Today was an organizing day. I worked on my desk, which I had neglected for way too long. I pulled everything out and put it in a box, then worked my way through all the clutter. I probably threw away half of what was in there. It's not finished, but it's much better than it was!

I managed to tat two Ice Drops today. This is the basic pattern with three picots. I do love this shuttle from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design!

The second one is the basic pattern done in one pass. I like both, but the top one is my favorite. This shuttle is from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine. I love the weight of this shuttle, and I like that it can be plain or have the background in one of six colors. You know I just had to have blue!
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Happy anniversary!

Tomorrow, my sister-in-law and her husband celebrate their 52nd wedding anniversary! I think that's pretty exciting! We went out to an early dinner with them today and had a wonderful time together.

Before joining Karen and Larry, we spent time working on harvesting veggies. Dave cleaned potatoes and I froze peppers. It looks like we'll be eating some good meals over the winter!

Of course I took time to tat a couple of Ice Drops!

I used Marilee Rockley's "Beach Cafe" hand-dyed thread. I do love hand-dyed thread! I also love shuttles (just in case you didn't know), and this beauty is one that I dearly love from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design.

All in all, it was a wonderful day!

What's new, pussycat?

With the beginning of a new month, I decided it was time to get back in to the Ice Drop groove. My supply is seriously depleted, which is a good thing, but I want to make sure I have plenty on hand for the holidays. This is the basic Ice Drop pattern with five graduated picots in Lizbeth Spring Green, not your typical holiday colors, but I like it! The shuttle is from Grizzly Mountain Arts. Isn't the cat adorable?

My tatted hanky edging is coming along slowly but surely.

Ella's afghan is growing. I'll need to crochet faster if I'm going to finish four afghans in time for Christmas!

I spent time decorating bottle caps today. I have some ideas for these, so stay tuned. Who knows? I may come up with something worth trying!

Another oops!

Daughter Joanne asked if I would tat a bookmark for her as well as one for Sophia. I love getting tatting requests from family members

Feeling confident after tatting Robin Perfetti's Five Petals Bookmark, I set out to tat another reversing the colors. As I was blocking the second bookmark, I noticed that I joined the last Star Flower motif in the wrong place. It looks a little unbalanced, but now I know to be careful of where my joins are. I guess I'll have to tat another... oh, darn!

I haven't posted the last few days, because I've been busy adjusting to my new schedule. Yesterday morning I finished Janko's afghan... three down, four to go!

I took the time to sort yarn, and came up with ideas for the next four afghans. This one is Ella's. The pattern is Lunar Crossings Rectangle Blanket from Crochet Kim. The yarn is Lion Brand Mandala, "Pixie." I had to pay attention to the set up, but now that the pattern is established, I think it's going to be fairly easy to crochet.

On the chicken front, we've had our first blue and green eggs!

Busy weekend

Daughter Alison called Friday morning to ask if she and the kids could come visit for the weekend. Of course I said yes! We hadn't seen them since daughter Joanne's visit in June. Between their activities and ours, there just hasn't been a good time to get together.

We had a great time shopping, looking at houses, cooking, and enjoying each other's company. The weekend just flew by!

Lucky me... I am a test tatter for one of Robin Perfetti's new bookmark patterns! This is Five Petals Bookmark, and I love it! There was a challenge in this one for me. I had to learn to do a Catherine Wheel join. Luckily, there are some wonderful YouTube videos to help with the learning process. I used the one by my dear friend Marilee Rockley. I'm quite pleased with my results!

After taking my first picture, I remembered that I had purchased bookmark sleeves on Amazon a while back. Since I'm planning on giving bookmarks as Christmas presents this year, I thought the sleeves might be a good idea. The tatting will stay clean and the recipients won't have to worry so much about how to care for their bookmarks.

I think I'll start another bookmark tonight!

Sharing

I love sharing with others, especially when I know my gift will be appreciated. Recently, my friend Sherry Townsend asked if I would make her an Origami pouch with Irish themed fabric. Of course! Then she asked if I'd be willing to try making a smaller matching bag to hold shuttles. Why not?

Sherry received her package yesterday and set up this beautiful display to take a picture for me. Yes, I forgot to take a picture of the bags before mailing them off to her. Maybe I'll learn to take pictures some day. ;-)

The beautiful doily in the picture is Sherry's Corona, designed by Ben Fikkert. Isn't it gorgeous? Sherry's planning on taking her new bags with her to Palmetto Tat Days. I'll be interested to find out if they meet her expectations as she uses them over the next few weeks. Right now, she loves them, which makes me very happy!

I managed to tat one Ice Drop before heading off to school today. I also worked on my grandson's Granny Square afghan this morning. I hope to have it finished in the next week, because I've found another pattern I want to try out!

Mom's been busy weaving, and this morning she sent me a photo of this beautiful scarf she just finished. I'm in the mood to weave, but I must finish crocheting Janko's afghan. I think I might have a few too many interests... nah!

Closet day

I decided to reorganize my clothes closet this morning, and I'm so glad I did! I was ready to go shopping, and now I realize I don't need to!

Organizing didn't keep me from tatting! I think the green and white looks so refreshing.

Keeping with the green them, I crocheted another spool pin doily and button flower. I wonder how long it will take me to use up all the crochet cotton I have on hand?