Well. I finally got around to checking my mail. To my surprise, I had a package. A Card, 2 flat wooden shuttles wound with lizbeth thread (2 colors i didn't have), A silver snowflake and floss threaders. In case you are a new tatter and don't really understand the threaders...I'll explain. They are great for adding beads to tatting and also a great tool for hiding ends (magic thread trick). I am also going to post this over on intatters (cause that's where the exchange went down :)) But I thought that I could brag over here. About...the shuttles. I am not really a flat shuttle kind of gal....but man are these nice! they are sooooo smooth and soft, I have never felt anything like it. So what i am thinking i am going to do, is to make a necklace out of one. So I can have a shuttle ANY where i go. Also so i have something to pet...I am not joking when I say they are smooth, my favorite is the one with green. Its like satin. The snowflake is already on my tree. It came in perfect time! We decorate the Christmas tree the day after thanksgiving...which would be today...So its on my tree and matches perfectly. My ornaments are silver, frosted silver, bronze-ish gold, with a peppermint garland...so silver, gold, and red. the colors of that snowflake...tell me thats not meant to be. 

close up of the shuttles

the snowflake

a horrible picture of the tree half done.

Have i mentioned that i don't like the blogger layout...its hard to put the pictures where i want...oh well . Ok, well I think that I should take the kids outside for a bit...talk to y'all later!

My thanks.

Boy oh boy. I start a lot of post like that don't I? So. Been reading blogs, Entered a couple giveaways, didn't win....but that doesn't stop me from trying :)! Its thanksgiving today. Growing up as a kid, thanksgiving was a lot to our family. My most memorable thanksgiving was when i was like 10. I was sitting in our dining room, when all hell broke loose. My brother or sister opened the front door and our dog Jane ran out. This was bad because she was in heat. So we all ran after her...By the time we got to her she was already stuck to him. Possibly the funniest, most sad thing... they were basically butt to butt, facing away from each other...stuck. My mom was yelling for us to get some cold water to separate them. Thats the funny. The sad, is that they were stuck...every time the moved she would cry out in pain...We finally got them apart, and got her back to the house....Just in time for Santa. I believe that was also the year that my grandma had thanksgiving with us...that was not fun, but to this day i really appreciate what she was trying to do.

2005...i was pregnant. Turkey was very bad for me. too juicy.  I love dry turkey. Weird I know but thats me. 2006...bad memories. anthony and i was separated, and everyone around me was crazy. the whole day was a mess.

2007...I was just pregnant. I really don't remember a whole bunch about that year, except that i was really pregnant. that following monday, I would have anavay. 

2008...We had thanksgiving at Anthony dad's house...not fun with 2 boys who were 2 and a 1 year old.

2009...I think we just had a little thanksgiving...Oh not to mention Anavays birthday was on thanksgiving!

2010...Krystal came over and it was hectic!!! and anavays birthday the day right after thanksgiving.

2011...so far today, Anthony has work, and my sister is having dinner with my mom...needless to say I am pretty sad.

Sad, but so thankful. I have had a wonderful year. Blessed beyond belief. I have a car (van) now. Anthony has a job! My kids are great (even though they get on my nerves), my kids are cuddle bugs. I have advanced in my tatting. a lot less fights between Anthony and I. I have learned A LOT this year about random things. I really am happy with where we are right now. 

TATTING COMMUNITY... I would not be this happy if not for you. There is a lot of life lessons in tatting. Courtesy...patience...sharing...kindness...friendship...all great things to have. So keep doing what you're doing.

Welcome my tiny tatted turkey...

