‘Twas the Tuesday before Christmas…

And all through the house,
Everyone was stirring,
Even the mouse!


It’s just a few days before Christmas and there still seems to be so much to do! That last little gift needs to be wrapped, the final snowflake needs to be finished, the last bit of shopping to do. Is there anyone I forgot?
These are a few of the last snowflakes I’ve been making to give to close friends and family. They take that little bit of extra time to put them in the ring, so mostly they’ll be given Christmas Eve or Christmas day. Most of them are not “Christmas-y” in color, so could be hung out all year. Yeah, yeah, they’re not too late. Really.

And this one is an oopsie. I started the center while we were driving (not me, I was the passenger!) and got a little distracted. I finished the center and had started the outside when I noticed things were not going together like they were supposed to. Then I realized I hadn’t made the correct number of picots in the center. *Uh oh!* But, as I was already started on the outside, I just went with it. Okay, it’s not fancy or anything, but I don’t think it’s a waste of thread. It has a nice, frilly look. I think it’s a keeper.

We’re going to have a full house for the next week. My daughter from D.C. and her family are flying in tomorrow evening. There was a chance the weather here would be bad, but now they’re saying the worst is going to miss us. For once I’m glad they are saying that, here at least, we’re probably not going to have a white Christmas, or at least the Wednesday before Christmas won’t be! I don’t want them delayed or stranded. The airport in D.C. has dug it’s way out of all the snow they had, I would hate to have them fly into another snowbound airport!

Our other daughter is local so doesn’t have to worry about travel so much. They’ll be coming out on Christmas Eve and then again Christmas night. Both grandsons to play with and spoil (only a little!) oh, boy!! :- )

Over the next few days we will be having several family get-togethers, the church program and an anniversary party. Lots of family and friends to be with, plenty of food to eat, and oodles of love to share. It’s going to be a wonderful Christmas!

I hope that all of you have a joyous Christmas, spend time with those you love, and be safe in all of your travels. I saw a wonderful quote the other day that I’ll leave you with:

“May Peace be your gift at Christmas and a blessing throughout the year.” author Unknown

Tatting Tea Tuesday December 15, 2009


I’m still doing snowflakes. I have a couple of other things I should be doing, but I just don’t seem to get started! Oh, well. Everything will get done, or it won’t. I think I’ll have another cup of tea and try not to worry about it.

Last time I told you about an old snowflake that I had found and showed a modified version of it. Today I have the old one, and a couple of modified ones. No, the old one didn’t get a bath (another of those things I was going to do and never got started). It’s the one on the bottom right. You can see the difference between the old and the new. I like the old one, I just don’t want to have that many ends to hide!

We’ve had a very busy week around the house and with family. It seems that there are always at least two different things we should be doing at any given time. And it’s not just getting ready for Christmas, it’s the everyday things. Sometimes I just have to slow down and take a breath. And make choices as to what gets done and what doesn’t. So this is going to be very short today.

I hope everyone is having a safe and happy holiday season. Enjoy your families, remember the reason for the season, and have a Merry Christmas!

A Snowy Tatting Tea Tuesday

It’s snowing!
Okay, sometimes it’s sleeting and then sometimes it’s raining – but then it’s snowing!
There’s only a couple of inches on the ground right now, though they are predicting that we’ll get a couple more before the night is over. Farther south, where I work, they got more ice than snow. Which will make it fun getting to and from work. Just looking out the window at all that snow makes me think of Christmas-y things but it also makes me cold. So I made myself a nice, hot cup of green tea and sat back for a few minutes to tat.
This week I found a snowflake I made some years ago (I don’t know how many, but I’m thinking at least 10). It has some yellow spots and isn’t quite the cleanest because it was in the bottom of the the box of Christmas decorations. It is an interesting pattern in that it has a lot of ends to hide. Looking it over I couldn’t see how to make it without all those ends. But I liked the look so modified it a bit. The two on the right are what I came up with. They are made with Lizbeth color 102 (I think it’s Western Sunset) in size 20. One was made with SCMRs and one with two shuttles. Can you tell which one is which? I’m counting these two as my 4th motif in my second round of the 25 Motif Challenge.


I didn’t post a picture of the original because I got in a hurry and forgot to take a picture of it. I’ll try to share it later, maybe after it gets a bath.

The one on the left I designed in September.
It’s done in the same thread as the others and I think it looks pretty good in this color. I’ve been going back and forth between white snowflakes and colorful snowflakes. I’ll empty my shuttles of one and try another and then back to white. There is just something about a white snowflake, no matter how pretty they look in colors, that appeals to me.

