I know it may not be perceived the same way I see it, but I was so excited with this election! I knew it would be a milestone even before the primaries were over. I'm not normally excited about elections and politics. I always vote but even when the one I vote for wins, I've never been exactly happy about it. It was sort of like the lesser of two evils in the past, but this one?

I loved seeing lines and lines of people voting. I loved that there extra days and locations to vote. I think way more people voted for that simple reason. I loved that they were brave enough to say what they wanted. I will not put down the losing candidate to justify the one I voted for, but I truly feel this is such a wonderful point in our history. Ultimately, I don't think it matters who gets the office, it will be a challenging four years ahead and it really is dependent on the mass consciousness more than anything, but I think this particular person will do the best job he can in making it an easier transition.

I was considering using this vintage pattern for the mystery motif but the directions tell you what it is...and it is not tatted exactly the way the directions say. I've added more rings at the upper wing than called for. It's not clear what to do at this point - it just says continue with other side as directed. LOL! I think I can sort it out and I'll clean this up eventually and post the instructions but first I'll move on to a viable mystery motif. I've done several vintage butterflies but I'm not sure I've done this exact one. Certainly not from this magazine but several of them have been reprinted in other publications along the way. This looks familiar so I'll check into it more later.

Every time Georgia sent out an email asking for volunteers for the Palmetto fundraiser book, I tried to duck under the radar. It's not that I mind doing it, I was just very busy and very stressed, in a nice sort of way. There are so many great designers out there that I really never gave it another thought. But then she emailed ME. She was down to needing ONE flower. Would I give it a try? I don't think I do my best work under pressure. I can come up with good ideas, but they become better ideas if I have time to work on them. Even so, I devoted two evenings to designing and testing this narcissus. I had no idea who else was involved or what the other flowers looked like. I was just hoping I wouldn't be put to shame too badly!

I got the CD the other day and saw I was in good company! This was a fundraiser at the Palmetto 2008 Tat Day. I don't know if you can still order them or not but I'm sure you can contact someone on their website who can give you an answer. The pattern CD from the classes is available now so maybe you can get both at once!