 This is my very first actual designed piece....well what i consider. I looked on the internet and couldn't find a turkey. So i made one. I was thinking of naming it something wacky like...i don't know. Then I thought of something typical...like tommy turkey....but then I thought that i am also really bad at naming...just look at my fish names...lollipop. cookie. azriel. atreyu. anavay. spunky. pearl. and grays anatomy...anyway the top picture here is my turkey not pinned out...the bottom one is moistened and pinned...for some reason, it still doesn't look just like a turkey... any suggestions???

a bit of warning if you attempt this... there is a lot of "shuttle play" you have to switch shuttles very often. Also there is use of a wide picot, and a folded ring.

my tatted turkey

2 shuttles (loads of turning work and switching shuttles, so no way around it)

chain area is just going to be indicated with the number of ds.
vsp - very small picot
+ - regular join
lj - lock join
- is a regular picot

-- is a medium

--- is  a long picot

________

R 12 (3ds wide picot) 2 - -- --- 3 close

CH 3 (vsp) TW SS 20 TW SS * - 7- 5 TW SS 5 lj TW SS - 4 TW SS 4 lj TW SS - 5 TW SS 5 lj TW SS 7 + (regular join) TW SS* 6 TW SS,  repeat from * to * 1 more time, 10 TW SS

Folded ring 30 + SET A 15 SET B CLOSE (REMEMBER TO FOLD RING OVER)

TAIL~~
CH 

1 picot TW SS (YOU WILL HAVE 1 DS BECAUSE OF THE PICOT) TW SS 15 TW SS 14 + TW SS 15 + (to tip) 2 TW SS 11 + (TO BASE) TW SS 11 + (TO TIP) 3 TW SS 14 + (TO BASE) TW SS 15 + (TO CH P) 3 + (TO BASE OF RING)

So That is it. hope y'all like it.

forgot the title last time, but not time time.

 This is my very own dragon. I don't remember the name of the thread but it reminds me of strawberrys, so this is Strawberry my protector. She sits on my wall at my bedroom entrance. I have to admit that i was always saying "whats the big deal, they are just thread. just thread" I couldn't understand the obsession with dragons. But i understand now. After i finished the last stitch, Strawberry seemed to say thank you for tatting me into creation. Believe it or not but this mire thread has personality. I couldn't believe it. but it does. I did one for my sister, all red in size 10. he's mean. same thing happened, tatted him and he was just thread, immediately after i finished it had personality...so weird.

 This is my very first, very very first dieing my own thread. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the color orange. I have no clue why, I just do. it was about 20 yards, and really a really great color. I will from now on dye my own thread...at least my solid color :)

 This was me, yesterday messing around with different tatting methods. So amazing in the last few days. The amound of craziness and talent. the amount of creativity and thinkin out side the box. So got me on the look out. First i was lead to paridise treasures for loop tatted rings. Which i wanted to do a video on...but as it turns out the volume was SUPER low on, and i have to re-tape it...why do i say re-tape. we don't tape video anymore...whats the word for it now...so lost...so lost...........

Continuing on...this was celtic picots...joined up there and not join down there... the join is quite nice. The un-joined reminds me of Phineas and Ferb, Jeremy's little sister. What do you think???

 This is my practice from KCABRERA'S inverted tatting video. I love her videos. Y'all should really check her out! I was practicing for leaves... needless to say I need to practice some more :) The butterfly down here is upside down. i took the phot upside down and I am much to lazy to take another, load it back on my computer and add it here...so i'm just gonna turn it...ok that didn't work...just imagine it right side up...

 This was the genius i was talking about...the buttterfly...the genius. INSTEAD of this being a SCMR...its just a ring (technically ...) with rings...craziness. You wrap the thread around your hand twice and then start. You don't tat normally, you don't flip the stitches...then you do the regular rings and continue on...like the second half of the split ring...then you close. ANYWAY here is the link...---> LINK

 And this, this is my handkerchief...i finally did it. and its bad, but it was my first time so i forgive myself :). I cut the other pattern i was trying to do, and i decided to go with VANCE. Its my favorite pattern and i could do it for miles. So here is the corner. I went with all fives...i love the symmetry of it. fives work really well for tatting.

 and the side. as you see the handkerchief started undoing. how you get this to stop is beyond me...but. i tried.

