Judging is tomorrow (today)

I am composing this on Monday, but not publishing until Tuesday, after the judging. I doubt any of my readers (all 3 of you) are State Fair judges, but just in case. 

First, here's my Heritage Craft entry. It's a tatted reticule (style of purse) that's basically a bag with a drawstring. It's adapted from a vintage doily pattern. I used size 10 Lizbeth no. 182-spice cake.

I lucet braided the drawstring in dark brown crochet cotton and used the same thread for the single chain crochet to make the drawstring loops for the lining. The lining is satin (from a pillow case that died), and then, because I didn't feel like doing a French seam, I lined the lining with a sturdy poly-suede. I sewed the crochet chain between the layers of lining in loops. The drawstring is what's holding the outer tatting and the lining together.

Here's the only tatting category entry; Nonthreaded Needlework, Framed. It's Debbie Arnold's spiral heart pattern in Lizbeth white and metallic gold. I got the frame at a thrift shop.

For the first time, I entered the Art Trading Card category. Luckily, my partner had the sheet. Otherwise, I'd have had to buy a pack of 30 or a 100 sheets. I used a mixture of collage and tatting.

I used the same spiral heart for the Ornament category. I add the beads (both the white and the faceted) to the pattern and bent the hanger hook from an i-pin, after threading more beads on it.

In Mixed Media Jewelry, I entered this brooch. It's a 1941 pattern, Carnation Boutonniere in New Things Happen to Tatting, Book 159 (The Spool Cotton Company, 1941) found on Internet Archive. Inspired by Carolyn (one of our Tri-Tatters), I also used beads and added a button to the center.

I took my car to be inspected early Saturday, but alas, it would not pass without some work being done. And the part needed was not on site so they had to order it. They estimated it would take about 2 hours for it arrive. It took just over an hour, but then they had to squeeze my job in between other jobs and all told, I was there about 3 hours. So I decided to get lunch and run an errand. 

I went home to attach the tags to all my entries and didn't leave until about 3 pm. I didn't check the NC State Football schedule. I arrived just before tip off. AKA lots of traffic and detours. I also got to sit through a light cycle as I watched 24 police cars, with lights and sirens, 1 roadside assistance vehicle, and a motorcycle cop go through the intersection. 

Still got done dropping off my entries (all 5!) and home in good time. 

Had gaming on Sunday, that's why I didn't just wait until Sunday to deliver my entries. Our GM is no longer living in this area so we rely on technology. Which was not cooperating. But we still got through the expected encounter, plus. We nerfed the 1st encounter thanks to identifying what we were fighting and having an effective counter to their strongest (and most time consuming to counter) attack. Then someone had the right spell to counter their strongest defense and that's all she wrote.

So we had another encounter, although we had to handwave the last foe due to timing. It just the one and we were in good enough shape to take it out, with a minimum of consumables used and without any of use being too seriously hurt (player with the healer is really good).

I have also started a pattern that I am going to submit to teach at the next Tat Days. I thought it might be too similar to one of Karey Solomon's but I checked with her and she said it isn't.

Makings & presents

 I made it to see my parents on Saturday. It's over an hour drive but I can break it up by stopping at a rest stop or whatever. I don't usually bother but when I hit the 3rd stop and roll, I decided I needed to get off the highway. I waited until it felt late enough for an early lunch, and I got there right before the lunch rush hit. Yay me.

After I saw Mom, I was going to meet Dad at the pie shop we usually meet at (right around the corner from Mom), but the management there turned out to be human and closed the place for 2 days so staff could take a vacation. At least, that's what the sign said. Not great for us, but good for them.

Dad gave me bells that used to hang in Grandma's house. They might once have been attached to a door on one of the businesses that Grandma and Grandpa had.

 

He also gave me my birthday present early (yay, presents!). The box lid is a Diné sand painting (I have marred the image, to move it farther from the original sand painting. I am sure the artist adjusted it, but I am reluctant to post it on the Internet without further changes). 

I gave Mom and Stepmom their Mother's Day presents (a scarf for mom and earrings for stepmom). Mom also got a card, so she'll remember I was there. I packaged both of them in an origami box I made from calendar pages. Calendar pages are stiffer than most paper and usually colorful. 

And this is part of the reason I really don't like Bradford pears. This limb was somewhat damaged, I think the black might be rot, and look how it ripped off in a storm.

Now look at the size of the the branch that came off.

 

Thursday, I watched the NC History Museum History and Highballs presentation, on zoom. This one was Missing History: Jewish Life in Western NC. I love history, especially the bits that didn't get covered in class or when it's more in-depth than what we learned when I took history classes in high school and college. It's how I learned about the Lowery War.

