I'm back!

We had terrific storms on Friday. I helped daughter Carol with play practice after school, and the lightning was so fierce, I didn't want to get out of the car. About 6:45, the wind, thunder, lightning, and hail were so terrible, Dave and I went down in the basement. When we came back up, we could tell that at least one tree was down, but since it was dark, we couldn't see much.

In the morning, we could see that our big, beautiful maple had split in half. It was the first tree that we planted when we moved down on the farm in 1982.

Two trees that were tilting after last month's storm are resting on the tree house.

When the maple tree fell, it wrapped around our huge pine tree, stripping some of the branches.

The wind even took down the road sign for Sollitt Road.

Dave's chainsaw got quite a workout over the weekend. This is all that's left of our big, beautiful maple. The tree has not been in good shape for a few years, and we knew it had to come down. I guess now we don't have to pay for a tree service to come in and take care of it!

We were without Internet service from Friday night until late this afternoon. It's nice to be connected again!

My bookmark collection is growing!

I really appreciate all the input I have received about pricing both here and on Facebook.

I've decided that I'm going to price the bookmarks at $10 each. If they sell, great! If not, I'll have a supply on hand for gift giving.

I spent some time crocheting snowflakes today. It wasn't until I went to pin them out that I realized the one on the bottom left has seven spokes instead of six. I guess I'll have to do that one over again!

All four are from 100 Snowflakes to Crochet by Caitlin Sainio. The top left one is called Nevada, top right is Polar Glacier, bottom left is Droxtal, and bottom right is Flurry. They don't take long, so I many redo Droxtal tonight.

I do see inspiration for Ice Drops. Do you?

Laziness?

I could have blogged last night. I had plenty of time. While taking my morning shower, I kept thinking about not blogging. Why didn't I? Was it laziness? Nope. I just didn't feel like blogging. I seem to have more and more days like that. I'm not thinking of giving it up. I would miss all of the connections I have made with people of like minds through this intriguing method of communication. I just have more interest in tatting, knitting, crocheting, weaving, and reading than anything electronic. I even find that I'm watching less and less t.v. Peace and quiet suits me fine!

The requests for bookmarks for Harry Potter club members continues. I am thrilled to be able to share tatting with high school students. I love the way they study the bookmarks when they receive them. I can tell they are fascinated with the detail. I'm glad I've developed a rhythm tatting Curds & Whey, as it seems to be the favored pattern!

My Ice Drop tree is finally starting to look full! I'm almost finished with the hand-dyed thread from Karey Solomon. I think I may go to white when I'm finished with this hand-dyed thread. I love the colorful Ice Drops, but with white I can choose any glass gem I like and not worry about it going with the thread!

I took the time to block my crocheted snowflakes yesterday. They look much better pinned out! Do you see the wonky red one on the left? I was using up thread on a floss bobbin and ran out. I have an idea for a broken snowflake collage. I'll let you know if my idea pans out!

Yesterday

It's that time of year again... allergy season! I feel like I go through a box of tissues each day. I don't, but it feels like it.

The yard cleanup continues. Dave cleared out some bushes that had been damaged by the storm a month ago. We didn't realize how much undergrowth there was until he pulled the bushes out. Our back yard is looking much more open.

I spent about an hour crocheting snowflakes yesterday. I gave them each a shot of steam, but they need to be blocked properly, something I was not in the mood to do yesterday.

I'm thinking of crocheting three colors: cranberry, gold, and white. This is Barber.

This one is called Stellar Crystal. In the book, the spokes are more rounded. I think it looks more like a crystal with the spokes pulled out straight.

This little cutie is called Frost. I definitely need to do some adjusting with this one!

The last one for the day is called Spring Snow. After looking at the individual pictures, I'm ready to pull out my blocking mats!

Since I had the ball of white crochet cotton out, I decided to tat Curds & Whey in white. I thought the white thread felt thicker than the other crochet cottons I had used recently, and I was right. I've been tatting eight pattern repeats, and I only had room for seven in the white.

I'm amazed that I still have some of Karey Solomon's hand-dyed thread left. I think the gold is my favorite glass gem with this thread.

I finished the St. Louis Cathedral Spires section of Lagniappe by Mike Lyon. I love the way this pattern flows!

Busy day

There was plenty to do around the house today, but I made sure I had plenty of time for tatting.

My bookmark collection is growing! This Curds & Whey (Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior) bookmark is in size 10 crochet cotton from my stash.

Since I had the thread at hand, I decided to crochet a snowflake. I do prefer tatted snowflakes, but I can crochet this pattern in about 15 minutes. A tatted snowflake would take much longer. I'm planning on having a table at Christmas in the Village, and it would be nice to have a collection of snowflakes to offer, both in white and in a variety of colors.

This snowflake is called Barber from 100 Snowflakes to Crochet by Caitlin Sainio. I've had the book for quite a while, so I decided it was time to put it to use!

I'm still working on the same skein of hand-dyed thread from Karey Solomon. I'm amazed at how many Ice Drops I've tatted from one skein!