Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Hope everyone has a safe time trick or treating with the little ones!

Now that this holiday is here, I'm finding it crunch time for crafty gifts for Christmas. After some thoughts (and tatting while at M's house), I think I'm going to try to make snowflakes and cards for everyone out of state that I know, and finish up the knitted projects that I have going. Oh, and making snowflakes and ornaments to go on my own tree, as well.

I've changed the colors of my tree from Technicolor to black, purple, and silver. M thinks it will look gothic, but I don't think it will.

I've started making the snowflakes, using glass beads to add sparkle. Here's my first two:

The purple is Sharons Merry Christmas Snowflake, and the white is Jon's Hearts in a Snowflake. Both are now finished, but the white needs blocking and stiffening.

Will add both to the 25 motif challenge when I get some better pictures. I don't have an SD card, so I can't take pics with anything but my camera!

And a question. How should one go about stiffening lace? I want to keep the white flake as white as I can for years, but I don't know how.. Should I use glue mixed with water? Starch? Or should I use a spray sealant?

Tatting Supplies

Hmm.. Wonder what these are going to be used for?

Size 20 and 80 threads, beading needles, and three beads in black, clear, and purple, all 11/0.

More tomorrow...

Plying Yarn

Just wanted to share where I've gotten with the fiber I got back at the beginning of the month. I haven't been spending much time on these, mostly because I've had other things going on.

I have half of the fiber spun, and only about half that plied. This picture was taken before supper, so I'm a good bit further than what you see. I've also made several new drop spindles (as you can see in the foreground as well as where I'm plying), and I have three more drying. After I get finished with this project, I have some more sanding to do since the one I'm plying with isn't too smooth! After that, they're getting a clear coat for protection.

I'm getting as bad with spindles as I am with shuttles. Funny, no? Already I'm up to nine spindles, which is closing in on my 15 shuttles!

I have been doing some tatting, and have a few finished pieces to show off, but need to do some work on them before posting. My edging is (nearly) complete, just need to do a final hiding of the ends, wash, and block before sewing it to the hat, and then it'll be done! I also have a small doily I've made for my mother, and will be starting on some snowflakes later on this week.

Productive week, but little to show. Need to get the camera out!

What do you get..

When you have two buckets of dirt, one bag of potting soil, and several pieces of wood?

Answer: This!


I had bought a few mums and violets for a fall garden this year, and didn't have enough planter boxes for them. So, my grandparents and I made two and planted the flowers in them!

Also spent some time out of town yesterday with Kelly and Mack. We went to Helen to Anna Ruby Falls (love love LOVE that place!!) to look at the leaves and take pictures.


Took awhile to get the settings right; the sun was in the worst place to take time lapse pictures.

No tatting or crafty things to say today. Just taking some time to share! ^^

(edit - realized I posted the blurry picture of the falls, so I put in a better one! Sorry! ^^)

Tatting Update..

I've almost reached the end of the edging for the hat, and now I'm not sure if I want to do the second row. Sorry for the phone pics; my batteries are dead in the camera! x.x


This is the edging singled, in approximately where I'm going to be putting it, and this:



is the edging doubled. I'm using a size 10 thread, so I'm not sure if I should leave it singled row or double it!

Also, I have another project brewing using lace weight yarn. I've never used that size before, so this could get interesting!


Hmm.. Wonder what it could be?

Better pictures will come in the next day or two. Going to the State Fair tomorrow!

Just passing time.

Went with sis today while she took an exam, and kept working on the edging.

Sorry again for the blurry pic - it's another phone image.


This is going to be used as the band around my bucket hat, last seen here, and is only partway finished. I'm not sure if I'm going to double it (like it is in the book..), but we shall see. This pattern is #50 (I think) from "A New Twist on Tatting," and after the second repeat I have it down! I did have to retro tat two stitches today -- I forgot a join, but it was before I closed the ring so it's all good!

Happy Tatting! ^^

New Years Revisited And Birthday Gifts!

Several items to touch on in this post, and most of them are text-only (sorry!). First off, I wanted to show these off:


Yes, more fiber from SlimChicken. I treated myself to these because the colors were so pretty in the pictures on the listings, and they did not disappoint! I had four different colors in mind, and ended up with these two. Both are four ounces of superwash, the same as my others, but these are super soft!

This is Twilight, and it really does remind me of how it looks around here when the sun goes down. The blues are so vivid in this! Can't wait to spin it and see how it turns out!


And this one is Victorian Rose. It's a bit more pink than this picture shows. Normaly I don't like pinks, but I do like the softness of them. I think this will become a Valentine shawl at some point; it's being put away while I work on some other projects.

I don't have much to show in the crafting world at the moment. Been at work for most of the last few weeks or getting ready for Christmas. I -finally- decided on the color scheme I want for my tree, and hope to have some pictures of it when I get my ornaments made. I'm hoping to make at least ten different snowflakes and some other tatted ornaments. Getting started on those in the next week, but got to find the patterns I like first.

What patterns do y'all like to make this time of year? I'm still new to this; last year I was still learning how to tat..

So, now on to the fun part of the post..

How many people do New Year's Resolutions? I made some this year for crafting, and I thought I'd share my progress.

Just to recap, these were them:

• Learn to crochet
• Make everyone a scarf, and have them done by September
• Learn how to:
  Cluny Tat
  Split Chains
• Get my dye supplies organized
• Finish writing out the pattens to my motifs
• Design at least one motif a month
• Finish the 25 Motif Challenge

Taking it from the top, I finally learned how to crochet. Thank heavens for youtube! When my mom and roommate weren't around or couldn't figure out the pattern I was trying, I was able to find the tutorial on there!

The scarves, on the other hand.. Well, I have several started, but none finished. I'm hoping to get at least a few done in time for Christmas, but it looks like everyone's getting store bought gifts this year!

Tatting-wise, I still need to learn split chains. I've tried them a few times, but all I manage to do is make a twisted knot that I can't undo! This may be an ongoing project for me into next year, but I will get it! I have managed to get the basics of Clunys down, but don't have anything to show for it. Will post some later, when I get my ornaments done!

I'm also this close to finishing the 25 Motif Challenge. I have an edging that I'm working on at the moment to add, then they'll only be one more to finish, and that'll be complete!

I haven't finished the patterns, nor have I designed every month. I can and will finish the patterns, but for designing, I may be able to make some later on.

How's everyone doing on their resolutions?

Also went to the Botanical Gardens last week, and snapped a few pictures, so I'll leave you with my (and everyone else's!) favorite.


Happy Fall, everyone! ^^