Livin' La Needle Loca

...the days are flying by. Yesterday marked day 76 of shelter in place for me. I haven't driven my car since March 13th. Other than my walks in the neighborhood, I haven't been anywhere besides home. Our lone cherry is almost ready to pick: Our feijoa bush has hundreds of blooms: Our daylilies have bloomed: I'm happily working on needlework during the hot days this week. I'm almost ready to face my sewing machine again. I'd like to make progress on the Day of the Dead quilt. I'd like to get the top pieced so I can work on another quilt. .

...mostly needlework this week. I started Renaissance Mermaid. I haven't stitched much, but I'm already happier with this piece than Earthdancer. I'm making excellent progress on the Earth's Delight pin cushion: I finished the singles for Cetina [ Ravelry ]. It's ready to ply. I'm going to wait until the weather cools off a bit. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Cetina handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Ready to ply. Earth's Delight pin cushion (cross stitch) About 75% done with stitching. Renaissance Mermaid (cross stitch) Started 5/27/2020. Works In Progress, Did Not Work On This Week: Day of the Dead quilt (quilting) Look Through My Window quilt for me (quilting)  Malachite (needlepoint)  Milky Way [ Ravelry ] Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch) Pure Comfort Cardigan (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Valley of the Heart's Delight sampler design (cross stitch) Waiting for Finishing: Deco Royale (quilting) - waiting for batting  F...

... honoring those who sacrificed all for our country. May 25th is also my fathers birthday. He was born in 1916 and has been gone since 1961. I only had 11 years with him, and it was not enough. He was a good and fair man, according to my mother. At 11, I only knew him as a loving father, who doted on his children. I'm sad that he never go to meet our daughter, the rest of his grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I miss him every day. . .

...with new flowers in the garden. New to the garden are these seaside daisies: And these Isotoma - Starshine Blue: Our dahlias are starting to bloom: and our cherry tree has one fruit: I did some clean-up in the studio yesterday. There were lots of threads and scraps of fabric on the rugs. After putting things away, throwing away the small scraps, and vacuuming, it's looking much better in here. I put Earthdancer away and put Renaissance Mermaid (cross stitch) on the stretcher bars. While I was at it, I removed the weft on the Milky Way wrap [ Ravelry ]. I really disliked the way it looked. I took it all the way back to empty warp. I tightened the warp threads and got it ready to weave again. I just need to decide what to use for warp. .

...another week of bouncing between projects. It was another week with a successful sourdough loaf of bread and an OK loaf of whole wheat bread. I'm working my way through the 8 ounces of Cetina [ Ravelry ]: The quilt is on hold for the moment. I'm waiting for a fabric order so I can add two more squares. I decided that I'm going to put Earthdancer on hiatus. I'm not enjoying stitching so much white and the design is not grabbing me. I have another mermaid ready to go, so I think I'll put that back on the stretcher bars. I'm seriously considering giving up on the Mother of Dragons shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ]. I'm not happy with the pattern. I love the yarn and would have to fins another project for it. Still thinking... WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Cetina handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] 45% of singles spun Earth's Delight pin cushion (cross stitch) About 45% done with stitching. Works In Progress, Did Not Work On This Week: Day of t...

...well, sort of finished. This is the Bee Joyful scissor fob: Specs: Started 5/2/2020 Finished 5/13/2020 Kit from Shepherd’s Bush I think I've mentioned before that I like to collect several cross stitch projects so i can assembly-line the finishing work. This goes on the pile. I have another one in process so I'll probably do finishing work when I finish it. I'm almost done with some masks for my brother. He has requested black masks with nose wires that he can wear at work. His work clothes are black, hence the black masks. I'll take photos when I get them out of the dryer. I'm spinning away on Cetina [ Ravelry ]. It takes a long time to spin 8 ounces! I used to do a lot of jigsaw puzzles when I was younger. As The Daughter got older, I had less time (and room) to work puzzles. Recently, I've felt the urge to work on a puzzle. The Husband happened to have a couple of new 1000-piece puzzles in his office. The only downsize is that the puzzle ...

...wow, that week went fast! We have many flowers in the backyard this week. The Amaryllis have bloomed: Clematis vine: Butterfly bush: Asiatic lily And our new bacopa plant in a pretty verdigris container: I finished the stitching on the Bee Joyful scissor fob and started a cross stitch pin cushion call Earth's Delight. I also started spinning another old fiber from the stash called Cetina [ Ravelry ]. It's 8 ounces so it might take a while to spin. I'm enjoying working on these small projects, but I need to get back to my weaving and needlepoint projects. But first I need to make my brother's face masks! .

...and I'm bouncing all over the place project-wise. I'm making good progress on the Bee Joyful scissor fob: The Day of the Dead quilt going better: I've put the sweater aside for the moment. The days have been warmer and the sweater is very heavy and hot to have on my lap as I work on the sleeve. I've gotten in to the habit of baking one sourdough bread loaf on the weekend. I'm still trying to bake a decent sandwich bread. This week's attempt was better than the last, but the bread is not rising as much as the recipe specifies. My yeast is not out-of-date, so I think it might be that my kitchen is too cold. I'll keep trying! WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Bee Joyful Fob (cross stitch) Working on side #1 Day of the Dead quilt (quilting) Sewing the sashing on the blocks Masks for my brother (sewing) Going through my stash for the right fabric and items to use for nose pieces. Works In Progress, Did Not Work On This Week: Be My Baby fo...

