Author: wandasknottythoughts@gmail.com

Going to the fair

I plan on going to the state fair tonight after work, where I will see how my entries have done. I hope to get pictures, get back to the house and post before I have to go to bed. This week has been nothing like normal so if you don’t hear more from me today, look for a post tomorrow.

Getting Ready For the State Fair

This is the mess on my table after trying to get things finished for the Kansas State Fair. No actual tatting done, but at least I got a cup of tea in (Country Peach Passion – yum!)
I’ve been busy with getting things made and put together for several weeks now. I haven’t been on the Internet much, I’ve been too busy tatting. And planning. There is only one class for tatting at the state fair but I wanted to get a few more items of tatting there if I could. Looking through the options I found they have a category for Christmas decorations and one for holiday decoration, one per holiday. So that makes three categories I thought I could enter.
I entered my antique motif doily (of course!). This is at a higher level than the county fair but I think it has a chance to do well. Then I had an idea for a Christmas decoration using those snowflakes I’ve been working on. I just couldn’t get my plan to work out but entered them anyway. They still look nice but nothing spectacular. And I forgot to take a picture of it before I dropped it off.
I chose a Halloween decoration for the other entry. I had this idea of a spider on a web using one of Jane Eborall’s patterns. But I just couldn’t get those floating chains! *head hangs in shame* I worked on it for half a day, but running out of time I had to do something else. I did come up with a spider, making the legs out of split rings similar to the way Jane made the legs on her stork. The body has a few issues but still looks pretty good. I added a black bead for the body and glass beads for head and eyes. I had planned a black spider but felt it would not be seen well on the black background I had in mind, so it’s made of gold Cebelia size 30, color 437. This actually worked better than the size 20 black that was planned, because being a smaller thread the legs worked better. The web is made of size 70 Lizbeth color 602 natural (not-quite white) and a strand of metallic coats thread, a Nylon and Polyester blend. I started once, then realized I made a bit of a mistake so had to start over. I got soooo tired of doing this. The last round is made of chains, each of 35 double stitches. Not very stimulating, and a lot of chance of mis-counting. But I’m very happy with the result.

I hope the judges at the fair like it, too. I’m going to call this #22 of my second 25 Motif Challenge. This was very much a challenge!
I might know by next week how my entries did at the fair. I’ve told several people who have plans to go to let me know the results if they get there before I do. The fair lasts ten days but I’m not sure what day I’ll get to go. There is a lot to see and do at the fair – I’m really looking forward to it.
“Achievement is not always success, while reputed failure often is. It is honest endeavor, persistent effort to do the best possible under any and all possible circumstances.”
Orison Swett Marden

Snowflakes and Dinosaurs

I’m still making a few of my old snowflake patterns, and still trying them out with beads. This one I changed a lot from my original pattern besides the beads for several reasons. One: I had done this one with only five points and I want it to have six. Two: I had done it with lots of picots so it looked very frilly. I have been adding beads in place of picots and this snowflake had lots of picots. But I don’t really want to add that many beads, so the extraneous picots had to go. Three: using the original stitch count made it a little bit bigger than what I wanted right now so I reduced the stitches by a few everywhere.
It’s somewhat hard to see the clear beads on the snowflakes, but in person the beads catch the light, making them well worth the effort to add.

I’ve done other tatting this week but nothing that’s ready to share. I keep changing my mind on what I want and keep switching from one project to another. Hopefully I’ll have finished one thing or another by next week. And maybe even post on Tuesday. I had tea and tatted on Tuesday, I just ran out of time to post!

This last weekend we went up to visit our daughter and family. We had a great time, going to an air show on Saturday and the Omaha Children’s Museum on Sunday. I had never been to a children’s museum, though I knew that the exhibits were meant to be touched and be interactive with children. They currently have an exhibit of dinosaurs there, something our grandson likes right now.

We found something interesting to see right away when we arrived, before we even went in.

This praying mantis was on our parking meter. We had to stop and check it out before we went any farther. You can see she was quite large. She only moved a little bit the whole time we stood to watch her, which didn’t impress my two-year-old grandson.

