Category: grandson

Tatting for little boys

I have two grandsons and have been thinking of things to tat for them.  Little girls are easier I think.  You can do things for their hair, their dresses, their socks (Fox has done some really cute ones), all kinds of things.  But boys aren’t usually into the frilly things, and my grandsons aren’t old enough to really appreciate bookmarks.  I’ve thought of several things, like pillow cases with critters on them (haven’t done one yet) and maybe things to hang on the wall (haven’t done that yet, either).  One thing I was going to do for Christmas but didn’t have time for I have finally gotten around to: insulated cups.

This is “Paprika the Dragon” by Martha Ess, in Lizbeth #122, Caribbean,  in size 20.  There is one opaque black 8/0 bead and 12 opaque rainbow 10/0 beads.  The cup/glass is one that you can decorate an insert for. I don’t remember where I picked this one up at, but Hobby Lobby and Micheal’s have carried ones similar to it. 
The flowers, bird and butterfly were made when finishing off shuttles and are a mixture of threads.  I have a baggy (and a few other containers here and there) full of things like this that are great for putting on cards and letters.  And now, cups! Tatting Paprika was fun and didn’t take much time.
Here is the insert before I put it in the cup.
I was very pleased at how this came out. I gave this to one of my grandsons the other day and understand that it has been well used already.  He hasn’t drank out of anything else since he got it.  He says his “grandma made it and it has a dragon and flowers on it.”☺
Now I need to make one for the other grandson. 
I’m calling this #24 of my second 25 Motif Challenge.  I keep forgetting when I make something to count them!  
Let’s not forget the TIAS!  
This is Day 5. I have no idea what it could be.  Day 6 will be out Wednesday (Jan 25), maybe that will help in figuring out what it might be. 
“Boys are found everywhere on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to.  Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them.” 
Alan Beck 

On the road again, meeting new friends

Me and Kathy

I took another trip this week – back to Washington, DC to my daughter’s. Her husband has been stationed back to Omaha but there has been some issues with getting all the arrangements made for the move. My daughter got tired of all the run-around and decided to come back now instead of waiting on the movers. So I flew out on Saturday so she wouldn’t have to drive all the way back by herself. We started the drive back on Sunday, she and I and her almost two year old son. Our trip took us up into Pennsylvania then across to Kansas.

You remember that I had a drawing last week? Well, Kathy Niklewicz, the winner, lives up there! We made arrangements to meet in Washington, PA on our way through. I emailed her our plans and she checked into a place to meet. It was great – she even got online and checked out how easy it would be for us to get on and off the interstate. And then called the restaurant to make sure that was accurate!

Kathy with her prize (or part of it!)
We met at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant and ended up visiting for over two hours! It was so fun to be able to give Kathy her prize in person. The anticipation of the gift giving was as great as if it was Christmas! It was so much fun to see her get the Pumpkins on a Vine bookmark and all the other little things, too. Check out the pendant Kathy was wearing

Kathy and her husband were so nice. And she brought me a present, too! There was a small Steelers football for the boys to play with and a cute Steelers Christmas tree ornament (we were in Steelers country) and some cookies (these didn’t last too long!).

And the most special gift was a paperweight with a patriotic motif in it – Sue Hanson’s 5 point Celtic motif. It was the same motif that I had been inspired to make because I saw it on Kathy’s blog a year ago. It is so special to have this connection between us. Thank you, Kathy!

Not too far from Pittsburgh

If we had to make the drive we chose a great time to do it. The trees along the way were beautiful. We took our time and stopped for two nights along the way, getting out every couple of hours to stretch and eat or just walk around. I think that helped a lot, no one got fussy (much) and we could enjoy the ride.

I’ve been trying to post this for the last three days but I’m not used to a two year old running around everywhere: -)

Thank you Kathy for meeting us. It really was fun. We’ll have to do it again sometime.

Odds and Ends

During our trip to Colorado I did tat a little bit – I made another bookmark, a variation of the one I did a couple of weeks ago. This was done mostly while driving and with a few trials of different ways to achieve the same end. I don’t know if it’s just the color combination or the different things I tried, but the chains don’t quite look right. Of course I noticed that the most while I was blocking it, otherwise I like how it turned out. It’s made in Lizbeth Caribbean and black size 20.

State Fair
I did mention that I had a few more fair pictures.

This is the butter sculpture. There were so many people looking at it that it was hard to get close enough to see it let alone take a picture; I hope you can make them out. Amazing what someone can do with butter!

My grandson really enjoyed the goats. He kept trying to give them hugs and kisses.

There was a remote controlled robot named Oscar talking to people and keeping everyone laughing. I don’t know where the person was who controlled him, but Oscar commented on the people around him and moved around interacting with the crowd. My grandson thought Oscar was great until we got him up close, then it wasn’t fun any more.

