Joy

This was my Mother’s Day gift to my mother-in-law.
This idea popped into my head complete once I found the wooden cut-out.  It was unpainted and I’m sure I got it around Christmas time one year but it was perfect for this occasion as my MIL’s name is Joy.
I have a lot of these little flowers around as I usually empty my shuttle with them.  Of course, I didn’t have (couldn’t find) ones in colors that went together so I had to make a few more. The butterfly I made special with the beads just for this occasion.  The little birdy was already done (if anyone can tell me where I found this cute little doodle I’d appreciate it! I know it’s out there somewhere but I can’t remember where! I’d like to give credit to the designer)  Then it was just putting them together in a way that I liked.  
Okay, I had to paint it first.  And the paints were in a nice safe place, it just took me awhile to find them. And decide what color it should be, once I found out what paints I had.  It ended up being green mixed with white to tone it down from the Christmas-y color of the green. 
Then to finish it off it’s completely coated with glitter glue.  It really looks much better in person. Sparkly.
It’s now attached to her wall with some of those 3M Velcro strips.  They were brought along as part of the gift 🙂
For once I didn’t over think an idea, kept it simple.  
I’ll have to keep my eye out for more of this type of cutout.  They could be made into quick, simple gifts for almost any occasion, depending on what they spelled out.
I’d have more pictures to share but I left my camera at my daughter’s house this last weekend.  I really miss it.  And of course all the pictures I took at her house I can’t download, either.  Bummer!  But the plan is to see them again this weekend! :-)) Joy!
“Joy is the feeling of grinning inside.”
Melba Colgrove
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Button, button

Did everyone have a happy Mother’s Day?   
Did you get a nice gift for your mother?
Or did you make a nice gift for your mother?
That’s me, making the gift.  At least it was once I finally decided what I was going to make.
I had an idea but the reality was very illusive. I tried several things before the light came on and then, just like that, it came together.    

So much simpler than what I started with, too.  The butterfly is out of Oren Bayan size 8 thread, the flowers out of miscellaneous Lizbeth thread that I made while cleaning off shuttles. (Anyone else have a container full of flowers and other doodles?) I added a pinback to it so she can wear it.  She wore it pinned on her hat to church on Sunday. 
I liked the way it came out so well I made a couple more.
                                                                                                       
And then tried the idea with a few different buttons.
These were a lot of fun to make.
And aren’t these great buttons?  The local fiber shop, Odd Balls Yarn Shop, has a lot of cool buttons to choose from.

 June 15 and 22 I’m scheduled to give beginning tatting classes at Odd Balls and plan on having each student decorate buttons with tatting.  Simple tatting with a fun result don’t you think?
If anyone local out there is interested in taking one of those classes check out Odd Balls website at http://www.oddballsyarnshop.com/ or stop in the shop. It’s in the Chisholm Trail Shopping Mall just south of Newton, Kansas.   I’d love to see you there. 
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
Mahatma Gandhi
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Marking time

I’ve been tatting all week and have very little to show for it.  Okay, I’ve been tatting but only for short stretches at a time.  That I accomplished anything is wonderful!
I’ve made two simple bookmarks.   One is made with Lizbeth # 166 Pink Cocoa in size 40. I’ve had it on my shuttles for doing the zipper pulls and was trying to work it off.  It didn’t look like there was that much on them!  But it’s size 40 and I’ve been working a lot with size 20 so I was fooled into thinking it was almost gone.

The other one is made with Oren Bayan Perele cotton size 8 in the brown-to-tan variegated and a deep green also in size 8 Perele cotton by Oren Bayan.  I think it would make a lovely gift to a man as it’s in woodsy colors, kind of manly.

