Sewicked: tea

Showing posts with label tea. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 03, 2024

A week after Tat Days

As usual, Tat Days was a blast. My class Thursday night went pretty well (multiple people finished their version of Solar Flare). I repeated that I didn't care if they didn't do it the exact way I did, the pattern is flexible and as long as they were happy with it, then it's a success.

But one tatter gave me such a compliment. She finished her Solar Flare on a jump ring, and said she's going to use it as the snowflake in her Christmas cards this year.

Ridgecrest was nice but very confusing. We had a map of the conference center and we had maps of the individual buildings, but we didn't have maps showing us how buildings connected. For example, you could walk entirely around the dining building from the building with Tat Days to get to the building with our rooms, or you could go through a door at a dead end hall, go up half a flight of stairs, and be on the 2nd floor of the rooms.

The scenery and weather were gorgeous. Saturday morning I even saw my breath (after the extreme heat this past summer, that was a blessing).

For the first time, the webmistress of SomethingUnderTheBed was able to attend. I think she was a little surprised by her popularity.

I wanted to take at least some of Randy's classes, but you can never take all the classes you want to take. I bought his latest book and Anitra took all of his classes, so she can help me.

I wasn't entirely certain about Bev Corder's Art Trading Card class. I was definitely intrigued but I wasn't certain how my end result was going to be, and if I would be happy with it. By the end of class, I had finished 4 cards and was thinking about more. Here are my cards.

Small card with tatted flowers and a quote card "Art is not just a painting" and handwritten "a garden is art made of flowers."

Flower Garden Art Trading Card

Small card with tatted leaves and handwritten 'don't leaf me alone'

Leaf Art Trading Card

Small card with rounded corners, tatted half-circle motifs in upper corners and a metallic tatted snowflake a the bottom. A quote card in the middle "Objects with stories to tell become Art."

Art Object Trading Card

Small card with tatted edging of flowers on the bottom edge and a quote card "Art is the essence of beauty."

Essence of Art Trading Card

I also like my Posies for Nina class (Karey Solomon) and I got a second kit so I can do it again. Then I'll probably make my own 'kits' to make some more in different colors.

5 petal tatted flower with beaded tatted chain petals, that look striped. Center is a glass 'stone'.

Posies for Nina pendant

I need to tat Jane Eborall's This Way and That Way Snowflake again. I'm not happy with my block tatting. She was showing another way to do it and my lines of tatting are kind of uneven.

6 pointed tatted flake with block tatting forming the points, on top of the pattern showing title and example picture

block tatted snowflake

On the other hand, I'm very happy with my flower(s) from Heidi Nakayama's class. They're going to be earrings. I have 2 flowers done, but they don't quite match (one is dark purple and the other is Elderberry Jam, an ombre purple).

Two five-petaled flowers with solid petals (block tatting). One has a contrasting single ring 'flower center' resting on it.

WIP earrings

Sharren Morgan's Lattice Edging is pretty easy. She also provided variations and a couple corner treatments in her pattern. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but I realized it was perfect to trim the tote bag we got. I'm almost done, but I've said that for 2 days.

Tatted inserted edging with alternating rings in 2 sizes, laid near the top of a tote bag

Lattice edging

Palmetto Tat Days 2024 tote

I bought 2 stickers and put them on my journal. I should take pictures of my goodie bag and my purchases.

Cup with the words "Tatting, Chocolate, Repeat" on it

Tatting advice sticker

"Tatting Lace is my Superpower" round sticker

My Superpower sticker, on my journal

The drive wasn't very long, even with the detour to get Martha, but I had to stop and get a 5-hour energy drink. Luckily, I only drink them about 4 times a year (maybe only 2), so I'm not greatly concerned with their effects. When caffeinated drinks alone are not enough, and I'm driving some distance, then I partake. Luckily, they also taste nasty, so I'm not tempted.

Have you ever heard of Yaupon Holly? It's a holly native to the SE part of North America. It's also related to yerba mate and it's a caffeine source. I bought some tea from a company in Wilmington, North Carolina. I got a variety similar to black tea, and it's tasty. To me it tastes more herbal than traditional teas.

They had muscadine grapes in the store the other day. I couldn't resist, so I bought some. I shared them with my co-workers and finished them off myself. They're tasty, but a little messy.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

So much happened

I went to a house party for a friend's birthday. We played games, talked, and ate. Lots of fun. This was off the back porch.

I made progress on the 2024 TTAL. I worked on it during the Fiber Fest demo, but I forgot a key thread and was stumped after February 29th.

