New book and Shuttle review!

I got my copy of Jan Stawasz's Tatted Treasures last week and have been enjoying it immensely! I think that this book will soon rank right near the top of my all time favorite books, like Mary Konior's Tatting with Visual Patterns.
Here is a little motif that I am working on. I'm using up some thread that was leftover on my shuttles. This flower has double picots in it; I haven't worked with a lot of those so it was fun to play around with. I'm going to start on a new doily in soft yellow and green that will be my summer project!


I also purchased an Aerlit shuttle with my Be-Stitched.com order. I got the lilac purple and I have to say that I really do like it. It's silent to wind (my family is most appreciative of THAT) and easy to re-wind and the crochet hook at the end is fabulous!




Hope that everyone is having a great weekend! The weather here is beautiful!

New Books and Shuttle!

 Not an hour after my last post and my order from Nancy at Be-Stitched.com arrived in the mail! My treat to myself included Jan Stawasz's Tatted Treasures and The Tatter's Treasure Chest. I also bough an Aerlit shuttle to try out! Some of the lovely ladies at my last tatting class had these types of shuttles with a crochet hook for the point of the shuttle and removable bobbins. I have always had about half a dozen shuttles, still wound with thread, laying around..... so I'm curious to see if the bobbins are a bit more versatile then the standard shuttle with a shaft, like the Clovers or Lacis (even if those are my personal favs).

I can't wait to see what kind of edging and bookmark patterns are in these books for the possibility of more headbands! Toodles!

 

Oh bother!

Between all the rain we've gotten and work and just life in general I've been so very busy that I haven't had time to blog! I'm still tatting away, no worries! Here's a quick update before I head out to do horse chores with my sister!

Dragon by Anne B from Nuperelle! Here is her Norwegian Dragon Pattern! I've seen pictures of this pattern so often that I had to give it a try. I plan on making a couple more. I have some variegated threads in mind that would look nice with this pattern.

Here is the bookmark pattern from Jon Yusoff that I turned into a headband. I tracked down some ribbon to use to tie the back but it came out so nice. I wore this to work yesterday and it was so much more comfortable then using elastic at the back. Now the headband is totally adjustable and looks cute with a bow tied at the bottom. I'm planning on going to some craft stores to find more ribbon colors that will match my threads for more headbands!

The antique Adreinne Mat pattern in solid pastel green - Work in progress. Still trucking along on round 6 out of 7. I'm liking this pattern a lot still!

Have a wonderful Thursday everyone!

 

More Antique Medallions

 Here are a couple more medallions that I worked on last night and this morning. Again, these are from the DMC Tatting book from the antiquepatternlibrary.org; HERE is a direct link to the PDF book.


The picture at left is medallion #15, tatted with two shuttles. The end of the pattern for this medallion says to "fill in the center of the
medallion with 8 needle-made overcast bars." I looked up this pattern on InTatter's Forum and there are some sites and links listed that talk about this technique, so more on that tomorrow!








Pictured here is medallion #18. This one is also tatted with two shuttles on the outer rounds, and one shuttle on the inside.



All the others that I've made are hanging in my ficus tree! They look pretty cute!

 Here is my next project from the DMC book. I still have two hankies that I'd like to put edgings on this summer, so maybe I'll chose one from this book! The edging in the lower right corner really has my interest because the rings that are in the first row are only half closed! What a great idea!

 Hope your Tuesday has been terrific!

 

Antique Medallion Patterns!

Antique medallion #21

These are two medallion patterns from the DMC Pattern book I wrote about yesterday. Both are tatted in Size 10 crochet cotton and they make jolly little snowflakes. We did end up getting 9 inches of snow yesterday. It snowed for 19 hours!!

The medallion pictured at left is #21 in the book found at the LINK HERE. It's tatted with two shuttles and I love the look of the little Josephine rings at the top.

Antique Medallion #17

The medallion pictured here is #17. This one is also tatted with two shuttles. I used a split ring to climb out of the center ring so I didn't have to cut ends. This pattern is interesting with all the little Josephine rings in between the chains. Gotta love antique patterns!

 Have a lovely day everyone! I'm off to go shovel snow with my sister!

 

A Snowflake a Day...

