Excitement!

 

Robin Perfetti's newest book arrived in the mail today! I started right in with the first bookmark, using my newest shuttle from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine. Life is good!

Wednesday?

I just looked at my phone, and I couldn't believe it's Wednesday already! Where does the time go?

I've been busy cutting fabric for face masks. My production isn't great, but if I'm helping even a little, I glad to do my part.

We had a pink moon last night. I've never heard of a pink moon before. It was still too light out for the pink to show well when I took this picture, but by the time it was dark enough clouds had rolled in. I could see a little bit of pink around the edges of the clouds, but I never did see the pink moon in all its glory.

Staying home has caused me to give in to the temptation of online shopping a little more than I normally do. I just couldn't help myself! I guess the only way to avoid buying things is to not go shopping. All of these are from Banyek on Etsy.

I've been playing some more with Lynne Urwin's Lilly's Star. We've been chatting back and forth about different ring configurations. It's really pretty fascinating!

I liked the purple variation so much, I decided to tat it again today. These aren't as quick to tat as my Doodle pattern, but I do love tatting them!

Lilly's Star

Lynne Urwin asked me to test tat another pattern for her, and I was happy to help! This one is called Lilly's Star. Lynne and I have been messaging back and forth on this one all weekend. This is the first version. Lynne decided the rings were a little too squished together, so she did some tweaking.

I've been cutting it pretty close on my threads lately, not really leaving enough for the little flower motifs for Vicki Clarke. When I went to wind this shuttle with thread, I thought I'd give it a try rather than just taking the thread off. I finished the flower with nearly 6" of thread left!

This is the second version of Lilly's Star, with one less small ring. It helped that I used the correct size gem this time!

Update! I forgot to acknowledge my shuttle makers! The pierced wood shuttle is from Veronica of TattingShuttles on Etsy. The Ice Drop Addict shuttle and purple butterfly shuttle are from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design. The multi-colored flower shuttle is from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine on Etsy. I love all of the talented shuttle makers I've "met" over the years!

Fulfilling wishes

Life has been very busy with three of the grandchildren here. The little ones flit from one activity to another, and they get excited about so many things!

Sophia was very impressed with Janko's dinosaur key. She chose colors for her key, but couldn't decide what her key would be. So, I covered the key and waited until late afternoon for her decision. I used one of my new shuttles from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine. I'm very impressed with this shuttle. The balance in incredible; it's light weight; it holds lots of thread!

Sophia and Kara were very impressed with my collection of little flowers for A Celebration of a Classic, a fund raiser for Palmetto Tat Days. So, I tatted "teeny tiny flowers" while the girls watched. I waited until the evening to order shuttles from Rita Richmond last weekend. I'm trying very hard to give others a chance to purchase her beautiful shuttles!

I used two shuttles for Janko's dinosaur key. The girls wanted me to tat a flower from each shuttle, so I did!

The girls are so funny! Every time I pick up a new shuttle, they tell me it's their favorite!

Even a Clover shuttle wins their approval!

Sophia decided that she wanted her key to be a flower. I'm not sure what kind of flower it is, but my other new butterfly shuttle from Middy Clark was perfect for the job!

This morning, Sophia reminded me that I needed to tat a flower with this shuttle, so I did!

I think she likes it!

Winter wonderland

We woke up to a beautiful snow display this morning, our greatest snowfall this winter. I love snow!

School was cancelled because of road conditions, so you would think I'd have accomplished a lot. I didn't. I watched a few episodes of Inspector Lewis, did a little knitting, and a little tatting. It was a very relaxing day!

This Doodle Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #686, Seagreen Lt. The shuttle is by Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine.

My second Doodle of the day is in size 20 Lizbeth #690, Mocha Brown Lt. I used another teardrop shuttle by Middy Clark.

Maybe I relaxed a little too much today. I'm seriously considering going to bed early!

