Heart's Desire #3

I just had to try one more time!

This time I joined the small free ring to the edge ring closest to it. Again, I should have blocked it, but even without blocking, I can see that the join works for me!

What a goofball!

The only thing wrong with yesterday's Heart's Desire by Susan K. Fuller was the blocking! I didn't check it when I put it on the scanner, but it looked fine when I unpinned it.

Today's version turned out a little better. I think I'll use a little Best Press on both of these, and they'll be just fine.

Love that Raspberry Frappe thread!

Oh, and Suztats...

check it out in blue!

Heart's Desire... sort of

I love this pattern by Susan K. Fuller!

Too bad I messed up! Why is it that we sometimes don't see our mistakes until it's way too late?

Still, I love the thread, size 40 Lizbeth, color #157, Raspberry Frappe. Maybe I'll get it right next time!

Tools, Totes, and Tatting

My new shuttle with matching crochet hook from Emsyjane arrived yesterday! I had written asking about a hook and shuttle combo a while back, and I was thrilled when Emma listed it in her shop. I did leave it there for at least a week. When no one else pounced, I knew the set was meant to be mine!

Denise and I were finally able to get together to exchange Christmas presents on Monday. Yes, Denise and I have new Origami pouches with matching shuttles. Denise's bag is the opposite of mine, with the holly on the outside and the poinsettias on the inside.

I love these little bags!

I started another edging tonight, this time in Lizbeth olive green #678. This one is size 20, so it's quite a bit larger. I do like this pattern!

I'm still working on my rib warmer. I'm about halfway finished with the first side. I did find my old rib warmer. It looks much smaller! I think I must have used sport weight yarn. I'm using worsted weight this time around. I may have been a bit ambitious thinking I could finish it by this weekend, but I'm still gonna try!

Perfect!

I finished my edging last night, and it is the perfect length!

My plan is to lay the tatting on top of the fabric. I know that the edging blends in with the fabric, but that's the look I want for this piece. I want a detail that isn't obvious. I want my friends to look at my purse and admire it, and then suddenly discover that there is tatting.

I have enough fabric to make another purse, and I think I'll make that one with a solid color so that the tatting is a bit more obvious.

All in all, I'm very pleased with what I've done so far. Now, where did I put those zippers?

Change of pace

It seems that winter could finally arrive this week, and I need to be prepared! This morning I decided to start Elizabeth Zimmerman's rib warmer from Knitting Workshop. I made one for myself about 20 years ago, but I can't find it anywhere. I may have given it to one of my daughters, or I may have put it someplace really safe. In any case, I felt the need to have a nice warm wool vest. Luckily, I have a great stash of wool. I'm almost halfway on the first side, so maybe I'll have it finished by next weekend. I hope so!

I'm lovin' it!

I'll take any little bit of tatting time I can get, especially when the results are as pretty as this!

As expected, school was a lot of fun today! Kids gave me hugs and told me how much they missed school. Remember, I work in an elementary school. Daughter Carol said the high school kids were not nearly as excited to be back!

Busy day!

Today was catch-up day... laundry, cooking, talking on the phone. : )

I did find time to do a very little bit of tatting. I'm very pleased with the way Yarnplayer's "Knitty Gritty" looks in this edging.

I also did a little cleaning in my sewing room. I worked a little on four origami bags that I intended to give as Christmas presents... maybe next year!

It's back to school tomorrow. It will be a fun day! All of the kids will want to talk about their vacations and what they received for Christmas. I hope I have some energy left for tatting tomorrow night!

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3...

When Dave and I were visiting Mom in L.A. (Lower Alabama), we visited one of my favorite stores, Richtex Fabrics. I love to look for tassels and fabric, tapestry and upholstery fabric to be precise.

Mom found this pretty remnant and shared it with me. I took the smaller piece, and I have enough for two small purses. Looking through my threads, I found that Yarnplayer's "Knitty Gritty" is the perfect match for the fabric.

I love tatting with hand-dyed thread, and I hate to waste any of it. So I decided to test-tat the pattern that I think I want to use as an embellishment. Isn't it pretty?

It's edging No. 509 from Tatting: Second Edition, Designs From Victorian Lace Craft edited by Jules & Kaethe Kliot.

I think I need to shorten the chain between the motifs for my purposes. If I have time to play tomorrow, I may give it a try.

Happy New Year!

The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is winding down. Our daughters and their families have all returned home safely. We spent a wonderful five days driving down to southern Alabama to visit my mom, arriving home late last night. Yes, we have Christmas decorations to put away, laundry to wash, and housework to finish, but today will be a day of rest.

I have been very neglectful of my tatting and blogging lately. I'm not going to stress out by trying to catch up on reading all that I've missed. Instead, I'll start fresh today!

When I went through the mail this morning, I found a beautiful Christmas card from our daughter Joanne's father-in-law in Slovakia. I'd like to pass on the blessing to all my wonderful friends...

In the daytime, if the sun shines, so shall your expectations come true.
At night when the moon comes out, so shall you receive blessings.
Then, if rain falls, so shall it carry all your problems away from you!

Happy New Year, dear friends!