Stawasz Doily Progress

The size 30 light green doily is progressing....slowly. I'm on the last round. It's not the last round in the pattern, but I'm just about out of thread in this color that it's a nice place to stop.

I've been working on this project for so long that I think it's high time to start something new and exciting! So out come the Christmas patterns and start something fresh! I've also got a hankie that needs and edging that is something that I can take with and work on at work.

Hope everyone is well around you and have a lovely start to the week!

 

Size 30 Stawasz Doily

 Oh dear! Has it really been three weeks since my last blog post! YIKES! Here's what I'm working on: another doily from Jan Stawasz's Tatted Treasures. This is the doily that is on the cover of the book. It's being tatted in size 40 Lizbeth in 'Sea Green' (number 686). It's been one of those projects that for me, I don't find my mistakes until 3 or 4 rings later and I am then faced with the age-old decision of cutting it up and doing it right or just keep going. Thankfully this thread is REALLY forgiving so I've just kept going. ; ) I'm enjoying this pattern because it's not your 'typical' doily pattern; the rings and chains are not symmetrical which gives it a nice shape. The scallops in this center part has great movement to it. There are 11 rounds and I'm on round 4! It should be a nice sized piece when finished!

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! I'm looking forward to a day out with my mom at one of my favorite garden centers tomorrow! Have a lovely day everyone!

 

Found a Tat-a-long!

Good afternoon everyone! I hope you had an enjoyable weekend. I got my August newsletter from Be-Stitched.com and wanted to share the link to her tat-a-long with you all. I highly recommend Nancy's Newsletter; she always has a recipe to share as well as a tatting pattern in every letter. She even has specials and coupons! Be sure to check out her website HERE and sign up! and HERE is the link to the doily I'm workin' on. I'm tatting it in Lizabeth size 10 in Herbal Garden (No. 179). Pics to follow!

Photo courtesy of Be-stitched.com - this piece was tatted by Nancy Tracy

 

Inspiration!

 My Goodness! What a week!

It's been a crazy busy week here on the home front and at work. I finished one Jan Stawasz Square Doily and have started another doily. It's coming along nicely and I'm finding that I really like tatting with larger sized threads. It's fun to mix it up now and then, eh?

I logged in to Blogger and on my 'News Feed' or whatever it is that you call the place where all of the blogs that I follow pop us and just have to give a shout out to all of you ladies : ) Your pictures of the tatting works that you are doing inspire me to pick up my shuttles wherever possible. I've downloaded and copies some of the patterns that ya'll are working on for future projects!!

Hope you all have a wonderfully amazing weekend!

 

Stawasz Doily Finished!

Here is the complete Doily V from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz!

 I really like the look of a square doily :) it was a great project with all the split rings for the straight sides. The Pattern diagram had a green color for the split ring side so I used a lime green Clover shuttle and that helped so much! I was able to remember right where I left off and it made following the diagram much easier.

I've already started another doily from this great book! Pics to come! Have a lovely week everyone!

Fourth of July Update!

Good morning everyone! Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans! Here is an update on the Jan Stawasz Doily I started forever ago. I have a week off of work and am building a greenhouse! Busy Busy!

Have a marvelous day everyone!

 

 

Unblocked Stawasz Doily

Here it is! The unblocked, light green Stawasz doily #14 in size 3 crochet cotton! I had to refill my shuttles three times just to get this far and wound up (haha, no pun intended!) running out of thread! I have this same size in a pale yellow that I think could do nicely to finish the outer rounds.

Because this one has so many open spaces in it I think it would look nice in the window. My Weigela is blooming in front of the house and it makes for a pretty backdrop :)

Have a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend everyone!!!

 

A quick note!

I have a couple of posts in 'draft mode' still, but I thought I'd say hello to everyone! I'm working on a new doily in lime green. It's a Jan Stawasz, Doily #XIV. The thread is one that I got at Wal-Mart forever ago when I first started tatting and is a size 3 crochet cotton.... I think. I like the 'puffy' look of this thread (it looks a little similar to needle tatting, eh?)

