Tatting Tea Tuesday 9-29-09

From Tipnut.com:

How To Remove Coffee & Tea Stains From Mugs
If that favorite coffee mug of yours is getting a nasty brown ring inside, here are a few different methods for making your mug look brand new again:

Method #1

Wet a cloth then rub the inside of the mug with baking soda. If the stains are stubborn, soak overnight in hot water and baking soda.
Method #2

Soak the mug in bleach OR vinegar for several hours or overnight.
Method #3

Fill mug with boiling water, add two spoonfuls of dishwasher detergent then soak overnight.
Method #4

Try a paste of corn starch and vinegar, apply and let sit for a few minutes then scrub away.
Method #5

Drop two denture tablets in the mug, pour hot water over top then soak overnight.
After soaking mugs and removing the stains, rinse and wash very well before using–especially when using the bleach method.

How To Clean Stains From Teapots
Teapot Cleaning Soaks

Fill a teapot with boiling water, squeeze the juice from a wedge of lemon (1/4 lemon) and toss in the peel, add 1/8 cup of baking soda. Soak overnight, wash well in the morning.
Fill teapot with boiling water and add 1/4 to 1/2 cup Realemon juice, soak overnight then wash well in the morning.
Fill teapot with boiling water and add a couple denture tablets. Allow to sit overnight then wash with soap and water in the morning.
Put about 1/4 cup dishwasher detergent into the teapot, cover with boiling water and soak for a few hours or overnight. Wash well to remove all detergent residue.
Put 1/4 cup of washing soda in the teapot, cover with boiling water and allow to soak overnight. Wash well in the morning with hot soapy water, making sure to remove all traces of the washing soda.
Teapot Cleaning Scrubs

Sprinkle a small spoonful of salt on a damp cloth and gently scrub.
Gently scrub stains with a baking soda & water paste.
Gently scrub tea stains away with a baking soda & lemon juice paste.
Make a paste of salt and vinegar, scrub onto stain and wash off a few hours later.
You could also try the cleaning methods listed for coffee and tea stain removal from mugs. The tips above will help with mug or tea cup stains as well (modify amounts as needed).

These stain removal tips are for ceramic or common materials, for fine china or delicate porcelain teapots, choose a gentle cleaning method like baking soda soak (or paste) or try some of these tips.

After your teapot is clean and shiny, here are some tips you might enjoy for How To Make A Good Cup Of Tea.

I've uploaded the beaded blossom brooch to my Esnips site. You can click the link below or the folder link in the right sidebar. I don't know why it shows a little red x in the preview because there was no photo, only the pdf icon. Maybe it will show up when published. Ha! Famous last words! It's still clickable.

Beginners Beaded B...

Hosted by eSnips

So set yourself down with a cup of tea that reminds you of Autumn and tat this little beaded brooch!

Back from Ontario!

Yeah, I'm back! I rolled in about 8:30 p.m. last night. Originally I was to meet up with some friends in Ft. Erie but they had a last minute conflict involving a family member and a nursing home so I opted to come home. I considered stopping at Indiana Dunes but did not have the address of the bead shop I wanted to go to or several other places I want to make it a point to visit and I think I was feeling a bit homesick - odd for me, but there was a tinge of it.


I have 25 photos from the Fringe Element Tatters event in Cambridge, Ontario but it takes a lot of time to sort and edit so I picked ONE that seemed to embody the entire event for now. You can see how full the room was, the tables on the perimeter with lots of goodies to buy, the portable Ott lights, chocolate if you look closely, and you might even recognize a few people!

I got to see lots of old friends and meet some new ones. The very first person I saw when I came in to register was Fox, from Tat-ology. Not that I would have known that, but she recognized me. LOL! Guess I look like my photo. Then there was Kelly, from Tatfully Yours, who is a bright star to be around! Both ladies were such a pleasure to meet. Too bad Canada feels so far away. Well...it IS - it was a 9 hour drive for me and I consider myself close, compared to many who live in the States. I hope I get to see all of them again. Canadians are such fun!

Murray was a new face. I'll show his woodworking later. It was good to see Ruth, Karey, Kaye, Susan, Margaret, Norm (don't think I even got a chance to say hi to Norm!), Rita, Ginny, Shirley, Sylvia, Heather, Brenda, and host of other friends.


