Sharon's Tatted Lace

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298316612012-02-17T14:56:29.042-08:00Sharon's Tatted LaceSharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.comBlogger2901100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-88054082221090978582012-02-13T22:05:00.000-08:002012-02-13T22:17:27.134-08:00Happy Valentine's Day

Tis the season for people to be silly and sloppy about love. Love isn't about giving or receiving chocolates or flowers and it isn't about sex. Real love is what binds two people together so that what ever happens they would rather face it together. Love is when your spouse wakes up with morning breath or farts and it's enough to knock you over, but it's OK because the love you have for them

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-63620828352196525722012-02-08T13:39:00.000-08:002012-02-13T21:59:46.979-08:00Dear Canadian Tire

For years we have waited with anticipation for Thursday when the Canadian Tire flyer comes in the Newspaper. My husband's ritual is to separate out all of the flyers, then he reads the paper, browses through the other flyers and then carefully peruses the Canadian Tire flyer last. How he sighed over the titanium tap and die set. He was in raptures over the speed grinder. He positively drooled

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-58497159226871519702012-01-25T11:48:00.000-08:002012-01-25T11:48:23.852-08:00Quilts

My hiatus from tatting has included reading lots of books including some about quilts. I get quilts as something that uses up scraps and usable pieces of fabric from worn out garments. I get quilts that are one of a kind works of art to be displayed. I get appliqued quilts. I get making quilts as a relaxing sewing outlet. It's the other 90% that I don't get. I understand that each one is unique.

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-70619015865100169022012-01-15T14:39:00.000-08:002012-01-15T22:09:36.786-08:00Tatting on hold for fretwork

Last summer I fell while carrying groceries, tripping over uneven pavement assisted by some ill fitting sandals. I caught myself by landing with most of my weight on my wrist and some of it on my face. Afterward my wrist was sore. Too sore for tatting or using the computer mouse, so I spent a lot of time reading rather than tatting. During this time my darling spouse took up fretwork also known

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-5079178529249551112011-08-21T19:32:00.000-07:002011-08-21T19:32:53.014-07:00It's not "Fair"

I am always intrigued by the yearly furor over tatting things to be judges in the annual fair. I have never visited our local fair. I might enjoy it, but my beloved other half wouldn't and to drive more than half an hour and pay to get into an event that he doesn't want to see just seems silly. However, I thought that this year I would check it out just so that I could enter some tatting and keep

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-6571131571427681932011-08-03T13:11:00.000-07:002011-08-03T13:13:01.456-07:00Pineapple Cake

This cake may not look wonderful, but it tasted yummy. The last time hubby asked for a lemon cake and I made a lemon cake with lemon icing. Then I discovered that he said lemon but meant orange. Orange? So the next cake I made was chocolate! This time for a tangy cake, which is what I discovered my honey meant, when he said lemon, I went with pineapple, and it met with his approval. Since we

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-80281782605459107212011-07-27T14:07:00.000-07:002011-07-27T14:07:24.779-07:00There's a new book coming

Some of you saw the choker that Fox test tatted for me. In putting together the patterns for the book it occurred to me that this design had a couple of features that might have caused some concern and my description might have added to the confusion. Thankfully Fox was able to identify the areas where I needed to tweak my drawings and make them more understandable. The new book features designs

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-25040562982389148272011-07-14T15:49:00.000-07:002011-07-14T15:49:36.559-07:00Thinking out loud and looking for answers

When I started the design class a few years ago I waffled between thinking that I had a lot to teach and thinking that it was presumptuous of me to think that I had anything to share. Then I started the first class and had to cut off the participants when the class grew to over 60 people almost over night. I ran a second class for the handful of stragglers that didn't make it into the first class

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-11513869474709689642011-07-07T11:45:00.000-07:002011-07-07T11:45:09.428-07:0012 days and counting

These guys and I have been hanging out together for a while now. I don't really like them and they have certainly overstayed their welcome. At the end of May I had mostly finished up the tatting I needed to do. By the beginning of June I had most of the diagrams completed for a small book of tatting patterns. Then about 2 weeks ago I started with a sore throat which rapidly escalated into stomach

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-13334445996878330002011-06-22T12:16:00.000-07:002011-06-22T12:16:45.729-07:00No more mayhem

I have been tatting, quite a bit actually, enough for a book. The tatting is done and I just need to get some good weather to do a proper photo shoot in and I can pull everything together. In the lulls between blog posts there have been a lot of posts started, left languishing unfinished, and finally deleted as what felt important enough to say one day fizzled the next. Today you get to hear all

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-47370945247653091922011-06-18T18:24:00.000-07:002011-06-18T18:24:17.999-07:00Not in my garden

Yellow is not my colour of choice. You may remember when I tatted the cover for the chocolate box, that one of my problems was the lack of yellow thread. Yellow, orange and green aren't colours that I gravitate toward. If fact I have bought, in my entire life, exactly 2 balls of yellow thread and 2 balls of orange, one of which was purchased to crochet a pumpkin for somebody else. I have bought

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-62932504158158187952011-05-27T16:14:00.000-07:002011-05-27T16:14:20.090-07:00Hurry quick

Need. to. work. quick. before. flea brain. gets. distracted. again. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-3614811771855119402011-05-26T14:06:00.000-07:002011-05-26T14:06:24.339-07:00Blue this time

When my sister and brother in law were visiting on the weekend they thought I ought to make lots of bracelets like the one shown in the previous post. Sounds like a good idea in theory. Then I pointed out that it takes a lot of time to make and it wouldn't fetch the necessary price. When pressed to say how long it took I figured 4 or 5 hours. That particular bracelet had been done with beads from

