A little something . . . (not tatting related)

We are hoping to make it to the voting stage on Jan 3rd. See what we did here. Just click "skip" when the ads and music start. Then you will go to the one we did. It is called "Miranda's Homework." Hee Hee

Cool tatting blog with a twist

If you haven't been to Middia's blog, you must go. She tats and crochets. But she has put a twist on it, doing both. It is closer to needle tatting (I'm a shuttle tatter.) But being able to crochet at points has put interesting design elements in the motif that isn't doable with just tatting. Definitely not shuttle tatting! Check through some of her old posts to see what I mean.

Pearl Tatting - my first attempt

I got inspired by this necklace of Umi & Tsuru's and thought I would try it also. I worked with what I had on hand in threads and beads. Not bad, if I do say so myself. It is just long enough to slip over my head, but in case someone doesn't want to mess up their hair, I put a large tatted ring on one end and the flower on the other end. The flower is crocheted from the same thread and easily folds in half and passes through the tatting ring. The short piece of tatting is my "try" to see stitch count, etc. I think I will add a clasp and make it a bracelet.

Now, which neice or friend should I give it to? Hmmm . . . Ooo, I got it. I have a cousin who's oldest is turning 10. I wonder if she would like it? *** Big Smile *** Off to the post office, lickety split, for the birthday in on Friday.

Try and try again

I am really liking this earring pattern. I did another in the pink with white seed beads this time. Then I had a big blue drop bead and some nice multi colored blue (my sister's favorite) thread, so I tried it in that. Didn't have any seed beads that I thought looked good with it, so I left them out. The thread was much larger so it turned out much bigger. I don't think this pattern shows off the thread nicely, so I didn't even finish it.

Then I saw these red beads that I love, and knew I have a couple of those drop beads in a matching red. I almost ran for

my Christmas red thread to see if it matched . . .

Oooo! Can'twait for Christmas to wear these!!!! I don't think I am going to give these away, I like them too much! Is that horrible of me? (-:

Here is all four of them side by side. See the size difference in the blue, it doesn't look nice. The blue one is over 4 inches long. The others are only 2 and a half inches long. I thought I would like the pink one with the white beads better than the other one, but I don't. I think it actually looks better with the clear seed beads. But, hey, that's just my humble opinion.

Love Free Patterns!

Don't you?! I found this one here. I wanted to try it out first, so I used a thread that isn't my favorite, a dusty rose. The beads are just clear seed beads, except for the bicone at the bottom. It is the palest of pinks. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. Now I am off to try it with more colorful threads and beads. Toodles.

Christmas Tree Earrings

I didn't post the source of the white Christmas tree earrings because I was sure I had done it before. But after spending more time than I care to count looking through my old posts, I realize why it didn't seem to be there and I couldn't find it at first. I had used the pattern as a 2d image and made it into a bookmark for a round robin. The pattern is Linda S. Davies'. Can be found here. Check out her blog. She has some amazing things. Have Fun!

Not much new

Working on a Christmas ornament, so no pictures yet. Made myself a pair of the earrings I sent to my sisters. And contemplating making another pair of the Christmas trees. These have already been promised to someone.

No comment needed

Just had to share this beyond adorable picture. From this website.

Happy Friday!

Sick, Sick, Sick

Me, that is. Wanting to tat and afraid my brain functions are too cloudy to keep a correct count. Cold here today, got a chili in the crock pot for family before retiring to bed again. Going through tatting withdrawals, if there is such a thing. Hopefully by tomorrow I will be able to get to a post office to mail three or four tatted things off to folks.

Totally off subject: This is my current background on my computer. It was a photo that my dad took of our driveway in Alaska years ago. My mom's uncle painted it and it now hangs in our house.

Pretty soon I am going to have to change it back to the Florida Keys photo when it gets really cold. Have a nice day/night, ya'll.

And the saga continues . . .

