Never Too Old for Candy Corn!

Today was the day - the Palmetto Tatters met at the Lexington County Museum!  The lesson was Martha Ess' Candy Corn pattern - check it out, along with other fun and cute patterns, in her book Holidays On The Block.  The Candy Corn was tatted in pairs for earrings.  It was a fun pattern and so nice to sit and tat with friends!

The edging for the hanky is progressing nicely.  Considering that I only started it a few days ago - and I've only been able to work on it during lunchtime until today - I think I've made a fair amount of progress on it.  I'm within two inches of turning the next corner!

Green Thread, Come Home - All Is Forgiven!

 ...maybe.   Not happy with you right now...



Despite the shadows all over the place, it's still a very
pretty edging.  I really like this green - it's a light sage.



Remember the green thread I had wound CTM onto two shuttles, and couldn't decide what I wanted to tat with it?  I had finally decided -- a nice little edging by MK, named "Forget-me-not."  That was the plan, all right -- and I started the edging right after we got back from Toccoa, and have been working on it during my lunch breaks.  I noticed that Shuttle 1 was running out of thread very quickly - - and I would probably have to add thread before I turned the next corner.

Except the ball of green I was using is now nowhere to be found!



I think the size 30 is going to be a better "fit" with the
hanky - probably even smaller thread would be
better, but I have to be able to see it to tat it!

Frustration!  I tried a few other shades of green but didn't like them as well.  Then I ran across a ball of variegated green...in size 30...and wound off one yard for each shuttle.  I tatted as far as I could and found that:

• Shuttle 2 uses about 1/3 the thread that Shuttle 1 uses
• I can tat about 1.5 inches of the pattern, and have about 2.25 inches of Shuttle 1 thread left and plenty on Shuttle 2

The only thing I don't like about this thread is the brand - it's Omega.  I haven't had a lot of good luck with Omega; two different edgings, from two different balls of size 30, in two different colorways, had weak spots and broke.  I'm going to try it, but if it starts breaking, I'll be "auditioning" thread again!

Weekend Getaway!

...and a wonderful time was had by us!  We needed a break - so I have been saving up money, a little at a time.  And I'm not kidding, either - a nickel here, a dime there - whatever change I could scrounge up (or find on the sidewalk!) - and taking canned soup for lunch every day for two months.  I "casually" mentioned to D that it would be nice to take a long weekend and go somewhere - say, Friday, July 8 through Sunday, July 10 - and he agreed.  I jumped on that and asked him to pick a destination and be sure to ask for the time off.



I had several suggestions for him, but he knew his own mind - and he picked Toccoa, Georgia.  Does that name sound familiar?  It's where the Palmetto Tatters Guild held our annual tatting convention in 2010, and will again this year (and next).  I asked where he would like to stay - I could make reservations at any number of inexpensive (cheap) motels, or a hotel, or The Simmons-Bond Inn (a lovely B&B right in town).  He said whatever I thought was best, so I went for the B&B!



Elizabeth's cake models
displayed on the piano



It's a lovely old home - a 20-room mansion built in 1903, the proprietors offer five different guest rooms (each with private bath).  Breakfast is phenomenal and will keep you going until well into the afternoon!  Elizabeth does the cooking and baking, hubby Ron books guests and does general maintenance, Todd (Elizabeth's dad) served our breakfast each day ("Hello, I'm Todd, and I'll be your waitress today") with good humor and panache, and Sheila kept everything tidy.  Rounding out the staff were Elizabeth and Ron's daughters, Chloe (age 10 and a really nice kid) and Rosie (4 months and a doll-baby).



Stained-glass window
over the staircase



All the guest rooms are named after women in the family; we stayed in the "Tiffany" room.  Each room is decorated and furnished differently with lovely antique furniture (mostly purchased from auctions).  After breakfast, any guests who care to may hear some history of the house courtesy of Todd (who is quite a good storyteller).  We really enjoyed our stay - we stayed two nights with them - and plan to go again later in the year, after Tat Days but (hopefully) before snow starts to fall!



Toccoa Falls



We didn't do much in Toccoa - too blasted HOT!  The B&B is blessedly air-conditioned, though, so we mostly hung around there.  We did go to Toccoa Falls once - D took the walk and the picture while I sat inside the gift shop, admiring their cold A/C and talking about knitting with the young lady at the cash register!



One thing I did do is look through the two Mary Konior books I took with me.  I tried a few patterns, and have decided on her "Forget-Me-Not" edging.  Here is a sample I tatted out of some thread that was left on two shuttles.  I did adjust her corner to my tatting, as well as the small chains before and after the flowers.  Her original pattern is at the lower right; the long side on the left shows the changes I made.  The pattern is in A Pattern Book of Tatting, on page 28.  More on what I'm tatting it for later!

And why did we go this weekend in particular?  Because tomorrow is a special day for us, and Mondays are so busy for both of us, it might be tough for both of us to get away tomorrow.  July 11 is our 35th wedding anniversary!  Elizabeth gifted us with sparkling apple juice and an assortment of her beautifully decorated cupcakes - yummy!  It was a wonderful weekend!

Back Again!

It's been a very busy month!  We've had a lot going on at work, and by the time I get home, it's tough to find a brain cell that hasn't fainted from exhaustion.  Both my daughter and my granddaughter had their birthdays this month, and present-shopping can be challenging!  My granddaughter is now six, and we try to restrain ourselves from going overboard on birthday and Christmas gifts - we do quite a few "no special reason" gifts during the year, though, so I'm sure she doesn't feel deprived!  What she really wants, though, are...

