Lucky number 5

I have always liked the number 5. It is, without a doubt, my favorite number. Maybe that's because when I was a little girl, I discovered that each of my names had 5 letters... Diane Carol Green. I always felt that my parents planned it that way, but I could be wrong! ;-)

Yesterday, when my student tatters were here, I managed to finish my 5th motif on Round 9 of Renulek's Letnia. See... lucky number 5!

There were 8 students yesterday, and we had so much fun tatting and chatting, I forgot to take pictures! We didn't get a whole lot accomplished, but Kennedy, who just finished 1st grade learned the flip! She was quite pleased with herself. Older sister Dylan has been encouraging her to learn.

Janie returned  Tatting Collage and with her big, brown eyes opened wide, she told me the book was wonderful! John was too busy to watch the tatting video, and Paige was home sick, so I don't know what she thinks of the book she borrowed.

Celtic Tatting by Rozella Linden and Tatted Doilies by Iris Niebach were checked out yesterday. It will be interesting to see the kids' reactions to the intricate designs in these two books!

Yes!

I finally finished Round 8 of Renulek's Letnia.

I even managed to start Round 9!

One of the things I really like about Renulek's patterns is the way she breaks the elements down into sections. I also like her encouraging words! At the end of Round 8, I had some serious buckling issues. I'm not concerned, though. On Renulek's blog she states that Round 9 will straighten everything out, and I believe her!

The bag making continues. Lily chose this green silk, which is so much prettier in person.

Lily also chose this beautiful variegated blue, my favorite.

Eva chose the soft blue. The one in the middle is hers. I need to buy some more of this yarn to make the straps for the other two, add the button closure, and then they'll be ready for sale. They make great little bags for carrying cell phones and keys.

I finished weaving this piece last night. It will be a bag for me!

The summer fun with grandchildren has slowed down. I have dozens of pictures of their water balloon fight. I stayed safely on the porch!

Weaving with Grandma Green

All four of my daughters, and all five of my grandchildren were at my house yesterday. We had a great visit! The best part of the day was weaving with my mom. Weaving is mom's passion, and yes, she has me hooked!

While I was running errands, Ella convinced Grandma Green to weave a silk purse for her. When I returned home, I sewed it together and added the buttons that Ella chose.

Ella wore her new bag all day long!

Eva made barefoot sandals with her Rainbow Loom. Ella decided to join in the crafting fun and made a bracelet with yarn and buttons.

Once Mom starts weaving, she finds it difficult to stop. It's a good thing she chose this yarn, because she discovered that I had made several mistakes in warping the loom. She showed me how to correct my mistakes, and I now know what to do to fix my mistakes.

Eva fell in love with it, and now it has a new home!

I wanted to make a bag that everyone had taken part in weaving. I didn't get pictures of Mom or me weaving, but I think I managed to get everyone else, even daughter Carol who refuses to be drawn to "the dark side." I had everyone weave in age order so that I could easily remember who wove each section. Everyone chose yarn from my stash and wove an inch or two.

Alison

Andrea

Carol

Joanne

Eva

Aidan

Lily

Ella

Sophia

The Grandma Green Weavers

The final piece is a little too large for a bag, so I think I'll turn it in to a wall hanging instead. Mom's is the read at the top, and you can see the progression of colors. Aidan and Lily chose the same color, so we divided their weaving with two rows of lime green... very cool!

Lily and Eva chose colors for two more bags, so I guess we'll be setting up the loom again after breakfast. Then, this afternoon... tatting!

Summer tatting

Summer tatting, had me a blast!
Summer tatting, had a small class.
Had two girls tatting with me,
And one boy, total of three.
Summer fun, something's begun,
Oh, oh, oh, oh my tatting class!

Yes, we were small in number this week, but that's because we had some pretty tough competition: church camp, volleyball camp, and Broadway Boot Camp. However, I'm expecting a bigger crowd next week. The three who attended discovered our play house with a tube slide, and when their parents arrived, they were allowed to play in it. I'm sure the news will spread quickly!

