hmmm. Well. my life has been pretty...boring. The kids got out of school last week. I have been battling a headache for just as long. Finally its starting to ease up, after drinking a ton of OJ, and taking headache meds. Hopefully i can keep it at bay for a couple days. It sounds weird, but i like my headaches...they make me thankful for the days i don't have then. I love being grateful. So. I haven't seen my sister, so I don't know how her tatting is going, but I have been tatting a bit. I have been tatting a necklace. Its suppose to be a necklace, or edging...but i think its going to be a necklace. Its fleur de lis. its a really nice pattern. I also ordered Julie Pattersons books...i think i told you all that last time. well i was flipping through and i found this center of a cross. it was just too cool to pass up.

Some tatters stray away from crosses because of personal beliefs but. you can take a cross and dissect it. the long arm can be extended for an edging, bracelet or necklace. The arms can be shortened to become a motif. Crosses can also inspire. Personally i don't think you should limit your self. Especially if your an artist. You could be missing out. But...anyway.

 I think i told you. i love orange. this is a great color orange. and thats girly girl...i have a confession. I found out that i really don't like variegated threads. its weird. I have tried a bit of variegated but i just really am a solids kind of girl. I was even the one who sent in the suggestion for this colorway. I love seeing it on the ball. but i don't like tatting with it. Here is another example...Caribbean. I love the colors but i get tired of the going back and forth...and its so weird. But that is a bookmark.Next up is a bracelet i made my mom for mothers day. I think its just soooo pretty.

ok. so i think that's all for updates...TTYL!

What i have been up to.

Well. As of right now my two boys have no more homework from school. I am a mean mom, so i need to make that difference shown, they are gonna learn during the summer. Practice is important to me. So we are going to work on reading, and math, and writing. not a lot but enough to keep them sharp. I have been tatting!

On the tatting front. I taught my sister to tat. I was so proud of her. Honestly she hasn't tried so hard on something for so long. The last time she made this much of an effort was to read harry potter. I kept telling her how awesome it was, and she wanted so badly to read it too. but alas she couldn't concentrate. But thats ok. So she is now tatting over at her house...my niece is probably confused off her butt...she only sees me tatting. But thats ok too. because tatting is something that sticks with you. So...Tatting. I have been test tatting for Sue over here. I love love love her patterns. I wish i could post a photo of the latest ones, because they are genius. but i can't. And since i have been looking on etsy, i have tried a couple times to mime the tatting on there...FAIL. But thats ok. I bought a set of three books. THEY ARE SO AWESOME. I feel as if her and i were meant to be tatting buddies. She is so totally like me. Shes straight to the point. She has great patterns. She works with her kids. She is just so cool. All of this and i don't even know her. I wish she would do some more books. ok, so the books are Just Making Tome, Knots and Crosses, and More Crosses than you can bear.

Now, if you knew me personally, you would know i am soooo not the most religious person, or spiritual. BUT I do love tatting. And for some strange reason, i have been wanting to make crosses. even before i got my books. So here's a picture i CAN show you. Right this minute, I am also experimenting with my scanner. This was scanned at 600 dpi. I scanned it again at 1200...apparently i can't upload it to here...so i am going to try flickr. I don't know if i can tell the difference. (I tried and it didn't work. poo on that!)

I have also been checking out tatting books at the library. I love tatting, and i love the work put into it. And the people who choose to make a tatting book are good. But occasionally i run across some sloppy tatting. And i know that sounds mean, but if your going to put an effort into compiling patterns and knowledge, and photos of your work...at the very least make sure the tatting looks good... And yes, I know...miss opinionated, if your such an expert, why don't you make a whole book.

I don't know about you, but i love a pattern that sits flat on its own...unless it's supposed  to be 3D. or curled. The patterns are clearly meant to be flat. but it looks like if i tried to tat it, that it would take a lot of fighting with it to get it flat. AND frankly, i am not into fighting. AND thats what i like about the books i bought. They state in the beginning the picot length and tension to be used...ALL just right there. So regardless the tatter, they will get the same result. Its a thing of beauty. I wonder why all tatting authors don't do this. Which is funny. because with the patterns i posted, i don't do that... HOW LAME!

SO do i have anything else to add...no. I don't think so. I am so excited about tat days. I am not going but the pattern cd looks like its going to be good.

Can anyone tell me why my fliggin crosses are all curved??? I think i might need to pin them down for a spell.

Have you ever had a ball of thread that you didn't think much of, but as you are nearing the end, you come to find that its your most used color? Thats the way i felt about the green and pink cross. I bought that color green awhile ago, my reaction was ehh, maybe i will find something to tat with it. And its the color that has gone the quickest! Its really pretty with pink...its very springy.. So now i think thats it...yep. thats it...ok. so...bye.