Tatting Treasures: Part 1 3/4 Finger Lakes Memories 2017

He knows my name!

My life verse: "I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel." (Isaiah 45:3). For me, "the treasures of darkness" has been the medically-treated depression that I have suffered off and on with for years. More than anything else in my life, I think this has made me realize how much my Savior loves me and has deepened my relationship with God. The "hidden riches of secret places" are my wonderful family and this fabulous craft--tatting! I thank God for both!
I think it is awesome that God knows my name! Did you know that He knows yours?

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Part 1 3/4 Finger Lakes Memories 2017

Seven days in the hospital this time. Changes at home... There is a very expensive new machine to go with my oxygen machine that makes my bipap machine no longer necessary--this "Trilogy" machine is really helping me breath better! . Dear friends in Child Evangelism Fellowship gifted me her late mother’s hospital bed—what a wonderful blessing! I can now do what was impossible before (sleep with my head above my stomach and my feet above my heart). My energy level is next to zero…I’ve had days when a shower is the only thing marked off my “to do” list. I am going to have to give my body time to recover.

The following was also written for our guild’s newsletter this last month. I am hoping to continue my Finger Lakes memories in the next post.

NEW THREAD – NEW TOOL

This is done in the Penny20 Multi

Variegated Thread. It is the “Swirl Bookmark” The pattern can be found on the blog,“Tat’s All She Wrote!” on the Saturday, November 2, 2013 page.

A while back, Joan T. and Emma M. introduced me to “penny 20 thread”. It is a polyester thread—not my usual choice for a tatting thread. BUT Edda (the lady who sells these threads in Italy) has tempted me and tempted me with her absolutely brilliant colors. I have only been able to “windowshop” (with my nose pressed firmly against the glass!) because of the extremely high cost of shipping and handling on these threads. Recently Tatting Corner became the exclusive distributor of these threads in the United States. They are selling 400-450 ft of thread on bobbins for $4.00. You can see these vibrant colors here http://www.tattingcorner.com/threads-12/penny-20-77/?referrer=CNWR_30711492117529

I bought a beautiful, eye-catching thread, Penny 20 - 0M01 - Multi Variegated. Here are my thoughts about this “new” (to me) thread—I have never done any extensive tatting with anything other than cotton.

😀It does not show "wear" when you repeatedly have to take out a ring.

It does not stretch (this made my split chains look a little better)

My motif felt nice and “stiff” without being blocked

😒Because the thread does not stretch, you cannot "fake" a picot easily.

I tat tightly, and I had trouble closing my rings. I made it a habit to use “Thread Heaven” on my thread.

I was told to use a drop of acetone (nail polish remover) to seal the ends and prevent fraying—this did not work for me. Lisa Adams at Tatting Corner suggested a drop of nail polish or super glue worked into the ends. My own solution was to “buy a new jewelry making tool.” at Hobby Lobby. This fantastic item is called an Ultra Thread Zap. It runs on two AA batteries, heats up in seconds and quickly does away with fraying and seals the thread without a large blob/knot on the end of the thread.