Um...

It was a fairly busy day in the shop yesterday and that kept me busy tatting most of the day. I must have done something wrong though because halfway through the day I hurt my hand or wrist somehow. The injury manifested itself when I tried to open a jar and it sent searing pair up my wrist. It seems fine this morning so I'm hoping it was just something I did and not something you know...permanent. I live in terror of things like arthritis. I need my hands way too much.

I of course have nothing new and interesting to show you, but I did take a cat picture so I had something to liven up this boring place. This is one of the kittens, Neko and Isis, who is their de facto momma cat.

The only other thing I did yesterday was to complain about machine lace being called handmade. I keep running into it on etsy. They tag it tatting or crochet and sometimes you can tell they picked it up at the fabric store and sometimes its made on one of those home embroidery machines. Either way, it is most certainly not handmade...I might accept homemade, but the only thing their hands did is thread the machine and push some buttons. I know I sound bitter. It can be quiet pretty stuff, but I hate that people are misled into thinking it could in anyway be the same thing as tatting lace or any of the other time consuming lace making skills. So long as a distinction is made, I pretty much like all lace, but enough of that.

I'm all caught up this morning on remaking things for the shop. I've sold a few pieces I don't plan on remaking at all and I actually had doubles on another, so this morning it's snowflake making again whilst crossing my fingers that the shop keeps on humming giving me more to get done.

Flurries And Kittens

Amongst all the errand running and general weekend nonsense I actually got quite a bit of tatting done. I finished up the gray doily fascinator and went ahead and made a mocha brown one with brass beads and got both of them listed. I managed to remake a sold mask that I was stalling on and then in an effort to make a little something for gifts, Jane's Flurry snowflake pattern was busted out. I got a little carried away making these last year and I fear that if I'm given the time it will happen again.

I made a set in white and then I discovered Sparkle Modge Podge. I wanted to sparkle them and I was all set to make some sort of unholy glitter mix when I stumbled upon it in the store. Ah, premixed unholy glitter goop, huzzah. I would never use this stuff on anything but an ornament that I wanted completed stiff, but it worked like a charm for this one purpose. I fear I will make more.

I'm not sure how much work will get accomplished this week as I prep the house for the family holiday meal. The guest list has grown to 20 and that has me a little out of sorts. It's just a very large number of people for a sit down meal. I just had a shiver thinking of doing the dishes after. I suppose there's a good reason why we only do this sort of thing a couple of times a year. Anyway, I do have some things needing to be remade and I will likely make some more flurries for gifts, so I suppose if I do find some downtime, it won't be down for long.

Now I leave you with my Sunday morning as I began work on the flurries. I printed out the pattern because I needed a refresher, sat down to work and this happened. If you were around last year when the kittens joined our household, this probably looks familiar. There was a point with more of them on my legs and let me tell you, they are much heavier and far more interested in my thread than the used to be. It's a wonder I get anything done.

Happy Kitty Birthday Giveaway

As you may be aware last November we welcomed two and then two more kittens into our house bringing our total cat population to seven. Yes, it has been ridiculous around here since then. As they were born at my in-laws house to a captured feral cat, we know today is their first birthday. This is what the first two looked like then...all sweetness and light. They have brought love, chaos and two tons of white fur into our lives. The chaos and white fur, I could really do without, but they'd probably be less cuddly bald.



But I digress, to celebrate this rare quadruple birthday I'm doing a quick giveaway for this one of a kind necklace that was created not too long after they arrived. All you need to do to put your hat into the ring is to leave a comment on this post. I'll pick a winner on Monday by random number generator to give everyone more time to enter to win. If I get more than 50 entries I'll add a second more awesome secret prize.

I'll just leave you this morning with a picture of three of the four much larger kittens now since I couldn't get them to pose all together and I wish you much luck in the random drawing.

EDIT: The second prize has been added to the mix, one pair of In Bloom Ankle Corsets will go to a second winner!

