Here is Nina's Necklace from Palmetto's Tat Day Class last year. This is the second one. The first one I cut all up after I realized it was made with two different brands of silver metallic threads. This time I decided not to do it in silver. I bought some Pearlescent Effects thread that is made by DMC. I found it with the DMC floss at Micheal Craft Store. The color matches the beads pretty good I find I can tat with this thread okay. I used two strands of thread together while tatting . You do have to becareful not to make the first DS too tight otherwise it can be hard to close the ring. I do like how this necklace turned out in this type of thread. They have some other colors of this thread including variegated threads that I am thinking of trying out using Nina's pattern.

I also decided to use gold DMC metallic thread to make the center butterfly with and then I used a crackle glass bead for the center of the body so the butterfly would stand out from the rest of the necklace. The name of the necklace is Flutters Necklace Palmetto-2009. Thank you Nina for such a beautiful pattern to tat.

So what do you all think of the necklace?

Today I went to see the dietitian and diabetic conselour. She was please with how I was keeping control over my glucose numbers with diet. I also lost a few pounds since I saw her at the end of March. I lost seven pounds. I was hoping for 10 pounds but she was very happy with all that I did this past month.

I, myself was not all that please. As I said...I was hoping for more than seven pounds. I was also told that I will have this disease for the rest of my life especially since there is such a good amount of family history with this disease. I was really hoping that if I took the pounds off that I gained while I was taking the antideppressant drug that the diabeties would go away. She told me it wouldn't go away. So I have been I guess grieving all afternoon about this. I can't even eat a sandwich with two slices of bread without my glucose going up. I ate just an eighth of a sub meatball sub today and my glucose was up. All I can think about is food and the fact I can't eat like a normal person does. I have cried and cried about this today. My eyes are burning and they feel tired and I feel just washed right out. So I am not having a good day today. I know I have to deal with this disease that will not go away as I was hoping it would. Right now I do not need insulin or medication. I am going to control it with diet and exercise alone. My conselour took my blood pressure too today and that was way higher than my normally is. I do not have high blood pressure. She told me she could tell that I am under stress. Which I know will also make my glucose go up.

Anyhow....I hope you enjoy the pictures of my necklace. Now I am going to go and sit and work on my tatted hat from Jan the Polish Tatter's book.

Martha's Jewels is what I am calling this post.

I few weeks ago I saw this beautiful necklace and earrings listed on Martha Ess' Etsy Shop. I really liked the shells she tatting into the necklace and I liked the thread color too. Well...I wanted the set so I asked Martha is she could reserve it for me until I got our state tax return. Well, she said yes she would do that that so I got my returned and I paid for this set. This is my state JUST FOR ME share of the tax return. The rest of the money will go for bills and truck tires. But I have this beautiful set from Martha and made by Martha who I consider a real friend.

I had also told Martha that it would be great to have a bracelet to match the earrings and necklace so I was so surprised to see there was a bracelet too in the nice draw stringed bag that the whole Martha Jewels came in.

Anyhoo I got a real surprise when I received this in the mail today...which since she just told me I think it was yesterday that it just got mailed I was surprise to get it so soon. But the set also really matched what I had on today. So I let my picture be taken with me as the model. A beauty Queen I know I am not and I am getting so I have having my picture taken...but I was so excited to get this in the mail today that I wanted to welll....show it off...LOL. So I am here modeling my Martha Jewels. I feel so lucky to own this!! I so love things made by other tatters. They are my treasure that I so much enjoy.

Anyways....I just had to share with all of you what came in the mail and put a smile on my face.

I have also restarted Nina's Necklace that I did cut up and started over. I will share that when it is finished. I have also been working on Jan Stawasz's hat from his book "Tatting therory and patterns". I am almost ready to start the brim for that hat.

I am back from being at Hector Tatting Event today. I am not going tomorrow. I had to borrow my daughter's car to go today. It was great seeing everybody again and being around people with like minds. But all of you tatters weren't there and that deserves a big whaaaa!!!