I think I’ll check outside now and see if there is more of the real thing coming down!

Wishing everyone a blessed and joyous Christmas season.

Secret Santa Exchange

At InTatters we had a Secret Santa exchange. The person you were sending to didn’t know who you were and they weren’t the one you were getting a package from. As this is through the mail it’s a little hard to be anonymous when you sent it, but they wouldn’t know who you were until they got your package. I’d never done an exchange like this before and it was fun!

Among other things, I sent my partner this Christmas-colored doily. I can post now as I know that she received it. I think it looks pretty good in these colors as well as the fall colors I did it in last time. This went to Tarie in Arizona. I hope she likes it 🙂

These wonderful items are what I received from My Secret Santa.
IcePrincess from Germany sent me all these wonderful things. There is a handmade shuttle with blue leaves, a Celtic style cross bookmark, a wooden “W” on a keyring, and some beautiful red/blue/purple beads. The card has a hand made paper seal with an angel on it. Thank you so much IcePrincess, I love what you sent to me! A very lovely way to start the Christmas season.

There was some debate on InTatters if we should wait ’til Christmas to open our packages. It was obvious that most of us didn’t wait, or want to wait! It would be rude not to let the ‘Santa” know that you received and liked what you got, wouldn’t it??? Well, I think so! Besides, I think most of us still have that little kid inside that doesn’t want to wait!

This exchange has really gotten me into the Christmas spirit and gotten me motivated to put out the Christmas tree and decorate the house. And start playing the Christmas music! I love to sing along to the carols and songs that I know.

Wishing all of you a wonderful and blessed Christmas season!

Tatting Tea Tuesday with snowflakes

Do any of these look familiar? They should.
What, I’m showing pictures of the same ones over again?
No. Well, except for one that was half finished the last time.
I invite you to make yourself a cup of tea, take up your tatting and sit back while I explain myself.

This is the time of year that I try to make snowflakes to go in my Christmas cards. Yes, I should of had most of them done by now, but I never do. It seems I have to really get in the Christmas mood before I can get into gear to make them. So, sometime after Thanksgiving. Okay, to make enough of them for the cards. Before this I have a hard time buckling down to do this as there are so many things that would be so wonderful to make for gifts or new patterns to try or… Well, you get the picture. Distractions. But about now I realize that if I don’t get with it, they don’t get done!

The trick to getting them made quickly, at least for me, is to make the same ones over and over. That way I don’t have to keep referring to a pattern and I know exactly what I have to take with me to tat on the go. It sometimes seems that I don’t have to do a lot of thinking about them while I’m tatting, either. My mind can move on to other things, like what am I going to get the grandsons for Christmas. (Or, what am I going to limit myself to getting for the grandsons!) And then I get done however many get done.

In the spirit of snowflakes, Christmas and giving, I’m posting the pattern for the larger snowflake. It’s for all of you, but especially Tatskool, as she asked for it. As always, I’m the only one that’s made it yet, so the pattern may have a few oopsies in it. Please watch out for them and let me know if any of them get you.

September 2009 Snowflake
2 shuttles
R=ring; Ch=chain; – = picot, the longer the line, the longer the picot; +=join; RW=reverse work; DNRW=do not reverse work; . =close; Sht1=shuttle 1; Sht2=shuttle 2; SR= split ring

Center
R 2-2-2-2-2-2 climb out of R with mock picot. (Alternate: finish with -2, cut and tie.)

Inside
SR Sht1 3, Sht2 3. RW (Alternate:start Inside with Sht1 R 3+3 to a p of Center.)
Sht1 Ch 2-2 RW
*R 3+3 to next p of center. RW
Ch 5-2–2—2–2-5 RW
R 3+3 to same p of center. RW
Ch 2-2 RW*
Repeat between * 4 times then

R 3+3 to next p of center. RW
Ch 5-2–2—2–2-5
Join to base of SR

Outside
Sht1 R 3+3 to 5th p of last Ch of Inside. DNRW
R 3+3 to p of next Ch of Inside. DNRW
R 3+3 to 1st p of next Ch of Inside. RW
Ch 5-6-2–2-6 DNRW
Sht2 R 3-2–2—2–2-3. DNRW
Sht1 Ch 6-2–2-6-5
#R 3+3 to 5th p of same Ch of Inside. DNRW
R 3+3 to p of next Ch of Inside. DNRW
R 3+3 to 1st p of next Ch of Inside. RW
Ch 5+6-2–2-6 to last p of prev Ch DNRW
Sht2 R 3-2-2—2–2-3. DNRW
Sht1 Ch 6-2–2-6-5 RW#
Repeat between # 4 times then
Ch 6-2–2—2–2-6+5 to 1st p of 1st Ch of Outside.
Join to base of 1st R.