 It seems we know a lot of people graduating from either college or high school.  I’m glad bookmarks work up quickly and fit well into cards 🙂  I’ve been working a bit on Mother’s Day gifts as well as graduation gifts and several birthday gifts.  Now if I can just make progress on them!
I haven’t even touched my vest this week.  Still thinking about it though.
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
Maria Robinson
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Zipping along

Or would that be ‘pulling along’ if you’re making zipper pulls?
Or maybe they’re stitch markers. Stitching along?
Whatever they may be I made them this week.  
 Lizbeth #166 Pink Cocoa in size 40
I even glued a bead in the center.  We’ll see how long it lasts 🙂
Oren Bayan Perle Kotton size 8
These were fun to make and the ladies at open stitch at Odd Balls really liked them.  It’s always a plus for me when other people like what I’ve made – not the be-all, end-all, but definitely a plus. 
I have been working on my vest but don’t have anything I want to share yet.  The collar went fast and made me happy, the body not so much.  I’ve made several tries but am not that excited about any of them.  I’ll keep at it until it works.
IsDihara, over at Ambitatterous, is having a drizzly day.  She shared some of the beautiful flowers in her neighborhood from the last week.  Looks lovely!  Here in Kansas we are having a wonderful day – sunshine and temperatures in the 80’s (F) though the wind is blowing about 25 mph with gusts a bit more.  But for here it’s a great day!  Until tomorrow when it’s supposed to be much cooler with rain and possible storms.  I think the snow is supposed to stay up in the northwest corner of the state though.  
“Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”
Napoleon Hill
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Trying new thread

Odd Balls Yarn Shop is now carrying Oren Bayan Koton Perle size 8 thread.  My sister brought me a ball of it in a brown-to-tan variegated, color #187 (I think) to try.

I quickly tatted up this cross bookmark to try it out.  It’s soft wound – as expected – so you don’t want to make too many mistakes, but otherwise very nice to tat with, very easy on the hands. 
I stopped by the store later to check out the colors.  They have about a dozen right now but I understand it comes in 71 colors and they can get all of them, you just have to tell them.  The colors they have on the shelf are very pretty, very enticing!  Oooo, pretty thread right here within arms reach any time I come in – this could be dangerous (to my pocketbook!)
Is anyone else out there ready for spring to really be here?  We’ve had nice weather, then bad weather, cold weather – lots of cold weather – all since spring supposedly arrived.  Monday (April 22) we had heavy rain and wind, Tuesday we had snow.  Snow!  This broke the record in Wichita, KS for the latest measurable snowfall (measurable = at least .1 inch) with .2 inches.  The record was .1″  on April 20, 1889.  
 
I WANT A LITTLE WARMER WEATHER!
This year I am actually planning on planting flowers but the weather hasn’t exactly been right for it. We did start a garden by putting in onions and potatoes, and the onions are up. It’s been too muddy for me to go check on the potatoes, the onions we can see from a distance. This is the first time in about 20 years that we’ve attempted a garden of any sort, and we’re not off to a good start. 
“Sometimes I wish that I was the weather, you’d bring me up in conversation forever.  And when it rained, I’d be the talk of the day.”
John Mayer
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A bigger project

I have started a big project just for me.  I’ve been thinking about trying this for a long time but there has always been other project/ideas that seemed more important.  
Garden 10 Nazli Gelin in size 10 white

The beginning.  The collar of a vest. 

It has evolved a bit since I started, due to a fortuitous miscalculation.  A decision in stitch count for one row, which put more curve to it than planned,  then changing at that particular place to see if it worked better.  Hmm, that looked pretty good.  Repeated the extra stitches on the other end which gave it a nice shape that I hadn’t planned but looks like it might work very well.  Time will tell.
Have you seen the tutorial that Kathy has made on interlocking rings? I’ve given it a quick try and admit I haven’t quite got it.  I’m pretty sure I’m rushing it instead of taking it slow.  My bad.  I will try again, hopefully with a little more care and a lot less rushing.

“Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss, you’ll land among the starts.”
Les Brown.

I had this almost completely ready last week but got caught up in all the things that have been happening both in Boston and in Texas.  My prayers go out to all that have been affected by these tragedies.

Two Bracelets

I finished the bracelet I was working on last week and another one as well – will wonders never cease?

Both are made with Lizbeth Caribbean #122 in size 20.   Well, the shuttles weren’t empty yet so I might as well use it, right?

