I forgot my picot gauge...

I had no time to tat or blog on Thursday or Friday because my help was needed at play practice... what fun!

Saturday morning at 3:30, Dave and I left for Minnesota to meet the twins. By the time it was light enough for me to tat, we were well in to Wisconsin, and it was then that I realized I'd left my picot gauge at home. I'm not very good about making my picots anywhere near uniform, so my picot gauges are my friends! I didn't want to mess up my Jan Stawasz Masterpiece, so I knit this trip.

I finished my Lyden scarf on the way up. All I have to do is wash and block it and it will be ready for winter!

I then started my next scarf, Piland. This is another Knit Picks Preciosa Tonal yarn, Duchess. I really am enjoying my knitting these days!

Even though our trip was only two days, we had a really good time.

Daughter Joanne looks terrific! Somehow, Daddy Jan managed to avoid having his picture taken... at least with my camera. Baby Jan was much easier to catch with the camera!

We were able to attend granddaughter Lily's double-header. Afterwards the whole family came over and we feasted on pizza, and we all took turns holding the babies.

Ella showed Sophia how to make cupcakes (made of wood), and the girls treated us to the yummy treats they made! ;-)

Of course the twins were the stars of the show. It was hard to leave them in Minnesota, but Mommy and Daddy wanted to keep them. I guess we'll have to wait until Christmas when we can see them again.

Play season has begun!

Last night was the first practice for the middle school production of Bugsy Malone. Daughter Carol was short-handed and the full cast of 45 was scheduled to be there, so I was asked to come help keep the kiddos in line. My help really wasn't necessary, because the kids are so well behaved, but it was nice to be included!

As a result, I had no time for tatting yesterday... sigh! Sometimes life just gets in the way.

I did take my knitting with me to play practice. I have to tell you, the theory behind Sequence Knitting has been eye opening for me! I'm on my fourth scarf, and I'm still on page 9 of the book! Sometimes it just takes the right combination of instructor and student to make things click!

I belong to the Tatting Shuttle Addicts page on Facebook, and Monica Braxton is the current official shuttle maker for the group. One side of the shuttle has the TSA logo.

The other side can be engraved with your name... always a draw for me! This is Monica's "Eddie" shuttle, and it can be ordered with or without a hook. I may have to order another with a hook, just so that I can say I have one! ;-)

Sandra Pellerin of Elite Creation asked me to post a comparison of her large bobbin shuttle with a regular sized bobbin shuttle on the TSA page. I thought it might be interesting to those of you who do not belong to that group. As you can see, it's slightly longer than my LaCossette shuttle.

It's also thicker!

The larger bobbin holds a full 15 yards of size 10 thread.

Although bobbin shuttles are not my favorite to use, I do enjoy collecting them and I do use every one at least once! After all, I want each of my shuttles to feel loved! ;-)

Chuggin' along

I'm almost halfway around the sixth motif! I feel rather decadent posting a picture of lace that just seems to have been discarded, but I kind of like the look of a pile of lace.

I spent a little time on my Lyden scarf last night. I really like this pattern from Sequence Knitting, and I like the way the shades of color flow in this skein of Preciosa Tonal from Knit Picks. It just seems to fit the pattern. I wonder if it will continue through the whole scarf? Time will tell!

Busy weekend

Despite the fact that we were incredibly busy this weekend, I did manage to work on some of my favorite projects!

While Dave was busy working outside at daughter Alison's house, I stayed cool inside and worked on round 13 of my Jan Stawasz Masterpiece. I managed to tat around two sections of motifs, which can be tricky with two grandchildren vying for attention! ;-)

I finished knitting my Morant scarf from Sequence Knitting. It was too short for a scarf, so I finished it off as a cowl. The yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage. The color is Baltic. I'm kind of hoping for some chilly days so that I can enjoy wearing this luxurious cowl!

Continuing through the book Sequence Knitting, I started Lyden in Knit Picks Preciosa Tonal, Bonsai. I really like both the yarn and the pattern!

Daughter Joanne's twins are due any day, so I decided I'd better get working on the baby quilts I bought weeks ago. These are just prequilted panels that I bind. I love giving them as baby gifts, but they're getting harder and harder to find. The lady who helped me at Walmart told me that she thinks they're discontinuing these panels. I purchased the last three that they had, and I'm going to be very sad if I can't find any more. They get softer with age, and they're a great size for tummy time on the floor. Maybe I should do some searching online. Otherwise, I may have to start piecing baby quilts... what torture! ;-)

Starting round 12

Starting round 12 has emphasized patterns within patterns to me. Doesn't this look like it could be a small doily in its own right? I didn't pay attention to how long it took me to tat this, as I picked it up and put it down several times today. Maybe I don't want to know! ;-)

We went to daughter Alison's house yesterday to help with her bathroom remodeling project. I delivered Eva's and Aidan's finished scarves. It's a little too warm for them right now, but they both loved them! The patterns are from Sequence Knitting by Cecilia Campochiaro. The pattern for Aidan's blue scarf is called Marlett. I was interested in the name, so I looked it up and learned that Marlett is a TrueType font that has been used in Microsoft Windows since Windows 95.

Lyden is the pattern name for Eva's white scarf. Curiosity got to me again, and I learned that Lyden is a town in South Africa. It's also the name of an oil company. I guess it's true that we learn something new every day!

While Dave was busy working in the bathroom, I worked on another dishcloth. I had read on someone's blog (I can't remember which blog) that she didn't like the eyelet edge on the dishcloths. So, instead of K2, yo, knit to the end, she follows K2, k in front and back of next stitch, knit to the end. On the decrease side she follows K2, K2 together, K to the end. It worked out well, and now I have an alternative way to knit my favorite dishcloth pattern!

I started another scarf from Sequence Knitting using Preciosa Tonal "Captain" from Knit Picks. So far, I really like this yarn. The pattern name is Enders... the meaning of Enders? I found a sci-fi book by that title, but I didn't do too much research. Maybe I'll look into it further later, but for now I think I'll just knit!