Sunny and cold!

The Tollway Tatters managed to get together today, despite the bitter cold.

This is a really bad picture of daughter Alison, but it's the only one I took of her. She brought her knitting with her, and I am now the proud owner of a new dishcloth!

There were lots of projects going on. I started another Spinning Wheel glass mat today. This one is in size 20 Lizbeth, Falling Leaves, #100.

Marilee brought along lots of samples for upcoming classes she'll be teaching.

Marilee spent most of her time test-tatting a new patter for a class she'll be teaching this summer.

Sue Anna was test-tatting the same pattern for Marilee.

It was kind of fun to listen to the two of them talk about how to make the pattern read better.

Barbara was busy tatting a snowflake.

She's such a talented lady, and she's so much fun to talk to!

Marilee brought along some of her hand-dyed threads. There's nothing like shopping for beautiful HDT in person!

My main achievement today was finishing my Springtime Spinning Wheel glass mat. There was enough thread left on one shuttle to tat a little bookmark. The pattern is Leaf Braid from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior.

It was a very productive day!

Shuttle testing for Imoshen

Lucky me! I was chosen to test one of Imoshen's new shuttles!

The blue one never arrived, so Imoshen very kindly sent me another in white. When I opened the package, I gasped with joy! You know I love bling, and this little beauty is filled with bling. The camera just doesn't do it justice!

As you can see, it's not very big... 1 3/4" x 3/4". Imoshen also sent a sample of size 80 DMC thread, which I wound on to the shuttle immediately. I tatted my favorite one shuttle pattern, Leaf Braid from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. It was great to tat with size 80 thread again.

The shuttle has a beautiful raised pattern that is difficult to see in the photo. That raised pattern makes it very easy to grip the shuttle, but it also means that you have to adjust your tatting style so that the thread doesn't catch on the raised bit... not a problem for me, because I own several shuttles like this. I simply tilt the shuttle sideways as I'm tatting.

My next step... keep my eyes open for them to go on sale. After all, one can never own too many shuttles! ;-)

Doodle, doodle, doodle

That's all I did today... doodle. Well, not all... I did do the laundry and the grocery shopping, but whenever I had a little free time... doodle, doodle, doodle!

The top piece isn't a doodle. It's Mary Konior's Leaf Braid from Tatting with Visual Patterns. I used size 20 Lizbeth for all of my tatting today. The green is #167, Jungle Greens. The pink on the left is #621, Dusty Rose Lt. The pink on the right is #628, Salmon Med. The doodads in the center are from Hobby Lobby.

Maybe I had a little too much fun today!

Inspired by Jon

I have been admiring Jon's efforts with Norma Benporath's Five Dainty Designs for Tatting. I really didn't think I was up to interpreting old patterns, but I took a look anyway.

I had some of LadyShuttleMaker's "Americana" left on the shuttles, so I decided to give Edging #3 a try. I like the gentle curve of this edging, and I have an idea of how I can use it.

I tatted until one shuttle was empty. I decided to use the remaining thread to tat "Leaf Braid" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. I love using this pattern to use up left-over thread! Some day I'll use my bits of Leaf Braid to decorate some CQ blocks... some day!

Blue on blue...

Oh, wait! That's such a sad song, and I'm far from being sad! I leave for Alabama tomorrow... two weeks with my beautiful, talented mother! Bonus... Tattycat and I will get to meet each other in person! Whoo hoo! Last September I got to meet Yarnplayer at the Harvest Festival. What fun it is to get to meet online tatting buddies in person!

I know I said "Eleonora" was calling to me (in Pamela's "Apple Blossom"), but "Pensacola Beach" kept telling me that since I was headed south, I really needed to use southern-inspired thread. So, I started my second "Beatrice" in "Pensacola Beach" last night. Of course, the shuttle I wanted to use still had some thread on it, so I used it on my favorite single shuttle pattern, "Leaf Braid" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. Then, I changed my mind and decided to use my new shuttle from Grizzly Mountain Arts! I can be so fickle!

So, my tatting bags are almost packed... HDT in silk and cotton for 6 crosses, supplies for "Eleonora" and "Beatrice", supplies for bookmarks, picot gauge, scissors, patterns... I hope I'm not forgetting anything! Now, I guess I'd better look into packing clothes for the trip...