Snow means ... Christmas?

It’s WAY too early, but in the past couple of days we’ve gotten our first snow of the season, along with those traffic reports of many cars in the ditches, and “watch out for the plows!”  

Colder than usual temperatures, too! It’s so unfair - we never even really had fall, my favorite time of year!  It’s going to be a long winter, I’m afraid.

This can only mean it’s time to get going on more Christmas decorations!  I love the ice drops using  just white thread with red gems and beads - so that is what I’ll be working on along with my snowflakes.

Our TWIN CITIES TATTERS group has also recently become a TATTING CORNER AFFILIATE.  We would love it if you’d use our link at the top left of this page every time you order your tatting supplies, so we can continue to encourage the fine art of tatting!  

Square/Diamond Motif

Ta da!  I love this little motif just as much as the first one!  Now I have matching motifs for the fabric I used on my bags - how fun is that?  Love the fabric, and love the motifs.

Such a talent to be able to whip up these patterns so quickly, and then have a video tutorial as well.  The pattern for this square/diamond is on Frivole's blog HERE with a video to soon follow.  I can see the visual circle in this little motif as talked about on the pattern blog post. Such interesting tricks our eyes can play on us!  I have been wondering about trying this in a smaller thread, and attaching it to the zipper for an added zipper pull. Maybe stiffened?  Hhhmmmm.

In my non-tatting life, my bathroom remodel is FINALLY complete, including inspections.  We can finally move our "stuff" back in - trying to be neat about it and only bring back the items we really need in the new vanity.  Wonder how long that will last?

One Shuttle Medallion

I finally finished a practice medallion from Frivole’s new pattern.  I need to work on the bare thread lengths, but I have the pattern down!

It took me a couple of re-starts and some running out of thread, but now I feel like I can make a “good” piece.  The directions are perfectly clear; it was my haste to complete this one that made the mistakes.  This is the part of tatting that I find so difficult - practicing a small piece over and over again to get the pattern right - I just want to make whatever it is I’m tatting and get it done!

One-Shuttle Medallion

It is so great that Frivole has the know-how and talent to create a pattern by just looking at this fabric.  I would have never even thought of that - I’m just happy to have a pattern to follow most of the time.  I’m no designer!

Here’s a link to Frivole’s blog post with the pattern.  She has added a link to her YouTube video as well to show how the medallion is worked with one shuttle. Her post also shows several medallions joined together - it’s amazing how the medallions take on a square shape when joined together.

I’m looking forward to doing a few more of these!

Renulek’s Spring Doily 2018 - Round 11

Finally!  Sheesh, I thought I’d never get this round done.

Round 11 of 13

It’s such a beautiful doily though - even though it’s taking me awhile, I’m anxious to get it finished. These final rounds will take some time!

I’m using some old thread, which is really nice most of the time, but once in awhile I hit a spot that doesn’t cooperate very well.  Not sure if it’s really the thread, or if it’s my impatience!  I’m blaming the thread.

The heatwave I mentioned has truly arrived.  This past few days has been incredibly hot - especially today!  We’ve officially reached 100 degrees F, but my thermometer says we’ve hit 102.  Ish.  Got some yard work done before 9 am and have pretty much been inside all afternoon! Laundry is better than yardwork when it’s so hot.

Ruby gets special treats when it’s this hot too! Such a spoiled girl.

Renulek’s Spring Doily 2018 - Round 10

Round 10 done!  Now it’s getting to be a little slower getting a round complete.  At this point, the doily is about 12” in diameter.

I’m discovering I really like working with size 30 thread. Unfortunately, the Lizbeth threads don’t come in size 30, and I really do love the Lizbeth colors.  In any case, the doily is about all I got done this week - darn job takes up my time and energy!

Renulek’s Spring Doily 2018 - Round 9

Round 9 of 13 - whew!  Keeping up pretty well so far, though I had to cut and re-do about the last 6 inches of this round.  Not paying attention and eager to finish the round, I repeated a single ring - throwing off the trefoil I needed to end with.  Oopsie.  Got that re-done, and I’m ready to start on Round 10 that was released this past Thursday.  Now it’s going to be harder to keep up.

Of course I ‘be been sewing as well, this time making some couch caddies to donate to a local assisted living home.  Another inspiration that hit when someone else posted the idea in a group I follow on Facebook.

Either donating something or volunteering just gives me that good feeling of sharing some of the many blessings I have received in life.  Paying it forward, if you will.  It may not be in large quantities, but I truly believe in doing these things with a happy heart, or it’s only an obligation.  So every so often, I am inspired to do some random small thing.  Fun to put some matching fabrics together and make something useful.  Orders are arriving from the men in my family already - they just want control of the remote, I think!

