Finally Catching Up!

WOW -- I am so far behind that I look like I'm in the lead! Last time I posted anything related to my knot tying (in APRIL ), I was getting ready for the then-upcoming IOLI Convention. (More on that soon.) Then, in May, I added the link to the CBS Sunday Morning segment on knots. Well, six months later, I'm FINALLY catching up on things I should have posted long ago!

June found my husband and me celebrating our Silver (25th) wedding anniversary on a cruise to Alaska. There are too many things for me to do it all justice. Suffice it to say that we had a fantastic time and can't wait to go back!

As far as knot-tyers go, I was fortunate enough to get to meet Louie Bartos, in Ketchikan, and he autographed a copy of his book for me. Thanx again, Louie!

In Juneau, on June 2, our actual anniversary, we went on a whale-watching cruise. At one point during the cruise, the captain, with previously obtained permission, did a "fly by" past a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter. The naturalist on our boat had just been married to an Ensign on the Cutter. It was fun because the two captains began playing with each other, forcing them to cross each others wake, which made for some rather "choppy" sailing. This was almost as much fun as seeing the whales! But I think my favorite part of that day was seeing the eagles!

In Skagway, we took a wonderful tour to Yukon (rode a motor coach there and a narrow-gauge train back), and saw a lot of wildlife. I must confess here, I'm guilty of feeding the wildlife, even though I know it's not wise. No, it wasn't this bear -- it was a MOSQUITO! They grow 'em BIG in Alaska!

But DH did take this shot from just outside the bus. The driver is not really suppose to allow us out when bears are this close, but she let us out two at a time and only if we stayed on the bus' side of the road. This photo was worth the risk, IMHO. : - )

While on the cruise, we got to visit the bridge (part of the anniversary "package" -- you pay for the privilege) and I found the ship's bell. It reads,

SAPPHIRE PRINCESS

2004

The Helmsman (I think) was holding onto the wheel and would not let go of the THK so I could get a picture of it! Hmmm ... navigating through College Fjord (small icebergs all around us) and he wouldn't let go of the wheel ... wonder why ... ROFL

Once we got to Anchorage, we checked into the Hotel Captain Cook. It is the best hotel in Anchorage, IMHO, and the view from our room (left -- we THINK that's Mt. Readout in the distance) could not be matched, and we are still marveling at the IDEAL weather we had for the entire trip. I don't think it got above 75F (22C) nor below 65F (12C) the entire time, and clear as a bell the whole time.

While in Anchorage, I also got to meet Dan Calahan (been wanting to meet him for YEARS), along with a few of the other Anchorage knot-tyers, at the home of our VERY gracious hosts Charles Rigden and his lovely wife, Gail. She made us some of the most delicious treats for our BBQ at their home!

That's Gail, on the left, and Charles, Master BBQ Chef, below. Has to be the BEST burger I've had in a LONG TIME! : - )

Charles even took us "flight-seeing" and we got some SPECTACULAR pictures from only about 400 feet above the glaciers! The weather for the entire 2 weeks was fantastic and we could not have asked for a more wonderful time, the entire trip.

I like that this photo shows the tundra, the lake, the glacier and the mountains in the distance, as well as the "frame" of the plane's window.

Thanx again, Charles, for helping make this trip SO UNBELIEVABLE!

This was yet another "TRIP OF A LIFETIME" that I have been fortunate to take. I do count my blessings. We did take this trip without the children, but we hope to take another cruise to Alaska WITH the boys. They're getting older now and able to appreciate it. However, I have told DH that our 30th anniversary should be a cruise in Australia and New Zealand.

It could happen ... five years ago, Alaska didn't seem likely, either. : - D

There was a segment on knots, and the IGKT, on CBS Sunday Morning, on 17 May 2009.

Here's the link:

Knot So Simple

It's not as long as I'd hoped it would be, but it's still very nice.

Enjoy...

