Here I Am!

No, friends, I haven't disappeared. It's just been a crazy, busy time. As you can see below, I have been tatting. Here are my holiday card additions, all ready to be mailed. Today is the last day of finals, grades are due on Tuesday, and I'll be having surgery on my elbow next Thursday, so the craziness continues. I miss all of you!

Tatting at the Craft Show

One of our local fire departments had a fall craft show today, and I reserved a table for my tatted items (handkerchiefs, bookmarks, ornaments, & doilies). I didn't sell much - 2 handkerchiefs and 2 ornaments all day - but I had lots of interesting conversations and definitely did my part to show that tatting is not extinct. There were many people who took my information or left theirs expressing interest in having a class at the library when it fits into my schedule. My favorite quote was this one: "I've been looking for an old lady to teach me, but you're not an old lady!"

Butterfly "Pattern"

Thanks to everyone who has commented on my purple butterfly. Several of you have asked for the pattern. Here is what I used - it's a photocopy of my mom's pillowcase with some notes that I added as I worked it out. Also, I used Omega size 30 thread, color #850. It appears from my current Handy Hands catalog that this may not be available any more. I'll have to nurse the rest of my ball.

Butterfly

I've finally finished the large butterfly for Elizabeth's quilt. This gives me 6 blocks, and I think I'm going to set them together with strips and make a wall hanging from them. Her birthday is this Friday, and I'm feeling a need to try to finish this project. This butterfly has been a journey for me. The sample was in my dad's things, a finished piece done by his mother. He tried to write out the pattern, but I couldn't follow it. My mother had tatted a couple of them and sewn them onto a pillowcase, so I used those to make a diagram from which I was able to work. Needless to say, I'm proud of this one. Elizabeth's quilt will have a family legacy of tatting in this block.

Card and Ornament

Today I finished another variegated tree ornament like the one in the previous post and embellished this card with some thread my sister-in-law found for me at a sale.

This and That

I'm still plugging away on little projects. Over the last couple days I've finished a hanky, a bookmark, and a little ornament. The hanky and bookmark are my own designs (just simple doodles), and the ornament is adapted from a gift tag pattern on freecrochet.com.

I'm Here!

It's been a busy time with work/school back in session, the new puppy, and continued dr. appointments to try to resolve the issues with my elbow and hand. I did manage to tat this Rose Cross from Workbasket Magazine (March, 1989) over the last couple weeks. I've also reserved a table at a local craft show/sale in October, so I'd like to get some more bookmarks and ornaments ready for that.