The boys are catching up!

I have several boys who are catching on to tatting and are determined to out-tat the girls!

Carter was so excited about catching on to Fancy Pants, he spent the weekend tatting!

Carter also helped John catch on to Fancy Pants. Both boys did a fantastic job!

Julia has been practicing her picots, and I tied her piece around her wrist as a bracelet. Isn't it lovely?

I did manage to tat five pattern repeats on round 8 (?) of Renulek's Letnia. I'm afraid I'm going to run out of thread, so I placed another thread order last night. I wonder when I'll ever use up all the thread I own?

Glitterati

Is that a word? Probably not, but it popped into my head as I was taking a picture of the shuttles I decorated this weekend for the kids at school.

I've never kept track of how long it takes to decorate shuttles, but because the kids asked, this time I did. I started about 9:30 in the morning. After I snipped off the tips of these Boye shuttles, Dave sanded the rough edges and the tops and bottoms with his palm sander. I usually do this part with a foam block covered in sand paper, but since I was decorating so many, Dave helped out.

I wanted the true color of the napkin to show through, so I painted each side of the shuttle with two coats of white acrylic paint. I allowed 15 minutes of drying time between each coat. The napkins or fabric seem to adhere better if paint is applied. I learned this from Decoromana's tutorial. It was a step I used to skip, but now it's routine.

After the initial layer of Mod Podge was applied so that I could attach the napkins, I used a layer of glitter Mod Podge. The kids wanted glitter, and I kind of like it myself! Four coats of hard coat Mod Podge followed, and then two coats of clear acrylic. I finished at 9:45 p.m. I completed 20 shuttles, and I think the kids will really like them!

Yesterday was daughter Alison's 38th birthday. It's hard to believe that she's 38. It seems like she was just born! Her birthday wish was to have her flower beds weeded, so Dave and I complied. Dave did most of the weeding with help from Eva and Aidan. Dan was the go-fer, making runs for flowers, mulch, and garden waste bags. I was the head bagger, with Alison supervising the work. It was a wonderful day! Pssst... do you see Eva photo-bombing in the back? Aunt Carol must be proud!

I made good use of the time driving to and from Alison's. I was finally able to finish this round of Renulek's Letnia. I don't remember which round number it is, but I'm eager to move on to the next round.

Braeden finished his first length of chain, with help and encouragement from Christian. He chose this pretty little heart as his prize because of the texture. I think it's great that a 3rd grader is inspired by texture!

I should have written down who completed this piece, but I didn't. Fancy Pants rules!

The weekend was wonderful, but I'm bushed! Saturday was our Tollway Tatters meeting... absolutely wonderful! Sunday I drove up to my daughter's to watch the kids so that Alison and Dan could celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. Monday we had family over for a cookout. It was beautiful for most of the day, with rain starting in the early evening.

Inventory is in full swing in the library, but I still have students at their normal times. Teaching the kids tatting has proven to be valuable in ways I hadn't anticipated. The kids have something to do while I'm working on organizing shelves!

Lillian was very excited, because she finished six inches of Fancy Pants! Now she's ready to learn picots.

Zachary, one of the 2nd graders, came to school with a big ball of red thread that his mom bought for him. The kids were intrigued, and asked if we could get big balls of thread next time. A quick Internet search led me to a sale of Aunt Lydia's crochet cotton. The kids asked... I'll be delivering tomorrow!

I was very excited when I opened the mail today and saw my two latest acquisitions made by "'im in the garage" aka Jane Eborall's brother-in-law. I nearly forgot to visit Jane's shop on shuttle shopping day, so I was pleasantly surprised that the two I really wanted were still available. Lucky me!

Bad Boyes, Bad Boyes

Bad, bad, bad, Boyes, you make me feel so good!

That's what Marilee and I were singing at our Tollway Tatters meeting today. We had so much fun!

I brought along some Boye shuttles that I had decorated. I don't like the tips on the Boyes, so I snipped them off, sanded the rough edges, and blinged the shuttles.