Paige has designed a bracelet pattern. She finished a black and white bracelet after I took this picture, and then started another. She really goes to town!

A few weeks ago, Miranda suggested I start a tatting shelf for the kids... great idea! Why didn't I think of that? On Tuesday, a box arrived from Handy Hands with some goodies for the kids.

Paige chose to borrow Mastering Tatting.

Janie borrowed Tatting Collage.

John borrowed a tatting video donated by my mom.

Miranda also sent Easy Tatting and Festive Snowflakes & Ornaments. The kids had a tough time deciding what they wanted to borrow! Thank you, Miranda!

Mom donated these books and video. Thank you, Mom! The kids are really appreciative!

On Tuesday, Mom and I finished the bags that we wove on Monday. The one on the top left is silk, and it's for my sister Janet. It's large enough for a Kindle or an iPad Mini. The next two on the top are for the daughters of a friend. The one on the bottom right was woven by daughter Joanne. The other two will be for sale. Except for the one made for my sister, the others are made to hold a cell phone, keys, and a small wallet.

I'm looking into ideas for selling items when I retire. I'm guessing I'll need a little extra income. Etsy and eBay seem like an awful lot of work! I know that some have been selling through Facebook, but that seems like a lot of work also. I've been looking in to ShopLocket, which seems a little easier and less expensive. If any of you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to know about them!

So, what have you been up to?

Not much, at least not much tatting!

As you can see, I've made very little progress on my doily, but at least I'm more than half way around!

Why the slow progress? Well...

Tuesday was the last day of school, and The Soup Club member celebrated Judy's and my birthdays (June 6 for Judy, June 16 for me).

Edna decorated her car, and

despite torrential rain showers, we mad it to a new Japanese steak house and had a wonderful meal. I'd never been to a Japanese steak house before. It was great fun, and I hope to go again!

Wednesday, I spent nine hours working on my sewing room. Yes, I made progress, but it's still not picture-worthy. I promise, when it's all put together, I'll show it off.

Thursday, was spent taking a friend to the doctor and shopping for blinging supplies. The kids have asked for more blinged shuttles, and I'm determined to give them what they want!

Friday was laundry and cleaning day. Does it ever stop?

Saturday, daughter Joanne and granddaughter Sophia flew in from Minnesota... no time for tatting with a 14-month-old occupying my time!

Sunday, Mom arrived... party time! My sister Janet brought Mom down, and we had a wonderful time visiting and eating pizza. Hmmm... somehow, there was no tatting time.

Monday... Mom gave me personalized instruction on my new Saori loom. It's a good thing. You wouldn't believe the number of mistakes I was making. With my new-found knowledge, I managed to weave fabric and sew a little bag for Sophia.

I love the way it turned out! Joanne chose the buttons. The warp is black cotton, and the weft is Hint of Silk from Hobby Lobby. I love the feel of the fabric, and...

I think Sophia really likes her new bag!

Did I mention that today is my 62nd birthday? Mom took us all out to dinner. It was delicious! Now I have to get back on the straight and narrow... I've gained five pounds since school got out... yikes!

Oh, and in case you didn't know, this is my seven year blogaversary! It's true... I started this blog on my 55th birthday, and it was one of the best things I've ever done! I've made new tatting friends around the world. I've been inspired to learn new tatting techniques and try new patterns. I've also been enabled by a few tatters, who shall remain nameless (you know who you are!), in my efforts to collect more shuttles, thread, and patterns than any individual could possibly use in a lifetime.

It's been a great seven years? What do you think... should I go for seven more? ;-)

Two sides

While I don't care for Boye shuttles as they come out of the package, I do like them once I've altered and blinged them!

Summer tatting classes begin June 18, and I promised the kids I would decorate more shuttles. With Dave's help, I started this weekend. I snipped. He sanded. I blinged. We work well together!

I used the same napkin or tissue paper for both sides of each shuttle, but as you can see...

the two sides are different. I love the way these turned out! I think the kids will like them too!

