Tollway Tatters

 

We had a wonderful Tollway Tatters meeting yesterday, with tatters from Canada, New York, Virginia, California, Michigan, and Illinois. I am so grateful to my friend Sue who coordinates our monthly Zoom meetings. Without her, our group would have fizzled out with the pandemic. When Sue Anna and I started the group way back in 2011, neither one of us imagined that we would connect with tatters from so far away on a regular basis. While nothing compares to meeting in person, this is the next best thing!

While chatting, I managed to finish the first round of my Concentric Rectangles doily. During the meeting, we were talking about Rita Richmond's newest shuttles (Shuttle by Design). Our conversation reminded me that I hadn't checked the mail in a couple of days. So, after lunch I did a mail check and there were my beautiful new shuttles!

Middle school students will be performing Alice in Wonderland in two weeks, and there will be a raffle fundraiser. The raffles have been great fun, and they've raised much needed funds for the drama club. My bejeweled trees seem to be well received, so this one will be my contribution to the raffle.

Now I need to decide what to make for Mean Green Goes Pink night!

S-l-o-w progress

I managed very little tatting yesterday. All I can say is the day got away from me. Dave is doing some tile work in our new room addition, and we spent the morning and part of the afternoon coming up with a solution. The problem? We made all of our calculations based on the tile size shown on the box. The tiles are not quite as big as indicated on the box. The backing wall was already in place, and we needed one inch of tile along the bottom to make everything fit.

Where could we find one inch strips of porcelain tile? Nowhere! Dave had already tried cutting strips from the large tiles, and they never came out right. After several hours of looking on line and going to stores searching for something that would work, Dave decided to buy a new saw blade. Success!

Dave was able to actually get started on the wall around 2:30. He managed to get about 3 hours of work in before calling it a day.

The room addition has been a dream of mine for many years. It may seem foolish at our age, but we had saved up the money for it and the timing seemed right for us. The whole process started in January. The most time consuming part was waiting for the architect to draw up the plans, and then we had to wait for the permit from the county. Foundation work started the first week in August, and the actual building started the last Monday in August.

The end is getting close. We're hoping the work will be finished by the end of October, and then we can have the family gathering we've been wishing for in the upcoming holiday season!

Wrong turn

 

Well, I did it again! I turned the corner on my Concentric rectangles doily with supreme confidence. In other words, I just kept tatting without looking at the pattern.

Guess what? I goofed! I skipped one section of chain, a mere 4 ds, but it was enough to mess up the pattern. I didn't notice my mistake until I finished the first clover leaf on the side. Rather than frustrate myself further, I put my tatting down and went to bed. 

First thing this morning, I took out the three rings and fixed my mistake. I'm ready to move on!

Back to tatting

 

Yes, I'm still knitting on my Bramwell shawl, but I really had the itch to get back into tatting. My sister Janet requested a Concentric Rectangles doily in white, off-white, or ecru. I prefer making this doily in multiple colors, but I'm happy to make this one for my sister.

Thank you to my friend Shelley Perreault for my beautiful new shuttles! These are what I will be using for this doily.

Keeping up with the tatting theme, I finished up another Curds & Whey bookmark (pattern from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konnor). I only had one pattern repeat left to tat, so I'm not sure why I let this one sit so long.

I'm slowly re-building my supply of tatted bookmarks. For a while, I had so many on hand that I stopped making bookmarks. When I realized I only had two left, I decided to stick with this pattern until I have two dozen on hand. I'm up to 17 already! 

One can never have too many bookmarks!

Chart 3

 

I finished chart 3 of my Bramwell shawl last night. I had plenty of time to knit over the weekend. I made very few mistakes, and they were easily corrected. 

It's nice and cool this morning, so I think I'll get a little more knitting in before heading off to school!

So many mistakes

I finally finished chart 2 of my Bramwell shawl. There are nine repeats of this chart, and I did just fine with the first eight. However, I put it down for a couple of months, and I think I spend as much time knitting the ninth repeat as I did the first eight!

I'm short one stitch, but I think I see where I missed one. I will make the adjustment when I reach that spot. On the chart 3!

Bits of lace

I haven't decided what I want to tat next, so I've been using up thread left on shuttles to tat bits of Mary Konior's Curds & Whey from Tatting with Visual Patterns. This is a great carry along pattern for me. All I need is a shuttle wound with thread, and little bits of time. These two pieces aren't long enough for bookmarks, but I'm sure I'll find some use for them.

Yesterday was cool and sunny, which put me in the mood to pick up my knitting. This is the Bramwell shawl pattern that I started back in June. I love the yarn, a silk/alpaca blend from Blue Sky Alpaca. I'm on the last pattern repeat of chart #2.

Yes, we have some warmer weather headed our way at the end of the week. However, with overall cooler temperatures coming soon, I anticipate many happy hours of knitting!

Where did the week go?

I really can't believe how quickly this past week went by. I did get a little done this week. I just forgot to post about it. One more dishcloth has been added to my stash, as well as a pretty blue bookmark.

