New Tatting Patterns

 I just listed this needle tatted jewelry pattern collection in my etsy shop and it's my intention to start combing though my other designs for ones I can write up for sale in the near future. There are a few I'll probably never share for various reasons including selfish ones, but if there are any you'd like me to sell, let me know and I'll definitely consider it. It's a big of an ordeal to get these sort of things created and listed though, so I'll be taking my time.

Armenian Lace Collar Necklaces

 I've just finished a collection of 5 different Armenian lace necklaces. I started them after I finished the 44th and final crochet doily I've made since April. These are all in my etsy shop now.

Doilies

I know I've not been around in quite some time. Truth is, I spend much of my online energy on twitter or my facebook page and even that is usually just to catch up or drop a photo or two. As I'm sure is true for so many people, I'm just not operating at anywhere near peak efficiency. My creativity is nearly nil, but my need to make has not abated. If anything I find it more necessary than ever to keep my hands busy, so I'm mindlessly crocheting antique and vintage doily patterns. Thank the gods there are so many of them scanned and uploaded to the internet. So here's a collection of all the doilies I've made since the beginning of the first stay-at-home orders. Most of these will become holiday gifts because I just can't imagine selling them for anywhere near what they are worth based solely on time and/or expertise.

Men On Boats

I know I've been absent online for awhile now, but here's one of the big reasons for that, I've been in rehearsals for a play. This is my first time back on the stage after an embarrassingly long absence. You see, you might not be aware, but long before I started needle tatting and spending the bulk of my time homeschooling and creating lace, I was a theater major. I got an AA and then kind of left it behind for a "real" job and a family, but I'm back now.

I know most of the folks who might actually still be popping by here to see if I'm posting again aren't anywhere near my geographically, but I still wanted to post about this because I'm super proud of the show, the entire cast, and crew. So for two weekends only starting tomorrow, Friday January 10th, I'll be George Young Bradley in Men on Boats. If you're near, come see it, if not, wish me luck!

For 2 weekends only, join Playhouse Merced and the Cast and Crew of MEN ON BOATS for an evening of laughs and danger down the Grand Canyon!
Opening the second half of our 26th season is MEN ON BOATS! Featuring a cast of talented local actors, this production is sure to give you a fresh look on the 1869 historical expedition of the Grand Canyon by John Wesley Powell and his team of daring boaters!
MEN ON BOATS | January 10, 2020 - January 19, 2020
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By Jaclyn Backhaus
Sponsored by Dignity Health Medical Group.
Rated T for 13 years of age and up
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Ten explorers. Four boats. One Grand Canyon. Men on Boats is the true(ish) history of the 1869 expedition, led by the very real John Wesley Powell. Powell was a former U.S. Army captain, American explorer, geologist, and ethnologist, best known for his exploration of the upper portion of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. History is written by the winners and sometimes exaggerated and mythologized beyond that. Enter Playwright Jaclyn Backhaus, Men on Boats dramatizes the expedition, and her premise of using an all-women cast helps recount the exploration of the untapped frontier in a different light. Join Powell and the insane, yet loyal volunteer party as they set out to chart the (dramatized) course of the Colorado River.

 Tickets are available here.
Photo ©Shawn Overton | BlueRoad Photography

Tatted Eye Patch

I sold a tatted rose eye patch yesterday, so I spent some time tatting up a new one to put in my etsy shop, which I have been woefully neglectful of as of late, because of, well life. I've also been keeping busy with a new activity in my life. Actually it's a really old activity that I used to spend all of my time doing, but I haven't been doing so in over twenty years. I'm doing theater again. My daughter started over the summer and once I was back in a theater, I couldn't stay away. I'm in rehearsals now for my first show since college. Yikes, right? It's called Men on Boats and it opens in January for a two weekend run. So yep, still tatting and crocheting, but also writing and acting, and look I even found the motivation to write here, so yay! Maybe it'll stick this time...don't make any bets on it though.