Update

This is going to be a short, boring post, but I figure I owe it to anyone who is reading my blog.

The last few weeks have been a combination of "YAY!" and "OH CRAP!" since we announced our pregnancy to the world and have undertaken the opening of a brand new yarn store in our area, pretty much simultaneously. The store should open in 2-3 weeks, which means that I'm spending every waking moment making decisions on how to spend our hard-earned money on shelves, insurance, rent, and yarn.

I sincerely apologize that I won't be on here again for probably another month, but I can guarantee once things slow down a bit that I will have plenty of interesting updates, especially about the store. Well, probably about our baby once he's born in March, too.

Many blessings to you all!
Joy

Burgandy necklace

As promised, nothing original, just different colors. This is Lizbeth size 20 also, and the bead is Magnesite.

I have no new or interesting plans... just trying some of these ideas in different colors and with different stones.

My next will be a beige with lapis stones. Inverse of the blue necklaces I have been doing recently. Sorry this isn't too exciting, I'm just plugging away. Any suggestions or comments, I'd love to hear them!

Monday madness... 23, 24, & 25!

I had a very productive weekend, mostly because the hubby decided to watch a lot of football. Football for him equals tatting for me (while sitting next to him, of course!). So I have a few new "edging" necklaces to show. I think this will complete the first 25 motif challenge for me, which is super exciting. So without further ado,

 Here is the first. Of course, I stuck with the blue Lizbeth. Really? What else was I going to do. It's the best color I own right now, I think, in a size that I want. There were a lot of options for this edging... like, should I have maybe put a bead on the end instead of a picot? Should I have joined the drop motifs? Should I perhaps have even flipped the entire thing and done a bead on the ring side? Still not sure. I may mess around with that later. When I figure out earrings for any or all of these (suggestions?)

The second one is another VERY simple edging. I put beads on my shuttle and they became the "drop picot" (or whatever you call it) on the necklace. This was fun and relatively quick, but I was using pearls, so I wanted to keep it very understated. Hence, the long chain back. What do you think?

This last one is a deep variation of the edging I had, although I'm sure it's been done before. The only problem with this one is the slight turning at the bottom due, I think, to a slight difference in tension between the chain going to the bottom ring and returning from it. Probably has to do with the gap between rings and chains that I get consistently at some joins, not at others. At least I know where the problem lies, I think. I did agate stone beads with this one.

So, any earring ideas? Or things to try next? I might just switch to the deep red I have and try them all again... :)

Motif 21 and 22... another necklace/earring set

I thought the necklace I did yesterday was so much fun that I had to do another on similar to it, just with brown beads instead of silver. And OOOoooo. I'm so glad I did. I guess it's pretty easy to figure out my favorite colors by now....

So the Lizbeth thread is the same as the last necklace, the beads are the main difference. According to bigger bead size I had to adjust the stitch count slightly, but it was pretty easy since I had already figured out the basic gist of it from yesterday.

My husband took a picture of me wearing it, which doesn't really do it justice since it's not really well lit. And possibly quite blurry. Oh well.

On to a different edging pattern tomorrow. I'm thinking something with pearls... and I'm tempted to keep going on the same Lizbeth just to see if I like it. I can always replicate these in other colors.

May you be as inspired by me as I am by you wonderful people every day!

Motif 19 and 20!! Woot!

I suddenly feel very close to the end of my first 25 motif challenge, and it's so exciting! Today I made another set of necklace/ earrings adapted from another simple edging pattern... this one could be from any book. It's very common.

This is made with Lizbeth size 20. And I never remember the names or numbers. I should probably work on that since I'm posting about it... The beads are antiqued silver. The earrings are a simple ring, then 2 split rings (done with the beads on one shuttle and the other part tatted by hand so that I could thread the beads on in between rings).

After the last couple posts I decided it would probably be a better idea to have a photo where I am actually wearing the necklace, just to give a better idea if it's something you'd like to make or even look at... Let me know if there's any interest and I can post the pattern counts I used. They're generally pretty simple.

I should really put a shirt on that poor naked mannequin top. It's a little scandalous.

Oh, and of course I had to post this. This is where I keep most of the other necklaces I've already made and it's starting to look a little silly. But it's pretty, and I like the colors. So I'll probably keep adding on more as I make them!