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-277389980810425182011-05-21T23:50:00.000-07:002011-05-21T23:50:21.770-07:00A bracelet finds a new home, and the world goes on

The purple bracelet I did in April has found a new home with my sister. She came for a visit today and admired it enough to want to wear it when we went out for dinner. I didn't think they were colours she would like or I would have mailed it out in her birthday card instead of the bookmark I sent. Her birthday's not until next week and she hasn't received it yet so I couldn't really say

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-73015351813665326462011-05-18T18:20:00.000-07:002011-05-18T18:57:21.964-07:00The attention span of a flea

I think that must be the problem. Waaaayyyy back here I was working on a bunch of 3D flowers for a new book. It got stalled when this mess here just wouldn't co-operate. I can make it work, but one of the things I was aiming for was something realistic, life size, hold it's own shape without a lot of tatting. It's that making it fit into the predetermined mold that has me momentarily stumped. So

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-44791477098847636462011-05-11T09:00:00.000-07:002011-05-11T09:00:48.673-07:00Still playing with sequins

I just had to try it again, this time without having the sequins lining up in a row. I'm not sure if I like using sequins or not. I might be falling out of love with the idea. The hole in the sequin offered enough resistance that it pulled the hook right out of one of my shuttle. It was an older shuttle that has been broken and repaired several times, but it's an English Aero, so I just keep

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-50144159970189668982011-05-06T16:31:00.000-07:002011-05-06T20:41:23.927-07:00More Sequins

After I did the sequin bookmark, Fox and I had a couple of emails about using sequins in tatting and I thought one possibility might be a an amulet bag. Fox dared me. So I did. The start of it was the sequined flower, which I suppose might just be used as a simple pendant, but I was aiming for a bag, so I wanted rectangular. I started with the flower shown in the previous post. I drew the

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-17705573564531259422011-05-02T17:21:00.000-07:002011-05-02T17:21:24.408-07:00Credentials? 210 plus

In the last couple of weeks I've had emails from people that seem to suggest that they are trying to find out what kind of tatting credentials I have. The simple answer of course is NONE. I don't pretend to have any kind of qualifications except that I like tatting and I tat a whole bunch, all the time. At the table, watching TV, walking down the street, in line at the bank and the grocery store,

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-82679184661221761212011-04-28T16:41:00.000-07:002011-04-28T16:41:24.527-07:00Sequined Bling

I was thinking about turning the very beady bracelet I did the other day into a bookmark, but I have too much respect for books to subject them to the spine killing treatment of beads. So the problem is how to get the bling without the hard fat lumps that beads present. Then I had an idea. How about using sequins? All of the shine with none of the fat. Here it is, in all it's unblocked glory.

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-27940373512131323592011-04-27T14:08:00.000-07:002011-04-27T14:08:19.032-07:00Tatting 101 - Filling a shuttle

I get asked so many beginners questions so often, that in defense of my time, I've decided to do a Tatting 101 with the basics and I thought I'd start with the one that is the simplest, but the one that I still get asked: How do I get the thread on the shuttle? First, there are different types of shuttles. The most basic shuttle is a flat shuttle. Here is a template for one that you can cut out

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-21520361643213253632011-04-25T12:56:00.000-07:002011-04-25T12:56:31.422-07:00Nothing much going on

There's not much going on here, mostly because we've been up to our arm pits in doing the taxes. What has been done is a bracelet, with lots and lots of beads. I used Lizbeth size 20 Purple DK and Purple Splendor with mauve beads on the rings and lilac beads on the chains. The beads on the joins are gold beads. I'm please with the way it turned out and I thought that the same design would work as

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-24720671153351069432011-04-19T13:55:00.000-07:002011-04-19T13:55:31.994-07:00Comments please

I frequently get asked things that initially make me want to jump up and scream NO WAY! Frankly my first reaction to some things is tell people to go - - - - - -. Well, you can insert your own favourite expletive. But I have this other inner voice that always makes me step back and try to see things from the other person's point of view. Sometimes when I've seen both sides as well as anyone can,

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-83906374877624059432011-04-13T12:46:00.000-07:002011-04-13T12:46:44.517-07:00Rant about tatting....

...for no particular reason. Fox mentioned the other day that she wasn't doing the Catherine Wheel join correctly and it got me to thinking. I am mostly self taught and until I went to a tatting workshop, I had never seen another tatter, or another tatter's work. I learned tatting, like I learned to knit crochet and embroider. I was shown the first steps and then just ran with it. If a pattern

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-19366704681950836392011-04-10T12:50:00.000-07:002011-04-10T12:51:13.735-07:00Fringe Element Tatters Tat and Chat - are you coming?

One of the Fringe Element Tatters has arranged a Tat and Chat at the Eatonville Library in Etobicoke on April 17th. That's Toronto for anyone not in the GTA. I'm just north of Toronto, in Brampton and I don't usally travel too far from home. Firstly because I don't drive, and secondly because our car is 23 years old and I'm reluctant to be further than towing distance from home and thirdly,

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-14427348479787019292011-04-08T16:22:00.000-07:002011-04-08T16:25:15.740-07:00The picture in my head is nothing like the tatting in my hand.

