Ornament #3

I've finally finished my third ornament... the green one! It's not my favorite, but I'm going to use it anyway. I think I would have liked it better if it had an even number of pattern repeats instead of an odd number. It just looks unbalanced to me. I got brave with this one and didn't follow a pattern. I think I'll use a pattern for the next one!


Does anyone recognize this little angel? I tatted her over the summer, and I'd love to give credit to the designer (and make more angels), but I can't remember where I got the pattern. I think my tatting skills have improved since I made this one. It sure would be fun to do another and see if I've learned as much as I think I have!

The Mad Hatter

I needed a bit of cheering up today, and I was blessed with a wonderful package from TATBiT! I now have three new hats to add to my winter wardrobe... I can't wait to wear them to school! The kids will get such a kick out of them! I tried to pose so that you could see the bits of tatting, beads, pins, flowers, fun fur, and cording that make these hats so special, but you'll just have to come visit me to get a better look!

I also received a very special shawl pattern, and a painted gnome. I love gnomes! I have the book Gnomes (Is that the title? I know I have it around here somewhere...), and this past August my parents went to John C. Campbell Folk Camp and Dad carved a gnome, which now has a special place in my home.

Tagged again!

I've been tagged by Sarah to tell 8 things about myself. Oh, dear! Are there 8 more things people really want to know? I'll try!

1. I was born in Hampton, Virginia, while my dad was in the Air Force. We lived in Philadelphia until the end of my 8th grade year, when my dad was transferred to Chicago.

2. I have close relatives (parents, siblings, children, aunts/uncles, cousins, in-laws) in Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, and North Dakota. Did I get them all, Mom?

3. My dad says I need a dumpster to clean out my sewing room... I think you're right, Dad!

4. My husband is the most patient person I have ever met. We've been married 27 years, and I can only remember him getting angry with me 3 times... I know I deserved his anger many more times than that!

5. I like to have things perfect. If they can't be perfect, I don't bother... can you guess what state my house is in? I hope you guessed not perfect!

6. I am the oldest of four children... I have two sisters and one brother... they're the best!

7. I have most of my Christmas presents bought/made... I might start wrapping them tonight!

8. I taught 4th grade one year, the other 22 years have been in the library/computer lab. I much prefer the library/computer lab... I get to spend time with all the kids for a little bit every week. It's fun to see how much they grow and learn from preschool through 5th grade! I even have some of my former students' children in school now!

What a find!

My sister, Janet, my brother, David, and I flew down to Alabama to visit our parents this past week. While we were there, my mom gave me this wonderful pattern book that she found. It was published by The Spool Cotton Company in 1944... 37 designs in one 10 cent book! I started the first edging right away, but I left my tatting in Alabama! Mom will send it to me next week.

Weave-Along #6 - Eight Single Rib

This is last week's Weave-Along square... I really messed up the first one and just didn't get back to it until tonight.

Ornament #2

I love this purplish red with the green thread! I enjoy color combinations that would have made my skin crawl 20 years ago! The thread is "Leafy" from Yarnplayer... I LOVE Marilee's threads! The shuttle is from Sherry Pence aka LadyShuttleMaker... it holds a ton of thread and makes a wonderful tinkling sound when the thread passes through the tips... one of Sherry's musical shuttles!

One down...

I finally finished decorating my first ornament! I bought a package of 24 shatterproof ornaments about a week and a half ago. This decoration just sits on the ball... I don't think shatterproof means unbreakable. I want to be able to transfer the tatting to another ornament if I choose! I was inspired by a beautiful beaded ornament by Nancy Tracy at be-stitched.com, but I didn't want to put as much work into it as she did... I'm running out of time! Nancy used the Hen and Chicks pattern for the top part of her decoration because of its natural curve. I really like Nancy's pattern, and I may add to this after the holidays.

Reading for inspiration...

I've been reading lots of blogs for inspiration the past two weeks, but I just haven't had much time to tat. My daughter Carol has been working hard with middle school students, and this weekend there were three performances of The Royal Bachelor. I used to direct plays when Carol was in middle school, so I know that they're a lot of fun, but they're also a lot of work! For the past seven weeks, Carol has been coming to our house to nap, while I made dinner. Then she'd be off to play practice from 6-8 p.m. That's a big load at the end of a school day... Carol teaches high school geography, world history, and psychology/sociology. While she was busy directing, I helped (in a small way) with formatting programs (Carol did most of the typing), shopping for concessions, setting up and cleaning up dessert theater, supervising concessions, and making my stage debut! Carol needed some grandma types to player elderly bachelorettes for the new king to choose from for a wife. My friend Pat (the school secretary) was brave enough to go on stage with me Saturday night... we managed to stay composed and not start laughing uncontrollably... we tend to do that... our superintendent jokes that we need to be separated at any school function. It was all great fun, but I'm glad it's over! In a week, Carol and her co-director will start planning for the high school production of Grease. I'll continue with my supporting role of mom... maybe I'll be able to find some time to tat again!

There's a chill in the air!

I've been inspired by TATBiT and Sherry Pence to pick up my crochet hook and use up some of my yarn stash. Ok, ok... I admit it. None of this yarn was from my stash. There was a sale at Michael's, and I just had to try this stuff out! My family will love these hats... they're so thick. I'd never be able to wear one... they're so thick! I have a lot of hair on the top of my head, so I need a light weight hat... thank you TATBiT!

The pattern is from a wonderful site that my friend Denise found... CrochetGarden.com
Denise and I suffer from what Denise calls "flight of fancy"... we get so excited about something someone else has done, that we decide to try it out. Therefore, we have many different types of projects going on. Denise usually manages to finish many more projects than I do. Right now we're both on a roll with these hats. Do you hear those sleigh bells ring-a-ling?

The green hat at the top is Red Heart Super Saver... a very bulky hat, a little stiff. The blue hat on the bottom is Red Heart Fiesta. The other two hats are Vanna's Choice from Lion Brand Yarns... a very soft acrylic... nice to work with. The yarn and the hook determine the size of the hat. I feel like I've made hats for the three bears... the green one's too big, the blue one's too small... the two in the middle are just right!

Finger Tatting

In correspondence with my dear friend TATBiT, I revealed that I never learned to finger tat... I think I shocked the poor woman! So, I looked up finger tatting on the Internet and found some simple directions... they were so simple I should have figured them out on my own! Anyway, this is a picture of my very first finger tatted ring! I'm so inspired that I'm going to take a ball of yarn to school today and teach any child who wants to learn, how to finger tat! I'll probably drive the rest of the staff crazy because there will be little yarn rings all around the school! Thank you for the inspiration (again!) TATBiT!

Now I must learn about math and the golden spiral and research Mary Sue Kuhn! I love learning!

Up on the roof!

It won't be long until the roof is finished! As soon as Dave finishes the peak he's working on in the picture, he has one valley left to finish. Yeah! He started Labor Day weekend. I think he did a fabulous job, and he met my two requirements... dark brown shingles, and don't fall off the roof!