I tatted one of these Konior fragments last night and then a second one during my lunch hour....only to realize I had forgotten, again, to join the 2nd one to the 1st, so I tatted a 3rd one and joined. I think I might have enough thread on the shuttle to make a 4th and attach it to the 2nd. LOL! Definitely get my shuttles emptied this way. This is Flora, size 50, color 84.



Also last night, I finally got to tat one of Dianna Stevens' bookmarks from her book, Animal Bookmarks. They're so whimsical and I loved this Roger Rabbit type one. I made him for a former coworker who has a birthday coming up. You know, I just had a sudden inspiration.....using Pam Palmer's hobby horse head as a bookmark too.

The rabbit involved 3 cut and ties. I know now not to wind so much on the shuttles initially if I don't want to hide ends for the second part. The second phase needs the most thread and the 3rd little part didn't take much at all. This thread is Altin Basak, size 50, color 3053.

So much to do, so little time!

I had to download it the other way. I can't figure out why blogger doesn't accept everything. It wasn't the size, I checked that.

My granddaughter's 13th birthday is Friday. I bought this little bag at Hobby Lobby on impulse, thinking it was so cute but I didn't know what I was going to do with it. Only $.99. The tulips fit perfectly and I put her name on there with glitter glue. Now...to find goodies to put into the bag!

My cats love me so much that they follow me everywhere. I spend a lot of time in my computer/craft/sewing room and so do they. Chewie, the tortoise cat here, perches herself ever so precariously on that arm that she is sniffing when I'm at the keyboard. I'm always worried that a sudden movement on my part will plop her on the floor!







Skunk usually lays on this stool at my sewing machine. Sometimes both cats lay there together. When I go into another part of the house, they both jump up and follow me. Right now, both are on the stool, but they're going to have to move because I'm sewing when I get done here.






I was talking with tatters on the group site earlier about winding a Clover shuttle backwards. I was emptying some shuttles by tatting little motifs when I noticed it. That's one thing I love about this particular shuttle winder. You can unwind as easily as you wind. Just pull the thread and it spins off!





I pulled these out of my stash several weeks back and left them in the basement but in a conspicuous spot so everytime I go down there, I'm reminded that I want to make these projects. I've loved that filet insertion for years...I think it's time to try it out. The potholders are crocheted. I was going to use up old size 10 crochet thread, but I think I might actually want to display them in my kitchen, which means I need to use thread in the appropriate colors! It will be a green like the brochure, a cream, and lavendar instead of pink.

I seemed to have missed this site over the past few years. The challenge was to use tatting in a quilt square. In fact, they had a whole whole series of challenges lined up for the year.

I used the tulip on something, but I can't get the scan to download for some reason so I'm going to make a new post right after this and see if it will work on that one. I can download with a different method but if I do, then I lose what I've already downloaded. Aren't computers fun?

The beautiful, almost balmy weather today coincided with a building case of SPRING FEVER! Spring means flowers...so gotta tat some flowers, right? These are the tulips from the Italian magazine, Chiacchierino,10. I think I'm actually going to have to work with translating some of it. There is a delightful small doily in there that I really like - but no diagram.

See my oopsie? At first I thought I was going to have to retro-tat where I ended on that leaf but then realized it would be much simpler to simply tat a small bridge. I will fix it later this week. It was truly a pain hiding the ends to begin with. The poor ending didn't seem nearly so obvious until I scanned it. That reminds me, I will xerox every piece I make for phase 2 of T.A.T. Not only do you have to use a huge thread to tat the lessons to begin with, they copy them slightly enlarged so every flaw shows up!

What am I going to do with it? I really don't know just yet.



This is a sweet rosette from Mary Konior's Visual Tatting. She has a variation of this fragment flower in every one of her books.

You would think it's very simple. It is, but for some reason, every attempt I made last night was a mistake. I made 3 tries and then gave up. Tatted it today during my lunch hour instead.

I'll tat some of these up from shuttle endings for give-aways from our lace guild.

