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!

Team building

I really wasn't looking forward to going to school today. It was an early dismissal day for monthly staff meetings, and the kids are usually wild on shortened schedule days.

Rather than focusing on things that could go wrong today, I spent the morning tatting! I finished another Curds & Whey bookmark. This one is in size 20 Lizbeth Peacock Blues. I used my new Dreamlit shuttle. Now that I've found a way to attach the thread, thanks to Tim, I like this shuttle very much!

I also tatted up the last of my hand-dyed thread skein from Karey Solomon. After looking back through my blog posts, I'm pretty sure this thread color is Distant Mountains. I'm kind of sad that I don't have any more of this color, but I'm very happy that I was able to tat so many Ice Drops with it!

The school day really went pretty well. Yes, some of the kids were a bit unruly, but nothing horrible. The staff meeting after school was a team building activity. These meetings are usually just for teachers, but this time everyone was invited. We were randomly divided into 13 teams, and our task was to decorate pumpkins.

I've never been a big fan of Halloween, and I don't think I've ever decorated a pumpkin. Yes, my kids had carved pumpkins, but I left that task up to Dave and the kids! So, I had pretty low expectations for a pumpkin decorating contest.

Boy, was I wrong! We all had a lot of fun! Can you guess which one is my team's? Which one is your favorite? I will reveal which one is my team's tomorrow!

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Yesterday

It's that time of year again... allergy season! I feel like I go through a box of tissues each day. I don't, but it feels like it.

The yard cleanup continues. Dave cleared out some bushes that had been damaged by the storm a month ago. We didn't realize how much undergrowth there was until he pulled the bushes out. Our back yard is looking much more open.

I spent about an hour crocheting snowflakes yesterday. I gave them each a shot of steam, but they need to be blocked properly, something I was not in the mood to do yesterday.

I'm thinking of crocheting three colors: cranberry, gold, and white. This is Barber.

This one is called Stellar Crystal. In the book, the spokes are more rounded. I think it looks more like a crystal with the spokes pulled out straight.

This little cutie is called Frost. I definitely need to do some adjusting with this one!

The last one for the day is called Spring Snow. After looking at the individual pictures, I'm ready to pull out my blocking mats!

Since I had the ball of white crochet cotton out, I decided to tat Curds & Whey in white. I thought the white thread felt thicker than the other crochet cottons I had used recently, and I was right. I've been tatting eight pattern repeats, and I only had room for seven in the white.

I'm amazed that I still have some of Karey Solomon's hand-dyed thread left. I think the gold is my favorite glass gem with this thread.

I finished the St. Louis Cathedral Spires section of Lagniappe by Mike Lyon. I love the way this pattern flows!

50/50

This is my fourth Curds & Whey bookmark (pattern from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior), and there's a mistake of too many stitches and one too many picots in the second large ring. I decided to keep going, and I think it looks okay. So, four bookmarks made, two with mistakes, two without, and that gives me a 50/50 record. I hope I can improve!

This one is tatted in size 20 Lizbeth #149 Peacock Blues, one of my favorite Lizbeth colors!

I subbed in the elementary school today, which meant I had very little time to tat. I did get a little done before school and at lunch time, but the majority of my tatting time was after I got home. I think I did okay! 

Not much to show

I only tatted an Ice Drop yesterday, and I was concentrating on another project, so I didn't post a picture yesterday.

Instead, I focused on Mike Lyon's Lagniappe. This pattern is so pretty, and I'm really enjoying working with size 40 Lizbeth. I completed round 5 just before dinner, and I ready to start on round 6. After round 5, it's about 6" across. It's kind of fun to have a big project to work on!

Forgetful

I did get on my computer last night, and I did read some blog posts. However, I forgot to blog!

One more motif is finished on my Eightsome Reel mat, pattern by Mary Konior. I do love Marilee Rockley's Lantana Citrus.

I've managed to tat three Ice Drops over the past couple of days. This one has a silver gem, but it sure looks white in the photo.

I really like the way the amber gem looks with Karey Solomon's hand-dyed thread.

My favorite one with this thread so far has to be this one with the purple gem. I'm not usually a purple person, but I love the way this one turned out!

Happy new year!

My new year is off to a great start! How about yours?

First, I found an Ice Drop that I finished Christmas day.

Next, I practiced oya, following a YouTube video. It looked so simple! My results are horrible, but I will try again. I have a feeling this pattern was a little too advanced for me.

In order to make myself feel better about my skills with thread, I tatted a basic Ice Drop. This one is in Karey Solomon's Distant Mountains hand-dyed thread. I do love this color, and I feel much better knowing that I have a little bit of skill when using a shuttle and thread!

Cleaning

I'm in cleaning and reorganizing mode, not a usual state of mind for me. I've been working on our bedroom yesterday and today. It seems I'm not content to clean, I feel the need to reorganize everything, so it takes much longer than it needs to. I guess that really doesn't matter, does it?

 I have been pacing myself, allowing time for tatting of course! I finished the pendant I started yesterday in Karey Solomon's Distant Mountains.

Then, I decided to tat my Minty Fudge pattern in Karey's thread. It sure is pretty!

I received another anniversary shuttle from Emiko Suenaga today. Receiving a new shuttle always makes my day!