I'm making slow progress on Renulek's Letnia, but I am making progress!

We have meetings today, and the last day with students tomorrow. After that, let the summer fun begin!

Good things come in little packages!

I admit it... I'm addicted to collecting tatting shuttles. I even belong to the Tatting Shuttle Addicts group on Facebook, where I arranged a swap with Suzie.

Isn't this little woven pouch adorable?

Look at all the goodies that fit inside! I didn't know the plastic rings were available in colors, and I love the tiny scissors! Tatting thread and two beautiful shuttles finished out the package. I am one lucky tatter!

Suzie's daughter decorated the shuttle. I think it's amazing!

Thank you, Suzie! I hope your package arrives soon, and I hope you like your goodies as much as I like mine!

New love

Yes, I have a new love... my Saori loom! Mom has been weaving on a Saori loom for several months, and I loved everything she wove. A few weeks ago, an early birthday present arrived... my very own loom!

I've used a pin loom and a Cricket loom before, and years ago a tried a floor loom that belonged to a friend of mine. I do pretty well with a pin loom, and the Cricket loom is very portable. I felt like I was totally inept when I tried my friend's floor loom. This loom is different, and I don't know how to explain it. Maybe it's the philosophy behind it... there are no mistakes when weaving on a Saori loom. I don't have to worry about whether I'm weaving correctly or not, because I am expressing myself.

It's taken me three full weeks, but I've finally finished my first piece!

No, it didn't take me three weeks to weave this. It took me three weeks to get up the courage to try on my own! Mom will be here to visit in a week, and I really thought I needed her looking over my shoulder to make sure I was weaving correctly.

I have the best Mom in the world! She has been encouraging me to be brave and enjoy my Saori loom since it arrived three weeks ago. It took me a week to put the loom together, because I was afraid I'd do something wrong. If I had been brave, I could have had it together in less than a half hour. The second week, I read about Saori, watched videos, and gathered yarns for weaving.

A week ago, I decided I was ready to weave, but I let all sorts of things keep me from starting. What a fool I've been! I had so much fun weaving yesterday.

Yes, I have a new love! Will it take the place of tatting? No, but I now have another fiber art that I truly enjoy. As much as I love tatting, there are times when I do have to stop. My wrist just gets tired. Just think... now I can create beautiful fabric that I might be able to embellish with tatting!

How do you store your tatting?

I have oodles of storage solutions, which all need to be organized... and they will be this summer. I'm determined! My sewing room has been a disaster for several years, but I've been inspired to clean it up because of my tatting students. I will be holding tatting lessons at my house this summer, and I want to be able to show the kids different ways to use tatting. To do that, I have to be able to find my supplies!

In the meantime, the kids have been showing me their storage solutions...

Peyton and Dylan have jewelry bags from Thirty-one that keep their supplies super organized.

Several of the girls received decorative boxes from their Girl Scout leaders... stars, hearts, and mini-suitcases.

It's so much fun seeing how these kids carry their tatting around!

I am so pleased that the kids keep practicing their tatting. I don't care how much thread they use. I don't care how long it takes them to complete something. Their enthusiasm is fantastic, and I know that as they perfect techniques, they will be inspired to learn more.

Picots are the rage right now, and "tie-dye" colors are the kids' favorite!

Madison designed this "diamond" ring, and the other girls have been tatting them like crazy! I was even given one, which I've been wearing proudly!

I'm going to miss taking pictures of all these tatting hands at my desk. Maybe I'll find a new spot to take pictures for the summer.

Kate turned one of her prizes into a necklace, using Lizbeth Twirlz for the chain.

Now that Carter has caught on to Fancy Pants, there's no stopping him! He loves making picots, and yesterday he asked me to show him how to tat rings.

Three first graders have joined the tatting frenzy. Jaden's cousin Tyler, Ava's cousin Madison, and Dominic's sister Paige are in third grade. These kids have wonderful, inspirational relatives! They've all asked if they can attend my tatting classes this summer... of course they may!