Livin' La Needle Loca

 on a Thursday instead of Wednesday.  I'm still playing catch-up with my medical and dental care. Wednesdays seem to be perfect days for appointments, which results in reduced time to do my normal activities. I'm rethinking my schedule in general, so I may make some changes as to when I post. The following list of WIPs represents the last two weeks because I missed posting them last week (whoops). WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Balaclava Hood (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Knitting the last inch of the hood. Herding Cats quilt (quilting) Started 1/17/2025; cutting feature fabrics Mom's cookbook (cooking) Added a couple of recipes Sea Merchant's Wife (cross stitch) Making progress on the mid-tail portion Teal No-Noro Hat (knitting) [ Ravelry ]  Still working on the crown portion of the hat. No Work This Week: Look Through My Window quilt for me (quilting) Finishing work Finishing Work In Progress: Collector's Heart 2024 (cross stitch) Crystal Heart m...

 ...yeah, the week got away from me. I hope to do better next week. We have a little color in our courtyard. We have nemesia germander: and a hibiscus that is struggling with the cold January weather.

 ...because I forgot on Friday. (Oops!) Our Marc Chagall rose doesn't know that it's January.  

 ...still working on getting back to [craft] normal. I made a little progress on the latest mermaid. The Sea Merchant's Wife doesn't look like much right now, but it's always a slow process with the mermaids. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Balaclava Hood (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Added a couple of inches to the hood portion. Finishing work Reviewed the amount of work to do; stuffed one of the pillows. Mom's cookbook (cooking) Added a couple of recipes Sea Merchant's Wife (cross stitch) Working on the mid-tail portion Teal No-Noro Hat (knitting) [ Ravelry ]  Started the crown portion of the hat. No Work This Week: Look Through My Window quilt for me (quilting) Finishing Work In Progress: Collector's Heart 2024 (cross stitch) Crystal Heart mini (cross stitch) Dreaming Cleo (cross stitch)  Frost Flower mini (cross stitch) Jasmine Mix mini (cross stitch) Pearl Orchid mini (cross stitch) Tulip T...

 ...but I'm still spinning my wheels on everything else! I decided I needed a feeling of accomplishment so I did some spinning. This is Ethereal [ Ravelry ]: and the close-up: Specs: Started and Finished 1/13/2025 Merino (4.1 oz.) from the Yarn Wench 68.75 yds. Bulky weight Single plied with Silver Gold Rush yarn (Lincatex) and Millefiori Light in 6885 by Berroco If I can't get myself in gear with stitching, et al, I may just keep spinning!

 ...not as diverse this year. A little more stitching than normal, but back on track with spinning. Finished: Baking, etc. Christmas Baking Grand Marnier biscotti - 77 Mexican Wedding cookies  - 54  Spritz - 79 Sugar cookies - 25 Almond Fruitcake - double batch of fruitcake for my brother Lots of scones Sourdough rolls and bread loaves Knitting 4/17 Peacock Wrist Warmers (knitting) [ Ravelry ] 8/4 Mermaid’s Lagoon Socks  [ Ravelry ] 11/17 Bumble Bee Buddy for Jane  [ Ravelry ] 11/23 Wee Fishies for Jane [ Ravelry ] 11/24 Catnip Mousies for Jane  [ Ravelry ] 12/3 Little Penguins  [ Ravelry ] Needlework, All Cross Stitch 1/20 Winged Dreams (cross stitch) 1/23 Frost Flower mini (cross stitch) 4/1 Dreaming Cleo (cross stitch) 4/3 Pearl Orchid mini (cross stitch) 5/5 Tulip Time mini (cross stitch) 6/2 Collector's Heart...

 ...a little hit and miss. I'm having trouble getting going again after the holidays.  I spent a few days reorganizing things in the studio. My new Bernina sewing machine has a bigger footprint that my old one. The Bernina blocks my TV when I'm sitting in my stitching chair.  Most of my sewing furniture is modular cubes that stack on one another. I rearranged some of the modules to make more space between the sewing machine and the TV. By doing so, I had to remove one of my modular towers as there wouldn't be enough room to walk between the sewing table and my work table. As a result, I had to find new places for a couple of the modules. In the process, 1 set aside some stuff for donations and reorganize the contents of some drawers. I think the new configuration will work until we do the remodel of the studio. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Balaclava Hood (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Still working on the hood portion. Mom's cookbook (cooking) Added a couple of recipes Sea Me...

 ...such as it is. Finished: 12/3 Little Penguins (knitting) [ Ravelry ] 12/31 Peaceful Night (cross stitch) Books: The Mendocino Beach House, Nellie Brooks Ambler Gambler, Hailey Edwards The Perfect Marriage, Jeneva Rose Whispers in the Falls, Elle Gray Echo Key Haven, Katie Prescott Echo Key Secrets, Katie Prescott Echo Key Whispers, Katie Prescott Echo Key Legacy, Katie Prescott Echo Key Promise, Katie Prescott Echo Key Wedding, Katie Prescott The Next Grave, Kendra Elliot Wrapped in You, Katie Winters Dead Woman Crossing, JR Adler Last Day Alive, JR Adler Broken Mate, Jen L Grey Rising Darkness, Jen L Grey Silver Moon, Jen L Grey Started: 12/6 Balaclava Hood (knitting) [ Ravelry ] WIPs: Finishing work for 10 cross stitch projects Look Through My Window quilt for me (quilting) Mom's Cookbook (cooking) Teal No-Noro Hat (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Queued: The Sea Merchant's Wife (cross st...

...it's number 19. Wow. When I started this blog, I didn't have any idea whether it would last or how long. A lot of my friends who used to blog have all but abandoned their own blogs. I think I've kept up with mine for so long because it is a project journal. It's easier for me to type a quick post about my projects than it is to write something down. The last couple of years have been challenging, affecting many aspects of my life, including blogging. I've tried to post when I could, but many days I just wasn't feeling it. Dealing with my mother and my mother's estate has just drained me. Now that the majority of the estate has been handled, I no longer have to travel to Santa Maria every 5 to 6 weeks.I'm hoping to get back to some sense of normal and that includes more frequent blocking. Keeping my fingers crossed. Sunrise 1/1/2025

 ...first one for 2025. There is a stray yellow flower in our front yard. It looks like a calendual. Our Marc Chagall rose doesn't seem to mint the rain:

 ...working towards recaps. I took a look at the projects on my list for more to add to the IDJ (It's Dead, Jim) list. There are some projects that I started that might be OK, but there are other potential projects that I'd rather do. Most of them will sit in the Hibernation list until I'm ready to IDJ them. Here's the updated WIPs Roll Call. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Balaclava Hood (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Finished the neck piece; working on the hood portion. Mom's cookbook (cooking) Continued to add recipes No Work This Week: Finishing work Look Through My Window quilt for me (quilting) Teal No-Noro Hat (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Queued: The Sea Merchant's Wife (cross stitch) Ready to start. Finishing Work In Progress: Collector's Heart 2024 (cross stitch) Crystal Heart mini (cross stitch) Dreaming Cleo (cross stitch)  Frost Flower mini (cross stitch) Jasmine Mix mini (cross stitch) Pearl Orchid mini (cross stitch) Tulip Time mini ...