I was doing last minute tatting last night for this gift bag which carried my sister's birthday present (Happy Birthday Linda!). I had a hard time getting the scan to show the edging properly and finally hit on the idea of tucking the bottom of the bag into itself so the ivory was against the edging. The pattern was from Coats, book 1405, Edgings, A Collector's Book. I think this same edging is in many of the vintage instruction books but I happened to pick this one out of my library. It is tatted in size 12 Oren Bayan, if I remember correctly.


Now this beauty is a tulip from Chiacchierino, #10. I believe I bought this copy from one of the vendors at Hector, NY last year. It was a little difficult to follow the diagram. I wasn't sure about the tips of the petals. Was it a 6 or a 9 and did that mean on each side of the picot from the ring or not? Same thing at the bottom of the tulip. And I couldn't figure out how to put the bridging chain between the petals in without doing it as a separate tatting and it certainly didn't take 24 ds as the diagram says. I only tatted 15 and could tell that might even be too many. I'm finishing up the second flower which is then tatted together with this one in a joined stem with leaves. The thread is size 20 Manuela - a color that I believe is discontinued. I don't have a lot left on the ball. Tatting this gave me ideas for my own design.....someday.


This heart is tatted from a BIG thread. I used some beads that impressed me because they lined up perfectly when I strung them. The cheaper beads tend to be less uniform. This vial was purchased in Ireland I think. $3.95 on the bottom....might have been a vendor at a lace or tat day too.

I have entirely too much to do. Already this week is packed. I realized today that I'm at a safety conference on the 28th and 1st....and I had scheduled some other appointments...so had to reschedule them. I cannot believe how fast time flies!

Finally today we got to open our Secret Valentine packages! Mine came from Pam in Cork, Ireland. I've already eaten all the candy. LOL! White chocolate covered raspberries, ginger bears, and a single dark chocolate covered cherry that was in the tiny mug. Her beautiful hand made card has a poem adapted from a Pam Palmer verse and a little beaded heart inside. She also tatted a bigger heart, Emma Crew's 34 hearts, in a lovely variegated pink with pearl beads. There's also a brochure from the University there, as well as a bumper sticker and pin. Gosh...I never remember to send things from Purdue like that. I used to when I worked in Parking - which also housed the Visitor Information Center - because they had lots of good stuff like that to pass on.
Anyway, it's such a pleasure to share these goodies. I can't wait to see what everyone else got! Once I got to work this morning, there was a little heart box of chocolates on my desk too. I think it was from one of the guys who likes to leave little treats for the ladies. Sometimes when he buys his wife roses, he buys extra and gives us each one. So...I've had my quota of chocolate for weeks to come now.



You might remember the day I tantalized you by showing the thread and beads I was going to tat with. I really wasn't sure where I was going with it when I started but I ended up with this heart, the good ol' daisy heart from Workbasket, but I call this version the Mardi Gras heart. And then it whispered in my ear where it wanted to go live. So with a tear in my eye and a fluttering handerchief waving in the air, I sent it off last week to it's new home.


And here are the heart earrings I made for my partner. I sent some other stuff too, but I really loved making these earrings. Wish you could see the sparkle in person. I used a red shiny sulky thread - doubled to make it strong enough - and those lovely petite Mill Hill beads. The heart is an adaptation of My Heart by Eileen Stafford, which also happens to be the heart Pam used inside my Valentine card!

sigh....well, back to regular life.....

She made herself known to me in a rampage of emails full of questions and comments. She was a challenge to my high school Spanish lessons. I spent hours pouring over grammar books, a Spanish/English dictionary, and various versions of the online translator. I made scan after scan showing each step of a technique. I sent patterns and pictures and she sent me double what I sent her. Everything I featured on this blog instigated a comment or a question. She was intense and talented and energetic. Estefania Zuliman allegedly* passed away a week ago. I received a package from her just a few days before and emailed her, thanking her, telling her the monkey was a cutie. She told me it was her valentine gift to me and her daughter had picked the monkey.

