Got 'er done! And this time, I got the eyes in the right place and twisted the picot ears before blocking, like I was supposed to! Hmmm...can't remember the thread but it is size 20 and had some beads already strung from some other project. My guess is Lizbeth but I'm not sure since I'm not home. I think I got this and another solid to work with a variegated all at the same time. The beads weren't exactly planned out so I forgot to put them in a few places. Still...I'm happy with it!

If you haven't already noticed, I've added/changed some of my patterns to direct links. You do have to sign up at the site (free) to access them. The others that are in Esnips will eventually be changed to direct links too but this was all I had time for last night. I also plan to review/retat every pattern and make a diagram for it. Obviously that is going to take some time. I'll also make them all pdf files. I didn't realize so many were word documents. So..if you have or do tat one and find issues, please email me privately and I'll attach them to the pattern at home so I can address them when I redo it. I know Jeff had a problem with the gingerbread boy and someone else made some adaptations, which might have been personal preference or might have been a result of a problem. Anyway, I would like to know about them. Some are quite old now and need to be updated and it's very possible my wording or order of doing things could be improved.

I had a chiropractic adjustment yesterday (which is helping my hip issues greatly!) but I was done a bit too early to take things to the fair so I came home instead. In fact, I thought I'd wait until this morning to take my fair items in, but after eating dinner and catching up elsewhere, I realized I still had plenty of time to take the stuff in so I did. It pays to wait, I guess. Not a person in line! It was no problem to substitute the booties for the dragon. I'm really anxious now to see what else is entered but I'll have to wait for the weekend for that.

So on my way home, I was in the mood to wander Goodwill. There is a nice clean one on my way and so I stopped. Besides, Wednesday's are senior citizen discount day (one discount I do take advantage of). I don't need a stitch of clothing but I have sort of been on the lookout for a simple summer dress to wear at home. I have one that I love but it gets dirty and has to be laundered. LOL! Dresses are sometimes cooler than shorts and tops. But it has to be loose and comfortable and with pockets.

I did find one and it also had a red tag which meant it was 50%off. Then I found another dress, in linen, that I'll never wear but it was also red-tagged and for that, I couldn't pass up the fabric. I've got one book about linen crafts and some of the embroidered bags in another frequently use linen. There's plenty of fabric for that! I'll admit I buy an awful lot at goodwill just for the fabric or buttons or trim. When it's 50% off plus the senior citizen 30% off - well, hey, I'm smiling all the way home! That linen fabric only cost me about $1.75!

I also got this little bird pulling a basket wagon. I've been trying to figure out what to put in the wagon. Make it a pincushion? Dried moss and miniature flowers? Pretty buttons (or beads)? Chocolate? So many choices!

Thanksgiving 2009

I trust that everyone is enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends and pets. My get-together won't be until Sunday but I've been grateful for having a day of rest before I have to do anything. My daughter is having it at her house so it's not like it's a chore for me, but I also want to get everything organized in my own home for Christmas decorating.

Last night I was intent on getting Tatman's (Mark Myer) Autumn Pumpkin tatted. I didn't even get half of the outline done before I gave up in disgust. My fingers are trained to CLOSE the ring, not leave it partially opened! I lost track of where I was and ended up curving it the wrong way. It was late. I cut it off and went to bed. LOL!

So this afternoon I decided to brave it again - beings I had all that thread still on my shuttle.... I continued lettering all the rings on the pattern so that I could keep track of where I was and then marked on yet another paper each half ring I completed. It was slow going but I had fewer mistakes to correct. I heeded his tips about making the joining picots longer on the outer rings and smaller on the inner rings. I also closed the inner rings a bit more than the outer ones. I had a little trouble at the bottom. In spite of all my record keeping, I got off track on the last few rings and had repeated them so I had to back-tat. Then I realized the second side wasn't quite as big as the first side and had to back-tat two rings there at the end. So then I wished I had numbered the rings instead of lettering them. Finally I got to the big blossom, finished it and decided to take a break. I may get the other inside bits done tonight but I don't think I'll get the stem or leaf done. I thought I might make one of these for each of the women in my get-together on Sunday but I have concluded that this will be an "only piece." LOL! Mark might be used to tatting all those half-rings but I find them a pain! Still...it's such a lovely pattern and everyone enjoys a challenge now and then, right?

And I really do appreciate that he has made this pattern available to us. I dearly appreciate ALL the tatters who bless us with their talents and creativity.