Friday

Hello Friday! No, I don't have anything good to show you today either. I did manage to stay on task much of the day. I got a pair of earrings and a couple of bracelets remade and listed, but much of the day was lost to schooling and the TV tech that was called out to fix our reception. I know there is much vile reserved for AT&T, but seriously their Uverse customer is top notch. I can schedule everything from my television for the next day without talking to a single human before they arrive and they robo call in advance to confirm everything. It's a beautiful thing, but the appointments always take forever. Yes, I realize that is probably a good thing, thorough and whatnot.

So to change the subject, later in the evening I was doing a tatting search on etsy. Yes, I'm little on edge after the last discovery. Yet again, I run across a piece made with another of my designs. The seller was politely contacted and without excuse removed the listing. The swiftness with which these recent incidents have been resolved does give me hope that they were merely done without thought and were not malicious in any way so I will continue to react in a calm, rational way. Though I did go ahead and post a short little rant on my facebook page. What is interesting about both these incidents is that the patterns used are not posted anywhere. That means that they were copied from pictures which does concern me. I've always liked to post big, clear pictures and I really need to in order to encourage buyers, but maybe I ought not... oh how I hate having to second guess myself. Onward and upward though, it was resolved pleasantly enough, I should not dwell.

I do still have a couple of pieces left on the to-do list that I will get to today. Then as soon as my thread order arrives, hopefully this weekend, it's a custom mask. Between those two events though I'm hoping to get to at least one of my reproduction ideas and see if it can work at all. And just because I have no tatting to share, here's another kitty picture for you. Have a great weekend all.

So Little

Such a long day and so little done. I finished exactly one pair of barefoot sandals yesterday and nothing else was tatted. Nothing. Of course there was schooling in the morning then a field trip to the bowling alley in the afternoon. We followed that up with a stop by the in-laws house that lasted longer than anticipated while the husband updated their wireless. At this point we decided that since we'd already been out too long to get a good nap out of the kids, we headed to the Costco. I put forth all of this as my excuse for getting so little done.

I did get an custom request that turned into an actual order in the morning. These are rare events so I like to dwell on them a bit. This one required me to order some golden yellow thread, so while I was at it, I grabbed quite a handful of other colors in Lizbeth and Flora. For someone who works primarily in black, I am getting quite the collection of colors. I have had a thought of getting fully stocked on all the available shades in cebelia, lizbeth and flora so I can just copy their color swatches and put those up as the custom available colors for the shop. I really ought to update that list in the shop anyway...maybe when I get some down time again.

In other news, since I don't have any tatting to show you, I took a picture of all but one of the cats feasting this morning. The seventh cat is our old man cat. He's sitting off to the side as I don't think he like sharing with the kittens. He waits until they've shoved off and goes at all three plates to get his fill. This image is preceded by all of them jumping upon me and mewing, scratching, fighting with each other and generally being obnoxious until I rise to feed them. Now you see why I'm so very awake in the morning.

I shall try to be more productive and on task today. I still have quite a list of small pieces that really ought to be made and in the shop and that list of new ideas isn't getting any closer to being done until I've tackled those. Yeah, I kind of want to go back to bed now...no, that's so not happening.

Morning All

We had a fairly nice day yesterday, but all the adventuring does mean there was little tatting. Of course I knew that was going to happen so before we started in the morning I got to work early. I fished up the chain on the mocha colored pendant after digging through the grab bag for matching beads. I'm actually pretty shocked that I came up with four of the same bead that compliments the center stone.


I decided to leave the black one on a ribbon like the first version. This makes it less expensive as well even though it had more silver. Making the chain takes some time and since I can make more exactly the same this way it seems like a good plan. I renamed it as well to reflect the additional beads make it look studded.

After all this it was off on a bike ride. Then there was lunch out and a trip to see Cars 2 with some more family. When we got home we sent the children up to nap and that's when I got an order for a mask that will need making. I got to work on it, but I really didn't have much time before the family was over for the husbands birthday dinner.

