Yep, in angel mode now! Angel #2 is tatted with the same thread but with gold beads this time and I used the picot gauges. I've already put it in a gift for an exchange at work. They make nice little additions to a card or a gift tag. I stuck this one in with a sachet pillow. I considered sewing it on, but decided there wasn't really a good spot to attach it. If you want to use beads, it takes 25 for the ring shuttle and 16 for the ball thread. But if you use beads, to make sure you have enough, either add a few more beads to the ball thread or do the shoelace trick for the first ring after the first chain. Directions say to switch shuttles (if you are using 2 shuttles) or do the shoelace trick. OR you could just add extra beads to each part and not worry about it.

Angel #3 is tatted with a thread I absolutely despise but I thought this might be a good way to use it up. It's Altin Basak in the silver metallic. It feels smooth to touch and looks so sparkly but it does not slide well and the metallic will pull away from the other thread. I like most of the Altin Basak I have, but not these metallics. You can even see how the picots turned out more pointy because the thread is a bit stiffer with the metallic. I can round those points out with the shaft of my crochet hook.

Now I'm working on a snowflake which is a variation by Liz Anderson of the Snowflake Sunday done by the online class - my printout is from February 2001. Anyway, I'm still using that dispicable silver thread and got one point done before going to bed. Why do I use a thread I hate? Well.....silly as it may seem, I seem to remember paying a lot more for that ball than the usual Altin Basak and I'm determined to get my money's worth out of it! I had a gold ball too and I think I used part of it and gave the rest away. I know...sheer stubborness! I keep hoping it will magically change its properties and become a wonderful thread. The metallic snapped on one of the first rings of the snowflake and made it very difficult to close the ring. That's where the stubborness kicked in. I had wound 2 shuttles CTM and I wasn't going to unwind them!