Relaxing

Carol took a photo of Wally relaxing on his new afghan. I sure am glad he likes it!

I've been relaxing by staying off the computer. I honestly haven't had much to blog about since I've been focusing on knitting. I did finish Reyna this morning. I do enjoy knitting this pattern. This one is done in Fortissima Colori that's been sitting in my stash for years. I think the yardage may be been miscalculated. I've knit this shawl several times and have never run out of yarn. This time I had to leave off two mesh repeats and one garter repeat. Luckily, I stopped when I did. There's only enough yarn left to go across about half the row!

 

Screen shot

 

I updated my computer this weekend, and with the update came a desktop picture that I didn't really like. I was going through the photos on my computer and found one of my Jan Stawasz doily from 2015. I love it as my desktop background.

The fun part came the next morning when I opened my computer. There was my profile picture right in the center of my doily! That photo is from the summer of 2009, so I should probably look for a new one.

We've been having some beautiful sunrises and sunsets lately. Mom asked me to take a picture this morning. I sure wish I could capture the true beauty that we've been seeing.

I've been working on my Reyna shawl. I have three sections left to finish. With some luck, I may be able to finish it this week!

Falling behind?

I'm not really falling behind. I just haven't been accomplishing the same kinds of things!

I had great fun test tatting for Lynne Urwin again. This pattern is called Starburst. I really messed up on the top one. I used the wrong stitch count! The bottom one was much easier, because I used the correct stitch count! The thread is size 20 Lizbeth Blue Ice. The shuttle is from Elena Kozinenko.

My Ice Drop count for May was way down. I think I spent way too much time playing games on my iPad!

I did finish my Reyna shawlette from last summer. I also managed to knit Seashore Kerchief. Both patterns can be found on Ravelry.

I received a surprise early birthday present on Monday. The virus shuttle is a gift from my friend Sue Anna, and the lovely wood shuttle is a gift from my friend Rita. Every tatter needs a new shuttle or two, right? Thank you Sue Anna and Rita!

Astrila

Yarn shopping always puts me in the mood to knit, especially when I find beautiful yarns! I'm eager to start with the yarns I purchased this weekend, but I need to finish my Reyna shawl that's already on the needles. I finished the next garter section before heading off to school. I have two more mesh and two more garter sections to go.

I'm subbing every day this week, so there really isn't much time for tatting, knitting, or crocheting. Still, I eek out every moment that I can.

I was one of three lucky winners of Frivole's new snowflake pattern, Astrila. This one is a challenge for me, because it has split rings. I can tat split rings, but they seem to take me forever! I'm hoping that by tatting several of this beautiful pattern, I'll become more comfortable with the technique.

The first two split rings were the most difficult for me. The first one has a join on the second half of the split ring. Following some tips that Tim emailed me, I was able to join successfully. I did have to fiddle with the thread to make the ring look right, but I think I did okay.

The second split ring has a picot on the second half. My picot is huge! I'll get better, but it's obvious that I need lots of practice. The rest of the split rings are small, and I've been able to tat them just fine.

Now that I'm in a rhythm with this pattern, I'm really enjoying it. This may become my Christmas snowflake for this year!

A little of this, a little of that

There was no school today due to parent/teacher conferences, so I had time to catch up on some housework and play with all of my goodies!

I practiced my needle lace again. There are lots of mistakes here. I was able to "pose" it to hide my mistakes. I'll probably try again tomorrow.

I worked some more on my 12 Step Sampler Blanket. Working in color was more interesting, but working in one solid color makes it easier to see the stitch patterns.

I worked on my hanky edging for a while. I'm already wondering if I have enough thread!

Knitting has taken a back seat for a while. Luckily, "Reyna" is an easy pattern to pick up and put down. I'm planning on going to visit daughter Alison on Sunday, and since we're planning on going yarn shopping, I figured I'd better get back into knitting mode!

Knitting mode

I haven't finished unpacking my tatting supplies since returning from the Twin Cities Tatters retreat. I'll get around to that today. In the meantime, beautiful yarns have been calling me!

