January tatting

I decided to finish the month of January with another Spinning Wheel glass mat. This one is in size 20 Lizbeth, Salmon Med. #628.

This is the first time I've thought of showing everything I worked on in one month, probably because it's been sitting right next to me!

I made a new tatting friend today, Gina from Chile. She goes to church with a high school classmate of mine. Diane showed Gina a picture of my tatting, and Gina was interested in talking with me, especially when she learned my last name. You see, Gina's maiden name is Cademartori! Isn't it a small world? Anyway, we chatted on the phone for about 20 minutes, and I hope to get to meet her in person when school gets out. After all, she only lives an hour and a half away. Don't you just love the Internet?

Leafy Greens Spinning Wheel glass mat

Another Friday, another Spinning Wheel glass mat! This one is in size 20 Lizbeth, Leafy Greens.

I haven't gotten back to the Japanese pattern yet. I was just too tired to tat last night, and I'm thinking of going to bed early tonight. I guess the busy week at school caught up with me!

Tatting gone wrong

I've been wanting to tat something from this Japanese book, so last night I started design #7. The center didn't seem right to me, but looking at the diagram over and over again, I was sure I had tatted it correctly. Then I started the second round. My first mistake was that I should have used two Celtic shuttles instead of using a Clover and the ball thread. There's no way for me to intertwine the chains!

I think I'll set this book aside until school is out. It's going to take my complete concentration!

Spinning Wheel progress

I've been carrying my Leafy Greens Spinning Wheel glass mat around in my purse. I pull it out and tat whenever I have a few free minutes. It's amazing how much can be accomplished with a ring here and a chain there!

Another small doily

I started this simple doily yesterday. It was a really quick one to make.

The color shows up better on the white page. I do love Peacock Blues!

The pattern is #31 from A New Twist on Tatting by Catherine Austin.

Hanky!

I finished my hanky today!

It was really easy to keep track of where to join using safety pins. It took me 35 minutes to pin and attach each side... not bad!

The hanky is from Handy Hands. The thread is size 20 Lizbeth, Springtime #115.

The pattern is Handkerchief Edging No. 6 from The Craft of Tatting by Bessie M. Attenborough.

I single crocheted around the edge of the hanky. I attached the edging on the second round, which was single crochet through the back loop only.

I think it looks pretty on both sides!

Helping out

Since summer, Dave has been helping daughter Alison with some remodeling projects she's wanted done. Today he started on her downstairs bathroom and flooring in the hallway and laundry room. I say Dave is helping, because all I do is stand and watch!

Being gone all day didn't leave much time for tatting, but I did accomplish a little.

I managed to get a little further along with attaching the hanky edging. I haven't developed a rhythm for it yet, but I know that once I do it will be finished quickly!

My friend Carol told me about these little stitch marker safety pins. I can't remember where I purchased them, but I love them! These are what I used to hold my hanky edging in place. I'm only attaching one side at a time. I'm afraid they'd get all tangled if I pinned all the way around at once.

I have not tired of Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel glass mat. This is what I managed to tat on the ride to Alison's this morning. She lives an hour and a half away. Not bad for tatting in the car!

This one is Lizbeth #138, Leafy Greens. There was just enough left on the ball to fill the two shuttles. I don't finish off balls of thread very often, so this is truly a memorable piece! ;-)

Falling Leaves Spinning Wheel

I finished another Spinning Wheel glass mat today! This one is in size 20 Lizbeth, Falling Leaves, #100.

Time to get back to my hanky!

Crocheting on the edge

I've done a single crochet around the hanky, and now I'm crocheting in the back loop only and joining the tatted edging. It's slow going, but I do like the look!

Ready to attach!

I finished Edging No. 6 from The Craft of Tatting by Bessie M. Attenborough. Now all I have to do is attach it to the hanky!

Zippin' along!

I've been carrying my hanky edging with me and tatting every chance I get, and it's paying off!

Sunny and cold!

