Back to work!

Drama club took over my life for the last several days, and I loved it!

The cast of Mamma Mia! did a fantastic job! All three performances were outstanding, and it seemed to me that there was record attendance at each performance.

While tatting was not my priority over the weekend, I did manage to finish a couple of Ice Drops.

I mailed off all of the St. Patrick's Day themed Ice Drops to Mom today. I'm sure she and her lunch bunch will love them!

My shuttle collection increased over the past week... surprise! These pretties are from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine. Aren't they gorgeous?

I'm very happy with my new goodies from Grizzly Mountain Arts: one pyrography doodle art shuttle, and two picot hooks (fine crochet hooks set into wood handles). Dave has another shuttle listed that I am really tempted to purchase, but I'm going to wait a day or two to give someone else a chance at owning one of these beauties!

My newest Lorraine Kolasa shuttle arrived from Tatting Corner. This one is textured with no pick. I only have one left to order to have a complete set! That will happen after I make sure I have all my bills paid.

I finally finished my Wortham scarf from Sequence Knitting by Cecelia Campochiaro. There are many mistakes in this scarf. If I saw the mistake within two rows I fixed it, but there were several mistakes I didn't see for a dozen or more rows. Those stayed!

Daughter Joanne has decided to pick up her crochet hook again. She's found that spending time crocheting helps with her writing process. Sophia is modeling her new sweater. Aren't they cute? I mean Sophia and the sweater! ;-)

Janko loves his new bunny blanket toy. Joanne had fun making it, so the girls will each get one too!

Shuttle love

I do love tatting shuttles! I love collecting them. I love using them. This new shuttle from Lorraine Kolasa is no exception. I love the weight, the feel, the color. The shuttle warmed in my hands as I tatted. I'm so glad I purchased it! These beautiful shuttles are available from Lorraine's web site and from Lisa Adams of Tatting Corner. The price is the same from both sites.

I'm still knitting away on my Wortham scarf. It's much easier to knit when my hands are cold, and my hands have been very cold for the past couple of days. I'm getting a lot of knitting done!

Found!

I went to school early this morning, and sure enough, I had left my knitting in the 5th grade classroom. Whew!

I didn't really think my knitting was lost, but there were a few minutes of panic when I couldn't find my bag!

Alison's waffle stitch afghan was my focus for the weekend. This shot is of three skeins of yarn completed for a total of 26". I also used a good bit of the fourth skein, but I haven't bothered taking a picture yet.

It was back to Doodle Ice Drops today! I want to send off some for Mom's lunch bunch in time for St. Patrick's Day. Guess what I'll be working on this week?

Today was a great day for collecting mail! This is my latest pyrography doodle art shuttle from Dave Stanbrough of Grizzly Mountain Arts. I was also thrilled to purchase one of his picot hooks (a fine crochet hook set in in a beautiful turned wood handle). I love working with beautiful tools!

Two beautiful new brass shuttles arrived in the mail today. These are from Lorraine Kolasa, an artist in Michigan. I've been eagerly awaiting the listing of these shuttles ever since Lorraine posted about them on Facebook. They're available in both a smooth and a hammered finish, with our without a pick tip. They're also available from Lisa Adams at Tatting Corner. It's nice to have options!

The packaging is wonderful. The shuttles are tied in place so they can't shift around in the shipping process. A plastic bag with a wooden dowel is included, along with instructions on shuttle care and how to loosen or tighten the tips using the piece of dowel. Lorraine suggests storing the shuttle in the plastic bag if it isn't going to be used for a while. The plastic bag will help reduce tarnishing.

Of course I started winding thread on to one of the shuttles right away! I decided to start with the one with the pick, because I find picks very helpful when I have to retro-tat. :-)

I like the way the tips flair, and the shuttle was very easy to wind. I've only tatted a couple of rings so far, but so far I really like this shuttle!

Thinking ahead

I made it to the post office today and mailed off Mom's Mardi Gras Ice Drops. I still have some Boysenberry Dk left, but I started thinking ahead to St Patrick's Day.

Lizbeth #187, Green Ice, isn't exactly what I had in mind for St. Patrick's Day, but it was the first green thread that caught my eye, and I decided to go with it. The center is a glow-in-the dark gem that I found at Hobby Lobby. I think these gems have to have a certain amount of sunlight in order to glow in the dark. Luckily, my jar that's filled with them is in the sun room!

I'm still knitting. I watched a lot of YouTube videos last night in an effort to improve my technique. I did a lot of experimenting! Because of that, my stitches are pretty uneven. I don't mind. I look at this scarf as a learning experience, and I'm hoping that when it's finished blocking will help even things out.

It's pretty chilly here tonight, so I stole Dave's blanket to keep my legs warm. He laughed!

And then there were nine

Yes, I now have nine Mardi Gras Doodle Ice Drops for Mom! I'll try to get them in the mail tomorrow.

We dealt with high winds today, and although I never felt the wind in the house, I feel very tired from listening to it all day. I made progress on my "Wortham" scarf from Sequence Knitting by Cecelia Campochiaro. There's something very comforting about yarn on a blustery day!

Knitting day

Today I totally focused on knitting.

I started with blocking my Reyna shawl. I love the way the pattern shows up!

Next, I spent a lot of time going through knitting books to choose a new project. I was really tempted to start another Reyna shawl. Instead, I chose to knit the Wortham scarf from Sequence Knitting by Cecelia Campochiaro. The yarn is Mandala Thunderbird. So far, the color has changed from light yellow to medium and then a darker yellow. I'm not sure if I like the way the color changes work in the scarf, but I think it will be interesting to see what happens.