So guess who DID NOT show up last Friday . . . yep, you guessed! Thecarpet cleaners. So we moved the mattress back into the room for the weekend. Had to dig thru the dining room to get dressed everyday. Fun! No call from the cleaners on Friday, orSat. and Sun., or even on Monday! Finally late Monday afternoon I called them!!! Ooo, they are solucky it was me on the phone! Don't you wish you could say to people all the stuff you want to?! So they finally came out on Tuesday afternoon. Just a hint: the carpets DON'T dry in the 2 hours they say it will. We slept in the kitchen. Next to the couch. See?

But on the bright side, (I hear you asking "There is one?")

my husband got to prime the walls in the bedroom. And then paint them.

Isn't he awesome! So we are finally gettin

g the house back in order Whew! I might be able to find things again. I have a couple of projects that I have been dying to get back to, but haven't been able to get them out of the stack of stuff.

I did manage to get that mask straightened

out and take a photo of it. My oldest daughter loves it even though this one is a bit big on her. This one is going to a cousin. Hope she likes it as I don't want to do it again. I am making the barefoot sandals by TotusMel for her too.

That's all for today. Off to grocery shop (ugh!) so I will need the tatting tonight. (-:

It is done and now I am done!

Whew!!! Finally! I can not believe howmuch"stuff" and trash I threw out! And only about 1/4 was mine. So now I can say this:

Mom, I cleaned my room (and have photos to prove it.) And yes, I vacuumed too! Can't wait to repaint these walls.

And I did the sunroom, also. Don't mind the corner of the base for the dogs' crate. It is a lot smaller than it looks against the background of the room.

There were a couple of nights, when I couldn't take it any more and had to sit down and ignore

the mess. So I tatted. Yea! Is this an addiction I need to worry about? I tatted up Yarnplayer's

"Remembrance" in a multi-coloured size 80 thread. I like how it turned out. Then I tried a butterfly by Edda Guastalla in the same thread. I like it in the multi colours (that's for you, Jane!)

I did this off-white a few days before the big cleaning. I can't remember where I saw it and can't find it now. If you know, tell me and I will give credit where it is due. It was done as a bracelet, which I think is great and I might do one for myself in the future. But I am in a "secret angel" exchange for the next year and I thought it would make a decent bookmark. I usually like to make the more delicate items or jewelry, but my exchange person is a male and I don't think my little jewelry would be what he wants. (Although, he is married, so maybe his wife would like it? But I'm sure he makes stuff for her all the time.) Any suggestions would be welcomed!

And now, since we have a GREAT (read sarcasm) timetable for when the carpet cleaners are coming some time between now and when they quit work for today, I am heading for Redbox. I am going to treat myself to a $1 movie and sit on my couch in the kitchen and tat. What? You ask why there is a couch in my kitchen? That's simple: because there was no more room in the dining room to put it. See?!?

Why?!?!

Here's something I don't understand: Something big and stressful happens and I can handle it with calm, clear thinking, and a lot of times with laughter. But then there are the little things. I'm talking about what I think of as being very little things. Things I would tell another person to think about how much worse things could be.......and those things just makeme want to scream! Why?!!!!!!! It's the little things that bug the daylights out of me! I could handle the house falling down around me, but put a pot in the wrong cabinet and look out! Leave the butter and pickles out after lunch and you might not eat again. Put the big dish on top of the little one instead of nesting them and you just might witness Bill Cosby's version of a "conniption." And why, oh WHY, can't a wet item(clothing, rag, towel) be spread out to dry instead of being left in a heap or wad to mildew beyond rescue!!!???

I need to relax! Let's see . . . Hmmm. Haven't won the lottery yet (They tell me I must first buy a ticket! Unbelievable! If it's not one thing, it's another.) so I don't have the money to get that 12 hour massage, let alone run away to a deserted South Pacific island. Grandparents are STILL out of town for another few weeks (They've been gone for 2 months now.) so no chance of a kid free weekend or night of peace and quiet. Hmmm. . . I need to tat!

