Round 9 Done

    This type of round can be a bit irritating. It is pretty common so I do know how to deal with it. When the rings point outward, the thread tries to catch on them. I find that I can lay the doily across my hand, then fold it back across itself so it is out of the way. At least it works for me.

    Round 10 will be easier. The rings connect to the round 9 rings. They are smaller so it should not take as long. My neighbor that I am making this four is really impressed with it. With half the rounds done it is right on 12" across. 

    I have been working round 9 while watching college football. My team (WVU) just won. It's a fine day.

Renulek 2020 Round 8 Done

    I am now back from the Tatting Corner Tat Days. I had a great time and met some new friends. It was a 14 hour drive up, stopping at my brother's house overnight after the first 8 hours, then continuing to Indiana the next morning. I got there on Wednesday so I helped with some setup. I got to meet Carolyn Craig. I have some of her books and was pleased to get to meet the author. I wish I had taken them to get autographs, but then, I am not an autograph collector. She is a very nice lady. Her ability to design, especially in 3d, amazes me. It was also Kaye Judt's birthday that weekend and it was nice to be able to tell her happy birthday. No, I won't tell how old.

Now that I am back, after a 2 hour ride to see someone in Ohio, then 12 more hours home, I am working on this doily again. The 2020 Renulek Spring Napkin. Remember, I'm doing it for a friend. I just finished round 8. This round is so simple it is tricky. You chain with one picot in the middle, then the ring has several picots that I tried so hard to forget until I was almost half way around. I kept having to take out a stitch or two because of forgetting its a ring, I need picots. Submitted for your approval: Round 8. Now, who's line was that?

Round 6 and Something fast.

     I have round 6 done now on the Renulek Spring Napkin for 2020. It went pretty well. I pulled off the same stunt again, though. One shuttle had only about 8" left when I got through with the round. Now to round 7, which, honestly, I am already 1/4 of the way finished with. The photo doesn't show any of round 7.

    I will be taking this and the pattern with me this coming week. Turns out I am going to Tat Days after all. Oh, I went to Palmetto Tat Days. Now I am going to Indiana for Tatting Corner Tat Days. Lisa Adams at the Tatting Corner (a good place for supplies!) asked for some assistance and it ended up with an invitation so I am taking her up on it and will be attending. Fun, fun, fun. See you there if you're going.

    On another note, and just for interest is the photo below. You may know I like to watch "cab view train ride" videos while I tat. I think they are relaxing and I get to see places I will most likely never have the chance to visit. This photo is from a video trip in France. They have high speed trains there.

The small white text says 320. That is the maximum km/h the train is allowed to go. See the actual speed in red? 317km/h. That means this train was moving at 197 miles per hour. That engineer should drive for NASCAR!

    If you would like to see this video, it is the trip from Toulouse to Paris. It is on YouTube.

The Renulek 2020 Scare

     I am making pretty good progress on the doily for my neighbor. I have just completed round 4. That was a simple round, just a chain, a ring, a chain, a ring, on and on around. I ran out of thread about a third of the way around and joined in with a fresh thread from a ball core that had just about a bobbin-full on it and continued. As I got closer to the end of the round I began to wonder if I would run out. It turned out that I had just enough on the shuttle.

    When I got to the last chain,ring,chain sequence the thread pulled off the shuttle. I was determined to use what I had so I removed the bobbin and pinched the thread in the hole for the pin. I knew I had enough for the chains, but could I make the ring? When I go to the ring, I easily made the first half, but then the thread started to run out. I finished the second side using 2 fingers to hold the ring open and for the last 2 stitches I barely had room to pass the shuttle through. It closed. Now I had enough to make the last chain and get done. The photo shows how much was left. The last chain only took an inch. Whew! Now to hide a couple of tails and wind up a CTM for round 5.

A Customer!

