Today was another donut day. I used up the last of my size 20 Just Daffodils by Tatskool. I'm always amazed out how much I'm able to tat from one skein or ball of thread. The partially covered donuts are from me using up thread left on shuttles. Waste not, want not!
I've found that I prefer blogging at night. That way I can keep a record of what I've accomplished in a day. That didn't happen last night, because I finished my last tatted piece too late. I just didn't have any energy left for blogging!
I started my day with another Workbasket cross in size 40 Lizbeth #117 Country Side. I left the picots off on this one, and I really like the sleek look. I laid the cross on a large white envelope, because I knew it would disappear on my Kindle cover. I like using my Kindle as a backdrop because of the texture, but I've realized that it seems to suck the life out of some colors.
With that in mind, I re-photographed yesterday's Curds & Whey bookmark. Now you can see more of the true beauty of this color combination from Tatskool!
I spent some time de-cluttering upstairs in the morning. Then, I loaded up the back of the car with items I no longer could use, and Mom and I headed to Goodwill. We visited daughter Carol for lunch and then headed back home. I was thrilled to see that Victoria Ong's new needle lace book had arrived in the mail!
This is Victoria's third book on needle lace, and I am thrilled to have it! It is very detailed and beautifully done. I've had the pleasure of taking a class with Victoria, and she has attended Tollway Tatters. She is a very patient teacher, and I am happy that she took the time to write three wonderful books on needle lace!
It took me until late afternoon to finish the Workbasket cross. I'm still adjusting to tatting with size 40 thread. I love working with it, but I haven't developed a feel for working with it, so it takes me quite a bit longer than when I use size 20. After dinner, I decided to tat another donut necklace. The donut is 5/8" donut and it works well with the size 40 thread.
My friend Sue has been using these 3/4" plastic rings in her sun catchers. They also work well with the size 40 thread.
So, why did I switch from hand-dyed threads to Lizbeth? When I'm experimenting, I prefer to use the Lizbeth. It's less expensive. Once I know my ideas will work, I feel better switching to the hand-dyed threads. Truth be told, I have way more thread than I will ever be able to use (both Lizbeth and hand-dyed). Still, I hate to be wasteful!
I had fun tatting more pendants today. I finished these before dinner.
I used the last of my size 20 Blue Moon from Tatskool today.
Between buttons and donuts, I had a lot of fun!
This was a wonderful thread to tat with, and I'm glad I have some more in two other sizes!
When going through my thread stash, I found this beautiful hand-dyed thread left over from a previous project. I'm guessing it's size 40, so I was unsure about using it with a donut. I think it turned out great!
Today I had fun tatting with Tatskool's Blue Moon. I started with another "Christina" cross bookmark from Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. Did you notice my new blue shuttle? Its from Alexy Romanov, who can be reached on Facebook. It's a great shuttle!
I had to tat some more donut pendants today. This one has a plastic donut.
This one has a rose quartz donut. I'm keeping one for myself, and I'm leaning toward the rose quartz.
To finish the day I tatted Laura Blanton's Coronavirus Button Cross. Oh, yes... I also tatted a little flower motif from Mary Maynard's Tatting Rings of Flowers. There was just enough thread left on the shuttle!
Today was another busy errand day, but I still found time to tat!
I tatted the last of my Celery thread from Yarnplayer. I had enough for two pendants.
I have quite a variety of necklaces, so I decided to try a couple of them. It will be interesting to see which type of necklace is most popular.
Recently, I started saving empty thread spools. For several years I've thought that they would be great for hand-dyed threads, and I was right! I wish I had tried this years ago when I first thought of it!
Yesterday was play day. The high school drama club was finally able to perform Back to the 80s, the musical that was supposed to happen March 13, 14, and 15 of 2020. Except for one, the cast members who graduated last year were able to return for this year's performance.
Dave and I attended the 7 p.m. performance, and Mom requested a picture of the cast. I was happy to oblige!
Between performances, I wound Yarnplayer's Celery on to shuttles. I have loved this color for many years, and this skein was one of Marilee's giveaways that I won a few weeks ago. I hadn't tatted a cross bookmark in a while, and I like to keep them on hand. One of my favorite patterns is Christina from Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. I decided to try something a little different for the top instead of the one in the pattern. I think I prefer Lene Bjorn's tassel!
I found some coconut wood linking rings on Amazon. I think they look good with the Celery thread, but I don't like the black necklace with it. So, I ordered some brown ones! They should be here in a couple of days.
It seemed silly to order just one thing from Amazon, so I also ordered natural abalone donuts. I think this one looks pretty good with the black necklace.
Oh, I didn't stop there! I also ordered smaller coconut spacer beads. I think they work pretty well!
When I saw a picture of Pamela Myers' opalite donut necklace, I knew I had to find one for myself. I quickly found a small packet on Etsy and ordered them right away... without checking the size!
I was a little disappointed when they arrived. They were only about 3/8" across, much smaller than I wanted. So, they just sat on the table next to my chair for a couple of weeks.
This morning I decided it was time to give them a chance, and I'm glad I did! I wasn't able to use the pattern I've been using for the larger donuts. I just couldn't hold on to the donut to make the join. So, I switched to a simple ring and chain pattern.
First I tried a pattern of ring 4-4+4-4, chain 6-6. It was okay. Next I tried ring 4-4+4-4, chain 12. I liked that much better. Then I tried putting a bead in place of the picot on the chain. I think I like the sleek middle version the best.
These are smaller pendants, but I think they look nice. Tomorrow I'll add jump rings and necklaces. I'll add them to my stash of necklaces for Christmas in the Village.
I've really meant to get back to my doily this past week, but I've been distracted by buttons and donuts. Maybe I'll get back to it this week!
There were ideas floating around in my head about color combinations for donut necklaces.
Not one of them turned out the way I expected.
Still, they're pretty and my gift stash is growing!