One more

Today was another one Ice Drop day. I'm enjoying subbing at the elementary school this week, but it does cut into my tatting time! This Doodle Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #685, Evergreen Dk. The shuttle is another beauty from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine. I feel very lady-like using teardrop shuttles!

I'm halfway through this week's clue on my Sanditon MKAL. Stitch markers have saved me a lot of grief!

Just one

Today was a very busy day. I subbed in the morning, did my job in the afternoon, and then had a couple of high school girls come over to help me clean after school. I'm beat, but I know I'll be able to enjoy the three day weekend that's coming!

I'm happy that I was able to complete a Doodle Ice Drop today. This one is in size 20 Lizbeth #683, Leaf Green Light. The teardrop shuttle is from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine. I do love these little teardrop shuttles, but they take a bit of time to get used to because of the back end being open. Still, how can anyone resist such a pretty shuttle?

Making mistakes

Today seemed to be filled with mistakes. I forgot to put glass gems in my tatting bag, so I was only able to tat two partial Doodle Ice Drops. At least I had time to finish them when I got home! This one is in size 20 Lizbeth #673, Terra Cotta. The shuttle is from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine.

I'm glad that I had two shuttles wound, or I would have been really bored while supervising students! This Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #677, Lime Green Medium.

I'm making pretty good progress with my Sanditon MKAL. I have seven rows completed of Clue 5, but the edge stitches are wrong on rows 2, 4, and 6. I'm leaving it. There are many mistakes in this shawl that I'm sure most people would never notice. I'm enjoying the knit, and that's what matters!

Anticipation

I've been eagerly anticipating Clue 5 for the Sanditon MKAL. It's going to be a lace edging, and this week's clue is going to take a lot of concentration on my part. Being a bit paranoid because of my experiences with the eyelet rows, I've place a stitch marker after every lace repeat (ever six stitches). I had a few moments of panic when I finished knitting the first row. I counted 65 pattern repeats instead of 68, and my count came up five stitches short. I examined each section, recounted, and came up with 67 pattern repeats and one stitch over. How could that be? I check a third time, and I was still off! I carefully checked a fourth time and came up with the correct number of pattern repeats and the correct number of stitches. Just to be sure, I checked a fifth time, and I'm pretty confident that the first row is correct!

I'll be subbing every day this week, so my craft time will be shorter. I think I should be able to complete an Ice Drop every day. I'm really enjoying going through my thread stash and using each color with a crackled gem. This one is size 20 Lizbeth #671, Christmas Red. The shuttle is from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine.

My second Ice Drop of the day is in size 20 Lizbeth #672, Burgundy. I do love Middy Clark's shuttles!

Copper shuttles

With most of my chores done, I felt free to play with my new copper shuttles from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine. This Doodle Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #661, Country Turquoise Med.

This one is in size 20 Lizbeth #669, Poppy Red. I'm thinking of tatting a small doily in these two colors. I think they go really well together.

I spent most of the afternoon working on my Linen and Threads Mystery Sampler. I still have quite a way to go to finish the January portion!

 

When my eyes just wouldn't focus on stitching any more, I switched to working on my cowl. I'm using I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby, and it's working up really nicely.

Tomorrow morning the next clue for the Sanditon MKAL will be released. I'm eager to get started!

Takin' it easy

I've been a bit under the weather the past two days, so I've been taking it easy.

I finished a second Ice Drop out of Marilee Rockley's beautiful hand-dyed thread, Lake Effect. The shuttle is from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine. I love working with beautiful threads and shuttles!

When Alison and the kids were visiting a couple of weeks ago, we watched Mister Roberts, a movie from the 60s that I loved. For the first time, In noticed in the credits that it was based on the novel of the same name. Just imagine, it took me more than 50 years to realize there was a book! Luckily, it was available on Amazon. Although the movie and the book are quite different, I thoroughly enjoyed them both!

Yesterday daughter Joanne sent me a picture of Kara. She's pretending she's typing on her computer just like Mommy!