Today, March 31st (!), we received 5.5 inches of SNOW at our house.  ISH.  More snow to the north of us - some places received over 12 inches!  Enough already.  We want Spring now!  It won’t last long, but most of us are not amused.  

There are some dogs I know that are still enjoying a romp in the new snow, however.  Ruby was as happy as could be playing in the fresh snow this morning - just like a kid. She really knows how to make every day count!

Spring Doily Round 8!

Well, this round gave me a little trouble with cupping, just like it did a for a couple of other tatters.  I continued and finished the round, and then steamed it into submission.  I hope that wasn’t a mistake, but I will be aware while I work the next round and adjust if I need to.

I think I tend to tat tighter as I become more confident with the repeats - oops.  Tension is one of the things I find difficult to keep very consistent, which I think is crucial with some patterns.  In any case, I’m loving tatting this doily, and I’m so pleased with how it’s turning out!

Our Twin Cities Tatters group met yesterday - it’s so fun to see how the group has grown!  Boy, Michelle and her daughter and I WERE the group for a few years - and now we’ve grown to include many other wonderful tatters.  There were about 14 of us yesterday I think - the buzz in the room was great to hear, abundant with ideas and inspiration!  There are other types of lace-makers that join us, but we do try to keep our focus on tatting - the reason we started the group in the first place.  I don’t need another hobby - ha ha!

Our Minnesota weather has us in the mid to upper 40s F, so our snow is melting (YAY!) and certain birds are returning.  And Ruby is enjoying spending extra time outside in the sunshine when it’s irresistible outside - her Boxer alopecia needs that sun!  She gets bare spots every year from the lack of sunshine - this year it’s become a heart shape:

Hopefully we are DONE with snow now, and have plenty of sunshine coming our way!

Spring Doily - Round 7

I loved tatting this 7th round - little butterflies!  But the rounds are beginning to take longer, and I’m pretty sure this is where I’m going to start getting behind the posted weeks.  Not that it matters, but it would be nice to keep up.

Renulek's Spring Doily 2018 - Round 7 of 13

The doily is now about 7-3/4” in diameter using size 30 thread.  I had intended to add some ivory rounds, but the thread I have is too yellow, and didn’t blend nicely. I think the white I have is TOO white, so I’m back to the ecru, hoping to get one more round out of the HDT.  Ideally I would use the HDT for the final round, but my luck, I’d run out an inch from the end. Ha! Not gonna take that chance.

In my CAVE / STUDIO / SKUNKWORKS, I’ve been rearranging fabric and supplies.  It’s hard to work in there when it gets so out of control, and with my collage project, it got out of control!  So this weekend has been a little less tatting and sewing, and a lot more organizing and cleaning than I'd planned.

I showed my hubby something I’ve been wanting to do - make a wider ironing board top that is used by many quilters.  After assessing my room and supplies, I decided it would be better to have an ironing board on top of a little cupboard I had in the closet rather than one to fit on top of the ironing board.  This frees up the closet for more organizing (with yet another project for hubby - shelves!)  This might free up my ironing board for ironing clothes once in awhile also. Possibly.

During my web surfing research, someone had noted to cover the board with tin foil to protect it from the steam from the iron so the board doesn’t warp.  Made sense to me - I use a lot of steam. So cover it with tin foil I did!

I just happened to have a large enough piece of fabric (imagine that) and a couple of pieces of batting to make a cover.  I just sewed up three sides, turned it right side out, stitched the end closed (just like a bag - ha ha!) and finished with a double row of stitching all the way around to get the edges good and flat. I thought that make it easier to attach to the board underneath.

Voila!  A nice, large surface to press fabric on, and more room in the closet to organize! I will not be photographing the closet any time soon . . .

I’ve seen these tops for ironing boards sell for about $130 - this cost me about $14. Wooooo!

Cheapy McCheaperMom strikes again!

Tatting AND Quilting, Oh My!

Round 6 of Renulek’s Spring Doily 2018 - done!  I’m really enjoying tatting this doily so far - it’s been simple rounds, and is going well.  I’m not sure where to add some plain cream thread yet, but that’s the plan.  And then eventually another round of the variegated.  We’ll see where each color seems to fit.

I also got my pink squares mailed off for the Tat a Brussels Monument project.  That is such a huge project - it will be fun to see how it is displayed this summer.  I can’t imagine putting all of these little squares (10,000?!) together - I have a hard enough time completing a doily!  It’s been fun to follow along and see the submissions from all over the world.  I only managed to get 6 squares completed, but a submission nonetheless, and with heartfelt wishes for all women.  What a wonderful project to bring attention to tatting, and how so many from all over the world can come together with a common interest.

