Too late

I've found that I prefer blogging at night. That way I can keep a record of what I've accomplished in a day. That didn't happen last night, because I finished my last tatted piece too late. I just didn't have any energy left for blogging!

I started my day with another Workbasket cross in size 40 Lizbeth #117 Country Side. I left the picots off on this one, and I really like the sleek look. I laid the cross on a large white envelope, because I knew it would disappear on my Kindle cover. I like using my Kindle as a backdrop because of the texture, but I've realized that it seems to suck the life out of some colors.

With that in mind, I re-photographed yesterday's Curds & Whey bookmark. Now you can see more of the true beauty of this color combination from Tatskool!

I spent some time de-cluttering upstairs in the morning. Then, I loaded up the back of the car with items I no longer could use, and Mom and I headed to Goodwill. We visited daughter Carol for lunch and then headed back home. I was thrilled to see that Victoria Ong's new needle lace book had arrived in the mail!

This is Victoria's third book on needle lace, and I am thrilled to have it! It is very detailed and beautifully done. I've had the pleasure of taking a class with Victoria, and she has attended Tollway Tatters. She is a very patient teacher, and I am happy that she took the time to write three wonderful books on needle lace!

It took me until late afternoon to finish the Workbasket cross. I'm still adjusting to tatting with size 40 thread. I love working with it, but I haven't developed a feel for working with it, so it takes me quite a bit longer than when I use size 20. After dinner, I decided to tat another donut necklace. The donut is 5/8" donut and it works well with the size 40 thread.

My friend Sue has been using these 3/4" plastic rings in her sun catchers. They also work well with the size 40 thread. 

So, why did I switch from hand-dyed threads to Lizbeth? When I'm experimenting, I prefer to use the Lizbeth. It's less expensive. Once I know my ideas will work, I feel better switching to the hand-dyed threads. Truth be told, I have way more thread than I will ever be able to use (both Lizbeth and hand-dyed). Still, I hate to be wasteful!

October Tollway Tatters

We had a beautiful day for our Tollway Tatters meeting!

Sue Anna and Marilee are always a cheerful presence!

Sue Anna was working on one of Marilee's patterns. I think the thread color is Blue River Glades.

You may have seen Marilee's post on her blog or on Facebook about the grape earrings she's tatting from an Italian magazine. Marilee's pictures are wonderful, but seeing her beautiful tatting in person shows how talented she really is.

Marilee brought along her milkweed pods for us to see. They are incredible! The pattern is available in her Etsy shop.

Barbara brought along her new Japanese tatting book.

She loves Celtic motifs, and found one in the book that she just had to tat!

Nancy was our only needle tatter today.

She's working on an adorable pumpkin pattern. I like the way she has her finished pumpkin stored on the ball of thread!

Victoria Ong was able to join us again today. Victoria is a very talented Turkish oya needle lace designer and teacher. Denise and I took a class with Victoria about a year and a half ago. I've picked it up from time to time, but I wasn't getting anywhere. I was inspired to pick up my needle lace again after watching Victoria work her magic at our last Tollway Tatters meeting. She has a new book out, and she graciously signed my copy!

Victoria made this beautiful flower today with some of Marilee's hand-dyed thread.

Victoria sat next to me and gave me some tips to improve my lace. She also showed me how to identify my mistakes and fix them. The piece on the left is what I worked on this week. I knew it wasn't done correctly, but I couldn't see what I was doing wrong. The two green pieces are what I worked on today. There are mistakes, which is why they aren't finished, but I can see a great improvement already! Thank you, Victoria!

I finished tatting a Curds & Whey bookmark in size 10 Lizbeth Blue Ice today. I also started another in size 10 Lizbeth Wedgewood Blue Dk.

After dinner, I finished my Blue Ice bookmark. I now have eleven completed. I think I might reach my goal of 24 in time for Christmas in the Village!