Alas! I had to come up with a Christmas idea for my husband after all! I decided on an afghan that my mom had made last year. It was a free download on the Internet, and believe me, I have plenty of yarn in the house! The Sunday before Christmas, Dave and I admitted that there was no way either of us would finish our Christmas projects in time for the big day. What a relief to both of us!
Dave finished up his surprise this morning. He and Carol hung the cabinets yesterday, and then he worked on the shelves between the two cabinets and on the end. I am nowhere near being done. I measured his afghan this morning... 35 inches. It's supposed to be 60". I have a feeling this is going to take most of the winter to complete!
In the meantime, I've been suffering from tatting withdrawal, so I loaded up my new Jan Stawasz shuttles and got to work on a Spinning Wheel glass mat. I have three to complete for my friend Shirlee. In exchange, she gave me four lovely tea cups and saucers for my daughters' Christmas presents. Shirlee chose from my thread stash... yes, I have a thread stash, too! This one is Flora #66. I was reorganizing some of my books, and I found two little crocheted snowflakes that I made long, long ago between the pages of a pattern book. I pulled out some thread and started crocheting another snowflake... ugh! It didn't appeal to me at all! I guess I'm addicted to the tatted snowflakes... such a surprise considering all the inspiration I find on tatting blogs! ; )
As for the shuttles... I like them because they hold a lot of thread. I managed to wind 25 yards of size 20 thread onto each shuttle. However, Jan Stawasz likes to tat with size 10 thread, so the tips are a little too open for working with size 20. It makes it a little difficult to get the twist out of the thread. Also, I find that the material that he uses for his shuttles is very slick, so I wind up dropping them a lot! Maybe what I should do is load the shuttles with size 10 thread and try some of Jan's patterns. After all, that's why he made them!
Ooooh, the cabinets are beautiful! The color is so nice and warm, too. What a great gift.
ReplyDeleteMore spinning wheels? You go, girl. I am not a fan of bobbin shuttles. They're pretty to look at, but that's as far as it goes for me. Good luck working with them!
Those cabinets are beautiful! He did an amazing job on them. What a wonderful gift! I love the thought of a couple exchanging handmade gifts; it's so sweet and meaningful!
ReplyDeleteDon't you just love your Jan Stawasz shuttles? I snagged some myself and I LOVE how much thread they hold! They are awesome! Looking forward to more blog posts about your projects! I have enjoyed your blog posts and comments on my blog throughout 2008 and look forward to many more throughout 2009.
Those are wonderful cabinets! Beautiful finish and color on the wood, too. Lucky you!
ReplyDeleteAwesome cabinets your DH have done, he seems to be so emtremely good at making them.
ReplyDeleteYears ago I made a bunch of crocheted snowflakes too. I do love the tatted ones more, but I wonder...if I crocheted in the smaller thread like I tat in if I would like them better?
ReplyDeleteHickory cabinets! That is so cool! The tree that fell on my house is hickory. It's got a beautiful grain. Wish he could make me something! Lucky you!
Oh, wow! What a wonderful Christmas present! Diane, you have the most beautiful wood in your home! I know I've said that before :) Your Dave is soooo talented!
ReplyDeletethose cabinets would have cost a bomb to custom-make them here in singapore! such sturdy and beautiful wood... you are so lucky, diane!
ReplyDeletehappy new year!
Oh Wow! you are so lucky to have a handyman with you all the time. Those cabinets are a beautiful gift.
ReplyDeleteHi Diane – It’s difficult keeping up with you! Your blog is amazing on so many levels – your fantastic (and prolific) tatting, your beautiful family, and your full-time job! Seriously – when do you sleep?!! I’m curious about the shuttles – are they the size of a Tatsy? (Jan’s tatting is mind-boggling!) In your previous post you mentioned the anniversary of your accident. It affected me very much when I read about it (before I started my own blog) and I had difficulty looking at your cast. I broke both my wrists in 2002 while I was ice skating (age 58!). By some miracle, I didn’t need an operation – that was the ‘good’ news that memorable day –but psychologically and physically it was a life-changing episode. I’ll be writing about it (and the consequences) in my blog sometime. The cabinets are awesome! Hope you and your family have a great New Year!
ReplyDeleteThe project is a masterpiece. What a talented husband you have! I know you were and still are thrilled. I'm sure he will be equally thrilled with your lovely afghan. What a way to start out the year!
ReplyDeleteWOW! What beautiful wood; and, how blessed you are to have such a thoughtful gift-giver. :>)
ReplyDeleteMy SILove works with wood and my daughter's home is blessed by his creative endeavors. He owns a renovation company and does beautiful work. Wish he was closer! LOL
Good luck with the Afghan...
Shuttles? Shutttles? lol my eyes always light up at the word!
bye, Ridgetatter
very nice, mom!
ReplyDeleteOh WOW! Dave is very VERY talented! They are stunning!
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that you are having a very happy new year!
Oh my, Beautiful!! Dave did a wonderful job!!
ReplyDelete