Think green!

Way back in the 60s, there was a call to Think Green! after a blizzard hit the Chicago area. I remember a picture of The Thinker in the newspaper with the words Think Green! emblazoned across the page. My sisters and I enjoyed the theme, because our last name was Green. My brother was too young to remember.

I've been thinking about green, because of the beautiful ball of thread sitting on the table next to my chair!

My day started with another Rock & Roll Ice Drop by Lynne Urwin. The design looks complex, but it's really fairly simple. Lynne has posted her pattern on the Ice Drop Addicts page on Facebook.

I flitted from one task to another today. I did some space measuring and planning, dreaming of ways to rearrange things in the house. I found that ideas came to me more easily while tatting. What can be easier than tatting a Doodle Ice Drop?

Why stop at one? I did enjoy my tatting time today, and while I like to think I accomplished a lot around the house, the truth is I didn't! Haha! I love fooling myself into thinking I'll get things done!

I did take time for another Puzzle Impossible. The 5x5 puzzle was a little more challenging than the 3x3, but it didn't really take me too long. I'll admit, I've spent quite a bit of time looking at jigsaw puzzles lately!

Long time, no blog!

I've been having way too much fun to play with technology. Yes, I've been taking a quick peek at blogs every day, and I've been checking emails, but I've been having so much fun playing with thread, there's been no time for blogging!

I've been spending a lot of time test tatting for Lynne Urwin, and enjoying every minute of it! This is Lorna's Wish, a design that looks fabulous with the outlining in a different color. This is Lynne's tatting, not mine!

My first attempt was in purple and green. I must have a different tension with my chains, because I had to increase the number of chain stitches to get everything to fit. Tension is everything!

My second attempt was in blue and green. I was able to use Lynne's stitch count, but I had to remove the bottom ring to make it work for me. I also decided to use Catherine Wheel joins on the outer rings for a smoother look. It's been a while since I've attempted the Catherine Wheel join, and I had to keep my YouTube video open for most of the last round. They're not perfect, but I had fun trying! I could not figure out how to use both the join and the picot on the rings to make it look right. I'm going to keep trying with this pattern, because I think it's so pretty!

I haven't been tatting the entire time. I took a break to work on my first Puzzle Impossible. I ordered all four sizes and started with the easiest. The next one is 25x25 pieces, then 7x7, and finally 12x12. I think these will be fun when grandchildren are visiting!

Doodle Ice Drops give me a mental break. I can pretty much tat them without thinking about what I'm doing!

The next pattern I tested for Lynne was Rock & Roll. Isn't it pretty? This one is wrong! I misread the directions, and this looks nothing like Lynne's pattern. With every ring and chain, I would look at Lynne's picture to try and figure out what I did wrong. I couldn't see it. I decided the best thing to do would be to start over. I was getting the same results.

Then I used a technique I used to do with crochet doily patterns. I read the pattern out loud and realized I had forgotten to reverse my work after the large ring.

Success! This is Lynne's Rock & Roll Ice Drop as she intended it! Well, sort of... I didn't start with the basic Ice Drop pattern as Lynne did, so there's a row of chains missing. When using the slightly larger glass gems, I use the one pass method. Now that I know what to do, I'm going to hunt for the right size gem and tat Lynne's pattern as written!