Getting Ready for IOLI Convention

I am now working on getting the projects that I'm going to teach at IOLI Convention ready and documented. I've never taught these projects before, so I have a lot of work to do to get ready for it. I only hope I can do a decent job and get the ideas across to my students. Here are the projects from which students will choose:

This necklace is made with snake knot. The bead/charm on the necklace on the left is a 'Lampwork Floral' from Kahn-Fagan, who were vendors at our Lace Day, which is held the first Saturday of every November. The picture does not do it justice -- it's actually GORGEOUS, with beautiful greens and purples and opalescence!

This one has snake knots made onto a charm (I guess that's what you'd call it) that I bought at JoAnn's. I have to warn everyone that these necklaces are addictive. Once you start making them, you find you want to make more and more. There are so many wonderful charms and beads out there that just BEG to be made into a snake knot necklace!

These are the front and back (not sure which is which, honestly) of an amulet bag made with square knotting (macrame), with a bit of weaving thrown in. A snake-knot neck chain finishes the project off nicely. There are several other designs from which to choose, and one can mix and match the bag and neck chain styles, all of which are my original designs.

This is a floating key ring. It is made to resemble a boat side fender. The nice thing about a floating key ring is that, if you're on a boat and drop your keys, as long as there are not too many keys on the ring they will float, so that you don't have to go diving to retrieve them, or worse, consider them lost forever!

This is a pink ribbon that I made from square knots. I was asked to make something out of macrame for Breast Cancer Awareness, a couple of years ago, and this is what I came up with. It's very simple to make, once you know square knotting, but there is a little trick to making the ribbon stay crossed without any glue -- I don't DO glue!

This can be made with any color cording, of course, to represent the cause of your choice.

Also, I have permission from the publisher to teach from the books Hemp Masters and Hemp Masters Getting Knotty and I'm happy to announce that I will have a FEW copies of each book for sale at the Convention. Please let me know IN ADVANCE if you would like me to reserve a copy for you! Here are some of the patterns I am considering teaching:

The first one is made with hempcording. It has beads and a single-holebutton incorporated into it, and a VERY clever closure, which I presume is an original design by the author of both books, Max Lunger. The second is a similar pattern made with braided cotton cording, cloisonne beads and a floral button that looks like it was made to go with the beads, but I actually got them all separately. The last one is made with a different pattern. I had the charm and thought I'd like to make the necklace with that. Well, with all the black widows we have around here, when it came time to choose the colors for the necklace, I had to use with black and red. The Josephine knots (Carrick Bends, called Pretzel Knots in the book) in this pattern remind me of the hour-glass marking on a widow's belly.

On the left is the Double Solomon's Bar key fob. There's a trick to making the loops at each end, with no ends showing, when the piece is completed.

On the right is a variation of the Double Solomon's Bar key fob.

It's fun to see what designs people are able to dream up with this technique.

The week-long Convention takes place at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport Hotel (info at the link below), July 25 through August 1, 2009. You DO NOT need be a member of IOLI to attend, and you do not need to go for the entire week! There are a FEW spaces still open in my classes, as well as a few other classes. The classes are filling up quickly, and the registration deadline is approaching very soon, so if you're interested, please go to the Freeway Lace Guild website (hosting the Convention, this year) and get all the information you need to register. I suggest registering QUICKLY, in order to get the class(es) you really want.

Rest In Peace, My Dear Friends

I am deeply saddened by the loss of two of my dearest knot-tying friends.

Gary Sessions, of Dallas, TX, lost his valliant battle against cancer on March 17, 2009. I first met Gary and his lovely wife, Barbara, at the IGKT-NAB AGM, in Charleston, SC, in 2005. I was surprised and delighted to see that they were in Fareham, when I arrived at the IGKT Silver Anniversary meeting there, in 2007.


They had planned to attend the IGKT-PAB Tenth Anniversary meeting, several weeks later, in Long Beach, CA, but Gary was too ill to travel, when the time came. Then, when I got to the NAB meeting in Orlando, FL, that winter, there they were! It was so wonderful to see them again.


