No-tatting Tuesday

I can't believe I've had another tat-less day! Until the last few weeks of school, getting to school early has always meant time to get ready for the school day and then spend about a half hour unwinding, usually through tatting. However, I'm in inventory mode, so every spare minute is spent working on book shelves.

The good news is the fiction and easy reader sections are in perfect order, and I'm ready to start the Dewey section tomorrow. The Dewey section is always the hardest to keep straight. Kids just love reading about real things, especially space, dinosaurs, animals, and sports. The kids tend to get distracted as they're looking, and books often end up on the wrong shelf. Luckily, I enjoy reading book shelves!

I did manage to crochet a couple of rows on the medium sized Mermaid Tail afghan. The pattern I'm using is YARNutopia by Nadia Fuad. I'm using Red Heart Super Saver Macaw and Jade. The dark blue is Red Heart with Love Peacock. I really like this color combo!

Winding down...

Well, at least at school. I can't believe we only have three weeks left! This week is filled with straightening shelves and reminding kids to bring their books back. Next week inventory will begin in earnest, my 31st and final inventory. I can hardly believe it!

I did take time to tat this morning. I'm enjoying using this Manuela thread. When I'm finished, I'll show this red compared to the other red I used.

Two new shuttles arrived in the mail today from Hungary. I'm a sucker for plaid and paisley! If you like these two, I saw that Banyek still has them available on Etsy.

I took my mermaid tail afghan to school today to show the kids. They loved it! Now I hope they show up the play and convince their parents to buy raffle tickets! ;-)

Last night I started the medium sized mermaid tail afghan. This one is in blues and greens. I think I'm really going to like this one!

Busy weekend

This weekend was my granddaughter Eva's 8th grade graduation ceremony, so Saturday was a busy family day... and fun!

Eva and her brother are home-schooled, and they attend a co-op once a week. Her graduating class was small, but the ceremony was just as nice as any I've ever attended. Eva is on the far right.

The kids all posed for a silly picture at the end of the ceremony.

When I was doing up the dishes after lunch, I saw a squirrel in the back yard. We've lived on this farm for 34 years, and this is our first squirrel! Can you see him on the porch rail? Now I need to find out where he's nesting.

I spent all of my free time this weekend working on the mermaid tail afghan. I really wanted to finish it so that I could show it to the kids at school this week. The yarn was donated by Michael's, and I only had enough to make the small afghan. This is much smaller than I expected, but I'm sure some little girl will love it. I'm hoping to finish an adult-sized one in time for the play.

Now that this afghan is finished, I feel free to spend more time tatting! ;-)

I really need to stop!

...but I can't seem to help myself!

I found this beautiful silver shuttle on Etsy. I don't think I've ever seen a silver shuttle on Etsy before. I enjoyed not having to bid and hope that no one outbid me!

I found three more beauties from Shuttle By Design that I just had to have.

I did manage to get a little done on my Concentric Rectangles doily today.

Although I didn't get much accomplished on the tatting front, I did manage to complete quite a few mermaid scale necklaces. I only have 15 left to make, and then I'll be able to concentrate on the mermaid tail afghan!

Fixing a mess

I haven't posted about my Concentric Rectangles doily in a while, but I have been working on it. You see, I've been experiencing problems with the corner. What's the problem, you ask? I've tatted it incorrectly not once, not twice, not three times... no I've made the same mistake four times! I can hardly believe it!

I got tired of retro-tatting, so this morning I snipped the offending section and then after school, I finally tatted the corner correctly. Maybe the section of thread was jinxed... or maybe, just maybe, I wasn't paying attention as I was working the corner. I'm guessing the latter! ;-)

I worked on my Spinning Wheel glass mat for a little bit before school started this morning. The got very busy, and I did not have time to tat at lunch time. The school year is winding down, and it's important that I get the library in good order for my successor, my friend Kristine. I'm so happy that someone wanted my job! The kids really like Kris, so I know the library will be in good hands.

My shuttle collection continues to grow. I just can't help myself! These are my three newest shuttles from Shuttle By Design. I think the Blue Butterfly shuttle is going to be my new favorite!

International shopping

Sometimes, I can only find what I like overseas. Thanks to the Internet, I can shop in places I never would have imagined when I was younger.

I love collecting shuttles, and when I saw that there was a shuttle commemorating Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday, I knew I had to have one... well, two. When will we ever see a queen celebrate her 90th birthday again?

When I saw Fox's post about the Japanese thread she's using for Renulek's Spring Doily, I boldly contacted Wendy to see if she'd be willing to purchase some thread for me. I did try going to the Japanese site, but I couldn't figure out how to place an order. Wendy very graciously agreed to purchase the thread and mail it to me. This is the second time I've brazenly asked someone overseas to purchase something for me, something I really don't want to abuse. I am very grateful, and I can hardly wait to try out this new thread! Thank you, Wendy!

Dave's been keeping me busy helping him with invoices. I really don't mind, but it does cut in to my tatting time! Despite spending time helping him out, I've managed to tat three spokes of my newest Spinning Wheel glass mat in size 20 Manuela.

The invoices are piling up on my foot stool, so I guess I'd better get started!

Another shade of red

Before school this morning, I wound my shuttles with another red thread. This one is size 20 Manuela. Unfortunately, I forgot to put my tatting bag in my purse, so I didn't get a chance to tat during my lunch break. Obviously, I did take a little time to tat after school!

Why are the shuttles front and center? Because I love them! Rita at Shuttle by Design makes beautiful shuttles that hold lots of thread. I can easily wind 15 yards of thread on these little beauties. The shuttles are smooth, light weight, and reasonably priced. If you're a post shuttle girl like me, I think you might like these!