I tatted the tiny teapot from Karey Solomon's book Bring on the Buttons, in silver during the presentation. It was my fidget project.

After the success of Gina Butler's hair bob, I used one of the patterns from the same book to make one in a different color. I made it Sunday and wore it Monday, because it went really well with the blouse I was wearing.

 

Friday, my old friend Felicia called. She lives out of state now but her family are still local. When she's in the area we try to meet for lunch or something. Last time she came, we didn't manage to meet but I told her about Scrap Exchange. So naturally, she blamed me for having to pay the fees to get the very nice, very discounted, very heavy craft tool (cricut, maybe, I don't remember) home. She said very rude things, and I cackled the entire time. 

I found this not so little one next to my car as I was headed home the other day. According to iNaturalist, it's a tussar moth.

I cut squares to make a charm bag (see a previous post). They weren't pre-cut, but I dug out my rotary cutter and mat. I need a 3rd fabric for the drawstring casing. It's some fabric I've had on hand for some time and it felt good to actually use it.

I took scraps from the previous drawstring bags I made, plus orts from tatting and loom knitting and stuck them into these tiny glass bottles. I may have to get those ball ornaments or larger bottles to hold more.

Oops, Been Absent Again

 Time got away from me and I didn't notice I hadn't posted to my blog. I finished a grey alien, to go with the 2 green ones, and Anitra gave me black beads for the eyes of another grey alien.

Tri-Tatters had our first meeting in 3 years, 2 months, and 1 week (so Anitra called it the Boom meeting). We did a demo at Mordecai House. Only 7 of us were able to make it, but 1 of those is a brand new tatter. She had her shuttle loaded and ready to go, just needed feedback on what was going on and how to recognize what was going on.

The banner Caroline K made and my 2019 temperature scarf

I started a new button bag (from Karey Solomon's Bring on the Buttons). And made Gina Butler's hair elastic button. I'll need to take a picture of the latter.

I went to NC Regional Lace Day and took Gretchen's butterfly pendant class. I happened to have beads that almost matched the enamel on the butterfly blank (need a picture). Then I found the seasonal earring kit I bought at Palmetto last year but couldn't find the pattern. Gretchen sent it to me and I made those (although I need to neaten both).

 Since I had the opportunity, I turned in the 2 books I had borrowed from the NCRL library and checked out Tatting with Beads by Rosemarie Peel. I've made 3 of the samples/project from it.  

1st project, sprigs but I didn't use wire

I made a keepsake penny for a student I know who's going home. I found a penny minted her birth year and used Jane Eborall's magnet bookmark as a starting point. I had to adjust the stitch count. Alas, I forgot to get a picture.

The 5e game continues. 1 of the PCs who thought this was a wild goose chase has been convinced by her goddess that this is what we need to do. Lots of roleplay but the last session ended mid-fight. We managed to spook off one component of the fight (opportunistic animals) but that leaves the rest. And unfortunately, 1 PC set off an alarm in the hostile city so they know someone is here. We have to finish the fight and skedaddle before reinforcements show up.

Our Pathfinder game also progresses. Unfortunately, scheduling issues meant we had to cut the session short. We could finish the fight with less than our full roster, but the fall out needed more players than we had at the table. 

A sewing/craft YouTuber mentioned this site (Thrifty Notion) as a source for inexpensive sewing supplies and fabric. I'm going to get some buttons (for Karey Solomon's patterns, etc), and maybe some fabric.

I went and picked up some fabric (100% cotton) at the Dollar Tree a couple weeks ago. I had seen this tutorial for a 5 square drawstring bag (video link) and had to try it. The 1st one went well but the 2nd one required some hand sewing as I missed a seam and didn't notice until the end. My choices were hand sewing or ripping out a number of seams to resew the problem one.

 

My long cotton gauze shawl has a tear in it. I am going to mend it but since it will not be an invisible mend, I decided to cover it. This is beading No. 32 from Tatting with Anne Orr. I used the same thread I used to edge the scarf. Now that the edging is made, I need to mend the scarf and sew the tatting over it.

 

And below are some samples I made.

Cream silk heart (handspun yarn from a friend), red lace weight linen yarn butterfly, & black linen Londonderry 50/3 butterfly & beading/insertion, all tatted. The black is also Beading No. 32. I got the black linen thread from a vendor at the NCRL spring lace day.The red is the linen I got at the Carolina Fiber Fest.

Gillian's Election Bookmark in Lizbeth color way 156. This may end up being a bracelet.

And finally, a rainbow. Just because.