I also finished a yellow bookmark. That, however, was all I managed to accomplish.

My sister and her husband came down this afternoon, and we planted a pagoda dogwood in memory of their son Andrew who passed away in April. They only expect to live in their house for another two or three years, and they wanted a place where the tree could thrive. I'm honored that they asked us if they could plant the tree on our farm. We found the perfect place in our side yard. The tree can be seen from the front porch, the side porch, and the fire pit. We've also been thinking of putting a seating area in the side yard. I'm sure that my sister will enjoy tending to the tree when she comes to visit.

Enjoying the weekend

The weather was glorious here this weekend, perfect for sitting on the porch and visiting with family. My brother arrived a week ago, following his fishing trip in northern Minnesota. He's heading off to central Kentucky today. He is certainly enjoying retirement!

My sister came down on Thursday, and stayed until late Saturday afternoon. Dave puttered around in the yard all weekend, while the rest of us were just plain lazy!

My brother asked me to mend his favorite pair of fishing pants. They're his favorite because they dry so quickly. The stitching was coming out of the pocket top, and he wanted it reinforced with a strip of denim. I'm not very adept at mending, but this fix worked out pretty well and David was happy with the end result.

It took me all weekend to crochet one hedgehog, but that's okay. For me, this weekend was all about relaxing and enjoying time with Dave, my mom, my brother, and my sister!

 

Lost and found

 

My craftiness slowed down this week due to the fact that I lost my crochet hook. Wouldn't you know, with all the crochet hooks in my house, I only had one of the size needed for my fidget hedgehogs.

After searching on and off for two days, I ordered a new hook from Amazon. Right after I opened the package, I found the missing crochet hook! Isn't that the way it always goes?

Getting back to normal

We had an exciting weekend here on the farm. We hosted our step-granddaughter's wedding. Everyone had a fantastic time, but setting up and cleaning up for a wedding with 260 guests is quite tiring. By 3:00 Sunday afternoon, no one would have known that a wedding had taken place here the day before. Many hands make light the work!

Needless to say, it took me a couple of days to recover. My mind says that I can do things that my body disagrees with!

Part of my recovery process was to choose a new tatting project, a Curds & Whey bookmark, and catch up on YouTube videos that I enjoy. 

One of my favorites is Fruity Knitting, and I was thrilled that this week's episode #157 included tatting! Madeleine married recently, and she learned to tat so that she could add a bit of lace to her wedding dress. She learned to tat by watching a class on Craftsy hosted by my dear friend Marilee Rockley! I was so excited, I messaged Marilee right away. 

I've been a fan of Marilee's hand-dyed threads ever since I discovered her when I started blogging years ago. My daughter Alison and I even drove to Wisconsin to meet her at a craft show. I felt a bit like a stalker, but I had to meet the lovely lady who provided me with so many gorgeous threads.We attended Palmetto Tat Days together one year with our friend Sue Anna, and we get to see each other on our Tollway Tatters meetings.

In other news, construction on our new room addition is well underway. This is something I have dreamed of for years. We finally had the money saved up to move forward, and we started the process in January. We're hoping the room will be done by the end of October, which is possible if the weather holds out. 

Life is good!

Slow craft day

 

There wasn't much time for crafting today, but I did manage to finish one dishcloth and one hedgehog. I guess I can only really claim the hedgehog for today, because the dishcloth was nearly finished. Still, that's two more completed projects.

There will be very little crafting over the next few days, if any. Why? We're having a wedding here this weekend!

Today we set up the chairs,

the dance floor,

the tents,

and we hung lights. There will be so much more to do tomorrow. The rehearsal will be tomorrow evening, and the wedding will be late afternoon Saturday.

It's going to be a busy weekend!

More, more, more!

I can't help myself!

With so many pony beads and so much acrylic yarn on hand, it's easy to keep crocheting fidget hedgehogs.

They're so much fun to make!

 

More hedgehogs!

School has started, and I am in the mood to make gifts for kids. Right now I'm in hedgehog mode. I know I'll be making gnomes at some point, but my gnome supplies are all packed away, so hedgehogs win!

 

Hot and humid

It was too hot and humid to do much of anything yesterday. I did shampoo porch cushions early in the morning, but I was done working outside by 7:30.

Before church, I started a hedgehog. It's been a few months since I've made one, and it was like I was making one for the first time. I can't believe how much I'd forgotten!

I finished him after lunch, and decided that I'd better make another one quickly while my mistakes were still fresh in my mind.

This one was completed with much less stress!

I have several shuttles with bits of thread left on them, so I spent the evening working on another Curds & Whey bookmark from Mary Konior's Tatting with Visual Patterns. The thread is size 20 Lizbeth #710 Bright Blue Lt. 

I think I have enough of this left to tat two more bookmarks. We'll see how that goes!

Curds & Whey

 

Ever since I figured out how to tat Mary Konior's Curds & Whey from Tatting with Visual Patterns, it has been a favorite for using up thread on a shuttle. 

This was all I had left of my hand-dyed Peach Pandorea from LadyShuttleMaker. It's a little shorter than I like my bookmarks, but it will be perfect for someone!

