I'm Gonna Tat Today

    I'm gonna tat today. I swear I'm gonna tat. I need the break. Lately I have been busy outdoors and I am tired. It is yard trash pickup today so I have something for them. I just put out the last 8 bags this morning. They can have it.

    I have 32 bags of leaves from the back yard. My front yard is not so bad by far, but parts of my back yard are just full. I have trees everywhere. Remember? They like to fall and cause me expense. And now I have to pick up after them. Yeah, it looks better. I like it, but it is a lot of work.

    Well, I'm gonna tat. I have some things to get done and I want to do the tatting, not the raking. That rake is making my arthritis in my thumbs hurt too. That makes it harder to hold the shuttle. I don't care. I'm gonna tat. Then I can post tatting instead of leaves. Gimme my shuttle!

    Oh,  by the way. I gave my buddy next door the hat. He loved it!

Hat Done

    Now I have the knitting done. My hat is finished. I am not sure if I will keep it or give it to the guy next door. I do have a couple of mistakes in it, but they are not obvious so I let them go.

    To me knitting can be boring, so I like to watch videos while I do it. I can knit by feel pretty well so I don't have to watch it all the time. I cannot say that about crochet. I have to watch crochet. I can tat by feel also.
    Anyway, I found some really nice videos to watch on YouTube. They are train rides from the view of the engineer. There is no sound but the sound of the train on the tracks, but some of the scenery - WOW! So far my favorite has been a train across Montenegro. It is a 3 1/2 hour video. They sure have a lot of tunnels. So I  ride the train and count stitches. You may not like it but I do. Now I would like to visit there.

More Knitted Hat

    I told you I was a slow knitter. I can only do a few rows then stop a bit. I am not in a speed contest and don't really care. I did look at some videos on YouTube about the fastest knitters. They do appear to use the continental method, but, as I said, I just don't seem to be able to get the feel of it.

The question here for the day is, am I knitting correctly? Not the stitches, but I seem to knit inside out. The photo above is the inside of the cap.

    The second photo shows the outside. You can see the cables on it. But which way is correct? I have seen discussions that talk about that issue and it seems that I knit on the "away" side of the piece instead of on the "near" side. I don't know that it makes much difference once it is done.
    Does anyone else do that? Oh, and the camouflage color does it's job. Hard to see the cables.

Face of a Madman?

    This is another hobby I am learning. Being a spaceman. NO! I put a wood shop in my shed out back and I go out there to play when I am not tatting or knitting. We all need something different now and then. I don't do it a lot yet, but I go out when the mood strikes. It is nice in the shop. Quiet and alone.

    Did I say quiet? Well, no one bothering me. It is far from quiet. That is why I wear hearing protection. Start a table saw in a 16x20 foot room and you will see how quiet it is. Along with the dust collector, which is a large industrial vacuum.
    In my picture, I have on eye protection, hearing protection and breathing protection. The cutting equipment generates a lot of fine sawdust that I just don't need to breathe. And chips can fly into the eyes. I need those to see what I am tatting.
    I just wanted to post a picture to show how silly I look. But the personal protection devices do help keep me safe. I am already worn out. I don't need more problems!
    Oh, the hearing protection is a commercial type. It has built in noise reduction, a radio and bluetooth. I am usually listening to an episode of Last of the Summer Wine playing on the computer while I work.

A New Cap

    Now and then I will do something a little different. I do know how to knit and crochet so the other day when I was in WalMart, I spotted a color of yarn I had never used, camoflage. I had to try it. I usually make a new cap every year, though not usually for me. I have one that has worn well for several years. I do have friends that like them, though, so I will probably give this one away. 

    I like to work on double pointed needles. I have used circular but this has become my favorite way. The point of all this rambling is not really the cap or the knitting, but the point stoppers. I kept dropping stitches off the ends where I was not working. This has been going on for years, but I am a bit slow. I have never used them before because they are called point protectors and I keep my needles in cases, therefore I thought I did not need them.
    I dropped into JoAnns and bought 8. They stay on well and keep my knitting on the needles. I use 5 needles. As I get to the next one, that cap comes off and goes to the needle I just finished with, sort of rotating them around as I work. And these do work. One more minor problem fixed.

A Charming Charm.

    At Tat Days 2018 I got to meet Vicki Clarke. A charming young lady and an excellent tatter of course. Unfortunately she could not make it to Tat Days 2019, but she did send a small project for everyone. This is her Honey Comb Charm.

    The kit had about 5 yards of yellow thread, size 20, and a hex shaped piece of wood. Mine has a gem glued to the center. I suppose they all did. It is on both sides. There is a small card with her web address instead of instructions. That is fine. I copied the instruction and made a print. I put it aside to finish my class work for Tat Days first.
    Yesterday I was reading Bernice's blog and saw she had finished hers. It looks a lot better than mine. This spurred me to go ahead and do mine. Since I am knitting a hat right now, I wanted a break. I am a slow knitter, much faster at tatting.
    It took me 2 tries to do it. Well, I said it came with yellow thread. The blue I used came from a ball laying on my desk. Why? Because, as usual, I screwed up the first try. I made one whole side before realizing I had forgotten a join, all the way around. Oh, well. Toss it and do over.So now I have a blue one. Back to the needles. You may also notice another "difference", but now it is done.

A Ride to Tat Days

    I told Jane Eborall that the car she designed could take her to Tat Days next year. Well, I don't know about crossing the pond. The sea bottom is probably too rough unless you have 4 wheel drive.  I like her car design, though. I have done a couple of them already. Cute and quick to make.
    If she can get to South Carolina, then I have one for her to drive to Tat Days. Remember, it's her car. But "painted" in USC colors.

    I do need to add doors and windows. I may try that. Does anyone else think this reminds them of cartoon cars from many years ago?