Time for an update!

Well, I certainly have been slack with my posting!

Mean Green Goes Pink Night was a great success. Daughter Carol and I attended the volleyball game, and we both think it was the largest crowd we've ever seen for Pink Night. One of the high school girls won my pink and green tree. Adeline told me right from the start that it was her goal to win that tree. It makes me so happy when something I've made goes to someone who truly loves it!

I haven't made much progress on my Concentric Rectangles doily. Dave and I have been busy shopping and working on finishing up our room addition. We're trying to get as much done as possible before the holidays.

I brought my Addi 22 pin knitting machine out this week so that I could start making Christmas ornaments for the Drama Club fund raiser.

Of course, I wasn't satisfied with my limited yarn choices, so I went shopping for some more. These work up pretty quickly, and the kids at school are very excited to see what color choices will be available. I purchased the shatterproof ornaments on clearance last year thinking that I would get them all made up over the summer. That did not happen!

I've been wanting to knit a Christmas stocking for several years, and this Bukkesprang Stocking from Arne and Carlos called to me!

I finished the toe the first night, 6 rounds the second night, and only 2 rounds last night. I'm really enjoying it so far. I have a whole series of Christmas stockings I'd like to knit. Why? Just because!

Round 2

 

I'm so happy to have finished round 2 of my Concentric Rectangles doily. I finally caught on to how to tat the corner by the 4th corner. I hope I remember what to do when I get to round 4!

Corners

 

I spent a lot of time working on the first corner of my Concentric Rectangles doily yesterday. I get so confused turning the corners on rectangular and square pieces. Even though I checked the diagram multiple times before tatting each ring and chain, I wound up taking out three or four rings to get this corner right.

I hope the next corner goes more smoothly!

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!

For Mom

If finished my Concentric Rectangles doily today! I chose these colors with Mom in mind. Mom loves red, and these colors seemed perfect for her. So Mom, this doily is for you if you'd like to have it!

I have 18 rows to go before I start decreasing on my mermaid tail afghan. It takes me about 20 minutes to crochet a row, so I guess that means I have a good 6 hours of crocheting before I start decreasing. I don't see how I can possibly finish a third afghan before the play, but I'm sure going to try!

Sore fingers

I spent most of the afternoon working on key rings to sell at The Little Mermaid. My fingers are really sore from working with pliers and split rings. I sure hope these sell, or I will have key rings to give as Christmas gifts for years to come!

Despite having sore fingers, I did work on my Concentric Rectangles doily. It looks like I'll be finishing this one soon!

The last week of school

I can't believe the last week of school is here! It will be a busy week with field days, reward movies, 5th grade carnival, 8th grade graduation, and preschool recognition. I know the week will fly by!

Despite all the activity, I am determined to find time to tat every day! I did make some progress on my Concentric Rectangles doily.

I also managed to tat a little bit on my newest Spinning Wheel.

I wonder if I really will have more time for tatting after next Tuesday? 

Back to the rectangle

I was able to get back to my Concentric Rectangles doily today, and I'm happy to say that I'm about halfway around the final row!

I really need to stop!

...but I can't seem to help myself!

I found this beautiful silver shuttle on Etsy. I don't think I've ever seen a silver shuttle on Etsy before. I enjoyed not having to bid and hope that no one outbid me!

I found three more beauties from Shuttle By Design that I just had to have.

I did manage to get a little done on my Concentric Rectangles doily today.

Although I didn't get much accomplished on the tatting front, I did manage to complete quite a few mermaid scale necklaces. I only have 15 left to make, and then I'll be able to concentrate on the mermaid tail afghan!

Fixing a mess

I haven't posted about my Concentric Rectangles doily in a while, but I have been working on it. You see, I've been experiencing problems with the corner. What's the problem, you ask? I've tatted it incorrectly not once, not twice, not three times... no I've made the same mistake four times! I can hardly believe it!

I got tired of retro-tatting, so this morning I snipped the offending section and then after school, I finally tatted the corner correctly. Maybe the section of thread was jinxed... or maybe, just maybe, I wasn't paying attention as I was working the corner. I'm guessing the latter! ;-)

I worked on my Spinning Wheel glass mat for a little bit before school started this morning. The got very busy, and I did not have time to tat at lunch time. The school year is winding down, and it's important that I get the library in good order for my successor, my friend Kristine. I'm so happy that someone wanted my job! The kids really like Kris, so I know the library will be in good hands.

