Garden walks and lace...

Even though I've been working on my lace curtains, I haven't completely forgotten my tatting! The top left edging is "Itsy, Bitsy, Baby" from Nice and Easy Tatted Edgings by Diane DiRosa Biswas, Altin Basak size 50, Sherry Pence (Lady Shuttle Maker) ceramic shuttle. Bottom left is a daisy edging I learned from watching Bev Dillon's video, Tatting from Start to Finishing, Hakelgarn size 20, "Diane" shuttle from Sherry Pence (yes, it's named after me! I feel so special!). I've been using this edging to decorate bobby socks for my granddaughter, Lily. I have 4 pair completed, 2 to go! On the right is Basket Edge from Vintage Tatting, Cebelia size 30, Peter Cua shuttle. I love working on edgings because I can evenutally memorize the pattern!

Yesterday I went to the Crete Women's Club Garden Walk & Bazaar, "A Day in the Country" with my friends Pat and Brenda. Despite a few showers, we had a wonderful time. Pat and Brenda are really into gardening... I'm into looking at gardens and I leave the actual work to Dave! Two of our Grant Park friends, Amy and Ingeborg, each had vendor stalls. They both make the most beautiful cement pieces out of leaves. I have three for garden accents and three in the house... one is used as a decoration in my dining room, one is a soap dish from my friend Kris, and one is in my sewing room as a pin dish. I have a rhubarb leaf, 4 hosta leaves, and I can't remember what Ingeborg said the other one was (my pin dish).

One of the gardens we visited was at the home of Bill Aldrich, publisher of Chicagoland Gardening... what a wonderful surprise! We each purchased books from him, which he kindly autographed. I can't wait to read, and Pat and Brenda can't wait to garden... life is good!

I can't believe it took me so long...

Can it be? Did I finally figure out how to add a picture to my blog? If it worked, this is a picture of my first lace curtain panel... can't wait to see if I succeeded!

I can't believe it took me so long to read an Agatha Christie book! I just finished Murder on the Orient Express. It was great! A few weeks ago my favorite store, Barnes & Noble, had a sale of Agatha Christie books (but 2 get 1 free). I just couldn't resist! I like to read a little in the morning and a little at night, and sometimes I read a lot in the middle of the day when school's out! Of course the housework and the knitting/crocheting/tatting/sewing suffer, but I'm happy!

I finished four repeats of my second lace panel yesterday... only 34 to go! Dave and I are taking a short road trip next week, so I'll have plenty of time to work on it in the car. I'll also take my traditional road trip project... dish cloths!

Denise and I set another challenge for ourselves yesterday. We're planning on attending Stitches Midwest in August. I went last year with my daughter Alison, and we had a wonderful time. Of course we saw people wearing beautiful knitted pieces, so Denise and I want to go wearing something we have knitted. Convention centers can be chilly, so we plan on making ourselves shawls with yarn I purchased at last years convention. We chose the Garter Lace Triangle Shawl from Martha Waterman's Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls. I made this shawl years ago when it was featured in Interweave Knits. It's very simple to do and very pretty when finished!

Yesterday's mail was fun to open... I received my Ring of Tatters newsletter... can't wait to try some of the pieces! I also received some hand dyed thread from Yarnplayer Arts (Marilee Rockley http://yarnplayer.etsy.com). This is my third skein of thread from yarnplayer and it is beautiful! I'm thinking of using it for an Iris Niebach pattern.

Elation and frustration!

I'm elated because I finally finished a curtain panel that I started several years ago! I'm frustrated because I can't figure out how to add pictures to my blog! I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually, and it might help if I tried in the morning when I'm more alert!

I decided to crochet curtains for my living room, but quickly changed my mind and decided to decorate the bathroom window which is much smaller! I tend to start large projects and then abandon them when the process becomes routine, so this is quite an accomplishment for me! I started the second panel about an hour ago. My goal is to finish and hang the curtains by the time my parents visit in mid-July.

My friend Denise is also crocheting curtains. Hers is a much larger undertaking for the cottage she and her husband have on the Kankakee River. When I saw how much Denise was able to accomplish, I was determined to finish my much simpler pattern!

I found a beautiful basket edging at Vintage Tatting, which I've started making in size 30 Cebelia. The pattern looks difficult, but I was amazed at how quickly I caught on to it. Once the first pattern repeat was finished, I didn't need to refer back to the pattern!

Sidetracked

I've been sidetracked from working on lace... oh, no! My daughter asked me to knit some dishcloths for her new townhouse. I love knitting dishcloths! They're so easy and don't take much time. Typically, I take them along for road trips... I don't need a pattern, and I can watch the road and talk to my husband without making mistakes!

No photos yet... I need new batteries for my digital camera, so I guess I'll have to make a trip into town today. I become quite a homebody in the summer. We're only three miles from town, but I love my home so much that when school's out I really hate to leave!

Patricia Kristoffersen Doilies

I love Patricia Kristoffersen's designs! I own most of her patterns, but have made very few. So, I have set a goal for myself to work my way through her Leisure Arts Leaflet 2966 - Mini Masterpieces: 30 Little Doilies. I've completed #1-9, but when I was blocking #8 I found that I'd made a total mess of the pattern. So, I've started #8 over again! I'm about half way through, but I've had a terrible mental block... I think old age is setting in! I can no longer follow patterns while watching t.v! The good news is that I'm learning to relax and listen to the sounds of birds in the garden... along with the traffic on the road!

Joanne is due home tonight, so maybe I'll figure out how to post pictures!

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my 55th birthday, and I have decided to celebrate by starting something new... my first blog! What's up with the name? I love lace... I knit, crochet, and tat. I also love to read... mysteries, ghost stories, craft books, cook books, and children's books. Just a note... I read more than I do, so I plan on using this blog as my personal inspiration to complete projects.

I'm also a collector! I have way too much fabric, yarn, thread, books, and knit/crochet/tatting tools. I feel the need to justify my collections, so I'll try to share my collections when appropriate.

There are some very special people I want to thank for inspiring me to begin this endeavor... Mom, thank you for teaching me that part of learning is making mistakes, and mistakes can be fun! Dave, thank you for putting up with all my clutter these past 26 years, and for building spaces for all my stuff! Alison, Andrea, Carol, and Joanne (my daughters), thank you laughing with me and teasing me about my obsessions. Denise, thank you for being such an inspirational friend... your "flights of fancy" have kept me on my toes! Sherry, thank you for "hinting" that I should start a blog!

There won't be much more today... I have to wait for Joanne to get back from Minnesota to help me with pictures!