Sunday and the end of Tat Days

Time to say goodbye to old friends and new and leave Toccoa and return to 'normality'.  You can see Hanna and Sara waving in this picture with other friends too.  

No, wait, it's Sunday and that MUST mean meeting up at the Mall!!!  Some of the Palmetto tatters meet up each Sunday (as and when they can) at a Mall.  They are regulars there and they move the furniture so they can tat and chat.  In the second picture you can see some of us.  Well, not me as I'm behind the camera, of course!!!

After that it was back to Joanie's for a well earned rest and more tatting talk!!!

Joanie spoils me rotten each time I go there as she feeds the hummingbirds which I LOVE to watch.  I've added a movie of one of the little chaps down below.  Least I think I have as this is my first attempt at adding a movie to blogger!!!

There are SO many things I haven't mentioned in my reports and that I keep remembering at odd moments.  Like the singing and the rhyming.  The giggles with friends.  The total commitment to tatting and all things related.

Saturday at Tat Days

Before I start - I had time to re-open the Etsy shop yesterday with some new things and some new (lower) prices.  If you want to take a look then it's here.

Lessons went fine again, I think.  The top two pictures are of Martha Ess who was taking a picture of me whilst I was taking one of her and the other guy who I was privileged to meet is Randy Houtz of the Shuttle Brothers.  What a lovely man - I wanted to make him my 'toy boy' but I'm not sure his wife would approve!!!!

During a break in lessons I wandered down to the lake which I told you about.  So pretty and SO peaceful too.  The final lesson (the Squared Away pendant) went far too quickly too.  Was I really there?

In the evening we had an ice cream party.  For some reason the Palmetto Tatters seem to think I like ice cream!!!  Wonder why?  Oh, that was my second bowl of the yummy ice cream!!!  Can you see the M & M's?  I LOVE that candy.

Tat Days - continued

My other class (you've seen the first one) for Stinky the skunk seemed to go well too although it's always hard to tell.  I forgot to take photos of the students during the class - bummer!!

On Friday evening there was the banquet.  A fantastic time was had by the OG!!! Georgia did her usual auctioning of the wonderful quilts that she and Erin had assembled.  Boy did I SOOOO want to win the cherry blossom one.  Sadly I didn't.  

Hanna played the violin beautifully during the banquet too.

The lovely wheelbarrow below is one of the table decorations at the banquet.  Isn't it pretty?  We were given a small packet of 'seeds' which turned out to be more gifts.   Ooops, sorry but I forgot to tell you about the goodie bags that were given to all participants AND a second one to the teachers. They were both full of wonderful items.  There was an Aerlit shuttle, a Starlit shuttle and a ball of thread in a holder which were kindly donated by Handy Hands.  Vicki Clarke had also donated a pendant kit too.  What a lovely idea.  The bags were put together by the Southern Belles who then kindly donated the money which was assigned to them by the Palmetto tatters back to the scholarship fund.  Sadly I didn't get round to talking to them all. Here's their Facebook link.  I believe they did some of the table decorations too but I may have 'lost the plot' there.

Heading towards Tat Days

Thursday saw a leisurely start before starting out to Toccoa and the fun of Tat Days.  First we went to Mary Mac's for lunch before driving the two hours to the venue.  

Tat Days is held in a lovely place which you can see here with a beautiful lake 'down the hill' which can also be viewed from the dining room.  The food was great and plentiful too.

First of all was the teacher's meeting and I had to abandon Sally for that.  I was a bit worried as she knew nobody there but when I came out I had to go looking for her and found she'd already started making friends.  

The two of us then set about setting out the pob a bobbin shuttles and assorted roly poly bags in the vending room.  A room to be avoided if you didn't want to drool over threads, shuttles, books and assorted other items in there!!!  I spent lots of dollars in there!!!

Later we watched Martha demonstrate her home made bead loader in the gathering room.

Friday morning saw my first lesson in which I learnt something new from Phyllis and I will be telling you more about that later.  I was gifted with some lovely pressies too.  Thanks, Phyllis.  I was chuffed to bits.  The second and third pictures are some of my students - the dance was due to a successful split ring!!!!!  The fear of split rings was vanquished during the lesson!!!!

Oh, perhaps I should make it clear - I was supposed to be the teacher but I also learnt from my students as usual.

