I really didn't venture out all that much this weekend and the one time I did on Sunday, it poured rain! I slept a lot and went through some of my needlecraft magazine collection. While I'm actually culling, I'm finding adorable little girl things that I have yet another chance to make now and I was reminded of things I DID get to make for my now 17 year-old-granddaughter. For instance, a pillowslip. I embroidered the crinoline lady and added a crocheted skirt. Loved doing that. I think I cross stitched Taz and a few other looney tune characters on pillows and shirts for the boys. I didn't cross stitch much - that was pretty much the extent of it. It was also before I learned to tat so most of what I made was knitted or crocheted or sewn. I crocheted her a beautiful tooth fairy doll with a bag too. Gosh, I hope I still have those instructions.

I've been strongly drawn to other forms of stitching the past year or so and much of it is along the line of embroidery although it is a lacy embroidery that I pursue. I've been especially intrigued with Karen Ruane's Contemporary Embroidery, and recently jumped at the chance to buy one of her hand embroidered silk purses. And I did jump! She had only mentioned them in her blog that day and by the time I got there, only one was left. I wanted one with color in the embroidery but I love this one too. If both had been available, I would have had to choose only one since it's a little pricey for me but what a treasure!

I'll have more views on my lace blog if you're interested but I wanted to show it here too. It's on silk and isn't it exquisite?

Can you imagine some tatted lace in very fine thread being in those circle centers? I'm thinking of all those bits and pieces I have just laying around....if you check her blog you'll find all kinds of inspiration!

I did tat the last version of the butterfly body bookmark although if this had turned out, it was going to be a bracelet since it's beaded. I tried bridging the two motifs in the center with an additional chain loop but it threw the symmetry all out of whack so I decided I was DONE with this and it's time to put it away.

I still have those committments I've been procrastinating on to do. The lining for the tatted bag and 6 more tree ornaments, plus I wanted to do some RPL for the exhibit. I'm going to a bobbinlace program with the L.A.C.E. group next weekend so I have to get ready for that. At this point I also need to mow outside again and I have flowers waiting for me to get them in the ground! Between the heat and rain and other activities, not much is getting done outside.

Last night I was going through some old I.O.L.I. (International Old Lacers Inc.) newsletters (The Bulletin) and decided to tat a heart bookmark in the Summer 96-97 issue. It's designed by Ronna Robertson who was a member of I.O.L.I. chapter Appaloosa Lace Guild. (and current Treasurer for I.O.L.I.!)

If you saw how slick the current publications are compared to the old ones, you would be amazed. So I really wasn't all that upset with the errors in the pattern. It is all text with a photograph. It starts off with a clover which automatically tells you it probably has 3 picots (as does the photo) but the instructions left a picot and 4 ds out of the first ring! There were a few other typo errors and I ended up tatting one near the end which I didn't see until I had it finished. Even so, it's a lovely bookmark and very easy to tat. The thread is some I dyed and is probably the mystery size 30 3 ply cotton as it was a tad bit fuzzy.

This issue has an article about tatting with beads by Judy Banashek and includes a split ring beaded bracelet pattern by her. Bobbie Demmer also wrote a column about beads and tatting and there was a snowflake pattern by Patti Duff. There was a poinsettia bookmark pattern by Sue Lantzer. This is in addition to several bobbinlace and needlelace articles and patterns. I believe the annual membership to I.O.L.I. is around $30 unless it went up a bit and I know it's a little more for overseas but it's a wonderful organization. They have a fabulous library (which is administrated by Cathy Kozlowski, a member of my lace guild) for members who can borrow books on any kind of lace for up to three weeks. Many many many of our tatting designers have donated a copy of their books to the library so this is a great way to look them over if you are undecided about purchasing them. They also have a lending library of videos and DVD's that can be borrowed through a different process and administrator. There is a deposit involved which is returned when the audio materials are returned. Mark Myers, our favorite Tatman, is the website manager. The membership directory can help you find other lacemakers in your area or an area you are traveling to.

Well, this wasn't intended to be a promotion for I.O.L.I. but I do think it is a worthy organization and often wish I had the time and energy to be more involved in it. If you have the opportunity to look through some older Bulletins or even current issues, I urge you to do so! You might decide to join yourself or get your lace group chartered through them.

I'm working on the butterfly body bookmark again tonight. This one will probably end up being a bracelet but the directions are the same so it's a way to double check my revisions. I also installed my new Serif drawing software today but I don't expect to actually get into using it for awhile yet. I've arranged several vacation days to give me 4 day weekends and it will be one of those weekends that I'll devote to learning the system and then diagramming all my designs. I've found a website to host pdf files and intend to eventually move my updated patterns there. I find E-Snips hard to use and lacking in many areas but until I can update my patterns, I'll leave them there.

Wow...11:30 p.m. already! I took a very long nap this afternoon so I'm bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the moment!

Eliz suggested the body of the butterfly would make a good bookmark. I had just figured out how to tat the body in one pass, by making a split chain where the lower body was originally started and I knew the whole thing wouldn't take all that long so I gave it a whirl. This is another thread I dyed but I think this one must be the "unknown" size 30 cotton. Vintage. 3 ply. Fuzzy. Soft. I didn't like the way the thread itself worked up. When I got back to the beginning, I tatted the same body in the opposite direction since it didn't seem nearly long enough for a bookmark. In the end, it's not a bookmark I like, but I do think it is more masculine than most I see. I got fed up with the thread and tatted it rather poorly. I also think the design needs some tweaking to turn out really nicely. If anyone wants the directions for this part, please email me privately. I won't be able to send them until after the weekend though. I'm leaving for some training tonight and won't be back until Saturday evening. I need to make a few minor corrections on the pattern that I initially wrote up too.

My mind must be elsewhere lately. This is a motif from a Vida Sunderman book which should be the same at both ends. When I finished the clover at the second end and was almost finished, I realized I'd left out a ring segment. It was late and I had no specific purpose for this motif so I just finished it off as is. It sort of reminds me of a Christmas bulb ornament. With a tail, it would make a nice bookmark. The thread was some size 16 Finca which is finer than size 12 perle cotton but very similar in sheen and twist.

Pat Winter had a link on her blog to Crafty Storage, a blog about storage methods. I dunno....I think they are way too organized there for me. LOL! I've noticed most of them have see-through containers. I have some, but most are not. Yeah.......it's like Christmas all over again when you open them up! heheheheh....I love rediscovering my stash. Sometimes I feel a little dismay at having forgotten something but I also love the re-inspiration. I need to go through my boxes. And I do need to reorganize. My "studio" is the one room I haven't touched in over a year. I've been busy sorting stuff from the basement and closets but this room has become a catch-all and I can't find things I need to find.

I really can't have some stuff out in the open. It gets dusty. Cats tend to climb and nosy into places they shouldn't. Then things get dumped and lumped together. Hmmm...maybe I should schedule some vacation SOON!