Happy New Year!

I can hardly believe that we are in a new year. The time just flies by!

Opening the mail after returning from a trip is one of my favorite things to do, especially when the mail includes new shuttles! These beauties are from Veronica of TattingShuttles on Etsy. I just can't resist a pretty shuttle.

I also received some beautiful new hand-dyed threads from Karey Solomon of Graceful Arts Studio. If you've never tatted with hand-dyed thread, you are really missing out. The colors are unique, and there's something about the hand-dying process that makes the threads a joy to use.

I finished up another Frivolity Ice Drop today. I do enjoy tatting this pattern, but I'm ready to move on to something else.

So, I practiced Edda Guastalla's tecnhique for encasing cabochons. Her tutorial is available on Etsy. It's been a while since I've tried Edda's method, and I can tell I need to pay attention to the instructions instead of doing my own thing. I should have followed Edda's instructions for working with a cabochon with a higher dome. So, I will try again!

Front,

side,

and back look okay, but I'm afraid the glass gem will pop out since I didn't follow the instructions. I will do better next time!

I'm also working on another cowl. I'm using the mock rib pattern from page 222 of Sequence Knitting by Cecelia Campchiaro. After doing some simple math, I cast on 114 stitches and started knitting. This would be a great carry-along project, but I'm pretty sure I'll finish before heading back to school next week, so there will be no need to carry it anywhere!

A little sloppy

I don't know why I didn't notice while tatting, but it's pretty obvious now that some of those outer chains are really sloppy. Sigh. I guess I'll just have to tat another!

Christmas Green

With the colder weather, I find myself turning to knitting and crocheting so that I can feel the warmth of the yarn in my hands. This summer, daughter Joanne and I found a sale on Caron x Pantone yarn. Who can resist half price? I had two skeins in my line of vision, and I decided it would make a wonderful cowl. I didn't find a cowl pattern that inspired me, so I turned to my copy of Sequence Knitting, a book that I love to browse through. I found a pattern that I liked and got to knitting. I'm eager to see how this looks when it's finished!

Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design has been offering some gorgeous shuttles lately. I took a chance and looked in her shop last week, and I was surprised to see this beautiful Iris shuttle still available. Rita also had a new shade of blue for her handmade shuttles. I love them both!

I also found some beautiful new shuttles from ShuttleSmith Karen Bovard. I do enjoy tatting with flat shuttles!

As for Christmas Green, I'm very happy to have tatted a Frivolity Ice Drop in this cheerful color. The red ribbon seemed to be the perfect touch!

Time to get back on track

I have neglected so much over the past week. I haven't been keeping up with my walking. I haven't been watching what I eat. My crafting time has been minimal. It's been a busy week of cleaning, decorating, and getting ready for Christmas. At least I can say the house is starting to shape up!

I really need to focus on Ice Drops this week. I need three more for gift giving at school. This is the third one in Gold. My shuttle is loaded with Christmas Green for the next three.

My friend Eileen sent me a picture of her Ice Drop display. We've been friends since high school, and we were college roommates. I was Eileen's maid of honor, and she was my matron of Honor. We've been friends for more than 50 years!

A little more gold

Getting ready for Christmas is certainly keeping us busy! I'm glad I always find time for tatting. I'm not sure I like the red bow with the gold thread, but I'm going to keep it as it is. Sometimes new color combinations grow on me and I wind up loving them!

Goin' for the gold!

We had a busy weekend decorating for Christmas. We're not done, but we do have a good start!

Dave had great fun decorating the staircase.

Our entertainment center is next to the stairs, so it becomes part of the decoration.

The lantern is Dave's favorite new decoration. One of his employees, Vanessa, did a fabulous job of making it festive.

My Christmas tree is decorated to my taste. It looks a little off balance in this picture. I guess I'll have to do some double checking.

This is the view from my chair. I love it!

I finished blocking my Greyson Waves Lace Scarf by Marly Bird. It's now ready for Christmas wrapping!

My newest Frivolity Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #611, Gold. I love my newest shuttle, Midnight Blossom, from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design. Do I need more shuttles? No! I just can't help myself when I see a new beauty for sale. I love collecting my little works of art!

Christmas Green Mix

Another Thanksgiving is behind us. We had a wonderful time together, and of course we ate way too much food!

