2013 Indiana Lace Day

The Lafayette Lacemakers held their Indiana Lace Day today, and Denise and I headed out early this morning! Well, we thought it was early. We forgot that even though Lafayette is only an hour and a half away, they're in a different time zone!

Before we did anything else, we chatted with two friends we made at previous Lace Days, Carol and Carolyn. Unfortunately, I never thought to take even one picture! So, you only get to see pictures that I took after I arrived home.

Let me tell you, I am the luckiest girl alive!

Way back in January, Battatter asked what we would like to see in 3D tatting. In case you didn't know, she does fabulous 3D tatting. Her bats are unbelievable! Anyway, I replied that I would like to see a grandfather clock. I love grandfather clocks... it's kind of a family thing. I was so surprised when she gave me my very own 3D grandfather clock today!

Do you recognize the face? It's Grandfather Clock from Captain Kangaroo! Grandfather Clock was my favorite character! Thank you, Carol! This will be my most treasured tatting gift forever!

Oh, and do you see the pretty blue origami pouch in the background? I won it! It was made by another dear tatting friend, Lelia from Stitches of Life II.

...and it was stuffed with goodies! I wish you could have been there, Lelia. It was a great day, and now I have one of your origami pouches!

Yes, there was some retail therapy today... tatting shuttles, thread, books, patterns, bobbins... but I'll save all that for another post. I wouldn't want you to be too jealous of all the fun we had!

Sulky Blendables #4011 ~ Milk Chocolate

Yes, dear friends, I have finished tatting Stumpy in another Sulky Blendables thread with a luscious name! The shuttle is Zingy by LaCossette. You may remember that in an earlier post I mentioned that I was having trouble with the thread binding. I'm happy to report that since I've been more careful with my winding, and since I take the time to move the bobbin with my fingers if it feels tight, I haven't had a problem. I'm so glad I asked for advice!

I've had some wonderful surprises in my mail box since my last post. Lelia sent me some thread samples and bookplates. Thank you Lelia!

Jess and Livi sent me a blinged Starlit shuttle wound with some beautiful hand-dyed thread. Do you see the heart that Livi drew for me? Thank you, girls!

Last, but not least, my newest LaCossette shuttles arrived! The top one is Lily, the bottom one is Wisteria. There were two more in the package, but they were presents for friends, and I didn't think to take pictures before sending them off to their new homes.

I have other projects in the works... two Spinning Wheel glass mats in size 20 HDT, one Spinning Wheel glass mat in 12 wt. Sulky, Baby Lace hanky edging in size 80 Lizbeth Grape Splash... those are the ones on the table next to me. Maybe I should find the UFOs in my sewing room and finish some of them!

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. : )

For Doug

Our friend Doug's father passed away a few weeks ago, and I've been trying to tat a cross bookmark for him. I think I have started and given up on seven crosses in the past three weeks, but I finally finished one! Even this one was started three times. I guess I'm a little distracted with the beginning of school. I was very relaxed as I worked on each cross... so relaxed that I left out important picots, or joined in too many places!

I just kind of finger-pressed it in place. I can see that I'll probably need a little Best Press so that the bottom arm doesn't bulge just below the center motif. I really do like using Best Press!

The picture already says it all, but I think I'll be a bit redundant today. The pattern is from the Motif section of Cathy Bryant's Tatting. I used size 40 Lizbeth, color #117. I used one of my wonderful shuttles from Dave at Grizzly Mountain Arts.

Do you see the corner of a magazine at the top left of the picture? It's the Autumn 2011 issue of Crazy Quilt Gatherings from Pat Winter. I love ordering this magazine! Pat gives a heads up when the new issue is available, and your copy of each issue is printed and mailed after you pay for it. It's also available as a PDF if you're not interested in a hard copy. No subscriptions are necessary. You just order the issues you're interested in. Of course, I've ordered all three so far. : )

This issue was especially interesting to me, because my friend Lelia from Stitches of Life II wrote an article on Kanzashi flowers! Maybe I'll do some retail therapy this afternoon so that I can try making some of these adorable fabric flowers!