Ashley Snowflake

Today's tatting tried my patience! First I had two failed attempts at tatting split rings to climb out of the first round. I tried two different methods and after neither one worked for me, I chose to cut, tie, and hide my ends and go on to the next round.

"Ashley" from Teeny Tatted Snowflakes by Samantha Melnychuk looks pretty good here, but don't look too closely. I didn't know it was possible to mess up as many times as I did with this little snowflake. Except for the split ring part, I think it will be easy to tat this one again as an Ice Drop.

Yes, I will attempt the split ring again tomorrow. I am not going to give up! The split ring itself isn't what gives me fits. The problem comes when I try to join or add a picot on the second half of the split ring. It does me in every time!

My sister Janet came to visit with her grandchildren today. We had a great time! The best part for me was watching four little girls go through my button and glass gem stash to fill little organza bags with goodies. The funny thing is, they had bags of treasure and my stash doesn't look the least bit depleted!

Peony Ice Drop

My task today was to turn Samantha Melnychuk's "Peony" snowflake in to an Ice Drop. I think it turned out rather well! The pattern can be found in Teeny Tatted Snowflakes. My next challenge will be to take on one of Samantha's split ring patterns. I know I can do it!

Tomorrow is going to be another fun filled day. My sister is going to visit with her two grandchildren. I haven't seen Gavin and Abby since last summer, so it will be great to see them! 

Another fun day!

Before visiting my sister-in-law today, we washed cars. The little ones wanted to help, but they kept dropping their sponges in the gravel. Believe it or not, we did not want gravel scratches on the cars! So, we sent them over to wash the lawn mower. They loved it!

On the tatting front, I worked on "Peony" from Teeny Tatted Snowflakes by Samantha Melnychuk. I would love to say that I'm going to tat all the snowflakes from this wonderful book, but I'm not sure that will happen. The rest of the patterns have split rings in them, and split rings are not my friends! I did try, unsuccessfully, to tat two of the other snowflakes. I just could not make my fingers work properly. I won't give up, though!

Forget Raiders of the Lost Ark

How about Raiders of the Hidden Ice Drops?

Joanne and Sophia went through my Ice Drop stash, choosing the ones they just had to have!

See Joanne concentrating on the stash, while Sophia shows off some of her selections?

Sophia chose more than three, but these are the ones she smiled about!

Kara got in to the excitement as well.

All together, the girls chose 80 Ice Drops to take home. I guess it's time to tat some more!

Karen Parent started a Summer Snowflake page on Facebook. The challenge is to tat snowflakes in bright summer colors. While Joanne and I were reorganizing the other day, I found my copy of Teeny Tatted Snowflakes by Samantha Melnychuk. I'm not sure if I've ever actually tatted any of these designs before. I figured they'd be great for adapting to Ice Drops, because each snowflake starts with six ring, just as my Ice Drop patterns do.

The first one turned out great! This one is "Fan." I've been asked why I go to the trouble of adding glass gems, since the snowflakes are pretty on their own. The answer is simple. First, I like the added dimension. Second, the little bit of weight makes them hang nicely. Besides, they're fun to make!

In other news, today is my 66th birthday! What better way to celebrate than with a new blue shuttle from Tatting by Design? Thank you for this gorgeous shuttle, Rita! I will be putting it to use today!

Today is also my blogiversary! I started blogging eleven years ago on my 55th birthday. If you've been a follower of my blog, you know that I was motivated to start blogging by Sherry Pence aka LadyShuttleMaker. Without her persistent, enthusiastic encouragement, I'd probably still be lurking in Tat-land. I tend to stay in my own little world, and through blogging I have made friends who appreciate what I do and keep me interested in all types of fiber arts. I mainly blog as a way of keeping track of my accomplishments. I'm amazed at how much I finish, and I attribute that to wanting to finish pieces to present on my blog.

I don't blog for recognition, but I do appreciate the encouragement I receive from my followers. Thank you all for your kind words!