Where DO I start?

Well, at the beginning, I suppose!!!  The first stop on our trip was at Frankfurt where we had to transfer planes to take us on to Atlanta (top picture).  Must say that Lufthansa and the experience at this German airport were really good.

In Atlanta we were lucky to be able to stay with Crazy mom (her house is the second picture) who isn't the least bit crazy at all.  OR maybe we're just as crazy as her?  We were lucky enough to intrude on Larry's birthday celebrations (one of her stooges) and had our first ever taste of Velvet cake.  Yummy.  So yummy I forgot to take a picture!!!  Sandra, the stooges and husband are all great to be with but we nearly kidnapped their new kitty called Lilly!!!  We were searched before leaving on Thursday!!!  Well, not really!!!

The following day we rested up as we'd had an extremely early start from the UK and were to say the least - tired!!!

On the Wednesday we met up with Hanna and Sara who were staying in Hotlanta before going to Tat Days (see third picture).  These two lasses (wonderfully fun people to be around) had come over from Sweden and I'll tell you more about them later (from left to right - Sara, Hanna, Sandra and my little sister, Sally).  A visit to the World of Coca Cola, The Varsity and other places all made for a great time in Hotlanta.

Home again!

Sally and I got home to my house yesterday about noon.  All flights were on time and the trip was almost uneventful except for an 'incident' mid flight which was not much fun.

As I gradually unpack I will share my trip pictures and some of the Tat Days too although you may have seen and heard a lot from the others who were there.

Just a bookmark

Just a simple Fandango bookmark I made just before our trip started.  I needed something to do to quell the excitement and to stop me worrying about whether I'd forgotten anything!!

I used a number 40 thread for this one which I'm beginning to prefer to my regular size 20 or 80.  Oh, for anybody who doesn't know me - the pattern is here.

Grrrrrr

Yes this is a grrrrr post.  Why?  Well I'm finding it more and more difficult to make comments on blog posts because of the word verification thingy.

I am not quite sure why blogger put that option on there as even without it you can moderate comments.  I suppose it stops spam but as I rarely, rarely get spam (and I do blog a lot as you've probably noticed) I can't see why it's there. 

A week or so ago I tried 5 times to leave a comment on Jane's blog and when I finally got there I told her the problem.  I then researched the settings on my own blog (I got rid of the verification some time ago) and sent her this screen shot so she could change hers.  As you can see I've got mine set with 'comment moderation' always and 'show word verification' no!!!!

I hope this helps others who may want to do the same!!  If you go along these lines I'll be able to leave comments without throwing a brick at my computer!!!!

I'm a fraud.

I don't think or consider myself a teacher.  I actually don't like the word 'teacher'.  I looked up the word in an online dictionary and it says:-

"[with object] give information about or instruction in (a subject or skill):"

You see I think I'm more of an 'enabler'.  I decided this when I used to have classes of four/five year olds to settle in every September.  It struck me very early on in my teaching career (which actually never really became a 'career'!) that I was never going to be able to 'give information and instruct' kids or anybody else for that matter.  

Each child arrived in my reception class with their own set of skills and it was really up to me to find out what they were and then build on them and enable them to grow and learn from what they already had.

I try to take this attitude to adult classes too so that's why you won't hear me 'sounding off' about 'you must do it this way' or 'this is the way to do it'.  I'm more likely to say 'this is the way I do it but I'm happy to learn off you if you have a another/better way'.  

So, basically I'm a fraud!!!  I don't consider myself a 'teacher' at all BUT I'm going to be labeled as one for Tat Days and I'm going to have FUN, FUN, FUN and hopefully enable a few people to do something they've not done before.  Let the fun continue.

Butterflies

Today I'm going to show you lots of the same butterfly.  This is the new pattern that I put on my site here a few weeks ago.  Why lots of the same?  Well a month or so ago I got to think about the sizes of the threads I'd got around me and decided to try some combinations too of HWT (hand wound thread).

Top left is the largest and most 'un favourite' of all - a size 10.  They sort of get smaller as you go down the sheet.  Some (if you can see the tickets tied to them) are combinations of thread including 3 sewing threads, 2 sewing and 1.  There's also one made with 2 strands of invisible thread but, as you'd expect, that's hard to see!