Good luck! And if any body makes one, I’d love to hear about it!

‘Sunflower’ doily

Earlier this year I designed a small doily that I call Arches over Arches. For my blogoversary giveaway I made the doily in Lizbeth Falling Leaves size 20. This thread has such a wonderful fall look. I was then inspired to put a brown center in it.

And this is how it turned out.

Doesn’t it remind you of a sunflower?

I hadn’t posted this earlier because I wanted to make sure the winner of my giveaway – Trayna – had received it before I shared it here. It was hard to wait! I really like how this turned out : )

And now fall is almost over and it’s time to think of Christmas and winter weather.
Today is supposed to be the last really nice day for awhile. Sunny, not too windy and pleasant temperatures. After today the temperatures will return to a more normal range – in the 40’s – so we are planning to put out our Christmas lights this morning. Not that we put out a lot of lights, but I would much rather do this when the weather is mild and then enjoy them when it’s cold and snowy!

And then it’s back to tatting snowflakes. Between the colder weather and the Christmas lights, it should really get me feeling festive!

Thanksgiving is here, and then comes Christmas

Yesterday, as I was getting home from work (late, late) I realized I had missed having tea with everyone for Tatting Tea Tuesday. It didn’t dawn on me until then that it was even Tuesday! I’m sorry I missed it! I hope every one had a nice cup of tea and enjoyed a little tatting.

Here in the States tomorrow is Thanksgiving, also commonly known as turkey day because the traditional main meal of the day is centered around a turkey, be it roasted, fried or smoked. I don’t want to forget the reason for this holiday, which is to remember all the things we have to be thankful for and give thanks for them. I’m very thankful for my wonderful family – the kids, the aunts and uncles, cousins, parents, and of course, my very loving husband. I’m thankful for the great friends that we have, many of them so close as to be like family themselves. Even though I’ve been known to complain about the long hours that we’ve had to work this year, I’m very thankful that I have a job during this time when many people don’t. And I’m very thankful for the Internet, that I can share my love of tatting with people no matter how far away from me they are and meet new friends that share that same passion. I have much to be thankful for!

After Thanksgiving comes Christmas, very close around the corner. Among other things, I’ve been working on snowflakes. I try to send one in each of my Christmas cards to close friends and family, and make it different every year. This year I’m working on these two. The finished multi-colored snowflake is made with a pattern I’ve posted about previously here . I’ll probably put it in a bangle for people I hand deliver cards to, but probably not for the ones I’ll mail, as I’m not sure it would mail nicely.

The white one is new this year, too. I very much like the looks of this one, and it’s pretty quick and easy to make. I’m trying it in the multi-colored thread as well. At least on this background it’s not showing up as well as I’d like. I’ve found that I love the look of this thread, but what background to use for pictures? The white one is made in DMC size 20, the others in Lizbeth Christmas Delight size 20. I’m counting the white snowflake as my third motif in my second round of the 25 Motif Challenge.

I got a nice surprise from my mother yesterday. She’s been doing a lot of cleaning, getting rid of things she doesn’t use or need any more. She found a stack of old Workbasket magazines that she gave to me for the tatting patterns! These are mostly from 1987 and 1988, with one from 1989. Isn’t she sweet to think of me? She was concerned I already had different patterns for some of the things in them – cross bookmark, hearts, etc. – until I explained to her that wasn’t a problem. Who wouldn’t want a variety of edgings, bookmarks, hearts, and the like?

I remember back in the day when the Workbasket was one place you could find tatting patterns. There weren’t nearly the amount of books available as there are now, and no Internet to find patterns on-line. Of course, the patterns are written in long hand, so can be somewhat hard to follow. But, hey, in those days I didn’t complain because this was all I knew, and who would I complain to? I didn’t know any other tatters! I did make a few notes here and there in my short hand – much closer to how a lot of patterns are written now! One more thing to be thankful for 🙂

Wishing all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Home again, home again, jiggety jig – with butterflies and snow

We made it home at last, in time for Tatting Tea Tuesday. I say it that way because who doesn’t sleep better in their own bed? I had a wonderful time in Washington, DC and loved the visit with my daughter and her family. Though I didn’t get to see a lot of the sights of the area – at least up close and personal – it was an enjoyable vacation, too. But it is nice to be home again.