I often felt slightly embarrassed with Estefania's praise of me. She loved everything I did and told me in every email, which was nearly daily, how much she loved tatting and how wonderful I was. It's hard to keep the ego-swelling down when you hear that so much. I'll miss her energy more than I will miss her praise however. She and her family competed in a grueling sports event that involved kayaking, bicycling, and rock climbing. I know that from the photos she sent me. She was esctatic last year when they won. She sent me photos of quilts she made and tatted projects and the result of any new technique she was learning. I couldn't keep up with her emails.


She told me the yarn shown with the monkey above is hand-dyed. There were no labels so I don't know the fiber content. I've decided I'll make a shawl for the Feast of the Hunter's Moon from it. I found a pattern at the Lion Brand webpage, a tea and sympathy shawl. The story behind it is sweet and it seems a fitting pattern for this gift. I'll remember Estefania every time I wear it.

*There is some controversy over whether the personality known as Estefania died or not. There is evidence that this is a person who uses multiple names as a way to avoid responsibility. However it pans out, I'm still saddened by it.





Moving right along with the macrame crochet lace.....I decided to practice the filling stitches before I made an actual project. Here is the cord couched on muslin. There are 16 fillings for an oval shape in the book I'm using. I'm going to do every one of them. LOL!


It's going faster than I expected. The 1st three from the right have mistakes. I wasn't counting the rows correctly. I'm using a variety of threads just to see how they work. The last 4 are done in size 12 DMC pearl cotton and those look the best...partly because I'm getting the hang of it now. Varigateds don't show well...perhaps if I was repeating the thread in each one it would look better. The one on the far right has the row count wrong but I thought it looked good until I figured that out. The 4th one is in size 8 pearl cotton - which is too big for this particular motif. I'm anxious to take it off the muslin and see what it looks like but I have 8 more fillings to do. Then there are fillings for circles and for leaf shapes. THEN I'll work a project. The shaping is not the best but I'm having fun. The precision will come along later.

Well, here we are after 3 tries.....I had this ready to publish and lost it. That's the story of my day today. oh....the "recover post" didn't work but I opened another window and found the saved draft copy! I've been working on the crochet cord for the macrame crochet lace, also known as Venetian Lace and most recognizably these days as Romanian Point Lace. I was referred to yahoo group CrochetLace which had all kinds of great help! I also borrowed some books and a video from I.O.L.I. library, one book which someone from another group referred to me....and wow! There's some cool stuff in there. Sample #1 is the first one which I felt didn't match the photo in the description of the project. #2 is my second try with more explicit instructions, but it still wasn't right. In #3, i finally understood that I needed to put my hook under two bars after the initial one. You can see it is much more consistent on both sides. There are supposed to be the hint of loops on both sides, not just one. Although...there are several different braids/cords so I could use the other ones too. I have enough now to start a project. I got the plastic film to put over the pattern tonight on my way home.

I didn't tat at all this week so during my lunch hour, I pulled out a bag of thread-wrpped floss holders and found one with 4 strands of orangey embroidery floss - the perfect color for another tabby cat from BeStitched. I messed up the tail a bit. I couldn't see the stitches that well to hide the ends and I couldn't cut and glue like I planned to do because I couldn't find the glue that I KNOW is in my desk somewhere. It's been like that all day. I'll spare you the details.



Last week I was looking through some old files and found my "tatting status" record in 2002. I think this was in response to a post on a list about what you wanted to learn in the coming year.

Techniques used in 2001

Split ring
Split chain
Woven picots
Cluny tatting
Beads
Mignonette stitch


Challenges for 2002

SMCR
Magic thread trick
Fringe

2001 was a major year in tatting techniques! I wish I'd recorded when I tried block tatting and double/triple picots and lockstitch chain and a whole slew of other things that don't come to mind now.


