Tatters are the nicest people

First off, I really, really appreciate the sympathy and warm wishes after our recent fire. Folks have been so kind to us. Lots of people have reached out and sent emails, cards, and more. I feel really fortunate. It's good to be loved.

And if I haven't responded to your email, don't be offended. I'm, um, kinda busy.

By the way, things are going pretty well. We are moving into a furnished rental home on Friday, all paid for by the insurance. It's close to our old place (AKA the ash heap), it's the right size, and quite by accident, it's on Moe's school bus route! I can't wait to have a kitchen again - eating out all the time really gets old. 

Back to tatters.

I found a lovely card that appeared in my mail.  

It was a card from my friend Joanie, with this pretty tatted angel inside. Wasn't that nice? It made my day. The angel is beautiful. Thank you, Joanie.

Later in the week, a box appeared. (BTW, my neighbor is getting the mail. My house burned, but the mailbox still works great.) What could be inside?

Wow! A treasure trove of things, all the basics any good tatter could desire. All courtesy the wonderful Georgia Seitz. Three balls of Lizbeth, a crochet hook, two shuttles and picot gauges (made by Richard Seitz), plus a ton of tatting patterns. I'm overwhelmed. So thoughtful. Thank you very kindly, Georgia.

Now - on to deal with all the stuff that happens with moving. Utilities, deposits, furniture, etc.

I think I will fix meatloaf the first night. The Stooges like meatloaf.

Back to normal soon....

The Mailman Cometh

The postie has come, and I have some goodies to show.

First off, I ordered  and have received a number of books. I love Abe Books, which is Da Bomb. Cheap, and you can find free shipping often. I got two used DMC books: Tatting for Today #15209, and Festive Tatting #15218. Both are by Marion T. Leyds, and have great patterns. These books are great additions to my library.

I also acquired two new books. One is Marilee Rockley's great Tatted Jewelry. The illustrations are really lovely in this book, and Marilee's patterns are terrific. And I love tatting jewelry for me! The other new book is Tatting Collage by Lindsay Rogers. I really love the format of the book - it's spiral bound inside a hard cover, and the pages lie flat! Lots of small patterns with a number of techniques used, great illustrations, plus a history of tatting at the beginning.

Now to the mystery item I received, via Mr. Postman. ("Mr. Postman, send me a dream....")

Some very, very nice tatter commissioned The Shuttle Shop to make my own personal shuttle! I don't know who this might be, but I surely thank you, O Magic Shuttle Fairy Godmother. Ain't it grand?

Even DH was impressed. He thought it was very well made and beautifully done. I love it!

It's nice to have a Tatting Fairy Godmother. Every tatter should have one.



Larry has continued making Toy Tableaus. This time, it's a poker game. He made the deck of cards himself - they're very tiny! - and dealt and played several hands until he got it right. I asked him who won this hand. Why, the tiny robot, of course.

Double Decked Felines. They can sleep anywhere.

Seasons changing and more

First off - I have been tatting, in spite of my new eyes!

A lovely little bit, using Lizbeth's new Pink Cocoa in size 40.

And this - also Lizbeth,in the new Leaf Green Dk, size 20. I'm working on some Christmas presents, and this was a failure. Too many beads.

This is better. I'm working on Mary's Christmas Tree avec beads, and this should be festive.

I didn't have this green Lizbeth thread until yesterday, and I'm glad to have this. I didn't go to the store, and I didn't order any from an online supplier. So - how did I get thread?

This is how: I came home yesterday to find a gift had arrived for me. My good friend Isdihara had won some thread from Handy Hands for naming thread and suggesting color ways - and she shared. She shared BIG.

I had a box filled with five Lizbeth boxes. Wowzers!

Each box had five balls of thread. Yup, I got 25 balls of thread, all for ME!!!! How lucky am I? Isdihara, you are the best, most generous tatting friend I could have!

Now, what should I make?

DH said to me as he looked at my present, "You'll never be able to use all this thread." To which I replied, "She who dies with the most thread wins." So there.

On to things outside tatting - I have found great, cute reading glasses at the local dollar stores, and have them stashed all over. I'm enjoying being able to drive sans spectacles, something I've never done (except briefly with contacts)(which doesn't count). And I can read the clock across the room in the middle of the night! Woo-hoo!

DH is continuing to improve, and his doctor told him today that he is a model patient, as he's done everything that is asked of him and more. DH is determined to get better. He seems much improved to me.

Fall has been here for a while. The colors aren't so great this year as it's been very dry, and now many leaves are gone, as they are off my little sugar maple in my front yard.