For the last two weeks the tatting I’ve gotten done has been in a limited number of colors because I didn’t take a large variety of thread. I really didn’t anticipate getting a lot done. Which I didn’t. What I did get done was simple patterns that I didn’t have to concentrate on too much. Between taking care of the grandson (ooh, so sweet!) and meeting new people (daughters’ in-laws), seeing the area, and then the long trip home, my mind wasn’t into thinking hard. So what has been posted and these few butterflies and the heart are the entire amount of tatting I’ve done in two weeks.

The heart is again Tracy’s Heart by Heather, done in Lizbeth thread size 20 black and Victorian Red. I used two shuttles and adjusted the pattern just a little so the bottom ring was in black instead of red.

The butterflies are based on a pattern by Monica Mancenido, aka soyloquesoy, found on Intatters. It’s a simple little butterfly with a simple little stitch count. I decided to make it, but wasn’t on-line and hadn’t really checked the stitch count. So what I got are the butterflies you see. The one top left is the closest to her original pattern – not quite, but close – and then the top right with a lot of picots on the outside. The two bottom ones I added the thrown off ring for a head as well as more picots. They are all done in Falling Leaves Lizbeth size 20. Another cute way to use the last of the thread on a shuttle.

I’m enjoying a nice cup of hot tea today (mint), much needed as the weather is pretty chilly. The thermometer says it’s 39 degrees F but it’s gray and cold-looking outside. The last few days in Washington were wet with the tail end of Ida causing lots of rain but they are now enjoying nice, sunny weather. We come home to snow flurries and rain. Ahh *sipping tea* but it is nice to be home, no matter the weather.

Tatting Tea Tuesday with IsDihara

I’m still here in Washington, DC, with my daughter and her family. Shortly after I got here I received an email from IsDihara. As she lives close by, she asked if I’d like to me her. !!! Of course! To meet another tatter and one who blogs as well – oh, yeah!

We didn’t meet right away because I was here to help my daughter after she had surgery. By this week she was feeling much better and ready to get out of the house. So I emailed IsDihara and we arranged to me at the Potomac Mills Mall. And on Tuesday, no less!

Here we are, IsDihara on the left, me on the right, having a cup of tea. As neither of us knew what the other looked like it was like, how will we know who the other is? As I knew we (my daughter, her baby and my husband) were there first I figured the easiest way to let her know that it was me was to pull out my shuttles. So there we sat, in the food court of the mall, me tatting away. She had no trouble finding me!

I was so glad we could meet! As my daughter said to me later, IsDihara and I could have spent all afternoon talking. And she brought me the prize I won from her Halloween giveaway! How fortuitous is that!
Isn’t this pretty? This isn’t the best picture – it’s wonderful in person. It has a tatted pumpkin edging around it and the front has a pumpkin. Check out her blog Ambitatterous, I think her picture is better.

It was a great afternoon, a wonderful Tatting Tea Tuesday!

I have gotten a little tatting done. As I’m away from home I only have a few colors to work with so I’ve been doing a lot in the Lizbeth Falling Leaves in size 20. These two butterflies are my pattern, with Lizbeth size 20 black as the body and the edging. The heart is Tracy’s Heart, by Heather from The Tarnished Tatter, in the same threads. This heart is easy to do and will come in handy for notes and letters and such.

This has been a great week here with my daughter and her family. And a little extra bonus meeting another tatting blogger! And I’ve even seen a little of Washington – more tomorrow, I hope!

Happy Tatting everyone!

Adventures in Traveling

On my trip to Washington, DC I had to change planes at O’Hare airport in Chicago. I’d never been there before. I was fortunate to have enough time to get from one terminal to the other without rushing. I just followed the signs and had no trouble finding the other gate.

It’s amazing what you’ll find in airports. I certainly didn’t expect what I saw. And I just had to take a picture.
This was by the gift kiosk for the museum. Pretty cool, isn’t it? It was a surprise to me!
I’ve gotten very little tatted this week. I’ve been chasing a little boy for a week – makes it a little hard to tat! I have taken a little time during his naps and such to get a little work done but nothing that takes a lot of concentration in case I have to put it down suddenly. I’ll take some pictures in the next day or so of what I’ve gotten done and post later.
The sun has finally come out here in DC, and the temperatures are supposed to be a little warmer, too. We’re hoping to go to park today. Oh, boy, that will be fun!