I had this idea to take a 3D flower, just use part of it and add a bead in the centre. The purpose of this exercise is to create a necklace instead of a bookmark or hanky for my sister whose birthday is coming up. I have FIVE sisters, but this one shares my birthday and while none of the family bothers much with sending birthday cards and the like, this one sister does. And we share the same

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-29846382942558130482011-04-06T15:34:00.000-07:002011-04-06T15:34:17.952-07:00Working not Searching

I received an enquiry today that reminded me I should mention one of hubby's software programs. Some years ago he wrote a program for me that would allow matching up a picture to a PDF file. If you do any kind of hobby work you know what it's like to have reference material on your computer and not be able to find it quickly, because the weird names don't always tell you what you want to know and

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-50994586185341198552011-03-31T19:04:00.000-07:002011-03-31T19:04:10.737-07:00Easter Cross

I'm in designing limbo. I have lots of thing that need doing that I'm just not taking the time to do right now. Plus I have lots of things I want to design that aren't working the way I want them to. One of the designs that I am determined to get done is a 3D pattern that just isn't working out to my satisfaction. My criteria is that it has to be readily recognizable. It has to hold it's shape

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-72927328022764227522011-03-23T11:43:00.000-07:002011-03-23T11:43:08.854-07:00Nothing to see

I went to the doctor's with my sweetie this morning. That was after I ran out and shovelled the drive so that he wouldn't try it. We had already stored the shovels and were talking about seeding the lawn yesterday, where did this stuff come from? Anyway, the reason for both the doctor visit and my concern about him shovelling are some torn bicep tendons with a 4 cm separation. Last summer he

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-68584721991745966782011-03-20T19:08:00.000-07:002011-03-20T19:08:09.425-07:00Tatting, sort of

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth and I have been tatting, just not tatting things I can show. I've been test tatting the motifs from the Design-Tat class. I've also been doing a lot of creative work for a new book. Sadly, most of it is a jumble of cut off thread and hours upon hours of tatting just to find out what doesn't work. As soon as I have them done right I'll do them again in

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-58308043416250973442011-02-04T15:34:00.000-08:002011-02-04T15:34:12.653-08:00I haven't been tatting

I've been doing this instead The ruler is in there for perspective. I should probably add a couple of small flowers around the outside. I've got 3 squares done, another butterfly and a bird. I was thinking of doing a quilt. The embroidery is the easy part. Having to stitch it all together doesn't sound like fun. So I may have to think of something else to do with a handful of embroidered squares.

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-26466887673346764892011-02-02T16:20:00.000-08:002011-02-02T16:20:18.833-08:00Stunning Silver

Busy, busy, but I just have to show you what was sent to me recently. Aren't they gorgeous? So delicate that they look like a puff of wind would blow them away, but so sturdy they could stand up. These, of course, are silver tatted earrings made by Alan aka Joyful the clown. They are simply elegant and something I shall certainly treasure. Now, what can I wear to go with something this beautiful

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-60480216319272701382011-01-14T12:55:00.000-08:002011-01-14T12:55:16.722-08:00We have internet! O drat, we don't have water!!

Wednesday our brand spanking new modem arrived. It didn't work, but it arrived. Just in case (not likely, but you never know) hubby installed it on his computer using the also new Cat 5 line we just strung through the walls. To be doubly sure that there is nothing wrong with the Cat 5 two strands were used instead of one to make the connection to the, also new, jack. After which hubby couldn't

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-26548266540502391342011-01-12T12:27:00.000-08:002011-01-12T12:27:19.594-08:00Not right, Not wrong, Not working

Lest you think I haven't been tatting at all, this started out to be a necklace that came to a point in the middle, but obviously I wasn't thinking clearly because what I have at this point resembles a collar rather than a necklace. I planned for the first row and the last row to have beads, and if I'd had beads on the last row I would just call it quits, but I didn't and now I have something

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-89013032318435743092011-01-11T13:43:00.001-08:002011-01-11T13:43:41.233-08:002011?

2011 is set up to be a good year. At least considering how bad it's been so far, it can only improve. Our internet connection died on January 1st. We have spent 6 to 8 hours on the phone trying to sort it out. There seems to be a combined issue of a dead modem and something problematic on the line. January 1 we told the IP that the modem was bad and to ship a new one. January 5th they advised us

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-67361155509397972202010-12-21T14:30:00.000-08:002010-12-22T09:04:59.553-08:00From our house to yours - Recipes for yummy cookies

These are some of our favourite cookies because they not only taste yummy, they look good on a plate. The round balls are Chocolate Carousels, a peanut butter ball full of fruit and nuts topped with chocolate. No baking and simple enough for kids to make. The white looking Lemon Squares are a shortbread base with a lemon topping that can be thrown in the blender whirred and poured over the crust.

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-29327844170562200382010-12-08T00:12:00.000-08:002010-12-11T09:49:02.211-08:00A gift for you

This year I decided not to send snowflakes in our Christmas cards and I tatted ice skate ornaments instead. Eight pairs of teeny tiny skates were made. One thing I've noticed with tatting is that the details can often take as much time as tatting the whole project. Tatting skates takes a whole lot more time than a snowflake, mostly because we have 2 feet and need 2 skates. I thought I'd make

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-27826747045202268702010-11-26T15:30:00.000-08:002010-11-26T20:49:17.334-08:00It must have been fate

When you "have your finger in too many pies", there comes a time when you really have to sit yourself down and give yourself a good talking to. There are just so many hours in a day and when you start avoiding things like sleeping, eating and carrying on normal conversations with your other half, it's time to realize that not EVERY challenge to tat something new and interesting has to result in a

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-10534599115719872232010-11-19T13:15:00.000-08:002010-11-19T13:15:42.175-08:00I had to share

I received an email from Coletta when she ordered the Tatted Flurries book, and attached to it was a picture of her entry in the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival. She's the only tatter and her work was judged against the other heritage artists and she took the 2nd top award. I wrote and asked permission to share the picture with you: The basic pattern is the tulip pattern from Linda Davis which she

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-82341371575149474502010-11-15T16:23:00.000-08:002010-11-15T16:23:13.430-08:00And the winner is................................

