Everything's coming up roses!

I've been test tatting Lynne Urwin's Summer Rose. This was my first attempt, and I think it turned out pretty good! My glass gem is a little small, and it pops out easily, so I decided to try again.

I rearranged the stitch count for the domed side rings, and it worked well. However, I messed up on both the flower and the leaf!

My third attempt turned out just as I wanted, so I decided to try another.

I should have stopped at three. I messed up on the leaf on this one. Still, they're all pretty! The leaf is Frivole's pattern, and she graciously gave Lynne permission to link the leaf pattern to the Summer Rose pattern. Lynne will be offering this pattern soon on the Ice Drop Addicts page on Facebook.

Tonight I hope to start testing another pattern for Lynne!

Astrila

Yarn shopping always puts me in the mood to knit, especially when I find beautiful yarns! I'm eager to start with the yarns I purchased this weekend, but I need to finish my Reyna shawl that's already on the needles. I finished the next garter section before heading off to school. I have two more mesh and two more garter sections to go.

I'm subbing every day this week, so there really isn't much time for tatting, knitting, or crocheting. Still, I eek out every moment that I can.

I was one of three lucky winners of Frivole's new snowflake pattern, Astrila. This one is a challenge for me, because it has split rings. I can tat split rings, but they seem to take me forever! I'm hoping that by tatting several of this beautiful pattern, I'll become more comfortable with the technique.

The first two split rings were the most difficult for me. The first one has a join on the second half of the split ring. Following some tips that Tim emailed me, I was able to join successfully. I did have to fiddle with the thread to make the ring look right, but I think I did okay.

The second split ring has a picot on the second half. My picot is huge! I'll get better, but it's obvious that I need lots of practice. The rest of the split rings are small, and I've been able to tat them just fine.

Now that I'm in a rhythm with this pattern, I'm really enjoying it. This may become my Christmas snowflake for this year!

A week between posts?

Yes, it has been a week since I posted, and it's been a very busy week!

In prepration for our retreat, I put together little tatting tins for everyone. Shawna Wachs was kind enough to make the decals for me. I think they turned out great!

Denise and I drove up to Minnesota on Sunday and spent Sunday night with daughter Joanne. Sophia and Kara were willing to pose for me, but Janko kept hiding from the camera... little stinker!

We treated each other to lots of goodies!

Not all were strictly tatting related.

But everything was opened with oohs and ahhhs!

There were fun gifts, practical gifts, food gifts, and tatting gifts.

It's going to be fun deciding how to use everything!

And, it will be fun remembering the wonderful three days we had together!

Timberhaze is a beautiful retreat center. This is our workroom with all of us enjoying ourselves.

Our commemorative shuttles were by Frivole.

Although bobbin shuttles are not my first choice, I do like working with these little beauties!

Our motif for the year is depicted on the back side of the shuttle.

I did work on my Masquerade doily, but I only finished one motif. I think we were having too much fun talking and sharing ideas!

Michelle brought along 2018 pennies to share. I chose to used Shelley Perreault's Peacock Coins pattern. I'm going to tat around a penny again with a different bead configuration.

Mom would like to have one as a pin. I think that's a great idea!

I also tried Shelley's pattern with a peacock coin bead and S-Lon beading thread. I need to perfect my tatting with this thread, but I found it very nice to work with.

The retreat was fabulous, and I'm really looking forward to getting together with this wonderful group of ladies again next year!

Denise and I had a long ride home, 10.5 hours. We did take a brief side trip to Norske Nook for lunch, which was delicious!

There was a lot of mail to open when I got home, and my first package was from Rita Richmond. Aren't these shuttles beautiful? I bet you know why I was attracted to them! ;-)

Remember when Marlene and Cathy came to Tollway Tatters? Marlene had a wonderful name tag stitched by a friend of Cathy's. Cathy was kind enough to have one stitched up for me. I love it!

So, now it's time to try and get back into a routine of some sort. I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately!

Auriel

Today was another snowflake day. This is "Auriel" from Twenty to Make Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams. The shuttle was a Christmas present from my friend Denise. My favorite color is blue (I'll bet you didn't know that! ;-)), and Denise's favorite color is pink. Denise commissioned Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design to make us blue and pink matching shuttles. I love it!

When I picked up the mail after our return from Alabama, I had a package waiting from my friend Michelle. To commemorate our tatting retreat in July, we ordered shuttles from Frivole.

Both sides are beautiful! I hope I'm able to attend the next Twin Cities Tatters retreat. It was so much fun, and I'm pretty sure I could convince Denise to ride along with me!

Frivole's Square Elegance

I love this pattern!

My goal is to someday tat it as beautifully as Frivole does!

Oops! Forgot details... size 20 Lizbeth #650, Denim Blue Lt.

Out of sync

Apparently I shouldn't try to blog, fix rotated pictures, talk to my daughter, and cook dinner at the same time! I was just re-reading my earlier blog post, and I realized that three of my pictures were missing. I must have neglected to click on something...

A few weeks back, I won a drawing from Clyde the Mad Tatter. Clyde and I share a love of HDT (hand-dyed thread). I have long admired his tatting, and I was thrilled to win this beautiful doily!

I've been showing it off to my friends, Clyde. They're all impressed with your beautiful tatting! Thank you so much! This is a doily I will cherish forever!

Lelia and I met at the Downers Grove Lace Day. She is so sweet, and she takes on so much to promote all sorts of fiber arts! She even took the time to tat this beautiful little heart for me. Thank you, Lelia! Your friendship and thoughtfulness mean so much to me. I hope to see you in Peotone on Sunday!

Another tatter I greatly admire is Frivole. Have you watched her videos? Her movements are so smooth and fast, and everything she tats is beautiful! Recently Frivole posted pics of some adorable pin cushions she made. I was so surprised when I opened the mail last week and found this little beauty, along with a bit of Frivole's beautiful tatting and a lovely bee charm. Thank you, Frivole! Your thoughtful gift made my day!

Now I ask you... am I the luckiest girl around, or what? I think I'll take some time to tat tonight. : )