Dave called me out to see the roses in bloom. They were just buds the other day when I last looked at the bush.

I accomplished two things today. I finished the second lace section of my Blue Jean Saturday shawl by Deby Lake, a free download on Ravelry.

I also finished reading Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II by Robert Matzen. I knew that Audrey Hepburn had been in the Netherlands during the German occupation, but I really had no idea what she and her family had been through. I will now pass this on to daughter Carol, who loves European history. We are a family of readers!

Enjoying the weather

It's warmed up quite a bit, but not to the point of being too warm for me. Yesterday was sunny and breezy, so I took advantage of the weather and enjoyed the day!

I played with another stitch count variation for my Pink Fudge pattern. On this one I kept all of the chain counts the same and just changed the two side rings of each cluster to a count of 4+4. It's okay, but I don't feel like I'm there yet. My beautiful shuttles are from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine on Etsy. I feel a connection to Middy. I learned to tat from her grandmother's video!

I took the time to create a chart for my Blue Jean Saturday shawl by Deby Lake. I sometimes get myself confused remembering where I am in a pattern. While working on the My First Knit Sweater Knit-along, I picked up a tip from Marly Bird to create a chart to keep track of rows... what a brilliant idea! I've been using hash marks on a Post-It note for years, but this is so much easier!

Daughter Carol must have been taking some much needed down time yesterday. She sent another picture of her legs covered by her new waffle stitch afghan. Look who's snuggled up on her legs. I may have to crochet a small blanket for Sir William Wallace with the leftover yarn!

Granddaughter Eva's junior prom was this weekend. It's hard to believe she's old enough to attend prom. Where does the time go?

Slipping stitches

I was admiring my progress on my TOS shawl this morning when I noticed a missed slip stitch. I remember when I did it. I found one when I finished the row and I corrected it. I looked at the rest of the row and didn't see any mistakes.

Guess what? There were two missed slip stitches! I know it was getting late when I found the one mistake. Lesson learned... I should have set my knitting aside and rechecked it in the morning. Now I have to decide if I'm going to rip out and fix or just leave it be.

I was called in to sub again today, so I only managed one Doodle Ice Drop. The shuttle is another beauty by Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine. I do love my shuttle collection!

Where did the weekend go?

It certainly flew by quickly. I'm sure a big part of it was that I needed time to recuperate from a full week of subbing. I hope no one is out sick this week!

I was too tired to do anything on Friday, so I just browsed through some of my books. I called Denise on Saturday and we did some shopping. We only live a few miles from each other, but because our schedules are so different we don't actually do things together very often. It was nice to have a change of pace!

Daughter Joanne has been crocheting up a storm! I think the girls look adorable in their new sweaters, and Janko loves his new bunny.

Yesterday morning I saw a link on Facebook to the Tournament of Stitches Mystery Make-Along 2019. I was curious, so I headed on over to marlybird.com to find out what it was all about. I had not heard of Marly Bird before. I was in for a real treat! When Denise and I were out shopping, I found this beautiful yarn at Hobby Lobby. I thought it would be perfect for the asymmetrical shawl that is part of the TOS. While I love both the yarn and the pattern, they were not a good match.

This morning I went upstairs and raided my stash, something I probably should have done in the first place. I decided to use these two shades of Wool-Ease that I know I purchased eleven and a half years ago. The yarn was at a terrific price, and I think I purchased every color! Several years ago, daughter Joanne took enough home with her to make at least one afghan. I think I must have let her take all of my favorite colors. ;-) At any rate, these two colors are much better for showing off the stitches in the TOS, and I managed to knit as far as I did yesterday!

I had to tat one more Doodle Ice Drop in Green Ice in honor of St. Patrick's Day. The beautiful shuttle is from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine.

Mother Nature decided to play a trick on us. This was our view out the back around 8 a.m.

...and this was our view around 2 p.m. March sure is a crazy month for weather!