I taught two classes, one on beads and one on vintage patterns. Both were mostly informational. It's fun and all to tat with beads but it helps to know something about sizing and how to thread them and how to get them on a pattern if you've never done that before. I hadn't really planned to design anything for it but in the end, I came up with this brooch. I'll stick it in my e-snips file eventually but it is a good way to practice tatting with beads without getting too involved in other techniques. This one is a center of simple rings and a back of basic chains. I used Lizbeth thread for this sample, size 20 and beads size 11/0. Also, Brenda Franklin had her beads there - got a photo of those that will make your eyes pop! Brenda is an excellent resource for bead info.

The Vintage pattern class was about learning how to interpret vintage terms and directions into something you can use with today's modern techniques. We talked about terms, drawing the pattern out, tracing it, listing the steps, and converting them into something more contemporary. Participants were invited to bring a vintage pattern that they wanted help with. I didn't feel I accomplished much in this class and kept asking everyone if they got what they wanted from it. It was the last class at the end of two days and everyone is pretty much brain-dead from so much stimulation so I hope once they've gotten back to normal, that they'll feel free to email me with feedback - or questions. This is the first time I've done this class so I'd like to find a way to make it better. I debated on using one pattern for the class to go through and I did have one with a few things to point out.

My biggest problem with teaching in this kind of venue, with several classes going on at the same time, is the level of distraction. When I teach my lace guild members at the library locally, we are in a room by ourselves. It's usually 4-6 people, sometimes less and sometimes more, but it's very easy to clarify things. Someone asks a question and everyone can hear. But we don't have to pay for a room and this is the challenge most Tat groups face when they have these events. There's not enough money to fund separate rooms for each class. I was grateful for the good lighting at Best Western and the noise level really wasn't bad compared to other places I've been in.

Tatting guilds, as an entity, are still in their infancy. I don't think any of the major tatting events have been going for a decade yet, but even so, they've been streamlining and learning how best to host tatting events along the way and have made great strides. Those evaluation forms they give you are necessary to make improvements. I really think the best feedback comes a week or two after the event though. An initial survey followed up with a feedback form would probably offer the best input. I'm sure any feedback you offer at any time is appreciated though. Tell them what kind of classes you want. A good mixture, IMO, is one that offers a refresher on the basics, opportunities to practice the basics in new ways, and some cutting edge techniques for advanced tatters who get bored with the basic stuff. For many people, the social aspect is the most important part, but they want to enjoy the tatting too. That means they want to go home with something they actually finished but also a project that challenges them that they can work on when they leave.

I've already been asked to come back next year and tentatively accepted, although I'm expecting to make some major changes (moving, job possibly) in my personal life over the next year or two...so there's always that to consider.

It was the oddest thing, but the very day before I left for Ontario and even that morning, I suddenly got all kinds of emails from people seeking help in one way or another. It's not unusual for people to email me along that line, but they're usually spread out more.

One question that has come up 3 or 4 times is how to make the crocheted Romanian Point Lace cord. I keep thinking I'll make a tutorial but there's not much reason to when Sunshine over at Sunshine's Creations has made such a good one herself here!

I also got such a nice compliment with the tatting of a spiral bookmark by Cindy over at A Happy Bluebird. I can't really take credit for the pattern. It was from a bookmark I received in an early exchange and the pattern is actually an adaptation of an old edging. Quite clever of the tatter, to think of using two colors that way. I wish I could remember her name. When I finally tracked the edging down and put it into pattern format for the bookmark, I neglected to write her name down. I actually only documented it for me because I made several of the bookmarks that year for various family members who were graduating from high school in their school colors. It was in 2000 (included my baby) and before I started my blog. You think you're never going to forget those details, but I started forgetting stuff around 50. It finally dawned on me that I didn't HAVE to remember everything. I could look it up! Well...usually I can look it up.

Well, this has gotten quite long and I haven't even begun to describe Tat Day! I'm off for a few days and want to make the most of it in getting things organized at home.

Later...

Tatting Tea Tuesday 9/22/09

I couldn't resist this fabric on clearance at Hobby Lobby last week! The piece is a little under 2 yards. I could make an apron. A tea cozy. Napkins, placemats, a runner. Not all of that but some of it. I think it's so pretty!


I was going through a storage cube at the weekend and found this tea-for-one in there. I have them all over and I think this was in my hutch at one time before I had to clean it off for something. It's not my prettiest tea-for-one and it's not the only one with roses, but it was handy and I thought it would go with the fabric for this post. LOL!


I'm pretty sure I did not get this from one of my kids but it's a nice sentiment on the cup. "A Mother is the Truest of Friends" Mine certainly was and I hope I am too.

