I’ve been making several of my Button Kitty because they are fun to make. Thanks, Marie Mccurry of West Pine Creations for sharing the kitties she made. Check out the post on my Facebook page to see them. She added beads for eyes and such cute ears!
I also have a few ideas about other things to do with the pattern. I’ve been trying a few things, which aren’t bad but I’m not sure they turn out quite like my vision.
From a cat to something else
I had already thought of making the ears bigger but I loved Marie’s addition of the beads for the eyes. I also thought maybe a bigger bead for the nose. I got all that. But what is it?
Then I tried again.
Another try
I did the beads again and the nose a bit differently. I like it, though I did goof on one of the eye placements. But again, I’m not sure it looks quite like I what I had in mind. Cute, though.
So, what do you think they look like?
“We live in the world our questions create.” David Cooperrider
I have been doing some tatting lately, not always what I should be doing but enjoying what I have been doing. I realized a few days ago that it will be autumn soon, with cooler weather and fall colors. This inspired me to tat with browns and oranges. And try a few different patterns.
A kitty and pumpkin on burlap
I’m not sure I like the burlap as a background, but I do like the kitty and pumpkin. The kitty was motivated by my Morgan Mouse pattern. I thought I saw a kitty in it the other day when I glanced over it. I’m pleased by how it turned out, the right background or not. I used size 20 thread and a 1/2 inch button. I have the pattern done if you’re interested, it’s on My Patterns page.
We have a cute dog, Bonnie, a Corgi mix. We did some training to get her to obey and have better manners, and now she and I spend our days together without too many problems. But once in a while, there are still times…
Tangled thread
I must admit that leaving my tatting where she could get at it was my fault, not hers. But it was aggravating to find an almost full ball of thread in a tangled mess. It took an hour and a half to untangle it. I didn’t even think about it being left out when I went out to water my plants, or that she was in the house by herself.
I have a lot of pretty shuttles I could use, but I usually tat with inexpensive Clover shuttles. I’m so glad I did this time because it wasn’t only the ball of thread she got to.
Chewed-on shuttleDoggy toy shuttle
As you can see, she thought the shuttle was a nice chew toy. I used fine sandpaper to smooth out the teeth marks, which worked well. It might not be pretty, but it is much smoother now.
Shuttle after a bit of work
Bonnie chewed on the backend of the shuttle so the pointy tip was not damaged. The backend was sprung, which didn’t mean it couldn’t be used, but I thought I’d try fixing that, too.
Shuttle after a bit of work
I put the shuttle in hot water for a bit, then clipped on a clothespin and did it again. The tips are closer than they were. I’m going to try it again, to see if I can’t get them a bit closer. I used the shuttle on a small project the way it is and the thread did not catch on any rough spots, so even if I can’t get the ends any closer I haven’t lost a shuttle.
I submitted the pattern that I’ve been working on to Tatting Corner for the chance to teach it on the cruise. I received nice comments from the test tatters on it, so I’m hoping there will be enough interest in it for others to want to do it.
I do not receive anything from Tatting Corner for including them in my post or if anyone clicks the link.
“Cat’s motto: No matter what you’ve done wrong, always try to make it look like the dog did it.” – Unknown
I have been tatting but nothing I can share. I designed a pattern I hope will be accepted for Tatting Corner’s cruise next year. I have sent it to a couple of test tatters, two for shuttle and one who also needle tats. The shuttle tatting pattern has been approved by the testers, now I’m just waiting on the needle tatter to help me with needle notations. I can’t share this until sometime after the cruise.
Yes, I still have things to share from Tat Days. It was a busy week, from when we left home until we returned.
When we got to the Tatting Corner shop Thursday (7/7) morning my husband immediately started looking for things for me. I had to stop him as I had plans for the auction on Saturday – we couldn’t spend all of our money right away! We did keep a few things he liked and a few things I picked out.
Mahogany shuttle
This is a Mahogany shuttle that Jack liked. I’ve already been using it and it tats nicely. The clover shuttle is there for a size reference.
Celic shuttle
This is a redwood Celic shuttle. I thought at first it was a Celtic shuttle, but it’s too wide for that style. I finally looked it up online. Celic is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina according to Wikipedia, make what you will of that. Google maps show it in the northeast part of the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I take it to mean that it is from or like shuttles of that area. I haven’t tried it yet.
I picked up a couple of shuttles from nekonomekoubou. I don’t know that I’ll ever use them but I think they are so cute!
Cat shuttleBird shuttle
Aren’t they gorgeous? My granddaughter loves the cat one. The clover shuttle is there for size comparison. I’m afraid to use them yet, afraid I’d drop them! For now, I’ll just admire them.
On our way to Indiana, we stopped for the night in Hannibal, Missouri, which is the boyhood home of Mark Twain. The area we were in looked intriguing but it was so hot we didn’t feel like getting out to look around. We went to the Riverside Inn where we had a room for the night and didn’t go out again. Our rooms had a view of the Mississippi River and a Mexican restaurant down the stairs and through a door. That was the extent of our exploring that evening. The next morning we did drive through the area but it was too early for most things to be open.
The lighthouse in Hannibal
We had planned to meet with Diane, the Lace-lovin’ Librarian, and her husband for lunch on Wednesday but they had problems with their water well and couldn’t make it. It was disappointing but completely understandable. Instead, we stopped in Springfield, Illinois to see the area where Abraham Lincoln lived just before they went to Washington, DC. Neither Jack nor I had ever been there. We only spent a couple of hours there but it was interesting.
Abe’s house
Lincoln’s house was the only building you had to have a ticket for and go on a guided tour of. The timing wasn’t right for that so we only saw the outside of it, plus the neighborhood. If we get back in Springfield we’ll try to go back again.
On the way home, we went through Vandalia, Illinois, and stopped there for a bit of lunch. We were surprised to notice they have a miniature gateway arch.
Vandalia arch
You can see that it is much smaller than the one in St. Louis, LOL.
Jack was going to turn back and get on the Interstate the same way we got off, but I saw something interesting on the map that I wanted to check out. It was easy to get to and close to the next Interstate entrance.
The Kaskaskia Dragon
The Kaskaskia dragon actually breaths fire, for a few tokens. We didn’t buy any so I didn’t see it breathe fire, but the mouth sure looked like it did.
Kaskaskia DragonVandalia knight
The knight looks like he’s gotten the rough end of the deal.
I don’t recall seeing the sign, but I understand this tourist attraction is to draw people to the Kiskiskia Dragon RV park. I’m not advertising for them, we just enjoyed the dragon.
I’m hoping to have some tatting done by next week that I can share. I still have things to share from Tat Days, like the items I bought at the auction. Let’s see if I can post by next Monday!
“Travel becomes a strategy for accumulating photographs.” Susan Sontag
