I'm stopping at 9 rows

It no longer fits on my scanner, as you can see.  But, in order to do another row, I would need to grab yet another skein from my shop... and frankly that's not exactly a financially sound decision. So, this doily is finished.  I really like it!

I am still taking Livi's picture every morning, but I won't bore you with them everyday.

I thought this one was adorable though.  My dad was out of town all last week and most of this week.  So, Livi insisted that Papoo walk her to school today.  

I know there hasn't been anything new in the shop in a little while, which is why sales have been non exsistent, but I do have these coupons active for you to choose from:

FREESHIPPING for free shipping

PERCENTUM for 10% off

Those are for the Etsy shop only.

I am however running a special in my Storenvy shop, buy 4 get 1 free. 

Single Shuttle Split Ring Dangle, with beads.

ALSO... that allows for joining.

One thing that annoys me about SSSRs is that you can't make joins because it will interfere with closing the ring.  This is not a problem with this little dangle that I've made.

Now, I don't know if this is a new idea or not, but I think it's interesting.

When pulling out the loop from the shuttle thread to finish the ring, add a bead to the loop.

Finish the ring like normal

Then when you pull the loop back through the tunnel... the bead is obviously not going anywhere

Pretty neat right?

I'm thinking that a bunch of these to form a tassle, would be cool.

Or even as the tail on a bookmark. 

I would love to see different versions of this... like with smaller beads... multiple beads.... the possiblities are endless.  What other ways can you think to use this technique?

Day 3 of kindergarten:

My brother has suggested that I take Livi's picture EVERY day before school. 

This morning, Livi promptly reminded me that we needed to take her picture. lol

Love this girl!!!

Well, that didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would, Havana Doily Update 4

It's just like me to take a close up picture of the BACKSIDE!     BUT it's a wonderful time to  thank Jane Eborall for her wonderful instruction for joining without a color blip!!
I am not the best at the technique, and sometimes I forget to do it, but it looks a lot better than it would, don't you think?

Last night when I shared the picture of row 7 done, I just knew that row 8 was going to take forever to finish.  But... here I am only about 14 hours later... and it's finished. AND I slept, got Livi ready for school, walked her to school and then took another break or two in there somewhere. Not too bad. :o)

I am putting this piece down for today though.  I need to get back to dyeing. :o)

It was raining on our way to Livi's second day of kindergarten! 

Havana Doily Update #3

And row seven is now finished. :o)

I don't think that I will get the next row done so quickly as I have other things planned for tomorrow.  But, with the next update, I will try to get a picture of it outside so that you can actually see the shade of the Evergreen compared to the two colorways.  

And I agree, the spokes created by the negative space make this a very interesting piece.  The version that Mrs. Maynard did in Tatting a 4 Square Ring has something like 15 or more rows. I am not going to do that many rows.  So, I am adapting the design so that I can see incorporate the outer "diamonds" on this smaller version.  If you don't know what I'm talking about... it's okay, you'll see it soon enough. :o)

Right now the doily measures to 7".  IMHO that's pretty neat, and I just went back to verify this.  But each row has added 1" to the diameter. So, if I do finish after 3 more rows, then this should end up being 10" (in diameter).  Now, to just add the 3 more rows to test my hypothesis. :o)

Havana Doily Update 2

If yesterday you saw that I was adding Key Lime Raspberry Parfait to my Havana Doily and thought: "Ehh, what?"  Don't worry, the colors are going to look wonderful together!

See? 

Again, if you don't remember, this design is Mary Maynard's from Tatting a 4 Square Ring.  I recommend the book, if you are wondering.  It's an interesting read and has some really beautiful pieces. :o)

I'm referring to as my "Havana" doily because that's the colorway that's in the center.  I know that most of you know that already, but there may be someone out there wondering. :o)

I am really loving how this piece is turning out. 

I started the sixth  row about 8 hours ago, and have been working on it on and off this evening.  So, I am feeling a little better about my August 25 deadline for the fair. :o)

Takin' it to the next level

I've decided to enter the Havana doily into the fair this year.  I was thinking about not sending this one since I had done a poor job at hiding the ends on the second row.  Since then the piece has grown on me and I've decided to expand it and enter it.

The fourth row is Lizbeth's Evergreen, but you can't really tell since in the picture if looks almost black.

The Evergreen looks good with the Havana in poor lighting like in this picture. BUT when I took this piece outside to work on it yesterday, I realized the Evergreen was not a good match.  Now, I am adding Key Lime Raspberry Parfait and I think it will match the Ever green a little better.  

I have another 5 rows or so planned.  I need this thing done by Aug 25.  I think I can do it :o)

Oh!! And I finally got the grasp of the Magic Thread Trick (which is why there are extra pink threads hanging out).  Now that I get it ... I feel completely block headed for not trying it before.  Total life saver! (Well... maybe not life saver... but definitely time and stress saver!) lol

Heart for Misha by Fox

I decided to tat Fox's Heart for Misha again, but this time I wanted it to look like a kitty. (I could probably add some ears to make it actually look like a cat... but this works. )

The kitty ended up looking a little surprise, but still very cute. :o)

Thank you everyone for your kind wishes for Livi's first day of kindergarten! She had a blast!  

I enjoyed reading all the stories about your experience with leaving your children at school for the first time.  It's nice to know that others have been there and that it's normal to feel a little sad.