My favourite chocolate bar

This is my favourite kind of chocolate bar...except for the Cadbury fruit and nut bars.  Laura Secord makes the best mint chocolate bars.  I'm a Girl Guides leader and it's always a struggle to find nut free chocolate for s'mores.  So I was really happy yesterday to find out they carry nut free chocolate all year round.

Speaking of Girl Guides I went to Toronto last weekend for Super Spark!  It's a training weekend for leaders. I made a bunch of swaps out of lace to give away (no tatting since I didn't have enough time).  Below is a picture of the swaps I received and the book that came in our kit.  Mark Collard was our key note speaker and he's an awesome resource if you do anything with groups of all ages.  It was a great weekend and I met a great bunch of leaders from Ottawa!

A magnifying find....

Yesterday I went to the St Marks high School craft show.  They do it as a fundraiser every year for the school.  and There's over 100 vendors that actually make there own stuff!  I get irritated when I go to a craft show and it's all stuff from China but this one never has that problem.

The problem is that it takes all my money!  Lol!  I purchased this neat magnifying glass for $20.  It had a chain but I left the chain behind because I'm going to make a beaded or tatted chain.  The vendor also had ones with horn handles but those didn't have a necklace option.  As you can see the magnifying glass is small and I thought it would be handy when tatting.  I can check to see what I've done! 

Remembrance Day

I'm watching the Legion next door preparing for the Remembrance Day Ceremony.  The are many service people in Ottawa and many uniforms walking around this morning.  We don't open until 1 pm on Remembrance Day but I'm here early anyways.

Some of the shuttles I collected in September

During September I went to the palmetto Tatdays and the fringe element Tatdays.  I also went to a national chiropractic conference in Niagara Falls.  It seems I hardly worked!

Part of the fun of the Tatdays is learning new stuff and buying stuff from friends.   I will show you the huge stash of books I purchased later but today is about shuttles.  Below is a picture of some of the shuttles I acquired through lawful means.  The bird is made by Norm Reid from the Fringe Element organizing committee.  He does a lovely job with these whimsical birds.  The one below it is a custom order by Monica at NAG studio.  The one diagonal to it is by her as well.  It's one of their newer designs, it looks like a pair of lips to me so I call it my kiss shuttle but they have a different name for it.  Finally the white shuttle is a commemorative 10th anniversary Fringe shuttle.

An interesting post...

I just read an interesting post about Pinterest and copyright at White Threads, the blog of Yvette Stanton.  Yvette is the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations' quality needlework books and embroidery products. Yvette points out that if a designer has to spend all their time chasing down infringements they won't have time for designing.

  I think there's a more important consideration- the designer may just decide to pack their bags and go home.  They'll continue to design but they won't share, leaving the rest of us to miss out.   As someone who struggled to find tatting patterns I find this a daunting prospect.  

you can read the post at http://vettycreations.com.au/white-threads/2015/09/17/patterns-on-pinterest/#sthash.0Na0BTez.Uecx82SU.dpufd

Finally in print!!!!!

I finally got my collection of bracelet patterns in print!  The actual writing was finished in March but the last few months I've been dealing with create-space to format the darn thing...So there are no random words in weird places.  I spent lots of time fiddling with pictures and photoshopping.  Made some changes after reviews by my proof reader Joanie Culverhouse.  

Overall I'm happy with the results...although I'm not sure the increased distribution is worth the irritation of formatting. However it looks awesome! Here it is on Amazon and the kindle version will be available soon.  

I've ordered a few copies to bring with me to Palmetto tat days and the Fringe tat days in September.

There and gone

It's been a wasteful few weeks.  On Canada day I signed an agreement to purchase this house:

So I thought I was moving and got my house ready to sell.  When  we did the inspection there was asbestos in the attic.  No worries though the seller agreed to take the cost of the remediation (removal of the asbestos) off the cost of the house.  So I would hire and oversee the removal once I had the house.  I also agreed to take on the cost of re-dry walling the ceiling that would have to be removed to get access to all areas of the attic.  This put back my moving schedule a few weeks but I was gonna roll with it...Until...They asked for more money when we went to do the final deal!  I wasn't okay with that so...no new wreck.    Seriously, in big picture it's not a lot of money but for me it's a lot. It turns out the realestate agent had other people interested and felt free to try for more.  Considering the state of the house I was surprised there were multiple offers but the location is prime.  I'm going to watch the area for another to come in the market over the next few years.   In the meantime I'm sad about losing a potentially great house.  (Although it's awful right now)