Now it's time to decorate for Christmas! Dave has worked on decorating the outside of the house for a few weeks, but the lights didn't go on until Thanksgiving night. He went way overboard this year, and I'm eager for him to take a picture so that we can remember what he did. It won't happen tonight. It's windy, wet, and cold outside... not good weather for taking pictures.

We've started on the inside of the house. With everyone coming here for Christmas, Dave is on a mission to make everything extra bright and beautiful. My husband is crazy for Christmas!

Even with all of the activity of the past few days, I've found time to tat two more Frivolity Ice Drops in size 20 Lizbeth #152, Christmas Green Mix.

It's been kind of fun tatting in groups of three. I nearly have enough for what I want to give as Christmas presents. I may even have time to tat a few for my own tree!

Red, white, and green

I had a very productive day today. I cleaned out a closet, reorganized some of my craft materials, and tatted two Ice Drops!

This is my third Frivolity Ice Drop in Lizbeth #151, Angel's Love.

My next trio will be in Lizbeth #152, Christmas Green Mix. I think this would also be a great color for St. Patrick's Day, but that's months away. For now, I'm focusing on Christmas!

I'm guessing I won't have much time for tatting tomorrow, and I'm not planning on spending much, if any, time on the computer. So, for all who celebrate, happy Thanksgiving!

Angel's Love

I chose size 20 Lizbeth #151, Angel's Love for my next set of Frivolity Ice Drops.

We had a short school day today, so I had time to tat two! I need one more to complete the set, but that might not happen for a few days. I have a lot to do to get ready for Thanksgiving. My sister-in-law is hosting, but I have sides to prepare and I need to get my house ready for company. Oh, how I wish I had a fairy godmother!

Christmas Delight

This is my third Frivolity Ice Drop in size 20 Lizbeth Christmas Delight. That means I'll be moving on to another color! Care to guess which one is wound on the shuttle?

Today I remembered...

Since I remembered my tatting bag, I was able to complete another Frivolity Ice Drop in size 20 Lizbeth #116, Christmas Delight. I'm going to have to tat a little faster if I'm going to complete all the Christmas presents I want to pass out at school!

I have 13 pattern repeats finished on my Greyson Waves Lace Scarf by Marly Bird. I only have 7 repeats to go!

A question about blocking

One of the Ice Drop Addicts on Facebook asked me if I block my Ice Drops. The answer... it depends on the Ice Drop!

Today I tatted Frivolity in size 20 Lizbeth #116, Christmas Delight. As you can see, it is quite ruffled. This one definitely needs to be blocked!

It doesn't take long... just six little pins, a shot of steam all around, and...

a beautiful Ice Drop is ready for the tree!

Seeing red

Yes, I've tatted another Frivolity Ice Drop in red. I just can't help myself. It looks so festive!

My Greyson Waves Lace Scarf is coming along nicely. Normally, I would prefer a solid color scarf, but I'm enjoying the color changes. It's easy to set goals and complete them, and it's easy to see the pattern develop.

I did switch knitting needles today. I had been using Inox circulars that are probably at least 20 years old. At the time, they were the best knitting needles I could find. However, I've found that the cables on the newer needles are so much nicer to use. They don't kink up, and they cable part is thinner. I've only knit a few rows with the new needles, but I can definitely tell a difference!

Marlene called

My friend Marlene from Minnesota contacted me yesterday to let me know how much she likes my Frivolity Ice Drop. However, she was a bit confused by the back and forth of the one pass method, and she wasn't clear as to when to switch shuttles.

I'm not a big fan of the one pass method. I think it looks nice, but I get confused trying to keep track of where I am, and it takes me longer to finish a one pass Ice Drop than one following my basic pattern.

I wanted to show Marlene that the Frivolity pattern can be tatted using my original basic pattern. Simply tat the basic Ice Drop, and then add the second and third rounds. As for switching shuttles, it's really not necessary until the last round. Even then, it would be easy enough to use the shoelace trick to tat the rings.

Here are the two together. The one on the left follows my basic pattern. The one on the right is the one pass method as the Frivolity pattern is written. As you can see, there's not much difference. The only difference is the extra round of chains surrounding the glass gem, a look I really like.

