Runner Finally Finished

In 2015 and 2016 I was making a lot of edgings and runners. A few days ago I found one of those edgings pinned to a runner hiding in a drawer. I remember this runner and the edgings, I just didn't remember that I hadn't finished it. I thought now was a good time to do that.

The first side went smooth, fitting the edge the way it should, the way it had been pinned to the material for more than 10 years. 

Then I started on the second edge. I found a mistake that might be the reason I didn't finish this.

The edging is obviously missing something, like the last clover. I must have been in a hurry to finish, or maybe just tired. It wasn't that hard to fix, just untat that last chain and open the last ring and add more thread. Then redo the ring and chain and finish with the clover. 

Ta-da! The end looks much better now!

It was then the next issue was discovered. Not noticing the mistake back in the day, I had pinned it out as if it should go all the way across the end of the material even though it was one clover short, stretching it to make it fit. A good guess this was what kept me from finishing sewing the edging on. With the clover added the edging was now a bit too long, as the thread had been stretched out. 

Have you ever had this problem? I had to think about it a bit to come up with a way to make it fit. My solution was to soak it in very hot water then dry it with a hot hair dryer to shrink it. It helped. I still had to sew it down carefully, but it doesn't stick over the edge!

As I worked with this, I remembered the reason I was never in a hurry to finish it. You can probably tell that the edges aren't exactly straight. I liked the material but found when I went to cut it out that the pattern on the material wasn't straight with the thread of the material. I had to play with the layout to get it cut and have it look right. Then I had issues with sewing straight lines for the edges. I decided this edging would be mine, whenever it was completed. 

Now, after 10 years, it is done. It will look good on my table. And I will probably be the only one to notice that there are issues with it. If anyone does notice, I'll bet they won't say anything, LOL.

The pattern for Emma is on My Patterns page. There is a note on it, under the picture, that the stitch count in a couple of places was changed but I didn't get a new picture with the change. 

It took me 10 years to complete this UFO. Not quite the longest I've ever had, but close. How long has it taken you to complete a UFO?

"Normal people...believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet."  

Scott Adams

Thanksgiving

Can you believe Thanksgiving day has passed? It came and went so fast! We still have one Thanksgiving family gathering today, but I’ve put away my fall decorations and started on my Christmas decorating.

Table ready for the family on Thanksgiving

This year we had a bit of rescheduling for some of the family get-togethers, so for Thanksgiving day we only had our daughters and their families and my mother over for lunch. We finalized the menu through texts a week ago. The meal was terrific, with minimal issues, as nothing burned and there was space for everyone at the table. We did add an extra table to the one in the picture so we could seat everyone, but no one was cramped. The weather in the afternoon was cool but sunny, so we ended up outside. Then we played a game before they all had to go home. There were a bunch of pictures taken!

I have been working on the edging for a Christmas table runner that I had been asked to do last year (!). She didn’t need it until this year, so I had plenty of time to get it done. Or so you’d think. I couldn’t make up my mind about the edging! I thought about it and tried several different things over the last several months, trying to come up with something I was happy about. I like the look of the edging I came up with, but I need to tweak it a bit more before I’ll be happy with the pattern.

Candy cane Christmas runner

The lady that requested the runner showed me another Christmas runner she had and her tree skirt so I had an idea of what type of fabric to use, and I still had a hard time choosing it. There were so many beautiful fabrics to choose from at Jo-Ann’s! And I needed to buy more than I usually do as she wanted a longer runner than I ordinarily make. The tatted edging also needed to be a bit wider than I have made in the past, another challenge.

In so many ways the tatting is the easy part. I rarely sew, which means it takes longer than I expect it to. And then I have to stitch the edging to the runner – on both ends! But the final result is worth it.

Now I’ll be working on perfecting that edging, as well as working on Christmas ornaments. I’ve had a hard time the last month or so not getting sidetracked from the edging by all the ideas I’ve had for other Christmas things. Now if I can just remember all those ideas!

About the September Angel pattern I have spoken about, there has been another delay. I had the whole thing written out but needed to make a correction. I printed it out to test tat it and noted the corrections that needed to be done. For an unknown reason, my computer shut down. When I went back to the pattern half of it was gone! Not sure what the glitch was, but thank goodness I have the printed version. Now I just need to re-write the parts that disappeared.

“The memories we make with our family is everything.” – Candace Cameron Bure.

Happy 4th of July

It’s Independence Day, 2022!

I haven’t tatted anything new this year for the occasion, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been enjoying the season.

Patriotic runner

Last year I made a runner for my daughter that I was unable to get to her by the 4th of July or her birthday. It was eventually delivered in November in time for Veteran’s Day. She was able to use it this year for Independence Day. She loves decorating for this holiday.

Patriotic birthday runner

She does such a great job of making her house look festive!

It’s amazing where you find people showing their patriotism. A local farmer showed his 4th of July spirit with these large hay bales.

Patriotic hay bales

My dog also dressed for the occasion.

Bonnie dressed for the 4th

We celebrated the holiday at my daughter’s house last night with family and friends, tonight we’ll do it a bit more locally. We celebrate and thank all of those that have fought for the freedoms we have.

Today I’m packing for our trip to Indiana tomorrow. I’m going to Tatting Corner’s “Artful Tatting” Tat Days at the end of the week. My husband took vacation so he could come with me. Looking forward to seeing all those fellow tatters!

May you all have a happy and safe Independence Day.

“A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works.” Bill Vaughan