More printables! This is a link to a tutorial for tea soap balls and a box to gift them in.

And here we have a link to free teabag envelopes. I think there are 8 to 10 to choose from.

Tatting? That was in last night's post - I haven't been up long enough to tat today!

Today's Tea Quote: "One sip of this will bathe the drooping spirits in delight, beyond the bliss of dreams." ~ Milton

I'm working on a segment of my class for Fringe Element Tatters and I'm using this lovely Lizbeth thread but look at what is happening! This is the shuttle thread which I repeatedly wind and unwind to add beads. The thread is untwisting! It's not frayed and fuzzy yet and I'll be past this point before it does but it is still a problem. The threads tend to separate when I make a join so I have to be very careful to have them all lined up evenly.

I can't say I've actually tatted this many beads this way with any 6 cord thread so I can't say this is abnormal. I'll give it a try later when I'm not so pressed for time.


I've finished the second row on the bag. Only 7 or so more to go! And then the flap.

Sigh....this is taking me a very long time mostly because I am interupted with other projects. I'm using smaller beads than what Sharon listed but I really didn't want as much of a bead impact on this one. You can barely see them but they are silver and this will go with the dress I wore to my son's wedding which was a soft blue with some silver and rhinestone trim.

Well...back to the grindstone.

I finally installed my new printer/scanner that I've had for a good month! I was waiting until my son moved to the basement because I knew I'd have to move some things around so that I could take the old printer and scanner down. I didn't get to move as much as I wanted but I got a lot done today. Having just one unit on my desk instead of two is great and the printer is so much better. I don't know about the scanner yet. I've been playing with it a little but I need to take some time to figure out the settings and what I can change.

My old one automatically set up a new folder every month. This one doesn't so I have to move it to where I want it. It automatically sizes and crops everything too and I don't really want that. You'll see in the last scan why I don't. I finally hid all the ends on these little motifs, except for the smallest which I left the tails tied and will attach the ornament hook there. They are blocking now so should look really good by the time they get on a tree!


I've test tatted a few more patterns from the design class. This one is by Karin. I don't have a blog link yet but when I get it, I'll revise this post.


This one is by Nita and is a square only about 1 1/2" either way while the other motifs are closer to 2 1/2" square. The scanner made it this big and cropped it very close to the edges. I like to leave a little room to play with. I can always crop it down and often do, but I can also use my photo editing program and frame it or use a decorative touch of some kind as long as there is some room outside of the motif. I'll eventually figure it out. I'm sure there are a bunch of options I have yet to explore!

I've been so busy that I haven't been commenting on the blogs much. I've looked at them but often have to leave to do something before I can say anything. Doesn't mean I'm not paying attention though! Well...there have been a few days when I didn't even get to read much so I might have missed a little. That just means I'll find a pleasant surprise later on.

Progress on the beaded bag! Actually, I'm even further now. I took it with me to the doctor's office this afternoon and made it around the end and I'm well on my way down the other side.


As part of the design course, we test-tat the written text of another tatter's pattern. The first one I chose was by Pat Tinney and you can learn more about his motif on his blog. I thought both of these threads were size 20 - I've made this mistake before and you'd think I'd remember. In fact, I pulled out both threads side by side and they looked the same - until I started tatting. Arrggghhhh! Still looks okay but the rings would be bigger in the variegated if it was really size 20. It's actually size 30.

I thought this design was quite clever because it is divided in the outer round simply by not joining that pair of rings. It is done by some fancy manipulating but it's fun!

Guess what arrived in the mail today???? The BOOK I've been looking for! I can't believe how quickly it arrived. Yeah, I know - that isn't tatting on the cover, however there IS a poem on page 52 about tatted lace. There are pages showing her original writing and the stories/poems are sentimental, chiding, appreciative, and sometimes nonsensical.

You can order your own copy from http://www.back40publishing.com. The cost is $10 plus shipping. James did not have the website set up to include orders for this book yet, but it might be by now and you can always contact them at that site and express your interest. There are a couple of "tea" poems too.

Tatting Tea Tuesday 9/15/09

Instructable on Tea Scented Soap!!!

Cucumbersome, the author of this instructable, adds in the comments section: Sorry for the confusion, I meant for this to be just packaging - not for use in the tub. I just used gift-wrapping tissue paper. If you wanted to have something that could get wet, I would recommend making a little bag out of mesh or silk (maybe reuseable).

