Keeping up

 

Today I managed to keep up my current pace of five Chapstick holders...

and another ornament. I don't think I'll be able to keep up the pace tomorrow. I have too much going on. However, I plan on making up for lost time this weekend!

Developing a pattern

 

I seem to be developing a pattern of crocheting five Chapstick holders and...

one tatted ornament a day. Not a bad pattern to my way of thinking!

Oops!

 

After I tatted my second ring on my ornament of the day, I realized that I hadn't tatted the chain as I have been. Oops! Rather than un-tatting, I just alternated chain designs. Although it doesn't match my other ornaments, it still counts!

I crocheted some more Chapstick covers during the football game last night. I'm slowing down. It now takes me about 20 minutes to finish one. It's a great way to use up small bits of yarn, and they are a big hit with both kids and adults!

Jam packed

My day has been jam packed with activity! I addition to attending church, we managed to take down quite a few Christmas decorations. We had kept them up so that family who couldn't be here at Christmas could see them when they came last weekend. We still have quite a bit to put away, but we've made a good start.

Today seemed like a good day to finish up one of my projects. I started this cowl a few days ago, and I only had two rounds left. The colors don't show up very well in the picture. It's so pretty in person that I think I may keep it for myself!

My ornament of the day is finished, so I'm still on track for finishing an ornament a day in January.

I had one skein of really soft chunky yarn in my stash, something I purchased by mistake. I'm not a fan of working with chunky yarn. I wasn't sure what to make with it, but since I'm on a roll with cowls, I decided that was the way to go. It's not quite as tall as the worsted weight cowls I've been making, but it's still a nice size.

I gave away all of my chapstick holders last week. I've had requests for some more, and I have quite a few small balls of leftover yarn. This is the perfect project to work on while watching football. Go Bears!

Day trip

We made a trip to Milwaukee today to watch granddaughter Ella play volleyball. It was a lot of fun, but it was a long day. It's about a three hour trip each way for us. We left at 5:30 this morning and arrived home at 4:30 p.m.

I started another Christmas ornament while watching t.v. last night. It was far enough along that I was able to finish it today. Whew! My streak is still going!

Slow tatting week

I sure haven't accomplished what I had hoped to this week.

One ornament a day is all I've been able to manage, and tomorrow isn't looking very promising. Still, I've been tatting an ornament a day!

Another single

 

Another day got away from me, but I did tat my ornament of the day!

Another busy day

 

Today really got away from me. We left early this morning to take Mom to an eye doctor appointment and were caught in a snow squall... not a big deal if you have nowhere to go. What should have been a quick trip to the eye doctor and back, wound up taking us all morning. The roads were terrible and traffic was slow.

I did get to school in time for lunch duty. The middle school kids were wild! You would have thought they had never seen winter weather before. 

All of the activity of the day wore me out, so I only managed to tat one ornament. I count it as a good day!

Just one

Good news! Our Internet connection has been restored! Isn't it funny how important technology has become to us?

I had a very busy day, so I only had time to tat one ornament. Tomorrow is shaping up to be another busy day. Let's hope I keep up the ornament pace!

Another post from my phone

We’re hoping our internet connection will be fixed tomorrow. 

I finished another hat this morning. It’s not my favorite, but it was claimed quickly!

I didn’t get around to tatting until after dinner. Luckily, I can tat this ornament in a little more than an hour!

Posting from my phone

Our internet connection is down. Dave found a broken cable, so we will have to call for repairs tomorrow. 

Family members have all headed for home. We had a wonderful weekend together. I was pretty tired from all the activity, so I only managed to tat one ornament today. 

One is better than none!

Wonderful weekend!

It's been a wonderful weekend with all four of my daughters at home! With two in Illinois, one in Minnesota, and one in Georgia, it's not often that all four are here at the same time.

Even with a house full of family, I managed to get some tatting done. It's easy to tat a button ornament while chatting.

The next book on my shelf is an Applemints publication  from 2018, Tatting Lace Best Selection. I remember purchasing this book for the bow patterns shown on the cover. However, I never did tat a bow.

Instead, I chose this simple edging found on page 61. I like the simplicity of the design. The only picots are for joining, which makes it very easy to tat.

Some family left today, and some will leave tomorrow. Tonight it's time for football. Go Bears!

Starting the day off right

I woke up early this morning, and before breakfast I had finished my morning chores. So, I sat down to tat my ornament of the day.

Once that was accomplished, I perused another French tatting book: Frivolity to the shuttles by Edwiga, Renaudin, 2012. I remember that I purchased this book because of the layered tatting techniques presented. I know I tried the technique, but it is something I will need to revisit.

In an effort to use thread already on shuttles, I chose a simple motif from page 121 of the book. I miscalculated and did not have enough thread to finish the last round. This was a very simple motif, and I think I will tat it in some color other than black!

