Ready to roll!

My bags are packed and in the van. The house is in good enough shape that no burglars will trip and hurt themselves, resulting in a law suit against me. I finally blocked my shrug yesterday, and it dried beautifully! My hanky is finished and neatly tucked into the folds of the shrug. Ella's socks are finished. I have one left to finish for Lily, but I can easily complete that on the ride up. Carol isn't up yet, so I haven't wished her a happy birthday yet... is she really 29? I just have to wait for Dave to get home from work (he had to go in and water the plants), and then we'll be ready to roll!

I promise to share pics when we return home, and I'm really looking forward to getting back into a tatting & posting routine!

To do list...

1. Do laundry
2. Finish my hanky (1/2 side to go)
3. Crochet sock edgings for Lily and Ella
4. Pack bags
5. Pick up my mess so that potential burglars don't hurt themselves and sue me
6. Wish Carol a happy birthday before we leave early tomorrow morning
7. Let all my blogging buddies know... I'll be back!

Joanne's Garter

I finished Joanne's garter yesterday, and I'm very pleased with the way it turned out! I also put together heart necklaces for my three granddaughters. I don't claim to be a jewelry maker, but these were easy... buy a charm and a chain; put the charm on the chain... done! Much less expensive than buying little girl necklaces!


My oldest daughter, Alison, and I went shopping and found little baskets for the three girls. Alison decorated them, and I think she did a terrific job!

Time to get back to my hanky!

Joanne's Wedding Bag

A week from tomorrow we leave for daughter Joanne's wedding north of Duluth, MN! I finished the beaded crocheted bag, except for the tassel caps. I've made this bag several times, including last summer for my niece Yvette. Somehow, this time, I just can't get the tassel cap right. I'm pretty sure I made Kumihimo braid for Yvette's bag, but how did I complete the tassel cap? I did a better job of wrapping the end of the tassel than I've ever done before, and that may have to be enough.

I'm busy working on a garter and a hanky for myself. If the hanky isn't finished in time for the wedding, I'll survive! I really want to finish the garter, though. I purchased a pattern for a beautiful garter online, but I have a mental block with the pattern, so I'm designing my own. I hope it turns out!

Oh, lest I forget... for you crochet lovers, the bag pattern is by Jacqueline Young and can be found in Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crochet. The pattern calls for size 10 thread, but I use size 20 because I find it easier to add the beads.The bag has 1,260 beads. I guess you could call me a bead counter! ; )

Shrug finished!

...and it only took me a week! My wedding ensemble is now complete. The shrug still needs to be blocked, but I'll take care of that tomorrow.


Hmm... I look a little pale next to that purple, but I hate being out in the sun, so I guess I'll remain pale!

If you're interested in the shrug pattern, I found it here. I used a cotton/wool fingering weight that I purchased years ago... I knew my stash would come in handy!

Daughter Joanne's wedding is two weeks from tomorrow. I'd better get back to that kumihimo braid for her wedding bag!

Joanne's hanky

I finished Joanne's wedding hanky this afternoon! I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. Now I have to get back to the kumihimo braid for her bag. Time's a-wastin'!

What a wonderful mail day!

I really don't have time to blog, but I just have to blog today! When I got home from jury duty, I found a mailbox full of goodies! First, I received a lovely thank you card from Mike, along with one of his gorgeous snowflakes... lucky me!

Last week I had a bad case of "I need to spend some money now!"... I think it was because our well pump when out, and when something expensive needs to be done, I compensate by buying myself presents. I know that's extremely selfish, but that's the kind of girl I am! Anyway, I went shopping on Etsy... very dangerous! I bought a beautiful shawl pin from Nicholas and Felice. I also went on a pin cushion binge. Yes, pin cushions! I find them very hard to resist, and the first one arrived today from 2Monkeez!

But my most important purchase was two new shuttles from LadyShuttleMaker! I have been drooling over Sherry's copper shuttles, and I just could not resist. Then, I noticed that she had some new ceramic shuttles listed... oh, joy! I love Sherry's ceramic shuttles. Some of them even sing to me! If you haven't tried one, you don't know what you're missing. They're very light weight and hold a ton of thread. Yes, you do have to be careful with them. I dropped one and broke off the tip, but I successfully repaired it and finished tatting the piece I was working on. They are wonderful, usable, little works of art, and I am the proud owner of several.

Bits and Pieces...

Yes, dear blogging friends, I have been creative this summer, but I've had little time to blog. When given the choice between blogging and spending time with family or being creative, you can guess what comes out on top and what suffers!

Daughter Joanne's wedding is three weeks from today! I finally went shopping for a dress on Friday, and with daughter Carol's help, I found one very quickly. The dress is sleeveless, and the wedding is north of Duluth... I understand it can be chilly even at the beginning of August. So I went surfing and finally found a shrug pattern that I fell in love with! Why didn't I look on Etsy first? Luckily, it was a quick download of a PDF, and I just happened to have the perfect yarn in my stash. It's the purple you see at the back. I'll share the pattern info with you in a later post... I just don't have the time to look for the link right now.

I finished the beaded bag, but it still needs to be blocked, and I need to search for my kumihimo board so that I can make the braid. Maybe it would be faster to buy a new one! ; )

The hanky edging is half done. I sure am happy I chose a simple pattern!

I found a beautiful crocheted garter pattern at Crochet Garden... I love Lisa Naskrent's designs! I will have to buy some 1/4" elastic this week, and I suppose it would be helpful to buy some size 10 thread that the pattern calls for... details, details, details!

I've also been working on my Spinning Wheel glass mat. I am so thankful that Mary Konior designed a pattern that I was able to memorize easily! I find it so relaxing!

This week I'll be on jury duty, so I'm packing a bag full of goodies to work on! I wonder if I'll be an example of grace under pressure? Probably not, but it's fun to imagine!

So, if you don't read much here for the next few weeks, at least you know why I'm being so quiet!

Grandma's Sewing Camp 2010

My eight-year-old granddaughter, Eva, has been wanting to learn to sew on a sewing machine. Today seemed ideal... hot, humid, yucky outside, but nice and cool inside! We raided Grandma's stash (yes, believe it or not, I have a fabric stash), and started with a practice piece. Eva caught on very quickly, so we decided to make an apron!


The bottom half went very smoothly...


as did the rest.


Straps are a little harder, so I finished those for Eva.


And here is my new little seamstress showing off her new apron!