TATTING SHUTTLES!  Pink shuttles -- blue shuttles -- all for her very own.  And I, doting grandma that I am, have prepared - I have quite a few shuttles waiting for her!

 

However...because they have pointy ends, and because she's still in that slightly klutzy childhood stage (I'm hoping to grow out of mine soon), her parents (neither of whom can tat) have decreed that the pretty shuttles and thread must wait for her to "grow up a little more."  So...the pretty shuttles are waiting for her, as is the sewing box I got for her to keep them in.

The Sound of Silence! (Not Quite...)

I heard birdsong this morning - - just birdsong without the accompaniment of "the phaser on overload."  Yep, the cicadas are done until 2024!  The birds have enjoyed them immensely as have the lizards (which DH calls skinks - don't know if there's a difference, or if it's just another name for the same critter..).  Doesn't really matter -- the cicadas have gone for a long while!

In the meantime, if anyone wants something to remember them by, check out The Two Old Bags & Beaded Palm Studio - they have earrings made from cicada wings!  This is their Facebook page - unfortunately, their website (and even their email account) got hacked, so the best way to reach them at this time is Facebook. 

DEAL OF THE WEEK:  Check out this Stanley 19" toolbox, found on clearance at Lowe's, for $5.59!  It only comes in black with yellow trim, but you can always decorate it if you want to!  It has a removable carry-around tray, and the bottom is deep.  I have several of the 5-compartment plastic utility boxes in two different sizes, and four will stack with room to spare.  I also have several of the plastic school boxes (about the size of a cardboard cigar box) purchased at Big Lots for 88 cents), and three will fit, slid in sideways (hinge on the school box on the bottom of the Stanley box).  And there's still more room!  The yellow lids on the box lid flip up to reveal a double compartment - each will hold one of the small Whitman's tins!  I've put lots of odds & ends into it and as I run across stray shuttles, I'll add them to the collection. 

I had a wonderful salad for supper this evening, and I'm thinking that I hear a donut calling my name from the kitchen.  Yes, I know it's at the other end of the house, but donut song travels far!  Our DD dropped in this morning bearing a dozen from the new donut shop here in Greenwood, and there are plenty left.  Maybe...a donut for breakfast as well?!

Today is May 30, and it's Memorial Day here in the US.  Technically, it's still Spring -- but no one seems to have explained that to the sun, as it's hot here.  As in Summertime temperatures.  As in HOT.

I've been tatting when I can find some cool (usually at work, at lunchtime), but don't have any show-and-tell just yet.  And now I have a new project - a new hankie to edge!  Lace-Lovin' Librarian had a hankie give-away recently - she put pictures of those to be given away on her blog, and the first one to ask for a particular hankie would receive it.  I asked for this one, and it came the other day in the mail -- what a wonderful piece of mail to find in the box when I got home!

Although I haven't decided yet on what pattern to use (there are so many!  And they're all so pretty!), I was thinking of using a green to complement the pink rose.  I had wound two shuttles a month (or two...or three) ago and hadn't tatted anything - they're still waiting - and the thread is a lovely, soft green.  I think it looks nice with the rose -- what do you think? 

In other news, I attended the "Country to the Bone" event in Ninety Six on Saturday.  The day started out heavily overcast and humid, but not blazing hot.  The crowd (including vendors) wasn't large - probably because Ware Shoals had their Catfish Feastival the same day.  The Feastival has been going on for well over 20 years, and this was the first time for the "Country" event, so I'm thinking that's the reason.  I took tatting to demo, but nobody seemed interested.  DH was crushed - he loves it when people come up to me and ask what I'm doing.  He had to cover the event for his newspaper, the Star-Beacon, and that's why we didn't get to go off this weekend - he had to work. 

And I guess it's just as well - the toilet threw up today and there's that to mop up, and the plumber to call in.  We're debating whether we can hold off and call the plumber tomorrow, when it's not a holiday, and the rate is back to its usual arm-and-a-half instead of today's holiday rate of arm-and-a-leg.  We do have the upstairs bathroom, so we'll probably wait.  My knees are not going to be happy about climbing the stairs, though!

"Where is This Year's Angel?!" (Part 2)

Then…I found the angel!

As so often happens (at least to me), I ran across a PDF of the angel pattern while I was looking for something else.  I would have liked to have had the Word document, but, hey, I was grateful for the PDF!  At least I had something to work from!

I tatted one by the pattern I had written sometime last fall, and wrote out corrections on the hard copy as I went.  One thing I did remember to do was to use two different colors of thread in my test tat - a wonderful suggestion made to me by my friend (and yours), Jane Eborall.  By using different colors, you know at a glance which part of the pattern was made with which shuttle; this makes writing the pattern so much easier.

I left it up to the Guild - I can submit this next year or we can substitute it for one of the others.  The decision was made - it is official - the Snow Angel is in this year, and I'l submit the bracelet again next year. 

This year, here is what I'm teaching: the fob (shown here on one of my several pairs of scissors), the beaded star, the angel, and two snowflakes. 

The snowflakes are the same pattern with a difference of four double stitches; their placement, which the tatter decides, determines the finished look. 

The star is ring-and-chain, but tatting a split chain will keep you from having to hide the ends. 

The fob is a fun challenge - it uses the same technique as last year's dragonfly chatelaine pin, but with beads added. 

The angel (trust me, the picture does NOT do her justice) has a regular safety pin encapsulated - or you can leave it out for an ornament or applique.

I can't wait for Tat Days 2011 - Tatting in a Winter Wonderland!!!  Hope to see you there!!!