Are you tired of Baby Leia pix yet? Me neither . . . . 
Leia came home today and tomorrow she'll meet Aunt Rachel, Uncle John and Cousin Addy. She's becoming quite the social butterfly.
The new dad is already feeling sleep deprived. After just one night. He was looking for sympathy but Dick and I just laughed at him. Poor baby.
Leia is a very calm, good natured, and alert baby. 
She whimpers occasionally but has yet to really cry, even when she's hungry. Leia spent much of the day with her eyes open, intently watching everyone around her especially sister Naia (7), 
brother Miles (2 1/2) and Aunt Marie.
Miles holding Leia for the first time.
7 pounds, 10 ounces; 19.5" long
Mom, dad, and baby are all doing great. 
Welcome, Little One.
One of my very favorite indie dyers found some 'mystery' yarn after she dyed a recent batch of fiber. She blogged it (here: scroll down to July 31) and I, half-jokingly, begged to buy it. It's shiny! It's purple! and - since Deb agreed to part with three skeins - It's mine!
It's 100% mohair - not part silk like we originally thought - and about fingering weight.
The minute I saw it on Deb's blog, I knew it would make a fabulous shawl - but which one?? I swatched the Eva's Shawl (here's the Rav link to 111 completed shawls) but the pattern was too contrasty with the yarn's color variations. Thought about the Zig-Zag Stole and the Green Crocheted Shawl, even bought the patterns, but they just weren't right either. Went through all the shawl, wrap, stole patterns on Ravelry. Twice. Nothing.
Until I saw this. I'd noticed the pattern in the recent Webs catalog, but the photo doesn't look nearly as gorgeous as Gigi's shawl. So this - 
is the first third of the Crocus Bud Shawl. I'm thrilled with the pattern - super easy but not boring. It doesn't look like much now, but it will look a whole lot different once it's blocked. Can't wait to get this finished!!
I finished spinning and Navajo-plying one bobbin of this last night while watching the Olympics. 
I'm letting the second bobbin 'cure' till tonight when I'll ply it while rooting for Team USA.
This is 'Purple Mountain Majesty' (I think; it could be Frosted Fields. I need to keep better records . . . ) from Spinderella's Fiber Mill in Utah. One bobbin, about 60% of the 8 ounce roving I started with, gave me approx. 160 yards of 3-ply yarn. (ETA: the second bobbin gave me about 100 additional yards of 3-ply.) 
My spinning is still more inconsistent than I'd like, but the 3-ply technique evens things out and makes it look pretty. 
I loved spinning this stuff and I love how it sparkles in the sunshine. Good thing I have more Spinderella's in the stash or I'd be off on a buying spree right now.
Got the blahs? Life giving you lemons? Break out the silk!
I should have been working on WIPs or weaving for the O-Loom-Pics weave-along, but instead I grabbed this skein of stashed Schaefer Helene (wool/silk blend) that I got on sale last year and made the Fan Bookmark Scarf (Rav link). 
Finished it in less than 24 hours,
took another 12 hours to gently block it,
and voila - a new FO.
Silk. It's the new lemonade.
Naia and I got home from the yarn store to find grandpa asleep in the living room
and Miles asleep in the bedroom. 
They came home from the latest Mummy movie and fell fast asleep. I guess that's an endorsement - so exciting it wears you out.
As Oreo gets progressively sicker with stomatitis, she's unable to keep herself groomed. I've been combing her fur and washing her with disposable pet wipes, but she's gotten to the point of having to have a vet-ordered bath.
Oreo's the most patient, easy-going cat I - and the vet - have ever seen. She takes her daily meds without a fuss and didn't fight me even when she had to be medicated through an I.V. But I figured all bets were off where a tub of water was concerned.
Dick helped arm me (sorry) for battle - thick dish towels on both arms, held in place with painters tape. 
I put a towel in the bottom of the tub so Oreo wouldn't slide around (learned that lesson a month ago during the first bath. Slipping cat = unhappy unhappier cat.) She wasn't pleased, but after a short struggle when I first put her in the water, Oreo just sat there and let me get on with it. She didn't even object when I poured water over her back and sides, something she strongly disliked the first time. And I think she actually likes having her back scratched - not enough to want to do this again anytime soon though . . . 
When I opened the bathroom door to let her out, she turned to give me a dirty look, then sat down and started grooming. I really expected her to run and hide.
As I write this an hour post-bath, Oreo's sitting at my feet. She won't let me put her in my lap - she wants me to know she's still p**sed - but she also doesn't want me out of her sight. She's such a sweet puppy kitty.
Some warped weaving humor. Too funny.
I'm a little behind in posting squares for the block-a-month class I'm teaching, but I'm ahead in getting the blocks done and on display in the shop. These should go up tomorrow or Thursday.
July's block was entrelac crochet; my own design based on instructions by Carolyn Christmas. I wasn't sure about using these 3 colors together at first, but I like how it turned out. 
I'm making 12 blocks, each with Cascade 220 Heathers and an "H" hook, and with luck, Dick will end up with a 'block' afghan by January.
August's square is based on a stitch pattern, one I've wanted to try for a long time. I know it as the Catherine Wheel, but I've seen it listed under other names too.
October is Log Cabin. 
This is another original design, this time based on the pattern I'm using to make a knit blanket for Dick. It took me awhile - and an Excel spreadsheet - to figure out my 'rules' for crochet log cabin, but I'm pleased with the results.
The block for September is still drying (photo tomorrow). It's Math Stripes - using mathematical formulas to determine stripe and row placement. 