Gary was a very generous man and taught many knot-tyers, over the years. He founded the Texas branch of the IGKT, and was a long-time member of the NAB, as well. He will be sorely missed. My love and prayers go out to Barbara and the rest of the family.

C. E. "Bud" Brewer, of Flagler, CO, passed suddenly from a heart attack, also on March 17, 2009. I first began chatting with Bud in the online knot chats. At that time, he lived in New York, but on retiring, he soon moved to Flagler, CO. My best-friend-since-kindergarten, lives in Colorado Springs, and we visit her every few years, on our family vacations. The next time we went to Colorado, I told DH we must go visit Bud, as part of the vacation. On that visit, Bud generously and very patiently, taught me to turn a project on his lathe.


I will treasure forever the fid I made that day!


Bud was able to attend the IGKT-PAB Tenth Anniversary meeting in 2007, and generously donated many of his lovingly-crafted tools. I was fortunate to win a couple of those wonderful pieces, but I treasure the time we were able to spend together even more. It was over far too quickly.

The last time we (DH, our two sons, and I) visited Bud was this past summer. He gave generously of his time and talents while we were there. He took us to visit the farm his friend runs, and we all had a wonderful time.


He made me a very nice (TINY) hollow fid with black and red LEATHER knots on it (a square Turk's Head on the end and wider pineapple, just below that). I knew then that I must be special, because he gave of his PRECIOUS red and black stash! ; - )


I often told him how generous he was, and he always told me not to tell anyone else that, because he had a reputation to uphold. He wanted everyone to think of him as a gruff old man -- but I knew better. He was friend, mentor, father-figure, and much more, to so many of us! My prayers are with his daughter, Kim, and the rest of the family.

Sad, tearful hugs, everyone.

Tudor Rose Knot Tutorial posted

Hi, everyone.

For those of you who are patiently awaiting my tutorial for the Tudor Rose Knot, here is the link (it's a .pdf flie). Many thanx to Nils, of KHWW, for posting it!

Tudor Rose Knot Tutorial

The .pdf file does not allow the links to work, for all the knots used, so here they are:

Constrictor Knot

Star Knot

Wall Knot

Crown Knot

I do hope these links help.

This is my first tutorial, so please be gentle with me. ; - )

Enjoy!

I'm saddened to report the death of my friend, Ron Soman, whose company was hosting my website, along with many others on the tatting lists (and many other types of websites). My blog is not effected, however (obviously).

I was just notified by my webmistress that "someone has unplugged the servers" and it appears everyone's website hosted by Ron's company is offline now. The situation being worked on, but there is no telling when/IF we will be able to get these websites and all their contents back and intact.

I was also informed that Ron was only 37 years old. I'm so sorry that he is gone, not only for the websites that we enjoy so much, but even more for my personal relationship with him. We chatted often about personal situations and I will miss him.

My deepest heartfelt sympathies to Ron's family and loved ones...

Lily

Tudor Rose Knot

This knot is from the 100th issue of Knotting Matters, quarterly newsletter for the International Guild of Knot Tyers. It must also be in a book somewhere, but I haven't been able to track it down yet. If anyone knows, please e-mail me.

The first one I made is on the left. The second one I made is on the right.

Then I decided to try making one with smaller stuff. And for those of you who think 'Flowers Are Red' (I sure do miss Harry Chapin), I decided to make it in red. I made it reversible, by tying two knots, back to back. Then I thought I'd try making a snake-knot stem for it. And, of course, if there's a stem, there has to be a leaf or two, so I threw in a couple of Ruth Perry's Hanging Cluny leaves (because the rat tail is so much larger than tatting threa, I had to use the tiny fid in place of the floss threader).

The mat and fid (another masterpiece by the 'Maestro') are from Bud Brewer. Thanx again, Bud -- it works perfectly! : - )

And yes, of course, I'm working on an even smaller one, but that'll have to wait for another entry. I had to get this out there to all of you!

I'll post more as soon as I can, but things have been REALLY weird around here, lately. I guess I say that a lot, but it's been stranger than ever the past couple of weeks!