nuntium octagesimum tertium (83rd post) old dog, new trick

So many things to say!  I'm brimming!  But first, if you came here for an audio Latin lesson, I haven't done it.  Next time, I hope.  (I can hear the sighs of disappointment across the land - tee hee.)
On Saturday my elder daughter and I tried our hands at another market.  This one was billed as an Artists' Market and even though we had to pay a very small fee, it was much better than the flea market in July.  First the weather was stunning, then it was in the parking lot of a very popular coffee house in the neighborhood and there was also free music.  We didn't have scads of people but a good showing.  We had gone to the library the day before and I'd seen this little lovely in an Elgiva Nichols book there. I quickly tatted one up and put it in this pendant. Isn't it just sweet?

motif #8

I put some other things in the pendants too.  Just little butterflies but I thought they were cute.

Didn't sell any though...

I even tried a new butterfly from Ellen Lai.  The one on a paper clip.  Isn't he adorable?  I decided to try with two colors but I know for next time size 80 is too small.

motif #9

Here's the other stuff except the bookmarks.

The wackiest thing is that we sold pretty much one of everything, one ring, one bookmark (the one made with Jess!' Mindanao Gum thread- very eye-catching and the first thing to be bought), one set of envelopes, one hairpin.  No clear and obvious crowd-pleaser.  Huh.
I *was* going to make snowflakes for my sister who is brilliant, talented and crafty and has plans for them but instead I made a pair of TotusMel's slave bracelets for elder daughter.

motif? #10

And this is where we get into the new trick for this old dog.  For the life of me, I could not figure out how everyone made these beautiful josephine chains.  Even after Happy Bluebird's brilliant post (ha!  I just looked this up to put the link and it's almost exactly a year- talk about a slow learner) last year about them, they just escaped me.  But at the market we had wifi and I decided to see if there was a video.  Thank you, TotusMel!  Don't laugh but I never caught on to the idea that one should physically put the shuttle/needle around the core thread!  DUH.
Elder daughter and I were each going to make one of the bracelets but she kind of gave up after the first two "medallions" and asked me to finish.  It is really interesting to finish another tatter's work.  Her tension is different and she'd made a mistake which I didn't notice until quite a bit later and had an extra chain to somehow fit in there. So the two bracelets aren't the same but only other tatters would notice.  You might know my fear of designing but I persevered and ended up with a pretty nice one.  No picture, she whisked the second one out of my hands as I sewed in the ends and they've been on ever since!
Lastly, my sweet husband read an article in the paper about the IOLI convention in Saint Paul and said that we could go for a mere $5 as general populace on Wednesday.  (I had decided that the convention fee was too steep and had resigned myself to not going at all.)  We went together, like a date! and it was very fun.  Some of the display laces were out of this world lovely and we got to go to the vendors too! It's so wonderful to be able to look at the books, not just the covers and see if what's inside is what I would like.  And then we saw Majestic threads, something I'd never heard of before and the colors were so rich and lovely, my DH bought me a whole bunch!

I just LOVE these colors!

Look at these amazing pieces from the 1850s.  This was the first time I'd seen pieces with the picots tied together.  (I would never have been a tatter then.  I hate tying.)

I know it wouldn't be very practical but I'd love to wear a cap like this.

Oops, there goes the time.
Latin for today = tempus est coquendum!  = Time to cook!