I spent the afternoon binding the quilt blocks for the first row of my new quilt. It took me a while to settle on which fabric to use for the binding. My choice was this soft gray or a tone on tone white fabric. The white seemed to stark to me. I'm glad I went with the gray!
I forgot to post yesterday that I finished quilting the blocks for my new quilt. I know I opened my computer, but I must have been distracted by something. That seems to happen a lot these days!
This morning I finished reading The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier, the story of a glass making family in Murano, Italy. The story was interesting but a bit bizarre. The family ages normally, but they skip through time. Everyone else in the world stays on a normal timeline. The story starts over five hundred years ago, and ends after the 2020 pandemic. It was interesting, but not something I would read again. I do plan on reading at least one more book by this author with the hope that everything happens in one time frame!
Tollway Tatters met this morning. We had a nice sized group, and I managed to tat a Curds & Whey bookmark from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. Since I used larger picots than I have been lately, my three mistakes are pretty well hidden.
We talked about tatting with polyester thread and King Tut. I've decided I'll give the Serafil another try, and I'm really tempted to start a hanky edging in King Tut. Getting together with other tatters sets my mind spinning with ideas!
I squared up all of my quilt blocks this afternoon, and then I arranged the layout for my quilt. This one will be a little smaller than my last one, only 30 blocks, 5 across and 6 down.
I've decided that I will machine stitch the binding, but hand stitch the blocks together. I need something that will keep me awake when Dave and I watch t.v. at night!
We had a break in the weather today... no rain! Unfortunately, we have a chance of rain every day this week. As long as we don't have any more storms for a while, I can handle more rain.
For tatting, I decided to stick with Curds & Whey from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. I decided to try some Serafil thread that I purchased several years ago. Tatting with polyester thread is not as enjoyable as working with cotton thread. I found it harder to close my rings and keep them closed. As pretty as this thread is, I think I'll save it for something else.
My sister came to visit this weekend. While she worked on making Christmas ornaments, I worked on my four patch quilt, I was inspired to keep working after seeing the four strips sewn together.
Since we were having so much fun crafting, I finished another strip. I have two more to complete, and then I will be able to finish the quilt.
As for Janet, she finished six ornaments this weekend. I wish I had taken pictures!
The new sewing machine foot to help with seam binding hasn't arrived yet, but I really wanted to try this new to me technique for attaching the binding. I decided to play around with my machine and see if I could come up with something that works for me, and I did!
I think the back looks pretty good, too.
As an experiment, I joined the first two blocks with a zig zag stitch. I'm surprised at how sturdy it is. Since I am still working with inexpensive fabrics, I don't mind taking a chance trying something new. Mom said she would never look that closely to see how the blocks are joined. Daughter Joanne said she really like the look, so I'm going to continue.
If I like the final look, it sure will save me a lot of time and a lot of wear and tear on my hands!
I haven't gone back to my Criss Cross bookmark. All of my brain power has gone into my quilting project. However, I still need to tat, so I loaded up my shuttle with size 20 Lizbeth #180 Honey Drizzle. My friend Denise got me hooked on this color when it first came out. I love the shading!
In order to give my brain a break, I'm tatting Curds & Whey from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. This still remains one of my favorite tatting books!
I accomplished a lot today. First, I finished tatting another bookmark, "Curds & Whey" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. This was the last of "Harvest Moon" hand-dyed thread from LadyShuttleMaker.
The glue basting dried for more than 24 hours, and the five blocks that I quilted went very smoothly. The only negative is that on the purple color on the left, the glue shows through. Out of all the squares in these blocks, that color is the only one that showed this. Since the glue is supposed to wash out, I think all will be fine.
Late this afternoon, I finished sewing the two sets of strips together. I only have three strips to go. I really like the way this looks!
Have you noticed that I've been finishing off each skein of hand-dyed thread with Mary Konior's Curds & Whey? That's because this is a simple one shuttle pattern that looks good no matter where I end it. I've even been saving small pattern repeats to use as embellishments. Where or when I use them has not been determined!
I wasn't really in the mood to sew yesterday. Another book has caught my interest, and I wanted to be lazy and have another reading day. However, I also have a strong desire to see how this quilt is going to turn out. So, I spent the better part of the afternoon binding the next set of blocks.
I've watched videos on yet another way of attaching the binding, but the finished look is different, so I won't be experimenting with this quilt. I do have an idea for my next quilt!
Our youngest daughter Joanne and her family arrived Friday. They live in southern Georgia, and we live in northern Illinois, so it's a long journey. We had family cookouts Saturday and Sunday so that most everyone could spend some time visiting. Not everyone could make it, which is completely understandable!
I finished quilting the last of my 10" squares for my new patriotic quilt. This afternoon I laid out the strips for the rail fence blocks. Once I have those finished, I will decide on the layout and the method of finishing the blocks.
It was a rainy afternoon here, and it looks like it will be rainy again tomorrow... perfect crafting weather!
It was too hot and humid to do much of anything yesterday. I did shampoo porch cushions early in the morning, but I was done working outside by 7:30.
I have several shuttles with bits of thread left on them, so I spent the evening working on another Curds & Whey bookmark from Mary Konior's Tatting with Visual Patterns. The thread is size 20 Lizbeth #710 Bright Blue Lt.
I think I have enough of this left to tat two more bookmarks. We'll see how that goes!
