For us

When I finished Letnia the other night, Dave asked me who it was for.

It's for us, of course! It think it's absolutely beautiful!

I think it's new home will be on the hutch in the dining room, but I may change my mind. ;-)

My tatting buddies were here today, and we had so much fun! Peyton learned how to join two rings.

Dylan was working on a motif.

Grace chose new threads and spent time winding them.

Janie worked on chains.

Shelby worked on her ring and chain edging.

Kennedy practiced Fancy Pants. I didn't get pictures of Allison and Elizabeth tatting. Allison was warming up under a blanket, and when Elizabeth arrived I forgot to get the camera out again! It was a chilly morning, and we all wore sweatshirts!

Now that I've finished another large doily, I really felt the need for a little instant gratification. I planned to tat snowflakes, but I didn't feel like looking for the doodads, beads, and patterns. So instead, I picked up my copy of Tatting by Myra Piper. I love this little book! I tatted the first motif yesterday afternoon.

I tatted the second motif when the kids were here today. Somehow, I interpreted the pattern differently this time.

The motif on the right shows the way it's supposed to look. I can see what I did. I joined the first ring in the pattern repeat to the last ring of the previous repeat, which is not what Myra intended. I don't think it looks bad. It's just not right!

Should I try again, or should I move on? I guess I'll have to decide that once I have my shuttle loaded again!

Tatting on the front porch

We had a beautiful day for tatting on the front porch. I think the kids were very pleased to meet our special guests, Marilee and Sue Anna! We had discussed the possibility of getting together today, but I wasn't sure my tatting buddies would be able to join us until this morning. It is a long trip for both of them!

We had eight girls today, and they each received special treats... a sample of hand-dyed thread from Marilee and a choice of a Moonlit or Starlit shuttle from Sue Anna. They had great fun winding thread on to their shuttles. I ran out of floss bobbins, so we improvised with homemade floss bobbins made out of card stock. It worked!

Elizabeth spent time talking with Marilee about her blog and her patterns. Jaden took private tatting lessons from Sue Anna. It's great fun to see the girls tatting together and showing off their work. Shelby brought a hanky that she purchased for her great-grandmother, who will be celebrating her 100th birthday the end of this month. I helped Shelby sew one of her motifs on to the hanky. Won't that be a wonderful birthday present?

There may have been more chatting than tatting today, but that's okay. A good time was had by all!

After the kids left, we met our friend Denise for lunch. Of course we all ate too much! 

Summer tatting

Summer tatting, had me a blast!
Summer tatting, had a small class.
Had two girls tatting with me,
And one boy, total of three.
Summer fun, something's begun,
Oh, oh, oh, oh my tatting class!

Yes, we were small in number this week, but that's because we had some pretty tough competition: church camp, volleyball camp, and Broadway Boot Camp. However, I'm expecting a bigger crowd next week. The three who attended discovered our play house with a tube slide, and when their parents arrived, they were allowed to play in it. I'm sure the news will spread quickly!

Paige has designed a bracelet pattern. She finished a black and white bracelet after I took this picture, and then started another. She really goes to town!

A few weeks ago, Miranda suggested I start a tatting shelf for the kids... great idea! Why didn't I think of that? On Tuesday, a box arrived from Handy Hands with some goodies for the kids.

Paige chose to borrow Mastering Tatting.

Janie borrowed Tatting Collage.

John borrowed a tatting video donated by my mom.

Miranda also sent Easy Tatting and Festive Snowflakes & Ornaments. The kids had a tough time deciding what they wanted to borrow! Thank you, Miranda!

Mom donated these books and video. Thank you, Mom! The kids are really appreciative!

On Tuesday, Mom and I finished the bags that we wove on Monday. The one on the top left is silk, and it's for my sister Janet. It's large enough for a Kindle or an iPad Mini. The next two on the top are for the daughters of a friend. The one on the bottom right was woven by daughter Joanne. The other two will be for sale. Except for the one made for my sister, the others are made to hold a cell phone, keys, and a small wallet.

I'm looking into ideas for selling items when I retire. I'm guessing I'll need a little extra income. Etsy and eBay seem like an awful lot of work! I know that some have been selling through Facebook, but that seems like a lot of work also. I've been looking in to ShopLocket, which seems a little easier and less expensive. If any of you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to know about them!

How do you store your tatting?

I have oodles of storage solutions, which all need to be organized... and they will be this summer. I'm determined! My sewing room has been a disaster for several years, but I've been inspired to clean it up because of my tatting students. I will be holding tatting lessons at my house this summer, and I want to be able to show the kids different ways to use tatting. To do that, I have to be able to find my supplies!

In the meantime, the kids have been showing me their storage solutions...

Peyton and Dylan have jewelry bags from Thirty-one that keep their supplies super organized.

Several of the girls received decorative boxes from their Girl Scout leaders... stars, hearts, and mini-suitcases.

It's so much fun seeing how these kids carry their tatting around!

I am so pleased that the kids keep practicing their tatting. I don't care how much thread they use. I don't care how long it takes them to complete something. Their enthusiasm is fantastic, and I know that as they perfect techniques, they will be inspired to learn more.

Picots are the rage right now, and "tie-dye" colors are the kids' favorite!

Madison designed this "diamond" ring, and the other girls have been tatting them like crazy! I was even given one, which I've been wearing proudly!