And I have another collaboration beauty with my friend Candy. Check out how she made the tatting grace something useful! I love when it's useful. The only problem is I need to protect it with some kind of clear something.. I really have no idea. Ideas??

I'm thinking I could probably line the inside with felt or something and it'd be a very useful gift box for something. I just need to work on protecting the top...

Well, I think that's it for today. I'll be a busy bee tonight and see if I have more fun with necklaces so I can post something interesting tomorrow, too.

More motif progress

This first picture is inspired by the last post. I don't think I have the neck for chokers (many of us must think that since I rarely see people wearing them), but I decided to take a picture of myself wearing the lavender one I made. I have to say, it would look much better in a darker color on me. Or if I were actually capable of getting a tan.

Which leads me to the next motif. Numbers 17 and 18! This one comes from an old adapted edging in "New Things Happen to Tatting." I had a little time to tat while we drove through the Rockies. Well, when I wasn't taking pictures out the windows. So I guess not too much time...

 I thought I'd get a picture of this one on, too, although I haven't pressed it in any form, yet, and the self-portrait is rather blurry. I also tried a couple different versions of earrings and ended up with these. We'll see how they hold up. I should also spray and press these with something. Who knows what.

 This one is a little longer, and has an adjustable chain on the back for an added 2-3 inches, if desired. Fun!

Well, that's all for now. I have some time tonight, so we'll see if I have anything new to share for tomorrow!

Transitions

To all of you who comment on people's blogs, and mine, thank you. You make me feel like a wonderful person and give me the encouragement I need to keep blogging even when life is topsy turvy. I know I am slightly whiny, but I suppose that's normal for me when nothing in my life is certain. Okay, enough complaining. On to the to-do list.

Last week was pretty non-productive tatting wise. I have the next motif in my 25-motif challenge, number 16.

This is another of Lynn Morton's patterns, a lovely tatted choker. It has split rings down the center, which I always enjoy. It's a rather thick pattern, though, which I could make smaller by changing the thread size from 20 to 80... I was just trying to use up the lavender ONT. I keep trying to work my way through things so that I can actually buy myself some new thread. It doesn't seem like a good idea yet, since I still have 2 Rubbermaid wrapping containers full of tatting thread. Yes, it's a bit excessive. It'll take me years before I can buy new thread guilt-free, I think.

Meanwhile, I almost finished my apples. 130 quarts and counting. I'm almost out of jars for the season, however, because the grapes were so prolific and I still have salsa. Heh. I kind of like it. I'm thinking of using the free apples I get from a friend this year and simply asking if anyone has jars they want me to fill. Maybe charge a pittance like $1 or something a quart. Might make it worth my time, anyway.

Exciting afternoon (not really) of paperwork and maybe Bible study. More paperwork tonight! Yay. We'll see if there's room in there somewhere for tatting. :)

Catching Up

I'm slowly catching up on my google reading list, so hopefully I am up to date with all of your tatting and creative other progresses. It's so wonderful to see that at least YOU all have got things to show me every day. I'll work on that.

My friend C and I were working on collaborating with tatting into shabby-chic forms, and she came up with this lovely idea! Check out how cool she is! "All" I did was the tatting...

How gorgeous is that? And the antique buttons? I love it. My stock pile is getting quite huge, though. I suppose I should try a craft fair or something, I'm just desperately afraid that the cost will be far more than I sell... It seems to always be the case when I try to sell the things I make. I'll try to be more positive.

On to more errands, less headaches, and hopefully a regular paying job in my future....

Back and Busy!

I've missed 3 weeks of blogging due to travel and family stuff... which means I have a lot to catch up on. My Google Reader says I have 287 new posts to catch up on. YIKES! And I will be posting about my fabulous travels, tatting, and other minor details.

Just for the record, here is motif #15. Thankfully, even with the heat and other factors, I did get a bit of tatting done.

This pattern is from New Things Happen to Tatting, c.1942 pattern "Springtime." I did it in size 20 Lizbeth thread, variegated purple something or other. I am not used to the numbered colors that they give the threads yet. The photo makes it look more like black, but it's really a lovely dark purple.