Changin' it up a bit by using size 3, bulky thread

Here is a close up. I rearranged the tatting sequence so that I could tat this with one shuttle, versus two like the pattern says. Because this thread is so thick, I know I'll be reloading my shuttle a lot and didn't feel like having to constantly wind two : )

 

 I hope everyone is well and enjoying May! I can't beleive that it's half over already!

Toodles from Illinois,

 

Pinterest Tatting Ideas!

I've been finding so many great patterns on Pinterest that I'm starting to lose track of them all! Are you on Pinterest? You should see all the amazing tatting pattern that are on there. I admit, I do like Pinterest an awful lot. It's like keeping all of your internet favorites all in one spot. Since work has been keeping me busy, and I'm slowly tatting through another antique pattern, I though I'd share some of the patterns I have planned for the summer that I found on Pinterest. 

I'm always so greatful when people share my work and link back to my blog so I've made a post where all the links are provided back to the original tatter and their website!

A picture post is nice to have once and awhile, eh? ; )

Pretty Leaves and Flower by Vinnie's Tattings 

Gorgeous tatted medallion by Rachel, the Piney Woods Tatter

Yes, I have a pair of high-tops that I'm going to cover with lace :) What do you think? I have brown ones that I'm going to use either a size 40 white or size 10 white? Haven't decided yet, but maybe blogging about it will get me to actually start this project! hehe!

Pretty celtic star by Renulek. She has some fantastic motifs with the number of stitches right on the picture. Be sure to stop by her blog!

This is just too pretty NOT to post! Hummingbird pattern by Kathy Lowe

I've been LOVING Jane Eboral's doodles! My favorite has been the gecko!

now THIS is a beautiful cross! This pattern is from Annie's Granny Design called the Josephine Cross.

Here is the link to Marlee's Pattern. I also found this link on Pinterest here  --->  Pretty earring pattern...I wonder if I could turn this into an edging? I really like the square look of the rings within chains...Hmmmm

I LOVE my tatted headbands; I wear them all the time. This post has the brilliant idea to use a ribbon through the ends to tie it around your head. I've tried elastic, hair ties, and small stretchy head bands, but this idea is the prettiest yet! Its from a stunning Polish Blog called DoraThea.








Super pretty tea pot! I think I'm going to have to ask for the Tatting Teapot book by Martha Ess for my birthday! This tea pot is tatted by TattaBuggs Lace.

Pretty Spring tatted mat! From InTatters. I've had some problems trying to log in, so I'll be sure to update once I can log in.

This has been fun! HERE is a link to my tatting board! Be sure to follow me and I'll see what you've been finding on Pinterest too!

That's all for now! Hope you all have a lovely Tuesday!

Phew!

Jeepers! It's been a while since I posted any tatting! Work is starting back up as the bulbs come up in the garden, but I have been tatting on my lunch breaks and in the evenings. Here's a quick look at what I've been up to: 

Here is another Pinterest find!! It's an adaptation of Mary Konior's Black Magic bookmark. HERE is the link to the bookmark pattern from Georgia Seitz's website. The pattern was drawn up by Vickie Reynolds and it's a new favorite! The pattern is well written and easy to follow. I used Lizbeth black and Turquoise twist threads and this combo reminds me of looking out a window at a blue summer sky!













 I finished the purple antique doily and have started another one in a pastel, mint green. Perfect color for and Easter project! and YES! This photo is evidence that we finally got some SUN in Illinois!!







Here's a close up on the thread :) Perfect project for my lunch breaks at work!

And last but not least, I started a doily called Mom's Pink Doily from Be-Stitched.com.  I've made two of these doilies already and love the pattern. I have one in size 10, one in size 30 and this one is tatted in size 40 thread, which I am finding to be quite a challenge. The round I'm currently working in is all individual motifs. I picked the same light, mint green as the antique doily for this one and I'm really liking how it's turning out.

At last the bulbs are coming up! It's like seeing old friends again! I cannot wait for them to start blooming! Hope everyone is well and you have a lovely day wherever your travels take you!

 

Finished!