There were 80 people who added their comments,with awesome ideas of what to do with snowflake patterns whether they are done in white or in colours. Several people reported problems with commenting, but I included them too. Since I thought everyone might like to see the ideas I put them in a list. Join together as a choker or necklace bracelet earrings brooches/pins headband barrettes Hang on

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-28668635313468805202010-11-12T12:10:00.000-08:002010-11-12T12:13:12.042-08:00When is a snowflake, not a snowflake?

Answer: When it's an ornament cover. Like this Peek-A-Boo Daisy done in size 20 thread over a 2.5 inch ball. You can do this with any snowflake just by tatting 2 of them and joining them at the tips of the points. You can measure for a snug fit - and it does need to be snug - just by tatting one snowflake and laying the tips along the seam of a plastic ornament or from the hanger to the navel on

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-51656729131746785182010-11-02T23:10:00.000-07:002010-11-03T14:07:26.938-07:00Win your own copy of Tatted Flurries

This is a snowflake standing on it's tippy toes. Yes, it really is STANDING on the picots. I don't usually stiffen snowflakes, I just wet block them and leave them to dry. If they get droopy I wet them and just roughly block them again. The picture is crappy because it was taken in late afternoon light and my camera battery was dying. The blob it the middle is a heart shaped crystal and the

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com72tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-85773470588487083022010-10-29T09:38:00.000-07:002011-07-05T09:17:14.240-07:00TATTED FLURRIES

It's finally here! After more delays than you can imagine, I've finally got my latest book done and I'm ready to take orders. If you want a tree full of snowflakes, this is the book for you. A month of snowflakes. Thirty-two designs. Four 3D snowflakes. Everything from little 2 inch snowflakes to large 5 inch snowflakes that can be used as small doilies. Eight of them can be tatted so that a one

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-16270160985911449062010-10-22T14:28:00.000-07:002010-10-22T14:28:34.673-07:00Soon

It's coming.

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-13919649029723636722010-10-19T22:35:00.000-07:002010-10-19T22:35:28.438-07:00It's almost here!

Just a little more tweaking. Aren't I a tease?

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-84250367451284006692010-10-13T17:54:00.000-07:002010-10-14T14:29:30.657-07:00A honey of a day

Today I was really pleased with my progress on the snowflake book. I have a few pictures to take of 3D snowflakes and 2 more to get into the book, before I do the final proofread and make sure it's OK to publish. I was hoping to have it all done except for pictures tonight, but due to unexpected events, that's not going to happen. I had a couple of snowflakes I was going to include, but I've

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-47498818254274033732010-09-17T14:33:00.000-07:002010-09-17T14:36:08.182-07:00A bookmark and a half

I haven't really dropped off the planet although you might think so is you were reading my blog. I haven't done much tatting either. I had plans to tat bookmarks for my siblings and send them out on their birthdays. I managed 2 out of the 8 so far, gave one to my sister, when it wasn't her birthday, just because so I did a frame picture of tatted flowers instead (which I still haven't given to

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-45592548423125910852010-08-25T13:21:00.000-07:002010-08-25T13:52:32.892-07:00Slow, Sluggish, Stagnating

That's kind of how I feel. Summer is a great time for getting lots of things done, except, apparently not tatting or tatting books. I've done nothing at all on the snowflake book for over a month. It has been mostly too hot to work in my office for anything other than the immediately necessary jobs. Then there have been "issues". Irritating things like computers not working properly. Frustrating

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-21983163867892280452010-08-03T13:00:00.000-07:002010-08-03T20:58:29.506-07:00Changing domains

We are slowly but surely changing over to our new domain and the GageChek domain is about to be removed. That means that anyone who has bookmarked the old address with the tatting demos and tips and the link to the tatted headpiece that I did are about to disappear.My old web page used to be http://www.gagechek.com/slb but it's new address is:http://www.rsbriggs.com/slbClicking on the link will

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-84354195928147095692010-07-29T14:13:00.000-07:002010-07-29T14:32:38.070-07:00Jingle, Jingle, Jingle

I picked up some tiny bells the other day because I thought they were cute and could probably be used with tatting. I should have included something for size reference in the picture. They're smaller than a quarter of an inch across or about 7 mm.I sat down with some black Opera size 20 and some size 20 Lizbeth Turquoise and tatted a row of edging adding in the tiny bells as I was going. I had an

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-70438479824977208352010-07-26T14:36:00.000-07:002010-07-27T13:14:07.941-07:00Bridal Tatting by Meme

I received an email this morning from Meme. She has been too busy for much tatting recently but she finally updated her blog with some bridal tatting she did a while ago. Go check out her blog for the full size pictures of this gorgeous dress back. The motifs are joined together in a diamond shape and three more motifs connect the lace back to the sides of the dress. The matching earrings were

Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10077786348079879289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-15629557517496508062010-07-14T09:53:00.000-07:002010-07-14T10:04:03.638-07:00Random, Scatterbrained and Flustered

That's how I've been feeling recently and I'm blaming it on the heat. The air conditioning is working, but the extra warm weather means that it doesn't get all that cool upstairs where my office is unless the ceiling fan is also on. The constant draft is drying out my eyes and making me feel too tired to work and just plain cranky. I sit at the computer and something that should take 5 minutes

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-71974996376563367392010-07-06T10:03:00.000-07:002010-07-06T10:26:49.946-07:00Wheeee!!!....Wii?