I also tried Marth Ess's Skeleton...didn't work for me either...i only got done with the first leg...got disturbed and couldn't finish, been trying to do a pumpkin for Halloween but...theres still time. Anyway. If you got some tatting stuffs, like a blog or what not, let me know so i can check out your pictures... i love seeing tatting!!!

Shannons Little Tiara

I was going through all my tatting patterns, organizing and sorting. Looking, planning. I cam across  an Ann Orr pattern in one of her books. Now I believe the pattern is out of copyright...So i figured I would mess with it a bit...That's the edging. I wanted to make it to a little girls tiara. I went to the 99cent only store (Gina Bea's idea) to find cloth covered headbands. Now as you see the edging is straight. I needed it some what angled. So for a couple weeks I thought about it. So here is the pattern I thought of.

 SHANNON'S LITTLE TIARA

  Done in size 10 thread                                                 
  cloth covered headband                                                                  
  hot glue gun and hot glue sticks

  Clarification about clover------->CLOVER = r 6-4-4
                                                                      r 4+4-4-4
                                                                      r 4+4-6
SmR 4-5-5-4
Ch 6-4-2
R 6+6
Ch 5-1
CLOVER
Ch 1+5
R 6-6
Ch 2+4-6
MedR 4-4-5-5-4-4
Ch 6-4-2
R 6+6
Ch 3-3
R6+6
Ch 5-1
CLOVER
Ch 1+5
R 6-6
Ch 3+3
R 6-6
Ch 2+4-6
LR 4-4-4-5-5-4-4-4
Ch 6-6-4-2
R 6+6
Ch 3-3
R 6+6
Ch 3-3
R 6+6
Ch 5-1
CLOVER
Ch 1+5
R 6-6
Ch 3+3
R 6-6
Ch 3+3
R 6+6
Ch 2+4-6-6
LR 4+4+4+5-5-4-4-4
Ch 6-4-2
R 6+6
Ch 3-3
R 6+6
Ch5-1
CLOVER
Ch 1+5
R 6-6
Ch 3+3
R 6-6
Ch 2+4-6
MedR 4-4-5-5-4-4
Ch 6-4-2
R 6+6
Ch 5-1
CLOVER
Ch 1+5
R 6-6
Ch 2+4-6
SmR 4-5-5-4

I wet blocked this and found that i needed some stiffness, So i used some white glue...and I still needed stiffness, So I then used straight glue brushed on the back of the work. Made it real nice and stiff.
I hot glued the tatted piece to the headband, making sure that the tatted piece is centered on the headband.

So before i get to the boring meme that i wanted to do, I wanted to let y'all know that i am working on a video for a ring on top of a ring. very new to me, but i got it down. Also along with that post, an array of photos showing the most recent tries at certain stuffs, celtic picots, the ring on ring. this cute little butterfly posted on intatters...whole bunch of stuffs. NOW. on to the meme.

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: The Last DJ

1. Who was favorite DJ and what radio station did you listen to as a kid?

Pat and Tom on 105.1 knci

2. What has been the weirdest thing you have worn in public?

hmm.i have worn a short skirt, thats odd for me, i wore a gown (cause it was halloween) umm. i think thats it.

3. What was the best part of last weekend?

 Seeing my sister and how excited she was when i gave her the game i won for her...THANK YOU JUST DANCE GAME!!!

4. What was the most effective punishment for you as a kid? 

I really didn't get punished as a kid, i believe i got two spankings in my entire life...second i rolled off my moms lap laughing...needless to say that got the point across to her that physical punishment wasn't for me.

5. Would you lie to your significant other to not hurt their feelings? 

no, i believe that honesty is needed in a relationship and that lying leads to hurt, and even more hurt feelings, might as well just rip the band-aid off.

6. We're taking you order for breakfast. What would you like?

the most wanted breakfast that i want is a meat lovers skillet with a side of ranch from waffle barn on fair oaks. if we are talking something i already make, it would have to be my slow cooker breakfast potatoes with two eggs. and if someone else is making something, i want potatoes and sausage and eggs. i really like that breakfast, or lunch or dinner.

