Livin' La Needle Loca

...we're almost ready for the 2 to 25 trick-or-treaters that will come to our door tomorrow night. I need to unearth a bowl or basket from the collection of kitchen stuff in the living room and then I think we're good. Because of the general disarray in the house, I have not put up my Halloween decorations. I usually put it on the coffee table, but that's been functioning as a desk for the Husband sometimes and a dining room table at other times.  Maybe tomorrow... The good news from the kitchen is that the microwave-hood is now mostly installed. I say mostly because the Husband still needs to put in the exhaust aluminum thingy (have no idea what it's called) and then it's done. The microwave part works though. Yay! Up this weekend: the Husband needs to finish the cabinet mods so we can move the range into place. And then I want to cook!! I'm thinking beef or pork roast... On the craft front, I want to finish the machine quilting for the Paint It Red qui...

...the kitchen is still the biggest WIP. The electrician did his thing yesterday and we have power outlets for the new range and microwave hood. However, the Husband still has a little cabinet work to do before we can install the microwave hood, which really should be installed before we move the range in place. Bottom line: still using the old microwave for cooking (or getting take-out, depending on how tired we are). At least i know I won't have to suffer through another Thanksgiving a Christmas with a barely functioning oven!  On the craft front, the only thing I've worked on is the mermaid. I'm at the point where I can see the end and I want to finish...everything else has fallen by the wayside!  Here's where I left off last night: She's getting close to having a face...and I'm almost done with the hair (thank goodness!). I'm not happy with the rectangular areas that were left open for the large beads that get attached to her body and tail. The b...

...that weekend went by fast! I pretty much lost most of Friday to the sinus headache from H3LL. Thankfully, it was mostly gone when I woke up on Saturday. My new range and microwave hood were delivered on Friday. They are sitting in the kitchen waiting for the electrical work to be done. The Husband got the dishwasher connected and we moved it into place. It was not fun...there is barely enough room for the dishwasher to fit under the cabinet and the insulation was not cooperating. We finally got it into place and after a little fiddling with the water pressure, we did a successful test run to check for leaks. I ran a real load Saturday night and it works great! Yay!! Squeaky clean dishes! The Husband spent the rest of the weekend preparing for the installation of the microwave-hood combo and continuing with the cabinet modifications. The electrician will do the outlet work on Tuesday and the Husband wants to be ready to go after that. We are getting a little tired of take-o...

...I'm home this morning, waiting for the electrician to come and do the rewiring for the new range. The range and microwave-fan thingy are scheduled to be delivered later today.  The dishwasher is still not installed because the Husband has been really busy with work ( you know, the thing that helps us pay for these new toys!). It looks like we'll get the installation done over the weekend. Until then we're making do. (I consider this practice for when we actually do the whole kitchen!) This week's eye candy is brought to you by the letter F ... The figs are ripening and they are yummy!! Up this weekend: do what we can to get the kitchen back together and then attack the layer of dust that has settled over everything. Any craft time will be gravy!

...as well as a construction zone. We now have our new dishwasher sitting in the middle of the floor, waiting for a part so we can install it. The old oven and range top are also in the middle of the floor, waiting to be taken away. The electrician is scheduled to do the outlet work for the range. The dining area now houses all the stuff from the cabinets that the Husband is modifying. It's a little chaotic, but nothing we can't live with for a short while. No pictures because it's not pretty!! I have been working almost exclusively on the cross stitch piece. Just not feeling the knitting mojo right now. Because I had to move my wheel and loom to another room so they wouldn't get covered in saw dust, it is not as convenient to work on those WIPs. Our garden is winding down. The tomatoes are almost all done, but there are still peppers to harvest. The Husband made a tomatillo salsa with the purple tomatillos and some chiles. It looks odd, but smells wonderful! W...

...not exactly what we thought we were doing this weekend, but it's all good. More about that in a bit. Pacific International Quilt Festival report: As expected there were many beautiful quilts, some spectacular quilts, and a few that were off the mark. While I appreciate all of the effort that it takes to produce a traditional quilt, I am more inspired by innovative or art quilts. I particularly love some of the quilts that come from Japan. Here's a detail view of "The Flower of the Wind" by Mariko Miwa. The use of metallic threads was stunning. The "Fossily" quilt by Karen Roberts of Germany was also amazing. Here's a detail of the beading in that quilt: While not a quilt, "Even Frogs Dream" by Thom Atkins was a wonderful beaded work: I did a little shopping in the marketplace, but didn't buy much. One thing I did get was a "Sugar Skull" quilt kit from 1/4 Inch Publishing . I love Day of the Dead stuff an...

...and it's time for a sky picture: This was taken the morning after the big storm. I live the combination of clouds. There's something about an October morning that is so appealing... I'm taking this afternoon off as the rest of my comp time for working last Sunday. I'll go directly from work to the Pacific International Quilt Festival. The Convention Center is only a 15 minute drive from here. I'll spend the afternoon admiring the handiwork of other quilters and spending a little money on fabric and thread in the marketplace. One thing I'll make sure to buy is the commemorative pin. Did I tell you I collect pins from the different events I attend? I keep my Stitches West pins on my name tag holder. The rest of the pins I keep on this chatelaine: I took a class for this Pin Keeper's Chatelaine at a Spirit of Cross Stitch Festival [now defunct], pre-2000. It took me a while to finish it, but it is the perfect thing to hold all of my pins. I'l...