Improving

I started my day with another Dorset Crosswheel. I feel like I get a little better with each one I make!

I felt it needed a little embellishment, so I added a round of tatting.

I wasn't content until I had turned it into a December 8 button ornament. I love the way it looks!

After several false starts, I finally have a Lychett Basket button that I like. It's not perfect yet, but it is greatly improved!

It seemed appropriate that I end the day with a donut ornament. 

Tomorrow is our Tollway Tatters Zoom meeting. I won't be able to attend for the full time since it's the last day of Joanne's visit. I am looking forward to meeting up with tatting friends, even if it is for just a little while!

Last of the Red Burst

 

I finished my last button ornament in Red Burst this morning.

I had just enough thread left to make a 1/2" Dorset Button.

So, what was I able to tat with one ball of size 40 Lizbeth? There are two cross bookmarks.

There are 55 button ornaments and one Dorset button. I am very happy with how much I was able to tat with one ball of thread!

Now that I've finished with the ball of Red Burst, I've moved on to size 40 Lizbeth #669 Poppy Red. 

I've signed up for a spot at Christmas in the Village. I sure hope these little ornaments sell!

On the weaving front, I passed on one of my looms to my friend Irene's ten-year-old granddaughter. She sews, knits, and crochets. Weaving seemed like a natural hobby. As you can see, she has really taken to it!

My sister came to visit with her grandchildren today. That means that Great-grandma Green was able to spend time with all of her great grandchildren this summer!

Copper shuttles

With most of my chores done, I felt free to play with my new copper shuttles from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine. This Doodle Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #661, Country Turquoise Med.

This one is in size 20 Lizbeth #669, Poppy Red. I'm thinking of tatting a small doily in these two colors. I think they go really well together.

I spent most of the afternoon working on my Linen and Threads Mystery Sampler. I still have quite a way to go to finish the January portion!

 

When my eyes just wouldn't focus on stitching any more, I switched to working on my cowl. I'm using I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby, and it's working up really nicely.

Tomorrow morning the next clue for the Sanditon MKAL will be released. I'm eager to get started!

Poppy Red Spinning Wheel

When I started tatting this pretty shade of red, I didn't think of the significance of finishing it in time for Veterans' Day. I do like my Poppy Red Spinning Wheel!

As I was catching up with blog posts today, I realized that Frivole has already used the name Snowdrop for one of her pretty snowflake patterns. So, I think I need to come up with another name.

If you haven't tried this method of bezel setting piece:s with tatting, I highly recommend Edda Guastalla's directions! These pieces have been finished using her basic directions, but Edda goes in to many more possibilities. There are 15 pages in this download, and I think it is well worth the price.

Here's the next drawer in my newest shuttle display cabinet. As of the last shuttle post, the count was at 600. I'm amazed!

Update: Thanks for the suggestion, ladies! I've gone through and relabeled all of my Snowdrops as Ice Drops so that the name won't be confused with Frivole's beautiful snowflake.

CUBS WIN!

For those of you who don't follow baseball, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series for the first time since 1908!

The Cleveland Indians won game 1 easily. Game 2 was won by the Cubs, followed by losses to the Indians in games 3 and 4. I didn't get to see games 3 or 4 because of the middle school production of Into the Woods. I did record them to watch later, but since I didn't want to see them lose, I deleted those two games from our DVR. Game 5 gave Cubs' fans hope that they could go all the way. Games 6 and 7 were the most exciting for me. Since it's a best of 7 series, it seemed that the Indians had a clear advantage, but the Cubbies came through!

I'm still trying to tweak my idea for a Cubs Spinning Wheel. I liked Eliz's idea of creating the center with split rings, and I did try. I just couldn't get the split ring to work with the picot on the second side. I decided to try switching colors just in the center. It doesn't look horrible, but the center does feel a bit loose, and I can't seem to get the rings a consistent size. I put it down for a bit last night (it's kind of hard to tat and cheer on your team at the same time), and I had an amazing thought... I don't need to have a picot on the inside!

I'm going to finish this one, because I have a friend who told me how much she admired the blue Spinning Wheel I posted with a red C sitting on top of it. She only sees my Facebook posts, so I know that this will be a surprise for her.

When I finish this one, I am going to try the split rings again. Just like the Cubs, I'm not ready to give up!

I forgot to post a picture of my October tatting. I'd say October was a fairly productive month!

My fascination with the Ice Drops continues.

I don't know if you can tell, but these really are two different shades of blue. The top one looks like Cubby blue when you see them all together in a dish. The bottom one is a pale blue, very watery looking.

I've made pretty good progress on my Poppy Red Spinning Wheel. I was subbing in the 5th grade today, and some of my favorite tatters asked me if I had any tatting with me. One of the girls even pulled out her tatting to show me her progress. It's nice to know that some of the kids are still interested in tatting!

Help!

I"m stuck with my Cubs Spinning Wheel. I know that I need to do something different with the center rings in order to make everything work correctly, but I just can't figure out what that something is. Anyone have any ideas?

Did you notice my new shuttle? I'm testing it for Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design. This little beauty is decorated with French glass paint. I have no idea what that means, but I sure do like it!

In the meantime, I've been working on more Ice Drops. I tried using a Josephine chain as a hanger, but I don't like the way it looks. I think I'll replace it with a ribbon.

I really like the way the ribbon looks as a hanger.

I've worked my time down to 45 minutes. Who knows... maybe I'll get faster!

I've also started another Spinning Wheel, this time in size 80 Lizbeth #669, Poppy Red. As you can see, I'm using another of Rita Richmond's shuttles. I love the fairies!