But some trees are still pretty, like these.

And these. Fall continues to be my favorite season.

Moe was not sure what a ginko tree looked like, as we don't have one in our yard. There's one at church. I love their leaves.

I used the Paper Camera app on my phone to take a different picture of the leaves on my dashboard. I think this is the Comic Boom setting. Nifty, huh?

And I took this shot of Moe, using the same app with the Sketch Up setting. Moe is more handsome than this picture shows.

Here's hoping that you see pretty things or have good surprises waiting for you at home...
in the car

Something for the cats

When I got back from Tat Days, I found that the postman had brought me a little present. That's not quite right - it was a present for the cats.

It was from Fox's cat, Gian!

He sent a little present addressed to Sophie, Cisco, and The Big Bad Vader, in care of me. Please note the lion sticker on the envelope.

The card reads:

Hey You Guys!
Make your S**** (me) dangle this for you!
It's fun!
♥ Gian

And inside was a lovely length of cording, meant for me to dangle in front of some little catties. Let me demonstrate with Cisco.

See how excited he is biting the string cord? All the cats are pleased with their gift, and they beg me to dangle it.

Thank you Gian! Sophie sends all her love, purring "Mon cher Gian" from her place in DH's open sock drawer.

In other news, I promised to show you the tiny red hat again. But first - I needed a hat model.

My model was not very cooperative.

But I eventually got a marginally acceptable picture. Vader wasn't bored, just pissed.

Off to make bookmarks...

Royal Fail goes west

After our friend Lady Shuttle Maker had her darling baby Picadilly, I was looking forward to see when she would get some of her production back and running. Why? Because for the longest time, I've wanted one of her terrific hook pens. I've bent a ton of crochet hooks hauling around my junk in my purse, and a hook pen would be just prefect. So, I ordered a hook pin for me.

I ordered this one, a size 14. Pretty. And some HDT too, some Kopper Patina, in size 20. Then I sat and waited for delivery. After a bit, my order came.

Yes, my order came, but not in any shape you might expect this to come in. (Yes, I deleted the address from the picture.) Sherry had clearly marked the letter Non Machinable. And the smart people at the US Postal Service had clearly ignored the warning! The letter arrived all wrinkled and with that big rip at bottom - you could see the HDT out of the hole before the envelope was opened.

Ew. A big rip.

After reading Jane's stories about mail in the UK, I'm wondering if some of the Royal Fail folks decided to swap jobs with our US Postal workers. Or maybe emigrate? This mailing issue was not the fault of dear Lady Shuttle Maker - she did her part. My HDT is fine. And fortunately, while my hook pin arrived open and with the hook bent, I was able to bend things back into shape and it works fine. Whew!

But what the heck happened at the Post Oriface? Are they just a bunch of doofuses who can't read? Jeez!

In other news, Curly is doing a bit better. He still has no job, but he has now been to both his therapist and his psychiatrist, and he got new prescriptions, which he promptly took. So far, so good.

The van carcass is gone. We've had a mini-van in our house since 1989, so this is a big change for us. No mom-mobile any more. Oh well, life changes.

And tomorrow, my mom is coming over for the day. She's spending the winter in a condo on the other side of Hotlanta, so we have more opportunities to visit. Mom hasn't seen my new office yet, and I'm looking forward to showing it off. She encouraged me a lot in getting the room fixed up. Plus, she can see all the Stooges.

Hope your weekend is good!

Joy in Tuesday Mail

I got home after a tough day at work and found some love in the mail.

First, a 12 yard sample of Sulky Blendables thread from Lace-Lovin' Librarian. Diane is such a sweetie! I look forward to using this - and the color is gorgeous!

And then I found a parcel with English markings on it. Who could it be from? Why, the delightful Jane Eberall, that's who! I'm crazy about Jane; she's a a lot of fun. And she's a brilliant tatter.

Here's what I got.

• One of her famous roly-poly tatting bags, made by her own hands. Labeled, even. Kitties - squee!
• A poke-proof pouch and matching bobbin holder.
• A Shakespeare key ring, complete with his signature.
• A great Shakespeare souvenir cloth showing major sites in Shakespeare country.
• And... one of Jane's new patterns, a Flurry Heartache, tatted in some of Karey Solomon's HDT and presented in a pretty brass frame.

Oh so pretty.

I love the Shakespeare Country cloth.  Very cool.  When Moe saw it, he said, "I thought Shakespeare was from Austria." I replied, exasperated, "You're thinking of Mozart!"

Thank you, Diane and Jane! You made my day!