Realized today that I somehow missed getting email notification of the latest CQMagOnline magazine. As always, lots of unique and inviting stuff in there. One link led to a very interesting gallery of men's undies that were decorated and auctioned as a fundraiser for The Prostrate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

Next week at my sister's we will be decorating baskets that will go to another fundraiser for breast cancer. My sister's daughter-in-law is director of the organization in IL that we are making them for. My sister is a breast cancer recoveree person. I hate the word survivor myself. I just had my mammogram. Have you? I got my letter yesterday that all is normal. I also have to say that my belief system doesn't agree with scare tactics. I think they create as much as they prevent...but in terms of personal health and responsibility....it's a good and usually free screening, so why not take advantage of it?

My lacemaker friend Bette proposed a macrame crochet lace project for our lace group ....sometime in the future. It's a combination of a crocheted cord and needlelace. Quite intriguing. I decided to crochet up some of the cord last night which is the foundation for much of the needlelace. This is from an Anna magazine and I find Anna a bit vague on directions sometimes. There are numerous pictures and drawings with this but I don't think I'm doing it right. It looks more rounded in the photos. The directions say something about tilting the stitches back and I have no idea what that means. At first, I thought the cord looked right ( at 1:00 a.m. last night) but today, I'm certain it's too flat. I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to just make it on a lucet. A cord is a cord, right? The directions are in Anna, issue November, 1999. If anyone has some experience with making this kind of cord, please contact me. ginab6@yahoo.com


I went to Michael's today with my 40% off coupon hoping they had some shuttles in. They didn't, but I found these interesting scrapbooking tins. They're called "stitched tin tiles". They vary from about 1/2" to 1 1/2" in size. What caught my eye were those tiny holes all around the edge. Doesn't that just scream out "TAT ON ME, TAT ON ME" to you? My size 14 hook goes nicely through the holes. The back is a little rough and possibly the edges are sharp so I'm going to have to give some thought to that before I actually put thread on there, but I definitely have IDEAS! My friend Tami works in the store and she tats too. When she saw me browsing in the scrapbooking section, she asked if I scrapbooked too. I can't say that I really do...I play at it, but never seem to get much done, but when I told her why I was looking at the teensy tins, her eyes lit up and she started backing away, saying "you're giving me ideas" like it's a dreaded disease. LOL!

I got the 2005 Ring of Tatters book yesterday and I've browsed through it twice now. Lots of wonderful history in there. That gave me an idea for my lace group...sigh...sometimes creativity is a dangerous thing. I also won a 1999 issue of ROT on Ebay so I'll be getting that soon. In the meantime, I've got make myself package up my secret valentine's booty and get it off to the post office.

Oh, I found out Hobby Lobby has a 40% off coupon online, so I'm going to take it and get those shuttles I've been trying to get at Michael's for 3 months now. Hobby Lobby now carries them. They're a little more expensive but at least they are THERE and with the coupon, it won't be so bad. You can use one coupon per day, so whatta deal!

Australian tatter Judith Connors has a new book, Contemporary Tatting,which should be making an appearance in a few months in the states. She tells me it has "lots of colour, good range of patterns, and sections on techniques and disposal of ends."

Mark Myers also has a new book, Tatting Patterns for 1 Shuttle, available from his website. This appears to be a nice book for beginners.

I haven't seen either book, but I'm sure we'll hear more about them soon.

Last night I had 4 tatting needles and 5 people. LOL! My sister and my daughter were content to watch. The other 3 made progress. One of those present demonstrated calligraphy after the tatting lesson. We might pursue that a bit closer next week...oh, just realized I don't know who is doing the craft next week! My cousin also brought about a dozen handbags made from placemats. They were fantastic. Wish I'd taken pictures!

I got a very unexpected package today from Estefania. No pictures yet but it containe a knit doll that looks very much like a monkey and 4 skeins of brown/gold yarn. I think the yarn is too big for the capelet but the color is great! I may use it for another sweater/vest I've been thinking of.

I'm still playing around with needle tatting. It's EASY but I love the shuttle whole lots more. I'm going to satin stitch around some fabric circles tonight so my students will have something to attach their edging to. We may just do the little wreath. It's an easy tat and just about the right amount of time. They can do the edging later...if they want.

