Happy birthday, Nicole!

My friend Denise made this beautiful dimensional doily as a birthday present for her daughter Nicole. I stopped by Denise's on my way to school yesterday morning so I could see it in person. I just had to take a picture and show it to everyone! The pattern is from Doilies with a Twist by Patricia Kristoffersen (Denise and I love Trish's designs!) It's crocheted in Hakelgarn size 20. The doily looks pink on my computer, but it's really a beautiful clear red! Nicole will receive her birthday present today. I can't wait to hear Denise describe Nicole's reaction to it!

Nicole and my daughter Joanne have been friends since first grade. They took knitting lessons when they were very little from Dorothy Forbes, a very dear friend to both Denise and me. Both girls learned to knit and crochet. Nicole stuck with the knitting and has been going through Mason Dixon Knitting like wild fire! Joanne prefers crochet and loves to make baby blankets.

Faulty writing

I just read a blurb from The Chatanoogan.com that referred to tatting as a hand-knitting technique that's gaining popularity. Aaarrrgh! Apparently the writer of this article didn't have Miss Davis for a journalism teacher in high school. Miss Davis taught us to always check our facts, and to never submit anything for publication without doing thorough research! I haven't taken the time to figure out how to create links to my blog, and at the moment I'm too worked up to figure it out. Maybe I'm being to sensitive to this faux pax since I knit, crochet, tat, quilt, sew, and weave, but it shouldn't take a rocket scientist to look up tatting in a dictionary or (gasp!) on the Internet! The article came to me through a Google e-mail alert.

OK... I'm off my soapbox for now. I'm off to school to compute!

Pieces for my purse...

The other hip of Joanne's jeans is now my purse! I finished sewing the bag on Friday and carried it undecorated to Stitches Midwest on Saturday. It's a great little purse! I've tatted a few pieces with no real idea of where they'll go on the bag. Each of these is done in size 10 Royal, which is a very soft thread. It will be fine for the jeans purse, but I'm not sure I'd like it for a doily... it's too floppy.

The only pattern I followed was for the lace across the top of the pocket... #35 Tatted Edging from Coats Book 1405, Edgings: a Collector's Book. The other pieces just tatted off the tips of my fingers while Dave and I were t.v. shopping. We lost our t.v., VCR, and phone in a thunder storm a little over a week ago. It sure isn't as easy to shop for a t.v. as it used to be!

Joanne is all settled in at Andrea's in Minnesota. I guess she's really staying. She went to the DMV today for a rules of the road book so she can study for her written test. She also has 3 job interviews set up within the next week.

School starts next week. I've been trying to get the library ready, but we're also trying to get a new computer database set up, so I've been sidetracked with helping enter data. I can't believe how quickly the summer has gone by! Last year I had 18 fifth grade students who were interested in learning to tat. I think I'll see if there's any interest with this year's 5th graders!

Joanne's jeans purse

I finished Joanne's jeans purse today. At first we both liked the bandana tied through the belt loops, but then Joanne asked if I could make something for the wasteband. I was running out of time, so I crocheted an edging. I crochet much faster than I tat! My fingers sure are sore from sewing the lace to the jeans!

Yo-yos

With all the recent chatter about yo-yos, I decided to try one... yes, for the very first time! I never was impressed by yo-yos, and I still can't say that they thrill me, but with two granddaughters and quite a fabric stash, my mind has been reeling with possibilities... headbands, barrettes, little purses, scatter pins, bracelets. I didn't like the yo-yo by itself, so I added a button, then I decided to doozy it up with a little piece of tatting. I think Eva and Lily will love these little gems!

I've been working on a jeans purse for Joanne. I made the purse Saturday and have been tatting orange bits for decoration. Joanne says orange and blue are in this fall. I don't pay much attention to what's in or out, but I had orange on hand, so that's what she's getting. I'll post pictures when I finish it.

Busy, busy, busy...

I finally finished the adult socks I started a while back. I think the rust color looks really nice against the green. The colors remind me of autumn and cool weather, which I'm really looking forward to since it's so hot right now!



The close-up is Nr 1: Firkantet motiv from page 24 of the book Orkis by Kirstine Nikolajsen and Inge Lise Nikolajsen. This is actually the same book as The DMC Book of Charted Tatting Designs, but I didn't realize that until I received it. I decided that I'd go ahead and use the book so that I could impress my friends with my ability to follow a pattern from a Danish book! Ha! Ha! Anyway, this is a one shuttle pattern. I'm still working on making my picots the same size, so I found it a bit challenging to try and keep the threads between the rings the same size. I think I did fine for my first time around, but knowing me, I'll keep striving to make my pieces closer to perfect.

My sister came to visit for the weekend, and we spent the better part of Saturday, Sunday, and Monday cleaning, sorting, compacting, and labeling "stuff" that's being stored in my basement. Janet is much more energetic than I am... I know I'd have given up if she hadn't been here to push me along! We did manage to achieve our goal, and then we rewarded ourselves with chocolate milkshakes... mmm!

Today I spent most of my time going through computer training for new software we'll be using in school this year. It was interesting, but I can tell I'm not quite ready to give up my summer habits... mainly my afternoon nap! More computer training on Tuesday, so I guess I'll have to buckle down if I want to finish more of the projects I planned to complete this summer.

Tatting Fern

I got absolutely no tatting or reading done today... I took a field trip with my friend Pat and my sister-in-law Karen. We went to Becich's Perennials in Knox, Indiana. I think I have to figure out a tatted hosta pattern! I only bought three, but I could have bought hundreds! My sister-in-law bought a tatting fern, which I already have. It's too bad I'm so tired... I don't have enough brain power left to even think about designing! I'm sure I have a tatted leaf pattern... maybe I could adapt it to look like a hosta!