Hosta Heavan

On the weekend I found myself at a loss trying to find unique Hostas.  So I finally googled ottawa garden centers and found the Rideau Woodland Ramble.  They have 100 different varieties of Hostas.  It's a great place to not only purchase perennials for their garden but also to see them growing.  There's a collection of paths that take you through the woods and along a pond.  It's a beautiful experience even if you aren't looking for plants.  http://www.rideauwoodlandramble.com

Light Pull

I used the glass beads shown in the bead shop post to make a light pull for my ceiling fan.  I often leave the fans running but turn off the lights.  It helps with the climate control in my house.

Visit to bead store

Is a trip to the bead store a decision to spend money?  I went to check out a few things at Canada bead supply and walked out with more than intended.  You see Canada Bead Supply shares an entrance with the Glass Shoppe Studio.  This is where they make all kinds of glass beads.  So I ended up getting the beads pictured below.  I left behind a lot of georgeous beads but you can only use so many beads...and I can always go back!

While avoiding my taxes....

In canada taxes are due on April 30th so I've been finalizing my taxes.  Of course some avoidance is happening.  I keep finding "urgent" stuff to do.  There's just a few more details I need to call about tomorrow then I'm done.  I don't like the final number but what can you do?  I'm an independent contractor so I make payments but often I owe more.  

On a happier note I've been working on Karey Solomon's Turning Year Doily.  I've finally finished May!  Now I'm onto June.  I'm using size 20 thread dyed by Karey.  It currently measures just over 7 inches across and I've still got the rest of the year to go!

Some stuff I made

My sister delivered her second child over Easter.  They had to do an emergency C-section since the baby decided to be breach.  Everyone turned out okay and baby is growing. 

I crocheted a few things for baby in March to match some of the decorations in the baby's room.  The blue elephant below is from All About Ami (link below picture).  It was fun to make.  I didn't add eyes to the stuffed elephant cause I kinda liked it without.  I made a 2nd elephant from the same pattern in the yellow that is the edging on the comfort blanket in the picture below.  The comfort blanket pattern is from Look What I Made (link below picture).  My mom felt the comfort blanket elephant needed eyes and sewed on eyes using pink thread....I guess its an albino elephant?


Pattern from:  http://www.allaboutami.com



Pattern from www.lookatwwhatimade.net

Starfish

I had a great time at the Finger lakes tatting seminar!  I taught and took a few classes.  I took a class with Karey to make a rainbow trout (not yet finished) and Dani's Celtic starfish.  I finished the starfish and loved every minute of it!  Great pattern Dani!

16 days to Finger Lakes Tatting Seminar!!

There's only 16 days until the Finger Lakes Tatting Seminar!!!  I'm so excited but I've been too busy to pack.  The other Chiropractor in our clinic fell and is off work for the next week.  So the days have been full of clinic stuff and I'm working her practice as well as my own.  Not so much time for obsessing over what to pack.  Its a goal this weekend to get it ready.  Next weekend is Easter and so I won't have time to pack. 
My cat and one of my dogs have teamed up to eat some the Easter Eggs I added tatting to last year.  The cat was knocking them on the floor and the dog was chewing up the egg.  Fortunately the tatting is fine but its a pain to add a new egg.  I will have to cut the whip stitching, add the tatting to the new egg and make new stitching.  I was not impressed because it took me awhile to figure out how Lucky was getting the eggs so more than one was destroyed.  Last year I was in the mood and did some additional weaving around the whip stitching.  I 'm not so sure that I will have the patience to do it again.  My poor, poor eggs!

The egg is gone but the tatting remains!

The tap is running

I have water! The gentlemen from the Smiths Falls Works came on Friday of that week and spent 11 hours thawing out the pipes on the municipal side of things.  Since February was soooo cold Smiths Falls had an epidemic of frozen pipes towards the end and while I was the first on my street to have no water I was not the last.  They actually just told everyone to have a tap in the house running until spring!
Its warmed up quite a bit here in the last week but there was a few days there where I thought my pipes would freeze up again.  One of the gentlemen who worked on my pipes told me to run all the taps in the house if the water stream slowed down.  I had to do that the first morning after they restored service but since then its been consistent.
For the last week I've been getting ready for the Finger Lakes Tatting Seminar.  I booked my room at the Red House Country Inn and started to put together a few things.  I am teaching a Sea Anemone bracelet this year. 