This morning as I was getting ready for work, a book caught my eye on the shelf of a table in my room. Long story about why it's there so we'll skip that part but I ended up pulling several out. Found an I.O.L.I. Bulletin from a few years back, an Anna, and some quilt books, several craft magazines I'd forgotten about and in one, there was an intriguing pull-apart victorian purse. The underbag had the hand cords and a tassle and the overbag, that went over it was decorated. It was like a tube and then you sewed the top part together between the hand cords. bzzz...bzzzz...bzzzz....brain was already working overtime.

I also got a quilt book last night in the mail, Applique Takes Wing, which I've wanted for forever but made myself put it on my Christmas list instead of buying it on the spot. I didn't get it after all that waiting but that's probably just as well. I got a used copy now for about 1/3 less. I definitely have to get back to quilting,as soon as I finish my current tatting projects.

That crocheted capelet? My sister tried it on last week. It's only about 1/3 done but it's way too ruffly. Something is wrong. I know I've done the increases correctly but it sure doesn't look like it. So I set it aside until I figure out what I want to do. It might be easier to see my mistake if I come back to it at a later date.

The new online lesson has a heart with buttons by Mary Maynard. I can't wait to try it but not with buttons. I have something else in mind. I'll show it if it turns out. I might even show it if it doesn't turn out. LOL!

These are variations on the motif found in Mrs. Beeton's Book of Needlework. I started working on it one day during my lunch hour and found it a quick tat once I figured out what the antique terms meant. So that evening and the next, I added variations, using rings instead of all chains and adding picots and beads and using 2 colors. It's being featured in the online class Sunday and Monday. Wally Sosa has some additional variations that are equally fascinating. I posted the bookmark I made from this motif earlier this month. For more information about the online class, visit Georgia's site.

The newest issue of The Tatting Times arrived yesterday. I'd like to say when I get those that I sit down and tat from cover to cover.....but I don't. LOL! I do look through it but the tatting has to wait. Today I decided to go ahead and try the lovely heart in the very front. It's called The Flame in the Heart and I liked the look of what seemed to me to be flowering vines. I had a little trouble following the various turns and had to start over - so when I did, I made a few adaptations that worked for me and I also added some beads which created an additional variation, so it's not exactly as Karey published it. But I think it's pretty cool anyway. You can subscribe to Tatting Times by contacting Karey Solomon at P.O. Box 9, Hector, NY 14841.

You didn't think I'd quit tatting after the heart, did you? Actually, it took that to get me psyched up enough to tackle the brooch again. When I put it down last, I knew I was running out of shuttle thread and I dreaded moving all those beads so that I could add more thread. I didn't want it to become an infamous UFO (aackk!) so I got it out again this afternoon and diligently transferred most of the beads to another thread. That left me just enough thread to finger tat the last ring.....barely. Then I decided I didn't really need many beads on the shuttle after all so that made the reloading much easier. I guess it's okay for a first effort. It's not as symmetrical as I would like and I realized that as I was tatting but couldn't think of a fix that didn't involve starting all over. I made the mistake of using clear beads along with white and silver. Do you know how hard it is to see clear beads in that combination? And I was using 2 threads, white and silver. My eyes were not happy with me at all! I have a pin back drying on it now. This was inspired by the brooch I received from Sue Hanson at Christmas. I suspect next time she is in the states, we'll make her teach us how to do that. Trust me, hers is MUCH neater than mine.

My Ring of Tatters pin arrived yesterday! I can't wait to get the book. No word on when to expect it though. I'm glad I am in the position this year to support Ring of Tatters. Their competition this year is a tatted hanky edging and corner motif. I'm not sure I will have time to pursue that before the April 30 deadline, but you never know!



Earlier this week I made a stop in at Trinity Mission and found this wooden necklace for fifty cents. I was intrigued wih the way the beads were drilled for stringing and I also like the shapes and wondered what I could do with them? I would like to wear it in the summer once or twice before I take it apart however.