Oh, wait, can't do that. Hubby has carpet cleaners coming in two days and I have to figure o

ut where to put everything!!! Hmmm . . . got a couple of ideas about that, too. Hee Hee

Okay, I'm going in. Got a book on my mp3, extra battery in my pocket, cold coke in the frig

(might snag an oreo on the way there, okay, two) and two boxes of stretch garbage bags. I'm set. If you don't hear back from me by the weekend, well, I might have left the country for Fiji.

Eye Patch

Our church is starting a new series on where/what our "treasure" is in our lives. We have a huge group of volunteers in 4 teams. Today was my team's turn. The "guides and greeters" (we stand at the front door and greet or show new folks around) had to dress to the theme of "pirates." I guess that went along with the treasure theme? Anyway, I tatted up an eye patch yesterday (my anniversary - nice timing, eh?) while watching a Dukes of Hazzard marathon. YeeeeeeeHaaaaw! Of course, inspiration for this comes from TotusMel, again.

I had my daughter put it on for a picture since she is sooooo much cuter than me. She hates having her picture taken, as you can see by her expression. And she wants to go into modeling?!!! I guess she has that "mad" look down pat that you see the models wearing. Oh, and she has the "attitude" look, too. (-:

Oh, WoW !!!

This is a must see for anyone. On Youtube.com there is a little 7 year old singing Amazing Grace with the most amazing voice for a little girl. Here's the link. If that doesn't work for you, go to Youtube and type in her name, Rhema Marvanne. Turn your sound up and hit play. You WILL be amazed.

Updates

A while back I posted a small picture of the veil I was tatting for my daughters. Over the summer months I made no progress on it at all. Even now, it is slow going, as I only work on it in little bits and pieces and only for short periods of time. Mostly during the evening, after everyone is in bed, and I need to wind down or can't sleep. Which happens so often you'd think I'd be finished with it by now. Still can't get my scanner to talk to my computer - Aaaa! Here's a photo of it on a red blanket. Sets it off pretty good, I think. If you don't mind the clutter on my desk around it.

I have mostly been working on a tatted mask for my cousin who adores anything Halloween. I tried tatting TotusMel's mask on Instructables, but failed miserably, not once, but

more times than I care to tell. Even though she was so very kind and answered my email questions. So, taking inspiration from her, I made a much less ornate one. I still really like hers oh, so much better. I have to block it/iron it and add the side ribbons, whick I am off to get right after this post. But here's what I started with around the eye wires. I was going to write down the pattern and take pictures along the way so I would remember what I did. But I have decide to never repeat this again. Ugh. I think I am better at sticking with the flat designs.

Finished!

I finally finished this project. I made two sets of Yarn Player's "Carnival" earrings. One in each of my two sisters' favorite colors. One is late for a birthday, the other early, but who cares! They don't read this so I am posting this now before I mail them off today. You can find the pattern here.

I HAVE to get some HDT soon! My tatting never looks as good in solid colors. Oh, well, it is still fun to tat!

This is a MUST see...

Somebody had a lot of fun . . . actually, two somebodies. Watch this video. At first it might seem normal, even a little boring because you don't know the couple involved. But, trust me, you must keep watching . . . you will understand soon.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/561809/

Makin' "lace"

We (humans) are not the only species making lace. Found this little guy on a bush in my front yard. I'm actually quite proud of myself, seeing as I am DEATHLY afraid of spiders. My kids got very excited and called this a "writing" spider. (Charlotte's Web?)

Just thought I would share since I can't show my tatting. I am making a mess of things. I am trying to do the mask that is online and following the pattern. But I found a couple of mistakes or something. The pictures and written pattern don't always match. After the second round, the thing is looking pretty haphazard. So I took out the wires for the eyes and am going to finish the pattern up. Then, I will sit down with the written pattern and the tatted mask and figure out where in it I can make some changes (increase or decrease ds) to make it fit the face right/better.

Vacation was great!