The Tollway Tatters managed to get together today, despite the bitter cold.

This is a really bad picture of daughter Alison, but it's the only one I took of her. She brought her knitting with her, and I am now the proud owner of a new dishcloth!

There were lots of projects going on. I started another Spinning Wheel glass mat today. This one is in size 20 Lizbeth, Falling Leaves, #100.

Marilee brought along lots of samples for upcoming classes she'll be teaching.

Marilee spent most of her time test-tatting a new patter for a class she'll be teaching this summer.

Sue Anna was test-tatting the same pattern for Marilee.

It was kind of fun to listen to the two of them talk about how to make the pattern read better.

Barbara was busy tatting a snowflake.

She's such a talented lady, and she's so much fun to talk to!

Marilee brought along some of her hand-dyed threads. There's nothing like shopping for beautiful HDT in person!

My main achievement today was finishing my Springtime Spinning Wheel glass mat. There was enough thread left on one shuttle to tat a little bookmark. The pattern is Leaf Braid from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior.

It was a very productive day!

Chillin'

It's pretty cold here today, so I just sat around and tatted after doing a little more organizing in my sewing room.

I have almost half of the hanky edging tatted. It's amazing how quickly this seems to go after tatting a gigantic doily!

And yes, I did start another Spinning Wheel glass mat. I think I should have one to match every hanky that I edge with tatting, don't you?

Handkerchief edging No. 6

I've been wanting to tat a hanky edging, and as I was working in my sewing room today I found this ball of Lizbeth Springtime, #115. I prefer using a finer thread for hanky edgings, but this color was really calling to me. The pattern is from The Craft of Tatting by Bessie M. Attenborough.

So far, this pattern is a breeze! Of course, almost any pattern is a breeze after spending a year on one doily!

Peacock Blues Spinning Wheel

I finished this at the end of 4th grade library class today. I was able to show the kids how to switch from rings to chains, joining, finish off, and hiding the ends. I love demonstrating for the kids!

Tollway Tatters!

The Tollway Tatters will be meeting on Monday, January 18. It's been a while since we've all been able to get together, and I'm really looking forward to it!

If you're in the Chicago area and would like to join us, we meet at 10:00 a.m. at the Hinsdale Oasis. You can tell us by our tie-dyed t-shirts.

One of the little girls at school received a new mint green and gray coat for Christmas. She asked me to make her a scarf, so here it is. The colors don't show up well on the monitor, but I think they're a good match for her coat.

I'm almost finished with my latest Spinning Wheel, right on track for finishing one by every Friday in 2016! Maybe I'll just shoot for every Friday in January. ;-)

Peacock Blues

Peacock Blues #149 is one of my favorite Lizbeth thread colors. I knew I would be showing the kids some tatting today, and this color just happened to be right in front of me when I went in to my sewing room.

The kids are fascinated by rings and chains, and the Spinning Wheel glass mat just seemed to fall off my shuttles!

The twins were four months old yesterday. They're still little, but they've grown so much!

Princess Sophia loves them!

Just a thought...

As I was finishing up my Sunkist Coral Spinning Wheel glass mat tonight, I had a thought... I still have time to tat another one by Friday. If I make it my goal to tat one Spinning Wheel by Friday of each week, I could have 52 Spinning Wheel glass mats by the end of the year! Sounds a little crazy, doesn't it?

Mom sent me this picture of Dad with his Sea Scout troop. Dad's the tall, skinny guy in the center of the back row. Mom thinks this picture was taken around 1962, when I was 10 years old. I remember going to the Sea Scout base with Dad. I also remember having a crush on a couple of those guys!

One time when we were at the base, my sister Janet and I went back down the gravel road to see the chickens. A rooster started chasing us, and we ran screaming back to Dad. Did I mention we were barefoot? Dad rescued us, of course, and that's the only time I remember being allowed to sit on the car!

While I love to eat eggs, I still don't care for chickens or roosters. I hope Dave doesn't decide he wants chickens next summer!