We decided to go to the dinosaur exhibit first, to make sure we had plenty of time there. For all that he likes dinosaurs, my grandson was a little intimidated by the robotic dinosaurs that moved and made noises.

The dinosaurs are not full-sized but quite realistic looking (how does anyone really know?)

My grandson didn’t take too long to get over being scared. There is so much there for them to do.

This is a robot skeleton that the children can push buttons to move, up down, side to side. It was very popular with the kids.

They can also uncover fossils in a sand box.

There were more activities in the display and many more throughout the museum. We were there for several hours and didn’t even get close to seeing everything. If any of you with children or grandchildren are in the Omaha area and are looking for something fun to do I recommend this. They do have places for the parents to sit and watch while the children explore 🙂

(I am not being paid for this endorsement, it was just so much fun to watch the children there I wanted to share with it everyone else.)

“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death”

Albert Einstein

Where were you when the earth moved?

Align CenterDid you feel the earth move under your feet today?
If you were anywhere on the east coast today you might have. Most of you have probably already heard about the Virginia (USA) earthquake that happened today. IsDihara lives in Virginia, and she says she’s okay. If you’d like to read her experience today check out her blog here. I hope that everyone else out in tat-land are okay and not too shook up.

Did you know there was one in Colorado (USA) late last night as well? I don’t know anyone personally that felt it, but on the news tonight they spoke to a woman in Hutchinson, Kansas, that said she felt it. That’s an earthquake over 400 miles away. I guess she noticed because she was awake at 1:15 AM local time, and was on the fifth floor of an apartment building. As there aren’t many buildings that tall around here, she was one of the few people that had the right conditions to notice. I personally slept right through it 🙂



This Tatting Tea Tuesday evening I had a wonderful glass of iced tea, which really hit the spot. We had record-breaking temperatures today, 109 deg. F. I can do without breaking anymore records like that! I’m really looking forward to fall weather. I didn’t get any tatting done, though *sigh* I had to do some work around the house instead. We ran out clean plates (and glasses and cups and….)

I did get a little tatting done over the last week, a few more snowflakes. And I think I’m getting carried away with those beads.



“We learn geology the morning after the earthquake”

Ralph Waldo Emerson



It’s Never Too Early

For making snowflakes for Christmas anyway. In fact, I might not have gotten started early enough. And this year I’m doing – or at least starting with – something different. Or you could say the same… I make snowflakes to go into Christmas cards every year and usually try to come up with at least one new one every year. That may happen yet, but I’ve started this year with some old patterns but am adding beads to them.

I’m using clear glass beads, trying for a crystalline look, or at least a hint of it. This picture really doesn’t do the snowflake justice; it looks better in person.

I worked on these two Saturday while we drove (I did not tat and drive, I let my husband do the driving) to and from a family reunion a few hours away from our home. Beads and all! I usually don’t try to work with beads in the car due to the trouble of not loosing the beads, but thought I’d give it a shot this time. Amazingly, I only lost a few beads and had very little trouble.

I did a little TIPping (Tatting In Public) this week as well. On my way to my office a few days ago I stopped to talk to a friend of mine and show her my current project. As it was in process the shuttles were still attached. A person standing close by saw them and started asking some questions; then another person. So I demonstrated a split ring for them, as that was the next element of the piece. They were quite interested in it as they had never seen tatting before; had never even heard of it. It was a nice start to my day, sharing tatting with new people.

I didn’t have tea today for Tatting Tea Tuesday (I had coffee) but I did have chocolate and did get some tatting in – working on another snowflake. Christmas is only a bit over four months away you know. Lots to do and not much time to do it in.

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. ” Buddha

Country Fair Results and…Aliens?

I entered two tatted items in the local county fair, my Antique Motif Doily and a Heart’s Honor bookmark. I was so excited about the results of the doily I completely forgot to take a picture of the bookmark! I was the only one that entered tatting but it’s in the crochet class, so that means I won grand champion over any crochet that was entered as well. I’m just a little happy about it *bouncing up and down*. My bookmark got a blue (1st place), so I’m pretty happy about that, too. Just because you are the only entry in a category it doesn’t mean they have to give you a ribbon if they don’t think an item is done well enough. It still would be nice to have more tatting there.

