Shamrock love

St. Patrick's Day will be here before we know it, so it's been easy to focus on greens!

This one was finished early this morning, and I'm tempted to keep it for myself!

I had fun playing with fabric again today, making a pin cushion and two more pocket tissue holders.

I finished the Masquerade motif from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior.  I do like the way it turned out, but I got to thinking that maybe it's a bit too fiddly for a runner.

Rather than dwell on the motif, I decided to tat another St. Patrick's Day Ice Drop.

It's so much fun choosing charms for the backs of the Ice Drops.

In my search for a motif that's less fiddly for my sister-in-law's runner, I tried this one from Jan Stawasz's Tatted Treasures.

This is another contender for the runner, but I decided to keep searching.

My next test tat was Eightsome Reel from Mary Konior's A Pattern Book of Tatting.

I think I'll do a bit more searching and test tatting, but this might be the motif I choose. It's simple enough to remember (important for tatting multiple motifs), yet it has enough interest that I don't think I'd become bored with it. The best part of this project is looking through my books, one of my favorite pastimes!

I won't grow up!

Peter Pan was a huge success!

Madame Director and the students had a wonderful time, and the audience thoroughly enjoyed their shenanigans. Now that there are no more practices to help supervise, no more repairs to props and costumes, perhaps I can truly get back to my first love... tatting!

Despite all the activity of the past few weeks, I have managed to fit in a little tatting time. I'm very grateful to have the day off today. This morning I was able to finish round 6 of Doily 4 from Tatted Fashion by Teiko Fujito. It's now 8" across, and I'm very pleased with the way it looks.

My shuttles are full, so it's time to move on to round 7!

Unblocked

I finished!

This is the unblocked version of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. It's 14" across, and I used size 20 Lizbeth, Latte Foam.

I wanted to block it before the big reveal, but I can't find where I put my blocking board. I'm sure it's someplace really safe!

And now for a proud Grandma moment...

I think Sophia likes her tummy time!

Grabbing tiny bits of time

This is Dave's busy time selling blooming tropical plants. I don't have a head for business, but I can alphabetize invoices and record payments, so that's how I spent my evening... not much time for tatting!

This is a picture of the cross from the December 1958 issue of The Workbasket. I will be tatting this one soon! I kind of like the squared off arms, different from the crosses I usually decide to make.

Yesterday morning I found time to begin the last round of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. I think it will go fairly quickly... once I get some time to tat!

One of my nightly routines is to soak my feet in Epsom salts after dinner. I find it really relaxes me. Maybe that's because I'm rooted to a chair and I have 20 minutes to call mine! One of my Origami pouches was sitting right next to me, so I opened it up and found another pink cross that I started a couple of weeks ago. What's a girl to do? I worked on the cross, of course!

One round to go!

I finished Round VII of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. I'm using size 20 Latte Foam, and it now measures 13" across. I can't believe I have only one round to go!

Almost halfway!

I'm really enjoying Round VII of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. The pattern repeat is really fairly simple, although I do keep my copy of the pattern close at hand so that I don't make any mistakes. ;-)

Darned critters!

I haven't had Internet access since Wednesday night. It took the technician two hours to find the problem... chewed wires under the porch. Darned critters! We have rabbits everywhere, and who knows what else. Darned critters!

I've found that when I don't have Internet access, I have a tough time staying focused with my tatting. I guess it's because I can't share what I've been doing with all my tatting buddies!

I've started Round VII of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. It's not quite as simple as I thought it would be, but it's not difficult either. I just need to follow the pattern. I'm sure I'll have it memorized by the tenth pattern repeat. ;-)

I needed to find something simple to tat, so I pulled this book off the shelf. I checked the copyright date (a librarian thing I guess), and I was surprised to see that this book is from 1994.

This is 34. Tatted Edging 1405-34T. The pattern is on page 22. I became bored with this pattern very quickly. I think that's partly because I'm not fond of lengths of bare thread in tatting.