And [as if I don’t have enough projects and interests already]  I saw this wonderful collage quilt in my local quilt shop last fall.  I’ve been watching for classes ever since, and finally they had one!  I thoroughly enjoyed learning this new technique, and though I’m not thoroughly satisfied yet, here’s my start:

I am continuing to add to the seahorse’s tail, and I’m going to cover the orange fin with flowers - that orange is really bugging me!   I also tried a small Minnesota shaped collage - another collage style with strips of fabric covering the image.  This small one, of course, is a little quicker - and can be used on smaller items or glued to greeting cards.  I see a few of these in my future, not sure what I will use them on, but they will be handy for something!

My sewing room is a disaster, so tonite I think I’ll tat.  HA!

A Flying Week!

Some weeks just seem to fly by, while others seem to drag on forever.  This was a busy week at work,  so it really flew!

Though just posted on Thursday, I worked on Round 4 of the Spring Doily a little at a time all week.  This round, I decided to add some of my precious HDT.  Perfect to keep the doily in a more neutral color, I used “Parchment” from Yarnplayer that I’ve had stashed for 304575027 years.

I think it matches well enough to accent this doily - there’s just a tiny bit of the same ecru in it.  I just hope I will have enough to get through another larger round.

I’m ready to start Round 5!  I really do love focusing on just one round a week.  Even though I have the pattern and can work ahead a little, it’s not so overwhelming when focusing on just completing one round.  And notice I said “working ahead” - ha! I don’t think there’s a rule that you have to stick only to the current week. That is definitely not going to happen in later rounds.

On another note, I decided the end of January to try ordering from Wish-dot-com, as I’ve seen it advertised quite a bit. I saw a couple of people post on a Facebook group that they’ve successfully ordered many times from there, so I thought since it’s so inexpensive, I’d try it, knowing that it takes a few weeks to receive an order.  I ordered 4 items on January 27th, and have received 3 so far.

The packages were incredibly tiny - I can’t believe they didn’t get lost between China and Minnesota!

I ordered these pretty buttons - 100 of them for $1.  I thought they’d be perfect to tat on, and no, I didn’t need 100, but for a buck?  Why not?

Ha Ha - they are much smaller than I thought. I will need to use about size 80 thread for these!  It’s OK - I can use them on sewing too.

Still waiting on one more package of 100 buttons that say “Hand Made” on them.  Just because - ha!  These were $1 each - 100 labels, 100 buttons and 50 handmade charms. Should last me the rest of my life, LOL.

AND, I watched much of the Westminster Dog Show on Monday and Tuesday.  It’s interesting to hear the different breed qualities and what they were originally bred to do. Most people get a cute puppy without considering the natural temperament and behavior, and unfortunately, we then end up with so many rejected dogs in rescue situations. I also love to see the dog’s names, and then their fancy registered names too. I especially noticed the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever named “Ducky”.  Ooooh.  That’s a dangerous name, I thought.  Then I saw his fancy registered name - “What the Duck”. The more we thought about the play on words for a Duck Trolling Retriever, the more it made us laugh. (OK, weird humor.) In any case, we always cheer for a Boxer in the Working Group, but alas, the beautiful Giant Schnauzer won. Ruby disagreed.

Twin Cities Tatters meets today, so I’m in tatting mode.  What great group - I think we learn something or gain a new tip every single time we meet!

It’s Always Easy in the Beginning . . .

. . . to keep up, I mean.  Renulek’s Spring Doily 2018 is progressing nicely right now - of course, it’s only Round 3. I did purchase the pattern in anticipation of later rounds getting away from me, though.  (I know from experience how this is gonna go!) Her patterns are beautiful, so I love owning them anyway.

Renulek’s Spring Doily - Round 3

I’m enjoying this doily because it means SPRING is coming.  You wouldn’t know it by our Minnesota temperatures lately - mostly hovering around or below 0 F. We are definitely ready for winter to move along.

I also saw a cute heart pattern on a Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/SparklingLightCreationStudio.GloriaNelson/  and decided it would be a good, quick project.  Not sure what I’ll do with it yet, other than clip it onto one of my bags.  I feel like I need to add to it some more, but we’ll see. My creativity is at a stand-still lately - just give me a pattern for now and I’m good. That might change next week - ha!

I can’t believe it’s FEBRUARY already! ❤️

Jumping on the Bandwagon!

