Livin' La Needle Loca

...how can it be nearly June? I love this time of the year because the garden is just blooming. The berry bushes are continuing to produce wonderful blackberries, but too many for the Husband and I to eat fresh.  Over the long weekend we tried a refrigerator preserves recipe that turned out very well. If the berry bushes keep this up, I'll have to make another batch! We now have several dahlias in the font and back yards. This one isn't completely open yet: The bougainvillea in the courtyard is starting to come in: A new addition to the courtyard is a foxglove. We haven't had very many of these in the yard before, but I really like them: Up this weekend: Spin-In tomorrow, so I'll be baking in the morning. I'm keeping it simple and just making some lemon muffins. I'll jazz them up by sharing a small jar of the preserves. Also this weekend, we need to start planning the menu for the anniversary party we are giving the Husband's parents on ...

...with pictures of the latest two WIPs. Here is bobbin #1 of Zen 2, a merino-silk from Yarn Wench [ Ravelry ]: And here is the shawl I started over the weekend [ Ravelry ]: The other WIPs in rotation are: The Night is Purple and Full of Stars (Southern Skies) shawl [ Ravelry ]. The shawl's name is a take off on the Game of Thrones quote, "The night is dark and full of terrors." I have finished Chart C and am ready to start Chart D. Anasazi by Susan Portra (needlepoint) Spin-In Fiber sampler: continuing; waiting for next Spin-In. I'm not going to list the WIPs that are waiting for rotation or are in hibernation. There is no change to any of them since my last WIP post. Just a few projects on my plate right now. :) .

...in which we discuss things that didn't go quite as planned. First, let me say that I totally enjoyed having three days off in a row. It meant a lot more time for crafting and just hanging out at home. I really wanted to start my new weaving project, so that was the first thing I attacked. Item #1 that didn't go as planned: I had already wound the yarn for my new piece, so I was ready to warp. I'm using Blue Heron Rayon Metallic and Cascade Venezia Sport for the warp and weft, adding some Rowan Kidsilk Haze Glamour in the weft.  I planned to warp the full width of the loom (20") and a length of 95".  I wanted the Venezia Sport to be random, so I warped that first. After I warped the Blue Heron for a few inches, I realized that I wanted the Venezia Sport to stand out a bit more. So I carefully unwarped the Blue Heron--that took a while. I unwarped the Venezia Sport and rewarped to use more of the yarn. OK, not a disaster, but it took more time than I pla...

...brought to you by the color Maroon . A maroon dahlia: and a close up: Our first blackberry harvest of the season (they have some maroon in them): and a single berry: Up this weekend: It's a 3-day weekend! Yay!  I'm hoping for a better weekend than last (read: less family issues). Keep your fingers crossed for me! The number one item on my list is to warp my loom for the bridal shower gift I'm making for a friend. I now have all of the yarn and an idea of what I want to do. I'm looking forward to weaving something again! As for the rest, I want to audition a couple of dishes that I want to make for my in-laws' 60th anniversary party next month. We're keeping the party simple, but I think a couple of special dishes would be nice. I want to serve a flavorful gazpacho, garnished with a few small shrimp, in individual cups. It gets pretty hot at their house in the summer, and a chilled soup would be refreshing. I'll have Tabasco sau...

...a new roll call because I finished all the handspun that was in the last roll call post.  I now have a new list of WIPs in active rotation. WIPs Recently in Rotation (within the last month): Anasazi by Susan Portra (needlepoint) Zen 2 handspun top, 4 oz (Merino-Yak-Silk) top from Yarn Wench [ Ravelry ]  Southern Skies shawl [ Ravelry ]. I'm auditioning names for the shawl. Here's what it looks like so far: Ongoing:  Spin-In Fiber sampler: continuing; waiting for next Spin-In. Waiting to be rotated in:  Bridal Shower present (weaving) Celaeno Shawl (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Happy Pumpkin Scissor Fob by Shepherd's Bush (cross stitch--still can't find where I put this!) Halloween Phat Fiber samples (spinning) [ Ravelry ] Mediterranean Mermaid by Mirabilia (cross stitch) Sea Foam Wrap (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Hibernating Going Snow Global quilt (quilting) Peacock Pomatomus socks (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Peacock Majesty by Just Nan (cross stitc...

...the weekend was very scattered as the Husband was dealing with some family issues. Lots of phone calls and interrupts. I made the most of my time by doing things like the laundry and grocery shopping. Sunday dinner was simple, a chili made in the crock pot and some cornbread. Neither of us felt much like doing anything complicated. I did manage to finish the Royale handspun finally. Here it is: and the close up: Specs: Started: 4/30/11; Finished: 5/18/13; 60% Merino, 20% Yak, 20% silk top (2 oz) from A Verb For Keeping Warm; Started on a spindle and finished on the wheel. 169.4 yds chain-ply, 18 WPI I also plied the last Spin-In sampler singles, but I'm not very happy with the way it plied. Oh well...it will only make up a small part of the weaving I am planning. I worked on the Anasazi needlepoint and finally finished a section that used Rachel, a tubular nylon thread from Caron Collection. It is a pain in the neck to stitch because it unravels so easily ...

...well, that week didn't quite go as planned. I planned on posting on Wednesday with a WIP picture. Then I planned on posting on Thursday because I didn't on Wednesday. Now it's Friday afternoon and the end of the work week can't some too soon for me! I should clarify that it was not the week from he!! or anything. It was just really busy with a variety of HR and organizational tasks.  It was just one of those weeks where you've been productive and you don;t know how it could be the end of the day already! On to the eye candy. The feijoa as gone nuts...there will be a ton of fruit again this year: We have a new hydrangea in the backyard and this little guy was sunning himself this morning: We also have some new flowers in a hanging basket under the apricot tree. I'm not sure what these are, but they are pretty: I took my Lacy in the Sky with Diamonds shawl to Spin-In for show-and-tell last weekend. Neo (the hosts' cat) loved my shawl: ...