I bought this gorgeous color in Minnesota. Kathryn caked it for me, and I got started on Reyna. I've finished one garter stitch and one mesh stitch section. I love this pattern!

Joanne and I did a lot of porch walking yesterday to try and walk off some of the luscious meals we had last week. We also went to school to help daughter Carol hang some things in her classroom. I just didn't have the energy to unpack, so I picked up Blue Jean Saturday since it was right next to my chair. I knit one row and had the wrong stitch count, or so I thought. I called Mom for some knitting advice and moved on, but something wasn't quite right.

I carefully unknit about six rows, and then I realized what was wrong. I was thinking that the stitch count increased by two every other row, so I should always have an odd number of stitches. Not so... the stitch count increases by one every other row. I took a few minutes to write down what the stitch count should be at the end of each increase row, and I was back on track in no time.

I now have two sections of garter stitch and two sections of lace finished. I've written the stitch count down for the next to sections, and I'm ready to go!

Knitting day

Today I totally focused on knitting.

I started with blocking my Reyna shawl. I love the way the pattern shows up!

Next, I spent a lot of time going through knitting books to choose a new project. I was really tempted to start another Reyna shawl. Instead, I chose to knit the Wortham scarf from Sequence Knitting by Cecelia Campochiaro. The yarn is Mandala Thunderbird. So far, the color has changed from light yellow to medium and then a darker yellow. I'm not sure if I like the way the color changes work in the scarf, but I think it will be interesting to see what happens.

Silver gem

Still working with Boysenberry Dk, today I chose a silver glass gem. I think it looks white with slightly gray undertones. The thread really changes the look of the glass gem.

My Reyna shawl is finished, except for blocking. You can find this free pattern from Noora Backlund on Ravelry. The yarn is Malabrigo, which is wonderful. I would definitely buy it again. The pattern was easy to follow, and now that I've rebuilt my knitting confidence, I'm ready to start another knitting project!

A touch of red

I'm having fun putting glass gem colors with Boysenberry Dk. Today I thought I'd try red, and I like it!

My Reyna shawl (free pattern by Noora Backlund on Ravelry) is coming along nicely. I'm learning to find and fix my mistakes. Today I successfully fixed a dropped stitch and a missed yarn over without unknitting. I'm very proud of myself!

Grandparents' Day

Granddaughter Ella invited us to Grandparents' Day at school. How could we resist? We headed out early Thursday, but by the time we got to Cindy's house, Dave wasn't feeling well. He turned around and went home, and Cindy and I drove to Minnesota. Luckily, we get along really well!

We visited with daughter Joanne before heading to daughter Andrea's house.

Little ones just seem to have a way of making everyone feel loved!

I decided that daughter Alison's afghan would be my road trip project. I didn't finish as much as I thought I would. Cindy and I had too much fun talking!

I did take tatting with me, but I never got around to it. So, today I whipped up another Doodle Ice Drop. My tree is looking full, so I may start decorating another.

My Reyna shawl (free Ravelry pattern by Noora Backlund) is coming along nicely. I've now completed 104 rows, and I still have the correct number of stitches!

Daughter Andrea has been redecorating her living room. She saw two pieces of art work that she really liked, but they were $200 each. After doing a little research, she learned how to do her own. This is her progress so far. She still needs to distress it, and then husband Jake will frame them for her. I can hardly wait to see how they look in the living room!

Well, bad photographer that I am, I forgot to take pictures of Ella and Lily! Luckily, Andrea remembered to take a picture of us before we left. Yes, it's official. I now have three grandchildren who are taller than me!

Another icy day

School was called off because of ice today. It's kind of amusing to watch the news and see people commenting about schools closing because of ice. Yes, the main road in front of my house was clear. However, the back roads were sheets of ice, and it would have been dangerous to have school buses on them. Our drive was solid ice, and my car was sheathed in ice, so I had no desire to go out!

Instead of venturing out, I worked some more on my Reyna shawl (free pattern by Noora Backlund on Ravelry). I've now finished 88 rows, and I still have the correct number of stitches!

