Just a quick post...

What a week! First I was laid low with the worst cold I've had in years... it was so bad that I stayed home from school and slept for two days! I didn't know I had it in me to sleep so much! Thankfully, I just feel like a normal person working my way out of a cold now.

Friday morning, I woke up feeling a little better, so I went on the Internet. No, I did not go on the Internet... I had no connection! I went to school, made it through the day with no problems and headed home to... no Internet access. :-(

I called our Internet service provider, and everything seemed to check out. The man I talked to suggested I have my router checked. Luckily, we had plans to go to daughter Carol's house to work on installing her new fireplace mantel that Dave made, so I was distracted from my Internet woes.

Saturday morning, I tried again... no luck! Daughter Joanne suggested rebooting my router. I did, and success! ...for about an hour. :-(

Saturday morning, I filled my time with chores... grocery shopping, laundry, a little cleaning... and then we were off to Carol's again to paint her living room and finish installing her fireplace mantel. The mantel looks beautiful. I did take pictures, but for some reason, I can't transfer the pictures from my iPhone to my computer... another puzzle for today. We arrived home around 10 p.m. and... you guessed it... no Internet access.

Well, I'm not one to sit around and wait for things to happen. I fiddled and futzed, plugged and unplugged, rebooted... everything I could think of! I have no idea what worked, but it worked, and I am grateful.

Dave turned on the weather, and they're predicting an ice storm today... great! If that happens, and I'll be surprised if it really does, I'm pretty sure I'll lose my Internet connection again. So, I figured I'd better get off a quick post, print out Jane's TIAS so that I can catch up, and do some blog reading before winter storm Luna hits. I wonder why they started naming winter storms? It seems so silly to me, especially since the the worst we've had is a half inch of snow that lasted less than a day.

Since I wasn't feeling well, I didn't get much tatting done, just these three little motifs with doodads from Hobby Lobby in the middle...

They first two are size 20 Lizbeth. The one on the left is #107 Tropical Fruit, next is #601 Snow White with beads from Michelle. The one on the right is size 20 HDT from Yarnplayer, Hydrangea Dark, with clear beads from WalMart. I was very surprised to find that WalMart had much larger containers of glass beads for half the price of the beads from Hobby Lobby. I'm sure there's a difference that a beading enthusiast would notice, but as a novice beader, I'm very pleased with my cheap beads!

Storm, storm, stay away!
Diane wants to tat today!

Tollway Tatters 2013

Yup! You read it correctly! The Tollway Tatters are starting 2013 off the right way... with a tatting get-together! We'll be meeting on Wednesday, January 2. If you'd like to join us and need details, just drop me an email and I'll give you the specifics.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that five years ago I slipped on a 2" patch of ice and broke my left wrist in 11 places. Knitting and tatting played a big part in my recovery. I am so glad that I've regained most of the mobility in my wrist. My only problem is that when the weather gets really cold, I cannot keep my left hand warm

Denise to the rescue! As part of my Christmas present, Denise knit me a pair of tatting gloves... fingerless mitts that will keep my wrist warm and allow me to tat. This is easily the best Christmas present ever!

Denise wanted to make sure I exercised my wrist regularly, so she also gave me a beautiful Bocote shuttle from The Shuttle Brothers! I do love wood shuttles, and this one is a beauty! Yes, there was thread, and coffee, and wine. I can tat day and night with the appropriate beverage! ;-)

Thank you, Denise!

I finished tatting Doodad Snowflake #2 in Snow White on Christmas morning. However, with all the excitement of having grandchildren here and preparing for our trip to Minnesota, I did not finish it and hang it on the tree until this morning.

Yes, I'm still in snowflake mode, and I think I may be throughout the month of January!

Our trip to Minnesota was wonderful! We had a surprise baby shower for daughter Joanne, who is expecting a girl at the end of March. Daughter Alison and family joined in the fun via Skype. Isn't technology wonderful?

