The Gregg’s Mist flower that we planted in the spring recovered from the summer heat and spread with the fall rains. We bought it because it is very attractive to butterflies, but the bees love it too!
Now the test is to see how they do over the winter. If they do well, we just might fill the whole front section of the flower bed with them. It is a Texas native.
I went shopping in my craft room. I was fairly certain I had more than the one tatting shuttle I found, so I perused my shelves and found a baggie with five more shuttles! Score!
I have inherited a variety of crafting implements over the years, so shopping in the craft room is a common occurrence. I did manage to make a lopsided star in tatting. Skill development in this area continues.
I picked up my knitting again and progressed a little farther. I keep telling myself that this is the worst bit, row-length-wise. I’m making a top-down cartigan with raglan sleeves, and across the shoulders, before the arms are separated from the body, the row has around 300 stitches and is increasing. I’m close to separating the sleeves and then I hope the work will at least perceive to go faster. I posted a couple shorts on YouTube of my real-time perl and knit. It is slow going.
Today you get a picture of Thor the Gray Tabby, because he is such a pretty boy.
So tatting is a craft I have not previously attempted. I have not historically been a lace person, so tatting, which is a type of knotted lace, was not a high priority. Finding myself in Texas, where thick woolens are not required, I’ve come to appreciate the functionality of lace. Mainly, I can craft something that is wearable in the Texas heat. To keep it real, I took a picture of my failed first attempts.
Not to cast a pall on all the fantastic lace work out there, but they all started with misshapen tangles of thread too. It is hard to learn new things, and the first products are not usually spectacular. It takes time and practice to develop the muscle memory and control for different hand crafts. Enjoying this learning process helps me not abandon the effort in frustration. Although it is not a bad idea to take frequent breaks, because it can be exasperating teaching our hands new skills. I did eventually produce a small chain of loops.
I used the word “not” eight times in this post, see what I did there?
Critters and Craft 