Gifts and Things

 Recently, I participated in a secret "get mugged" exchange with the ladies from the devotions group I'm in. Each of us filled out a short questionnaire about likes and allergies and such, then drew names. The gift was built around a mug, tumbler, or cup, and then a few miscellaneous things, nothing very expensive. Until the time of the exchange, the recipient did not know who the gift would be from. 

I drew a lady whose favorite color was green but did not specify a specific shade. Along with a few other items, such as large dark chocolate candy bar, I made a cross bookmark in two shades of green from my pattern, Split Ring Cross to include in the gift. 

We had just finished a book on Philippians, so I included this cute notebook, as well as a pretty cup, the chocolate, and a few miscellaneous items.

The day of the exchange I put everything in a gift bag and away I went. Without the bookmark or the notebook. I had to give them to her later. This was a week later after church service when everyone was busy going home. She didn't have time to look at it, I'm hoping she likes it.

I've been doing a lot of running around lately, with some time to tat but not anything that takes concentration. I've started taking a few buttons with me to tat around as I go places. They are easy, don't take up much space, can be done in any color, and can be used later.

I've been trying to decide what I'm doing for Christmas ornaments this year but haven't come up with an answer yet. My sister is already working on hers, and they look great! I think my problem is I always try and come up with a new pattern of some sort. This takes a bit longer than using something that is already out there. I guess it's only October. I still have time, right?

The Lacemakers Guild of Oklahoma had a Lace Embrace event October 4. As it is only a few hours away I had hoped to go this year. Their theme was "Teatime with Lace and Pearls." My sister and I even had our hats picked out - what's a tea party with pearls but no hats? But it was not to be. Family things came up for both of us, making it impossible for us to go. It sounded like so much fun! I love the theme! I'll be looking for it next year. If you'd like to see what they did at the event, check out their Facebook page.

We have had a lot of moisture this year, and milder temperatures than the last several years. We've had so much rain that my plants - and the weeds - have bloomed more and longer than I've ever seen them! I had seven or eight Hen and Chicks plants bloom, and one is still blooming!

Up until a few years ago I didn't even know they bloomed! I guess I'm doing something right.

Can you believe that October is half over? The year has flown by. I haven't done any fall tatting at all yet. I may or may not get any done, I should be working on Christmas stuff. Let's see what I end up doing.

"Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up."  Allen Klein

What to do with bracelets

While at a second-hand store a while back I found a bundle of bangle bracelets for a couple of dollars. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them at the time, but I was sure I could come up with something. So I bought them.

Bangle bracelet on wandasknottythoughts

They were all about the same diameter but different thicknesses. I washed them and then sprayed them with a clear sealer so they wouldn’t tarnish or discolor any threads I might use. I set them aside until I could think about what to do with them.

I have seen people make dream catchers out of almost anything that is round but that didn’t appeal to me at the moment. A few years ago I attached snowflakes in the center, however, I wanted to try something a bit different than that.

Ring of purple

I like this idea of joined rings on the outside, though it is kind of tedious joining those rings together. Then I ran out of thread and can’t find the ball. Okaaay, so on to something else.

Ring with spokes in the middle

How about rings and chains on the inside? I tatted on the ring with size 10 thread and added the first round of chains in 10 also. The rings and chains on the next round are in size 20. These two rounds were done multiple times as I tried getting a stitch count that didn’t buckle and crowd each other. Then what was I going to do in the middle? The spokes hold it tight and give it an interesting look.

Ring of flowers and butterflies

The idea of putting flowers on the ring was something that kept coming back to me, but what flowers and how to attach them to the ring? I covered the ring and did the chain on the outside while I thought about it. Then I played around with leaf ideas while I thought about it. The flowers and butterflies were made with the shuttle leftovers from other projects, so I just chose the colors I thought would work. I laid them on the ring with the leaves several ways before I attached them. I used fabric glue instead of trying to sew them on. Much easier than trying to sew them on.

3 Rings

So what do I do with these rings now? I will finish the purple one whenever I find the thread, but then what? This one and the one with flowers could be picture frames I suppose. Or just hang all of them up as is as decorations the way they are? Hmmm, I’ll have to think about that.

This weekend, after many delays and postponements, I was finally able to meet up with Sherry Ashberger, a fellow Kansas tatter. She contacted me years ago through my blog with the suggestion of meeting her somewhere halfway between where we live. That never worked out because of our schedules at the time. A few months ago she emailed me again with the suggestion of getting together. Things beyond our control kept us postponing a meet until at last this last weekend it worked out!

