Sunshine and hats!!

Morning All

Well, it was sunshiney until a few seconds ago.... now it's cloudy and the wind is quite cool!!  Been at my friends house to get her kids up for school this morning and, of course, the shuttles came with me!!  No chance of me leaving them at home!! LOL

Sooo... the hat now has 3 full motifs on, I ran out of thread at the end of the 3rd one on the 'second shuttle'.... so I wound some on a metal shuttle as you can see....

It's now back to a plastic one!!  The major challenge with the metal one is that it's too heavy to use as a second shuttle/chain thread!!  Made me liccle finger ache!!  However, just before I changed shuttles I couldn't resist taking this pic in the early morning sun!! VBG

I get the impression that the sun doesn't know whether to be out or hided this morning!!  One minute it's sunny, the next it isn't!!

A crochet group on Yahoo that I belong to had a 'brainwave' a few weeks ago.... lots of them wanted to learn tatting.... so.... we now have a new Yahoo Group called 'Wannabe Tatters'!!  Seems there are lots of peeps out there who want to learn!!  What they really need is just a few 'prolific' tatters to show them the way!! Some of them want to learn (shhh.... needle) tatting as well as shuttle tatting!!  Anyone out there interested in joining us??  Just click on the 'Wannabe Tatters' above!!  This particular crazy tatter only does shuttle tatting!!!  I'd feel it was more like crochet or embroidery if it was done on a needle!!  And.... I'd be forever cutting thread!!!

Anyway, coffee calls!

Chat later

It's Raining!!

Morning All

So.... it's not really rain,  more wet!!  Got slightly damp doing the school run this morning.... most parents seemed to have taken the kids in the car.... think they think kids are made of sugar!!!

A good friend text me on Saturday to say she's also now a Grandma!!  Another little girl to keep us all going 'Ahhhh'!!  Sent congratulations to the new parents and new Grandparents as you do!!

The weather kept me in over the weekend tho, well almost... we did go see how the garden hedge is doing, and a few bush sticks are budding, so that's good!! .... anyway we couldn't do much outside... so I finished this:

That makes 14 of my 25 for the year!!!  Just need to put the clasp on now and it's ready to wear!!!  I love the colours in it!  Just realised, you can almost see the shadow of the camera!!!  Roll on Summer when I can wear me sleeveless teeshirts and the necklace!!!

I'm also getting on with the hat....  Motif 3 is being attached as you can see here....  The ends of motif 2 would have been finished.... but I forgotted me whatsit this morning!!  Must remember to look for me scissors....

I think it's going to look good when it's eventually finished.... dread to think how long it will be tho VBG!

The furry cushion is trying to climb on top of son's fish tank.... she thinks that because it's heated and so it's warm up top, then it makes a brilliant seat!!  Definitely shades of.... 'but it's warm so why isn't it for sits???'... makes a change from the computer!! LOL

I may just go blog hopping now.... see what you've all been up to over the weekend!!

Chat later

Furry Cushions!!

You know what it's like when you go to sit down in a chair and find it already occupied??  Well, I frequently find this warm furry cushion in the back of my chair....

Luna is a Madam for doing that!!  Her take on life is.... 'if it's warm, I sits and kips'!!  Cheeky Madam!! VBG.... she's actually a permanent lodger in our house...  belongs to Sons girlfriend, but lives with us!!

The necklace is coming on.... I do love the colours in it.... only now I have to find my ball of thread again.... one shuttle is almost empty!!!  Must find it later!!

Here you go:

Another thing I did a few weeks ago was to find a stack of buttons in a box in the local supermarket.... not being able to resist them I got them and added them to my stash....  However I hate throwing things away.... and the box is Very Useful:

One way of trying to keep my thread for the hat clean!!  Here's the first motif for the centre of the crown!!

Oops.... Noooo.... That's Li'l Miss with some of her first food all around her mouth.... have warned Mum that it gets interesting when it's in her hair.... between her toes.... Remember what that's like?? LOL

Try Again....

Got it right this time!! LOL

Aforementioned Son reminded me a short while ago of an Amon Amarth (some rock or heavy metal band or something that he listens to).... he bought a t-shirt from one of the festivals.... the washing instructions on the inside are very explicit.... full instructions on temp, ironing, etc.... and then at the end it states 'Or give it to your Mum'!!  Guess what he does.... VBG

Anyway, coffee awaits....

Chat later

Finished!!

Planting 108 hedge 'babies' comprising, hawthorn, blackthorn, field maple, beech, hazel, wild cherry, bird cherry, guelder rose and dog rose!!  All mixed higgeldy piggeldy!! VBG

Now I forgot to show you just a bit of the 'stuff' I got at Harrogate last week... so here goes:

First up is the Celtic tatting book.  I did have a go at a small circle with a celtic shuttle, but... I still had to cut the shuttle and the ball off in order to finish it off!!  Think I must have done something wrong, so I'll have to try again!! LOL  Maybe I'll show you a pic of it another day...

What?? You want to see it Now???  Ok...

I may just make another one and make them into earwigs!!

Then there was this:

Given that my DD sings songs and nursery rhymes to our Granddaughter, I just had to get it!!  Keep her bedroom full of animal 'pictures'!! VBG

And, last but not least, there's the shuttles.... the red one is a Starlit by Handy Hands, the 2 painted ones are hand painted by Amanda for Roseground, and the last one was found in a box 'specially for me' by Stuart Johnson!!  He doesn't make them as a matter of course, so I was delighted when he found it lurking for me!!  You can see that 2 of them have been wound already, in fact you've already seen them.... tatting the hat!!

