Woe begone to cracked fingertips!
They are the scourge of wintertime creativity!
Always a pointer or a thumb
The digital rest are left undone

Okay, very very bad poetry but you get the idea. I have water boiling on the stove which is beginning to fog up the windows in there,have slathered my hands with a very good lotion, taken a vitamin, and plan to drink lots of water today to rehydrate my system. The corner of my mouth is cracking again and all this irritation just won't do! I have too many ideas to be waylaid by cracked fingertips!

Now,compared to my dear tatting friends in Queensland, Australia, my complaints are miniscule. I have many fond memories of my trip to Brisbane in 2005, riding the length of the river on the Citycat with my friend Garryck, attending that FABULOUS craft fair with Maureen, meeting Judith Connors and Brenda Rewhorn, shopping in downtown Brisbane, going to a movie, shopping with Maureen at all the wonderful suppliers of thread and stitching goodies...it really saddens me to see THIS which is so similar to the New Orleans disaster. Further information is HERE.

I'm noticing a lot of Australian Esty shops are donating proceeds towards the relief effort so if you've been thinking of buying something from one of these sellers, now would be a good time to do so. Some are from other areas too so check your favorite sellers and see if they are contributing.

I hate not having any pictures but I can barely tat. So I've opted to show you my last bobbin lace bookmark. I've been putting them on the lace & embroidery blog but a little eyecandy here is better than none!

I've actually been working on the diagramming. I guess I need to read the manual. LOL! When all else fails, read the instructions! I do sort of remember Sharon telling us what we needed to do to make sure the drawings were visible but I'd forgotten there was actually something I needed to do. I can't even print out my diagrams and scan them because they won't show up. So, as I get that sorted out, I thought I would leave you with some written instructions.

I've already said for the triangle that the stitch count is 3-6-6-3 for the large rings and 3-3-3 for the small ones. The directions start with a small ring and end with the last large ring. To move from one motif to another, I made the last ring a split ring, 3-6/3-6. Then the next motif starts with the same large split ring.

This means you start the second motif in a different place from the first one which started with a small ring so how do you get the small ring in there when you get all the way around and are tatting the last large split ring? When I got to that point, I turned my work over and used the other shuttle to make a small ring, attaching it to the first large split ring. I started with the 2nd half of the ds so that it's all frontside when you are done. Then I turn it back over and make the last large split ring, joining to the small rings on either side in the process. This puts you in the position of starting the next motif and repeating this same sequence for the length you want.

Hmmm...forgot to mention that you do need two shuttles for this. A single motif only needs one shuttle but if you are tatting a string of them, you need two shuttles for the split rings.

Kathy N. pointed out that another tatter has used this motif in an entirely different way. Sue, from God's Kid, joined them from point to point and came up with some really intriguing designs. You can also see what it looks like in a variegated thread, a beautifully colored one at that!