I decided to jump in on Renulek’s Spring Doily while it was still early, so I got the first 2 center rounds done this morning.  I’m ready to work on a larger piece once again, and her doilies are always so beautiful.

It’s definitely going to be another beauty!  It’s so easy at the beginning, and it’s a long wait until the next Thursday’s instructions - but I know all too well as the rounds get larger, it will be hard to keep up.  (I will most definitely not be timing myself on each round again - ha!)

I’ve decided to use some size 30 thread I have in my stash, along with some of Yarnplayer’s “Parchment” thread I purchased quite awhile ago.  It always takes me awhile to decide what to use my HDT on  :)  It’s always so enjoyable to watch tatters from all around the world working on the same piece in all of their various color choices.

I’ve also made a few squares for the Tat a Brussels Monument project.  I plan to mail 10 pink squares, and look forward to seeing this project come full circle during the World Lace Congress this summer in Belgium.  I can’t imagine stitching together 10,000 squares, but it will be quite a sight.  Many others are sending 50-100 squares - but I’ll be satisfied with completing and sending 10.

Of course, here in Minnesota, there are Superbowl crowds downtown in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.  I”m not a big football fan, but I love the creative events and displays to show off our state.  So many wonderful things going on, but I will watch from home (afar!) I would love to go downtown, but the crowds and parking are better left for the football fans, and those who can tolerate the huge crowds.  AND . . .  it’s snowing like crazy here with temperatures dropping for tomorrow’s big game - good thing the stadium is indoors!

Lucky Pennies and Magic Buttons

I’m still working on 2017 lucky pennies.  My most recent ones are for expected babies - one of unknown gender, and one expected girl.  

I like the Springtime Lizbeth – it has the perfect colors for any baby!  Not many leave the gender unknown anymore, but I like using variegated thread vs. a solid color.

And more button tatting.  I don’t have many buttons, but these are just cute little enjoyable pieces to tat.  I can only imagine tatting on an antique or heirloom type button – but I don’t plan on searching for more buttons! I did have this pretty button – and as I was tatting, I realized it just didn’t look as nice as I thought it should.  

Originally, I had taken a quick look at Fox’s button tatting, and saw that there were 4 beads on each of the outer picots.  I usually use 3 beads, but hers looked so nice, so I used 4. [Copycat skills!]  Now that I’ve made a few buttons, I noticed my button placement was not as nice.  I saw that there was one bead below the picot between the stitches, but being unsure about how to do that, I asked Fox. She was kind enough to point me to this little pattern, which explains the placement.  (More than likely, others have done this for a long time - but it's just like me to only notice it now!)

We had our Twin Cities Tatters gathering on Saturday, and my goal was to figure out that bead placement. Ta Da!  Got it.  I usually talk too much to get any tatting done, but at least I conquered the beads.

See the difference?  The "new" way is above and the "old" way below.  

The finished buttons look nice either way, and most people probably wouldn’t notice – but I like how it looks with the more precise placement.  And, there’s more opportunity for some creative color placement if one chooses.  Sometimes I feel like really planning ahead, and other times I just string the beads however they appear - ha!

These small projects are perfect to get a quick tatting fix!

A Little Dare?

I’ve been admiring Fox’s button tatting lately, and knowing my obsession with Ice Drops, she proposed a little dare.  That I try a tatted button.  It’s only taken me about 2 weeks, but I finally got it!  I do see how these are addicting – but I don’t need to start collecting buttons now on top of fabric, beads, gems and charms.  Yikes!

I love this one, it’s one of my favorite color combinations – brown and turquoise.  I may have to make some more and play with other colors!

The first couple tries just gave me knots – not sure why, but I think I didn’t give myself enough thread.  Frustrating though – I knew it couldn’t be that hard! After a few knots, I decided to try one without beads.  Once I got on a bit of a roll, I attached to the wrong hole in the button.  Aaaaaagh!  Sheesh, I always learn the hard way first.

I’m still working on making lucky pennies for a few brides and babies too – and was having a hard time finding 2017 pennies.  A kind tatter on one of the Facebook group pages offered to send me some, as she had TWO WHOLE ROLLS of 2017 pennies!  I now have enough pennies for all those I want to make.  

This is the latest penny for a new bride:

Between all the sewing I’ve been doing and the tatting projects I have planned, there’s no time for work!  Just kidding – the job gets in the way of the hobbies!  

Tatting, Sewing and Thankful

It's been a busy week!  I finished another Ice Drop – this time with a faceted gem from Diane.  I love the royal blue, but I ended up running out for the rings to enclose the gem – a little darker blue worked just fine.  Which, of course, makes me start thinking about using a different color on purpose for those last 6 rings!  Thread color combinations are so enjoyable to me.  While I love blue, I think this needed a different color for beads and those enclosing rings.  It's OK - it's still pretty!

