Fall is here

 This last weekend, I traveled to the “big city” for a concert. About an hour from my home. Not bad driving. The weather wasn’t great at the Bay and the weather in the Valley was passable. So, I guess the day trippers were watching football or something. Anyway, I enjoyed the concert and camaraderie.

It took going inland to see the trees turning the bright golds and reds of Fall. I tried to snap a picture with my phone but ran out of time to catch the best light. The maple was gorgeous! Now, we have maples and plane trees growing in the neighborhood; most everything in my yard is evergreen though. The plane trees leaves turn colors and drop off branches. Only the wisteria loses leaves after they turn a delicate yellow/gold. Oh, and the cherry tree…..itty-bitty cherry tree.

I have more Autumn color stitching I could do. I think I will finish the Christmas gifts first. Perhaps I’ll have a preview for the Thursday post.

A new challenge

 IOLI has issued another challenge. I can see so many possibilities! Now I must sift through what I have in progress or sketched out.

Perhaps another edging to a bookmark?

Decorate clothing with tatting?

Create something using crochet + tatting or Cro-tat + tatting? Muskaan posted some good ideas.

I think I’d better brainstorm a list, set it aside, let it percolate for a few days (NOT lose it!) and then decide what I’ll be creating.

The presents are piling up

 

This kit didn’t take long to finish. The part that I spent the most time: replacing the white beads that got separated from the kit before I received it. I wonder what they were used for? I’ll never know…..

I’ll trim it and add a way to hang it. I hope it will be treasured.

How do you plan a project?

 Do you grab your shuttle, or needle pack, and thread and just start creating lace?

    Do you brainstorm on paper drawing out a design?

        Do you study a piece of tatting and figure out the pattern?

            Do you study what you’ve tatted previously to figure it out?

                Do you grab a book or open that doc on your computer?

I do all of the above.

Which is why I don’t have a lot to show for my design time. I need to pick a vector and stick with it (as my favorite creative engineer says) so that I stop adding to the bits and pieces pile and start adding to the finished design pile.

I will be taking a page from a writer’s group I know of: regular meetings for encouraging and holding each other accountable to our goals and dreams. Care to join me?

What to do with someone else's UFO?

In my adventures, I have received boxes of “stuff” with “things” in them. Usually, it’s when someone is down-sizing or clearing a house. I’m not sure if living in a historic home influences this or not, but I’ve had fun!

Some of these things are useable: a pin loom, plenty of stitching thread, tatting thread, and lots of scraps of material to stitch with.

Sometimes there’s a half-finished project (or UFO) that intrigues me. Benefit from someone else’s kit fixing, add tatting to it, or try out a new technique. This is one I finished last weekend:

Now to figure out how to use it!

Practice while finishing a UFO

 I wanted to practice a few of the stitches before starting the companion piece to the Autumn Ornament. The mentor who started me on this adventure very wisely gave me a bit of canvas to play with. I needed a bit more than she thought I would. What to do?????

In clearing out more “stuff” I ran across this uncompleted bookmark from my daughter’s Girl Scout days. It needed the bit of border finished. I mused that it needed something after the exclamation point. A smiley face? Something with Spring in mind? My mind wandered to the final stitch I thought I would practice.  Hmmmmm will it fit?

I think it did! Now to find a home for it. I’m thinking of including it with a book I’m returning this weekend

Afraid of.....

 

This is on the side of a box that arrived. The product inside is supposed to help keep moisture down in the 3-D printer. It provided a giggle and smile to our family!