The dinner ate up the rest of the day so today it's back to working on the mask and that will likely be much if not all of the day. The rest of the week should be back to normal, but then there's the Fourth Of July holiday coming up and after that we have our annual anniversary trip. So basically nothing will really settle into a rhythm again until school in back in session. Oh and here's the cat picture for today. This one is JiJi lounging in the bathroom as he often does and I am out.

Yawn

I am so tired this morning and it's all because I stayed out late on Saturday. It wasn't even real people late, but for me it meant 4 hours of sleep that night and even though I got a full nights sleep last night, my body is still not satisfied with the amount of rest I have given it. I am however, getting ahead of myself. Friday was exactly what I thought it would be, mask making and errand running. I did very little else as I wanted to get the mask in the post on Saturday. I did get one more pendant made up, but I was too distracted to get a chain made for it. I think it might be a jasper stone in the center, but that's just a wild guess and I don't even remember whether I used Lizbeth or cebelia for the tatting.

On Saturday I did receive one set of the silver filigrees I ordered. They do match the first one I used perfectly and as a free bonus, the seller included two of the same finding in brass. I had one customer inquire about me making a similar pendant in purple, so after I confirm which purple they would prefer I'll get that made up. I did work up another black one, but I added more beads, so I'll have to take pictures of that before I can list it. I added the beads so that the first one can retain its one of a kind status. Though honestly, I forgot the exact stitch count I used on that one anyway since I knew it was a one off, I didn't pay any attention, so it was probably different enough anyway.

After having an absolutely wonderful time out with friends too late on Saturday, we had a cousins sleep over to work. Only the Sunday morning bit, but it was cleaning up sleeping bags and then off to Starbucks for morning drinks and the doughnut shop and over to Grandma's house. By the time we got back home, I was so tired that I actually took a nap. Of course when I woke I was immediately reminded why I don't nap. My eyes hurt and I felt wonky not rested for the remainder of the day.

So onto today which is the husbands birthday. We'll be off doing celebratory things for that much of the day, but if I get a little time I'll at least get these last two pendants finished and listed. The rest of the week I'll need to really buckle down and do some promoting as I'm on yet another multiple day gap with no sales. One last thing for today, I was reminded that there haven't been any kitten pictures lately, so allow me to remedy that with cat sleeping on my legs. This one is Neko, but I'll try to get some of the whole lot of them for you soon.

A Tat Free Weekend

Yep, I was right, it was an incredibly busy weekend. I didn't tat a single thing the last two days, not a thing. On Saturday the family headed to Lowe's to build birdhouses and we picked up free trees and planted those when we got home. There was a trip to the comic book shop and then because we were bad parents a stealth trip to acquire Easter goodies all by myself while the rest of the family napped. Remind me never to do that again...it was a mad house. When the kids got up it was egg decorating with a bug kit. Never mind that no one is going to eat those eggs. The day ended with video games and sweet sleep.

We decided to do Sunday with just the four of us instead of the whole big family thing. This had its up moments and its down ones...those are the ones I got blamed for. Still, there was candy and an egg hunt, much video game playing and some movie watching. The weather wasn't very good, so that's why we stayed in most of the day. I made my first ham and though it actually took longer in our convection oven than I anticipated, it turned out pretty good. Also, I swear this picture was not a posed shot. I walked into the room and the cat had apparently crawled right into the basket and made himself at home. How could I not share that?

So today, we're headed over to the ocean for a quick day trip. I might tat in the car, but just because I think I'm going through withdrawals. I also have a few odd situations going on that have kept me awfully distracted. First there's the large order that finally got paid for and will get shipped tomorrow that is inducing shipping based paranoia. Then there is the piece that got returned to me in the mail on Friday. It was placed into a second envelope and mailed back with no note or explanation. I've gotten no emails or convos asking for a refund or exchange and I do have a clearly posted return policy which does not include an automatic full refund and requests contact first. So, you can image that I'm a bit unsure how to proceed here. I think I'm just going to sit on my hands for a few days and see if I hear anything. I just don't understand why one would send something back without first inquiring as to whether that was okay. Anyway, off to the ocean then and I'll talk at you again tomorrow.