 I finished the Antique Purple Doily last night! This is a pattern from an old Handy Hands Newsletter. It's called the Adrienne Place Mat and it measures 11 inches from point to point. I'm really pleased with the way the colors all turned out. I've actually started another one that will be tatted a solid color. I've chosen Lizbeth Sea Green, a nice light pastel for the Easter season, so I'll post more pictures on that soon! 

  

Have a lovely start to your week everyone! May your Monday be Marvelous!

Two-Toned Purple Antique Doily

I've always admired this doily/plate mat set. Now I'm finally tatting it! It's from an old Handy Hands newsletter from 2011. I've been writing down the pattern as I tat from the original instructions. Am I the only one that does that? If an antique pattern is confusing for me to read, I re-write it with my own abbreviations. This has been my piece to work on at night, after a day outside with the horses or after work. The 'spikes' in the doily is what my eye first saw when I looked at the black and white photo, so I decided to get the colors to reflect that. 

I had almost a whole ball of Lizbeth Dark Purple so I coupled that with a DMC Lavender. I do like the look of it as it's tatting up, so I think I'll do it in one solid color next and see how it looks. The larger mat towards the top of the picture looks like it could be fun too! : ) Maybe that will be my summer project.

Here is my version!

And of course the minute I put in on the floor to take a picture my kitty, Mocha, comes over and wants to help. At least she didn't play with my shuttles and tangle them all up this time!

I hope you are having a lovely weekend!

Love,

 

My head is SPINNING!

All finished with my green spinning wheel!! While I've been working on this one, I really have to think about what I'm tatting and what the chains should look like and where the rings join. This can be a tricky pattern if you don't follow what you're doing. I had to cut out a few of the 'fan blades' to get all the joins right on the last round : ) I'm really liking this new thread though. It's Lizbeth, 20 Leafy Green #138. I'm already planning some more projects with it. We're bracing through another Winter Storm here so as as the wind and the snow is hitting, there is be lots of time for tatting and reading!

 Cheerio!

 

Larest Doily yet!!!

Classic Doily ~ Pattern by Linda Davies

Tatted in Lizbeth size 20, Wedgewood Lt and Natural
Measures 14" across

This is my biggest achievement yet. The color scheme really came by chance; I wanted to mix up the colors somewhere in this doily and I'm pretty happy with the way this one turned out. The blue color is called 'Wedgewood light' so I thought I'd make this one look like wedgewood china. Took me almost 17 weeks to make! It was great way to start the New Year by finishing a large project. I went to sit down last night and realized that I didn't have something to tat! So I quick made Fox's Abigail while we watched a movie; pictures to come! I've also been working on needle tatting! That will be tomorrow's post!

Good night all! Have a blessed start to a new week!

 

Embarking on the Last Round...

I hope that you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and are enjoying the delights of the Fall Season. It's turned brisk here, where the water is frozen in the birdbath in the morning and the horses all have their winter coats. It has also been quite sunny so that warms up the house and barns and makes the cold a little more tolerable. Life has certainly been busy but not busy enough to stop me from tatting.  I am excited to start the last round of the Classic Doily from Linda's site that I blogged about HERE. 

My Mom and I were sitting in the living room one afternoon and she looked up from her book at my doily and said something like, "That blue thread reminds me of Wedgwood china." I then replied, "That's actually what the name of this thread is called." So we spent the afternoon 'google-ing' pictures of Wedgwood china and how, without knowing it, my doily colors match the style of the dishes and plates, etc. So to keep with the theme, I'm tatting the last round of scallops in Lizbeth 'Natural.' When I had ordered this thread I was hoping that it would've been darker, but it has turned out to be a really nice, 'softened' white. This was my favorite picture of wedgwood china that we found. The white detail reminds me of tatting :) I'll have pictures soon!

Photo Courtesy - Google

 Have a great week everyone!

 

Couldn't wait to share...

Here is a sneak peek at the newest round on my Classic Doily! At first I was not liking the color change at all, but as this round progressed, I totally warmed up to this color combination. I'm planning on the very last round to be tatted in white as well, so there will be some repetition within the whole doily. It's interesting how the white rings have pulled the chains straight from the previous round - CLEVER! Always something interesting goin' on in 'Tat-land!!'

Have a great week everyone!