This morning I sewed the other bird I had cut out so now we have a pair. I don't know if there will ever be a flock of birdies, but so far, this has been fun.

I had used the heavy duty upholstery thread in my sewing machine for the last one since the color matched but for this one, I switched to a regular weight navy blue. I think it stitched up much nicer. I used my little scissors to clip the seams and when I turned it inside out, I stopped at the head and stuffed it before I completely turned the body out. That helped a lot! It's amazing what you learn to do better after a trial run.

I also finished the tail a little differently. The instructions are only the most basic. They don't tell you to clip seams or how to turn it or how to stuff it. I wanted the tail to be flatter so once I had the bulk of the bird stuffed, I stitched across where the tail began. I added a little stuffing but not a lot and stitched the tail closed. Then I machine stitched lines vertically down the tail.

I still haven't decided how I will embellish them. Will I add wings? (tatted of course) How will I deal with the eyes? I was considering some embroidery but since there is so much of a pattern on the print, I won't. I might make another one out of solid fabric and add stitched embellishments to that one.

As I was sewing this morning, I was thinking about how things have changed in terms of sewing since I was a child. I really don't remember exactly how old I was when I learned to sew. We had a Singer treadle sewing machine and I remember the belt would periodically get too loose and would have to be tightened. When I started sewing in home ec at school, we had electric machines where you pressed a paddle with your thigh to get it running. I loved that! But the majority of my sewing until I was an adult and married was on the treadle machine. It didn't have a zigzag stitch or a buttonhole maker. I taught myself to make bound buttonholes because I was so bad at hand stitching them. I finished the seams of my garments because we didn't have pinking shears sharp enough to help avoid fraying.

It's incredible what a sewing machine will do today. I currently have a cheapie Singer model that I bought on ebay. It does zigzag, but that's about it. I don't make clothing anymore and have hardly sewn for a long time. I have a serger I haven't even used. I could have sewn these birds on that treadle machine without needing any fancy stuff though.

I'm really grateful that I do know how to do a lot of needlework without the fancy equipment, but I'm equally grateful for all the advanced technology because it allows us to do more in less time and to use our imagination and creativity even more!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh No! OH NO!!!!

You know those boxes of Queen Anne's chocolate covered cherries that are one of the earliest signs of the holidays? The box you can buy for around a buck? The box that has two layers of mmmmmmmmm chocolate-covered-cherries, now in milk chocolate AND dark chocolate?

Well, guess what? They've downsized! Count 'em! Only FIVE cherries per layer! Used to be SIX! You could evenly share them with a friend. Not any more! Well...you could each take ONE layer I guess. I was so bummed out when I saw it that I had to eat three of them right away and make sure they still had something in the center! They did, but......

I am so disappointed!

I bought two boxes for our carry-in at work, one of each type. Most of them are of the dark chocolate pursuasion which means all the more milk chocolate for me. Heheheheh!

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In case you haven't noticed, and it's not likely you have, I have a new search engine in my sidebar. Actually, it's not new. I used to have it on here and then took it off when I noticed Blogger had one of their own. Blogger's used to work pretty good...but not anymore. I can't find things that I KNOW are on here and then I have to resort to month by month manual skimming. So then I noticed that Blogger has one in the "gadget" box. I downloaded it and tried a few searches. It only showed recent references, nothing more than two or three years back. So then I added my old search engine from Free Find again, since they have been continually indexing my site all this time, and tried a few searches there. One search turned up 216 references, going all the way back to 2003 when I started my blog. So you know what I did, don't you? I removed the Blogger search box and left Free Find.

It has an index too. I've barely looked at it but it must show every word I've ever written here in alphabetical order. Not only the words I've written but words from those of you who comment, including typos! It's kind of fun to follow up on, but it can sure eat up time too so don't let yourself get too carried away!

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If you enjoy embroidery, hop on over to The Raspberry Rabbits where they are featuring a free pattern every day over 12 days starting November 27th, for the 12 Days of Christmas. I think you'll be seeing lots of freebies and giveaways going on through the holidays. (like we will have time to surf!)

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I cut out and sewed this bird last night. I got the pattern from spoolsewing.com. You can see their examples here and here! He didn't take any time at all to cut out and sew, but stuffing that fiberfill through that tiny opening in his butt 'bout wore me out! I think I'll probably embellish this fella a bit but I stopped last night and tatted instead, starting another snowflake rose.