At The End OF The Week

Most weeks Friday doesn't mean much since my 'day job' never ends, but I'm really happy to see it come this week. A couple of days off from blogging and maybe I get to sleep in until, I don't know, six or something. Yeah, that's the sweet life.

 I'm still waiting for final payment on the large order, but it's packed and ready to go as soon as that arrives. That means I was free yesterday to make whatever I felt needed to be made. I've opted to actually reproduce the designs that I made for the secret project, just in case it plays out well. Of course that means I really can't show you what I've been working on either as I want the whole thing to remain under wraps for the time being. I did also get a couple of other things remade for the shop and I will continue to work on that until everything is listed again or I get another custom order that requires my attention.

There are no really big weekend plans for me. I'll just keep on working until I get to that point where I feel like I've caught up a bit and can slow down. Hopefully that's sooner rather than later, but knowing me it'll happen right before I get inundated with another bout of custom orders or fit of design fever...or both. It would be nice if shop sales would pick up now that's I'm not so busy as they have been very few and far between as of late, though the timing of the lull was fortuitous. It would put the cherry on the convenient timing cake if they returned now as if the universe planned it all. You hear that Universe, I'm talking to you. Alright then, off to it yet again.

I'm Sorry

I feel kind of bad about yesterdays post as it appears my evil might have scared a few innocent people. Really, I just needed to vent a bit and well, this is where I do my venting. I will never 'come after' anyone just because they attempt to sell tatting online. I welcome the infusion of talent into the marketplace. I find myself asked to make custom things for people often that do not fit my aesthetic and I would be glad of more talented tatters to fill those gaps. There is plenty of room for artisans creating their own designs and niches, there is, however no room for folks who copy or mimic...seriously full up on that.

On to better things then. You know I can't say anything about my most recent secret project partly because even I don't know how it's going to play out so there may ultimately be nothing to share. That being said I have a date when I should know more, two weeks. What I don't mind saying is that if this thing works out well it will likely change everything. I suppose that's enough teasing huh?

In other news, vigilant tatting yesterday puts me in line to finish the large order today or tomorrow which means it is almost off my plate! Woo Hoo! I really ought not complain, but man this has been a lot of work. It has distracted me from the horrible sales in my shop recently though, so that's good. I've got a field trip with the kids today, but I should still have time to tat later and then I need to make a list of all the things I haven't remade and get to work on that. It's funny, my husband asked if I was taking a vacation after the secret project and large order. I thought that I might initially, clearly it's more of a might not. It really is a good thing that I still love tatting and I hope you still love kitten pictures because that's all I've got for you.

No, I'm not finished with my enormous order yet, but I'm about halfway there. I did get a lot of tatting done over the weekend, but it was primarily focused on my youngest daughters birthday. First I spent days cleaning the house, then I decorated the house, then after the party I had to undecorate and clean again. Of course it's was all worth it as she had a wonderful time with her cousins. I just need a week long nap now and I am not going to get it because I still have half an order to fill. I have woken the Wunderkammer and will try to keep it up this week. I'm also looking forward to a thread shipment so I can finish up a small special order.  So I will start the week off with kittens and epically popular bird feeder and perhaps there will actually be some lace to share this week.

Wednesday, Is It

Another day of tat, tat, tatting. Around mid afternoon I did have a bit of a scare regarding my secret project. Thier credit card wasn't working in paypal and there was a tense hour or so of trying to find an alternate method of payment where I was almost certain that I had shot myself in the foot by insisting on up front payment. Then the simple error was discovered and everything is right back on track. I honestly think the gods do this to me on purpose just to make me appreciate all the good things a little more. A little extra sweating keeps you from resting on your laurels I suppose. I have sussed out after yesterdays work on the large order that it will take at least two more weeks to complete the order unless I develop super powers...which could happen, but is quite unlikely, so here's more kitten pictures.

So...

I tatted all day, here's some kittens.

That is all.

