Retail Therapy .....

Marilee Rockley's

on-line Shuttle Tatting Course.

(Blogging at Yarnplayer's Tatting Blog)

This beautiful tatting bag arrived

in today's mail.

It is from DS9 Designs 

(their web site).

I am so fond of this bag - it was 'gotta have' at first sight,

and it is so pretty!!!!   

I pre-ordered this book -

Tatting Collage by Lindsay Rogers.

(Tho I noticed, Diane, blogging at

Lace-Lovin' Librarian - already has her copy!)

Vendor Aisle at the Quilt Show

Introducing

Shayla Chase

from the 

Chic-N-Stix booth.

(Shic-n-Stix Web Site Link).

They are too cute!

Picked up some Tatting Thread

from House of Stitches booth.

What a fantastic display of wools, hand turned seam rippers,

punchneedle, tatting threads + Starlit shuttles,

mesh bags, Namaste Buddy Boxes, etc.

I didn't buy much as I am planning a visit to the

store this week.

To see the fabulous quilts,

visit String-a-Long Quilt Guild's FB Page

especially their photo album.

btw, Needle + Thread

is having another Sock Monkey class!!!

--------------------

11th Tatting Day - Theme Jingle Bells (shopping)

Starlit Tatting Shuttle

and

Lizbeth Thread Holder

I confess, after reading Diane's Post

about both of these tatting toys, I was looking forward

to attending Tatting Day,

not only for the instruction - but the SHOPPING!!!

It was great to have the opportunity to

try using the shuttle

before deciding to purchase.   And, for the size,

it was kinda easy to use (in my opinion).

I ended up with three of them ...

and, I've lined them up

in this photo so you can see the size.

The first is a Tatsy, followed by

THREE Starlit Tatting Shuttles.

then the Lacis with point, Boye with pic, and Amber Clover.

I'm thinking this size will be very nice to use when adding beads.

As for the thread holder --- oh my, why did I only pick out TWO?

They are perfect for keeping the cats away ; )

Found 2" size, not 3" size

I'm going to give Christa's tatting pattern a go ...

It is called "Colonial Ladies" Tiny Tatted Trim

These wooden pieces will eventually be dolls with bonnets, lace collars, and skirt trims.

I searched hi/lo for these pieces - found a couple pkg at a superJoAnnFabrics store, and look forward to giving the tatting a try.   (couldn't find the the 3" size.)

Actually, I'm not exactly sure which size is for the pattern - but I can adjust fiber size 

What fun - I may order the 3" on-line as they aren't expensive for a pkg of 10.

The pattern was in the latest 

L.A.C.E. newsletter.


And, check out Christa's blog:
Feeling Blessed

Stay tuned .....

thx!

I'm so spoiled, I stink!

Diane,blogging as
Lace Lovin Librarian
had a giveaway & my name was chosen
for one of three tatting
shuttles pictured here.

I am the proud owner of the
one pictured above (on the left side of the photograph.)

When Karol and I
crossed paths with Diane, at L.A.C.E. Day in Illinois,
she had extra shuttles to share : ).

I chose the periwinkle blue shuttle on the right side of photo.
Now I am the proud owner of TWO shuttles created by Diane!

Her shuttles just rock.

And, if you would like the opportunity to
own one of her unique tatting shuttles ...
head over to THIS POST on her blog.

Good luck.




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The three fibers in the photograph, were purchased at L.A.C.E. Day in Illinois.

These are fibers I've never heard of - I thought the colors were lovely.

Up Towne Shoppes

Sharing some 'finds' from
Up Towne Shoppes
623 State Street
LaPorte, IN 46350

Of the numerous trips into
and out of LaPorte, I
always wanted to shop
at this store - which is
CLOSED on Tuesdays.

It was getting to be a joke,
I'd be in LaPorte - store
would be closed,
must be Tuesday!

Inbetween a few snow flurries,
I was on my way to
Pioneer Land Christmas Open House,
and made a planned stop at the Up Towne Shoppes.

