On Vacation

 We are currently on vacation with friends in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. I have brought tatting with me - of course! - but I haven't had much time to tat. There have been too many other things to see and do. I did finally make a pair of earrings. 

The first earring started out as something else but I wasn't able to pay enough attention to what I was doing to continue. I decided I could get a set of earrings done by stopping where I was.

I thought they came out pretty good, even though there are a couple of spots I'm not happy with. But on a galloping horse a mile away you can't see them. 😄

When we aren't out and about seeing the area or watching the deer outside where we are staying, we play a lot of cards. We've been vacationing with these friends almost every year for over 10 years.  At the end of one vacation we're already wondering where we'll go the next. It's wonderful to have such good friends!

While here, we visited Chimney Rock and Great Sand Dunes. At Chimney Rock we made it all the way up to the Great House. I'm so glad we brought our walking sticks! At the Sand Dunes we made it up the first dune, quite a walk in that much sand. We've definitely got a lot of exercise in the week!

We have several more days to enjoy the area and time with our friends. What are we going to do next?

"In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed." Khalil Gibran https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/khalil-gibran-quotes

Kansas State Fair 2025

 My husband and I went to the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson on Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day with fantastic weather, just right for walking around the fair. I did not enter anything this year, too many things going on. But I did check out the Domestic Arts building to see what was there. It was almost shocking - there were only three entries of tatting. In the past there have been more. One entry was a pair of needle tatted baby booties that were wonderful! The booties took a top ribbon. There was a frame of several tatted sunflowers that was nicely done. The third item was an interesting doily. 

I almost missed these items because of where they were hung - very high. I did see a little more tatting on a beautiful crazy quilt.

I thought I got a good enough picture of the ribbon that I would find out who made it, but it came out fuzzy. 

This quilt has tatting on two blocks.

See the start at the top left? I noticed that first.

Then I saw this motif. It was nice to find them on the quilt. I thought there was another piece of tatting on another block, but it was machined lace.

I was very happy we went on Sunday. Monday it rained all day, sometimes heavy. The local news on TV showed glimpses of what it looked like at the fair, and it did not look fun. There was so much rain that the grassy parking lots became so muddy they are unusable until maybe Wednesday evening, if it doesn't rain again. 

We had something over two inches of rain at our house. Our yard became a swamp!

Places a couple of counties north of us had upward of nine inches in just the one day. I am so happy we aren't up there! We did see a partial rainbow as it began to clear before the sun went down.

Today was warm and sunny, a nice change from yesterday. The water around our place is mostly run off - as long as you don't walk out to the low spots. 

Fair season means sunflowers can be found everywhere. They are great to lift your spirits when it is rainy or sunny.

These are wild sunflowers, found in the ditch down the road from us.  There are a lot of wild sunflowers found anywhere that isn't kept mowed. There are also fields of larger ones, grown for the seeds. We drove by several fields of the large sunflowers, and by the Kansas Sunflower Maze, where they are grown for people to walk through and enjoy. Whether wild or purposely planted, seeing them always lifts my spirits. 

The chance to enter the fair is a year off. Maybe I'll plan better and get something made to enter next year. What a way to lift your spirits!

“Step into the joyous chaos of the state fair and let your spirit soar.” – Unknown

Cleaning Up

 When I am busy, I sometimes leave cleaning up for later. Which can become much later. The last several months have been very busy for me, with unexpected calls on my time and attention. My house in general, and my craft space in particular, have seen the results on my inattention. Now I'm trying to make up for my busy-ness by doing the things I should have already done. It seems like I'm sinking in a swamp of things that need to be done!

My table after I cleaned off a layer!

I have taken time to do some tatting, whether I should or not. The tatting you see on the table is from the start of something new I am trying. I had thought to add more to it, but didn't like where it was going, so stopped and started with something different.

It does make a great bookmark!

I'm happier with my next try. I know, they look nothing alike! True. I changed my mind. 

Some people are good at designing on paper or on the computer. I get my best ideas when I have shuttle and thread in hand. What comes out might not be what I want at the time, but it doesn't mean it's a waste of time. I might like it later!

As I'm in the middle of designing and have all kinds of ideas floating around in my head it is very hard to put my tatting down and do what has to be done around the house. The good thing is I can take it with me while I am being my mom's driver. While I wait for her, I can be tatting and not even feel guilty about it!

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."        Wayne Dyer