Yesterday and today were slow craft days for me. Even though I didn't accomplish much, I did manage to finish another Curds & Whey bookmark. This has become one of my favorite patterns from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konnor.
I've been asked about my photograph background. It's the lid to my new tatting basket.
We went to Shipshewana, Indiana this summer and stopped at an Amish basket maker, where I found this beautiful basket.
There's a lovely little tray that, when organized, holds my current project.
There's plenty of storage in the bottom, so I can keep lots of supplies close at hand. Now all I have to do is organize my corner of the living room. It has become quite messy!
I finished my second bookmark of the day, Curds & Whey from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konnor. I started this one a few weeks ago, and I decided I should finish it before starting another project.
It's good to finish projects!
I decided that today was as good a day as any to start tatting bookmarks. I turned to my favorite bookmark pattern, Curds and Whey from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. If I could only keep one of my tatting books, this would be the one. I get so much inspiration from it.
While reorganizing upstairs, I decided it was time to pull out my Great-grandma Morris's quilts. I think she must have made this as a bedspread, because it pretty well covers my queen. I know that our family's biggest beds were full size back then. Grandma Morris passed when I was 10 years old. I'm 71 now. So, I know this quilt is at least 61 years old.
Daughter Alison claimed the full size afghan. I sure did get a lot out of those skeins of yarn!
It's getting to be that time of year... hearts and flowers for Valentine's Day! I was looking back in my blog, and I haven't attempted Mary Konior's Queen of Hearts from Tatting with Visual Patterns since April of 2010. This is the first time I've come close to tatting this heart in a way that pleases me. I guess having more tatting experience pays off!
I greatly admire those who can design heart patterns. I've tried with no success. Hearts are hard! This one is in size 40 Lizbeth Poppy Red #669.
I haven't done much tatting since Christmas. I needed to give my hands and wrists a rest. I also find that it's more difficult to tat in the cold weather. So, knitting and crocheting have been my go-to projects.
Still inspired by my binge watching of Downton Abbey, I spent the last two days reading Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey. This book was just as enjoyable as the first one!
Yes, I did do a little tatting. It's been a while since I've worked on a hanky edging. This one is "Clover" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. The thread is hand-dyed size 40 from Yarnplayer, Brilliant Sunset. I think it's gorgeous!
It was wonderful to spend two days reading, but today it was time to get back to tatting. Any time I can't decide what to work on next, I find that working on a Spinning Wheel glass mat (Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior) is a great way to relax and consider my options.
I haven't decided what I'll tackle next, but I sure had fun thinking about possibilities!
It's hard to believe that I started my blog 14 years ago on my 55th birthday. Where has the time gone?
Finally, I decided to try tatting Christina from Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. This time I left off the picots for a totally different look.
I still have a little bit of Daffodil Dell left, but I'm pretty sure I'll need to choose another color tomorrow!
I've found that I prefer blogging at night. That way I can keep a record of what I've accomplished in a day. That didn't happen last night, because I finished my last tatted piece too late. I just didn't have any energy left for blogging!
I started my day with another Workbasket cross in size 40 Lizbeth #117 Country Side. I left the picots off on this one, and I really like the sleek look. I laid the cross on a large white envelope, because I knew it would disappear on my Kindle cover. I like using my Kindle as a backdrop because of the texture, but I've realized that it seems to suck the life out of some colors.
With that in mind, I re-photographed yesterday's Curds & Whey bookmark. Now you can see more of the true beauty of this color combination from Tatskool!
I spent some time de-cluttering upstairs in the morning. Then, I loaded up the back of the car with items I no longer could use, and Mom and I headed to Goodwill. We visited daughter Carol for lunch and then headed back home. I was thrilled to see that Victoria Ong's new needle lace book had arrived in the mail!
This is Victoria's third book on needle lace, and I am thrilled to have it! It is very detailed and beautifully done. I've had the pleasure of taking a class with Victoria, and she has attended Tollway Tatters. She is a very patient teacher, and I am happy that she took the time to write three wonderful books on needle lace!
It took me until late afternoon to finish the Workbasket cross. I'm still adjusting to tatting with size 40 thread. I love working with it, but I haven't developed a feel for working with it, so it takes me quite a bit longer than when I use size 20. After dinner, I decided to tat another donut necklace. The donut is 5/8" donut and it works well with the size 40 thread.
My friend Sue has been using these 3/4" plastic rings in her sun catchers. They also work well with the size 40 thread.
So, why did I switch from hand-dyed threads to Lizbeth? When I'm experimenting, I prefer to use the Lizbeth. It's less expensive. Once I know my ideas will work, I feel better switching to the hand-dyed threads. Truth be told, I have way more thread than I will ever be able to use (both Lizbeth and hand-dyed). Still, I hate to be wasteful!
Somehow, I can't stop myself from collecting tatting supplies, and I love collecting bags. This weekend I received two of Jane Eborall's Roly Poly tatting bags. These are perfect for carrying around in my purse! I was only going to order one, the one on the left. However, those cute little bugs were calling to me, so I had to have two.
I finished the last of my skein of the pretty blue/green. I didn't quite have enough thread to go around the button. It still makes a cute pendant!
Moving on to another hand-dyed thread, I was in the mood to tat another Curds & Whey bookmark from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. The thread is Just Daffodils by Tatskool. I could not get a good picture of this thread. It is absolutely gorgeous!
