Fits and Starts

Since it is Tatting Tea Tuesday, I thought I'd show that I really have been tatting.  This is a false start on Crazy Mom's Count to Four necklace.  It actually isn't a mistake, I was trying to modify it and seeing which way I liked it better.

This is the completed necklace.  I couldn't quite count to four, but I am pretty good up to three so it's a count to three necklace.  It won't work for what I wanted it for, but there it is - all but the ends dealt with.

So then I got out some of Anika's HDT and started a dragon wing doily.  I messed up several times before I abandoned it.  It just wasn't fun.

This is an attempted start of the Spring Flowers pattern by Julie Patterson .

This is take two - much better but I decided it was too floppy to be a great bookmark and I really wanted to make a bookmark for Girl Far From Home.

So this is the start of Convolvulus from Tatting In Lace by Mary Konior.  Oops - see that stem going the wrong direction?

Another start . . .another oops.

Finally!  I finished (except for ends) object!  It's lovely and I think someone will really like it.  Girl Far From Home may not get it though because she's mad at me.

I was so happy to have actually finished something that I decided to make another of the same thing!

So, see!  I really do a fair amount of tatting during the week.  It's just that come Tatting Tea Tuesday, I don't always have something I want to show . . . 

Knitting is another story - I'm way better at knitting than tatting because I've been doing it so much longer.  This came in the mail this week.  I'm supposed to knit two Shaun the Sheep - one for Girl Far From Home and one for The Roommate.  I dunno if they'll get done by Christmas or not . . . maybe.

I found this magazine on the Vintage Knits website - they have lots of old magazines with knitting and sewing and crafting patterns in them.  I wanted this one because that doll on the cover is sort of a family tradition.  I got a little doll like this for my second birthday.  After that, all the girls in the family got them - most of my sisters and all of the next generation girls.  Mom had already given me the pattern for the doll, but this magazine has lots of clothing that will fit the doll.  Now I just need to learn to sew . . . I'd love to have one made for my nephew's little girl who is two and her sister to be.  My nephew and his wife are flying to China (as this is being written actually) to pick up a little orphan girl and bring her home to be their own.  

 

Dena and I bought these books (a copy for her and one for me) so we could knit some of the cute things in them.  There are lots of little holiday decorations.  She and I have plans to make a very special present from one of them.

I ran into someone selling these two books for a reasonable price.  I already had them but they are out of print and can be very difficult to find so I bought them as an investment.  When Anna's new book comes out, I think these will go up in price and maybe I can sell them for a profit.

Another used book but this one I bought because it has some really cute patterns in it and I have an awful lot of homespun yarn.

 A couple of used lace books that I found for a pretty good price.  I love lace books and love knitting lace so since they were cheap, I added them to my library!