Niagara Falls Spinning Wheel

I tried something new today, dehydrating. I had three quarts of beans cleaned and bagged, with no room in the freezer and no desire to can. It was way too hot today for canning. I haven't dehydrated anything since the '70s, and I only attempted fruit back then. 

My three quarts of beans are now shriveled down to about a pint and are safely stored away. I'll try some soup or stew next week to see if we like rehydrated beans!

While the dehydrator was doing its thing, I had time to go through some boxes, and I had time to tat!

I've been asked about the difference in size with the different threads. The blue Spinning Wheel is size 80 Lizbeth. It's about 3 1/2". The yellow Snowflake Cappuccino is size 20 Lizbeth and is about 4 3/4". The green Spinning wheel is size 20 Lizbeth and is about 5 1/2".

Book break

When I was visiting daughter Alison last week, grandson Aidan recommended this book to me. So, I spent yesterday and today doing some reading. I enjoyed it, although I did have to do a little background research to understand the context of the story. I did find that the book was made in to a movie starring Jim Caviezel. I hope to watch it soon so that I can compare the book to the movie. I usually find that I enjoy the book more because of the detail that comes through. However, seeing the movie helps me visualize what is happening, especially if I don't completely understand the story!

Of course I did manage to fit in some time for tatting! I think I would have finished this Spinning Wheel if I hadn't spent so much time reading. :-)

Size 80

I haven't gotten very far in my reorganizing efforts, but I do try to make a little progress every day. The other day I came across this size 80 Lizbeth thread. The color called to me, so I kept it close while finishing my Pineapple Parfait snowflake.

I'm sure you recognize the pattern by now, Spinning Wheel glass mat from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. The thread is #158 Niagara Falls.

I can't help myself... I'm drawn to blue!

Just plain stubborn!

Yup, that's me! Yesterday I tatted the last ring of this pretty little motif, Toshti, designed by Jon and named by Fox. When I finished the ring, I realized that I had joined it to the wrong picot. I tried to retro-tat, and I managed to tighten one of the knots tighter than I had ever done before... not a good thing!

I spent hours trying to get that knot out... at least three hours yesterday, and at least an hour today. Finally, I decided to take the scissors and snip the darned thing out. After all, I could have re-tatted the whole motif in that time!

I very carefully tatted and joined the last ring, and to my dismay, I realized that I never needed the ring in the first place! I had forgotten to join the last clover to the correct ring. I took out the last ring and just did a little sewing to join at the forgotten spot. I did consider retro-tatting to fix the join properly, but I had already spent way too much time in this one spot. You'd better believe, I won't be making that mistake again!

By the way, this is size 40 Lizbeth, Niagara Falls #158. The finished size is about 3 1/4" square.

Doodad Double Dare #7!

Lady Picot finished her Doodad Double Dare in a way I never thought of, and it looks spectacular! You're just going to have to hop on over to her blog to see what she's done!

I've started on another doodad, goldtone this time, using size 40 Lizbeth #158, Niagara Falls. Isn't the color pretty? I'm working Jon's new design again. This time I will be joining it in the correct spot!