I showed extraordinary control and only bought a few vintage buttons, a mini-loom, and a speedweave loom. Here's our table at the Carolina Fiber Fest (yes, I asked permission 1st)

The NC Museum of Art has a new exhibit, as of March 2nd, To Take Shape and Meaning, Form and Design in Contemporary American Indian Art. It is incredible. I went on opening day because they had artists there and one is a friend so I wanted to see her. I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures of the dancers. These are just a sample of the exhibits; where all the artists are from, 2 pieces with information about the artist. The man standing next to the portrait is the artist.

Before going, I printed out directions, despite having driven by it several times, cause I am directionally challenged. And the directions sent me through a residential area, to a complete dead end. And it was a recent one, there were trees! Luckily, I do have a 'smart' phone and used GPS to get back on track.

There was also a pop-up market. I resisted temptation, mostly. I bought 1 small packet of tea. But I got her contact info, she's a local tea blender. And she has one that is no caffeine blend that smells, and tastes, like coffee.

I forgot about the outdoor exhibit spaces. I took a couple pictures of this one, a mirror spiral path/maze. It was after 4 pm when I stopped by so the light was incredible.

My favorite scarf, the one with 86" of tatted edging, got torn. I darned it, but didn't really like the darn so I covered it with tatting on both sides. Then I found another, larger tear. I've darned it, but I'm trying to decide if I'll do more tatting over it or something else (I do have that new mini loom).

I've started a patch, here it is, in case I like it. Now that it's in progress, I have my doubts. It's much denser than the scarf. It's size 10 crochet cotton and perle 5 cotton weft.

My scrap bag in progress (from Karey Solomon's Bring on the Buttons)

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Almost stopped coughing

Now I just have the occasional dry, itchy throat and clogged sinuses. So I have improved by leaps and bounds. I've been keeping a jar of tea in the fridge. I make it and then I can just pour it and heat it. It's not best practice, but it's potable and hot. I'm also going through tea at work.

Day 4 of 2016 TIAS

Day 5 of 2016 TIAS

Here are my latest two TIAS steps. I need to check to see if Day 6 is out yet. It might be. I'm thinking frog, now.

CD and I were invited to a game party (cards, boardgames, etc) on Saturday, via one of my co-workers, a fellow gamer. But he wasn't feeling so hot so I stayed home to take care of him. He apologized for keeping me away, but I didn't want him along when he was recovering. CC was at the party, too.

Yes, that's a scarf

It's gotten very cold. Tuesday's high was around 30F and today it (supposedly) got above freezing. Sunday, it snowed, but I missed it. Mom called to complain (jokingly) that I didn't warn her about the snow. She stepped out to get her paper and there it was! Accumulation! It started snowing as I got home tonight. I was home a little earlier than usual. I caught an earlier bus, the one that's too soon after my leave time to make it unless I hustle.

There was an accident and we lost power. The building was already locked so I didn't wait for the office door to lock and I didn't have to wait for the computer to shut down. Without power and only a flashlight for any light, I just sat at my desk and read by flashlight. The two big things on my to-do list both required my computer. And I'd already done my offline stuff. The other offline stuff requires proper light.

And of course, with all the cold weather, I have meetings 3 out of 4 workdays this week (I was off on Monday). Yesterday wasn't too bad, if you were out of the wind. I could even take off my gloves. Tomorrow's meeting (I'm presuming there won't be enough accumulation to affect work) I may end up walking to catch a bus back to the office. That's going to be cold.

Monday, July 06, 2009

Good Deeds & Tea
Chris & Rosemary took me to use the gift certificate for tea that she gave me for my birthday. First, we stopped by Natural Neighbors & I bought some lavender pump soap. She also gave me a sliver of soap in a small baggie, to try as an alternative to using commercial handsoaps. It does work, sort of. But I still want to try soap powder or flakes.

On our way to Tea-rific Spices, I stopped to finally get my glasses fixed. The nose pads have been slowly disintegrating, exposing the hard plastic skeleton, so they really needed to be replaced.

Once we got to the tea shop, I ordered some iced herbal tea while Rosemary had a cold fruity tea, raspberry I think, and Chris had some other iced tea. I bought a tea strainer and three teas with my gift certificate. They were out of the Peach white tea that I wanted, so I got some Pai-mu-tan, another white tea instead. I also got a nice vanilla chai for a wake up tea and something called mango mate.

I had some of the Pai-mu-tan last night & this morning. It's great iced, too. I brewed some and chilled it in the fridge to drink this morning.

After shopping and lunch yesterday we went went to see Monsters Vs. Aliens. It was an entertaining movie. I definitely liked Susan, and even Bob was kind of cute, in a brainless kind of way.

