Tomorrow will be day 9 as I feel that a lot of people caught up over the weekend.
The first in this morning is from Aonghas and Kay Lynn who say
"Dear Jane,
Hello! Aonghas here - back on the job after my walk outside. Sometimes it helps me to think when I have my buddy, Barney the dinosaur, with me. My mom and I have really been trying to figure out this mystery. When one of the tatters mentioned a platypus, we thought we'd check out some other Australian critters (since they have some rather unique ones), and we ran across a cute little bandicoot. So that's our first guess today. My mom was looking for a pattern when she ran across the other critter we liked. It's tail is twisted the wrong way, but since it's a mythical critter, we figured we could twist that tail in the other direction and make it fit the tatting. We're glad our mystery critter has at least one foot now. This helps us rule out some of our other guesses. Thanks for keeping us thinking. We LOVE reading other tatters' guesses too.
Fondly,
Aonghas and his momma, Kay Lynn"
Melanie is next in the inbox this morning and she says
"Attached is my version. When I saw your diagram on the pattern, I thought "penguin" but it doesn't look that way when I tatted out the days installment. Something with vertebrae.
Melanie "
Next in the emails is from Martha and this is what she says. She could be right and everybody's off on the wrong guesses!! We'll see!!
"Here is my Day 8. Up till now, I was going to guess dinosaur, then kangaroo. Now, with the addition of that foot-looking ring, I'm going to say iguana, in honor of Florida's falling iguana weather report. Wouldn't it be a laugh if the next steps turn it all around, and that bead isn't an eye, and everyone is way, way off?"
Pam has just joined us and she hasn't cheated as she says!!! I know you wouldn't cheat, Pam.
"Sorry I am late entering the game. But I didn't cheat. I started with Day 1 and didn't look ahead or read blog until I caught up. I am going to guess a humming bird since that is what I want to believe it is!
Pam Freck"
Donna too has just arrived and this is what she says.
"Hi Jane!
So EXCITED that Pam told me you were doing another TIAS! YIPPEE! Always a FUN time!
My pic show how I chose to do Day 4 with the bead.
Shuttle 1 is numbered.
Orange pin marks end of Day 3.
Yellow pin is holding the bead onto the picot.
Split Ring 16 is now ready for the Bead Picot to join.
THANK YOU!
Donna T. (South Carolina USA)"
Welcome, Donna. Where were you hiding in Tat Land? For a dreadful moment I thought you'd abandoned tatting!! As if!!! I'll tell you a secret - that's the way I do the bead but didn't want to confuse people too much!!! Don't tell anybody, will you. Oh, oooops, just realised that somebody might read this!!!
Finally I've got an email from Wilma with her TIAS. She says
"Bellissimo e divertente progetto, complimenti, io devo ringraziare anche -imparare con Alicja - perché senza la sua traduzione mi sarebbe stato difficoltoso arrivare fino a qui... Grazie a voi
Beautiful and fun project, congratulations, I also have to thank - learning with Alicja - because without her translation it would have been difficult for me to get here ... Thanks to you"
Agi has now popped into my inbox and this is what she has to say
"Dear Jane
I finally caught up with myself, so it's the 8th day. It will be a dragon? A small cute dragon? :)
And I learned make SCMR.
Ági"
Well done with the SCMR, Agi. Another skill to add to your 'tatting library'
Mary Anna has just popped in via Patricia. This is the comment that goes with it
"Here is Mary Anna Robinsons' from Springfield Ohio in the USA.
Patricia Lyn Cobb
Sue’s arrived now with her wacky sense of humour!!! She says
“Morning Miss.
Attached is my duck filled fatty puss who can finally move around hopping on his one foot, so far so good! I'm determined to carry on even with thumb and finger nails that are broken too far down to cut! Can't tat for long till the bruising goes away and the nails grow a bit.... I must think of a name.... Watch this space!”
I’m impressed with your determination to carry on, Sue. Thank you.
Alicja Is the next arrival and she has this to say
“It was hard but very satisfying step Jane 
Thank you so much
Thank you so muchLove from Alicja
P.S what you has spent me about SCMR will be very helpful to translate this step in Italian. Thank you 
”
”I’m glad it helped, Alicja. That’s what I’m here for - to help!!!!
Madhur is now back with her little group of ‘whatever they are’ and she has this to say
“My dear Jane
Greetings from India
Here I am with 5 versions of day 8.
You see I try to make several of your TIAS in one go for several reasons
1. It gives me sufficient practice on the several techniques that you resort to in your beautiful patterns.
2. It also gives a fair idea of the size of each completed piece in various thread sizes.
3. I.akso like the look of a piece in different solid and variegated hues.
4. Another thing is that the thickness of different brands having same number of thread size varies and though they look alike, the completed piece tells the difference.
5.I have also noted this way, that the thread thickness of the same size thread of the same brand in different lots also varies.
And 6. Last but not the least, it also enables me to use up left over threads from various projects that are remaining on the shuttles
I had wanted to tat up day 8 yesterday but got involved with sudden guests.
Waiting for day 9 now.
Love”
That’s a lot of good reasons for making several at the same time, Madhur. Interesting facts about the threads too. Thank you.
Jane is the next person into my inbox and this is what she has to say
“Hi Jane, My weekend was busier than my week, but I am now ready for tomorrow's day 9. My creature seems to have a crick in its neck.”
Thanks, Jane. Let’s hope your week is quieter!!!
Next to arrive is Stephanie but without the support of her husband today. She says
“ Oh, dear! I’m convinced my bird – almost any sort of bird – is probably not what this creature is. DH isn’t here this morning, so I can’t get a guess from him. I’m thinking maybe some sort of reptile or amphibian now. Large, small, in-between….and I’m a terrible guesser, so for all I know you’ll take us around the outline of this thing at the last inute and the bead could end up being a doorknob on a very fancy door. At least if it’s a dinosaur it has its mouth shut so it can’t eat me before I finish tatting it. 
Stephanie”
With another lovely drawing Andrea has now arrived with her at 8. She says
Day 8 here and wouldn't it be lovely to have one of these little fellas 
. Really enjoying this one and loving the range of techniques. Thank you xx Andrea xxx ”
. Really enjoying this one and loving the range of techniques. Thank you xx Andrea xxx ”What a lovely drawing and yes, it would be good to have one of those but …………!!!
"
choć mam problem ze skrótami opisu i nie rozumiem ich do tej pory to wykonuje po swojemu według własnego doświadczenia i umiejętności :) czy to prawidłowo proszę zobacz 
or alligator ”
Don’t EVER pull those “Fancy Dancy” stitches on me again!!!! SSMR! 
somewhere in the back of my mind I “think” (but maybe not
) I had done one of these before…. 
