Livin' La Needle Loca

...another small cross stitch project. This is Purple Heart Flowers. Specs: Started 2/4/2023 Finished 2/27/2023 Purple Heart, a limited edition pattern from Just Nan I added "Flowers" to the name because the design isn't really a purple heart and the name is confusing.

 ...been out of commission for a few days. Since my last post, my sore throat turned into a full-blown head cold. It's been pretty nasty. At least my COVID tests came out negative and I don't have to deal with that! I've been camped out in my bedroom or on the living room couch. Not a lot of crafts happened, but I did get my Stitches West homework done. Yay! The weather has been rainy on anf off. I managed to caprute this phot of the daffodils that are starting to bloom in our backyard. I'm not sure how blogging is going to go while I'm at Stitches West later in the week. It couldn't be any worse than normal!

 ...and a finished object. I finished spinning Hydra [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started 2/9/2023 Finished 2/19/23 Merino (4.1 oz.) from The Yarn Wench 126.7 yds., 9 WPI WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Finishing work (sewing) Sewed the backs to the stitching; turned and pressed them Purple Heart mini (cross stitch) Working on the bottom of the heart Stitches West Homework Chose and wound 5 colors of worsted weight yarn for the class. Started knitting the homework piece. No Work This Week: Effortless Cardigan (knitting) [ Ravelry ]   Good Day Sunshine quilt (quilting) Illusion hexagons (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Look Through My Window quilt for me (quilting) Ocean Ripples Wrap (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Singularity Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Waiting for Finishing: Beach Please (cross stitch) Bee Hive Violets (cross stitch) Big Bee...

..in which we both caught Covid and we did a major remodel of our house along with all the rest of our normal activities. Finished: Baking, etc. No Christmas baking this year Almond Fruitcake for my brother Grand Marnier biscotti for my mom Lots of scones Knitting 1/16 Pocket Kitty 3/17 Bankhead Hat Needlework, All Cross Stitch 1/2 O Tannenbaum Christmas ornament  1/16 The Mermaid and The Sea  1/12 Winter Silver and Gold  3/25 Lilith of Labrador  4/22 Flower Girls mini 5/28 Big Bee, Little Bee mini  5/31 Bee Hive Violets   6/6 Summer Garden  7/5 Sailing Dreams   7/24 Hot Enough For Ya Day  9/30 Little Orange Fish Quilting, Sewing, Finishing 5/5 Noche de los Muertos quilt 5/10 Bean Me Up! quilt 5/24 Mermaid Songs quilt 12/18 Sun, Sun, Sun, Here We Come! Quilt Reading Read 159 books; see Reading List below   Sewing, Finis...

 ...no photo today. I'm at mom's and don't have access to my WIPs. :( I decided not to add another border to the Good Day Sunshine quilt. I trimmed up the last border and the top is ready for sandwiching. The biggest problem now is that I don't have space to lay it out. Well, technically I have the floor space, but I don't want to mess up my new floor by accidentally sticking a safety pin in it! I need to figure where to layout the quilt sandwich. I also picked the background fabric for the items that are waiting or finishing work. I'll probabky work on those next when I get home from mom's. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Effortless Cardigan (knitting) [ Ravelry ]  Still working on the sleeves that never end. Finishing work (sewing) Identified, cut, and pressed the background fabric for 8 projects (see "Waiting for Finishing" below). Good Day Sunshine quilt (quilting) Trimmed up the borders Purple Heart mini (cross stitch) Working on the ...

 ...blog and run. The rosemary is blooming in our front yard: I am slowing decorating our remodeled house. These two items are on the window ledge in my bathroom:

 ...still havng some attention issues. Most days, I'd rather read or sleep! I started a new quilt and have made good progress: I'm trying to decide if I want to add an additional navy border or leave the piano key border as the final border. I've hung it up so I can look at it over the next couple of days. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Purple Heart mini (cross stitch) Started 2/4/2023 Good Day Sunshine quilt (quilting) Started 1/30/2023 No Work This Week: Effortless Cardigan (knitting) [ Ravelry ]  Illusion hexagons (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Look Through My Window quilt for me (quilting) Ocean Ripples Wrap (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Singularity Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Waiting for Finishing: Beach Please (cross stitch) Bee Hive Violets (cross stitch) Big Bee, Little Bee mini (cross stitch) Finishing work for some old crewel pictures (sewing) More Beach (cross stitch)  ...

 ...spent the month trying to get back in the swing of things. Finished: 1/29 More Beach (cross stitch) Books Sinister Magic, Lindsay Buroker Battle Bond, Lindsay Buroker Tangled Truths, Lindsay Buroker Elven Doom, Lindsay Buroker False Security, Lindsay Buroker Storm Forged, Lindsay Buroker Secrets of the Sword I, Lindsay Buroker Secrets of the Sword II, Lindsay Buroker Nightingale, Helen Harper Beyond the Moonlit Sea, Julianne MacLean Started: 1/5 More Beach (cross stitch) 1/30 Good Day Sunshine (quiltin) Works In Progress: Effortless Cardigan (knitting) [ Ravelry ]  Illusion hexagons (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Look Through My Window quilt for me (quilting) Ocean Ripples Wrap (knitting) [ Ravelry ]  Royal Blossoms mini (cross stitch) Singularity Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Waiting for Finishing: Beach Please (cross stitch) Bee Hive Violets (cross stitch) Big Bee, Little Bee mini (cross stitch) Finishing work for some old crewel pic...

 and a finished object. Things are starting to bloom in the garden. This is our flowering plum: I finished the stitching of Royal Blossoms. This will be made into a small pillow. Specs: Started 8/1/2022 Finished 2/3/2023 Free pattern with Queen Bee charm by Just Nan

 ...it's freezing and it's hard to concentrate on handwork. We have to turn the heater off while they are working on repairing the water-damaged wall. We can turn it back on at the end of the day. The daytime weather has not exceeded 60 degrees, so it's very cold during the day. My studio is the coldest room in the house. Brr! I'm waiting for additional fabric for my new quilt, so I'm stalled there. I have a new cross stitch project I want to start, but I'm waiting for fabric for it, too. I searched through some items that I set aside to work on, but many are Halloween or Christmas related. I'm not ready to work on holiday projects. In one of the bags, I found a project that I apparently started last summer, during the same kind of delay. Since it's a small project, it's perfect to work on while I wait. This is Royal Blossoms: ssss WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Royal Blossoms (cross stitch) Working on t...