Green Coral Sea...

This certainly isn't a snowflake color, but I couldn't find my ball of Snow White anywhere, and this was close at hand.

This is Snowflake 4 from Snowflake Roses by Denise Munoz. I'm not a big fan of dimpled rings, but I think I did okay for my first try.

The third graders received their shuttles and thread today, and they were all so appreciative and excited. I even had six more boys ask if they could learn to tat, for a total of 38 third graders! I think that's amazing! Their task today was to learn how to wrap the ball thread around their fingers. We'll progress from there. ;-)

Oh, and that missing ball of Snow White... it was on my dresser!

Warming up

Yes, it is warming up. We are now up to 7 degrees Fahrenheit, truly tropical compared to yesterday! It looks like we'll be back at school tomorrow. This is the longest Christmas break I've ever had, and I've enjoyed every moment of it!

Today I finished putting the tatting pouches together for my third graders. I'm really looking forward to passing them out tomorrow!

I also finished Snowflake 3 from Snowflake Roses by Denise Munoz. This was a fun tat, and I really like the way it turned out!

The big snow

We've been hearing for days about the big snow headed our way. I tend to ignore predictions of monumental snowfalls, because I love snow and I am sorely disappointed when it passes us by. However, this time the weather man seems to be right!

I woke up at 3:30 this morning, and I just had to take some pictures.

Dave's been out running the snowblower for over two hours, and the snow is still falling. Still, it's not the falling snow that's causing concern, but the expected high winds and frigid temperatures. We're all set for being snowed in. We just hope the power stays on!

Yesterday I decided to use up thread on the shuttles to tat Ruth Perry's Tatted Christmas Tree 2013, a delightful pattern that doesn't take much time or much thread.

This morning I finished Snowflake 2 from Snowflake Roses by Denise Munoz. I think it's beautiful!

Much better!

I am happy to report that I successfully tatted Snowflake #1 from Snowflake Roses by Denise Munoz!

There are no extra picots, no extra bits of chain, just a pretty snowflake! I even finished the ends the way I like this time, incorporating a jump ring and a pretty little S hook from Wirestorm Creations.

Dave jokingly told me that he could tell the difference, but I know that he could look at the two for hours and not see anything awry. Still, I took the time to please myself!

Dealing with imperfection

Christmas may be over, but I'm not finished with snowflakes yet. I may have to tat snowflakes all year long! However, I need to get back into the tatting groove. I took a much needed week off from tatting. My wrists and elbows were really bothering me from working so hard on finishing my sister-in-law's doily. I think I must have tensed up with the deadline looming, because I really didn't tat for long periods of time each day. 

The day after Christmas, we headed off for Alabama to visit Mom. It was 50 degrees warmer in Alabama, and it was nice to have some down time. We drove down to the Gulf so that Carol could dip her toes in the water. Then we drove to Pensacola to visit Dad's gravesite. We had a wonderful lunch at Molly McGuire's, inspiring me to buy a cookbook so that I can make Senate Bean Soup, bread pudding, and maybe even boxty! We visited some of our favorite shops and even purchased a few things... surprise! Isn't retail therapy grand?

Anyway, back to snowflakes...

I was tempted to tat some more doodad snowflakes with different beads, but there were so many beautiful snowflakes tatted before Christmas, that I decided I should open up some of my snowflake pattern books and try something different!

This is Snowflake #1 from Snowflake Roses by Denise Munoz. I made multiple mistakes while tatting this snowflake, so I didn't finish it in one day as I had anticipated. Then, when I went to give it a shot of steam this morning, I noticed that two of my small rings have an extra picot and three ds. I guess I'll just have to tat this one again.

Still, it looks pretty on the tree!