Kitties

Yesterday went off much as I predicted. I spent most of the day working on remaking a mask, catching up with comic book reading and my dvr. Then I was compelled to react to an email message which asked for more headpieces, so I began work on another one. This one will be in Ivory and brass, but I didn't get any pictures of the progress I've made so far. Instead I present kitties. I realize that this first picture probably does not require any explanation to other cat owners, but the story is still amusing so I shall tell it. See, I unloaded the dryer and the kitty JiJi climbs right in and settles down. After taking his photo I remove him and begin putting more wet clothing inside. He then proceeds to climb in again and cozy in a pile of wet clothes and I now completely understand how cats end up dried to death. Lucky for him, I'm observant.

We have a field trip this morning to a cheese factory, but then I hope to get back to the headpiece so I can get something made to show you. I've also taken to the idea of reworking my In Bloom ankle corset so it is an actual necklace. The inspiration for that idea came from the runway where the designer used the actual ankle corset as a necklace. I'm fairly certain that she just tied them on, but I think if I simply extend the design I can add a clasp. I might need to do a few more tweaks to get it to look nice or at least like I meant to do it, but since I have so many pairs made right now courtesy of the lost and found package, I can just experiment a bit with those until I have that aha! moment.

And since I can't just show one kitty, here's Halo not paying any attention to me. Yes, they are getting huge and are soon due for their spay and neuter appointments. The boys are much bigger than the girls but their rampant destruction is a family affair and they rip about the house with the power of a small tornado. Lucky for me they are still largely uninterested in my thread. Get a ball of yarn however and all bets are off. Alright, off to it then.

Speedy

Have you ever tatted so quickly, so furiously that even your back became sore? Yes, that is exactly what I did yesterday morning in order to get that mask I mentioned yesterday made and in the post. I just couldn't sit on my hands when there was even a remote possibility of getting it finished and to the customer in time for the weekend. I'm not really sure what that says about me, but I did manage to finish it and in record time. It got placed in the mail and I whined about my back for a couple of hours before I felt better and got back to work.

 Before I got back to tatting I took down Christmas. We usually wait until the sixth, but the kittens have been wreaking havoc so it was time. Don't let the picture fool you. They were just resting before another epic play battle that would have destroyed many small villages...should there be any around.

It does always amaze me how I only realize how many bloody Hallmark ornaments we have when I have to carefully box them all back up and get them put away. There are a lot of them. Don't get me started on how many of them are Batman and Spiderman. The husbands response to that will be...but they're all different. Yes, they are, but that's not the point and he knows it.

After all that I did get back to the custom headband. I'm making it in a discontinued Ceblia color. It's a light silvery gray that my saintly Mother-in-law snagged all of at her local yarn shop for me. The picture was taken when I was about halfway done, but I managed to finish while the oldest played one of her new video games in the evening. Luckily I can read the game text to her while tatting. She can read a little now, but it's a Pokemon game and full of ridiculous words that she needs help with. Plus, me reading speeds the whole thing along better.

Anyway, the tatting on that is done, so today I add the ribbon and hopefully get some pictures taken so I can list it for the customer. Then I have a whole new pile of pieces that need remaking as well. I might make up another of the headbands for the shop too. I do really like the way it turned out I guess we'll just have to see where the day takes me.

Six

Well, I did not get round to trying out the new mask idea as I did get one of those custom pieces ordered. Since I cannot stand the thought of making someone wait unnecessarily for something especially around Christmas, it was my priority all day long. I did manage a pair of heart earrings in the morning before the order was made though.

The rest of the day belonged to the cats however. I actually had to do a little litter training with the two new girls. They started peeing...everywhere. I think all it took in the end was getting the cover off the litter box as they seemed to right themselves after I did that. I am of course crossing my fingers that it worked since I seriously have no interest in cleaning up those sort of messes. Every other cat I've ever had litter trained themselves as soon as they were shown the box so this was a new one on me.

