We Have Normality...

“We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem.” - Douglas Adams. I always loved that expression from the book. We got the TV back Saturday and yesterday we got our phone and internet back so now I can get back to posting on here a bit more.  My brother came down from West Virginia with a big chain saw and cut up that tree in the back yard. I could not have done it. I have tree chunks all over, but at least they can be moved to the road for removal by the city.
Back to tatting. I am almost finished with the second piece for the TAT proficiency program. I should finish it today. I wish I could post it, but I will respect the program. I would not want to cause unfair advantage. Actually, if you are attempting this, the piece I am working is not that hard, and it is rather fun to make.
I am anxiously awaiting the next meeting of the Palmetto Tatters Guild. I had one member submit the "Monster Doily" to the state fair. From what I can find out online, I won the blue ribbon. I was not able to go to the fair because of health. I was driving earlier that morning and had an attack of being light-headed. I did not want to chance driving like that for 70 miles.  I looked it up online and it appears I won 2 categories. I think I also won the award the guild gives out. I did get a check from them in the amount of the award.
When I was at Tat Days and won the best of show with that doily, the prize was a tatting bag from DS9 designs. I thought I would give it to the wife as it would look a bit like a purse and what man would carry a purse. Heck with that! I use it. I take it with me. I take it to work and tat at lunch. It is a nice tatting bag and I really like it. If someone has a problem with that, it is their hang-up, not mine.

We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/douglasada136669.html

We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/douglasada136669.html

We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/douglasada136669.html

We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/douglasada136669.htmlWe havefdfaewefewf

We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/douglasada136669.html

We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/douglasada136669.html

We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/douglasada136669.html

We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/douglasada136669.html

Still No Internet

I really want to do more posting on here, but since the storm, I have little access to the internet. We got our power back, but when they replaced the pole the power was all they restored so I still have no cable TV, no phone other than cell phone, and no internet. I don't want to post much from the phone because I don't have much of a data plan.
I have made a bit of headway on the spinning wheel glass mat, but I keep getting other things in the way. One thing is the second part of the TAT program that I am working on. It is coming along nicely so far. Tonight I plan on starting the second project. It happens to be one of Jane Eborall's patterns, but I cannot tell you which one. If you want to make it, you can probably go to her website and make one of everything. It is probably on there. Jane, when are you going to publish a book of all your designs?
I am still working on that idea I have for a design. I finished the second round (another of those that I pick up and the wife calls for something that needs doing). This might look OK the way I have it, but I have secret plans for it. Now to try something for round 3. I guess i will try to incorporate that lonely ring.

Back to Work

We got power back on at the house yesterday around 7 pm. Glad of that! I was able to get that hot shower I needed. Slept better too. I ran my generator all day until they fixed the power lines.
The weather people had predicted 5-6 inches of rain and 40 mph winds. We got 12-14 inches of rain and 70 mph winds. I think they were off a bit.
The contact people from work texted that the plant was back on power and we could work today. I am posting from work because, though I have power, I do not have TV or internet back yet. I have been reading posts and such using my cell phone.
I was not feeling too good yesterday, probably because I had not been eating much, with trying to find things we needed like gas and toilet paper. Yes I found them. Really needed the paper for the 2 women. (Wife and her sister). But to try to slow down a bit and keep a little sanity I started a glass mat from the Konior book Tatting with Visual Patterns. Its the spinning wheel looking mat. Got a bit done, probably could have finished it if I had felt better. I will finish it in the next couple days.
A bit of good news, I got, in the mail, my artisan portion of the TAT program. I am ready to get started on it but it may have to wait a little bit.

In The Dark

The storm is gone and cleanup begins. I had someone come by with a chainsaw and cut the tree out of the driveway. Getting out of the neighborhood is a challenge. Still a lot of closed roads because of fallen trees, power lines and flooding.
Trying to tat a bit before sundown. Guess what I have now. A set of Mandatory's Shuttle Holsters! Aren't they neat? I asked her if she could add a bit of elastic to one because I like to use my silver shuttles and they were slick and fell out. She did that and now they work so well.  She got the right tension for that elastic. Now they work great.

After Matthew

Well this sucks. I have trees down and the yard is a mess. We'll get through it but it'll take a couple of weeks. Here's a couple photos.

