TIAS 2013 - Day 6

OK I can say it was just lovely to have an uneventful tatting installment without any hiccups enroute!!!  Now I'm still going with a grocery shopping cart but seems many are guessing a baby carriage/pram.  Well another five postings and we'll know what this is to be.  BUT I can tell you that while working on this baby at my Lace Gathering today I was told with all the new learning within this TIAS that I was producing "good neurons" which helps stimulate new brain cell growth!  HMMMMM OK!!!

TIAS 2013 - Day 5

WAHOOIE!!!  Finally back to some tatting I'm comfortable with but I did have to follow the instructions for the "Lock Chain" (something new to me) and refresh my memory on a lock join.

Now as for my guess I'm still going to stay with a grocery shopping cart!  We are halfway through with the mystery instructions so soon we'll see what this baby is going to be!!!

Ireland Trip

YAHOOIEEEEE!!!!  Today I've paid in full for my Ireland bus tour - before the February 5th due date!!!  YEAH!!!

Now it's to get confirmation of my flight booked and pay that baby off next week.

THEN to pay off the small IOUs to family and it's saving, saving, saving for my spending money for that trip!  I know I'll be bringing home some souvenirs from the areas we'll be touring and naturally the International Quilt Festival - WOW.  I'm even thinking of taking one workshop during this even - apparently they supply the sewing machines and there are kits to purchase too - will see!  So I wanna make sure I am not "scrimping" after this past 6 months of cutting corners to make this possible.  It probably would have been a bit easier or maybe the IOU would not have been necessary if I'd not taken in that newest quilt retreat this fall but what's past is past and I'm doing OK!

TIAS 2013 - Day 4

OMGG I think this TIAS this year will try my patience!!!  LOL!

See it was absolute torture for me to do the split chains (still not sure I got it down pat) and then this Day 4 introduces the Catherine Wheel Join.  Well after doing about a half dozen I realize I MISSED ONE JOIN and much "rippits" and "redos" again.  So finally I can say I got this baby down pat and it sure does make the joins look lovely and smooth.

BUTTTT I still do not have a clue what this will be.  I still agree with one of the tatters that it may be a tea cup, but then again another said we've just started and there will be may surprises ahead!!!  All I know is leave it up to Jane to keep us guessing!!!

My New Acquisition

OK one of my fellow tatter/lacemaker is one awesome needleworks enthusiast and has her own shop and does unbelievable hand painted canvasses for customers.  But to me she was one of my lifesavers in regards to mastering TATTING!!!

And as I'm travelling to Ireland and taking in a bus tour along with the International Quilt Festival of Ireland I want to take along my tatting and hopefully a mastered Angel pattern and hopefully have a few ready for Christmas gifts.  Naturally I've been thinking of HOW I'll be carrying and storing my tatting paraphernalia on the trip.

So I was very very interested when Ewa showed off her newest project "Irish Crochet" totes in small, medium, and large sizes with lining.  Hmmmm with linings with pockets for shuttles and cotton ball in the centre would be perfect and attractive too!  After a few weeks I hummed and hawed but could not justify the full cost for one of these beauties and emailed Ewa to see if she'd like my newer crocheted cotton balls, I was not using anymore, and some type of exchange.  Well it materialized to a fair barter and I paid the difference and now am the owner of this lovely tote.

Now just to design and stitch up the lining with pockets and I'll be ready for mobile tatting.  Again thank you Ewa for your lovely work.

TIAS 2013 - Day 3

OK I still do not like doing the split chains and I know these are bad examples but I consider them better than cut and tieing and burying those nasty ends.  And I still do not have an idea of what this is shaping up to be either.

TIAS 2013 - Days 1 & 2

Yes Jane Eborall is back again this year with another "Tat It And See" mystery project and she says this year's participants is much more than other years and she has her hands full keeping up blogging all entries!  See we LOVE your creativity and designs Jane!!!

So every three days Jane uploads another snippet of instructions and we keep adding to our tatting and if we've a clue as to what it'll grow up to be we can say so!  It's kinda funny reading some guesses but gosh the selection of tatting cottons and more so the SHUTTLES that are being used by the ladies and yes gents too is phenomenal!

I didn't get around to blogging Day 1 earlier, so here it is with Day 2 and just in the knick of time as tomorrow is Day 3!!!

Now I can tell you that the join between Row 1 and Row 2 is a split chain and well my first attempt was on the blue thread and it worked out mucho better than my second attempt on the yellow thread.  Oh well considering that was my first try at SChs I'll just leave it.  AND as to what it will be I have no idea, but Jane has given clue #1 as "blue" and clue # "baby pram-ish" - still does not help!

CQing Update

Slowly but surely I finally got another set of WWCQ "Build a Seam" RR blocks completed and in the mail.  These take me weeks to work on and when I meet a stumbling block it's a bit longer.  Hopefully this month I'll get myself caught up and I know for sure I'll not sign up for such an involved RR again.  I'll stick to the smaller ones - less work involved in them.

These are blocks belonging to Lorrie and here are the pictures after what I worked on.

I added in the blue/yellow above triangles and
the pinkish below the white arches

Blanket/Buttonhole

I added in the cretan baskets on both ends and
the full seam treatment above.

Cretan

I added in the replica outline in purple  then the gold
detached chain and the pink fan like things.

Added my tatted butterflies here.

Do Your Own Thing

I did this whole seam treatment.

Feather

Added the fish above and the
swirls to flowers below with boxes underneath.

Outline

I added the pink fly st caps on lower treatment,
then added the mauve and yellow in between greens.

I added the double herringbone above.

Herringbone

I added in the star seam treatment above and
the designs in between  the flowers.

Straight

I added in the tourquise chain, the hearts and
the diamond seam treatment.

Chain

I wove the blue/orange ric rac together and
anchored with Colonial knots, cretan stitches and
added beads ontop and overcast circles bottom.

Ric Rac

So now it's onto the next set of blocks, which the day after mailing these off to the next stitcher, I planned out each of my additions for the nine blocks belonging to Joyce.  She did put in a personal request for my cretan stitched trees so I hope she likes what I've come up with.  Her blocks are so exquisite I'm afraid to stitch on them.

My New House Sitting Friends

Yes I've met a new acquaintance, a friend of my girlfriends, and she's asked me to look after her cats while she went away for three weeks.  Well there was a slight glitch and that trip got cancelled but they did zip away for a week and I did look after her babies!  They are a might spoiled but heck what children/pets aren't spoilt to some extent by their parents!!!

It did take them (well not Damien) three days to adjust to me, but Louise did not make it difficult whenever it was time for her insulin shot so that was good!  And Bayda well as long as I picked up the hair brush she was right there and then shortly after that I'd put her in the kennel with the vaporizer on for her breathing condition.  

Finally on Thursday I think it was, that Louise graced us with her presence in the living room in the evening and lo and behold the next evening too.  Well that weekend she even slept on the couch and greeted me in the morning - so sweet!!!  Needless to say that weekend I had Bayda on my lap and Louise and Damien on either side of me while watching TV - definitely no stitching with them that close by!  LOL!

Bayda

Damien

Louise

Yes, they require their own water glass,
changed daily or they are in your's.

The only drawback of this session is that I came down with the stomach flu and had one heck of a weekend and the following week when back home!

WOW I'm Behind in Blogging!

Guess you can tell I've been under the weather (basically with head cold and stomach flu this past month) as I've not blogged.  Yes I've done some CQing and some tatting and only unpacked a couple more of the 20 some boxes still sitting in my living room.  I've spent some time under the afghan or fleece throw and watching TV or reading - no energy.

Well it's time to get cracking!!!