A while ago my sister brought over her Wii system so that we could try it out. The idea that you could play a video game and get some exercise at the same time always struck me as a really smart idea. I have no objection to work. Lifting, carrying, and moving are all fine, but exercise for the purpose of exercise just doesn't make it in my book. I can run track, but running on a treadmill just

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-47250568794878406252010-06-10T16:38:00.000-07:002010-06-10T16:58:48.291-07:00It's time

I've had Dusty for almost 25 years. When I got her she was young enough that she had to be bottle fed. She's been a pet and a family member for a very long time and she could potentially live another 75 years.She sits with me outside when I tat. She sits with hubby when he waters the lawn. She goes on bike rides with us. She sits with us at lunch time and plays with hubby. However circumstances

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-45211785193362674462010-06-04T07:03:00.000-07:002010-06-05T12:56:12.022-07:00Threads and Pop-A-Bobbin Shuttles

I thought I'd tat something with the Lizbeth Summer Fun paired up with a matching solid. It turns out that the only matching solid I had was Light Turquoise. In this sample the colour changes are a little more gradual because the change is only happening on one shuttle, not 2 like the other motif where it looks like a dog's breakfast. The motif isn't lying flat because I took a look at the

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-23872263077868761782010-06-02T17:00:00.001-07:002010-06-02T17:05:09.612-07:00Sometimes Snowflakes are Bookmarks

One of the snowflakes from the new book tatted in size 80 thread to be used as a bookmark. All but one has been drawn and almost half of them have been pulled into the publication. If things go the way I want it should be a book by the end of the week. I suppose I ought to think up a name for it, something a little more memorable that "Snowflakes". Any ideas?

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-23959869744591941372010-05-31T08:32:00.001-07:002010-05-31T09:00:48.344-07:00Cluny Flower Snowflake

Since Fox has already let the cat out of the bag, here's the original Cluny Flower. The inner flower part was created about a year ago I did it in white and then re-did it with apricot coloured clunies. Both made pretty one inch flowers in size 20 thread. They've been kicking around the house getting moved from desk to desk. It's what happens to a lot of smaller pieces that I think look good but

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-88513638074739972502010-05-29T13:59:00.000-07:002010-05-29T14:48:20.128-07:0032 of 30?

I have 32 of 30 designs tatted and diagrammed. Anyone see anything wrong with that number? I've already started pulling them into publication and doing the usual checking it twice routine and adding the step by step instructions and it's about 20% done. Or not. That 32 out of 30 number is to blame. Last night the guys were here again. You know, those tech guys who are supposed to make my Air go.

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-6516273062538358342010-05-26T21:41:00.000-07:002010-05-27T13:56:35.513-07:00Done

If you visit this blog regularly you will remember that earlier this year we had a new furnace installed, which promptly quit on the coldest day of the year. After 5 or 6 service calls they finally got it working. This week in Toronto we are having record breaking heat, and guess what?The fan in the new furnace won't come on with the air conditioning. So now on the hottest day of the year, we

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-10938787106385298542010-05-24T12:01:00.000-07:002010-05-24T12:35:03.628-07:00Work in progress

I'm working on a framed picture of 3D flowers for my sister for her birthday. I'm using the Irish rose from my Marvelous Motifs book as a focal point. I am thinking about how I can do a profile version of it as a bud. The frame I have selected isn't very deep so I don't want anything with a deep profile. I've been playing around with some other flowers. I'll keep the blue one, but I'm going to

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-78582558608264159542010-05-23T13:07:00.000-07:002010-05-23T13:09:49.866-07:00Skype

Earlier this year we downloaded SKYPE which is a free program so that we could talk to family that aren't local. If you don't have a high speed connection, it isn't all that successful, but if you do have high speed, Skype is a great way to stay in touch especially since you can not only do audio, you can also do video. We can now talk to family out of town as easily as we can to folks around the

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-32212725649337745602010-05-22T15:13:00.000-07:002010-05-22T15:20:14.558-07:00Bummer

I've just realized that with very little modification 2 of the snowflake designs can be made into 3D snowflakes. That's a good thing, but in order to show you how it looks I have to actually tat them. One is small and won't take that long but the other is nearly 5 inches across. I already need to re-tat all or part of one of the other 3D flakes because I joined one of the arms at a point where I

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-56323826417730752052010-05-21T12:43:00.001-07:002010-05-21T12:44:52.926-07:0026 of 30

Some things just aren't meant to be. I decided to throw in a cluny leaf for no reason other than the design was just too simple. It serves no purpose here. It doesn't add to the design to make it prettier. There isn't such a long chain that it needs to be broken up, I just added it to make the design a little more complex. So this one isn't going into the collection. Bye Bye snowflake.

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-74836071617423280032010-05-19T22:20:00.000-07:002010-05-19T22:47:48.872-07:00What's your favourite patttern?