I'm going to miss taking pictures of all these tatting hands at my desk. Maybe I'll find a new spot to take pictures for the summer.

Kate turned one of her prizes into a necklace, using Lizbeth Twirlz for the chain.

Now that Carter has caught on to Fancy Pants, there's no stopping him! He loves making picots, and yesterday he asked me to show him how to tat rings.

Three first graders have joined the tatting frenzy. Jaden's cousin Tyler, Ava's cousin Madison, and Dominic's sister Paige are in third grade. These kids have wonderful, inspirational relatives! They've all asked if they can attend my tatting classes this summer... of course they may!

The boys are catching up!

I have several boys who are catching on to tatting and are determined to out-tat the girls!

Carter was so excited about catching on to Fancy Pants, he spent the weekend tatting!

Carter also helped John catch on to Fancy Pants. Both boys did a fantastic job!

Julia has been practicing her picots, and I tied her piece around her wrist as a bracelet. Isn't it lovely?

I did manage to tat five pattern repeats on round 8 (?) of Renulek's Letnia. I'm afraid I'm going to run out of thread, so I placed another thread order last night. I wonder when I'll ever use up all the thread I own?

Glitterati

Is that a word? Probably not, but it popped into my head as I was taking a picture of the shuttles I decorated this weekend for the kids at school.

I've never kept track of how long it takes to decorate shuttles, but because the kids asked, this time I did. I started about 9:30 in the morning. After I snipped off the tips of these Boye shuttles, Dave sanded the rough edges and the tops and bottoms with his palm sander. I usually do this part with a foam block covered in sand paper, but since I was decorating so many, Dave helped out.

I wanted the true color of the napkin to show through, so I painted each side of the shuttle with two coats of white acrylic paint. I allowed 15 minutes of drying time between each coat. The napkins or fabric seem to adhere better if paint is applied. I learned this from Decoromana's tutorial. It was a step I used to skip, but now it's routine.

After the initial layer of Mod Podge was applied so that I could attach the napkins, I used a layer of glitter Mod Podge. The kids wanted glitter, and I kind of like it myself! Four coats of hard coat Mod Podge followed, and then two coats of clear acrylic. I finished at 9:45 p.m. I completed 20 shuttles, and I think the kids will really like them!

Yesterday was daughter Alison's 38th birthday. It's hard to believe that she's 38. It seems like she was just born! Her birthday wish was to have her flower beds weeded, so Dave and I complied. Dave did most of the weeding with help from Eva and Aidan. Dan was the go-fer, making runs for flowers, mulch, and garden waste bags. I was the head bagger, with Alison supervising the work. It was a wonderful day! Pssst... do you see Eva photo-bombing in the back? Aunt Carol must be proud!

I made good use of the time driving to and from Alison's. I was finally able to finish this round of Renulek's Letnia. I don't remember which round number it is, but I'm eager to move on to the next round.

Braeden finished his first length of chain, with help and encouragement from Christian. He chose this pretty little heart as his prize because of the texture. I think it's great that a 3rd grader is inspired by texture!

I should have written down who completed this piece, but I didn't. Fancy Pants rules!

The weekend was wonderful, but I'm bushed! Saturday was our Tollway Tatters meeting... absolutely wonderful! Sunday I drove up to my daughter's to watch the kids so that Alison and Dan could celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. Monday we had family over for a cookout. It was beautiful for most of the day, with rain starting in the early evening.

Inventory is in full swing in the library, but I still have students at their normal times. Teaching the kids tatting has proven to be valuable in ways I hadn't anticipated. The kids have something to do while I'm working on organizing shelves!

Lillian was very excited, because she finished six inches of Fancy Pants! Now she's ready to learn picots.

Zachary, one of the 2nd graders, came to school with a big ball of red thread that his mom bought for him. The kids were intrigued, and asked if we could get big balls of thread next time. A quick Internet search led me to a sale of Aunt Lydia's crochet cotton. The kids asked... I'll be delivering tomorrow!

I was very excited when I opened the mail today and saw my two latest acquisitions made by "'im in the garage" aka Jane Eborall's brother-in-law. I nearly forgot to visit Jane's shop on shuttle shopping day, so I was pleasantly surprised that the two I really wanted were still available. Lucky me!

Button, button, who's got the button?

It might be me! Mom asked me to be on the lookout for 1.5" to 2" buttons for the bags woven on her Saori loom. I seldom back down from a challenge, if it's something I'm interested in, so I started searching the Internet.

I found these on Amazon, but I'm still looking for more unusual buttons, preferably with two holes, but four will work. If you have any sources for large buttons, please let me know!

My little tatters keep on tatting!

Christian lost his shuttle, so Janie has been letting him tat with one of hers.

Camryn taped two sections of Fancy Pants together to earn her prize. She's a new big sister as of yesterday, and she's very excited!

Look at all these lovely picots!

I think it's great that there are boys tatting as well as girls.

The second graders don't have the opportunity to come in at lunch recess, because I'm on cafeteria duty during their recess time. They do find opportunities throughout the day to come in and reload with thread and choose prizes!

I've started inventory in the library, which leaves me very tired at the end of the day. Could this be a sign that I'm getting older? Maybe. I do find that I fall asleep while tatting in the evening, so I haven't progressed very far on Renulek's Letnia. I keep trying!