Taking Time For Tiny

...threads, that is. I used Ninetta's pre-wound shuttles for this. She had the shuttles filled with DMC #80, and also had loaded some nice beads, so I tatted till one shuttle was empty:

One other thing to show and that is from Sherry's T.I.A.S. Day Three. I believe Day Four is up, so I had better have a look.

The Mystery Doily is progressing nicely - still! 

Tonight will be a test as I am going to finish Row Too - and you know 

that means a final join..... : O

Time Off From Trouble

Sharon Briggs has designed some lovely square patterns. These two are tatted with the last of the Karey Solomon HDT #30.

I thought I had already posted about this but apparently I have not, as I cannot find the post anywhere... I am a bit mystified by this - maybe I erased them?

Anyway, here they are, a welcome diversion from the Mystery Doily - which, I am pleased to report, is coming along quite splendidly!

With A Lot Of Help From My Friends

Thank you Jon and Ninetta!!!

ROUND ONE COMPLETED! 

No Mistakes!

It took a week and a lot of hours and over 6 tries, 

a lot of wasted thread, and my teeth are sore from grinding!

Never dismiss dyslexia as some form of excuse.

 It is a real naughty problem for some of us! 

Right Ms. S.W.?

Anyway, there is a great tatting story around this doily. 

I have been following Ninetta Caruso’s photos on Flickr. Here tatting is wonderful, (Her kissing minnows border that appears today on Umintsuru’s blog) and she uses very skinny thread and colourful  plastic shuttles that I have never seen anywhere.

So, I emailed her to tell her I love her tatting and quipped something about needing her magic shuttles to get through the Mystery Doily. I asked her what they were and where she got them as they were new to me. Just little kidding around I thought....

Well, next thing, in the mail:

This amazing woman sent me some of her shuttles - her own shuttles with thread on them - because the store she gets them in was out of shuttles when she went to find some for me! Can you believe it!

And look at the tatting - the little beaded tree and the metallic thread in the butterfly - gorgeous! Thank you so much Ninetta! 

After I opened her package, of course I had to try the shuttles right away. 

Strange not to have the hook, but I began the tatting trip with Clovers, and am used to holding a crochet hook, so I plunged ahead and tatted this right away, without even a pattern as I was so impatient!

Then:

The biggest test lay ahead... the question was to see if the magic shuttles could indeed do the trick.

Last night and this morning I worked slowly and with bated breath on the seventh try at the first round of the doily, and with Jon’s  picture blown up large, my magic shuttles shuttles and a long crochet hook. It worked! How I love magic!

Someone around here was not at all pleased with the you-know language and the final whoops of joy. Not at all impressed...

I had disturbed him from his own enjoyment...

Isn’t he cute though?

Fraternizing WIth Frauberger

I have wanted to try this Tina Frauberger pattern for a while and this seemed a perfect time to do so, since I started the Mystery Doily again and so have little to show. 

The good news is that the new work is much improved, but I have not got to joining the round yet... we shall see.

In what seems another person’s life, I did a lot of knitting and crocheting. That was my job and my hobby; I taught, sold, stitched and designed. Now, I have absolutely no desire to be near any of it.

The knitting stuff is long gone - library, tools wool - everything. Same with the crochet tools, books and stash, EXCEPT for my beloved Profi hooks. They are rather expensive for a crochet hook and my absolute favourites, so I could not bear to part with them.  

Lucky I kept them, for I will be needing them and I will tell you why in the next post. 

In the meantime, here is a tiny sampling of my previous life, before I was soundly struck by the tatting cupid. : ))