Me and Sherry

Sherry has skills with drawing programs and she thinks she might be able to assist me with diagramming my patterns. What a great idea! We met up at a local Freddy’s and visited for several hours. It was so wonderful to finally, finally get to meet! I think we’ll be seeing more of each other.

I get no compensation for mentioning Freddy’s

My apple tree bloomed from the last week or so of March through the beginning of April. I thought I’d lose all chance at apples with a late frost, but I had a lot of blooms after, so I’ll probably have a few. Whether I’ll get any apples or the birds and bugs will get them all is yet to be seen. But the blossoms were gorgeous!

Apple blossoms

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Design is knowing which ones to keep.” —Scott Adams

Not part of the plan

There I was, trying out another idea of where I wanted to go with this doily when I noticed something didn’t look quite right.  It wasn’t laying flat like it should have. What was going on?

Something’s wrong

Then I saw it! I’d skipped a chain and joined in the wrong spot!

Mistake found!

Ahhhh! Look how far I had gone before I noticed!

Bummer!

Now the question “what comes next?” is “to cut it off” or “un-tat it”? Either way, it put a damper on my enthusiasm.

After debating about it for a while (several days, in fact) I decided to undo it to keep from having more ends to hide. Great idea, but I have broken the thread several times now, so I’ll still have ends to hide.  Bummer!

Other than this, I haven’t done much tatting lately; instead, I’ve been potting flowers. I’ve done more this year that I ever have, but I have more spaces to put them since we’ve done work on the house.  I got a bit adventurous about it, too.

Tower of Flowers

I have had this rod for almost 10 years and never tried to use it. The rod is formed with legs at the bottom to fit inside the large pot at the bottom, then goes straight up to hold the other pots. I put a couple of bricks and a large rock in the big pot to weigh it down. I couldn’t find quite the right size pots for the rest, but this time I wasn’t going to let that keep me from using it!  Some of the pots are a little light on flowers, but that is easily remedied. I even painted the pots!

Nice thought, huh? It lasted about a week.

Tower of Flowers fell down

Then a cold front came through with a bit of wind. The tower was suddenly much shorter, looking more like a sad motel that has seen better days rather than a lofty, new tower. The top four pots broke. 🙁   I was able to rescue the flowers and re-pot them. They are currently perking up in their new home, a single story group home instead of high-rise apartments.

As the temperatures outside soar, I will probably be doing more tatting and less working with flowers outside. I can enjoy the view of flowers while I enjoy relaxing and tatting, maybe inside in the airconditioning, maybe outside if there is shade and a breeze.

“You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen. ” Paulo Coelho
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Tatted flowers for her birthday

My mother celebrated her birthday recently.  This happens every year, of course, but sometimes it coincides with Mother’s Day.  This year it didn’t, which made it much easier on the family.  We always try to do something special for her birthday and something else for Mother’s Day.  Everyone deserves to celebrate their birthday separate to a holiday, don’t they?

Metal leaf ornament

My sister and I found this beautiful metal leaf decoration in the gift shop of the Durham Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.  When we saw it we immediately knew our mother would love it.  It also isn’t something you can buy at any Wal-mart.  How perfect as a birthday gift.

We also gave her a birthday card from both of us that I decorated with a few tatted flowers.  I frequently add simple tatted flowers to cards, usually just single rings of picots.  This time I layered them.  The thread was almost an exact match to the flowers on the front of the card.

Tatted flowers on birthday card

Mother was very happy with both the gift and the card.

“There are two great days in a person’s life – the day we are born and the day we discover why.”  William Barclay

A Bunny and Two Hearts

TIAS 2016 © Jane Eborall

Look! Look!  I got the TIAS done!  Yay!

This Burgundy thread (Lizbeth #672 size 20) was a little too dark - I couldn't see what I was doing when I made a mistake.  He did come out pretty cute - love the teeth and carrot!

Tatted Heart adapted by Barbara Foster from design by

Mrs. J.M. Blackman, appearing in Modern Priscilla magazine in 1917

One of my aunts ended up in the hospital Saturday, so instead of taking her real flowers I took her some fake ones Sunday (no worries about spilling the water or flowers drooping before she could enjoy them).  It was a hurry-up job.  The 'vase' is a spice jar with a piece of burlap ribbon and a piece of smaller, white ribbon wrapped around it and the tatted heart - which I tatted up on the way from our house to the hospital.  I took the with me and attached the heart to the ribbon while we were in the parking garage.  This was the best of the pictures I took of it before we left.

