Livin' La Needle Loca

Here are the pictures I couldn't post yesterday. First up: Snow Fall needle roll by Shepherd's Bush, finally!! It felt very good to get this one done! Next, the "finished" Pea Pod Scissor Companion. I had a little trouble finding a piece of fabric for the back of the fob. I finally settles on a black fabric with light-peach circles: In the interest of completeness, here are the two UFOs that I am currently working on: Seahorse needlepoint pillow top. If you look at the top where there is a detached row of blue stitches: that marks how far of the printing of this canvas is. That row aligns with the pattern on the right, but does not align on the left. Just Nan Christmas ornament from the 2002 Just CrossStitch ornament issue. The stitching is almost done on this main part of the ornament. Still to do is the one-over-one center done on 32-count linen that is then inserted into a "charm." I have a sneaky feeling that this one will get put aside as soon as I ge...

This morning was a zoo, so I didn't get a chance to grab the camera to bring in pictures. I'll bring them in tomorrow. In the meantime, I can at least tell you that I finished the Snow Fall needlerolll, including sewing it together and stuffing it. It's done! I also did the finishing work on the Pea Pod Scissor fob, so it's completely done too! Yay!! After I finished the cross stitch stuff, I debated whether to continue on the cross stitch UFOs, or switch over to knitting. Since neither one appealed to me, I picked up the needlepoint seahorse pillow top that I haven't touched in over a year. I spent about 4 hours on it yesterday, and made great progress. Because it doesn't have any fancy stitches, it's pretty mindless stitching -- perfect for watching the SAG awards last night. Also this weekend, the husband and I went to Home Depot and Lowes to see their appliance selection, cabinet options, and counter tops. While we'll probably have a kitchen designe...

I had a little stash enhancement this week and it is Eye-Candy worthy: This is KnitPicks' Shimmer in turquoise. It will eventually become a shawl. This yarn, called Kung Hei Fat Choy, is from Scout's Indie Swag club. I only signed up for 3 months since I was already in the Blue Moon Rockin' Sock club and Sundara's Petals Collection club. When I signed up for Scout's, I hoped I'd get lucky and receive the swag from Chappy -- I love her sock blockers . Guess what I got! Yay!! I'm a happy camper! This weekend I plan on finishing the Snow Fall needleroll and then get back to my knitting UFOs. January has turned into quite a productive month, so I'd like to keep that going!

26 years ago today, my daughter and I had a date with a really cute and very nice guy. We shared a picnic at the San Francisco Arboretum, visited the Cliff house, and simply enjoyed a rare sunny day in the City. Five years later, I married that guy and we officially became a family -- we were already living as a family and just wanted that piece of paper. I wish I had a scanned picture of us from the early days, but they are all at home. Instead, here's a picture of us celebrating Shauna's graduation from UCLA last June: I have made reservations at a tapas restaurant for our celebratory dinner (just the Husband and I). The evening promises good food, fine wine, and great company!

...presenting the Pea Pod Scissor Companion (its official name): I still need to sew it together to make the fob, but that's a quick thing. I'll do that with the other "finishing" this weekend. Next, I'll finish the Snow Fall needleroll. Last night I discovered another reason I had put it aside: somehow, the ribbon and lace for the kit got lost. One of the bands of the needleroll is lace, so I found a reasonable substitute for that. As for the missing ribbon, I'm not sure whether this will actually be finished as a needleroll because the fabric is very narrow. I won't need replacement ribbon if I make it a pillow. I can't begin to tell you how good it feels to get these long-term UFOs out of my hair! I think I started Pea Pod 6 years ago and started Snow Fall about 5 years ago. I've picked them up a few times since then, but have always been frustrated with them both. It will be a relief to have them both done!

Flip Flop Days = DONE! Of course, I don't know yet how I will do its finishing...picture or pillow?? I have no wall space for pictures, and I'm already making several other pillows. It's a toss-up at this point! I did a whole bunch of finishing work for some other projects, including the Birdhouse Needleroll: In addition to sewing things together and stuffing them, "finishing" included making cording and sewing it on the pillows, fobs, and rolls. As for the larger pieces still needing "finishing," I bought some pillow forms and will work on them next weekend. I'm making good progress on both the Snow Fall needleroll and the Pea Pod scissor fob. I'm not in love with either of these pieces, but I want to finish them any way. In the case of the Snow Fall roll, I set a goal of doing all the Shepherd's Bush needlerolls and this is just one of them. I've completed 12 of these rolls so far. As for Pea Pod, I think I'll like it better once it...

I couldn't find a recent picture that was suitable for Eye Candy Friday. Instead, you get an oldie-but-goodie: I took this picture 10 years ago on our first trip to New Mexico. We were driving on the back roads between Albuquerque and some waterfall my husband wanted to see (I can't remember the name any more...). When we saw this church, it just screamed "Photo Op!" Someday, we'll get back to New Mexico (sigh)...it's one of my favorite places. On the stitching front, I have two flowers and a pail left to do on Flip Flop Days. I should be able to finish that this weekend. The Pea Pod scissor fob will take a while -- it's 1 strand of floss over two threads on 36-count linen, and it's a small piece of linen. It's hard on my hands and I can only work on it for a few minutes at a time. I'll probably alternate between this scissor fob and the Snow Fall needleroll. Yes, I will get back to knitting eventually! I still have the other mitten, the other...