This doily was tatted while in the Pinery in Ontario, visiting with my family. Good times. Usually too much drama. :)

Here is my immediate family... And yes, we're all a bunch of crazies.

We came home for 4 days, during which time I picked our cantaloupes (yummmm)

...picked beans...

...picked raspberries and a few stray tomatoes...

...picked and canned concord grapes/grape juice... (and ate papa john's pizza for dinner most days, I might add. No, there was not room in my kitchen for anything besides grapes).

...and consorted with my dog over how to sort grapes. She thinks she can do it better than I can. I think she would get sick.

Then we drove to Las Vegas, Nevada. Pretty.

 Here's some Colorado. I just happened to catch this bird in flight, which was fun.

 Using the tripod on a rest stop to catch a bit more of Colorado in the background.

 ...And then Utah. Which completely surprised us. We did not expect to see so much land relief! WOW!

 Arid, but gorgeous.

And this is actually a Colorado lake in the mountains at night. This doesn't seem to do it justice, but on my computer at home it looks marvelous.

We did a small bit of gambling, show watching etc. while we were there (since the hubby had to work during the day), and then we turned around and drove back home the next weekend.

At home, our house smelled like death. Unfortunately, our fridge/freezer had been broken the entire time we were gone. So guess what we have been doing for the last few days?? Eating out (STILL! YUCK.) and cleaning the smell out of things. Multiple times. And trying to fix it.

Maybe needless to say, our camping cooler is still in use.

And there are still more grapes to be done, and it's almost apple time. I'm feeling overwhelmed just sitting here, so I'm going to get a move on it now.

I'll be back with more updates tomorrow since, believe it or not, that was not all...

Dropped off the earth...

Yes, I am MIA. Let's just say that the last couple of days included taking senior pictures for someone, visiting several banks and other locations to get the information I needed for a loan, brain surgery for the brother-in-law, watching little munchkins, and generally not much sleep.

Let's just also say that the next few days include more bank trips, filling out paperwork, more munchkins, visiting relatives in Canada, work trip in Las Vegas and many more sordid details.

I promise when these things settle down a little, I will share what's going on. I will also have lots of interesting details and pictures. So, hang in there with me while everything gets all shaken around. It could be pretty marvelous when it settles.

To those of you who are still showing tatting on your blogs daily, kudos to you. You are my inspiration. Thank you.

Bookmark/ motif challenge update

I went through my posts and figured out that the next motif I do will be #15. That's kind of exciting for me! I am not counting my bookmarks, because that is a lot of the same. I'm almost done with my first batch, just need to package, label, and finish a few ends. I managed about 2 per day instead of 3 like I wanted, but I still feel pretty good about that since life is a little on its end right now. Here are the successful bookmarks...

...and here are the ones that didn't make the cut.

 Of course, I might be able to save a few of these/ finish them/ redo the cat-eaten parts and gift them to family later. Maybe.

 I have to show pictures of my fabulous helpers, of course. Toffee is the best foot-warmer around (you'd think I wouldn't need a foot warmer in summer. So would I. We would both be wrong).

And Lily just needs to be close to Toffee and me, in case something exciting happens. She wouldn't want to miss out on a few chin rubs at the very least.

On to mundane but necessary tasks today! Hoping I have something more to show on Monday. Hope you all have a productive weekend, too!

Soooo Busy....

I've had a week and a half off with no kiddos around, and I cannot believe that I can't catch up! This is beyond annoying! I do two or three loads of laundry a day and there's still more (thanks to extra dog-washing and canning). I keep making food and yet I have food going bad on me. Just look at these poor strawberries! They will never forgive me... although my compost will love me.

I found this amazing tomato bisque recipe for my drawer full of tomatoes, too, and yet--there they sit.

Thankfully, they're a little more forgiving on time than the strawberries.We also shaved our dog yesterday (something neither one of us has done before). We suppose she is thankful. We're just tired.

Isn't she a skinny little thing? So cute. Oh! And we have a tree coming down in our yard and we're filling our shed with wood. Lots of wheelbarrow trips.

So, speaking of growing things, my violets need to be re-potted...

...and I still have some strawberries to save with jam making!

Tatting? What is that? Who has time for fun projects when all around me things are ticking down like a time bomb!? Wait, why am I still sitting here? I have people coming over soon... yikes!