I repurposed the hanging chick feeder I made in 2019 to feed the wild birds. I do not plan on raising chicks again, and I do enjoy watching the birds come visit.

I repurposed the hanging chick feeder I made in 2019 to feed the wild birds. I do not plan on raising chicks again, and I do enjoy watching the birds come visit.

The urgent need cotton thread that I picked up on vacation because I ran out was a natural colored size 3. I haven’t worked with this size before, so it was an intriguing purchase. It didn’t take much thread to fill up my tatting bobbins, but the tatting work went well.


What drives me crazy about crochet thread is how it is wound around a cardboard tube. I’m sure this is a marketing thing, to make it look like you are getting more yarn. I have not figured out if it is possible to center pull from the factory wrapped tube, which is frustrating, and pulling thread from the outside is vexing because the tube jumps around. So I rewound it. Next time I will use a nostepinne style wrap, but this time I really wanted to try put my new laser cut plywood spool.

The thread is now much more compact and can fit in my small project bag.
Here is another item I couldn’t finish on the plane, but not because I ran out of thread, but in need of a button. (I actually worked on this before my critical thread shortage on my mini doily posted yesterday, and considered taking it apart for the thread, but opted to keep it intact.)

I found a small, probably vintage, black shank button in my button stash at home, and fashioned the end into the bracelet clasp. The inner circle below the button was too small for the tatting shuttle, but I was able to do the square knots with a needle to cover the threads and add structure around the button.


I am getting better at estimating how many knots will get me the shape I want when I’m tatting. How tight I pull the center thread also makes a difference in shape and size. This bracelet is made of two opposing rows of basic Josephine knots.
We recently took a flight for the first time (for me) in years. I was hoping to get some knitting done, but once I sat down in the seat, I could tell I didn’t have room for my paper pattern, yarn bag, and knitting with two circular needles. Nuts. I pulled put my emergency craft from my purse, which this trip was tatting shuttles and extra wound bobbins. This I could do within the confines of my seat. I pulled up my Pinterest Tatting list, and started on a round pattern. On the second round, I could tell I had a problem.

The way the pattern was laid out did not fit what I was doing; my second round could not lay flat and still connect to the beginning of the round. I could undo the second round and try something different, or clip out the center. Hm. I opted to clip out the center, literally, because I couldn’t have scissors on the plane so only had nail clippers.

After getting the second round to lay flat, I replaced the center with six loops done in rainbow thread, which worked out nicely and stayed flat.

I started on the third round with the colored thread to balance the center color. To my horror, I ran out of thread. During travel. Luckily, Walmart carries cotton crochet thread, and there are Walmarts nearly everywhere in the states. They did not have the colored yarn, but they did have something I could craft with (that will be another post). The little coaster had to wait until I returned home.

At home, I loaded up a bobbin with the same colored cotton thread and was able to finish the third round and weave in the ends.


The finished lace is a nice coaster size, and it amuses me to see a bit of lace peeking out from under my cup. Apparently I am a lace person down deep (but not a frilly person). I am finding the tatting to be soothing now that my skills are developing.
My grandmother-in-law had a pair of beautiful jade bracelets that were just slightly too small to slide over her hand. In April of 2008 I made them into necklaces so she could still wear them.


I looped the leather and focals around the bracelets in a nondestructive manner, so if ever they needed to be returned to bracelet status, they could be. The necklaces are holding up well, and I saw her wear one at her recent 99th birthday celebration.