By request

 

I was asked to post a picture of one of my cowls being worn. It just so happened that I was wearing a sweater that goes well with the cowl!

Once again, I managed to tat more than one doodad ornament.

I'm using shuttles that I haven't seen in a while, which is great fun for me.

Today I cut batting and backing for my quilt squares. I could have started quilting today, but I chose to watch the Olympics instead. Tomorrow is another day!

Another busy day

Today was another day when I didn't expect to accomplish much. I'm pretty pleased with what I did finish. First, I finished off a cowl that I started recently. I don't think they look like much with the way I photograph them, but they sure do look pretty when they're put on!

While watching the Olympics after school, I tatted my doodad ornament of the day. 

My visit to the eye doctor this morning included having my eyes dilated. For some reason, that really wears me out. I think I'm done crafting for the day!

Beyond expectations

I really didn't think I'd accomplish much today, but I surprised myself!

I woke up early and managed to finish my Hidden Well squares before church. After church, I framed all of the blocks.

Where I really surprised myself, was in the number of doodad ornaments I tatted today.

I tatted two before our  Tollway Tatters meeting this afternoon. Nine were in attendance, which I think is a pretty good number for a Sunday afternoon.

During our meeting, I tatted two more doodad ornaments.

I left the meeting after two hours so that I could start a pot of soup for dinner.

After I put the soup together, I tatted a fifth doodad ornament. I think this might be a record for me!

 

Lots of pieces

 

I spent the whole morning working on quilt pieces. First, I sewed jelly roll strips together.

Then, I cut those strips into squares. Next, I sewed two squares together. After that I cut the squares diagonally tinto four triangles.

The next step was to open up those triangles and press them into squares. I'm not sure if I'll have time to sew tomorrow, so I'm happy that I was able to achieve so much today.

This afternoon I turned on the Olympics and tatted my doodad ornament of the day.

I also managed to tat another 2026 Christmas button ornament before dinner time. I think I might just sit and do nothing tonight!

Fun day

 

Today was a fun day for me. I finished the last of the Chapstick holders that I needed for the middle school students, and then at lunch time I passed them out. The kids were so excited!

I didn't do much when I got home. It's been a busy week, and I was tired when I got home. I did manage to tat a doodad ornament. Tomorrow will bring another adventure!

Double day

 

I started off the day with a set of five crocheted Chapstick holders.

Then I moved on to my doodad ornament of the day.

When I returned home from school, I decided to tat another doodad ornament.

Then I crocheted another set of Chapstick holders. I doubled my goal!

Too soon

My daughter went back to work too soon. She really needed another day of rest to get over this nasty bug that's going around. I knew that I would be subbing for her again today, so last night I went upstairs to get some more cotton yarn for dishcloths.

I found this dishcloth that was over halfway done, so I brought it downstairs and finished it while Dave and I watched t.v.

I also had time to work on some more Chapstick holders.

I woke up early this morning and actually had time to finish a doodad ornament before heading off to school.

I had a purple dishcloth half finished, and I was able to complete it this morning. I had just enough yarn left over for half a dishcloth, so I finished it off with yarn left over from last night's project. I feel like I'm starting to make a dent in my stash!

Tuesday progress

Boy, did I have fun today! I framed my quilt blocks. The frames are shades of grey, black, and white. My next step is to cut batting and backing squares. Then, I will be ready to quilt!

I'm making quite a dent in my supply of key rings, and my yarn stash is getting smaller. I have 75 Chapstick holders made. I want to make sure I have enough for all of the middle school students who want one. I've already passed them out to high school students.

Another doodad ornament is finished. I didn't have enough thread on either of these shuttles to tat the ornament, but I was able to complete it using one as the shuttle thread and one as the ball thread. Part of the fun in this project is using shuttles that I haven't seen in a while. Luckily, Dave enjoys seeing me use my shuttles and he gets a kick out of seeing how many I have. I may have too many, but I'm not going to complain!