GAMING:
Saturday's game went well. At least I made it a little challenging for the players. I took one person down to negative hit points and had at least a couple people bloody every fight. I haven't reported it yet, but I will as soon as I find my notes.

after gaming cookout/holiday party:
Rosemary's house got a little crowded with everyone but we had fun, talking and eating. Since I only had one burger, I had enough room for watermelon & ice cream afterwards. It would have been a shame to miss anything. Mya had a hot dog. She's 2 and a half now and I had fun occasionally confusing her by asking her if she could say 'no.' Or not say 'no'.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Back at Work
I managed 4 hours of sleep last night, plus one hour. I laid down and for the next 40 minutes I coughed. I finally got up, fixed a cup of hot tea and went to sleep more or less sitting up. I woke up an hour later, tried a cough drop, and drank another cup of hot tea before drifting off to sleep, still sitting up & half expecting to wake up in an hour, coughing again.

It's probably redundant to comment that I'm tired today. I didn't drag my usual 'OMG it's heavy' bag today. I resorted to a moderate-sized craft box/tote (I got it at 2005 Tat Days; it's about 6" x 10"x 4" deep). It's enough to carry a paperback, my mini-lunchbox of tatting, my zippered tin of tatting, my camera, and yesterday's receipts (so that I can make my reimbursement claim).

Here's a hint, if you weren't already aware, that you might be sick. You look lustfully at a pack of cough drops with the sort of yearning that you usually reserve for your favorite chocolate truffles.

I checked this morning on the tea chest that I got last year for Christmas. I have used some of the tea bags in the past year but I've really hit it hard the past week. It's 3x5 divisions with 5 tea bags per section. It's 1/3 empty now. That's a lot of tea.

My supervisor is so good. He handled most of the time-sensitive stuff for me while I was out. Considering one of the things that almost had me coming to work on Monday is this mondo huge monthly report; I am so happy I did not have to work on that today. I'm feeling wiped just catching up on the other stuff. That in addition, might have been too much.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

snow! In the 10 minutes from when I walked in the building door to when my supervisor came back from an errand (getting breakfast, I think), it started snowing. Not just started, but every non-paved (ie non-brine covered) surface has a distinct layer of snow. IN 10 MINUTES! From nada to wow!

cold: my cold is worse. My nose is so stopped up that the drainage is hitting my gag reflex. Luckily I only had some water in my stomach. Yay for early morning, right? I've taken some sudafed but either it hasn't kicked in or it has, to the best of its ability (scary thought).

I brought my new tea maker (filter & brewer in one, present from Dad & step-mom) to work & made myself a cuppa 1st thing. It's rooibos and I'm waiting for it to cool enough to drink. I just put one packet of splenda in it to sweeten & if it starts to cool, I also brought out a cup hot plate/warmer. It's the one either Richard & Kathy or my mom gave me.

bus woes: There was a basketball game in town last night so traffic was hellacious. I missed the 1st bus but theoretically, only had a 20 minute wait for the next one. It was 20 minutes late (wait time now 40 minutes). That's when I learned that I'd lost my bus pass (badge holder slipped off). Retraced my steps & found it where I'd had lunch (thank goodness!). The next bus was due in less than 10 minutes. It was 30 minutes late (total wait time: 1 hour 20 minutes). I was soooo cold. I was not dressed for a wait that long. On top of my cold, & the knowledge I could have been on the previous bus = Cranky me!

books: I've started reading about 3 or 4 books. I'm having trouble settling on one. It's due to the cold I think. My energy is odd. I brought Bewitched with me to work & read it on the way in. It's a romance anthology, not a recent one.

clothes: black ~ugg boots (w/ 2 pairs of socks, it helps a little), black jeans, red turtleneck, Celtic knot jewelry & braided hair. I also have a sweater to add a layer when needed. It's multi-color and hard to describe. Quasi-tweed checks doesn't do it justice.

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

I'm almost dry. At least, I'm down to damp. The dampness has penetrated my socks though & my feet feel soooo cold. I drank the last of the Bohea that I have here at work. I'll take my little container home & put more loose tea in it.

Despite all that I do, that cold/whatever is still lingering. Getting nigh onto soaked today & then sitting around in damp clothes probably did not help. C'est la vie. Nothing I could do about it. I spent my money on books last night & do not have more to go buy clothes at the student store.

I bought Hawkins Confessions of a Scoundrel (which turns out to be the latest about the St. John brothers instead of the one previous to An Affair to Remember), Feehan's Dark Melody & one about the next Drake sister by her, plus one book present. Shhh, it's a secret.

I'm heading home now. To maybe take a hot bath or shower & definitely to change into my nice toasty warm slipper-sockes.