Lovin' the color!

I'm really not an orange person, but I do love this color! I can't believe that I'm already 2/3 finished with this Spinning Wheel!

It's like popcorn...

Really! Tatting the Spinning Wheel glass mat is just like eating popcorn... I just can't stop!

I started off the day with the idea that I was ready for a hanky edging. However, I couldn't find a straight edged hanky, which is what I want to use. Yes, I have plenty, but I haven't found where I stashed them. After about 5 minutes of looking, I decided I'd just start another Spinning Wheel.

This one is in size 20 Lizbeth #706, Sunkist Coral. It reminds me of orange sherbet!

The household reorganizing continues. We finished taking down and putting away the indoor decorations today. If the weather forecast holds, Dave might be able to put away the outdoor decorations by the end of the week. Honestly, I'd be happy with one tree and my nutcrackers, but Dave loves decorating for the kids, and he does a pretty good job of it.

We cleaned some clutter out of the basement today. It's amazing how much stuff can fit in a basement. I also spent some time working on my sewing room today. It's nowhere near being picture ready, and I know I was being optimistic thinking I'd have it organized in just a couple of weeks. Maybe a more realistic goal is spring break!

Ocean Turquoise Dk Spinning Wheel

It's too bad it's dark outside, because the beautiful color of this thread just doesn't show up well in this light. Despite falling asleep in my chair this evening, I did manage to finish my Spinning Wheel glass mat from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. I used size 20 Lizbeth, # 657, Ocean Turquoise Dk.

I think I'll search for my beads tomorrow so that I can join Jane's TIAS!

More than halfway

Despite the fact that school is back in session and we've been busy taking down Christmas decorations, I did manage to get a little tatting time in today. I'm past the halfway point on this Spinning Wheel glass mat. I do love the rhythm I get in to with this pattern!

Groovin'

Ah, yes! I feel like I'm back in the tatting groove! Not much to show for today, but it makes me happy!

The curse of the UFOs

I'm not sure if I put down Kencana because I realized I had made a mistake or if I made the mistake last night while trying to stay awake in my chair. At any rate, Kencana has been snipped from the shuttles and thrown in the trash. It just didn't seem worth my time to try and retro-tat to fix it.

To get myself back on track with my tatting, I did what Jane suspected I would do...

I started a Spinning Wheel glass mat in blue! This is my all-time-favorite pattern from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. I have no idea how many of these I've made over the years, but whenever I get in a tatting funk, this is my go-to pattern. It always gets me back on track! What's your go-to pattern?

In addition to unearthing a mountain of shuttles, I've stumbled upon a bit of thread. I'm a sucker for a good sale, and it seems that Hobby Lobby just rotates supplies to the clearance shelves once it's been on display for a designated period of time. How can any reasonable tatter turn down a price reduction such as this? So, how much thread have I uncovered in my sewing room? Enough to fill an 11" x 11" fabric cube! I shudder to think how much more there is stored in the upstairs closet!

I don't often recommend books, because I find that my taste in books tends to be a little different. However, I do like to read books that others recommend. A friend of mine put together a list of possible books for her book club. I don't attend, because it's too far away. When I saw her list, this title caught my eye. When I was younger, it was my dream to own my own book store. That was back in the day when there were little book stores all over, and there were very few large book stores. Anyway, I started reading it after school today. I've only read 15 pages, but the story line has caught my interest. Have you read any good books lately?

Another find

I'm making slow progress on my sewing room. I keep finding things, such as this snowflake. It took a bit of investigating, but I figured out that this is the beginning of Kencana from Elegant Tatting Gems by Jon Yusoff. It's hard to believe I had two snowflakes started from the same book. Since I'm not as far along with this snowflake, I'm hoping to find the rhythm of the pattern so that I can finish this one with no mistakes!

Sorry to disappoint you, Jane. Believe it or not, I was going to start the new year with a blue Spinning Wheel. Unfortunately, I haven't found my blue thread yet! ;-)