My little tatting corner...

Krystle asked to see our tatting spaces in all their natural glory. So, here's my messy little corner of tatland!


I usually plump my little pillow before tatting, but this smooshed version is what anyone can see when I get up for new supplies (thread, shuttles, patterns, coffee...). The antimacassar is a tulip doily from my friend Denise. I've had it for years, and I love the way it looks on the back of my chair. Hmmm... looks like it needs to be straightened. ; )


This is the table to my right... thread, shuttles, scissors, crochet hooks, tweezers, i-cord knitter, remote control... everything a girl could want!


Well, maybe not everything! As you can see, there's quite a bit of clutter to my left... computer, camera, patterns, crochet project, knitting project, books to read.

I blame this little corner on my broken arm... I did venture beyond the living room before then. Nine weeks of vegetating in this corner developed a habit that's very hard to break!

An award!

...from Sy. Thank you Sy! Unfortunately, I have a terrible time figuring out how to add awards to my blog. Please visit Sy's page and look at this adorable little badge.

On the tatting front, I haven't accomplished much. I had two of my grandchildren visiting for three days... we had a wonderful time! However, I accomplished very little. I did manage to make a few Kumihimo braids.


I am so glad I learned this braiding technique. With my grandchildren visiting, I didn't want to work on something that needed a great deal of concentration. This is so simple that I was able to be creative when I had a few moments, and I didn't have to worry about keeping my place in a pattern!

And the winner is...

Despite staying up until almost 10 last night, granddaughter Eva was up at the crack of dawn!


So, I put her to work choosing the winner of Jon's Magic Moment snowflake.


What? You say you can't see the name of the winner? Neither can I! I don't know how to disable the flash. I tried enhancing the photo, with no success. Eva can't read cursive. What's a girl to do? Duh! Look at the original, Diane!

...Clyde! Congratulations, Clyde! Please e-mail me your info, and Eva, Aidan, and I will get your snowflake off to you right away!

Finding time to tat

...has been unbelievably difficult this summer! I've been distracted by classes, books, and believe it or not, I've even allowed myself to spend time with friends! This morning, I was determined to finish something, and here it is! This is Jon Yusoff's latest pattern, Magic Moment. I tatted it with Lizbeth Violet/Pink Med. #634, size 20. I LOVE this pattern! Thank you for sharing it, Jon!

Now, I've decided to pay it forward. When Jon introduced this pattern, she held an unannounced drawing, and I am the winner! I would like to pass my first rendition of this pattern on to someone else. On Monday, July 20, I will draw a name from those who leave a comment on this post. Why Monday? Because I know I won't remember to go to the post office on Friday or Saturday! So, please leave a comment... you may be the winner! Good luck!

Itsy-Bitsy Snowflake

Tattycat has inspired me! Yes, it's time for snowflakes! I had just a little bit of Coral Reef left after tatting a Spinning Wheel glass mat and Heart's Desire, so I decided to go with an easy favorite. The pattern is Itsy-Bitsy Snowflake from A Veritable Tatted Blizzard by Samantha Melnychuk. I guess I should have spent a few minutes blocking it, but I can always do that later. I wasn't very careful with the scanning. The odd looking piece of thread is for hanging the snowflake from my tree. I never did put my tree away... it's still up in my sewing room!

A stroll through my garden...

Ah, as they say, the best laid plans of mice and men oft gang awry... I really meant to get a lot of tatting, crocheting, and bobbin lace done this weekend, but Dave convinced me that we needed to buy more plants for the garden! He's out busy planting now, so I'm sitting with my feet up and showing some pictures of what he's already done so far. This is a view of the north side of our house. Dave built the wooden walk as a surprise for me when I was working on my master's degree... I was so busy studying, I really didn't have time to check out what all the noise was about!


Here you see the very first flower bed created in the spring 15 years ago, right before Alison's high school graduation party. This garden has changed very little through the years. The biggest difference is that Dave no longer plants annuals in this bed. Instead, he brings home tropicals that were in too sad a shape to sell and nurses them back to health.


This is my favorite flower bed. Dave built the arbor from a design in Better Homes and Gardens. Some of the pieces rotted and fell off, but we think that just adds character. The birds love this flower bed too! I can sit on the porch with my morning coffee and watch them splashing around in the bird bath.


Speaking of the front porch, here it is! The porch wraps around to the back door on the south side of the house. I don't deal well with heat or too much sun, so I take my morning and evening walks on the porch. It doesn't get boring, because there are so many beautiful plants to see, birds to watch, and traffic zooming by... we live on a two lane state highway.


There's a lot more to see, but I'll save that for another day. I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Heart's Desire

Yesterday I finished Susan K. Fuller's Heart's Desire in Coral Reef by Tatskool. I love the way it turned out! I also made another Kumihimo scissors fob. This one is out of DMC rayon floss. I love the way it shimmers, and it is so soft!

I feel like summer is just flying by! Is it really Friday already? Dave goes back to work on Monday. Today Alison and her kids are driving down, and we're going to Fairoaks Dairy Farm. I hope the rain showers hold off!

Dave's been working hard in the garden. I guess I should take some pictures and share them!