     I have a customer! Well, it is not a paying customer. Ok, it's something for a friend. The fellow next door likes my tatting so he asked me if I could make something for his mother. Having just finished the Beatrix doily, I was looking for my next project. Sure. No problem.

    I had also just purchased the patterns for Renulek's Spring Napkins, 2014 through 2020. I did not get the 2018 as I had bought that pattern 2 years ago. Now I have them all, unless she has them before 2014. Just the spring napkin patterns, remember. 

    So anyway, I called him over and let him look through some books and patterns. He saw the pattern for Renulek's Spring Napkin 2020 and insisted that was the one. He did not know that it was the one I had decided to make for myself if no one had asked me to do a doily. Now is that serendipity? I told him to choose a thread. He liked the Julianna doily on my coffee table and said that was the thread size he wanted. Yes I also showed him a King Tut doily. I asked what color. He had no idea so I told him white always goes with everything. 

    I am now on round 3. Here is a picture of round 2 completed. It is already 4" across. Want to believe I am working in size 20? I may make this in King Tut later just for myself.

Beatrix Done. Finally.

     I have no idea what took me so long, but I finally finished Beatrix. After finishing the testing I suppose I just got busy with other things. If you folks are like me, you are trying to find things to keep the cabin fever away. I can tat only for so long and I want to do something else. But I did stick with it and now it is done.

    If you look closely you will find the mistakes. There are 2. One was done accidentally and the second was by intent so as not to have to redo half of a round. It just "fixed" the error. Without the "fix" the counts would not have come out right. I don't think most people will see it because it is a busy pattern and you probably just won't notice it without looking for it. It still looks good.

Save Your Ears

     The next thing I have from Tat Days is an ear-saver. In our goodie bags were small plastic baggies with some #3 Lizbeth, some buttons and some pearl beads. Put them together according to instructions and this is what you come up with. It does keep the pressure from the mask elastics off your ears.

    This pattern was very kindly provided by Vicki Clarke. It is not hard to do at all. If you want the pattern, she put it on her blog under the heading "I Wish I Was At Palmetto Tat Days 2020." Don't know where her blog is? Look here: https://victats.blogspot.com/. 

    Size 3 makes the right size ear saver. I don't think I would do it in King Tut, though I could if I make it a LOT longer. It probably would not be nearly as comfortable, though.

More From Tat Days 2020

     I finally started looking through the Tat Days CD. While I was in Toccoa I saw people making these little covers for a small retractable key ring. I looked in my goodie bag and there was one of the key rings. On the CD I found the pattern that they were using to make the cover. This morning I took an hour and made mine. It is really a modified ice drop type of pattern.

    My spring cover on the ring is a dark gray so I wanted something that would stand out. I was going to use Lizbeth color #100, but then found that I need size 10, not size 20, which is all I have color #100 in. I checked the very limited supply of size 10 and #677 is all I had that I liked for this. Green is my favorite color. I like it.

The pattern was adapted by Diane Daiker from the Flower City Tatters in Rochester, NY. Thanks, Diane!!

Tat Days 2020

     It's over. Tat Days 2020 is history. But, man, was it a blast! This has been a successful several days for me. First, I now have a road tested car that previously had only been out of town once. Performed like a charm. Second, I learned something in every class I took. Third, there is nothing like seeing old friends. And young ones too. Haha.

    This is the first piece from a class I have finished. It is Martha Ess's block tatted rainbow. It used encapsulation to hide ends. I haven't done that before so it was really of interest. If you know me, then you know I really like finding new techniques and this one was pretty cool. I was able to finish this in class by staying "after the bell" an extra 10 minutes. We had an hour until the next class anyway. I think it turned out pretty well.

I will talk more about Tat Days in a few days. I want to finish all my projects, so I have at least 3 more posts coming, but first I have to tat them. Please stand by!

