Knitting my fingers to the bone -

and this is what I have to show for it:

The first is the bat wings shawl. I tried to get a close up of the glitter, but they all came out blurry, so you'll have to wait till it dries for that. The second is going to be the sheep costume and the lamb will be identical. The sheep will get painted so it has some gray in it but the lamb stays white? Or maybe the other way around. Either way, both have to be to the costumer and painted before the end of the month . . . better hurry.

So that post this morning didn't count for much, did it? Here's a bit more. First of all, I just picked up today's mail and it was much better than usual. Sure there was the normal pile of bills and boatload of junk mail but tucked in the middle somewhere was this:



It's my class list and homework for Stitches South! No homework it turns out, but still cool classes!!!





And I'm still trying to tat a little every day - some things turn out better than others. I told you I was starting to work on a much bigger project than I usually do and it's coming along, well, at least it's getting much larger than most of my projects - see:

There's just one, tiny, little, insignificant issue . . . it's supposed to look like this when it's done. It ain't gonna, at least I don't think it is . . .

And, yes Dena, I'm still studying hard, really hard, for you . . . .

Still using it . . .

Costumes!

I went to rehearsal Saturday an unsuspecting actor. McNair had decided to divide the time between the two shows; Chorus Line went first. Charlotte's Web sat in the audience to watch their run through, and I was begining to get upset at the amount of time we were spending on Chorus line. We'd spent more than half our time in the audience. When we were sent back to the costume shop and there were costumes, well.... You see, costumes are always very exciting. They help an actor get into character and get a feel for the story, they help the audience believe the character and get into the story, and they are fun to wear. So I basically forgot I was angry. The costumes are so cute! Everyone loved them. Here are two pictures of me in my Charlotte costume. Isn't it grand-- or should I say Radiant? You can see most of Templeton's costume, too... I Templeton (the actor-- actors end up being identifiable by their parts). She's a great actress. She does a great job as Templeton.

Studying . . .

For Dena. Hope it helps!

This is a blog about fiber arts . . .

right?

Well, that and other things that interest me or might interest you. So, here are some gorgeous flowers from my yard - first the daphne which smells absolutely divine right now! And second, one of the many camelias . . .

Now the fibery things. I had to put poor Mr. Greenjeans back in time out. No, I didn't try him on and decide he was still sized wrong, I just got assigned knitting with a deadline. The blue sparkly shawl (to be) is for the bat in Charlotte's web and must be done by April first. That wouldn't be difficult, but I must also have the sheep and lamb done by then and that makes the deadline a little tougher to do - but still doable, I think.

And this is the deep turquoise/purple yarn I made with the Miss Babs rovings that I want to make into a shawl like D's beaded shawl. See how good those beads look with it? Imagine just how pretty it's going to be. Wonder if I'll get it done before I come visit again . . . ok, maybe I'll get to start it the next time I come visit.

And, these are the pieces I tatted with Dena when I was out there. Two celtic motifs and a celtic butterfly. I didn't take a picture of the snail because it sucked. I'll take a picture of the new one I make that is going to be beautiful . . . when I get it made.

These are two little bits I've made since I came home - a Dove and a butterfly. They are both from the online tatting lessons. I'm working on another piece that's much bigger and more ambitious and I hope I can finish it. If I do, it will be the biggest piece I've ever done. I've decided that I really like tatting and it would be too easy to let it go and forget what I've learned. The more I do it the easier it gets and the nicer my finished pieces look and I want to keep it that way. So I have resolved to tat some at least every week. I would like to say I'm going to tat some every day, but I doubt I would be able to keep that up, so I'm going for an easier target. If you don't see tatting on here at least once a week, I'm slipping and need to be reminded of my resolution.

Saturday Afternoon/Evening (3/13)

So, while D, Mom and I went to town, the kids played cards. When we got back, they were still playing cards, but there were more of them. Mom decided to hang with them cuz they was more excitin' than us old fogies!

This is Miss M taking a picture of me taking a picture of her with her new camera. (Thanks Gramma!)

A gratuitous picture of the cute dogs who hang around out there . . .

D and I practiced our Tatting and learned new things about tatting. There was some cussing and fussing to be heard, but nobody was listening. We also studied hard for the tests D was going to have to go thru this week. I tried to teach her how to really study, but she didn't have enough wine at her house.

And the kids continued to play cards and yet another one showed up . . . . how does that keep happening?

Saturday Morning (3/13)

So this is how some people are awoken in Idaho . . . and I didn't hear any complaining about it when it happened. In fact, I think it's a great way to get this one to wake up with a smile.

And this is what Jon-boy looks like early in the morning . . . after cracking his noggin.

It snowed on the nekkid mountains overnight and this is my feable attempt to get a picture of the nekkid mountains dressed in their finery. Pretty lame. And, of course it was all melted a couple of hours later when we drove back thru the pass into the valley where D lives.

Friday (3/12) Night

Since I didn't get these posted while I was in Idaho, I figured I'd go ahead and post them now. Better late than never, you know. The girl cooked supper with Aunt Dena's help - they did a good job and we all enjoyed supper. The girl lost the paper that they wrote the recipe on so she's hoping that her aunt will rewrite it down for her. And thanks in advance, Dena.

After cooking, the girl was made to serve it . . . didn't toss any of it on the floor.

And Jen brought poor, broken Jon over so that his Mom could take care of him while he was indisposed. He managed to have some fun . . .

The girl needlefelted this purple rose while she was there - that's my Iphone beside it for scale. It's pretty, isn't it? I guess I need to get a rose mold so the girls can make more . . . I'll have to see if they have them here anywhere.

Nobody fell . . .

That's Gramma's friend Joann unloading her horses from her trailor. Yep, never a dull moment in Idaho.

This girl rode this horse for about 2 hours.

This girl read, watched, played with dogs . . .

Ever heard of Horse Soccer?

Someone found a friend - who really loved her.