I much prefer this pattern, 35. Tatted Edging 1405-35T. I'm not sure what I'll use it for yet, but I love the color, and I'm using up thread on a shuttle, always a plus!

Now do I check my 53 spam messages to see if they're really spam? I guess I should go through the 78 email messages that didn't go to my phone for some reason. I'm not sure I have time to go back and read the 172 blog posts I missed.

I haven't been ignoring you, dear tatting friends. It's the fault of those darned critters!

Doily VI, Round VI

Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! I finished Round VI (from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz) last night, and I love the way this doily is looking! I'm so happy with Latte Foam (size 20 Lizbeth #168) for this project. It may be difficult to see in the picture, but the thread looks tea-dyed, something I have never tried and never plan on trying. Why should I when this beautiful thread is available?

Margaret asked for a close-up of Grandfather Clock, so...

front,

back,

one side,

and the other. Carol aka Battatter has told me I can do this. I'm a bit skeptical. I don't think I have the imagination for it, but some day I'll probably get the urge to try, then look out!

Half way around

I've just reached the halfway point on round VI of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. As I was tatting the last ring, I realized that I made a mistake on one small part. I don't think anyone will notice, so I'm just going to leave it. However, if you choose to look closely and figure out my mistake, I will gladly admit it to you!

I had to place an order for more thread today. I wound my shuttles with the last of my Latte Foam this morning, and I know there isn't enough to finish this doily. After all, I still have 2 1/2 rounds to go! Denise and I made a trip to Hobby Lobby. Unfortunately, they did not have this color. That didn't stop either one of us from shopping! Denise found several threads that she "needed" to add to her stash. We both bought wooden eggs to decorate. We found some findings in the clearance section, and we each found some fabric we just had to have! When we got back to Denise's, her husband Warren had gone to the bakery and bought pastries for us... coffee and pastry... yum!

She's at it again!

Daughter Joanne has been bugging me about posting on my blog. She reminded me again that I haven't posted since Tuesday. Since her baby is due any day, I guess I should do my best to keep her happy!

I needed something simple to take in the car yesterday, so I decided to once again set a goal of tatting all 69 motifs from Minitats by Patti Duff.

This is #1 in size 20 Lizbeth #149, Peacock Blues. It measures 1 1/2" across.

I'm making progress on the second side of the beaded bag. For those of you who are interested, the pattern can be found in Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crochet, a fantastic crochet reference!

I have started the next round of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. I hope that with having the week off for spring break I'll be able to make more progress with this beautiful doily!

Round V... done!

This round was so simple, yet it seemed to take me forever! Maybe I should have spent less time shopping for eggs. ;-)

Pattern: Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz
Thread: size 20 Lizbeth #168, Latte Foam
Size: 10 1/4"

Three rounds to go!

Beads for the Bride

My niece Phoebe is getting married! Phoebe and I share a special relationship. When she was born, Dave and I were among the first to see and hold her. My nephew Eric was born three months to the day after Phoebe. My daughter Carol was born three months later, although she missed the special date by two weeks! Phoebe grew up in Virginia and now lives in Washington D.C., so I've only seen her a handful of times through the years. When Eric asked her to marry him, she called me to share the good news. Phoebe is a bright and beautiful young lady, and I wish the two of them all the best!

I asked Phoebe if she would like a beaded crocheted bag for her wedding, and she replied that she would be thrilled to have one! That warms my heart. When Phoebe was visiting last summer, she told me she was interested in tatting, so she will receive a hanky as well. I started with the beaded bag so that I have plenty of time to consider which hanky edging I want to tat!

I've started on Round V of Doily 6 from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. This is a very easy round, and now that I'm using my new shuttles from La Cossette, I'm sure I'll have plenty of thread to complete the round!

West Side Story weekend

One of the fun things about being the mother of the director is going backstage before each performance. Friday night I took pictures of kids getting their make-up on, and once that was finished a little restlessness set in.

The play... West Side Story!