This evening we met at my sister's house with her, my daughter and my granddaughter. We're starting our Thursday night gathering again. Tonight I worked on my brooch a la Sue Hanson method. I think. It looked like the easiest one to tackle. I'm sort of winging it as I go and I'm not sure if I like it yet or not.

We decided to take turns picking projects. Usually we just bring whatever we are working on but my sister and I agreed we have way too much "stuff" and in order to justify buying more "stuff", we need to use up some of the "stuff" we already have. Next week I'm going to show them how to needle tat. I think they can all handle it. Then I'll feel better about having some tatting supplies I rarely use - like 3 tatting needles!

Saturday morning I got to do something I've been wanting to do for a long time. My coworker, Lila, invited me to come to her house to make a basket along with a few other people. Lila sells her baskets in town at a craft shop. I have a few small ones she gave me as a gift and one big one that Fran gave me because she wasn't happy with it. Works great for me! Fran is another coworker. This shot wasn't too long before we broke for lunch. Lunch was baked spaghetti with a 7 layer salad and a fresh fruit plate that I brought. Yummy!






Here's Fran. I have no idea what the conversation was at that point but we were having a good time. Another woman, Patty, was also present but she managed to elude my camera focus somehow without even trying!






And here's Lila, who not only helped each and every one of us through each step but managed to make a basket herself.








And here is the final product. I suddenly see something poking out that shouldn't be, but that's okay. It's still hanging in my basement, drying from the staining process. I couldn't believe 6 hours had passed since I got there.

YeeHaw! Ever get that bug in the ear to experiment ....with cooking? I wanted a little something extra beyond the salad I had earlier and decided some honey bran muffins sounded spot-on. Besides, I'm pretty sure the mix has been in my cabinet a good year or more so I really need to make it, you know? Not only that, it's the perfect opportunity to try out a couple of silicone miniature bundt pans similar to the photo on the left. I got them on clearance at Big Lots once for $1 each. Now these kinds of cooking containers are normally very pricy. Here's one video clip about them.

Now first of all, the mix is OLD. It's supposed to make 6 muffins but of course, these little pans look good size and the batter doesn't amount to a whole lot so I divide it between the 2 pans and stick them (cringing) into a 450º oven. I expect a rubbery puddle to result and I'm glad I'm not too hungry. Popcorn is my plan B. The recommended length of baking time is 11-15 minutes. I have the timer set for 11 minutes because my oven tends to be on the hot side....but these are a little bigger than your average muffin cups so I figure it might take 15. The phone rings. I talk, catch the timer before it goes off and pull them out. There's a black spot on one where the batter was on the edge. I finish talking and decide to do the toothpick test. Actually, I can tell just by moving them that they aren't done so back in they go. I keep checking but eventually I think the tops are getting too dark so out they come again. They seem pretty dense and heavy. I don't think they rose at all. I can see through the bottoms and it looks like that part was getting too dark too. Must be done, right?

No, not quite. I turned one out of its silicone glove and pop the other in the microwave for 30 seconds. The one I've turned out is a little bit doughy in the middle and a tad bit hard on the edges, but edible. I slather some cinnamon butter on it and eat it - chunk by doughy chunk. LOL! So I still don't know how well they work. I'll have to blame this one on old mix and wrong size containers.


This one is to tantalize my Secret Valentine. These are parts for hearts. I definitely made a heart from this collection. Is it for my Valentine or someone else? What kind of heart? How do YOU think I put it together?

You'll have to wait until Valentine's Day so that my Secret Valentine is surprised!





Georgia Seitz is so funny. I ordered this Etatter shuttle from her and she sends it in a plastic food storage container. LOL! She's done it before and actually, you have to admit it's very clever! It's probably cheaper than an envelope and not easily crushed and it's REUSABLE.

Now, all that aside, isn't the shuttle pretty? I really like the blue flowers but I haven't decided exactly what kind they are.


Here are my attempts at bobbinlacing! The blue and gold one was the very first and completed...errrr...cut off the pillow last year. Between Wednesday night and Thursday night, I made the red and white one and then the multi-colored one. I've done considerably better on the last compared to the other two, but wow - that stuff is hard on the neck! I had the pillow propped, but I was peering so intently into it.

