The day after

Today was a typical day after the last performance school day... lots of tired, but happy students! Dave and I have been busy doing our usual cleanup... washing tablecloths, coffee pots, and coffee cups. We must have a good routine down, because we're almost finished cleaning and putting away. It's a good feeling!

Today was a fabulous mail day! First, I received my newest shuttle from Grizzly Mountain Arts. I do love lighthouses, and I was thrilled to be able to purchase this one.

I also received several new shuttles from Emiko Suenaga of PaintatPlus. Emiko is celebrating two years of having an Etsy shop. There were several shuttles that I wanted, so I waited until I had enough set aside to purchase all I wanted at once. It was well worth the wait!

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I love the "Forget me not" theme!

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The shuttles are available in both large and small sizes.

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They're also available as Clover bobbin shuttles, which I love!

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I also couldn't resist this beautiful blue butterfly shuttle!

Emiko also sent along some beautiful resin disks with flowers from her own garden. I am thrilled to have these, and when they become Ice Drops, they will be ones I treasure for years to come! Thank you, Emiko!

Lily's afghan is growing quickly! I have high hopes for finishing it within the next week. Unfortunately, that will mean less tatting time. It can't be helped. Christmas will be here in no time, and I have two more to go after this one!

Makin' a list and checkin' it twice!

I'm taking a breather. It's been a busy weekend, and I'm gearing up for a busy week. A lot has been accomplished, but there's still so much to do! I decided I need a checklist...

☑ finish decorating (I finally added my favorite Ice Drops to my tree!)
☑ ravioli made
☑ Christmas shopping done
🗹  presents wrapped (I'm getting there)
🗹  grocery shopping
🗹  banking
🗹  Christmas stockings made
🗹  mantle runner finished
🗹  catch up on reading blog posts (may never happen)

Although we've been busy, it's been a fun busy. I enjoy getting ready for family get-togethers, but I pace myself. I don't worry about everything being perfect. I just want my guests to feel comfortable, and I want to be able to enjoy the festivities!

My shuttle collecting continues! I love my new shuttles from Rita Richmond. Have you tried the shuttles that she makes? The have a wonderful feel and hold so much thread. I also like the Moonlit shuttles that she decorates. The hooks come in handy when I'm traveling.

I also ordered the newest design from Emiko Suenaga. The detail that these two ladies put in to their shuttles amazes me!

Can you tell that I love sapphire blue?
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Cleaning

I'm in cleaning and reorganizing mode, not a usual state of mind for me. I've been working on our bedroom yesterday and today. It seems I'm not content to clean, I feel the need to reorganize everything, so it takes much longer than it needs to. I guess that really doesn't matter, does it?

 I have been pacing myself, allowing time for tatting of course! I finished the pendant I started yesterday in Karey Solomon's Distant Mountains.

Then, I decided to tat my Minty Fudge pattern in Karey's thread. It sure is pretty!

I received another anniversary shuttle from Emiko Suenaga today. Receiving a new shuttle always makes my day!

Oops!

I was watching baseball last night, and I forgot to blog! What can I say? I guess I was distracted. 😁

I received two beautiful shuttles in the mail today. These celebrate Emiko Suenaga's one year anniversary of decorating and selling shuttles. Aren't they pretty?

I spent yesterday morning helping daughter Carol with costume selection for the middle school production of James and the Giant Peach. Most of the kids came in to school to show what they had from home, and then they looked for other items they needed from the Drama Club costume stash. It was a lot of fun watching them go through costumes!

I honestly don't know what happened to the rest of the day. Could running to the grocery store, putting together a meat pie, and talking to Mom really have taken the whole afternoon? I guess time really does fly when you're having fun!

Anyway, the baseball game started about 4:30, and I managed to tat one Ice Drop during the game. The Cubs lost, but it was still a good game.

I love the soft colors of this Ice Drop in size 20 Lizbeth Blue Ice. I think I might just have to keep it for myself!

Dots and shuttle love

I was able to spend some time chatting with Usha online this morning, and she inspired me to try her dot picots again.

I'm not very good with them, but I will keep on trying!

My newest shuttles arrived from Japan today!

Emiko's packaging is almost as beautiful as her shuttles!

Good intentions

I intended to get a lot of tatting done today. I really did have good intentions, but reality set in and I chose to work on the mundane household chores necessary to keeping the household together. I think I made the right choice! ;-)

Lots of goodies arrived in the mail today. I received this beautiful hand-painted shuttle from a new Etsy shop, PainTatPlus. I was her very first customer, and I received a lovely note along with the shuttle verifying that I was the first to purchase from her. Kind of cool!

While at Palmetto Tat Days, Jane Eborall kept encouraging me to work on my split rings. When I saw Karen Bovard advertise her newest tatting book, I just had to have it. Now I can practice those split rings, Jane. I know. I know. I have several split ring books, so I didn't need this one to get started, but I sure am glad I have it! I also have another of Karen's beautiful enamel shuttles. Maybe this will be the shuttle to get me working on those split rings!

I know I need two shuttles to work on split rings, so I consider myself very lucky that my newest purchases from Shuttle by Design arrived today! I guess I got a little carried away, but I know I will use them!

This little beauty from Tatting Shuttles arrived over the weekend. I was attracted to it because of the red inlay. Red is my mom's favorite color!

I love enameled shuttles, and these little beauties from Middy Clark at The Knotted Vine arrived today. I love these little works of art!

Yes, I am still obsessed with Handi-Wind Shuttles from Grizzly Mountain Arts! I have been a customer of Dave and Jo for years, and I am always impressed with the craftsmanship that goes into each and every piece!

In between laundry loads, I wove some more squares for Mom. I know I have a Zoom Loom somewhere in the house, unless I gave it away. I don't really need it. I have been using my Weavette loom, which works just fine, but there's this little nagging voice at the back of my head saying, "You must find your Zoom Loom!"

So, as you can see, I had lots of reasons for not finishing my Spinning Wheel today. Maybe I'll get it finished tomorrow! ;-)