Enjoying the weather

It's warmed up quite a bit, but not to the point of being too warm for me. Yesterday was sunny and breezy, so I took advantage of the weather and enjoyed the day!

I played with another stitch count variation for my Pink Fudge pattern. On this one I kept all of the chain counts the same and just changed the two side rings of each cluster to a count of 4+4. It's okay, but I don't feel like I'm there yet. My beautiful shuttles are from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine on Etsy. I feel a connection to Middy. I learned to tat from her grandmother's video!

I took the time to create a chart for my Blue Jean Saturday shawl by Deby Lake. I sometimes get myself confused remembering where I am in a pattern. While working on the My First Knit Sweater Knit-along, I picked up a tip from Marly Bird to create a chart to keep track of rows... what a brilliant idea! I've been using hash marks on a Post-It note for years, but this is so much easier!

Daughter Carol must have been taking some much needed down time yesterday. She sent another picture of her legs covered by her new waffle stitch afghan. Look who's snuggled up on her legs. I may have to crochet a small blanket for Sir William Wallace with the leftover yarn!

Granddaughter Eva's junior prom was this weekend. It's hard to believe she's old enough to attend prom. Where does the time go?

Catching up

I know it's been a long time between blog posts. Honestly, I just haven't felt like blogging. I've been engrossed in working on multiple projects, watching technique videos, reading, and subbing. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

I only tatted when I had free time at school this week, and that wasn't very often! This is the Pink Fudge pattern I'm playing with. I'm not sure this is the stitch count is what I'm looking for, so I'll keep playing. The shuttles are from Veronica of TattingShuttles on Etsy. I'm really drawn to Russian designs. I've probably been greatly influenced by my mom, who has a love of Russian and Chinese history and art.

The second block pattern for the Flora crochet-along from The Crochet Crowd came out on the 15th. Only two blocks were needed of this design. Mikey said this is the easiest of the blocks. It was very easy to crochet.

While doing a little craft organizing yesterday, I found a shawl that I had started years ago. I couldn't figure out where I was in the pattern. The notes were lost somewhere along the way. So, I unraveled the 4" on the needles and started a new pattern. This one is Blue Jean Saturday by Deby Lake, a free pattern download on Ravelry. So far, I'm really enjoying working with this super fine yarn!

I've made a little more progress on Caesious from Curls  by Hunter Hammersen. I'm almost near the end of my leftover ball of Mandala. This may be large enough for one of the little ones. If not, it's been good practice. I'm not sure if I'll ever make a full-sized version of this pattern. It's easy enough to follow, but I think it looks kind of boring.

Sir William Wallace Cademartori is enjoying daughter Carol's newly finished waffle stitch afghan.

This is the longest afghan I have ever made, just as Carol ordered. She wanted it long enough to tuck under her chin and over her toes. The afghan is longer than she is tall, and she loves it! What more could a mother ask for?

Days of the week

The kindergarteners sing a song called Days of the Week to the tune of The Addams Family theme song, a show I loved watching in the '60s! That song popped in to my head this morning when I saw that I haven't posted since Monday. The days of the week are just flying by!

Yesterday I decided to revisit my Pink Fudge pattern. This is not one of my favorite patterns, mainly because it doesn't lie flat without blocking when it's finished. I think I'll take a cue from Jane Eborall and play with this one to see if I can come up with a stitch count that works better for me!

The drama's over

Well, the middle school drama club production of James and the Giant Peach is over. There will be more drama when the high school drama club begins their preparations for their spring production. I do love being on the fringes of the drama club!

Now the cleanup begins. Coffee makers have been cleaned and returned to the cafeteria. Serving utensils have been cleaned and returned to the caterer. Coffee cups have all been washed and will be put away by the end of the day. I still have coffee thermoses and flatware to clean and tablecloths to wash. It's going to be a busy day!

I'm ready to get back into Ice Drop tatting! It only took me three days to finish this one... drama club did take over my weekend! This is my Pink Fudge Ice Drop pattern. I made a mistake in the count on my chains in the first round, so I needed to use my steam iron to tame my tatting. I plan on paying closer attention to my patterns from now on!

Another Pink Fudge variation

One of the ladies on the Ice Drop Addicts page on Facebook mentioned that she tats the decorative round before tatting the round that encases the glass gem. I encase the glass gem and then tat the decorative round.

This time, I decided to try Nancy's way. I felt that it took me longer to finish the Ice Drop this way, but that's probably because I've developed a rhythm for completing the Ice Drops my way. One thing I did notice is that although this glass gem is slightly larger than some of the others, it fit very nicely. I think that's because the chain that surrounds the gem does not fit as snugly.

In any case, I really like the way this turned out. Did you notice the pink in the beads? Who says pink and orange don't go together? Not I!

Pink Fudge revisited

In my Fudge series of Ice Drops, I think I like Pink Fudge the best. It's simple and fancy at the same time.

I decided to change it up a bit this time. I changed the chain stitch count from 6 to 7 on rounds 1 and 3, and I added beads after tatting the center ring on round 3. It's not a big change, but I do like the way it looks!

The good, the bad, and the ugly

The good... Joanne and family came to visit for the weekend!

The bad... Our visit was cut short.

The ugly... I came down with stomach flu on Saturday, and it hit Dave on Sunday.

Joanne and family drove down on Thursday. I subbed, so they actually arrived at the house about an hour before I did. That was probably good, as it gave Joanne, Jan, and the kids a little time to unwind from their long drive.

On Friday, Joanne and I took the kids on a short shopping trip. Mom is going to weave some placemats for Joanne, and we went to choose fabric.

Mom takes the fabric and cuts it into bias strips, which she then weaves. The final product looks nothing like the original. It's always a surprise!

It was a beautiful day, so after lunch we went outside to play with the kids.

They love playing tag with Mommy!

It's a good thing we had lots of fun on Friday, because the flu bug hit me early Saturday morning. I slept the day away while Dave and Jan worked on drywalling and tiling the bathroom.

The plan was to start the flooring on Sunday, but Dave woke up feeling sick. So, instead of having a work day, Joanne and family packed up and drove home. It's a good thing they didn't wait around for us, because Dave and I slept the day away.

I'm amazed at how much Dave and Jan were able to accomplish in the short time they had available. The bathroom project may take a bit long than we hoped, but it will get done.

I'm starting to feel normal again. My friend Denise called to check on me this morning, and I had to cut our conversation short. Now that I've been up for a while and had a little to eat, I'm feeling much better!

While Joanne was here, she and Sophia chose Ice Drops to take home with them. They want to have their own Ice Drop tree! Sophia liked my Blue Fudge Ice Drop and asked if I would make a pink one. I started it Friday afternoon while the kids were napping, but didn't finish it in time for her to take home. I guess I'll have to come up with Ice Drops for each of the twins so that they all have something in the mail. Oh, darn! 😍