From a talented young lady...

Yes, dear friends, I am one of the lucky recipients of a hand-crafted shuttle and a skein of hand-dyed thread from Anika at Tatting it Up! I haven't had much time for tatting in the last couple of weeks, but I did find time to wind this beautiful thread and fill the shuttle. Now I need to choose the perfect pattern. Thank you, Anika!

On the home front...

my youngest daughter, Joanne, is learning how to use her new sewing machine. First, she made this little sample quilt to see how everything goes together... not bad for a first try!

On Monday, we turned the dining room into sewing central so that Joanne could cut fabric for a quilt top. We settled on the disappearing 9 patch pattern, because it seems very simple. We were going to use my new AccuQuilt Go!, but we decided it would be faster to just use the rotary cutter and ruler. I wanted to make sure Joanne really understood how to use the rotary cutter, so I "let" her cut out a quilt top for me, too!

Tuesday was spent at my sister's house, so we didn't get anything done, but yesterday...

we rearranged the living room furniture and set up another sewing station! We each sewed strips together for our quilt tops. Joanne accomplished more than I did. She'd ask a question that got me curious, and I'd go searching for answers on the Internet. Luckily, I live here and can sew whenever I get the urge! ; )

Before we cleaned up for the day, Joanne pressed her strips and made some preliminary choices for arranging the strips into blocks.

If she remains this organized throughout the project, she will never have the craft disarray problem that I have!

I hope she sends me pictures when her quilt top is complete!

Cottage Border... completed!

Here it is! I think it turned out great! The hanky was a gift from Anika at Tatting it Up.

The thread is Fincrochet No. 30, Tint.1110. I do like the thread, however it was full of little slubs. I was easily able to close rings, but the little slubs make some of the knots look a little bigger. I'm sure the blind man on the galloping horse will never notice!

The pattern is "Cottage Border" from A Pattern Book of Tatting by Mary Konior.

I really wanted to try Frivole's idea of attaching the edging to a crocheted edge, but I couldn't figure out how to put it all together. I think my brain just wasn't in gear this past week. What I really need is a tutorial with pictures, Frivole! (hint, hint, wink!) I'm sure that just a few hints would reset my brain so that I could figure it all out!

I replaced my dingy yellow ironing board cover last week. I think the blue and white is much better for photography purposes, even if the ironing board cover pattern does show through the hanky! ; )

Turtle shuttle winners...

Congratulations to...

#21 - JennyPennyPoppy

#16 - Mary

#4 - Michelle

Michelle, I have your address. JennyPennyPoppy and Mary, if you would send your mailing information to me at DianeCademartori at gmail dot com, I should be able to get these little cuties off by the end of the week.

I've skimmed, not read, all 167 blog entries on my Google Reader that were posted in my absence. My goodness! I hope I never lose my Internet connection for a whole week ever again! I would have liked to spend more time reading, but I do have a few other irons in the fire!

This is the last week of my mom's visit. I can't believe it's almost time for her to fly home! We've had so much fun... special lunches, playing Words with Friends, shopping, knitting, etc. Mom is at my sister Janet's house now, and I spent today with daughter Joanne. Mom bought Joanne her first sewing machine last week, and I bought her some fabulous fabric. We spent today preparing the fabric for sewing a disappearing 9 patch quilt top. Tomorrow we're going to spend the day with Mom and Janet, and then on Wednesday, Joanne and I are attending Open Sewing Day at our local quilt shop (40 minutes away is about as local as I can get!). Our plan is to sew together the squares for the quilt top, and Joanne will have the bonus of getting an all-day sewing lesson!

Needless to say, I haven't accomplished much on the tatting front. I did finish my hanky edging, and I have about half of it sewn on. Hopefully, I'll have pics to share very soon!

I'm so glad to be connected again. I've missed you all!

Reconnected!

The tech guy just left, and I'm back in business!

I have lots of blog reading to do, emails to read, and I have to draw winners for Denise's birthday shuttles.

I'll be back later today! It feels so good to have Internet access again!

Down and out...

