Starting Renulek's Spring Doily and Finishing Another (Motifs 9 and 10)

Howdy.

Sorry. It's been a while.

I've had a bit of a horrible week...first of all, my hubby has been away at a training, so it's been sad and lonely around the house, and then, last Saturday my baby had a major health scare after he ingested an entire 100g dark chocolate bar that he found in my purse (which is not a good thing for a 25-lb terrier mix).

THANKFULLY Russia has 24-hr vets and thankfully I knew enough Russian to explain what happened, and thankfully the vets knew what to do and quickly, so THANKFULLY my dog is here with me happy and healthy today (although I don't think he enjoyed having his stomach pumped, poor thing).

 Yikes.

 So, with all that going on I have not been doing much tatting...but I have managed to finish up one project and start another:

Motif 9: Doily by Adelheid Dangela in the Ring of Tatters' 30th Anniversary Book of Patterns tatted in size 80 Lizbeth

I also started Renulek's Spring Doily a week or so ago, and thanks to a (major) thread infusion [because of course I needed that ;)], have continued this week:

Motif 10: The first round of Renulek's Doily

Here is round 2:

 And the newly finished round 3:

So far I am enjoying this tat, but I'm kind of confused as to how to start round 4 (two shuttles CTW or shuttle and ball...) Any suggestions from those who have passed this point?

TIAS Days 11 and 12, New Techniques and a Confession

Hello, my name is Kristen and I am a tatting book addict.

No really. I've ordered something like, oh, 15 new tatting books in the past 2 or so months.

Because, you know, I really needed that many more books. I clearly didn't have enough before (eyes rolling).

But I got some REALLY good titles, and some REALLY good deals! (Also I had a REALLY nice Amazon.com gift card from my in-laws this year, so most of the books were "free" to me...).

But seriously. It's ridiculous. (Awesomely ridiculous!!) :-D

So, since I admit I have a problem, the least I can do is to work using those books to learn something new:

Voilà!--Block tatting and that cool looking circley tatting that I've always wanted to know how to do but have never been able to figure out. Block tatting directions courtesy of "24 Snowflakes in Tatting," the circley thing from "The Craft of Tatting."

Two of only a few things I've tatted that my husband has said "That so cool!" about. Hoorah. :)

I also need to keep up with blogging my progress on Jane's TIAS:

Day 11

I still see Mary and Joseph...

 And then here's today's offering:

Day 12

 Of course, it hasn't been all tatting and buying books around here...I also made an amazingly delicious pizza (if you allow me a moment to brag):

Soooo good! Here's the recipe: http://cheese.food.com/recipe/deep-dish-spinach-and-mozzarella-pizza-171223. I promise, it's worth the work you have to put into it. (Also, add a tablespoon of sugar to the sauce recipe. It cuts the acidity by a lot!)

Besides the delicious pizza I've also been trying not to eat these:

 My mom sent me this bag this week and I'm doing my best to make these last as long as possible and not to eat the entire thing in one sitting.

I love love LOVE these and they are really hard for me to get, mostly becuase they are not a) sold in Russia (not surprisingly) or b) reasonably available online (quite surprisingly...Walmart.com says they are "out of stock online", Amazon.com wants to charge me $10 for a smallish bag, and Target.com blocks computers trying to log in from Russia. Bah.)

Also, I am really picky and I only like the Brach's kind...no SweetTarts or Necco for me, ick! :)

So, I'm making this delicious bag last as long as I can! Thanks awesome Mom! :)

Finally (really, this is a random post, isn't it?) here is something I found to be REALLY cool this week:

It's a pattern from a plastic tablecloth I found at work this week. Neat, right? It kind of looks like tatting...kind of...

Thanks for sticking with this rambling post. :)

Happy the Olympics start today!!! :)