I thought this was definitely the winner of the fair!

Surprise in the sky
We were on the way to work Friday and saw what at first we thought were some odd looking clouds. And then we realized they weren’t clouds.

The Thunderbirds were going to be at the air show at McConnell Air Force base open house on Saturday and Sunday and we were seeing their practice.

We kept an eye on the sky all the way from Newton to Wichita, about 25 miles, and saw quite the show, even from that distance. We weren’t going to be able to go to the show but we got to enjoy a bit of it anyway.

Tatting Tea Tuesday
I’m enjoying Tazo Refresh tea today. It is refreshing on this cool, fall morning. My tatting today is what it’s been for the last week, a project inspired by the bed and breakfast we stayed in while we were in Leadville. I’ve been so excited about it that I’ve spent almost all my time working on it. The house definitely looks like it, too – I really need to get up and take care of it. But I’d really rather be tatting!

May all of you have a wonderful week with a little tea and tatting in it!

Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Can you believe it’s February 14th already? It seems like it was New Year’s Day just last week.

To celebrate this day of hearts I’m sharing the heart pin I wear when I do demonstrations or have a booth at craft shows. It has an edging in red and green DMC size 10 that I started and didn’t like how it turned out. It got thrown in a box until I thought to use it for this. The shuttle is actually half a Susan Bates shuttle that came apart. Then I glued a heart charm to the center to add a little accent. It makes a very nice accessory when I’m out sharing tatting with the world – or at least the local community.

I don’t think I picked up a shuttle at all this week. Between a lot of overtime at work and not feeling so good, I wasn’t motivated at all to do much of anything, not even tat. We did get a chance to watch our grandson this Tuesday, which it one reason I didn’t post for Tatting Tea Tuesday. Some things are more important than others : )

I’ve decided that I may have to come up with one or two small projects to do to get me back in the groove. Something that gives a little instant gratification. It’s not that I don’t like the projects I have in line, but all of them are not that easy to take with me, and I do a lot of tatting away from home. If I can get started on something maybe in a few days I’ll have something new to share. We can hope, right?

I’ve also not had much time to get online, so I am way behind on seeing what everyone is doing. I’ve also had some trouble responding to some of the comments from last week. Every time I had a few comments typed, I’d get kicked out with nothing saved. I do appreciate all the comments, and I will respond, soon, I promise!

I hope all of you have a wonderful Valentine’s day with the one who is closest to you. Maybe share a little chocolate…

Home again, home again, jiggety jig – with butterflies and snow

We made it home at last, in time for Tatting Tea Tuesday. I say it that way because who doesn’t sleep better in their own bed? I had a wonderful time in Washington, DC and loved the visit with my daughter and her family. Though I didn’t get to see a lot of the sights of the area – at least up close and personal – it was an enjoyable vacation, too. But it is nice to be home again.

For the last two weeks the tatting I’ve gotten done has been in a limited number of colors because I didn’t take a large variety of thread. I really didn’t anticipate getting a lot done. Which I didn’t. What I did get done was simple patterns that I didn’t have to concentrate on too much. Between taking care of the grandson (ooh, so sweet!) and meeting new people (daughters’ in-laws), seeing the area, and then the long trip home, my mind wasn’t into thinking hard. So what has been posted and these few butterflies and the heart are the entire amount of tatting I’ve done in two weeks.

The heart is again Tracy’s Heart by Heather, done in Lizbeth thread size 20 black and Victorian Red. I used two shuttles and adjusted the pattern just a little so the bottom ring was in black instead of red.

The butterflies are based on a pattern by Monica Mancenido, aka soyloquesoy, found on Intatters. It’s a simple little butterfly with a simple little stitch count. I decided to make it, but wasn’t on-line and hadn’t really checked the stitch count. So what I got are the butterflies you see. The one top left is the closest to her original pattern – not quite, but close – and then the top right with a lot of picots on the outside. The two bottom ones I added the thrown off ring for a head as well as more picots. They are all done in Falling Leaves Lizbeth size 20. Another cute way to use the last of the thread on a shuttle.

I’m enjoying a nice cup of hot tea today (mint), much needed as the weather is pretty chilly. The thermometer says it’s 39 degrees F but it’s gray and cold-looking outside. The last few days in Washington were wet with the tail end of Ida causing lots of rain but they are now enjoying nice, sunny weather. We come home to snow flurries and rain. Ahh *sipping tea* but it is nice to be home, no matter the weather.

Tatting Tea Tuesday

I’m back! but I have very little to show for the last week or so. Our daughter and grandson stayed a few extra days more than planned – which was wonderful by the way! I didn’t get much done tatting-wise, but that’s okay. Much better to visit with them while they’re here, I’ll have time to tat later.

I did get a little bit done, stress on the “little”. I finished this up this morning with a cup of *hmm* coffee while the grandson took a little nap.