My Gizmo

     By now most of you know that I like tatting with King Tut thread. I buy the spools, not the cones, though it may be cheaper in the long run. I do use a lot of it off of a 500 yard spool. One of the things I try to avoid, like all of us, is twist in the thread. I got the idea that if I would take the thread off the way it was put on, that is, unwind the spool instead of just pulling it from the end, then the twist would be a lot less. And it is. The problem is keeping control of the thread.
     
    Here is my solution so far. I used a 4" piece of 1"x4" white board and turned it to a 3" circle. I added a couple of grooves for decoration and to make it easier to pick up. Then I drilled a 3/16" hole in the center and inserted (glued) a 2 1/2" long piece of 3/16" dowel that I found at WalMart in the craft department. I think that should be enough information if you want to make one. Oh, 1x4 is actually 3/4 thick, not 1. It's just called that.
    You need a lathe to do the round, or you could use a scroll saw or band saw and sand it. You could use a router for the groove if you want. Also use a router for the rounded edge on top. It is heavy enough that when I pull thread from the spool it lets the spool turn without scooting across the table.

A Comedy Of Errors

    I finally got the 5th round done on Beatrix. You've seen that before. I was test tatting it for Jane Eborall. I got the testing done  but I still want to finish the doily. Right now it is about 6 1/2" across. Of course I am using King Tut thread. One more round to go. The color is a variegated green, King Tut # 988, Oasis.

    Finishing this round was, as the title of the post says, a comedy of errors. I got to the end and found I had joined the last outer join to the wrong picot, one on the inside. That meant that if I went ahead and connected the last chain, then it would cross and twist and make a right mess. I got a little irritated and cut it from the ball and shuttle with an extra foot of thread on each, then put it down over night. This morning I picked it up to fix it.Since the place it joined was all chain, it was simple to undo, just pulling the core thread back out. Where the thread was really kinked I smoothed it with a fingernail. 

    Next I pinched the core thread in a Pop-A-Bobbin shuttle with no bobbin, just letting the pin lock it. That was easier than finger tatting this much. I recreated the chains and about halfway realized I had the thread coming out the wrong side of the shuttle. OK. Deal with it. I got to the end again and it still didn't look right. I was supposed to have 4-4. I didn't. I had used the wrong chain counts. There are two alternating counts. I had to undo that again and finally tat the correct chains. Now it is done. The extra thread I had left just guaranteed that I had enough to work with. Once it was sewn it, it came out pretty good. On to the next and final round! I wonder, how I can mess up that one?

In the Mail

     You know, lately, our mail has gotten worse and worse. When I moved here 15 years ago it came at about 10 a.m. A few years later it got to 11 a.m., then 2 p.m., then 5 pm. In recent months it has come at 6 and 7. Once they even skipped delivering on this street. I know. I was watching. Last evening I checked the mail at 6:45. Nothing. And I know there was supposed to be at least one letter. I do use informed delivery and it shows what is in the mail. I went to bed about 7:30. I don't know what time it arrived.

 

    I got up this morning and went to get the paper at about 5 a.m. It was in the box, as usual. I reached into the mailbox to see if anything was delivered at all. The letter was there. And something I was not expecting just yet. I got 2 new shuttles! Pop-A-Bobbin, of course. If you have seen the Tat's Heaven blog you know that they got hold of some yew wood. That made the mail worth the wait. I am glad I thought to check it. Aren't they beautiful?

     I have to get some thread on them and play. See ya later!

A Bookmark

    Just a simple bookmark. That's all. But in a metallic thread. I did this to remember why I don't like metallic thread. I signed up for a class at Tat Days and later found out metallic thread is required. OK. I will do it, but I won't like it. To me metallic thread is just aggravating to work with. It won't stay wound on the ball, you have to hold things together, and it tries to come off my little finger that I use for tension for chains. It feels "sticky" to work. To top it off, one ball unwound and several "ends" popped up. The thread is fragmented. 

 

    On the plus side, it is pretty. That's all. Pretty. I will do the class at Tat Days, then put this away somewhere. In someone else's stash, hopefully.

