SteamPunk Day

Well, I did manage to stay busy yesterday. I started the day with a custom order pair of barefoot sandals in white. I mention the white because it meant I was tatting out of a plastic bag. My house has reached a degree of cat friendly that white thread is not safe around unprotected. I was further entertained by he discovery that yesterday had been dubbed International Steampunk Day. The twitter was buzzing with mentions and contests and all that jazz. I personally used the opportunity to find new folks to follow, have a twitter giveaway and enter a few other giveaways I was seeing.

I also took a break from the custom order to indulge my need for an occasional steampunk themed piece. I had bought a ring full of these keys at an antique store in Monterey one year. I have always loved old keys, but these are replicas I believe. They were on a tag from an old furniture store as if they were some sort of display piece. They're still vintage at the very least and I have been meaning to work them into a piece for a while. I opted for something assembled rather than a huge piece of tatting. This is what I call my Cross Of Ambrosius...that's the dog knight from Labyrinth. I work the gray rings separately and then tat the outside black. The design can be worked in one round, but then I'd have to work with cut thread to do two colors and I don't like doing that too often as it's terribly cumbersome and invites kitten intervention.

After I finished that piece, which should get photographed and listed today, I got back to the custom order and managed to finish tatting that as well. I do still need to press it and I want to get pictures of it as well because these ones are embellished with crystals and I want to be able to show people that option without them just having to believe me that it looks good. Then it's back to some remaking. School is out for the summer, but I told the girls that we would be working on a few things over the summer so all that learning doesn't fall right out of her head and the youngest is eager to learn s I thought we'd get the alphabet and numbers truly taken care of. I thought I'd give myself the rest of this week as a pseudo vacation though and just let them play outside aimlessly. I deserve a little break, even if it is just a couple of hours for a few days, right?