Yes, my Internet is still down, with no hope for restoration until Monday, So, being the technology lovers we are, Mom, Joanne, and I are sitting in Barnes and Noble having a late breakfast and using their wifi. Believe me, it was worth the half hour drive!

Guess what today is? It's my friend Denise's birthday, and I've decided to celebrate by giving away some more shuttles!

Yes, dear friends, I am giving away three shuttles again! Never fear, I do have shuttles set aside for Denise and me. Again, I used 3D stickers and glitter nail polish. I haven't tried tatting with these yet, so I'm not sure how good they'll be for actual use, but they sure are cute to look at!

I think I'll wait until the weekend to draw the winners. We have a lot planned for this weekend, so I'm not sure if I'll have Internet access before Monday. So, there's no sense in drawing early!

The little pink bookworm is for Denise. When I feel I've mastered the cloth stitch, I'll try to make this little worm the way it's supposed to be made!

Hmmm... I wonder if they have any bobbin lace books here?

Internet down...

And I've been told they can't come and fix it until next week! :-(

Poor worm!

After attending the Lafayette Lace Day this spring, I was inspired to plow through my sewing room to get to my bobbin lace pillow. The little sampler on it was a mess, so I took it off and started a worm bookmark. I didn't remember all of this until this morning, when I saw the beginning of the cute little worm!

Before breakfast, I decided to move my bobbin lace onto the screened in porch. I really hadn't touched my bobbin lace since going to Lafayette, because I'd have had to put all my tatting away. Maybe bobbin lace will become a summer only activity, that is unless I manage to get my sewing room in order this summer!

Unfortunately for the poor worm, I tried to finish him by relying on my memory and my pent up enthusiasm from yesterday's lace day in Downers Grove. About halfway through, I realized I really need to re-read the instructions, and possibly watch a video or two!

Poor little guy! He's usable. He just doesn't look at all like the pattern! When I realized how badly I had messed up, I just finished him up in cloth stitch.

I think I'll embrace Scarlett O'Hara's attitude for this project... tomorrow is another day!

Downers Grove Lace Day

Today was the day, and I had so much fun meeting with ladies I've met through blogging! I didn't plan on taking any classes, but after seeing the projects, I wish I had!

Of course I had fun shopping for new tatting and bobbin lace supplies, which I desperately needed! ; )

I love June!

...and yesterday was a perfect day! My mom is visiting from Alabama, and yesterday we did a little shopping and then went to daughter Carol's house for a birthday feast. Carol made chicken, hamburgers, and peppers on the grill... yum! Daughter Alison and her children met us there. The weather was perfect, and the food was delicious!

When we got home, I checked the mail, and...

I found this beautiful hanky from Wendy!

It has my favorite color (blue), my favorite flower (rose), and it's hem-stitched!

Thank you, Wendy! I LOVE it!

This past week, I made some new online friends, including Marsha Greenberg. Guess what? She's a vintage hanky lover! She has published an amazing book, Hankie Couture.

Marsha's book is available in paperback at Amazon, but if you love hard-cover books, as I do, you might want to check out her eBay store. She still has a few autographed copies left! I have never made doll clothes, and I probably never will. However, seeing what Marsha has designed with vintage hankies makes me long to dust off my sewing machine!

I tell you, dear blog buddies, the Internet is a dangerous place! I am now also following embroidery blogs. It's true, and it's scary... there's more inspirational stuff out there! Thistle Threads is offering an embroidery kit to support the Winterthur Museum.

Yes, I caved! The kit arrived yesterday, and now I'm going to have to learn how to do tent stitch. It doesn't look complicated... thank goodness!

Now to the burning question... what's happening on the tatting front? I'm still working on my hanky edging, but with all the company this past week, I haven't accomplished much. I did start an oval doily, thanks to inspiration from Frivole. She just had to ask for ideas for oval doilies, and I just happened to have some patterns lying around!

I started "Graciella" from Tatted Doilies by Iris Niebach. I'm using DMC 8 from my dear friend Monica. I've never tatted an oval doily before! So far, so good!

For dinner, my husband and grandson grilled pork chops.