This is supposed to be a horseshoe. To go along with the horse head I’ve made. Well, not quite with the one that’s already made as the colors don’t go together very well. But I’m thinking on a card or bookmark with a horse-y theme. This horseshoe isn’t quite right, but I was not exactly focused the whole time I was making it. It looks more like a “U” than a shoe, but I think I can fix that the next time around. And thought it’s not perfect I think I’ll have this as my #22 in the 25 Motif Challenge.

Well, that’s it, the entire extent of my tatting over the last week or so. Maybe I’ll have something more by next week.

Grandson is visiting!

No pictures today – too busy. My daughter from Omaha is here with the grandson! Woo-hoo!

Haven’t seen them since May and he has changed soooo much! He’s crawling and has two teeth.

They’re going to be here for a week, so I doubt I’ll get much tatting done. If I do accomplish anything with thread and shuttle I’ll try and post it. Maybe at breaks at work I can do a little…

Okay, he’s doing more cute stuff, gotta stop and watch. Everyone have a good week!

Baby booties are started

I finally have started on the baby booties for my grandsons. The plan is to baptize them at the same time and the girls and I thought it would be nice for me to make them booties.
I’m using the pattern out of Aunt Ellen’s Tatting Patterns by Workbasket. I’ve made this pattern before, about 16 -17 years ago. It’s kind of funny. The book marks each pattern by how hard it is, easy, intermediate and challenging and this pattern is challenging. No big deal, I’ve made them before. Uh-huh. I’ve learned a lot and done a lot since then.
So the pattern says shuttle and ball. Okay, I wind one shuttle and leave it attached to the ball and start the bottom, do about the first five rings and chains. And then I’m looking for the other shuttle – the one I didn’t wind because you only need one. But the way the pattern flows a second shuttle is needed, at least it is if you know how.
So, I wound thread around the outside of the shuttle until I thought I had enough, cut off from the ball and wound a second shuttle (I didn’t measure but an experienced eye had the shuttle loaded almost perfectly) and went on with the bottom.
The rest of it is pretty straight forward and is for just shuttle and ball. I have two more rounds on the first of bootie left to go. I’ll try it on the youngest grandson to see how it fits then make the next pair out of larger thread for the older. He’s two months older and had really long feet when he was born so I’ll have to experiment with different thread sizes to get them to fit. This one is in DMC white size 30 so I have size 20 and size 10 for a couple of easy ways to increase the size without changing the pattern.
We’re planning on mid-February for the event – weather permitting – so as long as I don’t dawdle too much I should get them done in plenty of time. That is, of course, if I don’t have trouble with the next pair!
I was planning on posting the Entwined Hearts, pattern by Jon, here and the booties when at least one pair was made, but I oopsed. I was actually taking a picture of it and noticed that I made a join wrong! So I decided to make it again before posting it. Stay tuned…

#11 of 25 Motif Challenge

Here’s my try at Jon’s Quantiesque snowflake. It’s done in DMC size 30 threads, light pink and light green. I wasn’t too sure about making it in these colors, but my oldest daughter really liked them and thought that they’d look good together. She’s going to get this one, too, as she likes it a lot. It’s #11 for my 25 Motif Challenge.

The new grandson is home with his parents. He looks so small compared to his two-month old cousin! One is dark and one is pink! Hopefully they will be able to see enough of each other growing up to be friends.

The weather is supposed to be turning bad so my youngest daughter is heading back to Omaha tomorrow her the other grandson. It’s supposed to get icy starting Sunday afternoon/evening and we don’t want her driving through that. It was great having them here for the last week but we’d like to see them home safe.

I’ve got several more things I will posting very soon, including Jon’s Hearts Entwined/Crowning Hearts. I’ve have to take pictures and download them first! But it’s coming.

I have several things I would like to post soon. Now that the baby is here and the other grandson is going home, I might have time to load the pictures.

I’m a grandma again!


My second grandson, Hunter, was born Wednesday afternoon at 2:44. Finally! He wasn’t late but he gave us several false alarms. My daughter was induced yesterday morning and had him a lot sooner than I expected. He was one of 38 babies delivered a the hospital on the 21st! My daughter’s nurse said this is the fullest she’s seen the nursery floor.

They are supposed to go home this evening yet. Good thing his daddy is going to be home for the first week or two. And I’m going to be available also, as she is only about an hour away from me. So I’m taking a week’s vacation so that I can be available if she needs some help, or just someone to talk to.

My other daughter came down from Omaha with her two month-old baby to be here for the birth and they have been staying with us. The cousins have been introduced to each other, though neither one seems to care much right now. It’s amazing to see how big the two month old looks compared to the newborn!

I have several pieces of tatting I’ll be posting in a day or two, but emailing baby pictures are a little more important right now!