My shuttle collection continues to grow. I just can't help myself! These are my three newest shuttles from Shuttle By Design. I think the Blue Butterfly shuttle is going to be my new favorite!

I'm at it again

...shuttle collecting, that is!

I LOVE my new shuttles from shuttlebydesign.com! The are beautiful, light weight, and hold a ton of thread. Well, not a ton, but I can wind the 15 yards of size 20 thread that I need for my Spinning Wheel glass mats, and that makes me very happy!

Do you see the dandelion shuttle? That's another one from shuttlebydesign.com. You can get an idea of its size by the large Clover shuttle in the picture.

I didn't get much tatting done today. However, any progress is a plus in my book! I did some sewing for a friend, and by the time I made dinner and cleaned up the kitchen, there wasn't much time left. Some days are just like that.

Focus

When I focus on a task, I can really accomplish a great deal. Today I decided to focus on one project at a time, with fantastic results!

First, I focused on completing round four of my Concentric Rectangles doily. I even managed to start round five.

Next, I decided to try and finish the second side of my beaded crocheted bag, and I did it!

I'm feeling really good about today's accomplishments. :-)

3 out of 4 isn't bad!

I managed to work on 3 of my 4 projects today.

Before school I rounded another corner on my Concentric Rectangles doily.

At lunch time I worked on my Spinning Wheel glass mat.

After school I worked on my mermaid tail afghan.

That leaves one project to work on tonight... my beaded crocheted bag... just as soon as I close my computer!

I forgot to blog last night

I cleaned up the kitchen after dinner, talked to my daughter on the phone, did a little research on the Internet, and then headed off to bed. Blogging never entered my mind!

I did accomplish little bits yesterday...

another spoke almost completed on my Spinning Wheel glass mat,

a few rings and chains on my Concentric Rectangles doily,

another row on my mermaid tail afghan,

and quite a bit on the second side of my beaded crocheted bag! Our new fourth grade teacher got engaged on Sunday, so I've offered to make her a bag.

My friend Michelle's daughter will be getting married next year. I crocheted a bag for Michelle when she got married. She was daughter Carol's Sunday School teacher through most of elementary school. Anyway, I've offered to crochet a bag for Jessica as well.

Maybe I should go in to the bridal bag business when I retire! ;-)

Making the most of my time

I tatted before school, at lunch time, and after school... time well spent!

I was up extra early this morning, so I had time to finish the last two rows of this side of the beaded bag. The beads are all strung for the second side, so I'm ready to go!

I took my mermaid tail afghan to school today and demonstrated crocheting to the kids. I was able to finish two rows and get the kids excited about seeing The Little Mermaid this summer!

After dinner, I worked on my Concentric Rectangles doily, and now I'm ready for bed!

What a day!

I can't believe how much I accomplished today! The afternoon was cold and wet and Dave had to work, so I sat down in front of the t.v. with all of my projects surrounding me.

I finished my Spinning Wheel glass mat in size 20 Lizbeth, Purple Dk. #633.

I liked the color so much, I decided to combine it with Marilee Rockley's hand-dyed thread, Crocus. These are two of my newest shuttles from shuttlebydesign.com. They are lovely and light and they hold plenty of thread!

The beaded crocheted bag is coming along nicely. Yes, I did make several mistakes that I had to fix. Luckily, that's pretty easy with crochet.

I completed a few more rows on my mermaid tail afghan.

To tope it all off, I rounded another corner on my Concentric Rectangles doily. All in all, it's been a fabulous day!

Too many irons in the fire?

Sometimes I think so, but I have so many things I want to accomplish that I have to keep trying new things. So, sometimes I make slow progress on my projects, but I'm happy with the progress I make.

I've broken my day into segments. I've been working on my Concentric Rectangles doily when I get home from school. Some days I have more time than others.

My Spinning Wheel glass mat gets my attention in the early morning and on my lunch break.

The beaded bag is my evening project. I may have to rethink working on this at night. I made a mistake in the second round and had to pull out rounds two and three. It seems I make the same mistake every time I make this bag!