7. Do you celebrate Halloween? If yes, do tell. If no, why not?

i celebrate by trick or treating a little with the kids. i do it, so that they can be happy as i was when i was younger. i don't really like doing it now that i am an adult but personally i would like to be the person handing out the candy, but i live in an apartment upstairs, so not many kids...also i want the kids to have fun. they have their cousin over and we all have a blast.

8. Do you hand out candy to the neighborhood kids? 

I want to, but i think it would be a bit creepy just handing random kids candy while walking...i think their parents would think me a weird-o. but once i get a house, THERE IS NO STOPPING ME FROM GIVING KIDS CANDY!!! except maybe taking my own kids out.

9. What's the favorite age you've been, so far? 

fav age? 17 or 19. both times i had a bedroom i loved. sit on my bed and knit, and listen to country music. or when my daughter was born...man i miss breast feeding. i know that sounds sick, but she would pet my arm, it felt so nice :)

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

test tat and 1st day.

 SO this is mainly a personal post...my sons first day of school...kindergarten.But first...a test tat for Jane...it was very very interesting to tat. There is an outer edge. Its like a chain that was doubled...the stitches looked like steps. I like it very much, and it was difficult at first but you get use to it. you do it with three shuttles total. fun fun! I don't think that she has it out yet, but if you are ready for a challenge i recommend this butterfly.

Other than that I really haven't done a whole lot of tatting...I have been organizing my loose tatting patterns and tatting patterns on my hard drive. With all the great patterns out there, I have been busy with that. Other things i have been doing is SCHOOL. Now i know that this isn't a school picture but i love how passionate my son is when it comes to being a hero. I found this costume at thrift town, not for Halloween, but because my kids love to play dress up.

 This is my opinion of how little girls should look.this skirt is slightly lower than her knees. its a white floral, and imagine my shock that it was the ONLY decent skirt in the whole place! Why do parents want their little girls dressing like a woman? I don't understand it. As far as Ana...I am still trying to get here into preschool...so frustration on that front.

 Now for the fun...this was the morning of September 6th...the hair is whack and they are wearing daddy shirts...

 this is the after picture of showers and uniforms...Don't they look SMASHING! I love uniforms. I have heard a few parents complain about their kids having to wear uniforms...I just don't understand it at all...they look good, ready for learning, there is no argument of who is gonna wear what, no one is cooler that someone else, they learn to follow a dress code, they look real nice...downside...more laundry...They come home discard the uniform and put on their jeans...then costume, then jeans, then daddys shirts..

 This is Atreyu walking with auntie. now funny thing is i don't actually remember who was holding her hand but i see his head. And the poor teacher (Mrs.Lombardi) gets them confused every day...she will get it right :) There is talk of their class being transferred to morning class and i know i would really like that.

 And here they are talking with a friend that they met in the summer camp thingy.

So thats their first day. I have actually adjusted quite nicely. They are gone for 4 hours. They really like school but really hate homework. Today actually my Az was BEGGING me to take him to school...never thought that would happen...so i made sure to get it on video! I hope to do some tatting today, So I'll talk to y'all later!

updates.

I don't get to brag about how beautiful my niece is but here is a picture i snapped sunday. She is weird...i mean that in a good way and a bad way. Good as dramatic but also bad...overly dramatic...sometimes it hurts how she over reacts to something. but i love her and i can't wait to see how she grows up. She is sometimes really stubborn and temperamental (like her mommy) but i have also seen her love, and how much she loves her cousins. And now me. A long time i have worn glasses and have suffered from the sun. I know that there are prescription sunglasses but...too expensive for me. Back in 2006 I wore contacts and i was able to wear sunglasses..but contacts just weren't for me. Deal extreme was doing a promotion for their website. I wound up getting these snap on sunglasses... As you get older, you really don't care how you look, as long as you aren't hurting. today i had a migraine...these couldn't have come at a better time.
This was this last sunday. I was dropping krystal off at home, and i thought it would be a great time for them to visit my mom. So we went swimming... I feel so badly for my babies.. they can only swim for like 15 minutes at a time...before they are shivering uncontrollably...and i have to force them out of the pool. they don't like that.And since I have been running for almost 5 weeks straight, I haven't done much tatting...but I won a thread giveaway. Thus the next set of pictures....beautiful!


its all the same thread...just taken differently. sea of thread...I LOVE IT!

