Waiting for spring

I know it's about a month before the official start of spring, but I really think the weather is taking a turn toward spring. Yes, we had snow yesterday afternoon... almost two inches... but it was warm enough today, that most of it melted. We're expecting rain for the next few days, so I figure we'll have no white stuff left by the end of the week.

It's going to be a busy week. I know I'm subbing Monday through Thursday, and on Friday daughter Alison is coming for a visit with her kids. I had to get my quality tatting time in today!

I decided it was time to get started with Renulek's 2018 tat-along. Round 1 is done in Lizbeth #115, Springtime. I used one of my new see through shuttles from Japan. This one is a pale lavender color. I like that I can easily see how much thread I have left, and I really like the super sharp tip! I found out about them from my friend Carol. They're available on eBay.

These shuttles are available three to a pack in small and large sizes, similar to Clover shuttles. I think I do prefer the Clovers because of the little grooves over the post. These do feel a little slick. Otherwise, there's not much difference between the two brands.

My day is not complete without an Ice Drop, and there was plenty of thread left on the shuttle. Doesn't this look cheerful?

Round 2 is in Lizbeth #680, Spring Green. The shuttle is from the same pack as the lavender, but as you can see, this one is clear.

Of course, another Ice Drop was needed!

Hmmm...

I thought I spent a lot of time tatting today... apparently not! I only tatted one Ice Drop, and it's my pattern for Tatting Corner Tat Days, so I can't even show it to you!

So, what did I do with my time? I cleaned the kitchen, baked a cake, fixed three meals, talked to Mom and three of my daughters, called my aunt, helped Dave troubleshoot a mail problem on his iPad... I guess I didn't really have as much time for tatting as I thought I did!

Back to normal

The weather was back to normal today... no fog, just warm enough to start melting the snow... it's starting to feel like winter is winding down.

I started off the day test tatting an Ice Drop pattern for a friend. Sorry, it's not ready for the big reveal just yet!

Next, I checked my pattern for Tatting Corner's Tat Days in July one more time. I'm not ready to show this one just yet. I think it may be after Tat Days, because I want this to be a special pattern for the event.

I finished up the day tatting this little motif from one of my Japanese tatting books, Tatting Lace 101 Edging & Motif Ideas.

I've been enjoying watching the Olympics. I get really excited watching curling, and I get the wits scared out of me watching the skiing and snowboarding events. I don't know how those athletes can do that stuff!

Fog day

School was delayed for two hours this morning because of dense fog. Daughter Carol called to let me know in case I was subbing. She then let me know around 9 that school was cancelled for the day. It was a wise call. All day long the fog was thick.

You'd think that with nowhere to go and nothing to do, I'd have accomplished a lot. I didn't. I only finished one Ice Drop. Why? The ups and downs in the weather mess with my sinuses, and I just didn't feel like doing much.

I did take two naps, and I talked to each of my daughters today. Gosh, I'm tired!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Red and white... the perfect combination for Valentine's Day!

Just one...

Today was another sub day, so I only had time for one Ice Drop. Luckily, I had a pretty new shuttle to use!

Snowed in

Well, it was self-imposed. We did get quite a bit of snow over the weekend, and there were times when it was nasty. However, it was never so bad that we couldn't have gotten out if we had wanted to. Yes, the roads were bad over the weekend, but it was anywhere near the monster storm that was predicted.

Still, I chose to take the long weekend to focus on decorating quilt squares for Palmetto Tat Days. I tried to stay off the computer, because it's easy for me to get lost in space and I really wanted to finish these pieces so that I can mail them off this week.

I chose Mary Konior's Curds and Whey from Tatting with Visual Patterns for this piece of sashing.

At first I wanted to tat something that resembled beer foam for this beer stein fabric. However, my imagination wouldn't work to give me what I wanted, so I looked through Tatting with Visual Patterns again. The pattern is called "Skipping Ropes." It doesn't look at all like beer foam, but I like it!

I'm not fond of skulls, and I wasn't sure what to do with this fabric. I decided to pick up on the flower motif on the skulls. One of the motifs is from one of my Japanese tatting books. The other two just kind of fell off my shuttles.

The butterfly edging is from another of my Japanese tatting books, and the tiny butterfly on the pink is simply rings. I'm sure someone else has tatted this one before. Basic butterflies really don't take much thought!

While looking through my Japanese books, I found this butterfly pattern. I took the shuttle closest to my chair, which happened to have Purple Marble wound on it. I really like this butterfly, but the size and color were completely wrong for the quilt block project.

The pieces have all been packaged for mailing, and I'll send them off when I'm in town tomorrow. I think I may tat an Ice Drop tonight. I'm suffering from Ice Drop withdrawal!

If you haven't guessed by now, I love collecting tatting shuttles! I also love using them! This little beauty is from my long-time friend, Dave Stanbrough of Grizzly Mountain Arts. Dave doesn't make many shuttles any more, so I was thrilled to be able to purchase this one! I would love to travel west and meet Dave and Jo in person. I'm not sure that's in the cards, though!

I try to avoid eBay, because I'm always tempted to bid on items I really don't need. However, when I saw this American flag shuttle, I knew it had to be part of my collection. I can be so bad! ;-)