I enjoyed all the booths. And, I have to go back!
I found a RED plastic gauge (Made in England) for tatting picots.
Also, a blue bobbin (there was a big basket of blue and brown bobbins)
And, a small magazine with tatted butterfly pattern,The Workbasket (Aug 1990)

I found a big basket of
The Workbasket
magazines, in bundles.

Maybe next time, I'll sort thru
them for more patterns.

The Pioneer Land Christmas Open House
was nice --- very very cold, but nice!

Road trip w/GFs

Enjoyed our road trip to West Lafayette.
Thx to Beth (w/o blog) for driving. Beth + Karol, picked me up, we met up with Deb and left the rainy/cloudy weather behind us. Drove south to crisp, sunny weather!

First stop was the Tippecanoe Arts Federation for the:

What a lovely exhibit!
The Lafayette Lacers had wonderful displays of lace including knitting, crochet, hardanger, bobbin lace, tatting (and probably I'm forgetting others).
The holiday tree was full of beautiful lace ornaments!
Stunning mini-tat motifs and angels (and more). Spectacular.

In addition to the lace, there were other galleries with exhibits. This is a card available at the gallery:

Accross the hall, the Tibetan Monks were creating a sand mandela.
One of the monks demonstrated how the sand mandelas were made with sand.
When I tried, I got 'dots' of sand, not the consistent lines of color!
They had a few small items for sale:

The deconstruction ceremony is on the 20th.

Second stop on our road trip was

Von's Beads, gifts, book store, etc.
We enjoyed browsing the beads, books,
gifts, gems/rocks, etc.
I found some nice cards + small stone for DS.

In the lower lever, I found a small paperback:


Samplers by Donald King c.1960
It is a nice book with b/w
sampler photos.
I haven't read the essay in the front.
There is minor wear to the corner,
otherwise is in great condition.

Before heading home, swung by the
Triple XXX Family Restaurant
for root beer + a burger.
I tried this one (from their menu):
Duane Purvis All-American - A very special taste treat!
1/4 lb. of 100% ground sirloin served on a toasted sesame bun with melted cheese on top with lettuce, tomato, pickle, Spanish onion and French fries. Add thick creamy peanut butter on the lower deck and you?re in for the touchdown!
Had no room for the Purdue Sundae - butterscotch & fudge ... maybe next time.

Headed home, chatting all the way with GF Deb, Karol, + Beth. What fun. Let's plan another road trip - SOON!

Quilt Show finds

Beth, Karol, and I
enjoyed the
Berrien Towne & Country
Quilt Guild's

Quilt Show

What a wonderful display of quilts!
Such a talented group of quilters!
The show booklet was nicely done
(excited to find the Erica's coupon, will come in handy this month)

(photo at the top) We sat in on two demos --- the first one was about how to paper piece quilt blocks, great for precision piecing! the other demo was on crayon tinting. We had a simple flower drawn on muslin (freezer paper backing) with pigma pen. The idea is to lightly color with crayons. when you like the result - heat up your iron and press to heat set. Peel off the paper and embroider/embellish the blocks.

Wandered thru the vendors & picked up
two needlebooks with leaf prints. They are done with acrylic paints!

Picked out two wool kits/packs to make cupcake pincushions.
I didn't buy the instructions; however,
Karol looked at the pices
& showed me basically how to put it together.
Wish me luck.

Found a cute 'kittie' panel.
picture here

What a wonderful day with friends : )

where is the tatting?

Retail therapy from House of Stitches

I found these bone needles are
perfect for perking up my
wimpy picot
AND
bought a couple sew mate shuttles
as more fiber can be winded on

Was time for some new books
Tatted Bookmarks edited by Barbara Foster
AND
Tatting - Just Knots by Kirstine Nikolajsen

... and have you seen PieceWork , the Lace Issue?


New fibers from Hobby Lobby clearance aisle and JoAnn Fabric sale

No tatting to report as I've been trying to get a needlelace bookmark completed. link to needlelace post

Martha Stewart items

I noticed a lot of Martha Stewart branditems in the sale aisle
at WalMart


I was able to pick up a few thing
at greatly reduced prices

I really do like the scissors
I think they are GREAT

I have not tried the
different inks --
aren't they pretty?