Faux tatting???

Tell me. does this look familiar? I found it at a thrift store yesterday. I was like OMG I FOUND SOMEONES TATTING... I pick it up and it was like plastic... or something...flexible, white. I don't usually bother Anthony with tatting stuffs but i really had to show him this one...The thing was...it was made to resemble tatting...even more so proven, there were little lines to seem like they were stitches....

I thought that this was so funny that someone went through the trouble to make something look like tatting, but didn't actually tat it...strange? they even went as far as having little plastic piece sticking out like little picots. sorry i couldn't get a better picture... but i thought i would share with you guys!

Fate or what not.

So to start i realized something... I am meant to have friends named Melanie and Michelle. Why i was thinking this is because a couple years ago, i had a couple of friends...Melanie and Michelle. Some drama went on and we are no longer friends. I was reading a nice blog...from someone nicknamed smellyann. I spent an entire 2 days reading it... i didn't even finish. But i went and friended her, probably everywhere. Her name i came to find out was Melanie. I would laugh, because every time i would talk about her, I would have to clarify with who ever it was i was talking to, that it was my Internet friend, not Melanie Melanie. Then someone messaged me on youtube about my videos, asking for help. After a couple messages it clicked in my head that her name was Michelle. So then having to talk to Anthony about what i am doing, i started the whole not Michelle Michelle thing again...fun. But awhile later i was thinking...i have my friends Melanie and Michelle. AM i just meant to have friends by these names...and even funner... i was talking to Jessie about my long time ago friend shannon...yes...shannon. and she was all like but your Shannon...you were friends with yourself...i then went on to explain about Shannon and Shannon.

Its a small joke that i laugh at every time someone asks...because i think in my head about the joke i use to tell to myself...Our street was awfully quiet because of all the shh's... there was Shannon, Shannon, Sharon, Charlene, Shawna...all on the same block. that was fun.


Any way I think i ought to get down to the actual post...First up. We have Azriel trying EXTREMELY hard to be iron man. those are pillows in his shirt, and no its not the 90's (shoulder pad joke)

And here we have Anavay dressing up her dog... isn't he perty?

And because i didn't have a silly picture of Atreyu...I threw this one in, so he didn't feel left out.

On to tatting. I have been tatting but more tiny, trying new things tatting, I really haven't gotten any further on my hanky edge but I'll get around to it. This is the thread that I got from Fox... It is so pretty and i tried breaking some with my hands...my hands got hurt...so hopefully it will tat up beautifully...See I thought that it had gotten lost in the mail but it was just because of the mail strike...But see this is a great example of something to do in my next photo...


A lot of needle tatters have the question "where do you keep your needles" Well. Last year or earlier this year I won a drawing over on intatters. Kersti sent me a test tube looking thing for holding your needles.. and then she also sent a needle. So needless to say I have been using that...until yesterday. Yesterday I was getting up from my recliner and for some reason my tatting bag was under there. I SMOOSHED it! I heard cracking and breaking but when I looked and investigated my bag, I saw that nothing had broken..this morning i took out my needle tubey and IT WAS WHAT BROKEN. I was heartbroken. So my plans are to super glue it together. BUT in the meantime....my m&m minis container will do...And its portable...I could just pop my thread that fox gave me into it (cause it fits) And then i would have everything I would need to do needle tatting. Anyway I hear a whole bunch of loud pops... so either fireworks are going off or someone is getting shot...maybe both!