I love everything about this! What a wonderful gift!

You've probably heard me say about a zillion times now that I'm decluttering. Well, this is a great idea to help me along with that goal. A few years ago, I put "soap-making supplies" on my Christmas list and my daughter-in-law got them for me. I had some but now I have a lot more. What I don't have is a lot of time so I only made a small batch once of little butterfly soaps. With a specific project in mind, I can schedule myself into making these and use up some of my supplies (including tons of organza fabric that I seem to continue collecting!) and create a wonderful gift to boot. Think of the possibilities! One year I made a "pamper" basket for all my close female relatives. Well...back then it was my sister, my daughter, and my niece (old enough for what I put it in it). I crocheted (before my tatting days) edgings for fluffy towels, put in a romance novel, some tea, chocolate, bath oil or soap or lotion (don't remember for sure now) and something special to each person. It was so much fun. I loved doing that. I think it's time to do it again! But there are a lot more close women in my life now so I'll have to be careful not to go overboard. OH, maybe those felt baskets I made back in May - small, so that would limit how much I could put in there, but easy and pretty to decorated with tatting and embroidery.

I'm getting so inspired for Christmas now. Do you do that? Unfortunately, I can't even think of starting on anything until October! And here we are, halfway through September already!


Here's a teacup pincushion project from Buttons Galore! I'm not willing to give up any of my teacup/saucer combos for a pincushion yet so I'll just admire the one here.

I've prescheduled this post since I'll be in northern IN all day doing farm inspections with my coworkers. Fun, but no access to a computer so I won't get to see anyone's inspirational comments til I get home!

From Interweave Press:
Each year PieceWork Magazine holds its annual Excellence in Needle Arts Awards contest to showcase the best work of needle crafters from around the country. This year’s theme is “Heart Ornaments.”

PieceWork invites you to send your handmade heart ornaments in these four categories: knitting/crochet, needlework (embroidery, cross-stitch, bead embroidery, needlepoint), lace making/tatting, or quilting. The grand prize winner will receive $500 and each category winner will receive $200 worth of products provided by our generous contest sponsors.

Entries must be a maximum of 4” in size.

Deadline April 1, 2010

The contest winners will be announced and their work displayed at The National NeedleArts Association (TNNA) trade show in June 2010. They will also be featured in our July/August 2010 issue of PieceWork. Complete contest details will be available October 16 at pieceworkmagazine.com.

Check out the pdf file for the 2009 winners! Tatting made it to honorable mention and there are SEVERAL tatted brooches. Go look!

I've spent way too much time surfing today but look what I found! A Link! Link! Link! to an incredible number of tatting patterns online, as well as links to tutorials and videos. If there is a pattern you've lost track of, you might want to check here.

Sorry - no piccies today!

It's been a very good day! This morning there were 11 of us present for the lace guild meeting which featured the knit leaf I posted about last time. Afterwards, we all went to Preston's for lunch outside and with great conversation!


Afterwards on my way home, I decided on the spur of the moment to stop in at Trader Buck's Flea Market. There weren't many cars there and not many people inside. I poked around and was about halfway through the store. I'd filled a basket but only because of bulk, not quantity. Then I happened to see some needlecraft magazines on a shelf so I decided to browse a bit. LOL! I hit the jackpot!


I came away with 46 craft magazines including these vintage ones! The collage above is the tatting photos/patterns I found so far. The big flower bouquet was by Mary McCarthy but I didn't recognize any other names or there were none.


This sweet vintage angel was the very first item I picked up to buy. I'm not sure why it appealed to me so much but it's home with me now!


As I said, the day has been great! My first suprise when I got home was my Friendship Puzzle Piece from Pat Winter! Isn't it gorgeous? I need to find the others now and put them all together. I believe there is another exchange coming up when Pat recoups from all that is going on now, so I guess I could go ahead and get started on some. (HA! Like I have time right now!)


I had to show these cool buttons off! I actually got them yesterday ~ well, actually I got a jacket that has them on it but I really bought it for the buttons! Who am I kidding? I may wear the jacket a few times to feel better about buying it.


Another surprise but this was in last night's mail - Jon's book. I don't know when I'll get to it. Maybe not for a few months at the rate I'm going!


Sadly, this is all the further I've gotten on my tatting.

But once again, there is hope that my son will move to the basement this weekend! The painting is done so as long as the floor is dry, we can start moving things in. He is at a recognition dinner tonight so it has to wait until tomorrow..

