Grabbing tiny bits of time

This is Dave's busy time selling blooming tropical plants. I don't have a head for business, but I can alphabetize invoices and record payments, so that's how I spent my evening... not much time for tatting!

This is a picture of the cross from the December 1958 issue of The Workbasket. I will be tatting this one soon! I kind of like the squared off arms, different from the crosses I usually decide to make.

Yesterday morning I found time to begin the last round of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. I think it will go fairly quickly... once I get some time to tat!

One of my nightly routines is to soak my feet in Epsom salts after dinner. I find it really relaxes me. Maybe that's because I'm rooted to a chair and I have 20 minutes to call mine! One of my Origami pouches was sitting right next to me, so I opened it up and found another pink cross that I started a couple of weeks ago. What's a girl to do? I worked on the cross, of course!

Lace-lovers to the rescue!

Thanks to some wonderful tatting friends and sleuths, I now have the pattern I've been looking for! I feel so lucky that I received so many responses regarding the cross pattern. I'm pretty sure that the original bookmark I received was from this issue of The Workbasket, because it was given to me in 1967 or 1968, too early for the Rebecca Jones book or the Becky Dempsey version.

Thank you, Patti! This is the April 1955 issue, and the pattern I've been looking for is right there on page 6!

Lucky me, I also have the December 1958 issue on its way to me! That's the issue I was originally looking for, but I have found that the cross in that issue is slightly different. I'm really going to have fun tatting both of these pretty patterns this summer. Now to get my tassel skills up to snuff!

Look, Jane... split rings!

I know, there are only three of them, and they're not integral to the cross pattern, but I did tat three split rings!

I was trying to use up what I thought was a little bit of thread on my shuttles. I wanted to empty them and refill them so that the last round of Doily VI by Jan Stawasz would have no extra thread joins. Silly, I know, but that's the way I want it. Guess what? I think I have enough thread left for another cross!

Did you notice the two shuttles? Rachel, who does fabulous nail art, decorated them for me. She actually painted those designs on! They're not paper or fabric that has been decoupaged. It's actual art work!

Isn't this zebra stripe awesome? This is an altered Starlit shuttle... no pick tip!

I told Rachel to feel free to do her thing... one side, both sides... whatever she was inspired to do. I'm glad that she only decorated one side. The decorated side is so smooth, I'm afraid the shuttles would fly right out of my fingers if both sides were decorated!

Josephina

This sweet little motif is "Josephina" from Happy Occhi by Petra Tornack-Zimmerman. I used size 20 Lizbeth, Pineapple Parfait #170.

This was the perfect pattern to tat while trying to learn the words to songs... always tough for me. Thank goodness we have the words printed out. Can you imagine my embarrassment if I belted out something like, "There's a bathroom on the right!" on stage?

One round to go!

I finished Round VII of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. I'm using size 20 Latte Foam, and it now measures 13" across. I can't believe I have only one round to go!

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. :-)