Craft show

The craft show was a success!

I was very happy with how the craft show turned out. A lot of people came to the show, many willing to spend money (at least at our booth!) I'm always happy when I sell enough to cover the cost of the booth at a show, and Saturday was much better :-)

My booth a little before the start of the show.  I did a little rearranging and straightening before it started.

I displayed snowflakes and spool ornaments on a small tree. It drew a lot of attention; the picture doesn't do it justice.

A view of the gym after things slowed down a bit.

Usually during a craft show I keep a small tatting project handy to work on during slow times, which also has a tendency to draw people over to see what you are doing.  This show I never had a chance to even get it out of my purse. I wasn't always selling something - I spoke to a lot of people about who they knew/know that tats and the possibility of them someday learning themselves, even a few that actually tat.  I lost track of how many business cards I handed out to prospective students. ***happy dance***

This Thursday is Thanksgiving here in the United States.  We'll be having family over to our house on Thursday when we'll be having roast beef, but we're cooking the turkey for another big family dinner on Saturday.  I'm looking forward to seeing family as well as all the food :-)

While going through some of my old tatting papers looking for patterns the other day I found a small photo album that I used to keep small samples of my tatting in many years ago.  I found this turkey doodle with a date of 1992.  It's cute, quick, and timely so I made a few for the holiday.  I think I'll put a pin back on these and give them to a few of my family.  Or maybe use them for table decorations as place markers or something.  They are made with size 20 Lizbeth thread and are less than an inch tall.

May you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

"Not what we say about our blessings but how we use them, is the true measure of our Thanksgiving."

W.T. Purkiser

Wooden spools

I was at a thrift shop the other day and noticed in their notions area a handful of wooden spools with a variety of threads on them.  I love wooden spools - I like their look, they are fun to play with, and they remind me of time spent at my grandmothers house.  At 25 cents a spool, how could I not bring them home with me?

Usually when I do something like this the items end up in a drawer or box somewhere because, though I couldn't leave them at the store, I don't really have a use or place for them.  But not this time!  I had a sudden idea and ran with it.

I thought they would make cute Christmas tree decorations.  I added a bit of tatting that I already had, strung a string through the center and, presto! tree ornaments!

Yes, they are hanging on a Christmas tree.  No, I don't have my Christmas decorations up yet. I'm going to have this tree at the craft show this next weekend, using it as a display for my tatted snowflakes.

I've been tatting a lot recently to get ready for this craft show.  I don't feel like I have enough items for it, but I could be wrong. I've been getting everything together today so I can plan out the layout of the tables but ran into a snag when I found one of my tables was broken. My wonderful husband has done some repairs on it but I can't use it until tomorrow.  Then I'll find out just what I have and how I want it laid out for the show.  I'm hoping to have it pretty much together by tomorrow night.  Wouldn't that be a surprise?

"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk."

Thomas A. Edison

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Once again

Yes, another lamp shade.

Tatted decorated lamp shade in Lizbeth black, size 20

I have had such fun decorating these lamp shades and the cans they sit on.  The tatting seemed to go quickly and easily, probably due to how excited I was to see them completed; even decorating the cans went quickly.  You see the cans as decorated very simply, which is true, but I have a tendency to over think things like this, but this time I didn't.  I just went with the ideas as they came to me, keeping them simple instead if getting elaborate as I tend to do. 

I've been getting a lot of tatting done, mostly making edgings for cloth runners.  I'm using size 10 thread, which seems huge after using size 20 almost exclusively lately. I ordered several rolls from Handy Hands a few weeks ago specifically for the runners but had to order again yesterday.  I forgot that as size 10 is so much bigger the balls don't go as far as I expect them to.  I have only completed one runner so far but am working on the edgings for a third.  The hardest thing doing edgings for me is it's not really done until it's stitched to the material.   

It's a sunny day today, but cold and blustery.  Yesterday afternoon it was over 70º F but dropped 40º in less than three hours.  We're actually pretty lucky here, there were only a few snow flurries, not like the snow they got farther north.  I've gotten rather spoiled with the mild weather we've had so far this autumn.  It is November so I should expect colder temperatures - just not temperatures we usually see in January!

Today in America we celebrate Veteran's Day.  One of my daughters put together a poster for work to recognize and thank veterans for their service.  As I helped her collect pictures of family and friends who served I realized how many in our family have been in the military.  I want to thank them and all veterans and active duty military for their service.  Their service and sacrifices are recognized and appreciated.

Thank you!

"For it has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press.  It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.  It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest.  It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag."

Former Georgia Senator and Governor Zell Miller

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A little shade

Here is another lamp shade I decorated.  I'm not as happy with it as the Ecru one - the tatting didn't go quite as I envisioned it (and I think I glued it down crooked....)

This one is in Lizbeth size 20 black.  Even though it didn't come out quite as planned I felt it was still usable, I just hid part of the disappointing part under a bow :-)

The flat-backed gems are from my in-laws' 60th wedding anniversary party a few years ago.  We sprinkled each table with these "diamonds" and I could not throw all of them away when we cleaned up.  Plus I had purchased a bit more than we ended up using (okay, way more), so now I have a lot of these left.  I haven't used many of them yet but thought they added a bit of sparkle to this little lamp.

Dressing up the cans to go with these shades has been fun.  I've been cleaning up a few cans to keep for crafting purposes for a while but hadn't gotten around to dressing any of them up until I did these lamp shades.  So far they've come together quickly and I've been happy with all of them.  Reusing tin cans, using up bits and pieces of craft-y stuff, easy and comes together pretty quick - Family beware!  They will probably  be showing up in gifts for all occasions soon!

"But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine."

Thomas Jefferson

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