There are two pictures here too.  One (top) taken with my small and wonderful Canon camera and the other (below) taken with my ipod touch.  I'm seriously thinking of treating myself to an iphone when I grow up so wanted to compare the quality of the photographs taken on the two items I already own.  The itouch is good but not as good as the camera but probably an iphone would be better - any comments on this would be very welcome!!!  I should've compared the ipad too but - being an OG of little brain - I forgot!!

Oh, these are with me at Tat Days too.  Just because!!!

Final mat!

Well as you all know I'm not at home at the moment.  I'm in Atlanta with a dear friend who has been daft enough to put up with me (and Sally!) for a few days.  Later today we travel to Tat Days at Toccoa.

This is the final mat which is with me and I've been invited to teach this small motif at the Palmetto Tatters Guild meeting next week.  This simple motif does involve a couple of techniques which I want to show people so I'm delighted to have this opportunity.  So, the Garden Wall Motif finally will come into it's own and I bet you're all glad to see the back of it too!!!

Another round finished

Here it is again.  Is it finished or is it finished?  Not sure yet!!!

Keeeeeep reading!!!!

A name

Yet more and the mat is looking pretty good.  The motif has now got a name.  Yes, this is the OG speaking and you did read right.  A NAME.  I'm hopeless at naming things but this has a name - it's the 'Walled Garden Motif'.  Why?  Well on one of the very few summery days we've had this year I sat in the garden working on it and realised that the motif has a 'wall' round it like most of our garden!!!!

It's on it's way to Tat Days at this very moment!!!!!  Least that is if I've remembered to pack it!!!  

You're now reading scheduled posts as Sally and I are now with with Crazy Mom Tats in Atlanta before heading down (or up) to Tat Days.

Hot off the press

Just seen this announcement on the Palmetto Tatter's site.

NEWS FLASH

If you cannot make it to this year's Tat Days, join us LIVE for our Tat Off! competitions, Friday evening around 6:00 (EST)! Link to
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/palmetto-tatters 
CHAT with us on the channel or on Facebook at Palmetto Tatters Guild page.
NOTE: There will be ads, sorry. There is an iPhone app. Android App may be available soon.

If you click on the link it should work but in case it doesn't then do click here.

I'll be on my way to Tat Days by the time you read this!!!!

On a roll!

So on this round I've decided to do every other space with a new motif.  Lots of Yarnplayer's thread in there too - yummmmyyyyyy.

Can you see the forward planning here?  If you can then you're a mind reader cause there isn''t one!!!

Another round started!

Well you can see that I finished the first seven motifs to form a small mat but then the fascination with the colours continued.

Top left and you can see that I've started another round.  The woman's MAD, isn't she?

Meanwhile I continue to pack and un-pack, re-pack time and time again trying to decide what to not take on our trip!!!

3 and a bit motifs

I've got the 'bit between my teeth' now - can you tell?  

I love also playing with the threads I've got and this sort of motif is ideal for 'showing off' the HDT.  The first motif I did (that's the one at the top on the right in this picture) is some of Jessi's thread and will form the centre of this little cluster.  I like the way the spaces are forming between them all too.

2 motifs

Having done one it seemed like a good idea to try for a pair.  

I really love outlining motifs with black.  I always think that it looks like the stained glass you get in church windows.  So, here I have two motifs.

Had a smashing day yesterday - I met Mark Myers mum and dad.  You know who I mean - the megga talented Tatman.  We had a lovely day looking round the town and I even managed to sneak them into the auditorium of one of our three theatres too!!!  

More on yesterday's motif

After my start on this idea I did change the centre as you can see below.  I wanted this to be a design that could be useful for any teacher who wanted to teach a few advanced ideas.

I think you'll agree that it looks like two simple rounds.  Well, sorry, it isn't two rounds - well, it is sort of but it's worked in one 'hit'.

I've sort of 'stolen' the middle out of the roundabout motif (but changed it slightly) and used another idea from here to make this little motif.  OK, it needed a bit of fiddling around with to get it as I really wanted it but in the end I'm pleased with it.

Start of a new motif

Look at this really simple looking motif.  Doesn't it look easy?  Two rounds only.

This is a wee motif that I started after the Roundabout motif.  Looks OK but I didn't like the 'bare midriff' in the middle so I've sorted that out (I think) - more over the next few days.