    Meanwhile, about 50 of us are attempting to do Tat Days this year. We are going overboard to try to be safe. Class sizes are very limited, we will wear masks, keep away from each other, and have a closed campus. We are also taking temperatures and filling out medical history forms. Well, maybe not a full medical history, but some questions like "have you been ill?". It should work. I will let you know. And I will say "Hi" to everyone for you.

    It has been interesting  the last couple weeks. I watched the IOLI UnCon speeches. They were pretty good. One about the speaker touring Europe and meeting bobbin lacers was the one I liked the most. And yes, I am a member of IOLI. I don't bobbin lace though. I have thought about it, but I really like my tatting, knitting, crochet, ham radio, 3d printing and woodworking (to name a few). I don't need another hobby right now.

    Just like at most "conventions", ok - Tat Days - , they had some free patterns available for the convention goers even though it was all on Zoom. Mimi Dillman, the cluny expert, had one in the collection that I have to try, so here goes. (As if I don't have enough UFO's right now.) She has a heart pattern that is really nice. I will show it here when I finish it.

So far I have made just a few tallies from it to get back into doing clunies. I see that somehow I have a thread in the wrong place so I will just try again. You may remember the looms I made by 3D printing a few years ago. I am trying that and I am trying to do it on the hand. When the arthritis acts up, I use the loom. I finally can relax my "dead spider" enough that I am not stressing my hand so I find I can do it that way sometimes. It may take a little while to finish this though.

Testing Done For Beatrix

    You know, sometimes my own level of stupidity just amazes me. I have been working on testing this pattern for Ms. E. for a while. There are 6 rounds total. For some reason, I feel like I have to finish every round to prove the testing. The other day I realized I don't. I don't even have to do entire rounds at all. Of course I will, though, because I want to finish the doily, but for testing it is not actually necessary.

    I am almost done with round 4. I took a couple of other shuttles, tatted a bit of round 5 onto round 4 in a color that is easily distinguished from round 4. OK, that round pattern is good. Cut and tie off so it won't unravel and try round 6 on top of that. Round 6 pattern reads correctly and works as intended. Testing done. Now I can remove the testing and continue making the doily without the pressure of having to get it done for the test.

    Why did I not think of this before? I suppose it is part of the perfectionist in me, wanting to complete things. All I can say for sure is I am glad it was not the monster doily that I was testing. That one took me about 18 months to complete, but I only worked about an hour a day on it.

    I have not been blogging for over a month. Sorry, but I got busy with other things. Life happens. I think the biggest reason was I wasn't tatting a lot. Arthritis in my thumbs got to where I almost could not hold a pen to sign my name. It is better now. A friend suggested a cream call Blue Emu. I am not endorsing it, but it seems to have helped a bit. The pain is still there, but not as bad. Hopefully I won't be as far between posts now.

Almost Too Busy

    I know we all need something to do, but this is getting ridiculous. I have a lot going on almost too much! I am working on the Serweta 2 doily. I have round 5 completed. There are 11 rounds. Some of them go pretty slowly. That is because they are composed of individual motifs, therefore I have a lot of ends to sew in. One round does not use the same motif. It uses 2 different ones, alternating. I may do all of one, then do all of the other, just to get some rhythm. They do join, though, so I will have to try that and see what might be easier.

    I also have another doily going. This one is a test tat for Jane Eborall. It is another one of the dutch doilies. She has already blogged it so now she has given me permission to do so also. I am using King Tut thread, of course, #988, Oasis. I haven't done anything in green for a long time, possibly since the Monster Doily, so I am glad to be back to my favorite color.

    Okay, ask me why I like green. Go ahead. Want the answer? "What's in YOUR wallet?". And no, I don't mean credit cards. Hehe. Well, at least in the USA we call money "long green" or "greenbacks". And to tell the truth, it seems to me to be a more calming color than blue or red.