I also entered a picture in the photography class for the first time ever. There are a lot of people who enter their pictures so the competition is tougher, but this one turned out so well I thought “why not?” It is a picture of the grandsons, taken this July.

I was pleasantly surprised to get a third place on it.
I’ve been playing around with this little motif, trying several different things. I did a split chain on it and realized I haven’t used it hardly at all, so am not very proficient with it. I also tried adding some beads, which meant I had to change the stitch count, which in turn made it look different yet. I showed it to my husband, who commented that it looked like a spaceship.
Hmmm, I can see that…
I enjoyed a glass of sweet, iced Vanilla Rooibos tea this morning, though not while I was tatting. I did get a bit of that in, too, just a little later.
I hope you all enjoyed a lovely Tatting Tea Tuesday.
“Winning isn’t always finishing first. Sometimes winning is just finishing.”
Manuel Diotte

A hot Tatting Tea Tuesday

This morning I enjoyed a lovely glass if sweet iced tea, Black Cherry Berry flavored – very yummy! I hadn’t been sure I’d like it iced but I’m very sure I like it now! Yes, the picture shows a cup of tea not a glass but I wanted to show the pretty cup:-) The doily is one I made quite a few years ago, and sad to say I have only a vague idea where I got the pattern.
The little book “Get Well Tea” I picked up on my vacation in Branson, Missouri. I found it in the back room of an antique/flea market that my sister and I visited on our way out of town. The author is J.C. McCracken, the owner/innkeeper of the Inn at Fall Creek, Branson, Mo., at least as of 1996 when the book was published. This little book has a brief history of tea, a little about the hummingbird and a few recipes for “Get Well Tea..” I’m really going to have to try a few of these, they sound very yummy, though I’m not sure they would all taste good if your tummy wasn’t feeling to well. But being unwell doesn’t always involve the tummy, does it?

I’ve done some tatting this week, I just don’t have any I’m quite ready to share yet. I’ve also spent a lot of time on the computer (not surfing, though), working on diagramming patterns. I’ve noticed lately looking at the stats of my blog that a lot of people are looking at the pattern I posted for the Christmas bell ornament from this post, so I diagrammed it and have it in the right sidebar. I spent my day Saturday doing this instead of all the cleaning I should have been doing, isn’t that sad? And, yes, it took more hours than I planned; I have a ways to go before I’ll be quick at it.

As you might guess from the title of this post it’s been rather hot here in Kansas. It was mentioned on a local TV station that the average high temperature for this July was 103 deg. F (39 deg. C), which makes it a pretty hot month. The average temperature is 90 deg. F but we haven’t had a day under 93 deg all month. And August is usually pretty hot as well. Today is a good example of how hot it is here: at 7:00 PM CDT it was 110 deg. F (43 deg. C). There have been several records set for the heat this year – these are records I would prefer not have broken! I’m ready for cooler weather.

“Whether the weather be fine,

Whether the weather be not,

Whether the weather be cold,

Whether the weather be hot,

We’ll weather the weather,

Whatever the whether,

Whether we like it or not.”

A Doll and New Thread

Isn’t this doll cute? This is called a “Wagon Train Doll”. It is made of strips of cloth (actually bias tape) in a couple of different lengths with knots tied in strategic places to form arms, body and skirt. You are supposed to trim the material ends evenly along the bottom and the ends of each arm but I didn’t do that (yet). The apron and cap are simply done with a few gathers and a little bit of elastic (to keep the cap on the head). You could buy dolls like this already made or in a kit that you could assemble yourself. This was a kit, which consists of the pre-cut material, the head already wrapped, the cap and apron, and directions to make it and future dolls if desired. I bought this in Silver Dollar City, Missouri for my granddaughter. Okay, she’s a little young for it yet (two months) but she might like to play with it in a year or two! I’m thinking it could be fun to make matching apron and caps for the doll and the granddaughter later on. Even with my poor sewing skills I think I could manage that.