Anyway, that's really all I have to show you today.... the weather is dull, damp, foggy and 'orrible... and those hedge whatsits are in, so.... with any luck I can do a bit of tatting today!!  In between doing lunch and son's packing up and the ironing, and posting a parcel for Sir, and....

Coffee calls!!!

Chat later

I Made It!!!

Into the 'wall of Fame'!!

You know you're getting somewhere when 'certain OG's' start following what you post!! LOL

Yesterday was a gorgeous day!!  We went out for lunch with Madame, the Birthday man & lady... his parents, our son and my MIL!!  Sitting in the sunshine at the side of a peaceful lake... gorgeous!!  Then we came back to carrying on with this 'ere hedge!!

Hopefully the plants will go in today!!  Please note.... this is about a third of the length of our garden!!  It may only be 20 ft wide but it is loooong!!  Incidentally, the privet shown is staying, but it's rather spindly.... we were gifted it a few years ago with virtually no roots!!


Ok... so this hat.... I started it:

First mistake?? Forget to join the chains at the first picot!!

Cut it off, start again:

Second mistake?? Forget to join the 'ears'!!

So, I've started a THIRD time!!!  Hopefully.... well they do say third time lucky!! LOL

Now, you know that I'm not very good at learning not to not read destructions before you tat!!  Ass that I am!!  (Yeah well... Assume  makes an ASS oUt of ME!!) LOL

The necklace is coming on apace!!  I've put some extra beads in the middle simply because I was searching my stash and came across a hailstone!!  I decided hailstones just went with rainbows!!  Did that bit whilst at my friends this morning.... I look after her kids when she's at work and her hubby is working away, and get them up for school and things!!  They go to school when I do!!!!

Here you go:

With any luck I'll be able to share the finished article next week.... hedging notwithstanding!! VBG, I've got another 2 hailstones.... earrings maybe?? and No.... not the 'titfer'!!!  (for those who don't.... 'tit fer tat - hat' in cockney rhyming slang or some such....)

Oh well.... back to the hedge!!  I'll try not to plant me!! LOL

Chat later!

IFT!!

Morning All

Now some little bird told me that it's IFT today!!  For those of you who are not tatters... that's International Tatting Day!!  So, happy tatting day to all tatters!!

More importantly than that, of course, is that it's April Fools Day.... now the one thing that really gets me about April 1st is that people pull jokes on each other on MY Daughters Birthday!!  Not only is it her birthday, but it's also her husbands birthday today!!!

So.... Happy Birthday to Both of Them Too!!  We do tell them occasionally that the only reason they got together was so that they couldn't forget each others birthdays! VBG

Right, tatting....

Now last Saturday was The Last Harrogate Lace Fair (which I hope they don't really mean) and I went along with my Crazy Dutch Friend and her hubby!  I only came back with a little bit.... honest!!  a few threads, some lace bobbins, a few shuttles and some books!  Oh, and some beads and some tiger tail for making a necklace.... I'll show you it when it's finished!!  It did look good when they showed us the example!

So, these 'ere threads and books.... well, a couple of weeks ago I fell in love with this book:

That Hat just has to be made!!!  I've started it, and got as far as the second repeat of the first round.... and then realised that this particular Fool hadn't read the pattern properly!!  So I cut it off and am about to start again!!  'Twill be later tho.... we're out for a meal at lunch with DD and her hubby and his family and our Granddaughter, and Sir's mum and our son....  then son has to go to work.... 2pm till 10pm!!  I may Just have the shuttles in my pocket!!

Also, Sir decided it was about time we made a hedge or fence or something instead of the netting we've got at the bottom of the garden.... so he decided to dig a trench, fill it with horse manure, so that we can plant 100+ hedging plants.... hawthorn, dog rose, wild cherry, beech and whatever else is in the HUGE box that arrived yesterday!!  challenge is... the trench is at the moment a field that hasn't been touched for YEARS!!  Very sandy soil, but.... very overgrown with couch grass!! and brambles!! OUCH!!  Fancy taking tatting time away from me to dig the edge of our garden!  Just to put plants in!!  Mind you, it will look good when it's established!!  I'll show pics later!  I'm sure the cats will Love it!!

Where I stand as a 'Lollipop Lady' there's a beck (a stream) and I couldn't resist taking this pic of it...

my very own bit of wild area in the midst of a Huge new Estate that's over doubled the size of the village in the last 15 years!!  There are water voles just down stream a bit... and I frequently see them 'pottering' along the edge of the bank!

Anyway, back to the manure and the trenches and wrapping birthday presents!!

Chat later

It's....

.... Harrogate Lace Fair tomorrow and I'm going!!!  Have some cash with me.... and on collect are a shuttle, some thread and a book!!

Right.... well, I couldn't sit and do no tatting this week!!  So, apart from the hanky edging I'm doing, I started a pattern of Sally Kerson's ...  Not being a traditionalist in lace of any description... I LOVE colour!!!

So, it's rainbow colours!!

The buttons were in my stash, as were the beads, and the thread is an old coats ball, looks a lot like Rainbow Taffy!!

I think it'll look good when it's finished!!  Mind you, I'm still trying to decide which colour to pick to do earwigs!!!  (all 7??)

Anyway, on with food before I attack the shuttles again!!

Chat later