I also love putting together color combinations in fabrics. I’ve got a new obsession making these bags.  Well, OK, a bag making obsession is not NEW for me, but this pattern is!  I tend to like bags/pouches that I can zip closed, and these are perfect!

I’ve been making sets of 1 bag with 1 small pod to match, and extra pods as stand-alone items. It’s fun to dig out coordinating fabrics, and all the while I’m sewing I’m trying to think of all the things one could use these bags for.  The little pods would be perfect for throwing small tatting projects in my purse to have on hand. Something I don’t normally do, but found out at our tatting retreat that everyone else does!   I will most likely be using these for gifts, and maybe to sell as well. 

The end of July always brings Quilt Minnesota – fabrics by Minnesota designers featuring Minnesota!  I ALWAYS have to get some of this fabric – I just love it.  I love that it represents my home. This year’s purchase included these lovelies – birds, fish, dragonflies, agates, wild mushrooms and cute turtles. 

More bags?!!  Hehehehe.

It’s also been an emotional week here -  for the Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul as well as for my own family.  Indirectly, thank heavens, but it still affects one’s being.  We had the awful Minnehaha Academy explosion and collapse killing 2.  My tatting friends Michelle and Katie both teach there, so I was a little panicky and then thankful to know they were OK. Their sadness of losing coworkers and part of their workplace is a reminder of how fast life can change.

We also had a construction worker hit by a distracted teen driver.  The gal was flagging traffic, and was thrown 70 feet.  She has suffered both broken legs, a broken arm and pelvis, as well as a broken skull.   She was just doing her job.  You may not know this, but I work with road construction contracts and compliance.  I didn’t know her, but this was on one of our projects, and while I only visit project sites once or twice a month, my coworkers are on these sites daily.  My own neighborhood has been under construction all summer as well – by the same contractor.  My husband and daughter are also involved in traffic on the roads every day. The mood at work, at home and on my neighborhood streets was very heavy all week. Please drive safe in construction zones, no matter how irritating road construction can be.  These folks are just doing their job, and deal with angry AND distracted drivers every single day.

Other tragedies in the cities involved a murder of a woman, again, just doing her job. Random killing.  Another lovely person that was a friend of a friend.  

Today, I’m thankful just to be here.  

2015 Spring Doily - DONE!

The Doily Dilemma

Remember THE doily I started back HERE?  Yes, February 1, 2015.  2015! I started the final round (#11) by May 8 of 2015. I was keeping track of the time it took me to work each round.  Just because I thought it would be interesting.  Approximately 89 hours total.  

Don't EVER do that.  Keep track of the time it takes, I mean. Really, it completely took the joy out of tatting this piece.  I think it jinxed me!  I put this beautiful doily away for 2 years - I'm sure it's because it just made me nervous thinking about how many hours I still had left to finish it.  Daunting. After 10 rounds, I had 62 hours into this doily.  That is a LONG time.  I'm a fairly slow tatter, but sheesh!  Just don't even go there.

I went to get this doily out for our International Tatting Day gathering, and COULDN'T FIND IT. Yikes!  Knowing how many hours went into this bugger made me sick thinking it could have been thrown out by mistake while cleaning out my sewing/tatting/craft cave.  To my relief, I found it, and then made it my goal to finish it while on vacation so that I could enter it into our county fair.  Maybe even the state fair if it turned out to my liking!

Woo Hoo!  I'm getting there! And I have all week to get it done.

So close!

I was so excited!  It was moving along well and I was making great progress, relaxing in the fresh breeze off the lake.  Almost to the end, and . . . what?  Seriously?  You've got to be kidding me.  What the HELL?  How could this happen?  I have an extra ring to attach to.  Somehow, there is one too many rings on the previous round. I'm not sure how this could happen since everything else has seemed to work out exactly right.  

The only way I know how to "fix" this without throwing it out the window, is to just add another ring where it doesn't belong.  I'm so deflated!  I can't even look at it anymore to figure it out.  Now that I know it took me 27 (yes, 27!) hours to do this last round, I can't even THINK of ripping it out to find the goof.  It. Is. DONE.  

And while blocking it, I found many other places I'm not pleased with if I could have entered it into the fair competition, but it's still beautiful.  And I will still put it on a table to use.  I will just have to do something else for a fair entry. For next year maybe!

Major lesson learned.

NEVER keep track of the time spent tatting a piece. NEVER, EVER, EVER.