Marilee wound one with thread right away, and started singing "Bad Boyes." We decided it was a great title for a blog post! Marilee and I agreed that we don't care for the Boye shuttles as they come out of the package, but once they've been cleaned up and made presentable, they're not bad at all.

We had a nice sized group today...

Sue Anna and Carol,

Barb,

Marilee,

Alison and Eva,

and Julie, who drove all the way from Iowa to join us!

We laughed, chatted, tatted, and had a wonderful day! The highlight of our day was spreading the tatting love...

A police officer stopped by to see what we were doing. After a little conversation, we learned that she's the youngest daughter of one of my husband's customers! Isn't it a small world? She left with shuttles, thread, and business cards. She doesn't live too far from me, so maybe she and her kids will decide to come tat with us.

A little while later, this lovely lady and her daughter Sophia stopped by to see what we were doing. They were fascinated, and they also left with shuttles, thread, and business cards. They were traveling from Wisconsin to Cincinnati. I hope they're able to learn to tat!

I didn't get a picture, but we also shared shuttles with a tall, lanky young man from the pretzel kiosk. He recognized us by our shirts. Obviously he's been working when we've been tatting. He was interested in what we were doing. Who knows? Maybe he'll have taken the plunge by the next time we meet!

I did manage to get about half way around this row of Renulek's Letnia. I really am enjoying this doily.

All in all, it was a wonderful day. I hope we have as much fun the next time we get together!

Button, button, who's got the button?

It might be me! Mom asked me to be on the lookout for 1.5" to 2" buttons for the bags woven on her Saori loom. I seldom back down from a challenge, if it's something I'm interested in, so I started searching the Internet.

I found these on Amazon, but I'm still looking for more unusual buttons, preferably with two holes, but four will work. If you have any sources for large buttons, please let me know!

My little tatters keep on tatting!

Christian lost his shuttle, so Janie has been letting him tat with one of hers.

Camryn taped two sections of Fancy Pants together to earn her prize. She's a new big sister as of yesterday, and she's very excited!

Look at all these lovely picots!

I think it's great that there are boys tatting as well as girls.

The second graders don't have the opportunity to come in at lunch recess, because I'm on cafeteria duty during their recess time. They do find opportunities throughout the day to come in and reload with thread and choose prizes!

I've started inventory in the library, which leaves me very tired at the end of the day. Could this be a sign that I'm getting older? Maybe. I do find that I fall asleep while tatting in the evening, so I haven't progressed very far on Renulek's Letnia. I keep trying!

Oh, my little tatters!

I just love them!

They keep on tatting, even when I forget to take pictures.

They make presents. Paige tatted this bracelet for me. I am so flattered!

They seem to understand that I am forgetful and cannot remember who tatted what by the time I get home...

...and they keep on tatting!

Yesterday, 6th grader Shawn asked me if I had any more tatting shuttles. When I said yes, his eyes lit up!

I love these kids!

Lost photos

I guess it's time to clean up the photos on my phone, because I seem to be missing some very special ones.

Kayla in 4th grade has been teaching me how to make friendship bracelets. She's been very encouraging, and she's a very patient teacher. I know we took a picture of my bracelet to put on the blog, but I can't find it on my phone or on my computer. It's lost in space!

Yesterday, 2nd grader Atalissa came in to show me her third 6" piece of chain. She's trying very hard to achieve Fancy Pants, but is still tatting Josephine chain. She's not one to give up, but again, the picture of her progress is missing.

I'll try to remember to take new pictures today.

In the meantime, I've been decorating more shuttles for the kids. I used paper napkins for this batch. They're so cheerful!

I'm very excited about the newest addition to my little creative heaven, my Saori loom! Mom is an avid weaver, and I love all of the beautiful pieces she has created. Now I get to learn! The set-up is going very slowly, because I have never set up a floor loom before. I read each step at least 14 times, because I don't want to mess up! Mom and I plan to have lots of fun when she comes to visit in June!