The new kittens are getting a bit more social though they still run and hide at the drop of a hat. Chi Sai, the three footed kitten was sleeping with me much of the afternoon along with one of my boy cats. When the kids got up from their nap, the oldest started bringing the other kittens down to the couch and they crawled on my lap as well. Isis, my old girl cat joined in bringing the total to six. The Seventh cat is not down with this much togetherness, but six is still a huge number. They then I had my husband take this picture in the evening. I was buried underneath this cat blanket for at least an hour. Good thing I had finished my tatting for the day huh?

Today is the last day of home schooling before the winter break. So there's that and I have a couple more pieces to add to my remake pile. I might play with the mask idea over the weekend, but there are movies that must be seen and a friends birthday to celebrate, so I guess it depends on how much kitten free sitting time I get. It's going to be a long weekend.

Kitties

 I swear, this week is just crawling by. Clearly it knows that there is a vacation at the end of it and feels the need to toy with us. I started the day yesterday with two quick sales, one I was expecting that needed expedited international shipping and another asking kindly for quick shipping as well. Of course I try to ship immediately when I get orders in the morning, so I spent the better part of the early hours shipping. This meant I had to remember what the silly EEL number is for the international shipment, which meant I had to tear apart my desk for it. It was under a couple of papers literally right in front of me. Note to self, put code in computer file blatantly named for next time.

Next up was home schooling, which has been taking up quite a bit more time now that we have started on subtraction. I kept checking messages all morning while she worked because there are two other custom orders that have been requested but not purchased yet and that is driving me up the wall. I will not start them until they are purchased, but I could be getting a head start on them. Sometimes I hate using my better judgment.

You are also getting the first bad phone pictures of the new kittens. The one on top there is Halo named for the black spot on her head. She is the braver of the two and came down to wander late morning. The older cats seem to be unaffected by the new arrivals, though their brother kittens are a tad annoyed and there has been much kitty hissing. The other here is Chi Sai, she is the one with only three feet. She was sleeping on our bed when my oldest snagged her and brought her down stairs in the late afternoon. She cuddled up to me and didn't leave for quite some time. As she is not as sure footed she seems to be extra shy and unwilling to get herself into situations she cannot run away from. I am hoping they both get more comfortable quickly, they had been isolated from the other animals at the in-laws, so adjusting to a full household just might take some time.

I only got a bit of remaking done yesterday, cats and school and all, but I did get another idea. This time for a new mask with my heart motif at the top center. I'm thinking this one will be a minimalist design aside from the center piece and I may even change the shape of the eye wires a bit to more of a cats eye shape. I'm mostly telling you this so that I remember that I wanted to do it when I actually have the time to do so. Though, unless those custom orders do get paid for I may have time today.

With All My Heart

As I suspected, once it was time for the dental appointment, the day was lost to numbness and oddly enough acquiring more kittens. I know, I know, I just got two kittens. Well they were from a feral litter my in-laws rescued and they other two were living in their bathroom because they have a significant number of dogs. They didn't want to split the girls up because one of them was born with only 3 feet. So the in laws have slowly been working down my reserve and I finally gave in. We are now a seven cat household. I'm told this does not make me a crazy cat lady because I am married with children. I am not so sure.

Before all this occurred, I did manage to get the new heart design further refined and made into a pendant as well as a pair of earrings. They were well received, view wise anyway. I made up two pendants one in black and one in burgundy, but just the one pair of earrings in black. That is about all I got done yesterday though. Instead of working on other sold pieces, I vacuumed the whole of the house in anticipation of the added kittens. I figured it's always better to start them in a house free from strange floor bits to chew on.

As you might imagine, I will again be distracted by keeping the other cats from killing the new kittens. As soon as they get brave, venture forth and settle down I will share photos of them as well. They are both white, one with the missing foot and the other with a large black spot on top of her head, Chi Sai and Halo. I do have some major cleaning to do before we host Christmas and we have our winter trip to Monterey coming up as well so I think I am going to have to let the needle rest a bit in the coming week. Yeah, I know that won't last long, but it's what I 'should' do.