This is the inspiration.

This is the bracelet.

Something like this for $1.

Each year I design a pattern and make kits for the group to sell as a fundraiser.  This year it is a Nautical Rose Bracelet.  It comes with thread, beads and bangle for $1.



Waterless week!

I came home on Monday afternoon to find out I have no water!  The extreme cold has finally sunk deep enough that some of the pipes in Smiths Falls, Ontario are frozen.  I'm scheduled for them to check it out tomorrow since some one needs to be home when they check it out.  I'm afraid they will need to dig up my driveway since that's where the water comes into the house.  Cross your fingers that I will have water tomorrow around this time!

In other news I borrowed my sister's camera to take pictures of bracelets I've designed.   My iPhone just isn't cutting it in the photo department.  The pictures are for a book of bracelets I'm trying to get done.  It feels like its taking forever to complete.  Its mostly my fault because instead of proofing patterns I've been coming up with new designs after I walked into Canada Bead Supply at the beginning of the summer.  I blame the rest on those ingenious bead manufacturers that are supplying such neat beads! 

iPhone not doing such a great job!

Happy Valentine's Day?

It may be a little late to do a post about Valentine's Day but I'm going to do it anyways!  My niece Olivia received her heart pin in the mail on Friday so she got to wear it Valentine's day.  My other niece and nephew are still waiting. 

On the weekend I did something really romantic...I went to the Diefenbunker!  If you don't know what I'm talking about here's a quick blurb from the museum website:
"The Diefenbunker was commissioned by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker in 1959, as part of his government’s reaction to escalating tensions in the Cold War. The purpose of the bunker was to house key members of the government and military in the event of a nuclear attack on Canada. The safety of its nuclear roof would allow the Canadian government to operate safely underground for 30 days in order to assist with the governance and rebuilding of the country. A series of Emergency Government Headquarters bunkers were built across Canada and, as the largest, the federal government bunker would come to be known as the Central Emergency Government Headquarters (CEGHQ Carp)." 
...or you can go to http://www.diefenbunker.ca/rustic/bunker_video.php?langID=en for an original video by the Cold War Era Government.

So basically we have an underground city built on the outskirts of Ottawa in case of Nuclear strike.  Since the passing of the Cold War its been made into a museum simply because its too neat (and too much tax payer's dollar were spent) to just shut it up and forget it.  To get in you have to walk through this enormous tunnel which is pictured below (it was waaaayyyy too cold on the weekend for me to stop and take a picture so this is from the website)

For the first few minutes its a little claustrophobic but once you get inside its just like an office building with no windows.  I wasn't sure at first if I could stay.  I took a few pictures of the medical clinic which is the first stop.  We only saw the first floor but then left because an hour had already passed and I was really hungry!

The Medical Clinic was the first stop. 

Bad dog!

No remorse for his chewing!

This is what happens when you combine an inquisitive dog with a low lying table!  This used to be a doily design by Karey Solomon but now it has a big bite missing.  Unfortunately Lucky managed to chew through all but the first round so I'm not sure what to do about the missing parts. While this is a small doily it too a long time to tat because it's so dense.  The pattern has a lovely swirly nature and sadly wasn't finished.  There is one more round that was waiting for me to decide on a color.  So sad for it to end up this way and such a bad dog! 

Finished and packaged

I finished the brooches and packaged them so they look pretty and they are all ready to go! This brooch and a few others are being mailed to my nieces and nephews for valentine's day.  I thought they could stick them on their backpacks.

Ready to mail!

Lost my needle...

Tonight I'm sewing brooches together using invisible thread.  There was a few moments of panic when I dropped my needle.  Usually if you can't see the needle you can at least see the thread.  Not so much with invisible thread.  Fortunately standing up caused the needle to fall for where ever it was hiding!

  

I'm making these brooches as a donation to Millers Oven in Manotick.  It is a not for profit restaurant that raises money for the senior center.  Except for the cooks all the staff are volunteers and the food is  made from scratch.  They make the best whole wheat scones and I pop in for a shone and a pot of tea regularly.  It's one if Manotick's little treasures.

Snowflake

Made this using size 3 thread in December.  I stiffened it using stiffy and my mom hung it in her front window.  It looks amazing!  It's a pattern by Renulk.  Her blog is: http://renulek.blogspot.ca/?m=1

D'oh!!!!

I cut the wrong rings...now in going to do some tedious stuff to fix it.v I hope it doesn't take too long.