OH! ONE MORE THING!! It's been a long time since I brought it up so it's doubtful anyone remembers but I mentioned wanting the book, Tatted Lace and Other Handmade Poems, by Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel. It has been out of print for years with only a small publishing to begin with. Ms. McDaniel passed away last year and the agents I contacted told me more than once that the books would be reprinted eventually but none were to be found at the time. They sent me an email today saying it was now available!!!! Yay!!!! I don't know if I'll like the poetry or not but I just wanted to see it. I loved the idea of someone using "tatting" in their poetry.

So now my aching back and my beginning-to-hurt butt need to move from this stool and do something lace related!

Wrapping up odds & ends

I got more books done! I had them put two of Toni Storer's books into one binding. I even had Sharon's book rebound and they were able to do it with my samples still taped inside! I actually took a few out that I thought were too close to the inside edge, but they did a great job. Only $4 for all 5 books.

I stopped at Trinity Mission the other day, a second hand store that uses the profits for charity. It's apparently under new ownership or management and they have been making a lot of changes so it takes me awhile to find my way around. There's not nearly as much that I'm interested in now since they are largely going to furniture and clothing, but I managed to find a few goodies anyway. This pillow for instance. It didn't have a price on it but I got it for $1.50.

The basket is hand crocheted and it appears the ribbon flowers are hand made too. I'm pretty sure I have basket pattern somewhere, but I know there are some tatted ones too. Wouldn't this be pretty with a tatted basket and tatted blossoms?

I suspect this was made from a dishtowel of some kind. The stitching wasn't anything fancy so I'm certain it was handmade and not purchased this way. The ends are not quite even. I think if it were me, I might make these side seams inside instead of outside.

Click on the image and it will enlarge - you can see the hand stitching detail along the bottom edge. It's very simple but effective. I haven't decided yet where I will put it but it's a smaller pillow so I will probably put it with some dolls and stuffed animals. That reminds me, I found a blog recently that had reclaimed a shelf unit with the cut-out hearts. Remember those? Cut out hearts and bears and such were very popular at one time. I have a small lidded bench with a back that has cut out bears, I think. Maybe it's hearts, but I got an idea on how to cover those up. Tiles! A small tile, either 3x3 or 4x4, that I paint...or not. I don't want to give up the bench but I don't want it looking so dated either!


I got the "blackwork" done in brown at this same place, along with the beads and birdie, all in separate packages. I don't think anything was more than 55¢. There was another small blackwork piece like this one and then a long runner but I just got this one. It's very nice work.

I love the birdie. Not sure what I'll do with him yet.


I bought these two framed needlepoint photos when I was with Gail the day after we returned Jane safely home. She took me to this fabulous place where you buy stuff by the pound. It's brought in bins and you rummage through them at your own risk. LOL! I realized when I got home that I had some nitrile gloves in my luggage that I'd forgotten about. They would have been helpful.

I like the frames because they are square matted, perfect for displaying a lot of tatting. You can see in this closeup that the needlepoint is real, not a photo, but I will take those out and maybe have a giveaway for them. I really just wanted the frames! I'm pretty sure these are handmade too.


This was a gift from Gail and Jane got one too. Isn't the little bag adorable? It's a tube-like zippered bag, just the right size for a little bit of tatting supplies. My photo with everything in it did not turn out, but there was a tube of beads, a skein of watercolor thread, a spool of Sulky thread, this strand of beads and the Shuttle Socks! Thank you Gail!

Now this might be a bit boring - just some jewelry findings that I got at the craft outlet store we went to.Silver and gold bits. I think they were only 33¢ each but I could be wrong. Most of the stuff wasn't that great of a bargain but there was a huge variety.
I hope to put some tatting on these filigree findings but I probably have some beads or buttons that will fit on the flat empty space too.These rectangle pendants are open and I thought it might be a fun challenge to find something rectangular to tat in them. A little different from the typical bangle, huh?

These were from the bead store where I went with Jane & Gail. There were tons and tons of beads there - it rivals Von's here locally in variety of beads and actually has more in terms of beading supplies. That's where we got the little drawstring bag too. The beads pictured here are vintage beads, very very tiny and expensive. I loved the hummingbird charm and grabbed it after I'd already made my first purchase, I think.

This sweet little damsel was in one of the bins at the buy-by-the-pound place. Her hair is a bit messy but she was calling out to me to make her pretty with tatting. And beads. And ribbon. LOL! Any ideas?

