Almost Time

I'm almost ready. I got the pattern completed and ready for listing tomorrow morning. I got a few more pendants made and ready to be photographed. I'll have that part done just after schooling today. Then I'll get that ready to list in the shop as well. So tomorrow morning as soon as I get up in the morning I'll have both my International Tatting Day offerings available in the shop. Just a reminder that both the pattern and the pendant will be offered for a one day only discount, so the price goes up on the 2nd. I'm a little embarrassed that I don't have a free pattern to offer as well. I guess there's a minuscule chance that I'll come up with something today, but it's unlikely. Of course I am also celebrating my 10th anniversary on Etsy in a couple of weeks, so perhaps something free for that event. Time will tell.

In Armenian lace tablecloth news, another day, another round. I'm only making it a third of the way around with any one length of thread, well, except on this last round since it was just the larger loops. I'm also attempting to pull them in tight to get rid of the ripple. I think that it's working, but I really won't know until I get much further along. The waiting while working under the assumption that it will turn out, is the hardest part.

So, today I have a few things to finish for tomorrow. Then I might tackle some house cleaning for this weekend. All other free time will be given, as usual, to knotting.

This and That

I did manage to remember to get a little tatting done. I only made the one necklace though. I really ought to have made some pendants for Friday, but I just wasn't feeling it. I've probably tatted this necklace and the others using the same motif more times than anything else. Funny thing is, I have to make these necklaces with one more flower than I used to, because my tension has increased so much over the years that my pieces have shrunk.

I did also get some knotting in. Again, I finished one round and started the next and that was as far as I got in the day. I fear these last few rounds are not flattening out the ripple much. I think it's going to take a few more repeats of the basket stitch without increasing loop sizes at all to get it back to flat. So that means a really long time at this rate.

I really have to get back to the stuff for Friday today. Hopefully I can pull myself together and get everything ready to go for the event. I am just having the worst time focusing on things I should do lately. I blame the sunny skies and the blooming flowers.

Back To Normal

Ah, back to what passes for normal around here. School took up the morning and we discovered that a pair of nesting mourning doves on our fence had laid an egg. Their position on the fence is perfect for us to watch them from inside the house without disturbing them at all. Of course I did have to get this picture from outside when the mother bird had gone off the nest for a short time in the morning. I sure hope this little egg makes it to baby bird.

After schooling I meant to get to tatting, but I just didn't. Each round of the Armenian lace is nearly 7 feet long now and I can barely finish one round in a day. Of course that's partly because I went smaller for the sake of density. I'd be flying around at the size the loops were before I shrunk them. I finished round two of the basket stitch and started in on round three. I want to keep going, but I know I need to get back to some tatting. I've got a necklace to remake and I really ought to make more of the pendant for Friday, so I can list it properly. There's also some cleaning I need to get done because this weekend is my youngest child's birthday and the family will be gathering. I've got the rest of the week to get to that though and you know I'm going to procrastinate as long as I can.

Weekend Recap

Well our weekend went off in an odd direction. I started Friday by finishing the revision of the new
tatting pattern that will go on sale on Friday the 1st. I was pretty proud of myself for actually getting around to it, but that was the extent of my plan for the day. Then on Saturday morning we went to a plant sale at the college across the street and that kicked off two days of yard work that wasn't strictly planned.

The husband destroyed the weeds that were masquerading as lawn while I planted three trees. Then there was some re-potting of house plants, and one more for outside. Then I had to repair the drip system that hasn't run since last Fall and add the new trees to it. Basically we were outside much of the weekend. The picture is just one of the new trees in the middle. I suppose that's a fine way to celebrate Oestre, you know with the renewal of life, and Spring awakening and all. Oh, and there was chocolate because that's how we roll.

By Sunday evening I could finally sit down and knot for a spell. The progress is slow, I've just now reached 26" across, but I like the pattern that formed with the really small loops. This is starting the first round of basket stitch. I managed to get this round finished and I'm on the second round now. I should get that done today even though we are back to schooling this morning. I have a necklace that needs remaking for the shop as well. I also now need to remind myself to go out and check on the new plants everyday so they make it to that all important 'established' stage. I think I might need a vacation after the last two days of my vacation.

Small Loops

I had a nice, long day. I started with the Armenian lace, but quickly decided that I really ought to take a break from it and get that tatted eye patch finished and listed in the shop. Of course that really didn't take that long to accomplish since I was only covering the wire, so I was right back to knotting.

I did change to the really small loops, so I got very little accomplished with it. Well, I mean I tied countless knots, but they were so small that I only managed to get around the doily, maybe twice during the day. And since they were so small, they added no real size to the piece and to top it all off, they are causing a definite ripple on the piece. That means I'll have to do more rounds of them, carefully not increasing their size in order to flatten out the piece before I can switch to the next patterned stitch. It's going to be a while I think.

I also managed to get out and do a little weeding in the yard again. This time it was the front yard and it was only an hour. I also followed it with a nice walk with the kids though the massive weeds around our bike path. I think the city has some weeding that needs doing as well. Anyway, I think the walk was the ticket to preventing weeding-induced soreness, because I feel right as rain this morning.

It's the last day of our Spring break and I've accomplished very little of what I set out to. Of course I did actually relax a bit and isn't that what a vacation is actually for?