I did spend some money...but it was money that Chrystal my daughter gave to me to spend. I won one raffle...but not what I wanted the most but hey...I won. I bought more beads...do I need them...Of coarse...LOL. I also bought two shades of pink Olympic thread..do I need those...the answer again is Of coarse...LOL...you get the picture?? I did have a good day!! I also got to meet Sue Fuller, the designer of "Heart's Desire" tatting pattern. I also LOVED her angel pattern that she taught today. I wasn't in her class. She was very nice and I believe she came from Colorado. I bought another Nina kit but I didn't take any classes for I was suppose to help the Tat and Chat group which was suppose to be beginner tatters. The only beginner tatter was the one I taught tatting to here in Canandaigua...now isn't that funny??
Of coarse they had all kinds of food there like they always do...but hey I can't have all that great food..this deserves another whaaaa...there was even a hugh chocolate bunny...but I was a good girl and didn't even break a piece off. I know I can't have chocolate...this deserves another whaaaa...why me??? Chocolate...chocolate....I was going to leave my meter home but didn't...I am now thinking I should have left it behind and ate the WHOLE chocolate bunny. The WHOLE thing.....
The other thing is last year I took Nina's class for a necklace which I worked on off, and on this year. The closer to Hector the more furiuos I was to get it done. I wanted to wear it today. Welllll... guess what happened....??? I decided to make my necklace longer so the design would go more around my neck...and I ran out of the thread that came in the kit. Well....I thought, Nina always used silver DMC thread so I bought a spool of silver so I could continue the necklace. As I was working along humming merrily...I was starting to think...hmmm why is this side so much firmer and crisper than the other side. I was thinking I must have change my tension or something. Imagine my dismay when yesterday I really ...really looked at my necklace and noticed that the silver coloring didn't match....why was that???? I was using two different kinds of silver thread...so I have to take all my necklace apart to get the beads back and start the necklace all over again. I showed the necklace to a couple people today and they said...it was really okay and they said they would take it if I wanted to give it away. To me, the necklace is not okay...to look at it would keep bugging me for I know it doesn't match ...so I will be clipping away at it. Whaaaaa again!!! Loudly. Take a look at my picture...I even called my picture that I just scanned Nina's Goofed Up Necklace. Whaaaa!! As you can tell...the necklace is not blocked.

I saw my friend Connie Angeline and she had her elf friend with her...dummy me left my Fergus Og home. Darn...and now he isn't talking to me. Well Fergus Og likes to hang around on the top of my computer screen and watch me type when I am on the computer like now. Since I had to leave so early this morning I didn't even look at my computer...well ...you know that old saying " Out of sight, Out of mind...so he didn't get to go and play with Connie's little elf friend. Fergus Og is now giving me the cool treatment for leaving him behind.

I do have pictures...but I haven't gotten around to download them yet...and I am tired. So this is all for now.....It was a GREAT day!!!

What a surprise I got this evening!!! I was surfing on ebay only because I like looking to see what is out there and lo and behold imagine my surprise when I see a picture that I took years ago. I know I have the picture on one of my CDs...why is that...because it is my tatting that is being pictured before I added it to the centerpiece and whats more...it is my exact picture. I don't how she got this picture. I must have posted it somewhere online..but this person stole my picture without permission and has it showing a representation of the beehive pattern that is in Pam Plamers Tatting Treats. I have sent an email to the seller asking her where she got the picture from. I didn't tell her it was my picture. I am curious as to what she will tell me if anything. I didn't give permission for anybody to use my picture. Here, in this picture I scanned the part of the centerpiece of the same tatting, after it was put in my centerpiece from the Online project showing what could be done with the mignonette stitch, as a ground like crochet clones are used in Irish Crochet. The Centerpiece was an experiment. In the picture you can also see Martha Ess's bees. The flowers and twig with leaves I made up. But what a surprised this was.

Here is the url for the ebay listing...does something look familar here.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tatting-Treats-Pam-Palmer-Peacock-Mouse-Beehive-ETC_W0QQitemZ300410061591QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45f1d5c317

Hop...hop...hop...the bunny goes.

Anyhoo....I hope everybody had a nice Easter. I had three of my children here. My youngest ate on the run just about. My one daughter had to work at Wally World. I really do wish that all businesses were closed on ALL holidays. HOw much money do these businesses really make by staying open. I think it would be better if they were closed so people can spend time with their familes for good family values. I at but felt I really couldn't enjoy the food since I had to watch what I was putting on my plate. What a bummer that is!!! I also didn't do my glucose test before and two hours after I ate either. Why bother even though I was careful I am sure it was out of wack so I didn't bother.
The bad thing that happen to me was I really cut my left index finger bad. It bled and bled. I do take aspirin so I hopefully I don't die at a young age since that seems to run in the family on my Dad's side. Anyhow...it is a deep cut that I received from trying to open a can of vegtables that did cut right with the can opener. I was trying to decide if I wanted to go to the emergency room to have stitches in it...but I don't want to spend the money doing that....I am going to just see what happens with my finger in the meanwhile. It is pretty sore and I put big bandaid on it.
Anyhoo...since I am left handed I think that I am not going to be able to tat or stitch for at least a couple of days. Can you all say...."Celtic is going to be soooo bored!!!!" I can assure you she will be.
Now I am going to download a some pictures of my family that I took. And crash...I am so brain dead...."la...la...la...."this is my brain on zero working circuit.

I hope everybody had a good time tatting on International Tatting Day. I made this bookmark. The boodmark design is by BeTsy Evans. I printed this off the computer years ago. I just tried to type in the url for it but it doesn't work. This bookmark is called Rainbow Heart Bookmark and was made using size 40 Lisbeth thread. Instead of putting a fringe tassel on it like the original in the picture shows I added some lock stitch chain and spiral chain with bits of tatting motifs at the ends. I did this mainly to use up some of the thread I had left on my shuttles.

So....what did you tat on International Tat Day???