Alison sauteed asparagus, made her version of hummus (yummy!), and cut up red and green peppers and cucumbers for dipping. I'm still full from all the fabulous food we ate yesterday! After dinner, we watched The Ant Bully. Well, Dave and the kids watched it... Mom, Alison, and I read and played Words with Friends! All in all, I had a wonderful birthday!

And the Blogaversary winners are...

#19 - Lelia
#17 - Val
#15 - Tattin' Kat

Congratulations, ladies! I believe I have all of your mailing addresses, but if I don't, I'll get in touch with you.

Thanks to all of you for celebrating with me!

Blogaversary giveaway!

I can hardly believe that I've been blogging for four years! It's all LadyShuttleMaker's fault you know... she made me do it! ; ) Thank you for all your encouragement, Sherry!

To celebrate, I'm giving away THREE decoupaged shuttles! That's right, tatting friends... there will be THREE lucky winners! These may not be practical for tatting. I decorated them with 3D stickers, which makes the top a bit thick, but I think they turned out cute. Don't worry... I kept aside another one for myself and one for Denise.

If you're interested, please leave a comment, and if I haven't corresponded with you before, please let me know how to get in touch with you. The drawing will be tonight!

Making progress

Yes, indeed, I am making progress in my sewing room. It's not nearly neat enough to photograph yet, but I am seeing a vast improvement! I had high hopes of finishing before my mom's visit, but she's arriving tomorrow, and there just isn't enough time to get everything done. Today I put a new ironing board cover on and discovered that my ironing board is in really bad shape! I wonder if it's from neglect or heavy use? I can now use my sewing machine again! That's not to say that I can find my sewing materials, just the machine. : )

I have managed to get a little tatting done, and I'm now a little over halfway finished with the Cottage Border. I'm really enjoying tatting this edging. Maybe I'll stop cleaning while Mom's here and spend my time tatting and chatting instead!

Hmmm... maybe I'd better take time to tidy up my tatting table before Mom arrives tomorrow morning!

One less WIP

I've been busy cleaning and reorganizing closets, drawers, and my sewing room. The drawers are finished. The closets are finished, but the sewing room... oh, my! It is a true disaster zone! I can walk through the doorway now, and I've been finding some wonderful treasures!

Yesterday, I found a scarf that I had started last summer or fall. I couldn't find the pattern, and I was feeling a little distraught about it. Then, I remembered that I had bought the yarn when shopping with my daughter Alison, and that I had bought a wonderful little book, Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders edited by Judith Durant. The scarf was more than half finished, and the pattern is a one-row repeat, so I decided to finish it up.

I used Sublime baby cashmere merino silk dk. The pattern, Boise Cashmere Scarf designed by Dawn Leeseman (p. 141), took two 50g balls, each 127 yds.

I love this scarf, and now I have one less Work In Progress!

Oh, that Crazy Mom!

Last week I received an email from The Crazy Mom letting me know that an envelope should reach my mailbox by Wednesday. Well, today is Wednesday, and there certainly was an envelope!

Yes, dear tatting friends, I believe I am set for the summer... blinging papers, beads, thread samples, ribbon samples, Mary Engelbreit note cards, and a gorgeous pendant!

Thank you, Crazy Mom! I am thrilled with your gifts, and overwhelmed by your generosity!

For Robyn

My friend Robyn's father, Walter, passed away this week. This cross is for her.

The pattern was supposed to be "Maria" from Tatted Bookmarks - cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. However, I realized I had made a mistake shortly after starting. Rather than un-tat, I adapted the pattern. I missed some chains, so I had to add some rings. It worked, but I prefer the original pattern. I think Robyn will like it.

The thread is size 40 Lizbeth #117, Country Side

I like it!

When I received this lovely hanky from Anika, I knew exactly which thread and edging I wanted to use! I had tatted a sample for the hanky from Michelle, and I liked it, but not for that hanky.

The pattern is "Cottage Border" from A Pattern Book of Tatting by Mary Konior. The thread is Fincrochet No. 30. I hope I have enough!