Another hat

 

I didn't intend to crochet another hat, but I wanted to see if using the same pattern and going up one hook size would make a hat that fit me well. 

Success! This hat fits me perfectly. Now I need to find the perfect pom pom to give it a feminine touch. 

Next up... finish the bookmark I started tatting the other day!

Hat time

 

After finishing my Clematis1 doily, I went back to working on an afghan I started last spring. It's a stitch sampler afghan, and the stitch I chose to use was too tight. So, I ripped out the section I had finished and decided to work on something different.

It's been a while since I've crocheted a hat. I thought that I might get on a roll making hats, but I don't feel inspired to keep going. So, I'm moving on to a new project!

Finished!

 

I just finished Renulek's Clematis1, and I'm thrilled with the way it turned out!

As I feared, I did not have enough of Sunshine from Snapdragon Lace to complete the last round. I did find a skein of Pear Glacé from LadyShuttleMaker, which is a very close match. If you look really closely, you will see that four of the pattern repeats do not have the touch of orange. However, I don't think too many people will look that closely.

The colors used for this: a partial ball of size 20 Lizbeth #628 Salmon Med, 1 skein Peach Pandorea hand-dyed thread from LadyShuttleMaker, 1 skein Sunshine from Snapdragon Lace, and a partial skein of Pearl Glacé from LadyShuttleMaker. The finished size is 13" diameter.

I haven't decided what my next tatting project will be. My sister has asked for a Concentric Rectangles doily. She'd like it in either white or ecru. I'm not sure that I'm ready to work on an all white project right now. Maybe it's time to make some more bookmarks!

Round 9

 

Round 9 went very quickly, probably because the rings were much smaller than in the previous round. I sure hope I have enough of Sunshine from Snapdragon Lace for the final round!

Round 8

 

Round 8 of Renulek's Clematis1 was very simple. It was perfect for pick-up tatting over a busy weekend. I really like the color I used for this round, size 20 Sunshine from Snapdragon Lace.

I only have two rounds to go!

Round 7

 

It took me quite a while to finish round 7 of Renulek's Clematis1, mainly because I was concentrating on finishing the Pizza Rat bag. I'm quite happy with the way this is looking. 

The Drama Club summer production is this weekend, so I really don't see myself getting much more done before Monday. Still, I never know what I'll be inspired to do!

Pizza Rat bag

 

My former boss asked if I would crochet this Pizza Rat bag for a friend of hers. Almost always up for a challenge, I said yes. 

It's crocheted with worsted weight yarn and a 2.5 mm hook, would it was very hard on my wrist and hands. It took me three and a half weeks to make, mainly because of the small hook size. The instructions were very clear, so following the patterns was not at all difficult.

If I'm ever asked to crochet this pattern again, the answer will be NO!

Tree time

 

I needed a break from tatting, knitting, and crocheting, so moved myself back into tree mode.

The school drama club is performing this weekend, August 2 & 3, and they're going to have a raffle table to raise funds for future performances. I had such a positive response to my bejeweled trees at the last raffle, that I decided to give it another try. 

Daughter Carol likes it, and that's all that matters to me!

Round 6

It took me all day to tat this round, so I don't think I'll be finishing a round each day any longer. 

I don't have enough of the Peach Pandorea hand-dyed thread for another round, so I'm thinking of switching to Sunshine from Snapdragon Lace, another hand-dyed thread that has been in my stash for quite a while.

I'll tat one more round in size 20 Lizbeth #628 Salmon Med before making my decision. 

The high school drama club has their performance in a week, and I've been asked to help with dress rehearsal this weekend. I'm guessing there won't be much time for tatting!

And then there were five!

 

I didn't feel like doing much with the heat and humidity yesterday. I did do a little bit of house maintenance, but most of my time was spent reading and tatting. I pretty much plan to have the same kind of day today!

4 rounds!

 

I spent a lot of time tatting both yesterday and today, which means four completed rounds! I really am enjoying tatting Renulek's Clematis1. We're expecting extreme heat tomorrow, so maybe I'll get some more tatting time in... or Dave might help me with housework!

Busy weekend

 

I thought about starting another hanky edging, but instead I chose to start a new doily. This is Clematis1 from Renulek. I've chosen two colors to work with, of course hoping that I have enough of each! 

I started with size 20 Lizbeth #628 Salmon Med.

Alternating rounds will be done in size 20 hand-dyed thread from Lady Shuttlemaker, size 20 Hakelgarn Peach Pandorea.

A couple of weeks ago, I started knitting the Bramwell shawl. 

I'm on a quest to use craft materials that I have on hand, because I have way too much. Honestly, I could open a small shop if I lived in a tourist area where visitors look for unique items and are willing to pay premium prices. However, I live in a small farming community. Therefore, I will use up my materials to the best of my ability and enjoy working with my treasures!

Finished!

 

I'm happy that I finished my hanky edging. The corners didn't quite turn out the way I imagined, but I think the bride-to-be will like it as it is.

On to my next project!