Slowly, cast members made their way onto the stage trying to get comfortable for the first performance.

Some walked through steps, some practiced lines, some just spent time talking with friends.

One more run-through was needed for one of the dances... at the kids' request! It was kind of funny to see them going through their stretches on the gym floor.

The kids went through the dance, singing softly. One run-through was all they needed!

While the kids were going through their vocal warm-ups in the music room, I shot this picture of the empty stage, curtains closed. It's so exciting to hear the sounds of the audience from behind the curtain!

Today was the final performance, and the kids posed on stage so that family and friends could take pictures. It was a fabulous weekend, and the kids did a marvelous job of performing!

I did manage to get a little tatting time in between performances and various duties. I finished Round 4 of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. It's now 8 1/2" from point to point, and I really love the pattern!

I think I'll be ready for bed early tonight. I don't think the time change will affect me at all!

Switching shuttles

I was almost to the end of Round 3 of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz, when I ran out of thread. Rather than wind thread onto the empty shuttle, I decided to load up my new altered Starlit shuttle from La Cossette. It holds an incredible amount of thread, and it is a joy to use!

As you may know, I've been blinging shuttles for a while now. However, none of my shuttles have the smooth finished look and feel of La Cossette's. I would love to take a workshop with her so that I could refine my technique.

What do you think tatting friends? Should we have a shuttle blinging workshop at my house this summer? ;-)

Pattern: Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz
Thread: size 20 Lizbeth #168 Latte Foam
Shuttles: altered Starlit from La Cossette and post shuttle from Grizzly Mountain Arts
Size after Round 3: 7 1/2"

Peacock Blues Krzyz

Our friends Gus and Irene have a new grandson. His baptism is next week, and I decided to tat a cross to commemorate the occasion.

At first I planned on using Turquoise Twist, but Denise and I got talking about blues, and Denise mentioned Peacock Blues. I just couldn't get it out of my head, so Peacock Blues became the thread of choice!

I think this is my favorite cross so far!

Pattern: Krzyz from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz

Thread: size 20 Lizbeth #149 Peacock Blues

Gold tone doodad from Fire Mountain Gems

I almost did it again!

I fired up my computer last night, read blogs, shut down, and then realized that I forgot to blog. So this morning I fired up my computer, read blogs, shut down, and again realized that I forgot to blog. This evening I fired up my computer, read blogs, and was getting ready to shut down, when I realized I still hadn't blogged. I'm happy to say that I caught myself just in time!

As you can see, I've finished Round 2 of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. I'm not sure if I'll get much done tonight. It's been a long week at school, and I'm feeling kind of lazy. So maybe I'll just put my feet up and doze in my chair for a change of pace! ;-)

Starting Round 2

Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz, size 20 Lizbeth #168 Latte Foam

Round 2 is easy-peasy! I just need a little more energy at the end of the day so that I can get more tatting done. ;-)

Before school, I worked a little bit on my newest Spinning Wheel in size 10 Teenybopper from Yarnplayer.

If only we had a snow day... I could get so much done!

Doily VI, Round 1

This is my newest project, Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. I'm using size 20 Lizbeth #168, Latte Foam. Round 1 went smoothly until I reached the last ring. For some reason, I had trouble getting it to work, and the last inside ring looks a little squished. If anyone else has tatted this doily and has any tips, I'd love to hear them!

Caribbean Krzyz

Believe it or not, this is my fifth Krzyz! I do enjoy tatting this pattern from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. This time I used size 20 Lizbeth Caribbean #122.

I think it may be time to move on to another pattern. I made a major mistake on this one... I forgot the very first join, and I didn't notice it until I was almost finished with the cross! There was a time when I would have chucked the whole piece because of that missed join, but not this time. Instead, I did a little creative sewing. I figure if sewing picots together was good enough for tatters in the 1800s, it's good enough for me now!

Here are the five crosses together. I like each and every one of them! I think I should really get to work setting up a photography area... the Apple logo does detract from the beauty of the crosses!