    I am also working on the house, the yard, some wood projects, a computer project and a few more things. Yes, I will be returning to the other projects I have. I switch between the during the day to avoid boredom, but so far I really like this doily pattern so I will probably finish it pretty quickly.

A Class In Size

    This past week I have been in class. Picotsnkeys was holding an online class through the The Lace Museum of Sunnyvale, California. It was mostly beginners but I was able to contribute a little to the conversations. The pattern she was teaching was the Sonata Doily she taught at Tat Days last year. I was not able to make the class at Tat Days so I enrolled in this one to sort of make up for it. One thing I was able to do was show size difference between 2 threads.

    Now you probably know I like to tat with King Tut threads. I had already done the doily in King Tut so this time I decided to use size 20 and demonstrate the difference in using a larger thread.

    This photo shows the difference quite well, I think. The top one is in King Tut thread and the bottom one is in Lizbeth size 20 thread. They both look great on my tables.

    I did enjoy the class. Thanks to all involved for allowing me to join in the fun!

Serweta 2 Round 3

    I finally have round 3 done on Serweta 2. This is really letting me learn this thrown ring method. It's like trial by fire. Actually, this is not something difficult to do. The rings are thrown from the "back side" of a split ring. Looking through the book in the instructions, though, I do not see where he designated the symbology for a split ring. I do like his designs but if you do them, be prepared to figure out how to tat some of it. He is not explicit on methods.

    The big reason I was so slow getting this round done is mostly that my shoulder started acting up again so I stopped tatting for several days. It is repetitive stress syndrome and arthritis and bursitis all at once. Now it has subsided for a while. I will see how long it takes to act up again. Oh, well, the advantages of getting old, hehe.
    Did you notice the title again? I'm learning Polish. One word a year. Now, I have to learn the whole language before I die. Is that an insurance policy, or what? And after Polish, Japanese. I should be around forever! How do you say "round" in Polish? As in round 4, coming up.

Another Serweta (2)

     I hope everyone is OK. I am fine, just trying to stay busy. I get to tat a lot more now. I have been working on a few things that I cannot post because they are part of the TAT program. I did decide to do a couple other things lately though.
    The last one I posted was Serweta 1, that tan doily I finished last month. I have started another one of the Stawasz doilies. It is Serweta 2 from the same book, Tatted Treasures. (The red covered one.) This is a photo scanned with round 2 just done. On to round 3 later today. In King Tut thread, of course.

    This one will take a while also. It should be about the same size, though I am not sure. It says 41cm in the book. That's 16". It says size 20. I think the first one was about the same in size 10. I will just have to see what happens.
    Do you see the "technique" needed to do this one? How do you throw a ring from a ring? It comes off the second side of a split ring. That is round 2. Round 3 is the same but the thrown rings will interlock with the tiny picots on round 2. Like I said, it will take a little while to do this one. If I have to stay home, though, I can't think of a better way to spend time.
    Oh, by the way, I was challenged to do Jane Eborall's Medina in King Tut. Here is the bow. I dont have a picture of it with the "angels gown" yet because it needs pressed and I just have not done that yet. I did ask what size this was in #40 Lizbeth. It was 4". Mine is 2 3/4" in King Tut.

Serweta 1 Done!

    It has taken a while, but now it is done. The Serweta 1 is finished. I think it came out pretty well. I know where there are a few minor mistakes, but you would have a hard time chasing them down unless you were just obsessed with it. I think the longest round was round 9. That is the one with the 25 little stars that have to be done one at a time and attached as you go. Then there are 50 ends to sew in. It really wasn't that bad. You sew the ends as you go and it seems like there are not so many. This is now on my china hutch under a silver bowl.

