I Got Mail.

About two months ago, I arrived home from an extraordinarily long day of school, teaching, and a Hendersonville Symphony rehearsal to a large package. :)

I wasn't expecting any packages, but I opened it to find this...

Two summers ago, I spent the summer teaching with a good friend from Florida State, Alex. Her mom, when she found out I had started tatting, sent me this lovely package of all of her mother-in-law's tatting materials! It was such a sweet package full of threads and shuttles.

But she also included some gorgeous pieces that her mother-in-law had made...

Isn't this doily exquisite? I hope I can learn to tat that well eventually!

I think this long one would be a beautiful table runner.

When I opened the card (with one of my favorite Bible verses on it!), this gorgeous tatted cross was inside. It's now in my Bible and marking Jeremiah 29:11.

I'm making Christmas gifts for both Alex and her mom, and I'm thinking about something like this for Mrs. Massey...

(Three Red Apples)

There were some smaller doilies in the package, and I think it will be really special to use one in my gift for Mrs. Massey. I emailed Alex about a motto she thought her mom would like, and she said, "trust your journey." I love it!

What do you guys think?

I'll keep you posted on how it goes...hopefully with pictures.

I hope everyone is having a lovely week!

Happy Cyber Monday!

I added quite a few new items to my shop over the weekend in preparation for Cyber Monday!

Ariana Turquoise Rosette Necklace

And I'll be having deals again today!

Ruby Knitted Scarf

The first HUGE doorbuster deal of the day, again, is for my blog followers.

Be one of the first three to leave a comment on this post, and I will send you a code for 50% OFF any item in my shop!

Be sure to leave an email so I can contact you with the code!

Mandy Yellow Rosette Pin 

Not one of the early birds? Not to worry!

I'm still offering 25% off my entire shop and free shipping through tonight! Use the code SHOPPING25 at checkout.

Scarlet Tatted Medallion Earrings

Happy Shopping!



Etsy Project

I recently had my first custom order in my etsy shop!

A friend of mine's mom asked me to make a pillow for her daughter in the University of Akron's colors, where she is attending graduate school. I was very excited to make a unique gift for someone!

I really like these colors together!

What color combinations would you like on a pillow?





School. Ack.

My life has reached epic proportions of busyness.

This was quite possibly the most insane first week of school ever. Thus, my absence, once again, from the blogging world. However, despite the fact that I might not sleep until December, this semester should be a fun one. I'm looking forward to playing the Brahms Piano Quintet for my graduate chamber recital (If you don't know it, go listen - right now.), teaching my eleven (!) private violin students, and getting in lots of practice time.

This week has been extra busy because I'm playing with the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra. Although rehearsals have required a lot of driving, most of the trips have been through the Blue Ridge Mountains at sunset, which makes my heart happy. This concert has been a lot fun because we're playing all Rodgers and Hammerstein. It has brought back a lot of memories - mainly the fact that I wanted (still want?) Anna's dress from The King and I.

(source)

Um, yeah - still want.

One Rodgers and Hammerstein concert down, one to go.

To bring a bit more calm into my life, I'm going to remember a bit of Silver Bay and show you the last of my pictures. Here are some of my favorite places to sit around the bay.

Sigh...

As much as I miss Silver Bay, though, I was delighted to return home to this...

...the necklace I won from Mandy at Mandy's Yellow Corner! It made me smile!

I know I haven't been blogging about crafting much recently, but I hope my photos count as one of my artsy adventures. It is something I've been wanting to work on, and I'm glad I had such a beautiful place to practice.

In Etsy news - I've had two sales in my shop! (One was my mom. Shh, don't tell.)

I also have one new necklace in my Etsy shop:

I decided to add my tatting to a necklace.

What do you think?

Found Time

A canceled violin lesson yesterday and a free afternoon today equals time to finish a few projects. I finally finished a necklace I've been working on for awhile. Here it is:

I got the instructions from my friend, Amanda, at Mandy's Yellow Corner. You can find her original tutorial here. I wore it to a baby shower this morning and got a lot of compliments and maybe a few potential buyers!

I also had a few tatted medallions that didn't turn out the same size as the others so I turned them into hair clips...

...they look perfect with a messy side bun!

I made some new medallions in a few bright colors. I think this yellow medallion would look cute on a peachy orange fabric...

...or a grey fabric.

What do you think?

Finding Time

Well, I still didn't get much done today in the way of crafting...sigh. I always seem to get sidetracked by other things - today was a visit to the eye doctor. I discovered there that I can't even see the gigantic E at the top of the eye chart. It's all a big blur. Hmmm...

I did have time, though, to make a few fabric flowers:

I also had time to pick up some new colors of fabric...

...some pretty straight pins (the colors make me happy!)...

 ...a sketch pad for my upcoming trip to New York...

...and some new thread for tatting.

Aren't all the colors pretty?

My First Forays...

Well, this is my first foray into the world of blogging, and I am relatively new to the world of crafting. It's been an adventure so far! Although I've been knitting for awhile, I was inspired to make other crafts by a friend and fellow violinist, Amanda England. Check out her blog at Mandy's Yellow Corner.

So I made a trip to Hobby Lobby [overwhelming!], and I found a book on tatting. Tatting is the art of lace making. I bought the book, needles, and thread, and I made these:

Both of the medallions are made with the same size needle but different size thread.

I then had the idea that I could sew a few of the medallions onto a pillow. So I bought some fabric and gathered my materials...

I also bought a new sewing basket, and I'm in LOVE with it!

I set up shop in the sunroom:

This room gets a lot of light, and it's my favorite room in the house.

I decided to combine the white medallions and some yellow fabric. I sewed 4 medallions onto the fabric before I began sewing the pillow seams. Everything is hand sewn because, unfortunately, I don't have a sewing machine yet. The first 3 seams were easy...but the last seam [after I inserted the pillow form] proved to be difficult. After much distress, I finally figured it out, and here is the finished product:

I have to say that I'm pretty proud!

And I'm ready to create some new color combinations...

My materials are waiting for me!

Hope you have a lovely day!