going to put it on her! Hoping to reduce some of the stress, I made a cone out of softer material than the vet's cone. I spent Sunday working on that. And, she hates that just as much. I feel bad, because we need to put it on every day and she's starting to shy away from me. Boo... I ...

...and I finally finished processing our vacation photos. Yay! I have a few photos from this week. Sunrise on 8/9/19: Our magic lilies are blooming again: We have a large number of Australian finger limes this year: and we have white allium blooming: Up this weekend: I have no specific plans, just the usual. Errands. Laundry. Crafts. Maybe some sleep. And mostly babying the cat. We're trying to get the cat to eat on a regular basis and it doesn't always work. At almost 18, she's become more and more picky when it comes to food. I'm sure some of it has to do with her kidney disease and some due to age. But, man, it gets expensive throwing away food that she won't eat. And in the heat, the food goes bad quickly. I know we don't have too much longer with her. It's hard seeing her go downhill. Sigh. .

...and the days have just zipped by this week. I continue to do a little of this and a little of that. I finished the singles for Silver Chalice handspun [ Ravelry ] and started chain-plying. The latest hat for charity (Cozy Red Hat 2 [ Ravelry ]) has lost a little traction, but I'm past the cuff portion: I also started a small cross stitch project that's been long on my lit. This is the beginning of As Bethlehem Slept, Shepherd's Bush ornament from the 2005 Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue: The project that is frustrating me right now is my weaving project, Shimmering Points Wrap [ Ravelry ]. I love the way the pattern looks, but warp threads keep breaking. This is the first time I've worked with Tencel, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I now have 4 broken warp threads in different locations and they are different colors. The first one snapped and the rest of them shredded. I’m releasing the tension when I’m done working on the piece for the d...

...blog and run. More photos from our Washington state trip. Bird's foot trefoil: Clover: A heron: Pink begonias: Deppea splendens: and Aechmea fasciata: ...

...and I'm still trying to get back into a regular posting schedule. At least I already posted the recap! My attention span is very short when it comes to my craft projects. I've been bouncing between my spinning, weaving, and knitting projects, as well as playing with the organization of my quilt. It's been a little bit here, and a little bit there. Here's the progress I made on the Estrella Marina Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] before I put it on hiatus: I started a new shawl when I got bored with Estrella Marina. This is the beginning Saratoga Calypso Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ]: WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Look Through My Window quilt for me (quilting) Rearranging the squares Saratoga Calypso Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Started the lace section Silver Chalice handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Continued to spin the singles Shimmering Points Wrap (weaving) [ Ravelry ] Wove additional pattern repeats - up to 21 inches. In the Queue Renaissance Me...

...not bad for having vacation in the middle of the month! Finished: 7/4 Mission District Handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Sparkle - Superwash Merino-Stellina (4.0 oz) from Dragonfly Fibers 270.8 yds chain-ply; 15 WPI 7/5 Mermaids and Fishtails Phat Fiber sampler (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Yardage and WPI are all over the map.  7/6 Avocado Cozy (knitting) [ Ravelry ] 7/6 Copenhagen (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Falkland (4.1 oz) from The Yarn Wench Plied with Stacy Charles Celine in Sapphire 54 yds. 2-ply , Bulky weight 7/7 Mint Green Tea (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Merino-Tencel (4.0 oz) from Shirsty Cat Designs 218.75 yds chain-ply; 13 WPI  7/9 Claude (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Falkland (3.9 oz) from The Yarn Wench GGH Illusion yarn in color 006 110.4 yds, super-bulky 7/11 Purple Haze Phat Fiber Sampler (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Finished 7/11/19 Purple Haze Phat Fiber Box, April 2018 Yardage and weights not measured 7/20 Cozy Red Hat (knitting) [ Ravelry ] 7/25 Mulberry Wine ...

...a little late, but at least I didn't miss it. We have sunflowers in our backyard: and another Our melons are getting larger every day: and the tomatillos are coming along: I'm slowly processing the photos from vacation. This is the path to the Snoqualmie Tunnel: a thistle at the Wenatchee River: and the view from the Washington Pass overlook. Up this weekend: Finally spend some time in my studio! .