Up, Up and Away!

For a lady who knows

how to throw down a

CHALLENGE

and

CULTIVATE CREATIVITY

among tatters

with her design class...

This press is on its way

UP

to Sharon

in Canada.

Thank you

for encouraging me

in last spring's design class.

Sorry I didn't finish... yet.

You unleashed my

inner designer

and this is

what she

made.

Golfing With Friends

Boy has a way with bugs.

He once caught a wasp in an Ozarka bottle.

I don't know how,

but I asked him 

NOT TO DO IT AGAIN.

Boy also has a way with geckos.

He is my go-to guy

when the little devils invade the house.

Oddly, Boy's calm and gentle approach

to catching them 

works better than my prancing, screaming fits.

How Boy got this guy

to play golf with him,

I don't know.

Boy also coaxed him

to stay for photogs

before jumping into the bushes

by the back door.

I'll put the question to

Mr. Gecko

later

as I wait for Boy to arrive, 

cup in hand,

to escort him back outside.

Because I 

KNOW

he'll be back.

They always are...

The Birds May Be Flying South...

The birds may be flying south,

but

the presses are flying north.

This one is for A Happy Bluebird

aka Cindy.

I've got a handful of presses

which I am finishing up

for particular tatters

I have in mind.

They don't even know

that I have them in mind,

so I hope they don't mind!

I'm also working on the pattern

and will make a couple more presses

for a giveaway

to test it out.

Just call me

The Ann With a Plan.

So if you'll excuse me,

I'd better put some hustle

in this bustle!

Little Bit of Fall

(Simple Leaf by Karey Solomon from Tatting Turns Over a New Leaf, #9 of The Challenge)

We've been enjoying

a little bit of fall

each morning...

But by afternoon

it still feels

like a

whole lotta summer.

Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda

I coulda done

this little #41 MiniTat by Patti Duff better.

The center shoulda looked

like the top half and not the bottom,

and it woulda if

I had done the first join correctly.

Regardless,

this little regret

will be my #8 of The Challenge

and I'll just have to tat

Patti's clever pattern

all over again.

Poor me.  :)

Off You Go Then...

This press is headed north

to Fox.

I'VE never been out of the USA,

but now I've SENT

something out of the USA...

I shared this observation

with the man at the post office.

He said perhaps I would

leave the country next...

But I kind of think

that was just

wishful thinking

on his part.

Crazy Like a Fox

Not that I think Fox is crazy...

On the contrary, she is FULL of good ideas.

One of which is tatting at the coffee house.

I put my own spin to it though,

changing coffee to tea,

and tatting to sewing.

My husband abruptly told me today to,

"Get out of the house."

Not for good,

just a couple hours.

He worries about my sanity

and felt I needed a break

because it's been a week

and I've been SO tired.

He's a good man.

With nowhere else to go,

I decided to pull a Fox

and go to Starbucks

where I worked on a tatting press

for that crazy-in-a-good-way, Fox.

I'm making a few of these

to go with the tutorial

and I told Fox she could have her choice,

but I'm taking that back now.

I like this one VERY much

so it will be hers.

Sorry Fox...

but them's the breaks... :)

Sweet, "Forgetful" Diane

(tatting by Grandma - 1.5 yards of edging in size 80 thread)

Diane hosted a Tulip crochet hook giveaway recently.

I commented that I would enjoy a hook

and that should she ever decide to give away

that NEAT, flat, little box, to please throw my name

into THAT hat as well...

A couple days after the winners were announced,

SWEET Diane sent me that COOL box,

complete with its 

WONDERFULLY crinkly-crackly cellophane paper

printed with the Tulip logo...

AND "forgetful" Diane

had left a little something inside...

Sweet, "forgetful" Diane made my day! 

PS  Doesn't it look "just right" with Grandma's tatting and her shuttles?  I thought it did.  :)