    Keep in mind that the patterns in the book, "Tatted Treasures" by Jan Stawasz, are diagrammed. I do not recommend this for beginners. Intermediate will probably be OK. You need to be able to look at the diagram and understand how to get the tatting done. For instance, how did you get that ring? It is a thrown ring. Did you recognize that? Have you done those? Perhaps you need to use an SCMR somewhere. He does not always tell you this. Jan also has his method with picots that confuse people. This is why diagrammed patterns are not always for the beginner. If you do want to try this, on round 10 there are rings that have no stitch counts. I used 6+2-6 then 6+2+6. They are beside each other and joined.I got the counts from the photo as best as I could make it out. Seems to have worked.
    So now what to do? I have to try to "design" an edging. I am not a designer. I can follow instructions, but it takes an artist to design. I guess I will see what happens with that.

Serweta 1 Round 10 Done

    I have been calling this one Serweta. Why? Well, that way I am familiar with at least one word in Polish. I think languages are interesting and I like to find words that I can remember.
    Yesterday evening I finished round 10. I have one more to go. I think it is looking pretty nice. I did iron it a bit to get it to pose for it's photo. Last post I said this round was floppy. Look between the florets at the chain with the one thrown ring. Several are trying to rise up, even though I ironed them. They try to twist a bit, so I call that floppy.

    I think it is looking good. I have one last round that finishes the outside. It should not take too long. Mostly it is just rings and chains around. Easy peasy.
    The photo is not the best. The background should be a dark blue, not gray. I was not in good light. Sorry. Still, you get the idea.

Lately ... Doily Update

    I have been working on it. The Doily. Serweta 1. I am almost half way around round 10. Round 10 is not hard but it is a little floppy. It only connects at two points on each repetition so I a working "in the air" a lot. It is not bad, though. I have put a tape across so you can get an idea of how big it is. There will be one more round after this one. It should end up under 11".

  

    Spring is starting to rear its head around here. The trees are starting to bud and of course, the grass is growing. Tuesday I decided to cut the grass. I did the neighbor's yard too. Remember, I was in the hospital last month. He helped me out with things during those days, so I returned the favor. Funny thing was, though, that when I ran the mower (I have a rider mower) by his mailbox it bumped it slightly. Really. Very slight bump. And his mailbox fell apart. Off the post. So I built him a new post and put a new box on it. He really, really needed it. Even the mailman said so. I put it in the hole and concreted it. Should last him until he retires.It doesn't look level, but the level I used says it is. The photo looks off. The red post is actually tilted to the left.

    I did go back later that day and put the new mailbox on it. Now you know why I don't tat 24/7.

Serweta 1 Round 9 Done

    Finally. At last. I thought I had to make 24 of the motifs for this round. No, it was 25! I finally have them done. It took a little while because of things going on. I was in the hospital for 4 days. I demonstrated tatting to all the nurses! Yes, this doily. I did several of the motifs while I was there. I have been home a couple weeks now and finally got them done this morning.

 

    The doily measures 9" across at this point. I have 2 more rounds to go. I don't think those will take nearly as long. Making the motifs meant I had to join each separately. That also meant 50 tails to sew in. It wasn't really that bad. You make one, sew the 2 ends. Make another, sew the 2 ends. I will recommend one thing, though. Most of the motifs I started with the first 2 clover sections, then joined the 3rd, 4th and 5th to the doily.  For the last one, I started with what was the 2nd, or outermost, clover, then joined the next 4. Why? Because it was easier to to the last join. The last join on all of them is a folded join. This one was easy because that clover was not attached to the rest of the doily, so to speak. It made it simple.

    Why was I in the hospital? Something I never heard of called cellulitis. They said it is a staph infection. I know it spread up my leg fast. I was on antibiotic IV for 4 days then home with antibiotic. I have another week to take them, but the staph is gone. It just left a big place on my leg that was a blister, so to keep it from getting infected while it heals, more pills. Oh, well. Orders are keep the leg elevated. Guess what I am doing in the recliner!

What Round IS This?