Today for Tatting Tea Tuesday I was able to tat for about an hour, with the only interruptions being questions of those that happened by. I went with my mother-in-law to her physical therapy today and tatted while she did her exercises and what-ever. Almost everyone that came in asked or commented about what I was doing. And I still got a lot done! No tea though.

This last week I ordered some thread from Handy Hands for an interesting project. A friend of mine is doing a quilt with a muslin top. She chose a white-ish muslin instead of the more usual ecru colored type. She says it’s not a crazy quilt but is supposed to have some embellishments on it and has asked if I would make some tatting for it. As it’s not white-white material the white thread I have is a little too bright, so I ordered some Lizbeth in Natural, #602. I ordered one ball each of size 80, size 20 and size 10, and two balls of size 40 so she could have a choice of sizes but all be the same color.

Well, that was the plan.

I don’t know how well this will show up on your screen – I had quite a time getting a picture of it – but in real-life there is a bit of a problem. This stack of thread has DMC white size 20 on the bottom, then Lizbeth Natural size 10, Lizbeth Natural size 20, Lizbeth Natural size 40 and Lizbeth Natural size 80 on top. The Lizbeth size 20 is a different color entirely. I know that different lot sizes can be different shades, I expected that. But the size 20 looks more ecru than anything else. I emailed Barb Foster at Handy Hands about my problem, but there’s nothing to be done. They’ve lightened the dye in all the other sizes but haven’t had to order more of the #602 in size 20 yet, so this darker color is it. That’s why the ball of DMC. It’s white but it’s not as white as the Lizbeth, so it looks a little closer to the Natural of the other balls. If multiple size thread is needed I doubt they will be side-by-side, so this will probably work.

Oh, well. It’s a little disappointing but not tragic. I think I can live with what I got – and the other colors of thread I bought while I was making the order:-)

“While only a rag doll with a few red yarn strands for hair, she has been loved for generations. Parents enjoy the positive memories of their childhood and sharing those stories with their children.” Marianne Szymanski

Teacup for Tatting Tea Tuesday

Isn’t this little teacup with the candle inside cute? I saw it and just had to get it for a Tatting Tea Tuesday post. It’s from a candle shop in Silver Dollar City, Missouri. They pour a lot of candles there, in the most marvelous scents! This one happens to be Bayberry. They make the candles right there in the shop; you can watch and talk to them about what they are doing. They also have a dipping station where you can dip your own candles. You actually buy white candles in any of several different sizes (4 inch, 6 inch, 8 inch) then you dip them in different colour waxes for any color combination your heart desires. I had a picture of the ones that I dipped but it seems to be lost in cyber space somewhere. It will have to be shared on a different post.

The lovely little doily the cup is sitting on was designed by the wonderful AnneB (Anne Bruvold), she who designed the Minor Norwegian Flying Dragons. I tatted it a while ago and thought I had shared it here on my blog but I haven’t found it, so I must be mistaken. I know it was done in size 30 thread but I don’t remember in what brand or color, and measures about four inches across. I’m sharing it now because a friend of mine asked if I would make her one. The pattern for it can be found here. If you are interested in more of Anne’s patterns, you can find them at Nuperelle.net (there be dragons!) Some are in English and some are in Norwegian.

This morning I got up and took the pictures of the teacup and doily, several of the dipped candles, then worked on adding the suggestions of the test tatters to Heart’s Honor bookmark. I didn’t get any tea drank or any tatting done during all that. I did tat a whole ring and chain at my in-laws’ house (not of this doily, another project) and then, well, a mess. I was being soooooo careful with my tube of size 10/0 seed beads when I spilled the entire tube of them all over the floor. So instead of tatting I picked up seed beads. The tube says it has 10g of beads and I must have spilled 9.99% of them – there were only about a dozen lonely beads left in the tube when I picked it up. Most have been recovered but quite a few went into my purse, which will be emptied and de-beaded at home.

I didn’t get the pattern for Heart’s Honor up yet – I had hoped it would be today – but it should be in a few days.

“Inanimate objects can be classified scientifically into three major categories: those that don’t work, those that break down and those that get lost.” Russell Baker