My Ice Drop today is another basic one, this time with five picots... such a bold choice! ;-) The shuttle is another by Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design. I'm still tatting with Lizbeth Boysenberry Dk.

Round 4 of Jon Yusoff's tat-along is complete! This round is in Lizbeth #668, Green Orchid Dk. Somehow, I managed to purchase two shuttles commemorating Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday. Guess what? I don't mind! These wonderful little shuttles are not expensive, and I really do like them. You can check them out at Roseground.com. I see there are two Christmas shuttles that I don't have in my collection. Do I dare order them?

Saturday tatting and knitting

Dave and I accomplished a lot today... cleaning windows, sweeping floors, doing laundry, helping daughter Carol build sets for the high school production of Mama Mia! Some we did together, and some separately. It feels good to have accomplished so much!

My reward was to spend time this afternoon tatting and knitting. I really am enjoying tatting Doodle Ice Drops with slight variations in each one. I'm not sure that the changes are visible to most people, but it's enough for me to know that no two are exactly alike.

Isn't my new shuttle cute? It's from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design. I really don't mind winter weather, and I'm kind of looking forward to the possibility of snow at the beginning of the week. Still, I know that I will soon be craving the warmth of spring.

I'm happy that I've developed a rhythm with my Reyna shawl. The pattern is by Noora Backlund and can be found on Ravelry. I don't count stitches for each row, but I have been checking to make sure I have an odd number at the end of each row. I like that Noora gives a stitch count at the end of each pattern section. I'm right on track with 143 stitches at the end of row 72!

Frills

Today was one of those days when I couldn't decide what I wanted to do, so I went back to the basic Ice Drop. It had to be a little bit fancy, so I added loads of picots. I do love frills!

I also love my little Halloween shuttle from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design. I see no reason to use it only in October!

My Reyna shawl is coming along nicely. I did have to unknit two rows three times. Each time I made the same mistake. Somehow I added a yarn over on the purl row. Unknitting a lace pattern is a lesson in patience!

Getting forgetful

I don't know if it's the weather, my age, trying to do too much, or something else, but I forgot everything today! I left my Kindle at home charging. I packed my tatting bag and left it on the bench next to my chair. I packed my crocheting and left it in the bag next to my chair. I didn't realize that I had left everything at home until I'd been at school for nearly two hours. I'm only there for three hours and a quarter hours, so I guess it wasn't that big a deal.

I made up my tatting time before dinner. I do like the look of the Doodle Ice Drop with extra picots on the chains.

I enjoyed knitting on my shawl this morning. I'm developing a rhythm with this pattern, and it seems to be going along smoothly.

Alison's waffle stitch afghan is coming along nicely. I'm still at the stage where it feels like it's going slowly. I know that it will suddenly feel like I'm almost done!

Finish one, start another

In finally finished my Garter Lace Triangle Shawl from Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls by Martha Waterman.

Since it went so well, I decided to start another shawl right away. This one is Reyna by Noora Backlund, a free pattern on Ravelry. I did get off to a rough start on this one. I finished the 28 row garter section only to realize that I had made a mistake all the way back in row 3. Luckily, this is an easy pattern to follow!

I did some experimenting with my Doodle Ice Drop pattern. Both rows of chains that form the outer pattern have 6 ds on either side of the picot flower. In the original pattern the first row had 6 and the second had 7. I just wanted to see how it looked, another variation. The beautiful shuttle is from Veronica of TattingShuttles on Etsy.

Another of my experiments with Doodle Ice Drops was to add extra picots on the chains, giving a very frilly look. I think this one looks prettier in person, and I'm sure daughter Joanne will claim this one for her pink tree when she comes to visit this summer! The pretty green shuttle is from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design.

A fun new shuttle arrived in the mail today, another beauty by Rita Richmond! It arrived just in time for the frigid temperatures we're expecting again this weekend. The cold might be a little tough to take after having a few days in the 40s, but I'm sure we will survive!