Son-in-law Jake was on a hunting trip for two days after Christmas, so we didn't open presents until Friday. It was so much fun extending the holiday through the end of the week! No pictures though... I forgot to take my camera along, and I never thought of using my phone. The phone may be smart, but apparently I'm not! ;-)

On Thursday, daughters Andrea and Carol drove me to meet Michelle and her daughter for lunch... quite a treat for me since neither Andrea nor Carol tats!

Michelle and Theresa had put together a wonderful Christmas package for me!

Do you think this is a hint that I should start tatting snowmen? ;-)

Look at all the goodies! Two hankies from Aunt Rose's collection, beautiful blue thread and beads, doodads, and a ring and bobby pins to decorate. Do you see the key on the left? That's a beautiful brooch made by Theresa!

Michelle also brought along a book for me to read, review, and pass on. So far, I'm really enjoying it. I read 68 pages on the way home, which is saying a lot... I don't do well with reading in the car! More about the book when I finish reading it!

After lunch, Michelle and Theresa whisked me away to...

a bead shop! You'd never have known it was a bead shop from the storefront or the name, but inside we found treasures galore! I could have purchased so much more, but I remembered the stash at home and exhibited extreme self-control. I asked the clerk about silver-lined beads and tarnish, and she told me they can tarnish over time, but she didn't think it was something to worry about. She showed me some silver lined bugle beads that were very old, and they just looked more mellow, so I bought some seed beads that were calling my name.

I think I have some more doodad tatting in my future! Thank you Michelle and Theresa for a wonderful tatting get-together! I hope that next time I'm up we can arrange a time when Cindy can join us!

Casey finishes first!

I'm so excited! Casey over at Casey's Minis is the first one to post about her completed doodads! Casey drew her design idea right on the card that came with the doodads and used some beautiful threads to tat the design. I hope you'll check out her blog and check out her design!

It is so great to be back at school and see all the kids! They either age you quickly or keep you young. Since this is my 28th year teaching, I think they're keeping me young! However, I am finding that I'm much more tired at then end of the day. I even dozed off with my tatting in my hands the other night. I'm guessing my finished tatting pieces will be fewer and further between!

I had a fabulous mail day today!

First, some fabulous findings from the ever-friendly and generous Fox! We exchanged some doodads, and I am thrilled that the ones Fox sent to me are totally different from what I sent her. I see a lot of tatting fun in my future! Thank you, Fox!

Lelia sent me some wonderful pastel shuttles for blinging. She sure knows the way to my bling-happy heart! She also sent me a wonderful little tin for holding needles. It's magnetized so that the needles don't fall out. I think I need to window shop more often so that I can find wonderful little goodies like this! Thank you, Lelia!

I finished an Origami bag for my granddaughter's friend Emily. Eva is teaching her how to tat! The funky mod shuttles on the left are for Emily. The pastel shuttles on the right are an experiment. I kept one layer of the white backing on the napkin to see if the floral pattern showed up better. I think it does, but I'm not sure if I like it or not.

Yes, I've been taking pictures with my computer on my lap. I'm almost finished with my 4-Eva Spinning Wheel. Five rings to go! I think it's time to get off the computer and get some tatting done!

Hearts for Misha

Never let it be said that I tat a pattern correctly the first time.

Case in point... Fox's "Heart for Misha." I was so excited about my doodads arriving, I sat down and started tatting using the first doodad package I laid my hands on. See the heart on the left? I made a mistake. How is it possible to make a mistake while looking at a diagram? I have no idea, but I managed to do it!

I did not feel like retro-tatting, so I tried to make the best of it. It's okay, but not nearly  as pretty as the heart tatted the way Fox intended it (heart on the right). Of course, maybe that's because the heart on the right uses the same doodad as in Fox's picture.

I think I may have miscounted the stitches in the large ring at the bottom. Luckily, I have some more doodads to play with!

P.S. ~ I ordered my doodads from Fire Mountain Gems, a very dangerous place to shop! ;-)

Camptown ladies sing this song...

Doodads! Doodads!

Yup... my doodads arrived today! I guess I got carried away again. I have enough doodads to last me a lifetime. You never know... I may be inclined to share at some point in the future.

Now, it's time to tat!