Just got back from our annual family vacation. We go camping every year and have a blast. This year we got to go for two weeks! Yea! And even better, it didn't rain until two days before we left. And that was only a light rain. WooHoo! We all stayed dry. Except the butterflies (and us when we went to play in the rain). After the rain was over we found butterflies that were drying their wings, so they didn't fly off when we approached. I saw this one on the kids' toy and couldn't resist. The rainknocked down a bunch of leaves, too. This is one of my favorite shots.Nothing is retouched, or moved or staged! The bright orange ball and yellow leaf were sitting right there with this blue black butterfly walking all over it, flapping it's wings. I couldn't believe it let me get this close with my camera! After I finished taking a few shots, my daughter walked over and PICKED UP the ball! When the butterfly stayed right on it, I realizedit might not be able to fly until the wings were dried. She loved it! (I made her put it down after she walked around and showed everyone.)

One of our favorite camping sites is at

Fontana Dam (in NC.) There is a camp ground at the bottom of the dam right on the spillway. Every morning the mist/fog rolls up the spillway in wonderful billowy tufts, so large it fills the whole area and you can't see across the spillway.

One evening, as the sun was setting, the mist started rolling

in early. Just thin little wisps barely catching the last of the glow from the sun. I kept taking pictures of the mist rolling in until the creek was full.

This trip was in the mountains of North Carolina. The views, of course, were great. My children start hollering "the mountains!" as soon as they see the slightest hill we when start our road trip. They get so excited!

P.S. Didn't do ANY tatting -- can you believe it?! I can't, and I was there! But, I didn't even pack it. I knew where I was going was completely "outdoors" and was concerned with things getting messed up and dirty. Plus I knew I would be spending almost all of the time in the lake swimming, on trails hiking, and by a smoky campfire cooking sticky s'mores. So fun times were had by all and the tatting stayed safe and clean at home. But now I am home, and one of my favorite tatters has her new book out....yeah!!! Can I wait for the mail?!!!!

looky, looky...

Been drastically busy....kids...work...husband out of country for a month with work....etc. He took all the cameras so I can't even take a pic of these little earrings I made for my sisters in their favorite colors. I got the pattern from this site: http://yarnplayertats.blogspot.com/

If you haven't been there, GO. She has some wonderful designs, great colors, and is putting a lot of it in a new book. She also has a lot of free pattern

s on the site. Here's a pic of her latest

Isn't it great? She makes some very simple thi

ngs look great. K

eep watching.

Sing with me....

"I'm picking up a baby bumble bee, won't my mommy be so proud of me..."

This time of year, the bees are coming out. Each time a yellow nose one shows up, my husband likes to try to catch it. The kids love "petting" it. But the girls haven't yet got the nerve up to hold it.

In case you didn't know, the yellow nose ones don't sting. This one doesn't look as bright in the "fur" as usual because my husband caught it with wet hands. It hadn't dried out all the way when this photo was taken.

I am trying to take this bee as a sign that Spring REALLY is on the way. Even though we had to put on the jeans and long sleeves again today. (-:

Sleep deprived parent...

Isn't that a little redundant? I always thought "parent" meant "sleep deprived" and vise versa. I am one of those people that needs the solid 9-12 hours of sleep, and can't fall asleep at the drop of a hat. And knowing that my first born is turning 9 in a couple of months, you already know that I have been sleep deprived for the last 9 years, give or take a few months. My first was the "easy" one. She nursed every 3 hours and started skipping a feeding time at night really early. It's the second one that really made me the walking zombie! She nursed every hour and 45 minutes, almost on the dot. And didn't start sleeping through the night until she was about 4 years old. (No, I did not nurse her that long!) It took about a year of serious work, after she could use the bathroom by herself, get her own water, cover herself up, to get her to not wake us up. (And we didn't get up to do these things for her, either. She just felt it necessary to tell us about it.)

Anyhoo, I saw a tee shirt with this on it at this website. scribbleprints Maybe it could serve as a warning to folks if I wear it around? I wonder if I would get better, politer(is that a word?), faster service? Maybe a footnote added to it....something like "and I'm PMS-ing also!!!" I bet I could walk down a crowded isle or sidewalk and not have to step around people. Kinda like a female version of Moses and the Parting of the Red Sea? Hmm, might have to think about that one. (-: (See how dangerous it is to deprive us parents of needed sleep?)