That's a trick question. You don't think so? Then let me ask you this:Think of all of the motif patterns that you like. Now imagine having to tat it in a hurry because it has to be done by a deadline. Is it still your favourite pattern? If you had to tat something in a rush, would you rather tat a complex design with a lot of cluny leaves, or something simpler? See what I mean? You might find one

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-74886533244177565752010-05-14T14:30:00.000-07:002010-05-14T14:38:08.713-07:00More Snow

This is a picture of one of the tatted snowflakes in the upcoming book. It's 3D and it has a star suspended in the middle. It's in the finished and blocked but not drawn state. I was going to put a crystal heart in the middle, but when all was said and done the heart looked too big for the centre space and so did the butterfly, but the star is just the right size.It was hard to get a picture of

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-54496138411743179702010-05-11T05:02:00.000-07:002010-05-11T05:37:24.087-07:0020 of 30

No, it's not a reference to the Borg collective. It's this number pinned to my board here: These are the completed bits. These are blocked and waiting to be written out. These are finished. 20 of them, or at least 20 that I'm going to use. There are more than 20 on the board. I started writing the number on the board when I got tired of counting them repeatedly. Number 20 was a stinker to draw.

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-34041077079252334222010-05-07T12:16:00.001-07:002010-05-07T21:03:40.615-07:00Bookmarks revisited

We recently had some discussion about bookmarks on the HBT list which was sparked by someone talking about doing a bookmark for her mother's Bible. Bookmarks are fun little bits of tatting that let you do all kinds of interesting designs without a huge commitment of time. If you can tat uninterrupted, you can often complete a bookmark in a single evening. They're also flat and light weight so

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-38673261190542047522010-05-06T06:38:00.000-07:002010-05-06T07:26:47.268-07:00Bookmark in solid colours

I did another bookmark to send to my sister for her birthday. This one is done in 2 solid colours of vintage size 80 thread with a single end. I had to hide the end of the green shuttle 2 thread and the new end of the pink cloverleaf thread while fiddling with the spacer on a tiny bit of chain and since I don't mind sewing in ends I opted for sewing in the pink end. I was using a safety pin to

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-85445408665062310752010-05-04T10:49:00.000-07:002010-05-26T08:55:37.702-07:00Pattern for Bible Bookmark

I didn't think my Bible bookmark was anything special, it just suited my needs. Apparently quite a few of you think it's pretty good and wanted the pattern so I whipped it up this morning. Since I was designing on the fly, how it ought to be constructed, wasn't how I actually did it. So to save a lot of fuss and bother begin with a row of split rings. For an explanation of the symbols, click on

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-16434662612295048312010-05-02T17:52:00.001-07:002010-05-02T18:31:55.255-07:00Tatted Bookmark

This is the most recent bookmark I designed. I used some of the vintage size 80 thread I won on ebay because I wanted to see if it was good for tatting or too frail from age to be usable. I'm glad to say that it worked out just fine. I selected a solid and a variegated that I though would work together well. The variegated appears to be the same as some crocheted pieces included with the thread

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-13725303530950238022010-04-23T10:51:00.000-07:002010-04-23T10:58:06.808-07:00Geek Speak

Since I got this desktop unit about 5 years ago the hard drive and the backup drive have been in racks so that I could insert, back up and yank out the second drive. Hubby decided that repeated connections was maybe causing the system to have problems and it was time to put both drives into the computer permanently. About a month ago I got the blue screen of death when I turned the computer on.

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-56932385233217509912010-04-14T22:10:00.000-07:002010-04-15T08:51:07.732-07:00Legend

I received an email today that has prompted me to do some tidying up. The email was an inquiry into the symbols that precede the crocus pattern. A long time ago when I started writing patterns, I wanted to let people know at a glance what they were getting in to. I have seen patterns labeled beginner, intermediate or advanced, yet I couldn't see any rhyme or reason for the labelling. Other

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-62032414036207859322010-04-05T20:38:00.000-07:002010-04-14T22:08:11.084-07:00Some spring time colour

The birds are singing, the black flies are biting, the flowers are blooming...Well not here they aren't. It's still a bit cold for most flowers. One of the earliest to poke their noses out of the ground are the crocus. A few years ago when the dark dreary depressing days were beginning to drag me down, I was really longing for some colour. Pristine white snow can change the world into a sparkling

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-6545150138065644532010-04-01T20:56:00.000-07:002010-04-01T21:26:21.187-07:00Lemony

I didn't get to eat chocolate and tat today, mostly because I was busy with other things, and too full of this: Yesterday was hubby's birthday and when I asked him what kind of cake he'd like he said lemon. So I made a cake with lemon filling and lemon icing and the darn thing took most of the day to make. On the up side, the whole house smelled lemony fresh.Poor hubby, it was his birthday and

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-11323608082355555692010-03-29T13:36:00.000-07:002010-03-29T13:46:18.633-07:00CTC - Big boys and their toys

When you need to buy something for a youngster, you head off to the toy store, but when you want something for the big boys you head off to this store. At least, in Canada you do. No matter whether your sweetie is into building decks or electronic consoles, cars or hunting, fishing or skateboarding, you'll find what you need under this sign.When the flyer with the familiar logo arrives, the table

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-15443322672917055262010-03-24T08:24:00.000-07:002010-03-24T08:36:30.912-07:00If you tat long enough...