This one is the same pattern as the green one I made a couple of weeks ago. 
This one has silver, six-pointed findings instead of buttons.  When I started it I thought I would have to go around a second time because I didn’t think I’d like it like it was.  That was when I was just doing the first side.  When I got around to the other side I decided I liked it as it was.   Originally I was going to make each end like the first bracelet but when I got to that point I had another idea to use findings there as well.  I think it came out pretty well.  My sister is quite fond of this colorway and would have taken both off my hands immediately when I showed them to her.
I’ve not been on the Internet much lately and am way behind on reading blogs.  It just seems like there is always something going on that keeps me busy.  I’m hoping to do a little catching up in the next few days, but I’m not holding my breath.  The good news is that I’m still finding time to tat!
We’ve had some beautiful spring weather here – sunny then cloudy then rain and lightning.  Then today we get up to cloudy skies but nice temperatures, about 75º F up ’til about 3:00 PM. That’s when the cold front came in from the northwest.  It dropped 20º in about 20 minutes.  Yes, it is really spring in Kansas.
“You can’t get mad at weather because weather’s not about you.  Apply that lesson to most other aspects of life.”
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#9 – I think

In my current 25 Motif Challenge
I’ve been making things, even challenging things, but haven’t been counting them for the Challenge.  I looked  through my previous posts and I think I’m ready for #9.  
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
 Lizbeth #626 Shell Pink Light size 20

The center of this piece is made of stone.  I picked several up at Odd Balls Yarn Shop in Newton, KS.  Each of them is unique in coloration because they are stone.  I used this shade of thread because the stone has the same shade in it.  But then the whole thing looked really washed out against all the backgrounds that I tried it on even though the thread and stone look great together.  Then I tried it against this button, which I also got from Odd Balls. This button is almost the length of a Clover shuttle across (I was going to take the picture with a shuttle beside it and forgot) – a very large button.  I’m going to glue the tatting to the button and try it as a pendant.  Or maybe a brooch.  I’ll get back to you on that.

Lizbeth #122 Caribbean size 20

My daughter has returned a verdict on the bracelet I gave her to try – she likes it.  The only trouble she’s had is the closure, so that might have to change.  But as the overall bracelet works I’ve started another, this time with purple buttons.  I’m liking the looks of this one.   I also picked up some new buttons that I think would look really cute in a bracelet.  Now to pick out just the right color thread for each.  A challenge I look forward to!

“A challenge only becomes an obstacle when you bow to it.”
Ray Davis

Hat Medallion

I was given several very thin metal findings – ‘doodads’ – to see what I could come up with.  This is my first try.  The outside came easy enough but I kept wondering what to do with the center, which has a small hole. My solution, at least this time, is two rings, the larger on the bottom.  The tails of the two rings are threaded through the bead then through the hat to hold the medallion on.  The doodad is so thin it bends easily so I’m thinking maybe putting a button on the inside to help keep it from bending when wearing the hat.  
Lizbeth # 652 Royal Blue size 20
I put it on the side of the hat but I’m not sure it’s positioned quite right yet.  I think I’ll have to put the hat on a head to be able to see where it looks the best. 
Lizbeth #144 Leaf Swirl size 20

I’ve had the idea for while to make a bracelet with buttons and finally found a combination of buttons and thread that I like.   I’ve given this to one of my daughters to try out for awhile.  She has instructions to let me know what she thinks of it, what works and what doesn’t.  She hasn’t got back to me about it yet though I’m anxiously waiting.  I have some other, really cute buttons I would like to do this to but if there is something I should do differently I’d like to know before I start.

It’s funny, for as many hearts as I did for Valentine’s Day I haven’t done a thing for Easter.  I guess it’s still a few days away, I could still get something made…

Thank you to all of you who asked after my mom.  She is doing very well and is back home.  She does have some in-home care and a neighbor who checks in frequently so I’m not too concerned about her being alone.    She did spend a few days in rehab to get some of her strength back, which also relieved my sister and I.  We were afraid she would try to go straight home from the hospital.  This situation could have been a lot worse.  We are very grateful of how well things are working out and how well she is getting along.

“We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does.  Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining – they just shine.”
Dwight L. Moody
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