This site is giving away free button with this logo on it in a drawing. http://scribbleprints.blogspot.com/2010/04/test.html

Check them out, leave a comment saying you heard of it here on my blog, and we could both win one.

Here's to you having fun, enjoying life, but most of all....getting the sleep you need!! (See previous post for a relaxing pic to help you get into the right frame of mind.)

Back to the real World

Vacation was greats! Spent the time at my late grandmother's house in the Florida Keys with 5 families. With a dozen kids running around, it was wonderful to sit back and relax without the responsibility of my children. Got to work on the veil a bit, finished all the books I took with me, did lots of puzzles, drank a little wine, had some laughs, enjoyed some great food (mostly cooked by others,) played a lot of volleyball, and generally had a lot of fun.

I took a number of extra shuttles and largest threads I had, just in case somebody wanted to try. I got one taker, one young boy about 10yrs old. He actually did pretty well for his first try. Much better than I would have thought someone his age would do at first. But the Wii was calling and he was off and running.

This is the view I awoke with every day from my bed in the master bedroom! I know now why granddaddy designed the house to sit the way it does. The sun (and moon) rises right over the bridge behind those three palms. What a wonderful way to greet each morning. I think it might have the ability to make me a morning person after all these years!!! * * * S I G H * * *

Life sorta seems humdrum after that.....(-:

Vacation!!!!

I am so very excited. I am getting to go on vacation with a favorite cousin and her family and a few others. The wonderful surprise is that I get to go alone. My awesome husband has been trying to get me to take a break, unbeknownst to me, and visit my cousin. We are taking off to my grandmother's (deceased) house in the Florida Keys!!!! If there was any place in the world I would have to pick to stay permanently, it would be this place. Such memories from growing up! And a very fun group of people to hang out with. And I plan on doing a lot of nothing -- no side trips, no sightseeing(seen it all already,) nothing but quiet tatting, reading and a few naps thrown in for the heck of it. (-:

I have been doing some tatted earrings, necklaces, rings, dodads, etc. I just wish I could get my scanner to work or a camera that took closeups without being blurry. I will post them when I can. Hope everyone is enjoying their Spring. Ha Ha. It is cold here with strong wind that goes through all the clothes. Can't wait for that Florida sun to warm me up!!! Be back soon.....maybe...

Trophies!!!

So, last week was the Tournament of Champions. Here's the trophy I got for being the points leader for the season. (We get points for each game depending on where you finish in the line up. First place gets the most.)

Then we had a game where the top ten or so players in that location played for the Tavern Champion. Hee, hee, hee. I won that one, too. I had a few too serious players that aren't happy with me. They think I am not professional. (And they are?!?!) The problem is they can't "read" me. I don't play the way the "book" says I should. I bet little amounts when they think I should bet huge, and vise versa. (Sorry, but I didn't read the "book.") I guess I threw them all off their game this season. I am a quiet player. I don't do a lot of socializing, drinking, or bragging. I go to play a game I love and have a couple

of hours out of the house. They didn't know WHAT to make of me when I brought my tatting and worked on it during a game. But it was fun! Here's the trophy for taking first in the final game.

(-:

Unfortunately, this particular place is not going to hold their game on Wednesday nights in the up coming seasons. So, I guess I will be sitting out this next season. But, definitely fun times were had.

A Personal Observation

It occurred to me the other day that I have not been ranting and raving on here. I started this blog to just have an outlet for venting, in hopes of not letting loose so often on my kids and husband. So I started thinking on what had changed. Either I AM letting loose on my family or things are calmer in my spirit. Looking around, the family seems okay, even though I still go off on them sometimes. I don't think it is nearly as often and more often for righteous reasons (not using their brains.) <-Did that sentence make sense? Maybe I'm not as okay as I was thinking? LOL.