I was doing an update yesterday on the 25 Motif Challenge and noticed a comment made by a newer tatter about how she thought she was finished with a pattern and cut the thread, only to realize seconds later that the design wasn't quite finished. It got me thinking about all the little "I can relate to that." episodes that we all have experienced at one time or other.Things like:The aforementioned

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-78960331140579761262010-03-22T14:09:00.000-07:002010-03-22T14:11:14.589-07:00Finesse

Just about every tatter I know personally, is someone I taught to tat. It's kind of like teaching someone to drive. Your habits, good or bad, become theirs.I've been tatting rather prolifically, for a lot of years, over 30 anyway. There aren't enough tatters nearby to have a regular frequent get together. Once a year, isn't enough to effect changes in the way I tat. I'm pretty set in my ways. I'm

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-66466797639032059812010-03-16T14:40:00.000-07:002010-03-29T16:26:33.021-07:00I love my iron

Now don't think I've gone all weird and am in love with doing laundry, far from it. BUT, as a tatter, my iron is a pretty special tool. Case in point. Yesterday I finished a snowflake design that I though was looking pretty good until I finished that last join and I knew that this design just wasn't going to work without some serious blocking. Blocking is not my favourite thing to do. I accept

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-10809840611882295252010-03-11T14:21:00.001-08:002010-03-11T14:57:38.003-08:00DIY

This house is getting older and so is what's inside it. For years now the bathroom sink has needed replacing but my dearest and I couldn't agree on what to do with it. My disagreement stemmed mostly from the fact that I hate the hideous green counter top and flooring. Those are the bits that aren't showing as much wear and the pieces that I'd like to be rid of.A couple of years ago I tried to

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-22615326426972498522010-03-06T17:36:00.000-08:002010-03-06T17:48:46.907-08:00Design Leaks and Pretty but not Pointy Designs

You may have noticed that I haven't blogged much recently. That's not exactly true because I have been keeping up with daily posts on the 25 Motif Challenge blog. If they aren't done daily, it becomes almost impossible to keep up, so I've been putting other things on hold just to make sure that the challenge blog gets done. There is a team of people, but with regular things like work, families

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-61105740170601748582010-02-28T14:07:00.000-08:002010-02-28T16:24:12.067-08:00Olympics

Canada - Hockey, 'nuff said.Edited to add:The men's hockey game was such a nail biter, I couldn't write any more than I did. I had to shut off the computer to watch the game. Now that it's all over, I'm patriotic enough to be glad that Canada won, but USA didn't make it easy. The 2 teams were so perfectly matched, either one of them could have won. It's hockey the way we like to see it on both

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-19101626297652568582010-02-26T12:56:00.000-08:002010-02-26T13:10:34.566-08:00Finished Embroidered Bird and Tatting or Bust

The bird is done and I'm satisfied with the way it turned out. I've washed and pressed it and it seems to be roughly the same size as the first block done in 2007 and it didn't pucker as badly as I thought it might. It's the same fabric but I scanned the bird with a black background which is why it appears darker that the butterfly. It didn't really take all that long to complete, I just kept

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-56402289155731593532010-02-20T10:06:00.000-08:002010-02-20T11:18:53.425-08:00You LOST it? : Better

Our early Saturday morning ritual was interrupted by a phone call from Mike, our energy audit guy. I thought the furnace and everything to do with it's installation was behind us, but apparently not.His call this morning was to inform us that he'd (or according to him, his kids) lost our paperwork and it would all have to be completed again. The first audit is to tell how energy efficient the

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-64163366802592039562010-02-17T17:10:00.000-08:002010-02-17T17:43:57.668-08:00O Crap!

You may have noticed that I haven't been tatting much. That's because I decided to take a breather and do something different. I went through my stored pictures and found one that I liked and re sized it to fit on an 8x8 inch square. Then I printed it on the laser printer and ironed the image on the cloth so that I can embroider it.. This project is also giving me fits. I know that I did the

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-89870131811534639962010-02-14T21:22:00.001-08:002010-02-14T21:32:59.114-08:00Where's my chicken stock?

Some time ago my Sweetie was diagnosed with Meniere's which has necessitated some diet modifications, principally the reduction of sodium. While this means some additional work for me, I don't mind cooking as long as he doesn't mind cleaning up. So most of the time this arrangement works out really well. My Sweetie is a treasure and I wouldn't know what to do without him.Today we were having

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-53127665577285144772010-02-13T10:55:00.000-08:002010-04-14T22:07:44.235-07:00My Favourite Edging

One of the ladies on HBT asked about favourite edgings. This one is mine. This is the hanky I use most often. It gets stuck in the lapel pocket or tucked in my purse and then back in the drawer. I don't bother doing a proper blocking job so it doesn't look as good as it might, but that's just me.This variation has six small rings 8-8 but the rings are kind of crowded. I suppose if I had made the

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-51095562093502982342010-02-10T17:00:00.000-08:002010-04-14T22:07:11.019-07:00Simple Heart

Things have gotten away from tatting for a while and I'm currently taking a breather working on some embroidery, which I'd show you, but due to working in poor lighting, a colour choice I'd made looks like a dog's breakfast and I'm going to rip it out first. How's that for a run on sentence? Anyway, since Valentine's Day is fast approaching I thought I'd share with you a heart design I did ages

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-87609478739269155002010-02-07T12:52:00.000-08:002010-02-07T13:44:18.269-08:00All about nothing

Just in case any one is interested in our on going tale of furnace adventures, on Thursday they came in and the serviceman said that in the 2 stage furnace, the guys that installed it, had used a jumper, so that it was only running on the second stage so he switched it over and tested everything out. When it shut off, we had left it off to ensure that he would get a proper readout, so the house

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-71007309121321973642010-02-04T09:44:00.000-08:002010-02-04T13:04:00.449-08:00The thread has arrived, the heat hasn't

My thread shipment came today. See what I mean? Nothing in yellow/orange colour. What's stupid about this is that I know the colours I gravitate to and I know that I always need a little of those fall colours, but I somehow, it always ends up like this. The furnace guys came yesterday afternoon and replaced the thermostat because they were sure that would fix the problem. See the lovely new

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-28410033924038376812010-02-03T12:21:00.000-08:002010-02-03T12:59:25.811-08:00Where has all the Yellow gone?