Sick day

There were eleven staff members out sick today in our little school district. That's a lot! My daughter was one of them, and I was called in to sub for her. I had a half finished dish cloth in my project bag. All of the students were on task and very well behaved, so I was able to sit and knit for most of the day. The result was two finished dish cloths.

I also finished another doodad ornament. I have a basket filled with partially filled shuttles from past projects, and I'm going to see how many of those shuttles I can use in February. I have a goal!

Productive day

 

Last night I crocheted five Chapstick holders while Dave and I watched t.v.

Today I was sorting through some of my craft supplies and found two bags of findings from when I was tatting with doodads. That was years ago! So, I think my goal for February will be to tat with findings that have been sitting in bags for way too long.

I also crocheted five more Chapstick holders today.

My big project of the day was finishing a stack of Hidden Wells quilt squares. Now I have to decide if I will sew the blocks directly to each other or frame them with solid strips. Right now I'm leaning toward framing them.

My last project of the day was to work some more on my red, white, and blue tree. There's not a whole lot more I can do until my patriotic pins arrive. For now, I'm happy to make a little progress each day!

Tollway Tatters

We had a great Tollway Tatters meeting today. I was only able to stay with the group for about an hour, but during that time there were ten of us sharing what we were working on.

I was able to tat one ornament during our meeting.

 Then, I tatted another after I left the meeting.

I'm happy to say that I completed my goal of tatting one ornament each day in January. I'm all set for my tatted Christmas presents next December!

I used a different tatting shuttle for each piece that I tatted during January for a total of 46 shuttles! I'm going to try and keep track of the number of shuttles I use during February. Since I'm not planning on tatting an ornament each day, I'm pretty sure the number will be smaller.

The high school play this year is Bandstand, the story of some G.I.s who form a band after World War II. I'm not familiar with the musical, but I'm definitely looking forward to it.

There's going to be a raffle the benefit Adopt A Soldier and Project Headspace. Daughter Carol asked if I would make a red, white, and blue tree for the raffle. I started on it today. This is the largest tree I've worked on so far, and it's going to take quite a bit of time. What I've done so far is about four hours worth of work... or should I say fun?

Sub day

I was called in to sub for part of the day today. Luckily, I still had some free time. 

So, I finished my ornament of the day. Only one day left of my self imposed ornament challenge!

My stash of Chapstick holders is still growing. I will probably start passing them out to the kids at school next week.

I'm trying to decide what my February challenge will be. I have all day tomorrow to think about it!

Another slow day

Maybe it's the cold weather, but I just didn't feel like doing much today.

Still, I managed to tat my ornament of the day.

I also crocheted five more Chapstick holders. Not bad for a day when I didn't feel like doing much!

Still at it

I'm still managing to tat an ornament each day in January... just a few more days to go!

The fabric I need for my pinwheel project isn't due to arrive until next week, and I'm still in the mood to sew. I searched YouTube and found instructions for Hidden Wells quilt-as-you-go blocks. I made several Hidden Wells quilts back in the '80s, and I loved the look. I had some jelly rolls from Temu and decided to do some experimenting. First I chose which four strips would go together. Then, I started stitching. I didn't have much time to sew today, but I am happy with what I was able to complete.

I'm still trying to use up small balls of yarn by crocheting Chapstick holders. I think I may run out of key rings before I run out of yarn!

I could have...

It was a slow crafting day for me. I did manage to finish my ornament of the day.

I also sewed my pinwheel blocks into four patch blocks today. I could have done so much more, but I let myself get distracted by YouTube videos, blog posts, and books sitting on my table.

Have I mentioned that retirement can be fun? 😁

 

E-learning

Today was another e-learning day because of the wind chills. Except for going to the grocery store, I stayed inside where it was nice and warm.

I finished my ornament of the day before breakfast. That doesn't happen very often.

Why five Chapstick holders were finished before Dave and I went grocery shopping.

The rest of my day was spent finishing up my pinwheel squares. It seems strange to me that I had one square left over. I'm pretty sure I'll find something to do with it. 

I have a couple of options for my next step. I guess I'll have to lay out the squares and make a decision, but that's a task for another day!