Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Anemone Almost Done


A week or two ago I almost finished this doily, "Anemone Nemorosa" by Iris Neibach. It is in her book Tatting Fantasia 2. I was drawn to it because I had not made an oval doily before.

I say almost finished. I have made all the stitches and worked in all the ends, and even performed a bit of surgery to repair a mistake noticed much too late. What I lack is blocking it so it will lay nice and flat so it may be fully appreciated. I've got a styrofoam board and some rust-proof pins. What I lack is the time. I think I will put it away until after the move.

Even with a four day weekend, I did not finish stripping the wall paper in the master bedroom. In my defense, I did not get to start until after lunch every day. We did get quite a lot of other things accomplished, though.

Monday, April 04, 2011

Home Sweet Home

Well, it's official. Today we signed the papers to buy this townhouse.

Goodbye, rent payments; hello mortgage.

Goodbye, apartment plain white walls; hello ??!!??!!

Decorating seems to have been the hobby (or obsession) of the former owners.


This bathroom is nice.




This one.....isn't. It has a fishing reel shaped toilet paper dispenser, too.




This is the INSIDE of my closet.




This, unfortunately, is the wall of my eat-in kitchen.



On the first of an infinite number of trips to Home Depot, I got a wallpaper steamer ;)

Give-away Winner!


The winner of the magazines is sherrya! Please contact me to claim your prize.

Saturday, April 02, 2011

Mary Konior's Rockingham Cross

Sometime late last year I made this series of crosses. The pattern is "Rockingham" in Mary Konior's Tatting in Lace. First I made the solid version above. The pattern is written in 2 parts, but I figured out how to make it all in one pass, using a split chain and a split ring to move into the last section on the bottom. So far, so good.

Next I worked it in this variegated thread I got from the Thread Exchange. This is a size 10 rayon thread. I ran out of thread on both shuttles too soon, so I ended up making it in 2 parts anyway. Even though rayon thread is usually slippery, it was oddly hard to close rings completely. The ring where I worked in the ends stretched out of shape. I've got a little of that thread left. I keep meaning to rework that bottom part, but you know how that goes. After doing a solid and a variegate version, my next project was to make the pattern with both types of thread. Still stinging from running out of thread the previous time, I wound plenty onto both shuttles. About halfway through, it occurred to me that I couldn't work it in one pass anyway, because the split chain would show the wrong color. Or could I? I remembered Jane had shown a new technique for a Single Shuttle Split Chain. It was something I had looked at and decided I would probably never use since I was satisfied with my split chain ability with the traditional method. However, it was just what I needed to preserve the color scheme here. Did it work? Yes. Was is more time consuming than just working the cut & tie & hiding ends? Well, maybe. Still, it's one more technique in my "tatting toolbox." (Note I also used the color-hiding single shuttle split ring trick that Tatting Chic and I worked out.)

I've been neglecting my 25 Motif Challenge. My goal this time was to count only motifs from books. I think this is only motif #3. I really am behind....

Friday, April 01, 2011

Mary's Book Update

I've been getting a lot of questions about the travelling book. Yes, it is now in route. I looked at my list of people, and came up with a geographical scheme. The book will take the longest trip first, and then a series of short hops across North America. (Late-comers will be tacked on at the end.)




Here is the list:


Jon

Marie

Diane

Deborah

Karrieann

Sandra

Mary

Katie

Sarah

Carol

Kelly

Jeanne

**Robert**

Sherry

Brigitte

Ann

Bree

Karen

Connie

Shannon

Michelle

Julie

Laura

Ronda

Linda

Deb

Roberta

Nancy

Leah

Meriem

Martha

Coretta