End of the school year

The school year is winding down, and I am always amazed at how much there is to be done as we approach the last day, May 29.

My sister, her daughter-in-law, and granddaughter came down this weekend and we went plant shopping with Mom and daughter Carol. It was a fun filled day, but all the activity wore me out.

My sister requested a doily and chose Anastasia from Bonded with Tatting by Laura Bziukiewicz. Janet requested black, but I wasn't sure about an all black doily. I tatted the first three rounds in both black and white to see which Janet preferred. She liked them both! She liked these two pieces as they are, so she took them home with her. She plans on framing them. After I finish Renulek's Spring Doily 2025, I will tat the full doily in both black and white for Janet. The shuttle is from Grizzly Mountain Arts. 

As for my progress with Renulek's Spring Doily 2025, let's just say it's been very slow tatting. I'm not having any trouble at all with this round. I just haven't spent much time tatting for the past few weeks. Still, my goal is to finish by the end of the month, which I think I can do. Have you been setting tatting goals for yourself?

Purple tree

 

My friend Jill tried very hard to win my purple tree at the high school drama club performance in March. She did not win, and I promised her I would make another purple tree.

I think this one is so much prettier than the first one. This one's for Jill!

Starting round 17

 

I started round 17 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025 yesterday. This round is in size 20 Lizbeth #710 Bright Blue Lt, a nice soft color. I really have no idea how long it took to finish the first pattern repeat. It may take me longer than a week to tat this round, but sometimes I get motivated to work for a long time. I guess we'll see how it goes!

Round 16

 

It's taken me longer than expected, but today I finished round 16 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. I think it's absolutely gorgeous!

Andrew

 

I've done a little tatting here and there since my last post, but not much. My heart hasn't been in it. 

My nephew Andrew passed away last Thursday, April 24. He and his brother Erich were each three months older than my younger daughters, Joanne and Carol. My sister's boys and my girls were very close growing up. Our sorrow is as deep as our love for Andrew. Rest in peace, dear nephew.

Round 15

 

I just finished round 15 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. Round 16 will join the feathery looking elements so that they stay in place nicely. I used size 20 Lizbeth #187 Green Ice for this round.

I'm eager to get started on round 16, but we've had a death in the family, so I'm not sure how much time I'll have for tatting over the course of the next week. 

Two left

 

I tatted two pattern repeats today, which means I only have two left to finish round 15 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. I have my colors chosen for the last three rounds. Dave asked me how long it will take to finish. I really don't know, but I'm hoping to finish before school gets out. I think I can do it!

Another halfway mark

 

I was able to tat another two pattern repeats on Renulek's Spring Doily 2025, which means I am halfway through the round. I feel like I'm on a roll!

Starting round 15

 

There was no school today, so I was able to get a good start on round 15 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. I'm back to using size 20 Lizbeth #187 Green Ice. I'm eager to finish this round, so that I can move on to round 16. The end is in sight!

Round 14

 

Last night I finished round 14 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025 just before heading off to bed. I love the way this is coming together!

Round 14 is in size 20 Lizbeth #712 Kelly Green Med. On to round 15!

Halfway

 

Dave and I spent the morning shopping for home improvement supplies, so I really didn't think I'd get much tatting done yesterday. I'm happy to say that I am halfway done with round 14 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025!

Today, I need to clean and shop to get ready for Easter company. There will only be seven of us, but I have pretty much neglected the housework lately so that I could work on the doily. I have my day planned out, and I think I can accomplish everything this morning. After that, I should have several hours for tatting!

Oops! I did it again!

I had time to complete two pattern repeats of round 14 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. I'm back to using size 20 Lizbeth #712 Kelly Green Med. 

Once again, I joined in the wrong place. Luckily, I noticed before I got too far. I'm pretty pleased to have two of the eight pattern repeats done. We have quite a bit going on this weekend, but I can't help but wonder if there might be some way to complete this round!

At last!

 

I finally finished round 13 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. It should have been done last week, but I made multiple joining mistakes in the last two pattern repeats. My patience was truly tested!

Because I was making so many mistakes, I took some time away from tatting to crochet a couple of turtles for some friends at school. These were so much fun to make!

My sister Janet took some of my stitch marker doodles home with her.

She's working on this very colorful tree, and the stitch marker doodles picked up the color in her tree topper.

I hope she brings the finished tree with her the next time she visits.

Janet finished her pearl tree when she was visiting this weekend. I think it's gorgeous!

Tatting woes

 

I was doing so well with round 13 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025, until today. I had a couple of days when I wasn't feeling the best, so I didn't work on the doily. Today I felt ready to proceed, and I did proceed with confidence... until I reached then end of the 7th pattern repeat. It just didn't line up. 

