"But, really, why does anyone create? You feel a... a restlessness inside, a need to make something new, something no one has ever seen before. You want to add to the beauty and the richness of the world with a gift, an offering that is uniquely yours. It's an act of selfishness and generosity, all rolled into one."

-- Bruce Coville,
The Last Hunt

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Happy Birthday to Me

Yesterday was my birthday. I have long held that the definition of "middle-aged" is 25 years older than me, and "old" is 50 years older than me. Thus, I am still not approaching middle age. So there.

A couple of my presents:
My old mixer didn't work so well once the mechanism to lock the beaters in place gave out, so this is what I asked my parents for. My mom was thrilled that for once I actually let her give me kitchen stuff. The first thing I did with it was to make my own birthday cake, because, my mom being 2/3 of the way across the country, who else was going to do that for me?


I am lucky that my apartment is on the end of the building, so I have windows on three sides. However, I have no west-facing windows, so my tatting/ reading corner gets really dark in the afternoon. I have always longed for an OttLite, but always felt that there was something more important to spend the money on. Well, Sunday I was in Jo Ann Fabrics picking up a few things I needed, when I noticed that this model was on sale better than half off. It was still kind of expensive, but I figured it was the best price I'm likely to see, and my eyes aren't getting any younger, so I might as well splurge and give myself a present. I love it so far.

Here's the progress on the "Starburst" doily. (Not "Sunburst" as I erroneously called it in the previous post, thinking that it couldn't possibly have the same name as those god-awful candies.)
On the top is the completed round 3. The new color is Majestic 837. On the bottom is my first attempt at round 4. I have cut this off because I didn't make the spaces between rings long enough to lie flat. I did mention that this would be trial and error.

6 comments:

  1. Belated happy birthday, Miranda! I love the colors you've chosen for your new doily. Aren't we lucky to have so much from which to choose? I'm afraid I'd have become bored with tatting if white were the only color available.

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  2. Happy birthday! Love your definition of middle age and old age. The lamp sounds like a great 'birthday to self' present that will provide many hours of pleasure in the year to come. Your color selections for the doily are lovely. Spaces between rings are hard for me. I measure, I tat, I look----the space shrank!

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  3. Well, Happy Happy Un-Birthday to you, Miranda!

    Love the colours - it is going to be so pretty! I am tempted to haul that book out, because of what you have done so far!
    Fox : )

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  4. Happy Birthweek!...stretch it out.
    I can't wait to see your finished project!
    j.

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  5. Belated Happy Birthday to you, Miranda.

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  6. A birthday on the first day of summer! Cool! My oldest son's was yesterday, as well as a lace friend. For our family, the majority of birthdays hit between June and July!

    I like majestic thread. I have a limited amount as I don't tat in size 80 or whatever it is as much as other sizes but the colors are deep and rich. And you will enjoy your Ott light for years and years and wonder what you ever did without it!

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