A busy time of year

Busy with lots of things but very, very little tatting.  There have been family dinners, cleaning in preparation for those dinners, a Christmas play, unexpected events.... It's just been very, very busy!

I didn't get as many snowflakes done as I would have liked, but the important people each got one.  A couple of gifts I had wanted to make will have to wait for another occasion as I ran out of time this year.  A few projects I wanted to do will have to wait as I didn't have as much time off from work as they said we would have.

But it was a wonderful Christmas!  We baked and decorated cookies with the grandchildren.  We played games that included everyone, from the great-grandparents to the youngest child.  We had a variety of foods that weren't 'traditional' Christmas dinner fare but were easy to prepare so time could be spent doing other things.  We sat and talked, reconnecting with family we seem too busy to see much of the rest of the year. For all that there was a lot of time planning and preparing we didn't let ourselves be too stressed about all that, for stress takes out a lot of the fun, doesn't it?

We even had a white Christmas this year.  Here in Kansas there is only about an 11% chance of that happening, so it isn't something you expect.  Of course, because we don't expect it this early and it wasn't just snow but ice as well,  not everyone could get out and about like we planned, either.  But it all came together anyway.

One of the few things beside snowflakes I did get done was this headband.

This was tatted on a white button then a sparkly jewel was added in the middle. I stitched it on the headband then added a bit of glue to give a little more hold. It was actually a birthday gift not a Christmas gift to a little girl who just loves purple.  It was a nice break from the snowflakes.

Now it's on to other things.  Though maybe I should start on the snowflakes a little earlier this year - like, now?

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas!

"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas."

Peg Bracken

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Flurry in a hurry

Yes, time is running out for Christmas snowflakes so I had to hurry to get some done if I wanted them to arrive before the big day. Which meant a smaller, easy snowflake that didn't take much time.

There are two here that have 'mistakes' or at least unintentional differences.  The top one, that's not really a snowflake, was the first.  I miscounted the chains, making it too tight to go around the doodad without cupping.  No problem, I just modified part of it and made it more like a bell than a snowflake.  The other one has picots on the short chains instead of Josephine knots - I started it without the 2nd shuttle.  Instead of doing the shoe-lace trick I just made picots instead.  It changed the look a bit, but still okay.

All are made with size 20 Lizbeth white.  The finished size is less than the length of a clover shuttle (a little less than two inches point-to-point.)  I really had planned on sending the modified Christmas Snowflake 2010 that I posted about last week, but these were faster.

For some reason I've had a hard time getting into the spirit of Christmas this year.  I haven't decorated at all, neither inside nor outside or even at work.  Except for the snowflakes I haven't put out anything Christmas related (and they're just layin' around because I'm working on them).  I have been listening to Christmas music and enjoying it a lot, so it's not that I'm feeling like a Scrooge or a Grinch, I just haven't found the energy to decorate.  None of the family gatherings will be at our house this season so I'm guessing the decorations will stay in their boxes for another year.  

Decorations out or not I am very ready for Christmas to be here.

A little difference

Christmas Snowflake 2010 © Wanda Salmans

I made a little change from the pattern on this snowflake, making the ends with three rings instead of a thrown ring, shortened the arm chains and left out most of the decorative picots.  I like the way it came out.  This is made in Lizbeth size 20, White #601.  The original pattern can be found on my Pattern tab.

December Star 2011 © Wanda Salmans

I made a little change in this pattern, too (can you tell? It's not a star!).  I only made two changes in this one - added beads and another arm to make it a snowflake.  I like the beads but it sure slows down the tatting!  The beads are a bright, shiny, reflective silver - and they made taking a good picture of this a real bear!  Let's just say I'm very frustrated with my camera right now :-(  This 'star' is made in Lizbeth size 20 Christmas Red #671.  The original pattern can be found on my Pattern tab.

I think the changes in both patterns were successful.   The reason for the changes?  I'm running short on time for coming up with a totally new pattern for my 2013 Christmas snowflakes.  If I'm going to give anybody snowflakes I've got to get them done ASAP and starting with something I already have then making a few changes might be what I end up with.  Hmmm., will I stick with one of these - or find something else?

Time will tell.

"Change, like sunshine, can be a friend or a foe, a blessing or a curse, a dawn or a dusk."

William Arthur Ward

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Snowflakes and Pictures

I made my 'Crowned Wheel' (found on my Patterns tab) in white for the first time.  It's actually the first time I've made it in a solid color instead of a variegated thread.  It looks pretty good as a snowflake.

The small snowflakes are just my doodling around to make small 'flakes for the bags I've been decorating, but I'm pretty sure that some version of these (and more!) are in Patti Duff's 'Minitats' (which is currently sold out) and probably other places as well.  

I haven't gotten much tatting done in the last week due to having family doings for Thanksgiving.  We had three different dinners in three days.  I didn't have to cook for all three - one was catered and not at our house; one was at our house but made by my Son-In-Law; the other at our house where I did almost everything but the turkey which was smoked outside.  We're dining on leftovers still, and will be for several more days.  This is not a bad thing at all - little cooking but a variety of good food :-)

Have you ever had family get-togethers where you want to take pictures but not everyone is all that enthused about it?  As I take a lot of pictures my family knows it's coming and they will just have to suffer through it.  This year I tried to make it fun.  The weather was very mild so we took the set pictures outside.  I had purchased some holiday accessories - Christmas tree head bands, gnome/elf hats, funny glasses - and had everyone wear them for pictures.  I didn't hear nearly as much complaining as I usually do - everyone was laughing too hard. The kids thought it was great and even the guys had fun with it.

Our daughters framing us for the holidays.

It was great to have such a mild holiday weekend where we could spend a lot of time outside and didn't have to bundle up.  I heard that the weather on the east coast was pretty nasty with a lot of travel delays.  Our turn could be coming.  The temp here today was about 65º F, tomorrow the high is supposed to be about 23º.  

And "breezy" - meaning winds 10 to 25 mph.

And maybe snow.

Lovely.

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."

Desmond Tutu

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