Learning to blog on my phone

My Internet is down again! This is becoming very frustrating. I wonder if it's the rabbits again?

I received another new shuttle this week, this time from LadyShuttleMaker. I do adore her ceramic shuttles! I try to buy one special shuttle each year. Who am I kidding? I have more than 40 ceramic shuttles, and I only "met" Sherry six and a half years ago!

I have more to write about, but since I've never blogged via phone before, I think I'll stop here and see how it posts. Wish me luck!

One fantastic week!

Despite being laid low by a stomach bug on Tuesday, this has been a fabulous week!

Play practice began on Monday, and although I didn't need to be there, I attended Middle School Drama Camp and participated in learning the dance routine... for as long as I was able. Oh, my goodness! I knew I was out of shape, but this is ridiculous! I'm going to have to do some training in the coming week so that I'm prepared for learning the dance routine I have to know! It was suggested that we practice jogging in place while singing "One" from A Chorus Line so that we're prepared for the finale. Are you kidding me? The thought of jogging in place makes my knees and ankles ache. I've been trying to learn the lyrics, and my tongue gets all tangled around the words. What if they kick me out of the play? Can I get by with lip syncing? I'm the old lady in the cast, so hopefully the director (daughter Carol) will cut me a little slack. ;-)

The best part of the week was receiving a new tatting shuttle to beta test for Dave Stanbrough at Grizzly Mountain Arts!

It is awesome! Do you see the little handle attached to the top? It's to help with the winding process.

Can you see the deep slits? It does take a little longer to wind this shuttle because of the deep slits, but the shuttle is so smooth, I don't find it to be a problem. Winding shuttles is very therapeutic for me. If you're addicted to winding quickly, this shuttle may not be for you. I forgot to measure the thread as I was winding, but I do know it holds much more than a small Clover. I'll try to remember to measure the next time I wind it.

This is the hole where the handle screws in. While tatting, I put my thumb over this hole. I found that it helps me keep my grip.

The top is nice and smooth. I do love the feel of wood when I'm tatting. What are your thoughts on a shuttle like this? I'd love to give Dave some feedback from tatters. Would you be interested in a shuttle like this?

Dave told me in his email that he will probably never be able to make typical post shuttles again because of problems with his fingers and hands. However, he misses making shuttles, and he thinks he'll be able to make some of these as well as some of his flat shuttles with no problems.

You can always visit Grizzly Mountain Arts to see what Dave has available, but beware... I'm an avid fan of his shuttles, spindles, and picot gauges, so if I see them first, you may not have the opportunity to buy one!

So, what did I make with this new shuttle?

Another Pineapple Parfait cross! I'm kind of addicted to this pattern now that I have it memorized. The Pineapple Parfait was sitting right next to my chair, and I just couldn't resist using this yummy color again.

Fox the Enabler got me into trouble again. We tend to do that to each other! She emailed me about a book that was being discussed on InTatters, and she wondered if I was familiar with it. I quickly searched for the book, watched the YouTube video, and decided that the book was not for me. There's nothing wrong with the book. In fact, it's wonderful! I just thought about all the books I have that are, as of now, unused... meaning I haven't tatted anything from them.

I did find the book on Etsy for about half the price I had seen it in other places. I sent Fox the information, and she also decided to pass on it for now. Then, one day I received an email from Etsy indicating that I had an item in my cart that needed to be paid for... oops! I didn't realize I had put it in my cart! Or if I did, I thought I had completed the purchase... I'm afraid the old brain just isn't what it used to be. Anyway, I figured that I needed to pay for the book because the seller had been waiting for payment.

It arrived this week, and there are some wonderful designs! One aspect that I find very interesting is the use of color, so different from what I would ordinarily choose. However, when I think of the bright colors in Ukrainian costumes and the gorgeously decorated Easter eggs, the color choices make sense. I'm very happy to add this book to my collection!

I chose the name Lace-lovin' Librarian for a reason... I am fascinated by all kinds of lace! I am always excited to receive my lace issue of PieceWork magazine, but this year's issue is especially wonderful. Can you see what attracted me on the cover? "Discover a Master Tatter"...five full pages devoted to Lily Mae Burley Patrick! I'd have to look through my past issues, but I do believe this is the most extensive article devoted to tatting in any issue I've ever read in PieceWork! I highly recommend checking out this issue!

After tatting "Sonnenschein," I knew I had to have Happy Occhi. I can't believe it arrived so quickly! If I counted correctly, there are 25 patterns in this book... fabulous!