I stopped in Michael's Crafts tonight, hoping they had some Clover shuttles in, but no such luck. No matter, I bought ________ and _______for my Special Valentine and I used my 40% off coupon on a gadget that lets you make stickers. Stay tuned for that upcoming experiment!

When I got home tonight, there was a package in the mail. Dear Jeanne from Ft. Wayne sent me some Nexcare for my fingertips that are prone to cracking this time of year. Now there's a sweetheart! Thank you Jeanne! BTW, I'm going to make my first basket tomorrow. Another experiment to tune in for! Let's hope it works out better than the muffins.

I've been tatting hearts mostly, and the project for my Hector class. A heart or two that I tatted goes to my secret valentine so I don't want to give the secret away. I have one small binder filled with heart patterns. I have lots of favorites! I like Witt's teensy heart basket. I like the Workbasket Daisy heart. I like Susan Fuller's Heart's Desire. I like Bev Dillon's Paisely Heart. I like Betsy Evans' heart in her Rainbow Heart bookmark. I like Irene Woo's Heart of the Butterfly. I like Iris Neibach's heart on her website. I like Ruth Perry's celtic heart. I like Mary Konior's Queen of Hearts. There is a heart in one of the older tatting booklets that has needle weaving in its center and daisies all around. Haven't made that one yet, but I will eventually.

I can show this heart bookmark I tatted. I think Georgia will be using it for an online class before too long. I've enjoyed looking at hearts I've tatted in the past. I don't have many of them for myself. I tatted the daisy heart last August and it's framed and hanging from my antique brass room divider. I have the heart on the china heart hanging on a calendar. You can find examples of those here on this blog by putting key words into the search engine.

Well, back to tatting for my secret valentine. Perhaps she is reading this and wondering if hers will be one of the above mentioned hearts?

Nancy Tracy's Pretty Kitty

I got this pattern today in my email about a sale at Be-Stitched.com. I was going to my son's apartment for dinner and had about a half hour to kill so I decided to start on the kitty because it looked pretty easy and it's SO cute!

I had it tatted, ends hidden and on the blocking board in less than a half hour. This one is super quick! I added a tiny ring at the end of the tail because I thought it might be easier to hide the ends so that it appeared tapered. I'm not sure I like it any better. I probably won't on the next one. And I think it would be easy to have different colored whiskers too. Nancy has made it so you have only the tail ends to hide and you could easily put a drop of glue on the tail tip instead. I think he is a Fat Cat. I want to make more! This one is tatted in size 20 thread - I think Coats but the label is missing.

I'm glad we have an extra day this weekend. I need to put the last of the Christmas stuff away. I had some things from my display window at work plus what I've purchased on clearance lately. Time to stash it away.

I'm also in process of cleaning out my kitchen drawers and cabinets. It's very slow. I got the 2 big drawers last weekend and plan to do the 3 little ones this weekend. Maybe start the cabinets next weekend.

I'm working on two tatted projects...and then there's my secret valentine. I know what I'm making. I just need to sit still long enough to make it.

My lace group met this morning. Bette gave a very motivating presentation on design...how to increase your perceptions and look at things creatively and transform them into a design that shouts YOU! I think they enjoyed considering the possibilities although nearly every one of them denies being a designer. I think that's interesting. You don't have to make your living at it to be a designer. Everyone designs to a certain extent. I did like seeing them get a little excited about it though.

I stopped at the library after lunch and found some books on creativity. Inspired me too. I didn't go in there looking for those - I was looking for a different book. LOL! Like I don't already have enough inspiration!

For those who have asked me where the capelet pattern came from.....I said McCall's Needlework & Crafts but that's wrong! It is Ladie's Home Journal Needle & Craft, Spring/Summer 1978. The cover is missing from my copy and I just assumed it was McCall's because it's the same size and I have an extensive collection.

