Spring...

Ever seen those spinning wheels in the front yards as your driving by a townhouse? Maybe it's around the Fourth of July or Easter and those little guys are whirling in the wind. To me, that is one of the for sure signs of warm, sunny days. Rightly so, this doily pattern is called 'Pinwheel' by Mary Konior. The photo is a little dark because the thread is a very light yellow. Just in time for the daffodil blooms!



Today was a beautiful day outside; breezy, lots of sun and gardening! But something that is just 'peeping' around the corner! CHICKS! We got 5 more Barred Rocks and 1 Araucana to add to our happy little coop. We have 3 Barred Rocks at the moment and we just love em! These little gals are about a week old and have the cutest 'peep peep peeps.'

Time to hit the hay! I'm soo tired from gardening/ being outside all day.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Allison

Spring Goodies!

As I write this I am awaiting our first thunderstorm of the season. That can only mean one thing: IT'S SPRING IN ILLINOIS! Speaking of Spring, that is the theme of my new thread colors! The Pink/Orange/Yellow color one the far left is gorgeous! I did another 'window' and love how soft the colors are. A pretty, light yellow and a cerulean/aqua blue are solids and the last one reminds me of cotton candy! All from Handy Hands; my favorite tatting supplier!


One other little gadget that I invested in is a short crochet hook with a ring. I'm always loosing my standard crochet hook, so now I've attached a colorful medallion with a tassel that I got from a dear friend in New York. Barbara and I were tatting exchange partners and still keep in touch. We have homeschooling and our faith for common grounds and both enjoy tatting demonstrations. I've never met her, but maybe someday...
It's nice to know that I have tatting buddies all over the country, and the entire globe for that matter!
The brown snowflake is one of those pieces that one can pop out in no time at all. I've already started on another small motif with the 'cotton candy' variegated thread.

By the way, I'm still working on that pink doily. I seriously have a very short attention span when it comes to tatting up new patterns. I love to change patterns and bounce back and forth between colors and sizes. Ah, well, I'm not a lost cause yet! The pink one a nice, simple pattern to work on during a movie.
So, I sign off happy, content, and listening to the rain against the windows. But I have not forgotten what today is and what it stands for. That my Savior and Redeemer was crucified for my sins. A verse that gives me goose-bumps and makes me choke up all at the same time is Luke 22:41 & 42:
"And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
May I never take this day for granted. My Easter blessings to you all!
Allison

Sunday Stills

I have to say that these little motifs came out lookin' pretty cool. I LOVE how bold the variegated thread looks with the black!! I have an order into HandyHands for some new Lizbeth Spring colors (light yellow, light blue and 2 variegateds)
Studying for Finals and working around the farm sure takes up time! That's why I love to pick a small pattern out of that Snowflake book and complete a project in one sitting. I'm on the last round of the soft pink doily and hope to finish that up this week. I do get to work on my tatted piece when we watch movies, though. Last night was Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the RIng; we didn't get through the whole thing, but I got to sit, relax and tat. Oh-so-nice! Actually, Wal*Mart had a huge bin of $5 movies last week and us gals brought home five movies to add to our ever-expanding collection! We don't have a dish for our TV, so we watch movies and have a few local channels instead. My family and I are quite proud of that. :) Sure we still watch American Idol and our newest favorite cable TV show 'Undercover Boss.' That one's on tonight! Can't wait to tat and take a deep breath before finals on Tuesday and Wednesday! AAAHHH! Once those are done I will have completed a whole year of college! WOW!
Have a great Sunday everyone!
Allison

Snowing...

Yes, the title is correct - it's snowing... *sigh* We have had the most fantastic weather the past few weeks were the robins are back, tulips are popping their heads up, and sunny, warm spring days in hoodies (no coats!) and then we get 2" of snow! Well, I suppose that's just Illinois weather for ya! Meanwhile, I've been pretty busy gathering all my final projects together that are due next week.
But every night after supper we all settle in and I've been tatting, needle tatting, and learning how to crochet. I picked up a Filet Crochet Lace book from the library that interested me, so I've been messing around with that. I can now do a single, double, and triple crochet and am starting to play with making a design. Something new to try and it's been fun! I can knit, but crochet has always been hard because I never knew where to pick up the stitches from. But this little book has really helped. Plus there is also a lady in my lace guild that makes crochet lace. (she's the one responsible for getting me into this! ;)
On the tatting front I'm finishing up the pink doily from the Handy Hands newsletter and thinking about putting in an order for some of their new 'Lizbeth threads! Have you seen 'em lately?? They are so pretty and in a bunch of different sizes. I've also started one of the snowflakes from the Snowflake book in a size 30 that I might embellish a bag with. I like incorporating tatting into everyday things...Have you ever done so yourself? Tell us! comment on this post and let's see what ya'll have been doing with your tatting pieces!
Bye for now!
Allison

Spring has Sprung!!

The days are getting longer and I don't mind a bit. (sounds like it should be a song title, eh?) The weather in Illinois has been a mix of sun, highs in the 50's, all with a dash of clouds and rain, but none-the-less BEAUTIFUL! My sister and I have ridden our horses every day for the past three days! I love spring. It's it amazing how the seasons are all paced out? I mean, we are in winter/frost/cold/snow mode for just enough time to get sick of it, crave warmer weather then BOOM! A day in the 40's with only warmer days ahead. Then, it's hot long enough to feel good and before we know it, it's time for pumpkin pie and apple cider. Maybe it's just me, but I'm glad we have just enough of each season here in Illinois.
I'm working on a pink doily from the latest Handy Hands newsletter. It's one of the smaller Dresser Set pieces. I've been struggling with one of the rounds all because I didn't read the directions right the second, third, or FOURTH time! I made a nice little pile of threads on the end table next to me that one of our kitties decided to play with. That was cute and amusing! No worries though, I finally studied the typed directions and the picture and came out all right. What's really neat about this one is that instead of joining rings to chains, there are two rounds that join chains to chains, then rings to rings to make a 3-D effect. It looks like one of those optical illusions.
So, with that I'll bid thee farewell 'till next time with pictures of a pretty pink doily!
Sweet dreams!
Allison

SPRING BREAK!

Hurray for spring break! I'm actually doing a lot of tatting related things! I started my 11 days off by tatting in the Adirondack chairs with my mom and sister. The sky could not be any more blue and we were so warm sitting on the South side of the house...ah, wonderful. I'm finishing my red antique pattern for the fair. It's worked with two shuttles and I ran out on shuttle #2, so I came in to load it up and though 'Whoa, I need to update my blog!!!'

The other tatting business that will occur over my Break is on March 7th our guild is demonstrating all different kinds of lace for Woman's History month. We'll be in Genoa -where Pioneer days was- in the afternoon demonstrating tatting, bobbin-lace, Hardanger (sp?), and I think one other kind, but I can't remember. What's real exciting is that I'm going to demo both shuttle and needle tatting! I got Barbra Foster's How-To book from Basketcases and learned rings and chains in about 3 days. I'm going to make it a goal to get through the 'Oh my Stars' tatting book in one year with my needles - learning split rings and chains, block tatting, etc. OOOooo, Something new to accomplish!!! :)

Well, that's about it from ever-sunny Illinois. While sitting outside this morning we heard all kinds of little birds around the feeders...SPRING IS ALMOST HERE!!!
Ta-Ta for now!
Allison
P.S. I finished my light green, size 30 doily remake! Here's the pictures!