Hurricane Matthew

This is fun. Hurricane Matthew came ashore just a little bit ago about a hundred miles from here. Our power has not gone out, just flickered so it restarts the computer. The internet went down for an hour and we have tropical storm conditions outside. I don't think we will get the hurricane winds. Most is about 40-50 mph gusts and rain. A lot of rain. Since midnight probably 8". Maybe more. I don't feel like there is any danger, just mostly inconvenience. I do keep having to check the storm drain to keep it clear. I just grab an umbrella and a rake. I get wet, but not too much.
So what am I doing while the wind blows? Tatting, of course. I don't need power to tat, just a bit of light and a loaded shuttle. So far this morning I have made the butterflies below. In a bit I am going to see if there is a football game on. If not one I want to see, I may go back to tatting.

I have also been working on some of my "project". I think I like making the SCMR's more than the LTR's, so I will probably go that route, but that is not my final goal.

Working on it

Please bear with me. I am still trying to figure out how this blog thing works. I finally got rid of the link to Google Plus, as I do not use it or care for it. I am trying to figure out pages and links. I know there are gadgets but what is "undefined"? I have some reading to do. I want to do a links page, a book list and a Tat Days page at the least. And maybe some photos of stuff I have made. Anyway, lost a pair of Gingher scissors to the washer. They rusted overnight. Ordered another pair. I went to Jo-Anns because the online ad said they were half off. Then the store people said they will not honor the ad. I won't be back. I did send an e-mail to the corporate telling them they may as well pull our store out of ads because they won't honor them. Ordered it from Amazon. I just need another pair of scissors. Should be delivered during the storm that's coming.

Got it!

I finally got what I was trying to do. Simply put, loop tatted rings. I have done them in the past but it has been a while and I kept getting it all messed up. I know what the problem was.
1. I had too many threads in front of me tangled up and making a mess
2. I was in a hurry. I was in such a hurry to make 3 rings that it only took 3 days. I need slow down and take my time to get it right.
So now I have the rings the way I want them. I am trying to work out the stitch count and ring size for some of the elements I want to use. Now I am getting somewhere. But like I said, size 20 thread is a lot easier to see than the Sulky 712 thread. Now I am going to slow down with the Sulky and see what happens. I bet it works.
By the way, the first two sets of 3 rings are using a mock ring with thrown rings. The third set is a normal ring with ltr's. They look about the same. I think that is supposed to be how it works. That extra ring was just a notion I had. I dont know if I will do that or not. Now to see how the round would look. I am not real happy with the long chains yet.

Weekend is coming

Sounds like Game of Thrones. Might be. They just closed the schools for the rest of the week. Hurricane Matthew should arrive around midnight on Friday night. They say it will be a category 2. We are about 70- 80 miles from where they say it will make landfall. I guess we will just go to bed and get up if it is too noisy. The wife is nervous. I figure I cannot do anything about it. If the lights go out I have a generator that is good for a few hours per gallon. I cannot tat tonight. I want to. I am still trying to figure out a couple things. But I have a radio club meeting (amateur radio) and we will be making plans for the storm. When the cell towers go down, radio still gets out. Will tat more in the morning and see if I can get it right. I tried to do some experimenting with what I want to do at lunch. Sort of got most of it, but still a couple glitches. I will get it figured out before I tell what it is. One of you probably could tell me what to do, but sometimes I just want to do it myself. One of the problems is probably that it is a bit harder to see Sulky 712 thread. I should probably work it in 10 or 20 first but I do have a stubborn streak. And actually, what I want to do is a preliminary before I do the final idea. I better get ready for the meeting. I hope we don't have to activate emergency services. They look at me funny at those meetings any more. I just sit, listen, tat away...

It's Monday...Again

New work week. Up at 3 a.m. Always. Weekends too. Habits are hard to break. Still a bit under the weather but I have to go in. I get up early so I have an hour or so of quiet to tat and think. I think mostly about tatting at this time. My experiments this morning are not working right. I wanted a cluster of rings, but they were chained together, not the way I want them, so I will try again this evening or maybe tomorrow. I am trying to design, for once. Never did before. Just followed patterns. I have an idea in mind, but I have to get it worked out. Why do I want to do things the hard way? No photo of that though. I threw it out. On the bright side, this past Saturday I did get my apprentice pin for the Tatters Across Time. Pretty nice! I have already submitted the fee and application for phase 2. It looks like it will be a lot more challenging. I can do it. Just a matter of attitude to me.

Thrown Hanging Cluny

Well, that worked. I like the colors better now. Can't abide that orange. Now to business. First up I suppose is something I have not seen but think may be useful. I can do a thrown ring easily, but how about a thrown cluny? And a hanging cluny at that. I got it finally. Its a 3 shuttle project. I have a design I am working up for them. I still need a lot of practice at clunies and shaping, though.

Start Here

I am told that I should have a blog online somewhere. I suppose this will do.
This will showcase my tatting, experiments, failures. Well, we shall see.
First I have to figure out how this thing works. Hehe.