...with photos of the latest finished objects. I finished the Jamaica handspun [ Ravelry ] and the close-up: Specs: Started 4/27/2020 Finished 5/7/2020 Falkland (4.2 oz.) from the Yarn Wench 154.2 yds., 11 WPI This is the Black Grape handspun [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started 5/2/2020 Finished 5/8/2020 Falkland (4.0 oz.) from the Yarn Wench 118.75 yds., 8 WPI I also sewed more masks on Saturday 5/9/2020: I also finished the front side of the Bee Joyful scissor fob and baked a loaf of bread. On Sunday, The Daughter came over for Mother's Day. She drew this on our driveway and gave me a bouquet of flowers. We did the appropriate physical distancing and wore masks. I really miss hugging her! .

...it was almost F.O. Friday, but I haven't taken the photos yet. The Asiatic lilies are blooming in our backyard. We also have a Voodoo lily blooming: The husband planted more flowers in the courtyard. This is a white cosmos: This is what our backyard looked like this morning: I have a handspun in progress - I'm about halfway done with the plying. I finished plying another one yesterday, but I haven't skeined it yet. I want to spend a little time looking through sourdough recipes. Today was feeding day and I wat to try something new. .

...lots of WIPs, some start-itis, and not a lot of progress. I started a new handspun. This is Black Grape [ Ravelry ]: I started a new cross stitch piece. This is the Bee Joyful scissor fob: And finally, I started a new quilt with the Day of the Dead fabrics in my stash. I hated the chaos the blocks created next to each other, so I need to rip out some of the blocks and replace some of the fabrics to calm things down. I did made a little progress on Peacock Majesty: WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Bee Joyful Fob (cross stitch) Working on side #1 Black Grape handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Finished the singles; ready to ply Day of the Dead quilt (quilting) Finished the blocks and hated it. Starting to rework some of the colors. Jamaica handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Finished the singles; ready to ply. Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitch) Resurrected from the UFO pile. Finished row 8 Pure Comfort Cardigan (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Still working on sleeve #1 S...

...it was a baking weekend! In addition to the weekly sourdough loaf, we decided to try a couple of new things. The first thing on the list was whole wheat sandwich bread. The Husband has been having trouble finding the kind of whole wheat bread we usually buy. He bought a different kind that was tasty, with lots of nuts and crunchy things. However, it went moldy very quickly. I hate throwing away food, even if it gets thrown into the food waste bin.  A couple of friends mentioned a recipe from King Arthur, so I decided to try it. A bit of history: the only successful yeast bread that I've been able to make was in a bread machine. Every time I tried to make it by hand, it was a complete fail. This time, it was only a partial fail. The bread did not rise as much as it should have, but it still baked all the way through. It's a dense, but has a very good flavor. I'll try it again and see if I can get it to work better next time. The Husband likes flavorful breads...

....not much reading this month, but quite a few masks. Finished: 4/9 Face masks - 30 (sewing) 4/11 Face masks - 6? (sewing) 4/17 Deco Royale top - need batting to finish 4/20 Face masks - 10 (sewing) 4/22 Mermaid handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] BFL-Silk (4.7 oz.) by Wonderland Dyeworks 252 yds. 2-ply; 11 WPI 4/24 Face masks - 5 (sewing) 4/24 Ocean Waves handspun [ Ravelry ] Wool (225 grams) by Northern Lights 152.5 yds. chain-ply, 8 WPI 4/30 Saratoga Calypso Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Books Baker's Coven, Nancy Warren Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years, Julie Andrews Edwards Seabreeze Sunset, Jan Moran Started: 4/2 Ocean Waves handspun [ Ravelry ] 4/9 Mermaid handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] 4/14 Deco Royale quilt Jamaica handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Works In Progress: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Earthdancer (cross stitch) Finishing work for some old crewel pictures (sewing) Look Through My Window quilt for me (quilt...

...finally! Finished: 3/15 Cylburn Wrap (weaving) [ Ravelry ] 3/15 Sandpiper handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] 3/16 Bracken handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ]  3/27 Scarab handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Falkland (4.1 oz) from the Yarn Wench 185.4 yds. chain-plied with beads, 10 WPI 3/31 Face mask (sewing)  Books Shifter's Shadow, Ella Summers Things You Save in a Fire, Katherine Center Psychic's Spell, Ella Summer Fairy’s Touch, Ella Summer Angel's Flight, Ella Summers Popcorn and Poltergeists, Nancy Warren Smoke Bitten, Patricia Briggs The Great Witches Baking Show, Nancy Warren Started: 3/3 Cylburn Wrap (weaving) [ Ravelry ] 3/6 Bracken handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] 3/17 Scarab handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ] 3/19 Mermaid Songs quilt 3/30 Milky Way (weaving) [ Ravelry ]  3/30 Face mask (sewing)  Works In Progress: Be My Baby for My Baby (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Earthdancer (cross stitch) Finishing work for some old crewel pictures...

...Happy May! I managed to squeak in one more finish for April. This is Saratoga Calypso Shawl [ Ravelry ]: and some details: Specs: Started 7/23/19 Finished 4/30/2020 Yarn: Yakity Yak by Greenwood Fiberworks in Calypso Pattern:  Saratoga Shawl by Carolyn Greenwood I'm really happy that I'm finished with this one. It was very challenging to get that lace edge done! From the garden this week...this is a stalk of sunflowers: a light blue iris: a sticky monkey flower: and a feathered tulip: Tomorrow, I'm going to try making a yeast bread for the first time in many years. I hope it works this time! .