Livin' La Needle Loca

....love, love love this color! The yarn and the pattern are called Poppy. Sundara used purple poppies as the color inspiration. The yarn is a lot more purple that the pictures show. Here's a closeup: This color is enough motivation for me to start another pair of socks when I'm finally finished with Summer of Love Lace socks. (I've now finished the instep decreases and am working on the foot.) Up this weekend, the final house cleaning before vacation, figuring out which suitcases to use, laundry...you know, all those little piddly things you have to do before you can leave! Plus, I need to get my take-along projects identified and prepped. If I have any spare time, I will do some spinning. I will miss Sirena, but there is no way (and no time) to take the wheel with me.

...and it's my favorite color!! I'm saving its picture for Eye Candy Friday, but believe me, it's beautiful! And Sundara's Poppy sock pattern is cool, too. Guess which project is going with me on vacation! I'm getting closer to finishing the Summer of Love Lace socks, and I need another pair of socks to work on after that! (LOL!)

...and I'm so ready to go (well, at least mentally ready). I went clothes shopping yesterday, looking for pants and tops for the trip. I found some jeans, but I'm having trouble finding short sleeve tops (everything is long sleeve). I have some that are in decent condition, but it would be nice to have a couple of new ones. I guess I better scope out Kohl's... I have been knitting away on the Summer of Love Lace socks, but there are only so many pictures of in-progress socks I can show (the curse of the slow knitter). Since I haven't spun since Sunday, I have nothing new on that front, either. Instead, I'll show you some more pictures of old projects that I have completed. As I mentioned at one point, I'm scanning photographs of my projects so I can upload them to my web site . Today's installment is a cross stitched afghan I did for a friend's baby. (Sorry for the really bad pictures; film was never my medium and having a really cheap camera didn't...

...the window estimate was, to say the least, more than we expected. After we picked ourselves up off the floor, we told the guy we'd have to think about it. Yeah, think about getting them replaced by someone else! I know you have to pay for quality, but, wow! (I can't imagine what the estimate would have been if we'd included ALL of the windows.) So, we are now looking at plan B. Before the estimator arrived, I did some light cleaning and shifted things around in my sewing room to make it easy for him to get to the sliding glass door. I also did a hit-and-run organization pass in the room. After the estimate shocker, I decided to concentrate on getting ready for our trip and working on my crafty stuff...you know, things that are more under my control. (LOL!) I bought the cat supplies we needed, found a few sample-size things and quart-size zip bags, and did my standard errands. I got my wish and got soup weather. In celebration, I made a big pot of chicken soup for Sunday...

This morning's sky: It is much cooler in the mornings now and the sun is barely beginning to rise when I leave for the gym. So last night was the 2-hour season finale of one of my favorite shows, Burn Notice. I decided that I would work on my Season of Love Lace socks during that two hours. And look, I made progress! I am now working on the heel flaps for both socks. I'm not quite an inch into the flap and I need at least 2.25 inches before I can turn the heel. But,when you compare to where I was last Friday , I've done pretty well for me. Up this weekend: We have an appointment with window contractor to get an estimate on replacing 4 sliding glass doors. While I really wanted to have the kitchen worked on, I think the windows are more important right now. Two of these doors are in the living room, which gets very cold in the winter. The other two are in the Daughter's room (AKA my office) and the sewing room. Replacing these 4 sliding doors will reduce our heating co...

...we need the water and I want it to be soup weather! This morning it looked promising: But, see that patch of blue in there? It's taken over and it doesn't look like it will rain today. The newspaper said maybe tomorrow... I've hit a crafty brick wall. I don't feel like knitting, spinning, or quilting. Cross stitch or needlepoint are possibilities, but they aren't really calling my name either. Need to find something that will get me over that wall. (Sleep...now that appeals to me. It's hard to do that at work though! LOL!)

AKA: no picture Monday. Yes, I am a slow knitter. While others just whiz through patterns and whip up socks right and left , I plod along with my one pair of socks. I know part of the problem is that my hands get tired with small needles and I have to take many breaks to keep them from cramping up. And I'm really slow when I have to purl. I've gotten better at purling, but it still doesn't feel natural. I spent most of Sunday on the Summer of Love Lace (Flower Power) socks. I finished the cuffs, steam blocked them, and did the ribbing. For the amount of time I spent on them, I should be a lot farther (or done if I was like some of you speed demons out there!), but no. Saturday was for shopping and spinning. I went to Purlescence to check out the Dreams in Color yarn that just arrived and to see whether they had any new spinning fibers. (I just love going in that store and fondling the yarns! ) After checking everything out, I ended up buying the Baby Tulip Sweater patte...