Livin' La Needle Loca

...and the weekend report. We did a little shopping to improve the "guest" room. It's really The Husband's room...enough said. LOL! My mother gets cold easily and the room does not have any carpet. I bought a fluffy area rug to be placed next to the bed for her feet. The room has a sliding glass door that leads to the courtyard. While it is a double-paned window, it still gets quite chilly by the window. When it was the Daughter's room, I installed already a double curtain rod and hung one set of curtain panels on the outside rod and a pair of sheer panels on the inside. I swapped out the sheers for blackout drapes that will help keep the cold out. We also dug out of some of the blankets we had stored away in various places. The good news is that the bed already has an electric blanket, which will keep her warm while she sleeps. The Husband was not happy with the lighting in the room and will be replacing the old track lighting with a pendant light (thanks...

...wow, it's been a while for one of these. I've had the photos, just not the time to edit and post them. This is Black and Bloom salvia, which is still going strong in the backyard:  The Pittsburgh Purple chrysanthemums are also still blooming: And the giant wine zinnia is still setting flowers in the courtyard: New plantings include this purple celosia in the courtyard: and this Martha Washington geranium by our front door: Up this weekend: The mad scramble into Thanksgiving begins! With mom coming on Monday before Turkey Day for 5.5 days, we need to get the guest room prepped for her. She gets cold easily, so we need to make sure that we have enough blankets, a rug for the floor by the bed and a second layer of curtains over the sliding glass door to keep the room a little warmer. The Husband and I plan on making a Target run to get the things we need for her room. Fortunately, I bought and washed new towels for his brother's stay in Septembe...

...blog and run. Yesterday was too busy and today is looking like more of the same, so I have to do a quick post. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Christmas Tree skirt (sewing) Started 11/10/19 - working on the top, which I think will become the bottom layer. I decided I wanted one color for the top of the skirt, so I ordered a red fabric that I liked. ;-) Cozy Red Hat 3 (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Working on the body of the hat. Mermaid Happiness quilt (quilting) Working on machine-quilting the panel motifs In the Queue Renaissance Mermaid (cross stitch) Works In Progress, Did Not Work On This Week: Finishing work for some old crewel pictures (sewing) Look Through My Window quilt for me (quilting) Malachite (needlepoint) Saratoga Calypso Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Shimmering Points Wrap (weaving) [ 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) Es...

...but the reality is that I might not be able to until I retire (!) at the end of the year. Work is busy-busy, as it always when I'm running open enrollment. This year, I am also training my replacement, so more tasks to add to the mix. I actually managed to finish something! I took photos of it and a couple of other things. Here's a look at the Phat Fiber sampler I finished in October. This is Ancient Egypt [ Ravelry ]: Specs: Started 10/5/19 Finished 10/26/19 Ancient Egypt Phat Fiber box, October 2014 Yardage and weights not measured Here is my latest finish. This is Ghost Rider handspun [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started 10/12/19 Finished 11/8/19 Merino-Silk (4.0 oz.) from Greenwood Fiberworks 323.8 yds. 2-ply, 16 WPI I started this simple quilt in October. It's called Mermaid Happiness, after the name of the fabric panel I'm using. This photo shows it before I started pinning the quilt sandwich. I am currently in the...

...yeah, I'm still here. Just really busy at work! By the time I get home, all I want to do is have dinner and veg out. Not a lot of crafting going on! I have some photos to take, but that probably won't happen until the weekend. Last weekend, the Husband and I decided that continuing to spend money on a cut tree every year was not a good use of our funds. There were a lot of ads for artificial Christmas trees, so we spent a lot of time looking at various stores. We found a tree that we liked (pre-lit!) at the Balsam Hill outlet, at a really good price. We brought it home on Sunday. It's very realistic looking and the fact that we don't have to worry about spilled water, stringing lights, and dried out needles everywhere are big pluses! I know it's really early to think about Christmas trees, but we had to strike while we had the time and before there were a lot of people looking for them. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Ghost Rider handspun (spinning) [ Ravelr...

...such as it is. The book count at the end of October was 145. Finished: 10/5 Arcade handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Merino-Stellina (4.0 oz.) from Greenwood Fiberworks 233.3 yds. chain-plied, 13 WPI 10/26 Ancient Egypt Phat Fiber Sampler (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Phat Fiber box October 2014 Yardage and WPI not measured Books She Can Run, Melinda Leigh Vampire Knitting Club, Nancy Warren Stitches and Witches, Nancy Warren Crochet and Cauldrons, Nancy Warren Stockings and Spells, Nancy Warren Purls and Potions, Nancy Warren Fair Isle and Fortunes, Nancy Warren Lace and Lies, Nancy Warren Bobbles and Broomsticks, Nancy Warren 19th Christmas, James Patterson Daughters of Temperance Hobbs, Katherine Howe Under Lying, Janelle Harris When We Believed in Mermaids. Barbara O'Neal Summer of Sunshine and Margot, Susan Mallery Started: 10/5 Ancient Egypt Phat Fiber Sampler (spinning) [ Ravelry ] 10/6 Mermaid Happiness quilt (quilting) 10/12 Ghost Rider handspun (s...