I'm math-phobic - my brain tends to shut down if I even think about adding more than 2 plus 2 - but the class I took at the Knit and Crochet Show last year was serious fun. Can't wait to do more with it.
I waited two whole days to see how my entries did in the fair.
Aren't you impressed with my patience? Today was sheep-to-shawl day (photos tomorrow) so I could kill two birds with one free admission. Dick met me for a fair-food lunch - Pink's famous hotdogs (the only 'dogs that don't give me heartburn) and yummy, sugar-coma inducing cinnamon rolls . . . with icing, of course - 
before we checked out the home arts and photography exhibits. This was my favorite - 
a metal sculpture that appears to be full of bullet holes. Can you see what the sign says? How about now . . . 
Too funny.
And how did my entries do? Three first place blue ribbons for the cabled sweater,
entrelac scarf and pineapple shawl; 
a third place for Addy's cotton dress; 
and two honorable mentions for my handspun yarn and the handspun, crocheted shawl.
The number of overall Fair entries was way down this year. The home arts building felt almost empty. And I was disappointed with how entries were displayed. Most - like my sweater, shawl and scarf - were tightly folded or rolled into balls and crowded into glass-topped display cabinets. In past years, there was more of an effort to showcase the hand-mades; you could better see the detail and work that went into them. Hopefully, they'll go back to the 'old' system next year.
I was digging through my closet today and came across this sweater that I finished, except for the buttons, back in March 2007. 
It was the first sweater I did (except for a couple I made over 20 years ago) and I thought of it as a learning experience. Good thing, since I was disappointed in the finished product; the body was too stiff, with no drape; it was shorter than I like; and the fit was too tight in the shoulders and arms.
Seeing it today made me wonder what would happen if I washed and blocked it. A quick soak in cold water and fabric softener made a huge difference. I stretched the length and shoulders when I blocked it and it fits much better. 
The arms are still too tight, but I think they'll stretch with wear. I added some vintage abalone shell buttons, wove in the ends, and voila - a finished sweater. 
I'm hoping it will continue to soften and stretch with time. I don't think it will ever be a favorite but I think it's wearable.
Hooray, spinning doesn't hurt my shoulder. If I don't do it for four or five hours at a time, that is. Moderation in all things is my new motto.
I Navajo-plied - my new favorite technique - the last 2 ounces of this Ravelry colorway and ended up with about 74 yards. 
I haven't measured the first batch of yarn yet, but it should be about the same, so I'll have in the neighborhood of 150-160 yards. These aren't my usual colors but I really love this yarn. 
Once that was off the wheel, I dug through my stash and came up with some roving I bought back in February '06. 
This is Frosted Fields from Spinderellas; 12 ounces of wool and alpaca yumminess, with just a touch of glitz. 
I got several ounces spun tonight; I'm spinning it fairly thin and plan to Navajo-ply it, aiming for a DK weight 3-ply. 
I have several Spinderella colorways - some I purchased and some given to me as Christmas presents - but I've never actually spun any of it. Now that I've started, I may not stop till it's all gone.
Even Mother Nature got in on the act today, rocking and rolling to the tune of a 5.4 earthquake. I've been through a number of quakes since we moved out here in 1968 (when I was but a wee lass . . . ) and this was one of the strongest I've ever felt. As in 'it's time to get out of the house' strong. A few seconds of gentle waves to get your attention, and then several sharp jolts that seemed to just go on and on. Fortunately, no damage here and only minimal damage - and no injuries that I've heard about so far - in the wider SoCal area.
So why Christmas? Look what came in the mail today - 
my order from Interweave's hurt book sale back on July 9. I've heard a lot of complaining in some forums that Interweave's prices weren't that good, shipping was too high, and - my personal favorite - the books weren't 'hurt' enough so obviously they were overstock and Interweave shouldn't have sold them at discount. Huh??????
But it did get me wondering, so I moseyed over to Amazon to check their prices. I'd have saved the $8.95 I paid in shipping but even with that, I still saved over $17 on the five books. My best deal? Wrap Style which retails for $21.95; Amazon had it for $14.93 but I bought it for just $5.49. With no damage that I can see.
I do love a good book sale!
Tomorrow's the last day for the Tour de France and the knit-along. It's been amazing fun - I was assigned to the Yellow Jersey team (go Team CSC!) and I accomplished all my KAL goals, so I also earned my Polka Dot jersey for King of the Mountain. Unfortunately, I pushed too hard and re-injured my shoulder. I won't be doing any knitting or crocheting for at least 30 days. I'm hoping I can still spin (probably not) and weave (more hopeful). I'm bummed but at least I finished my projects before I went on the disabled list.
So what's my next obsession? Fleece baby blankets with satin binding. 
For the last year or so, I've been buying fleece remnants whenever I find them at a good price. The Joann's in Loveland is my best source; they often discount their remnants by 75%, after marking them down 50% from the regular price. My original plan was to crochet edgings on them but I really don't like having to hand stitch around the edge to give the yarn something to hold on to.
A passing comment about how much babies love satin-trimmed blankets sent me back to Joann's. I hand-sewed one blanket for Addy (8-hours later I was firmly convinced to never, ever do that again.) For these four blankets, I pinned and sewed the trim while watching the Tour de France. 
The white/pink (Marie's favorite) and orange/yellow blankets (my favorite) are presents for Baby Leia. 
The other two 
(it's been a loooong time since I've seen Pokemon!) are for us to use when the grandbabies come to visit.
I have a couple more remnants but I'm out of satin binding - and truth be told, I'm bored with pinning and sewing. I need to come up with another way to trim them. Any ideas???
