Shopping spree!

Although my friend Denise and I live only about three miles from each other, we really don't get together very often. Denise is busy with multiple volunteer activities, and I stay pretty busy subbing. However, we both had today free, so we went shopping!

First, we went to lunch at a little diner that Denise had not been to before. She had blue gill bites and I had a BLT wrap... yum! Next, we dropped off one of my sewing machines for cleaning. We then headed to JoAnn Fabrics... a very dangerous place! Fat quarters were on sale for 99 cents, so I loaded up with pieces for my sewing students. I also found some cute sewing themed fabric that I plan to use for dust covers for the machines I have sitting out. Yes, I said machines!

When we finished up at JoAnn's, we headed to Walmart. Denise told me about Mandala yarn a few weeks ago, and I started a shawl.

I haven't worked on it in over a week, but I was inspired by all the pretty colors I saw at Walmart. There was a bonus... the yarn was on sale for less than $4 per ball!

After I dropped Denise off, I headed to the grocery store for some much needed basics. It was very strange that I was driving through a heavy snow squall. Now we have some snow on the ground, but it will all melt tomorrow.

Despite the busy-ness of the day, I did manage to tat an Ice Drop. Yes, it has lots of frills, just as daughter Joanne likes!

I love mail!

I especially love receiving mail when I know that I have purchased something special, such as this beautiful box from Grizzly Mountain Arts!

Inside the box are two beautiful new shuttles from Dave's Cascade Collection. These shuttles and the box are airbrushed. I have no idea what that means, but they sure are beautiful!

Of course I had to use one of my new shuttles right away!

You can also find beautiful pendants at GMA's Etsy shop. I have the perfect chain for this pendant, and I can't wait for the opportunity to show it off!

Frills

As daughter Joanne and her kids were picking out Ice Drops to take home, I noted that Joanne loves the ones with loads of picots. So I decided to work on some frilly Ice Drops for her next visit.

Sophia modeled for me on last time before heading home. I sure am going to miss her help!

Today was the last performance of Curtains. I'm sure daughter Carol is exhausted. I know I am.

Still, I managed to tat another frilly Ice Drop this evening. I think I'm going to head to bed early tonight and try and catch up on some of the sleep I've been missing!

Curtains

This weekend the Grant Park High School Drama Club is presenting Curtains, the musical comedy whodunit. My friend Denise met Joanne, Sophia, and me at the school for last night's performance. The kids did a great job!

I was so wound up when I got home. I stayed up until 11:30, which is really late for me, and I had a very hard time falling asleep. I kept thinking over parts of the play so that I know what to watch for tonight!

Once again, Sophia chose colors and a shuttle for an Ice Drop. Her favorite color yesterday was pink, and she chose the blue ribbon because she knows that it's my favorite color. I'm going to miss my little helper/model when she heads home tomorrow!

Yes, I am showing off another pretty shuttle from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design. I love the pretty flowers, and of course I love to tat!

Joanne and the kids had great fun looking for Ice drops and Spinning Wheel glass mats to take home with them to Minnesota. Joanne is guessing that my supply of Ice Drops has been depleted by about 75. I am so glad to have homes for my pretty tatted items!

Busy Thursday

Joanne and the kids headed to Indiana to visit friends and relatives today, so I accepted a sub job. I had planned on staying home and relaxing, but as usual, I had loads of fun with the kids.

Sophia has been asking for me to use this tatting shuttle for several days. She has good taste!

Where does the time go?

The day just flew by! Joanne, the kids, and I made a quick trip to Menards this morning, and then the day just disappeared.

I did manage to tat one Ice Drop. This color combination is dangerous for me. Just looking at it makes me crave a Werther's!

I started round 8 of Renulek's Wiosna 2018. I feel like I should have accomplished so much more today. At least I can say I had fun with my grandchildren!

FIMO shuttles

Lisa Adams of Tatting Corner contacted me recently and asked if I'd be willing to test some new FIMO shuttles that Ayumi Horiai was sending her as samples. Of course I said yes!

You knew that I'd tat Ice Drops, didn't you?

The smaller of the two shuttles is about an inch and a half long.

The shuttles are rather thick, but that didn't seem to make much difference. I was easily able to wind 5 yards of size 20 thread on this shuttle.

Sophia fell in love with this shuttle. I have to admit, it caught my eye also!

This one is slightly longer.

It's about the same thickness as the smaller shuttle. I wound a good six yards of size 20 thread on this shuttle, and I could have easily added more, but I didn't need any more. In fact, I only needed about half of what I wound on to the shuttle.

So, here are my thoughts on these shuttles. I had seen information on them before Lisa contacted me, and I really didn't think I'd be interested in them. However, once I saw them in person, I fell in love! They are so colorful!

The smaller shuttle was a little too small for me, so I kept dropping it. My hands aren't tiny, but they aren't large either. They're about 6 1/2" from the heel of my hand to the tip of my middle finger. So, when purchasing, I know to order the larger shuttle for myself.

The shuttles have a nice weight to them, and I was really surprised at how much thread they each held. I thought the small one would only hold about three yards, and it held a generous five yards.

The surface of the shuttles is not super smooth, which was good for gripping. The texture of the shuttles did slow me down a little, but not to the point where it was irritating. From what Lisa has told me, Ayumi is still working on refining these shuttles, and there is a possibility that there will be some kind of coating to make the surface smoother.

It will be fun to keep an eye on Lisa's shop and see what goodies come from Japan!