Notice anything about this palette of thread colours? There's no orange and very little yellow. Day lilies, which is what I'm thinking my recently failed snowflake most resembles, are yellow and orange and ochre and bronze and all of those shades of yellow and orange that I don't buy. They aren't colours that I like, so when I go to buy thread I grab the red/pink/purple/blue shades and come home

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-69064697034699545772010-02-02T17:18:00.001-08:002010-02-02T17:24:35.903-08:00It's Alive!

Well it looks like the primrose just needed a little more water because today it's bright and perky again. The furnace hasn't quit on us today and we've finally had a call from the installation company. They are coming tomorrow to replace the thermostat and check the wiring and after that, we'll see what happens.No tatting. I'm put off and don't plan on picking up the shuttles again until I feel

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-28837693205601211382010-02-01T12:18:00.000-08:002010-02-01T13:22:08.879-08:00Utterly random

That's how I feel today. It started with a sock. Why is it that you carefully pair up socks before you start the laundry, but somehow you ALWAYS end up with one odd sock?The blue primrose is a little flower I treated myself to because they were on sale and when I walked by the stand of them they smelled divine. The sad thing next to it was the red one I bought Friday. A lovely little plant just

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-691174565669980582010-01-31T11:41:00.000-08:002010-01-31T12:21:51.585-08:00They didn't tell us

We were told when we got this new furnace that we would have considerable savings on our heating costs. They didn't tell us it would be a result of the furnace periodically quitting and allowing the house to drop down to Arctic temperatures. I think there ought to be a list of simple restarting instructions and an alarm that goes off when the heat drops below it's normal setting. Don't you agree?

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-59769795191213879202010-01-29T08:11:00.000-08:002010-01-29T09:38:59.204-08:00Not AGAIN!!!!!

After our little heating episode Thursday morning, which was resolved by turning it off for ten minutes and then re-starting it, it ran all day. About 10: 00 PM I noticed that it was getting a bit chilly. If the weather outside gets cold it can feel cooler in the house so I checked the indoor/outdoor thermometer on the wall. The top is outdoor and that isn't 94, it's 9.4 F which is bloomin' cold.

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-52413872405471681912010-01-28T08:00:00.000-08:002010-01-28T08:31:53.014-08:0064F or 17.7C

Whichever way you write it your nose is sure to be cold. Mine was when I woke up this morning. See this?The thermostat was set for 73 and hubby turned it up a notch when we got up this morning to see if the NEW furnace would come on. It didn't. We have had this furnace exactly 8 days and it quit on us. It may be set for 73, but as you can see it's actually 64. The thermometer upstairs says it's

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-33815715408889439042010-01-27T17:10:00.000-08:002010-01-27T18:15:34.939-08:00Ebay

In November, for the first time ever I bought something on eBay. I saw a picture. I typed in some numbers. I waited patiently for bidding to close. I typed in some more stuff to pay, and a few days later this arrived in my mailbox.I was so excited about it, I did it again, and a few days later, this arrived, minus the heavy tin which I didn't want anyway.I was psyched. Boxes full of size 80

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-57316420753562847982010-01-23T12:21:00.000-08:002010-01-23T12:34:55.276-08:00Fits

That's what this snowflake is giving me. I tatted it the first time with cluny leaves and while it was OK, the clunies didn't give it anything special. They're a lot of work, they take time and they ought to add to the design, which they didn't. So I replaced the clunies with split rings and re tatted the whole thing. There was a little overlap which I assumed would come out when it was blocked.

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-39951746896322878622010-01-21T11:37:00.000-08:002010-01-21T12:41:09.074-08:00Out with the Old in with the New

Our 33 year old furnace has been limping along that last few years with a lot of coaxing. It heats well enough but it has broken down a number of times. A couple of weeks ago I was up tatting after hubby had gone to bed and I heard a loud clunk. I realized after a while that I hadn't heard the furnace come on for quite a long time so I woke him up to check it out. Whatever it is that fell off he

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-27242530939212024832010-01-18T12:36:00.000-08:002010-01-18T13:52:36.411-08:00Nineteen

Only 11 more designs to go. Twelve of the nineteen are blocked and drawn. Four more are blocked but not drawn. Two more are sitting by my tatting seat. This one looks pretty, but has a few stinking long split chains, one of which needed to be tatted in reverse order. I may need to re-think it, as the only way to tat it in one go, it needs a joining ring in the middle of a split chain.My designing

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-13243021586298672122010-01-11T20:18:00.000-08:002010-01-11T20:41:07.276-08:00I'm on a roll.....

....downhill. I began this one and realized at this point that if I continued it would end up being doily size and not just a snowflake so I cut it off and started again. I tried something along the same lines adjusting for the mistakes in the previous version. I wanted a centre of cluny leaves which I thought would look good but it turned out to be just a mess. I've had 3 designs in a roll that

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831661.post-15113277907778158952010-01-06T12:45:00.000-08:002010-01-06T13:24:57.446-08:00BLECH!!

I used nail clippers to snip the shuttles off the last snowflake while I was sitting in the waiting room and knowing that I was going to be waiting a little longer I started right in on a new design, and just started making a ring without thinking or planning much. I hid the thread ends as I worked the first ring and chain and just carried on.After I did the first ring neatly hiding ends, I

Sharonnoreply@blogger.com5