     Last post I had finished round 8 of the Stawasz Doily 1. Now I have started on round ... er ... uh ... well, I am not sure. I think 9 comes after 8. The diagram shows VIII for the one I just finished. I see IX and X, but they come after this one. It seems the diagram did not label the last few correctly. Then, too, perhaps since this round is a series of 24 medallions added one at a time, they don't consider it a "round". Well, to me it is 9 and there will be 11 rounds.

     I have completed the first three medallions (24 required). They are about an inch across. The previous round finished at about 7 inches so this will make the doily 9 inches when the round is finished.In King Tut thread, this is still going to be a respectable 11 or 12 inches across. I did not expect it to be that big.

Serweta 1 Round 8

     I went to the monthly meeting of the Palmetto Tatters Guild yesterday. I got there first so I just sat and tatted until someone else showed up. Then I helped bring in the essentials and went back to tatting. We had a good time and there was even someone new to meet. I like to meet other tatters.
    The lesson was making a tatted elastic bracelet. I did not make that one. I just would not wear it and don't currently have anyone to give it to. I kept the pattern so I could do it later. What I did do was finish round 8 on the doily I have been working. Here is a photo. It is on a towel. I ironed it so the outer loops wouldn't twist.

    This doily has been slow. I am sure now that if I tat a lot my shoulder will let me know it was too much. I was right. I finished it off just after I got home and all night the shoulder kept me awake. It was worth it, though. Round 8 is done and now to round 9. I hope to post a picture of that soon. It is medallions around the outside of round 8. It will probably take a while.
    Serweta 1 is what the book calls it. I think serweta means doily in Polish. Google says tablecloth. Maybe it is a tablecloth. I am doing it in King Tut so the thread is tiny. In size 20 it will be a lot bigger. I did try translating it backwards. It seems that doily in Polish is serwetka. Perhaps K in the spelling is a diminuative, like "little tablecloth"? Here is one of the great things about tatting. It is international and you can learn new things about languages. I never let a language keep me from getting a new tatting book.

Still Here and a Little Better

    Yes, I am still here. It has been a few days since I posted so I thought I would update on the doily I am doing. I have not been going full tilt on it so my shoulder can rest a bit. I have gotten more done than I realized, though. No, I have not ironed or blocked anything yet.

     I am a little over halfway on round 8 of 10. I forgot to put the tape measure in the photo, but the doily measures 7 inches across for this round. Round 8 is not hard, but the one thing a bit "unusual" is that when you make a loop of 11 rings,  then you have a chain to connect to the next 2 picots. Because of the direction it curves, you make the last ring of the loop, reverse work and switch shuttles, letting the one you have been making rings with become the "ball" thread. Once that chain is done, switch back and carry on with the next loop of rings. I don't know about you, but I think little things like that make tatting more interesting.

Sugar and Spice

    I have not been tatting much this week. My shoulder has been killing me. I have had a hard time sleeping. I looked online at possible causes and the one that makes the most sense is an injury to a muscle or ligament. I put the shuttles down and let it rest. The pain has not gone, but it has lessened enough for me to sleep. Tatting seems to irritate it, sort of like repetitive stress syndrome.
    So, this morning I decided that I have been working getting my house cleaned out and such just way too much. I did something different. Have you heard of a website called "Replacements.com"? It turns out they are only about 160 miles from me. I left at 6:30.

    I went in with a list of what I wanted and they had it! They had it all listed online but I did not want to trust it to Fed-Ex. I arrived about 9:30 and left for home about 10:15. I got back at 1:00. I almost ran out of gas, but when I filled up, it turns out I had enough in the tank to go another 100 miles. (I love my Prius).
    So now have filled in and have a full service for 8. I needed the things in the picture, a few plates and a couple of bowls. I inherited the set from an aunt that died 35 years ago. It is Johann Haviland, Blue Garland. Not cheap, but worth it.
    Tomorrow I will be gone all day again. I will be tatting. We have a meeting of the Palmetto Tatters Guild. I can't wait!