Between getting to leave the house to play poker once a week and learning to tat, things have gotten better, I think. I found a wonderful group of ladies, self-named the Tri-Tatters. We meet once a month for a few hours to chat, tat, and eat chocolate. We have a few laughs, share what we are working on, and get help for tatting questions among other things. In the evenings, I sit down to watch one of my favorite crime shows or movie with my husband and tat away. I think being able to COMPLETE something, even a small motif or earring, has helped with a sense of accomplishment.

So for those of you (ha ha ha, so many, ha ha ha) looking for my ingenious ravings, I shall try to come up with a good one soon. In the mean time you will have to settle for my frustrations of trying to get my scanner to work! I was tatting without thinking the other night and didn't make what I thought would be the end result. But it gave me an idea, and I made a cute little motif and want to scan it and show it to you. But that will have to wait a little longer. Grr! (-;

I have a secret passion......

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! Bloggers can register to play for free in the WBCOOP, if you don’t have a PokerStars account you can get your Free Poker Download at PokerStars

Registration code: 031261

Yes, you are seeing correctly. (I don't know how to fix the text.) I had a wonderful grandmother who gave me a love of card games at a very early age. She taught all of her 9 grandkids to play just about every game imaginable. I joined a league of players who get together and play at local eateries for free. For the first ten weeks of this season I held first place at my location. Unbelievable, as I don't think I am that good. (The coordinator for our games put a bounty on my head last week and people came out in droves to attack. I now have second place, which is less pressure! (-; LOL) But I also play at PokerStars whenever I can get the chance. So, is this the strangest skeleton every found in a tatter's closet or what? On a side note: I usually take a book with me for the wait between games each week. The week before Christmas I took my tatting with me instead as I was trying to finish a couple of earrings as Christmas presents. I got a lot of questions and a few interested watchers. Personally, I think I threw them all, because I finished first in that night's final game! LOL

If you like to play, come check out PokerStars. We get some very interesting characters (that's putting it nicely for a few.) It is fun and just the right price for me -- free. Maybe you will see my face in the winner's circle....but don't count on it until I am as old as my grandmother! LOL

Sad, Sad News

The following was posted on a tatting chat group:

I find myself in the sad position to tell the tatting world that Mary
> Konior passed this morning, Saturday 16th January, 2010.
>
> She has been ill for a long time with alzheimer's. Not being able to do
> for herself she's been in a nursing home since last May and her
> condition has slowly deteriorated. She has gone to be with her beloved
> husband that passed a few years previously. It is a blessing, she now
> free from all this and tatting with the angels... Bless her for the
> legacy she has given us and all she did for our art form. She will not
> be forgotten this I know.
>
> As you can imagine arrangements are in the process of being made as one
> of her daughters has to come over from South Africa and as soon as I
> know the details I will let you know.. Tess tells me anyone that would
> like to attend, will be made welcome at the funeral and to the wake
> afterwards. I will be thereto say my last goodbyes, I've been missing
> her for some time... And to pay respects on behalf of the tatting world.
>
> Condolences can be sent to Tess (the UK daughter) and I will post her
> snail and email address later... I don't think they realise just how
> well we all think of their Mom... I know Mary never truly believed me.
>
> I have been blessed to be able to call her my friend and that I have
> tatted by her side and even showed her the split ring - she wasn't
> impressed! Bless her
>
> My last time in the States I took with me her beautiful lace she had
> organised her daughters to give me. I consider myself a custodian and
> am happy to share...
>
> I'll be back with more later... Even though I have been expecting this
> news for some time - I need to get my head round it
>
> Love, light & peace
> Sue Hanson
> List Owner Here-Be-Tatters

How do you make...?

I have seen designs of others that have a bit of a tatted chain going off the main body of the motif to connect with nothing. It just kinda...ends...hanging off in space. Sort of like the tatting ended or started with a chain and then the body of the motive was made last. But these designs I have seen have more than two ends ( a start and an end) hanging out there. So what are these tatted chains called and how in the world do you make them? If I could remember where I have seen them, I would post a picture to show you. Does anyone understand what I am talking about?