200

I dislike being ill. I know, it's just a cold or something equally mild, but it is still annoying, uncomfortable and I lose my patience with the children who are also sick of course. So this is my public plea for this cold to hit the road already, I have crap to do. Oh and my kitty picture to make it all better...that's the tribute for health right...one cat picture sacrificed to the Internet?

Cold or no, I did get a few things accomplished yesterday. I started by using the latest design to make a necklace and earring set in white. I have a similar piece in the shop already, but I do really like the way the motif looks in the larger thread, very bold, yet elegant.  Then I received all the hat and veil making supplies I had ordered so I was able to finish remaking a sold hair piece I had begun work on the day before. This was an awful lot of white to hand out at the top of the shop, so I did a bit of moving around and then remade one last piece, a necklace in brown. This brought my shop listing total to 200! Now while I am quite proud of myself for sheer production quantity, I would of course love to see that number plummet with the sales of many things. I'm just typing that in public so the Internet sales fairy sees it.

While I was still on the white kick I had the idea to use the motif I made up from the 70's book I showed you awhile back. I made it up in white and attached it to a bobby pin. My idea to make it more 'bridal' while also hiding the huge silver pad was to cluster a few freshwater pearls there in the center. I might also add a couple coque feathers to the back side, but I'm not certain yet. I finished the piece late last night and that's when the cold really takes a toll on brain functions. I also think I really got the pattern down this time. If you remember, I made it up after looking at a simple illustration without stitch counts or joins, so it was all guess work. I might also add the design to a lapel pin in another color with swarovski rounds in place of pearls. I do need to keep working if I want 200 to hold...which  don't really.

One last bit for the day. Etsy has recently started rolling out coupon codes and though I don't have them yet, I think the plan is to have them out in time for the official holiday shopping season. Now, you know I don't like sales as it devalues the work, but I am looking forward to using this ability for possible return customer discounts as well as fan and follower special events. So if I get them in time, I may try out a Black Friday/Cyber Monday thing. I will of course let you know if that is going to happen. I hope to return to you Monday morning healthy and bragging about many sales...again that is for the Internet fairy...be well.

Resurrected

My cold has advanced to that point where it is nearly crying out, 'see if you can get anything done now, woman!'. I mean I did get stuff done, but that's only because I really haven't any choice. Some days I really miss being a kid and being taken care of, allowed to stay in bed all day with no expectations put upon me. Instead I have a household to run, people to take care of and a business of sorts requiring my rapt attention. Oh well, moving on then.

Sometimes I forget why I ever stopped making a piece I used to sell. Perhaps I got tired of making it or it didn't sell particularly well so I let it go. At any rate, it's nice to resurrect them ever once in a while, refine the patterns and see if they find a new audience. This one was one of the only pieces I wrote out a diagram for. I had originally made it as a bridesmaid piece with smaller thread and hung it from chains. This go round I adjusted some stitch counts, made it with my standard size 10 thread and tatted the chain. I figured it no longer had that bridesmaid look so I renamed it as well. I did end up making the matching earrings in the smaller thread because they looked a bit off that large.

I also have a bit of bad-ish news, well disappointing really. I received the pictures from the photo shoot and only one of my pieces was used and you can barely see it in the photos. I'm looking on the bright side though as I will still get that magazine credit and hopefully I've made a contact in the stylist that might lead to more exposure in the future. I certainly don't regret the effort, but I suppose I dreamed a little bigger than I should have.

I also managed to get my exchange gifts made up for the Intatters holiday exchange so I should get those in the post later today or tomorrow morning. I do also have a simple veil to make up today and I am trying to get another pair of ankle corsets remade. I don't know how focused I will remain as the cold has clearly taken over my head space, but I shall of course try. Thank you all for the kitty comments and advice yesterday. They continue to demand my attention and the other cats are slowly adjusting. My girl cat has gone maternal, but the boys are still sharing their ire. Since you seem to not mind so much, here is yet another sleeping lap kitten photo. At least my lap is always warm I suppose.