Eye Candy

Chiacchierino di Maria

Oh my....I started this on the 13th.......I can't believe I haven't written since then.
Today I went to the Ft. Wayne Tatter's Guild - a Holiday Workshop featuring Kaye Judt - with fellow lacers Bette and Cathy. We had a great time meeting the Ft. Wayne group and tatting Kaye's holly and berries. There was a gift exchange ( I didn't take part in this ) and we got goodie bags and the opportunity to spend $$$$ on tatting supplies. There were 2 kinds of goodie bags - I picked the peppermint stick looking one. Jeanne also made the 3 of us strivers ( wasn't that cool of her? ) and this is the one I picked! The project was fun and challenging. Kaye made the holly berries in a technique I've not heard of before which is very simple - just a way of stacking rings. The holly involved purl tatting and we ended up with that very Christmasy looking holly leaf. The purl chain could be continued and then tied off, making a nice little holiday bookmark. Or it can be a package tie-on. Or attached to a pin for a holiday brooch. It can go on a card or an invitation or announcement. I'm also thinking that with WHITE berries, it could pass for mistletoe. VBG! I seem to remember a poinsettia flower someplace that would go very well with this as a coat decoration. Napking rings...holiday placemats......we're limited by imagination only here!

Laura also gifted us with tons of clear plastic containers which are great for beads and some flexible little "doughnuts" that used to hold solder but will now hold thread. Thank you, Ft. Wayne, for sharing with us!

I've been blocking a lot of red and green tatting which I can't show at the moment, but here's a few flowers that were also on my blocking board. I tried making a black rose today while I emptied a shuttle but there was not really enough thread so it looked lopsided. It will probably actually be pitched. sigh.....yeah, I can almost do that now without going into major mourning.

I'll get back to further adventures in Australia soon. I got Toni Storer's book on Orchids this week and ALSO Karen Lindsay's Tatting Samplers. In the meantime, I swear Georgia sends out daily announcements of online class lessons or homework. I'm having a hard time keeping up with her!