Thinking about Valentines day...

It was a great day to work with BEADS! These little motifs are Le Blog de Frivole's December Motif. Beads were part of my Improvement list and so far I'm making slow progress. This pattern calls for a long picot in the first round with beads added to that picot via crochet hook in the second round. Unfortunately the beads I was using are too small to fit over my smallest crochet hook. So I had to get creative to string the beads onto the picot before joining. The white one used the directions for the beads, where I experimented with pink motif and red beads. By placing the beads on the ball thread, I added them to the picot in each chain that way. For the next couple motifs, perhaps I'll go up a bead size so they fit on my crochet hook.

Using the pink thread got me thinking about Valentines Day. I'll have to try some heart patterns and add some beads.Cherrio for now!

My Tatting Improvement List!

 Here is my Tatting Improvement list! I've decided that my New Years Resolution is to better myself in all things tatting. So I've compiled a bunch of patterns, techniques, and other tatting treasures to keep me busy during the coming year! I don't really have set a deadline, because I don't really want to rush through this. Tatting a snowflake a day for a month was challenging enough for a while! ; ) 

So here is the list of what I would like to accomplish as a tatter:

• Learn to needle tat with proficiency. I've always admired needle tatting. I have a set of 3 or 4 needles of various sizes that are just begging to be used. I think I'll tat some of Mary Konior patterns from her Visual Tatting. book (one of my absolute favorites!) while I learn. Her patterns are fantastic and range from simple to challenging.
• INTERLOCKING RINGS! The Piney Woods Tatter and Le Blog de Frivole both have posted in the past about interlocking rings and I became so inspired that I want to learn this trick! Even Jon at Tat-a-Randa gave it a try. The goal is to tat them with shuttles and needles.
• Give beads a chance...In this goal I'd like to tat a large doily with beads throughout. Fox added just a few beads to her Lace Mat and I love the look that it made.
• Continue to teach tatting...  I incorporated tatting into quite a few of my college projects but I would like to continue to teach others about tatting and how to tat.  I have some opportunities coming up in the future to teach some classes and my Mom and I have talked about having some of our friends over for 'Stitching Days,' where we all just come and work on our projects from knitting, crochet, to tatting. 
• Finish one Hankie and Start Another one... I have one hankie that has been sitting in my tatting bag, unfinished for far too long. I plan to finish that one and start another. My mom gave me a white, cotton hankie with pre-made holes from HandyHands for my birthday and I have yet to add any tatting to it. I have a few colors in mind, but haven't decided on a pattern yet. 
• Tat through the book 'Oh My Stars' This is such a great book by Kaye B. Judt that I'd like to learn all the techniques that she teaches. 

As projects get finished and new things come up, I may add to this list through the year, but I have a feeling that this will keep me pretty busy! The LONG TERM deadline is my birthday of 2014, so that's pretty far off. I'm not into rushing this; the whole idea started when I had blogged about the Tatter's Across Time proficiency program. We'll see what the New Year brings!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Pearls...

Here's what I've created from the pearl beads I found the other day!

This will be a white dangle earring. The thread is a size 40 :)

I'm actually pretty excited about these earrings! I know that they are not tatted but I have a pair that looks just like them that I bought. I liked them so much I thought I'd try my had a recreating them... WITH PEARLS!

Another view

With all of these patterns and ideas running through my mind I'm thinking about opening my Etsy shop...we'll see. That might be a good thing to do over the summer. Right now, I gotta get ready for finals....
Bye Ya'll!
Allison

Trash Vs. Treasure?

You know that saying, "One's man trash is another man's treasure?" Well that is totally what happened to me today! I was sitting in the computer lab working on semester projects at school and there was a young gal sitting next to me. She got up to get something out of the printer at the end of the long table of PCs and a ton of faux-pearl beads feel out of her pocket! She said to the guy next to her, 'Yeah, my necklace broke and I shoved the beads in my pocket." Se then presumed to sweep up the pearl beads and halfheartedly brushed them under her desk. She obviously didn't want them anymore because she just left them there when she was done using the computer. Immediately my mind was like 'I bet I could tat something with those....' So I picked up about 40 of them and took them home with me. There are even three different sizes,  large, medium and small ones. I was so tickled! FREE BEADS!! It just struck me funny how artsy-craftsy people can view things so differently then others. For me, it's really about seeing a material in it's raw element and wondering 'how can I make something out of that?" It's put a smile on my face all day and I can't wait to create something with them!
Cheers!
Allison