These threads came from the thread store after the bead store in Ohio. I honestly don't remember buying the red spool. LOL! I don't have a clue what I had in mind although that might be what the clerk there talked me into buying but if she did, I don't remember why. Bad, huh?

I showed photos of some other leaves I knitted that are SO MUCH BETTER than these! I made these Monday night as a refresher for the class I'm teaching at my lace guild Saturday. I don't know what happened. They are so awful! I used 0000 needles (also purchased in OH) and a skein of size 5 thread for the red variegated one. I lost my holes along the stem and then somehow ended up with some odd misplaced hole in each leaf! Clearly I need to practice again. The white one was the second one I made that night in an effort to correct my mistakes and it was even worse! I like to think it was just an off night. (right...)

Okay...that's it for now. Are you bored yet? LOL!

Tatting Tea Tuesday 9-8-09

The Saturday Evening Post October 22, 1927
Tea Time by Norman Rockwell

You can find directions for a cute knitted tea cozy here: http://slipslipknit.com/?page_id=292

The other one has embroidery on it. I think some tatted motifs would look just fine, don't you?


I demonstrated tatting at Global Fest on Saturday afternoon. I really didn't get much tatting done. I started the center of one of Martha's teapots but the thread broke a couple of times and there was one woman who talked for the longest time about all kinds of other stuff. People sometimes give you their life history in these situations. LOL! The photo above is Cathy, our current President. Cathy also is the I.O.L.I. librarian, so if you've ever borrowed books from I.O.L.I. as a member, this is who handled your request. Well...for the past many years anyway.


This is Kelli, our current Community Projects person. She is a fabulous lace knitter. She takes care of scheduling our volunteers at events like this. Kelli raises rabbits and also spins yarn. She judges rabbits in faraway places too. Perhaps you've met her and didn't know her connection to us.


This is the shawl and socks Kelli knitted. Ha! Talk about knocking your socks off! There are also some other shawls in more traditional colors which are so very beautiful. I do have a few photos of those but will show another time perhaps.


This is just a small sample of our lace display. Bobbinlace, tatting (recognize the pattern from Tatting Collage?) and hardanger. I have more photos but again, maybe another time.


This is what has been occupying a good portion of my free time. My sons are putting in a new door in the basement. It's in now and the room is painted and the floor has one coat of paint. I think it will need another, time to cure, and then wax. At the moment, I can't even get to my washing machine. ONE MORE WEEK!

It's really hard when we all have busy schedules to find time to do this. The bald son is a caseworker for the local mental health facility and the one who moved in to save up for grad school next year. The other son, the one with the hair, is the one who got married last year and who just celebrated his 28th birthday on Sunday. He was a Labor Day Weekend baby, then and forever. I think his birthday has missed Labor Day weekend only once so far. Anyway, they are great help and money savers. I couldn't afford to hire all this out.

Okay - I'm off to work! And I need to find some tea to drink on the way!

My pictures are not all that great today but I don't have time to make them better. This is the wristlet bag from Sharon Brigg's "Transitions in Tatting" book which you can find at her website. I tatted mine all in one color but her sample is in two colors.


You can see that the handle is long enough to slip over your hand to your wrist and it will hold a small ball of tatting thread - a ball up to the size of DMC Perle Cotton size 8, 12 or so. It might hold a ball of Altin Basak but it might stretch it out too.


Last week when Jane, Gail and I visited a bead store, they also had these little bags that just fascinated us! They were in two sizes, small and large. The small size being $2.50 and the large was $5.00 each. I got a small one. I had a horrible time picking just ONE. There were so many pretty fabrics. This one is closed.


And now it is open! We were intrigued by the way it closed and opened. Oh yeah...you pull on two ends and it closes and then you pull on the other two ends and it opens. But the thread stitched through the top band only moved when you closed it. The same threads did not move when you opened it. Finally we figured out that the opening tabs were simply stitched at each end with a short thread. It was still the other threads that actually moved. I probably didn't explain that very well, but they were the cutest bags!


Here's my bag with two shuttles which are currently tatting the next project in Sharon's book, the beaded bag. Hers is in white and pearls, a bridal bag. No upcoming brides that I know of but I think this will go with a special blue dress I have. I've tatted more than you see here and already made a mistake in joining one clover. I continued to tat to the end - will turn the corner tonight and then be working in rounds but before that, I'll cut out the offending ring and fix it. I thought about ignoring it but the further I went, the more it stood out to me!

Well...I plan to get home earlier tonight!