I kept looking to see what I had done wrong. It took me about five minutes to realize that I had joined to a chain instead of the base of the last floral motif. I could have cut the thread and re-tatted, but I didn't want to take the chance that I'd run out of thread. So, I spent four and a half hours un-tatting. It wasn't truly four and half hours. I did go out to pick up a prescription, and Mom and I stopped at the grocery store for a few items. Still, it was four and half hours from when I identified the problem to when I was satisfied that I had joined correctly.

I think I'll stop for today. I don't want to risk making another mistake!

My sister Janet is down visiting for the weekend. Recently, we had talked about adding tatting to our bejeweled trees. While I wasn't feeling up to following a pattern over the past couple of days, I did a little doodle tatting around knitting stitch markers.

The stitch markers are ones that Mom no longer wanted. I did find it very relaxing to add tatting to them without following a pattern. I have several balls of thread with just a small amount left, so I'm just going to keep on doodling!

5th repeat

 

Despite having multiple errands to run today, as well as supervising lunches at school, I found the time to complete the 5th pattern repeat on round 13 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025.

Tomorrow looks like it will be another busy day, but I'm going to do my best to finish another repeat!

Half way around

 

It has taken a while, but I've finally reached the halfway point of round 13. I think it's look great, and if I took two hours a day to work on my doily, I could have had this round finished in just eight days. All it takes is focus!

Granny stitch

 

I really thought I'd get around to tatting today, but it wasn't to be. We had quite a few chores to do around the house, and it was just easier to pick up my crocheting and work a granny stitch section in green on my newest afghan when I felt like taking a break.

Maybe I'll have time to tat tomorrow!

Starting another

 

I was still in the mood to crochet today, so I started another afghan. I'm using Inger Soto's 12 Step Sampler Blanket for inspiration, however I am not following the row by row pattern. Instead, I'm using the stitch patterns that appeal to me and working the pattern for one skein of yarn. Some stripes will be smaller as I'm using some partial skeins of yarn.

The blue stripe is half-double crocet. The light grey stripe is Sand Stitch. The red stripe is Cross Stitch. 

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, but I'm hoping to get some time to tat!

Finished!

 

I just finished my scrappy afghan, and I love it! It's 50" wide and 70" long, much longer than needed for me. I'm 5' 4". Our school superintendent is retiring next year, and he's about 6' 4", so I'm thinking of saving it as a retirement present for him. However, I might change my mind!

Lots of crochet time

I've spent a lot of time crocheting for the past two days. I finished another cowl, which I have tucked away for next year.

Of course the leftovers went into my scrappy afghan. It's coming along nicely, with only 6" left to go. I think I'll achieve my goal of finishing the afghan this week!

Busy week

Even though this week was our Spring Break, it was not a time of fun and relaxation. Dave's car has been in and out of the shop for the past six weeks, so we decided it was time to get a new one. I had forgotten how time consuming car shopping can be! It took us a total of three days, but we now have a new, reliable vehicle.

I didn't get as much crafting time in as I had hoped to, but I still accomplished quite a bit. It took me all week to finish one more pattern repeat of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. Honestly, I put off tatting until today. It's just easier for me to take crocheting or knitting in the car, and we were in the car quite a bit this week.

I now have three more cowls in my stash. I'll be putting them away until the weather turns colder next fall.

My scrappy afghan is growing. I measured it last night and figured out that I only need 12 more inches. The three skeins in the lower part of the picture will be used for my next three cowls, and the leftovers from those cowls will be added to the afghan. I think I'll be concentrating on crocheting for the next week. I'd really like to finish this afghan before the weather turns nice and warm.

We'll see what the coming week brings!

Weekend projects

 

A friend of mine bought a couple of Woobles kits so that she could learn to crochet. She decided that crochet wasn't for her, at least not by making toys, and she asked if I would make up the two turtles for her daughters. They didn't take long to make, and they are pretty cute.

I've started round 13 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. This round will take a while to complete. I figure it took a little over two hours for me to tat one pattern repeat. I'm using Lizbeth #615 Yellow Lt.

My sister came down to visit this weekend, and we decided to work on Spring trees. I forgot to take a picture of Janet's progress, but I did take a short video of the tree I completed before attaching it to a base. This one will go to my friend Rhiannon.

I feel like I've accomplished a lot this weekend, and I'm ready to get back to crafting!

Round 12

 

I am very pleased with the way round 12 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025 looks. I used size 20 Lizbeth #712 Kelly Green Med.

The doily looks great as it is, but I'm eager to get started with round 13. My color has been chosen, and my shuttles have been wound. It's time to get started!

Round 11

 

I can hardly believe that I finished round 11 in two days! I used size 20 Lizbeth #677 Lime Green Med. 

I really like the way the colors and pattern work together to show eight distinct sides. 

On to round 12!

Round 10

 

I finished round 10 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025 last night just before bedtime. I think it would be beautiful if I stopped right here, but I'm eager to work on round 11.