French

And now for a book in French, translated as Tatting: delicate and precious from 2005.

There are lots of lovely motifs in this book. I decided to start with a triangle. It doesn't look quite right to me, but I think it might be because of the multi-colored thread. Aside from the motifs, there are some beautiful doilies, edgings, and baby gifts. The designs are diagrammed, so I don't need to learn French to tat them!

Today ended up being busier than expected, but I did manage to finish another button ornament. I feel so accomplished!

 

Slow day

 

Mom had a checkup yesterday, which she passed with flying colors. We celebrated by going to Dave's favorite pizza place, Aurelio's in Homewood. Our pizza was delicious!

I had a hard time getting motivated today. I started this ornament early in the morning, and didn't finish it until after dinner. Still, I have another one finished!

I finished another hat today. I've been having fun passing out hats at school. I have a bag upstairs filled with hats that Mom and I made last year, and the kids are loving them!

Coral pink earrings

Next up on my bookshelf is Tatting the Jewels: Necklaces, bracelets, earrings by Annamaria Riccardi, published in 2013.

I am fascinated with tatted jewelry! I haven't tatted many jewelry pieces, but I love looking at the pictures and patterns.

I remember tatting earrings for my mom and some of her friends years ago, but I can't remember which pattern I used. The pattern is called "The Coral pink earrings" and can be found on page 24. As you can see, mine are not coral pink!

I'm not sure where my earring findings are right now, so I'm storing the two pieces in a bookmark sleeve so that I don't lose them. Bookmark sleeves sure come in handy!

My button ornament for the day was finished before lunch time! 

Looking back

Do you remember when tatting a peacock was all the rage? I do! I bought the book, but I never tatted the peacock. Occhi: Boat lace frivolity by Leopold Stocker Verlag was published in 2011. 

I did tat some of the motifs from the book, from pages 98 and 102. Will I ever tat the peacock? Time will tell!

Six of us retired teachers met at Olive Garden for lunch today. Our last get together was the end of June. It was nice to get together and catch up.

I started dinner when I got home, and then I finished another button ornament for Christmas 2026. Since I'm tatting a simpler pattern, it's much easier to tat one a day. Will I keep up the pace? Probably not, but I'm having fun!

Missing out

I've been missing out on a lot of blog posts, and yesterday I realized why. During our Tollway Tatters meeting, I mentioned that I had been relying on blog feeds to keep up with blogs and that they weren't reliable. My friend Stephanie said that she had never used a blog feed and just bookmarked the blogs she likes to read.

That's when the light bulb went on! I started out with bookmarking blogs years ago, but started using blog feeds to keep up. The blog feeds I tried no longer exist, and the feed on Blogger is not reliable. So, yesterday afternoon I started bookmarking the blogs I read. There aren't nearly as many as there used to be, and I discovered several blogs on my Blogger list that never show up.

This morning, I was able to catch up with the blogs that I enjoy. When I get a little extra time, I'm going to start looking for more blogs so that I can keep up with crafty friends around the world!

Today I explored Frivolitkova Lace by Hana Horakova, published in 2004. Google translate didn't give a translation for the word frivolitkova, so I'm guessing that it's the Czech word for tatting.

I chose to tat this two shuttle pattern found on page 46. The name of the pattern translates as Two Boat Velvet. This pattern is so simple to tat! I think it's one of my new favorites. 

There are several photos showing tatting as hair ornaments, but really intrigued me were the pictures of tatting with different lace centers. These are some of my favorites...

This one reminds me of a spider web.

This one reminds me of Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel glass mat.

This one reminds me of crocheted tablecloths that my mom used to make.

This one reminds me of Dorset buttons. There are so many interesting ideas!

Another tatted ornament is ready for next Christmas. I'm already having visions of having an ornament of the month. Ha! We'll see if that happens.

Another skein of yarn has become a hat. I really like the colors in this one!

 The next book on my tatting shelf is Encyclopedia Frivolity by S. I. Anni.

I haven't figured out when this book was published, but it has loads of inspiration.

I especially liked this scene filled with images from nature... clouds, sun, hills, animals, fish, and flowers.

This little fish on page 76 caught my eye, and I was able to tat him up quickly. The book is loaded with ideas for incorporating tatting into garments. I'm not sure that I'll ever try any of them, but I find the application of tatting to clothing very interesting.

My quest to use up yarn in my stash continues. I've been crocheting and knitting in the evenings. Somehow, the yarn feels much better than thread on these cold winter nights. I've had some requests for hats from high school students, and as long as they're not picky about colors, I will continue making hats for them.

We had a special Tollway Tatters meeting today. Since January has five Saturdays, we decided to skip the last Saturday in December and meet the first and last Saturdays in January. We had a nice turnout of seven people while I was there, and during our meeting I managed to tat two button ornaments. I really think I will be prepared for next Christmas!