2019 - PART THREE OF THREE!

Are you sick of me yet?

I just wanted to break down my thoughts today and feel like I’m sorta caught up. So I can look back in a year or two and remember what a great year 2019 was.

I forgot to post this penny memento I made for my folks' anniversary.  There are actually two pennies - the front one is 1959, and there’s a 2019 one on the back side.  I dug through our large jar of pennies to see if there was a 1959 one by any chance.  And yes!  Success.  Which led to an afternoon of sorting out significant years, lol.

The lace piece is from my mom's wedding dress, and was pretty hard to tie since the lace is quite brittle.  A little glue should hold it there, though.  I really love making the memento pennies for graduations, weddings and babies!  

The other project I had some fun with is more button tatting. Diane (Lace Lovin' Librarian) showed us her button tatting and shared many colorful buttons at our retreat in July.  She is such an inspiration, and ever so generous with supplies. I got on a roll and matched up all of the buttons with different threads. I figured I’d use them to sew onto things, and just have on hand for various projects.  Then ...

I found this Facebook page/group called Art Abandonment. It is FULL of various kinds of art that artists purposely abandon for someone to find with a note listing the Group/page, and a group moderator email address for finders to share their story.

This originally started on this blog: 

https://michaeldemeng.typepad.com/art_abandonment/

I was pretty on board with seeing all of the different types of art, and started using my small tatted pieces to try this.  The buttons and ice drops are perfect.  (And a great way to promote tatting!)   I need to update my note with my own contact info on it, as I’ve not seen any of my items on the page as “found” yet.  I’d love to know their fate! 

Just another fun thing to do with some of the tatting I do just for enjoyment. 

OK, I think I’m caught up in a nutshell now.  

On with November, grandbabies, and holidays!  

***END PART 3 OF 3***

!!!

2019 - PART TWO!

Our 3rd Twin Cities Tatters Retreat is also in the 2019 books!  Another fun retreat with great tatting friends - and we added a day this year, much to everyone's liking.  Our first two retreats were each 2 nights, and we decided one more night would be better because by the time we settled in it was time to pack it up.  The one extra night made a wonderful difference, and we felt like we really had a better chance to visit. I can’t believe I didn’t post this earlier - our retreat is at the end of July!  I guess I had a few other things going on 😬

We had time for tatting, time for walks, time to go out to eat, and best of all, that extra time to visit.

We each added a motif or two to this floating glass frame to leave at the retreat center.  I’m pretty sure we're the only tatting group that uses this beautiful place - it appears to have more quilting, scrapbooking and embroidery groups.
They definitely need tatting representation on the craft room walls!

There was time for other beautiful work, too. Beautiful new yarns,
some bobbin lace, and I heard a lot of knitting talk, too.

Michelle, Katie, Cindy (me), Diane, Kathy, Kathryn, and Heidi

What a great group of tatters! 

We are showing off our commemorative shuttles specially made for us by 

LaCossette (Etsy shop on LeBlog de Frivole)

Showcasing our Minnesota State Bird, the Common Loon

I was specifically working on the second phase of my T.A.T. program, which I’ve had for years and never quite seem to make the time to finish. Still in progress.  

There are just so many new and wonderful things to tat!
(... and sew, and read, and attend ...)

***END PART TWO ***

2019 - PART ONE!

Gosh!  I’m going to have to focus on at least one blog post a month - if for no other reason than for myself to go back and look 😊 I do refer back on my blog for dates or milestones, and it is kind of a good journal when there’s no time or desire to write in an actual hard copy journal.  I've kept many journals over the years, but the past few years I have found it to be hard to keep up.  Either my life is boring, too busy, or I just have no desire to write about my day.

In any case, it’s been a busy summer and a wonderful year!  We had great fun celebrating my parents' 60th wedding anniversary in August with an open house style buffet.  It was fun to see many of their family and friends there, and such a good time meeting those we’d never met.  What a wonderful thing to celebrate - a true example of love and friendship for many years.

I’ve spent the year watching my two daughters go through their first pregnancies.  They know so much nowadays - right down to exactly what is developing during every week.  We had each of their baby showers, and it was fun to see all the good wishes they received.  And as a first-time grandma of  both a boy and a girl, I can tell you the baby clothes are soooo fun to shop for.  (Tee hee!)

I spent time making them each a quilt, and since I’m big on books, each quilt was made with a story center and given with the matching book.  My sappy touch!  I think they turned out beautifully, and hopefully will be used and loved.

And now those babies are 6 weeks and 3 weeks old, and I’ve been lucky that they live close enough for me to get my gramma snuggles in weekly.  Watching my daughters and their husbands go through the new parenting struggles is a reminder of how rough those early days can be - just trying to figure those little bundles out.

Of course my babies needed a special 2019 penny from gramma too!

More on this fabulous year later 😉

*** END PART 1 ***