Because I don't have enough projects going, I decided to join a Marly Bird knit-along. This is The Greyson Waves Lace Scarf that uses three balls of Chic Sheep, which I just happened to have in the house!

Although I'm not a beginning knitter, I do appreciate the YouTube video that accompanies the pattern. It seems that every designer has a slightly different way of notating one stitch or another, and the video tutorial really helps clarify all techniques.

My friend Jennifer is knitting this one along with me. It's fun to keep each other motivated to finish a project!

Sticking with red

Lizbeth Christmas Red is so cheerful, I decided to stick with it. There are several staff members at school who I would like to give a Christmas gift to, and I think my Frivolity Ice Drop will be the perfect gift. So, you can expect to see various color combinations until I have what I need completed. I think I may need a few for my tree as well!

Frivolity in red

It felt good to get back to school today. Yes, I am tired, and I'm pretty sure I'll sleep well tonight!

Today's project was another Frivolity Ice Drop, this time in red. It took me most of the day, and I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. I'll bet you've guessed that this one will probably go to Mom!

Ready to go!

Enough of this sitting around feeling sick! Today I am ready to go! I won't take on any extra duties this week, but I will be happy to get back to my routine of supervising kids eating their lunch. I know my job is pretty mundane, but I like it. Daughter Carol told me that some of the kids have been asking about me. It's kind of nice to be missed!

My big achievement today was to tat a Frivolity Ice Drop. One of the Ice Drop Addicts asked for clarification, and I was happy to oblige. It's been a while since I've tatted this pattern, and I'm glad I took the time to tat it again!

Another one of the Ice Drop Addicts members asked to see the back side. I often forget that the back is just as pretty as the front!

Of course checking out Facebook meant that I also spent quite a bit of time checking up on blogs. Boy, am I behind! I don't think I have time to read AND comment on everything that's happened in the past week and a half. Please don't be offended if I haven't responded to one of your comments or haven't commented on your blog posts. There just isn't enough time in my day!

After dinner, I managed to tat a basic Ice Drop. My table for Christmas in the Village is going to be very sparse this year. I guess that happens when you give all your tatting away!

Not much to show

Today was one of those days when I felt like I worked all day, but there isn't much to show for it!

I did manage to finish another Masquerade square... just one more to go!

I also typed up the directions for my Frivolity Ice Drop. For those of you who are interested and aren't on Facebook:

Frivolity Ice Drop

2 shuttle pattern

Materials: 3/4” glass gem, two shuttles wound continuous thread method, size 20 Lizbeth thread (approximately 6 yards on each shuttle), 12” ribbon for hanger (optional)

Note: this pattern follows the one pass method for encasing the glass gem (back ring, front ring, chain, repeat around)

Round 1

Set 1 ~

Ring: 4-4---4-4; RW

Ring: 6-6-6; fold ring down and away from you

Chain: 6-6; RW

Sets 2 - 5 ~

Ring: 4+4+4-4; RW (join to first ring and large picot)

Ring: 6+6-6 (join to second ring); fold ring down and away from you

Chain: 6-6; RW

Set 6 ~

Ring: 4+4+4+4; RW

Ring: 6+6, insert glass gem, +6; turn piece away from you

Chain: 6-6; lock join to base of first ring; RW

Round 2 (domed side of glass gem facing you) 

Chain 12; RW

Ring: 6+6 (join to picot in first round; RW

Chain 12; lock join to base of next ring in first round.

Repeat sequence 5x.

Round 3

Chain 16; lock join to base of ring in round 2; switch shuttles

Ring: 2--2--2---2--2--2; switch shuttles

Chain 16; lock join to base of ring in round 1

Repeat 5x

Remember this?

It wasn't too long ago that I posted this picture of my newest Ice Drop. the more I look at it, the more I like it! I hadn't decided on a name, and I did receive many wonderful suggestions bother here and on Facebook. I have to go with the name my mom suggested, because she is my mom and I always value her suggestions.

Oh, you'd like to know what name Mom suggested? Frivolity. I think it fits. I had to re-tat it today so that I could write down the instructions.

I haven't typed them up yet, but for those of you who just can't wait, I took a picture of my notes.

There are only three motifs left to tat on my Masquerade doily! This one will be finished soon!

I managed to sew another origami pouch today. I do love this fabric!