My aunt liked it.

Joy's Heart Cross Bookmark © Wanda Salmans 2016
in Lizbeth #147 Red Burst size 20

This has been my take-along tatting project this last week.  I needed something without beads or too complicated (like the TIAS) and one that I wouldn't worry about messing up (like the Round Robin doily I'm working on).  I made the rings of the arms a bit bigger than I made the bookmark I gave my brother-in-law; I think this looks better.  My plan was to frame it and give it to my mother for Valentine's day but I haven't gotten that done yet.  I'll just give it to her when I get all the finishing touches done.

Now on to other things: the Round Robin doily I still have; a wedding gift for next month; the pincushions I want to make...  It feels good to be getting over the funk I've been in.

"With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts."
Eleanor Roosevelt
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Three pigs and a flower

I finally got all the pigs done as well as a flower.  The lady who asked for them was very vague about what she wanted exactly,  I  had nothing to go on except "flower" so I made one with threads I had on shuttles already.  If nothing else she can tell me what she likes about it and what she doesn't.

I'm very pleased with all the pieces except the purple pig, which I think looks a little off.  Maybe I should redo it. 

Yes, I think I should. 

Apologies to Gelett Burgess

'I never saw a purple pig, 

I never hope to see one; 

But if you've ever had a swig, 

You might just swear you've seen one.'

"Purple Cow" by Gelett Burgess

A new edging

Hanging Basket Edging © Wanda Salmans 2012

This is the edging I was working on last week.  I finished tatting it but it's not yet attached to anything.  If things go well I'll have it done this week.  It's made in Lizbeth #115 'Springtime' size 20.  I'm very fond of this colorway, it really makes me think springtime, which somewhat surprises me as I don't usually favor pastels.

When I started this edging I had only a vague idea of what I wanted.  I was happy with the first row though I knew it needed a second row to make it as deep as I was looking for.  The length of the first row worked out well, leaving just the right number of repeats so the second row fit - once I figured out what the second row was going to be. The first row has a SCMR and a thrown ring in every repeat but otherwise it is just rings and chains.  The second row is a little fiddly but not difficult, using only rings and chains though you have to switch shuttles for the 'basket' part. If anyone is interested I am sharing the pattern, it's on the sidebar.

I'm not much of a garden person - I'm much too lazy to keep it weeded - but I do like to have a few flowers to brighten up the house.  While they look nice I'd thought I'd share a little.  I put these out a little over a week ago and they're still alive(!) and look like they may stay that way a little longer.  It's amazing how a few pots of plants change the whole feel of the entry way.

"In the spring, the carpet flowered amid the green,
and as wind blew, it looked like music on the ground."
Timothy Egan

Progress and Flowers

I didn't find where I might have written down the pattern for the doily *sigh*. So I counted stitches and wrote it down. In pencil. And I've started making it in Lizbeth size 20 'Western Sunset'. It's shades of red and purples. The second round I'm using red as the chain thread to see how that looks. I'm not sure yet if I'll like it, but thought I'd try it. The 'Western Sunset' was already on a couple of shuttles so I could start right away after I had the pattern done. As there's nothing fancy in this doily, just one shuttle and ball, it should go rather quickly. No promises about how fast it will get done but it would be nice to have finished by Tuesday :-).

The flowers in the picture are kind of a funny story. I had the idea of taking flowers to church on Sunday (Mother's Day) and handing them out to all the ladies. We don't have a large congregation so it wouldn't be hard or expensive. There were a lot of choices at the store including these bright and cheery colored daisies. When I was getting in the car I realized that daisies really don't smell all that wonderful, maybe carnations would have been a better choice? But each lady would get several flowers on a stem with the daisies and they were bright and cheery so it was still okay. I left the flowers bundled up but in water overnight. Sunday morning I took the rubber band and the plastic from around them and spread them out a bit so they would be easy to pull out of the vase. And noticed that my fingers were a bright and cheery blue! I was pretty sure none of the ladies at church would want blue dye stains on their clothes or hands. I ended up not taking the flowers to church. Carnations would have been better.

The daisies do look good on my table, though, in their bright and cheery blue water.