Round 10 is in size 20 Lizbeth #704 Sky Blue Med. Can you guess which color I'll use next?

Round 9

 

This afternoon I was able to complete round 9 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. I love the way this is coming together! Round 9 is in size 20 Lizbeth #710 Bright Blue Lt. 

My finger is pretty well healed and the high school play is over, so I think I might be able to carve out a little more tatting time. The weather is warming up, and Dave has started working in the yard. That's a blessing and a curse. He always does a wonderful job with the yard and the different gardens, but he seems to need my opinion when I'm in the middle of something! I really don't mind stopping what I'm doing, After all, we all get to enjoy the fruits of his labor!

Two more

 

Today I tatted two more pattern repeats of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. I'm guessing that it takes me a little over an hour to tat one pattern repeat.

I'm going to try my best to finish this round by the end of the weekend. That may be difficult, because this weekend is the high school drama club production of Crazy for You. It should be fun!

Starting round 9

 

Today I started round 9 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025 in size 20 Lizbeth #710 Bright Blue Lt. This round is going to be easy!

Round 8

The last few days have been unexpectedly busy, so I really didn't think I'd find enough time to finish round 8 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. I did have to pay close attention to the pattern, but I mad it through with no blunders. On to round 9!

Awkward

 

Crafting has been a bit awkward since I sliced my finger the other day. I decided to attempt crochet first, figuring that working with a thicker fiber would be easier. Luckily, I only had a couple of rounds left to do on the top cowl. I found that if I moved the yarn closer to my hand, I was able to crochet. It took a bit of time to figure out how to adjust my tension, but I did it!

I supped Tuesday and Wednesday, so I worked on these two cowls and managed to finish them both.

This morning I decided it was time to test out tatting, and I think I did pretty well. It did take more time to finish a pattern repeat, but I wasn't deterred by how long it took. I'm actually quite pleased!

It seems that typing is my biggest challenge right now. I'm a touch typist, and I find that I'm making tons of mistakes. It's driving me a little crazy!

 

Round 8 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025 is coming along nicely. I'm really glad I chose blue for this round.

I may be out of commission for a few days. I used a new bread knife while preparing dinner tonight. I can verify that it is the sharpest knife I've ever owned. Typing this post is a challenge, so I'm guessing that crafting will be even more challenging. I guess I'll see what tomorrow brings!

Losing track of time

Well, I did it again. I lost track of time and missed our Tollway Tatters meeting. I simply forgot that this week was the last Saturday of the month. I'll try to do better next month.

I'm still working with the Drapey Cowl pattern. I'm sure I'll lose interest as the weather gets warmer, but for now I'm still going strong.

I have to pay close attention to round 8 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. I finished one pattern repeat yesterday and one today. This is not a round that is easy for me to remember!

Starting round 8

 

I finished the first pattern repeat of round 8, Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. For this round, I'm using size 20 Lizbeth #704 Sky Blue Med. 

I really don't know how long it took to tat one repeat. I started in the morning, worked a little more in the early afternoon, and finished in the late afternoon. I'm not sure I want to know how long it took!

Back in the swing of things

 

It did me a world of good to take a break from crafting. I'm no back to doing the things I enjoy, but at a much slower pace. I started a new cowl several days ago. I've been very careful to not work for too long.

I finished round 7 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. I really like the way the colors are coming together.

Most of my time has been spent embellishing costumes for the upcoming high school musical, Crazy for You. Daughter Carol bought the dresses and boas. I attached the boas to the dresses after adjusting the straps to fit each of the girls. Working on costumes is not my favorite thing to do, but I am happy to help where I can when it comes to the Drama Club!

Another tree

 

Yesterday, daughter Carol and I shopped for supplies to embellish dresses for the play. Shopping isn't hard, but it sure wears me out!

This afternoon I worked on another bejeweled tree. I haven't decided for sure yet, but I think I'll be donating this one for the raffle as well. I may even make a third one!

Bejeweled

 

As expected, I had no time for crafting yesterday. Lucky me, today I did! There was a half day of school for students, and since there was no lunch served I had the day off.

The high school musical, Crazy for You, is in three weeks. There will be a raffle to benefit a sophomore boy who is being treated for abdominal sarcoma. I've chosen to donate a bejeweled tree to the raffle, and since it's almost Spring, I decided to go with a Spring theme.

Weather permitting, I'll be helping daughter Carol with costume alterations tomorrow. Tonight, I think I'll just relax!

Starting round 7

 

We had an e-learning day for school today, which meant no work for me. So, I spent a good portion of the day tatting. #677 Lime Green Med was my choice for round 7, and I really like the look.

I'll be back at school tomorrow, and I have a doctor's appointment in the morning. I really don't expect to have much time for crafting. It's a good thing I had time today!