Thursday

Again I start the day tired, only I'm not certain that I have nay real reason to be so. Yesterday morning was spent sitting in a hallway tatting while the youngest did a superb job of entertaining herself. Testing went much faster for the oldest on day two so we were back home well before lunch. As a bonus I managed to get much of a mask order tatted up while we were there.

Of course I didn't finish the mask until much later in the day and since it's the one that I stiffen with fa-brick it had an overnight drying session as well. There's a slight chance it will be in the mail today, but more likely tomorrow. I also fielded quite a few inquires on etsy yesterday one of which encouraged me to get back to remaking and to stop stalling on that. Who knows if the inquires will turn into sales in the end, but either way it would be wise to stay on task.

Other than that there is of course more cleaning for the upcoming weekend full of guests and following that is Spring break for the child and the husband decided to take it off as well. This means that my days will likely be full of unexpected adventures and tatting will have to sneak in when it can. That is another reason to stay on task the rest of the week and get as much of the needed remaking out of the way before I can't for a while. Well, I guess that's it for this morning...crap, I think I have a sore throat. Let's just cross our fingers that it's just a morning thing, okay.

Yikes

What a day, what a day. We left the house around a quarter to nine and returned nearly twelve hours later. I think a 'yikes' is in order. What did we do all that time? Well the day started out with me and oldest going to the STAR testing where I was roped into being hall monitor. Luckily, I had brought my needle and thread, so while she tested I sat and tatted. Interesting side note here, only the boys asked what I was doing and the teenage boys were the most interested. Weird, right? The girls just told me they liked my hair.

While we did that, the youngest daughter spent the first part of the day with daddy. Part of their trip included shipping off the pendant packages for me. Doesn't she look helpful! Then they shopped a little while waiting for us to finish testing. As soon as the oldest was done,  it was off to lunch and then on the road to Fresno, to visit the zoo. When we arrived there we were quickly reminded that it was Spring break for many kids as we had to park like a mile away from the entrance and hike to it.

We spent a few hours at the zoo which included taking in the bird show and a lot more walking. Then it was back in the car and to the toy store where the child was treated to a balloon, crown and many strangers wishing her a happy birthday as she spent her birthday money. Then it was back to our little city, but our adventures were not done. We went out to dinner with the compulsory staff birthday song and then to the comic book shop for a little Avengers vs. X-Men release event. I'm not certain that the children really cared about that part, but we did get more birthday wishes for the child and she got a DC Super Pets book as a present.

That takes us back home when the girls insisted that they be allowed to play some Dungeon Defenders before bed while I caught up on a days worth of emails and whatnot. It was an action packed day and my feet hurt, but the fifth birthday was a rousing success for the one person who really counts.

Today, it's back to STAR testing for us, only this time I have to bring both children and entertain the youngest for three hours while her sister tests. I also got a custom mask order while I was out yesterday that should be attended to, so we're going to see if I can tat a mask while entertaining a child and watching the halls for errant kids. At least this time, when we're done we'll go back home and rest. Then it's just a few more day until the birthday party, Easter and Spring break for us which means more adventuring. I miss when Spring break meant sleeping in and not getting dressed everyday. Oh, well...you can't go back.

The Aftermath

Let me just say this, shipping twenty-six orders in one day is not something I want to do on a regular basis. Everyone who has a little micro business judges how well things are going a little different. Someone who sells thousand dollar pieces of artwork might be happy with a sale a week. Supplies sellers seem to get dozens a day. Me, I'd like just one or two sales a day and that would keep me busy, so you can imagine this pendant deal is not something I'm used to dealing with. First there was making them for nearly two days trying to keep up as the orders came in on Sunday. Then, there was the one person assembly line to fit them with findings and ribbons. Then there was writing all the cards to go in the packages and getting each order put together. Then I printed all the labels and got the envelopes ready. Finally it was double checking the list, wrapping and putting each order in the correct envelope. I know it seems silly to write all this out, but I wanted you to get a sense of the tediousness of the task that took most of the day. On a nice note, they are all going in the mail today, so if you bought one, it's coming!

In other news, I got a special piece of jewelry in the mail yesterday. Remember the silver lace jewelry story I told you about on Friday? Well, I have my own piece and now I'm even sadder that it isn't just available for everyone to own. This piece is gorgeous and there's this nice weight to it being that it's solid sterling. I know it's hard to see all the detail in the piece, but you can literally see every twist of the thread all the way around the piece. Her craftsmanship shows all of my craftsmanship in the original cast piece. I'd go on because I really really love it, but since they are no longer available, it just seems cruel somehow.

If you've been paying attention at home, you know that today is the first day of testing for the oldest and the youngest has her fifth birthday today. We will be off on adventures most of the day due to these two events. I can't imagine that I'll get any time to tat at all, but if I do, it's just remaking again. Ah, spring...you do keep me busy in your own way, don't you.

Success

Happy Monday morning all. Well, I think that the International Tatting Day pendant sale was a rousing success. Thiry-one pendants were sold and since I worked on them steadily throughout the day, I only have the overnight sales left to make before I can send the whole lot off to new homes. Even though I recognized quite a few of the customers, there were also plenty of new names which makes me particularly happy, since the whole point was to share tatting with new people and possibly hear less of that old standby comment, 'it's a lost/dying art'.

I did also manage quite a bit of cleaning early in the weekend, so now the challenge is to keep he house clean through next weekend. We have that birthday party to host and then there's Easter which means there will be ham. Sometimes I think holidays are solely an excuse for food and candy and when I say sometimes, what I really mean is I am certain of it. We also made a nice trip to a friends house over the weekend that lasted a bit longer than planned though it's pleasant to see how good the kids can behave when things don't go according to plan.

So back to tatting then, obviously I have quite a stack of things to finish up today and I honestly haven't thought beyond yesterday's event at all. I did begin it with at least a couple pieces that I wanted to remake still sitting in the queue, so I guess it's back to that when I finish this. Aside from that we have a long day of schooling planned today and tomorrow is the oldest daughter's first state testing. It is possible that I am more nervous than she is and I suppose that's a good thing too. Now it's time to take a deep breath and start a new week.

International Tatting Day

Yes, I know I don't post on weekends. I'd like to say it's because I sleep in, but the cats prevent that quite soundly. I am posting on this very special Sunday for International Tatting Day, not for April Fool's Day I swear. 

This is the deal, this pendant is a limited edition design, available today only for $5 plus shipping in any color thread I have on hand. So click and buy and get some really inexpensive lace in your life. The idea is send more tatting into the world so this deal will also be posted on facebook and twitter to reach more people. Since I know many of you are already tatters and likely need no more lace, share the deal with others or send your own lace into the world. Happy Tatting!