I am not a shopper. You won't find me out the day after Thanksgiving or the day after Christmas scrounging for bargains. Not on purpose anyway. I do not like crowds. I like people but not large crowds of people packing the aisles and standing in your way so you can't get to anything. But I always manage to get some bargains before it's all over. Tonight I stopped at KMart to return a stove drip pan that didn't fit my stove and thought I would look for the stuff for my fingers. After picking up what I meant to get and a few more things (BIG SIGH) I meandered over to the shelves of Christmas goods that had big signs saying 75% OFF! Now, I've already got plenty of "stuff" so it takes a lot to keep me interested, but I remembered that I wished I had a tree topper of some kind instead of the bows I've been using, so I looked around to see what they had. I did find a gold fabric star that is lit inside - can't wait to see it on my tree next year!

I also got this fantastic lace panel (yeah, cheap lace) of a tree with 12 miniature hand-painted ornaments. I was thinking I could put it in the display window at work next year but I couldn't find a price on it. It must've been around $10 because I only paid $2.42 for it. Looking at it now, I'm having thoughts of attaching my tatted Christmas motifs I received in a round robin and from others through the years. It's quite long so I can get a lot on there! Now that I think about it, I think it's too long for the display window. That window is only about 60" tall and the panel is 84".

I also bought a container of matte silver finish jingle bells for $1. I don't know what it is about jingle bells! I keep buying the damn things and haven't done a thing with them yet. I might paint on these.

I bought a different version of the liquid bandage. This one attracted me because it said it didn't sting or smell. You have to add a liquid to the sponge end of an applicator which has something that activates it and then paint it on your cracked spot. Well, it didn't sting and it didn't smell and it covered it as good as any other I've used - maybe a bit better....but already, just from typing, I can tell it's not going to be effective in the long run. This is the one that healed up and split again this afternoon. There are only 10 applications in the container. I'll put another coat on but I suspect I'll still have to resort to a bandaid.

It's been a very busy week. This is the only day I didn't have appointments outside of the office all day - only in the morning - and it was GORGEOUS today. Sunshiny and warmer temperatures than you ever expect to see in January in Indiana.

Okay...do I tat or do I crochet? Maybe both? I didn't finish the row I was crocheting at lunch. I should do that first.

I won a little wicker basket with sewing stuff in it recently and when it arrived, I finally got to see the contents which had been hidden in picture and described as a mystery. It was kind of a fun bid and didn't go high so I was hoping for a special surprise.....like a shuttle. LOL! Nope, no shuttles, but there was a little pouch that contained two thimbles - one so corroded I almost threw it away. Obviously, I didn't. I took a scrubber to it and it shined up nicely - this lovely antique brass thimble is the result. I still haven't gotten the inside cleaned out. I'm going to get some brass cleaner and see if that will make it easier.


Our new secretary at work is Russian so I brought in my Russian tatting books and showed them to her. She offered to help translate anything I needed help with (not the whole book!) so the other night I was going through the one pictured below, looking for a few special patterns I might ask for help with.

I had found the diagrams totally comfusing and wasn't sure I wanted to do anything at all in the book. Near the end, I found this motif....and as I examined it and the symbols and Russian text below it, I suddenly got the meaning. It was telling me elements 1, 3 and 5 were all the same kind of rings - 5 picots divided by 3 stitches. Then element 2 was a chain of 4 picots separated by 3 ds and element 4 was a chain with 5 pictos. Element 6 was a chain with 3 picots and then....and this part confused me because it looked like it was saying to make the clover with chains. I understood how many picots in each part, but I could not find the symbol for a ring anywhere within it. So I made it a clover with rings anyway. LOL!




This is the capelet I'm crocheting. Not my favorite color but the gauge worked out and I think I have enough.....I can always give it away when I'm done! I was looking at the instructions again today. I had skimmed the end before and Rows 24 and 25 are at the end and in BOLD BLACK PRINT so I figured it had 25 rows. I've just finished row 9 and as I logically computed this in my head....it was sure going to be a shortie! LOL! When I read the rest of the line....it repeats until row 42! So I'm only about 1/5 done. Going to try to get a row in before I go to bed.