I managed to finish all my laundry last night, so I think I'll take a little time to tat today. :-)

Pineapple Parfait Cross

Pineapple Parfait is a beautiful bright yellow, although it looks more gold in this picture. I had thread left on my shuttles, and this seemed the perfect pattern for using up that thread.

I know I won't have much time for tatting this week. Daughter Carol is running a middle school drama club camp, and I'll be helping her out. She's planning a summer showcase the end of July, and I'm going to be in it! This will be my first time in a drama production. I am very excited!

This is the pattern...

that started my interest in tatting!

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a long time know the story...

Back in high school, a new girl in the neighborhood tatted a cross for me as a thank you gift. I still have it in the house, someplace really, really safe! ;-)

For 20 years I tried off and on to learn to tat from a book with no success. Then one day, Denise called me and told me that she had learned to tat in 20 minutes from a video. She lent the video to me, and the rest is history!

I was very excited to see this picture on Pinterest, so I printed the picture and began searching for the pattern. I discovered that this is an old Workbasket pattern, and some day I'll take the time to search for the December 1958 issue that I believe holds this pattern.

I've tatted this pattern before, using the original cross as my pattern. However, I really wanted to find the original pattern. There is an Etsy shop that sells a reprint of the pattern for $3.99, but I was sure I had seen the pattern, or something similar, somewhere else.

Sure enough, there's a free pattern from Becky Dempsey, dated 2002! My stitch count on the rings is different from Becky's. Her rings are 8-8. Mine are 6-2-6... such a minor difference!

I need to decide on a tassel for this cross. It is a gift for Rachel, who is going to try her hand at blinging some of my tatting shuttles. She creates fabulous nail art, and she has decorated cell phone and camera cases. I'm really looking forward to seeing her creations! Rachel is a former student of mine, as well as a friend of my oldest daughter, Alison. I now teach Rachel's children in school, but I will be retired before her grandchildren are born! ;-)

I had an unexpected parcel in the mail yesterday... a tatting gift from Fox! She knows my weakness for shuttles, and she sent me two that she was sure I'd enjoy. She is so right! I do own two of these shuttles that I have never taken out of their original packaging. They were a gift from my son-in-law's father, who lives in Slovakia. I am thrilled that I will be able to tat with these little beauties and still have a set in the original packaging! Thank you Fox!

I guess it's time to get on with my day... so much to do, so little time to tat!

Sonnenschein

The Online Tatting Class featured "Sonnenschein" from Happy Occhi by Petra Tornack-Zimmerman. This is a beautiful little pattern that I totally messed up!

First, I didn't follow the pattern. I looked at the diagram and thought... oh, I get this! When I was well into the design, I looked at the beginning of the pattern and saw that I was supposed to start with a chain. Oops! I started with a ring!

I'm not sure if that mistake led to the angular chains or not, but I know that I will re-tat this piece following the directions! I hope my second attempt looks more like Petra's sample!

The thread is size 20 Lizbeth, Pineapple Parfait #170.

Georgia posted that this book will be available in English. Frivole, did you see that it's a book of square motifs? Right up your alley!

Almost halfway!

I'm really enjoying Round VII of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. The pattern repeat is really fairly simple, although I do keep my copy of the pattern close at hand so that I don't make any mistakes. ;-)

Darned critters!

I haven't had Internet access since Wednesday night. It took the technician two hours to find the problem... chewed wires under the porch. Darned critters! We have rabbits everywhere, and who knows what else. Darned critters!

I've found that when I don't have Internet access, I have a tough time staying focused with my tatting. I guess it's because I can't share what I've been doing with all my tatting buddies!

I've started Round VII of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. It's not quite as simple as I thought it would be, but it's not difficult either. I just need to follow the pattern. I'm sure I'll have it memorized by the tenth pattern repeat. ;-)

I needed to find something simple to tat, so I pulled this book off the shelf. I checked the copyright date (a librarian thing I guess), and I was surprised to see that this book is from 1994.

This is 34. Tatted Edging 1405-34T. The pattern is on page 22. I became bored with this pattern very quickly. I think that's partly because I'm not fond of lengths of bare thread in tatting.

I much prefer this pattern, 35. Tatted Edging 1405-35T. I'm not sure what I'll use it for yet, but I love the color, and I'm using up thread on a shuttle, always a plus!

Now do I check my 53 spam messages to see if they're really spam? I guess I should go through the 78 email messages that didn't go to my phone for some reason. I'm not sure I have time to go back and read the 172 blog posts I missed.

I haven't been ignoring you, dear tatting friends. It's the fault of those darned critters!