Tatting With Friends and Travel

Is it Friday already? The week has gone by so fast! It has been an extremely busy week. Last weekend we took a trip to Missouris and I feel we’ve been running ever since.

My husband and I traveled to Springfield, Missouri last weekend to meet up with a few tatting friends. Kristina Fry arranged for a room at The Library Center where we could tat and catch up. It was a great location for us to spread out, share what we’ve been doing, and do a bit of tatting together.

Tatting with Kristina, Kay, and Peggy

Kristina Fry, Kay Pettyjohn, Peggy Rogan, and I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of tatting. We all met at tatting events put on by Tatting Corner and went on the Tatting Cruise last year. Our time together went by so fast! My husband left us to our threads to go to Bass Pro Shop, where he enjoyed himself much more than if he had stayed with us.

Tatting and chatting

Thanks to Kristina for taking a few other pictures than the one I took. I was so busy doing I didn’t even think about pictures.

Ladies, I’ll see you in Anderson, Indiana in July for the next Tat Days.

From Springfield, Jack and I went on to Branson, Missouri. The only plan we had there was to see the Titanic museum. We’d seen the outside before but had never gone through it. It is amazing!

Titanic Museum, Branson, MO

It takes about two hours to go through and you must purchase tickets before showing up. There is limited space inside so they restrict how many people can be inside at one time. We spent a bit over two hours inside, there was so much to see and hear. It is self-guided, but they give you a device with audio descriptions. I highly recommend this place!

Presidential suite on the Titanic

This is a recreation of one of the largest accommodations on the Titanic, one of the two presidential cabins. The portrait is of the couple who were in this one on the fateful voyage.

All of the people working in the museum dressed as they would have if they were actual crew members.

Musicians of the Titanic

This gentleman’s name is Tommy, who explained how the musicians from the Titanic were paid and lived, and then sat down at the beautiful piano and played for those of us in the room.

If you’ve never been to Branson, MO. before, it has lots of things to do and see. Just driving around is fun (at least for us!). Here is a couple of pictures I took (of the many I took).

Wax Museum of Branson, MO

This is the outside of the Wax Museum at night. King Kong can be seen from a long distance, especially at night.

Aquarium in Branson, MO

The outside of the Branson Aquarium. The water is a show all by itself. We stopped in the parking lot to watch it.

There are a lot of shows in Branson and many choices for places to eat. If you don’t mind the crowds, it can be a lot of fun. It’s a fun place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” Martin Buber

I have no affiliation with anyone linked in this post and earn nothing for mentioning them.

Playing With Butterflies

Have you seen the Endrucks 1920 Project on FaceBook? Muskaan M and Ninetta Caruso have started this play on patterns and have games with different patterns. The game of the month for April 2024 is Picot Me Endrucks with Life is Bliss Butterfly by Antonia Lai. I needed a break from my other tatting projects, so I joined the game.

“Life is Bliss Butterfly”

I started with the one on the left, which is the original pattern they shared. I was tired, distracted, and not at home when I started. Not a good start. When I tried it again the next day it went much better!

The one on the right is my first try at changing it up a bit. I used HH20-126 Purple Splendor on both. The picots on the top of the wings are crossed double picots. This is the first time I’ve tried them like this. The picots on the bottom of the wings are twisted picots. I know, not a lot of differences, but it was fun. I have a few ideas for the next one, or two. I will be making more of these.

If you haven’t checked the Endrucks 1920 Project yet, I encourage you to do so. Even if you don’t try any of the patterns, they are very interesting!

#Endrucks1920Project #PicotMeEndrucks

My days have become much busier recently. I have two grandchildren in track, same school system but different ages. This means I may be going to track meets two to three days a week. Track meets are not good places to tat, or they haven’t been lately. Yes, there is a lot of wait time between some events, but wind, dust, and cold (or heat) are not conducive to productive tatting time. If I’m not the one driving, I may get a bit of tatting time. And there is a lot of driving time.

Track meet

Today is the eclipse! We will have about 87% totality here and we are not traveling to get any closer. They say we may have high, thin clouds, but I’m sure we’ll be able to tell when it happens!

Are you watching the eclipse today? Are you listening to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler?

International Tatting Day, 2024

International Tatting Day

I have chocolate, thread, and shuttle ready for International Tatting Day. I had hoped to be able to tat in public today, but I have so many things to do at home my only public will be the internet. Tatting IS a large part of what I need to do today, and chocolate will be eaten!

Wishing you all Happy Tatting today!

Two Doves

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about making a wedding gift with a pattern from Filvolite Con Sabor. I finally finished the second dove and framed them together.

                                       ‘Dove of Peace’ by Frivolite Con Sabor

I made the second dove to face the first. Instead of an olive branch, I have the doves holding a heart (my January Heart, pattern found on My Patterns page), which I thought was appropriate for a wedding. They are mounted on a wooden plaque. The frame is an odd size, which I happened to have in a box of old frames. I think it turned out well.

I’ve turned in to Lisa at Tatting Corner one of the patterns I hope to teach at Tat Days this coming July. It has been test-tatted and the pattern corrected as necessary. I’m thrilled with how it has come out. The second item I submitted for Tat Days I’m revamping a bit. It was okay, but I kept fiddling with it. Now I have to update the written pattern and get it test-tatted. I’m much happier with it now.

Last Sunday was Palm Sunday, and this coming Sunday is Easter. I’m looking forward to this entire week (Holy Week) but it will be busy. If I have time I am considering tatting around another egg before the weekend, or maybe Saturday. I have the ones I’ve previously done out as decorations, enticing me to make another. We’ll see if that happens.

For the ‘Dove of Peace’ pattern and others by Frivolite Con Sabor, check out her Etsy shop.

John 12:13  They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! ” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I’m a bit late to the party, but I made it! The day isn’t over yet. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

                                                             Clover earrings

I wanted a pair of green earrings for several events this week. I waited until the last minute to make any, so they couldn’t be too fancy, but I wanted something a bit more than thread. I’ve had these little keys for years, never knowing what to do with them. They looked good for these earrings. They did end up being a bit longer than what I usually wear, but I like them.

I am a member of the lady’s bible group at my church. I decided this year that I would gift each of the members a bit of tatting for their birthdays, in their birthday month. There were none in February, four in March. I was planning on making crosses for them but ran out of time. They were not disappointed with these heart paperclips, even if they weren’t crosses.

                                                         March birthday gifts

Of course, I forgot to take a picture before giving any away. I did remember before I gave them all away. Too bad it’s a bit out of focus.

The weather here is mostly warm, trees and flowers are starting to bloom. Now we are expecting a hard frost… My poor apple tree.

“I don’t want to brag or make anybody jealous, but…I can still fit into the earrings I wore in high school.” author unknown