For the month of December I decided to tat one snowflake a day as my Advent 'countdown.' Advent is the time before Christmas when Christians expectantly wait for the birth of the Messiah on Christmas Day. I'm going to tat my way through Festive Snowflakes & Ornaments by Barbara Foster and Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman. I'm planning on some snowflakes with beads, some without and in many different colors. I have a braided Ficus tree that I grew while I was in college so it will be COVERED in snow by the time the month is up! It's been pretty warm here in Illinois still and this country girl is ready for some snow! So since the forecast is saying it's going to be 60 degrees this weekend, I'm gonna make my own snow!

 Have a great weekend everyone!!

 

New Project

I've started working on a new project the other day that I am kinda excited about! I had some thread left over from the lace mat tat-a-long and decided to use it up. Since I learned how to do split chains a month or so ago, I am eager to try new challenges and techniques. So with this Lizbeth antique violet thread, two shuttles and a paperclip (is that one word, I dunno) I am starting with Le Blog de Frivole's pattern called 'Quatrain.' Here is what I have so far!

I'm just about ready to do a small split chain, then a  split ring climb to the next round!

What got me thinking on all this is the Tatters Across Time badges that some of the lovely blogs I follow have: like LadyShuttleMaker and Fox at Tat-ology, just to name a few. I've got so much on my plate right now that I can't quite commit to a study like the Tatters Across Time, but I can still work on and improve my techniques. No more sloppy tatting or cutting corners for me!  So I am embarking on a quest to improve my skills and strive for new adventures! There shall me needle tatting, interlocking rings, and a project involving 6 shuttles ahead!! It's exciting to think about! But I am curious if any of you have advice on whether or not you liked the Tatters Across Time program? I'd love to hear form you!

Take care all! And may all your tattings be blessed!

 

Post #200!!!!!!!!!!

Whoever said that 'Time flies when you're having fun" didn't know how much fun tatters have! It's so true; from November of 2008 when I started tatting it's been

• 1430 Days ...

               OR

• 3 years, 11 months ...

                OR

• 204 Weeks...

                OR

• 34,320 hours...

...of pure tatting bliss! How blessed I am! Thanks for reading all my ramblings and sharing in the adventure with me and encouraging me to try new techniques. I love and cherish all of your comments and have had the pleasure of meeting some terrific and lovely ladies from all over the world. What still blows me away is that from the art of tatting I've been able to connect with other tatters living in England, Australia, and Malaysia! I can't wait to see what is in store for the years to come!

"This world still has its beauties
Despite its frantic pace.
Take time to watch the season's joys
And say thank you for your lace!"

 ~poem from Lace Poem Fairy

Blessings from the heartland of America,

 

Tat-a-long!

I've started the Tat-a-long! After reading and being inspired by Fox's Post about her gorgeous Lace Mat tattings, I decided to give it a whirl! The basics of the Tat-a-long can be read at Tat-a-Rand's blog post Here. The tat-a-long is where tatters from all over tat a doily pattern at the same time! So exciting! I'm starting it this week and plan to work on it while I have some time off work in October! What a fun challenge! There is no time limit on this project for feel free to join us!

Be Blessed!

 

Frilly Rose Pattern!

 I love these little frillies so much and had such great feedback from all of you lovely tatting ladies that I'd like to share the pattern with you! Here goes it!

The rosette is made of six chains repeated around a tatted ring. You can add as many rounds as you like, just increase the number of picots accordingly. Start with a shuttle wound to the ball thread and leave it attached.

Center Ring: 2-2-2-2-2-2. close, reverse work.

CH1: 2-1-1-2+ (join to the first picot on the previous ring.) Repeat 5 times, joining to the next picot in the ring. Be sure to leave a little bit of space between the chains for joining the next round. On the last chain for this round, join to the base of the first chain. Now you are ready to start the second round of chains.

CH2: 3-1-1-3+ (join to space in between previous chains.) Repeat around rosette.

CH3: 3-1-1-1-3+ (join to space in between previous chains.) Repeat around rosette.

CH4: 2-2-2-2-2-2+ (join to space in between previous chains.) Repeat around rosette.

CH5: 3-2-2-2-2-3+ (join to space in between previous chains.) Repeat around rosette.

     

 This is my first time writing up a pattern so feel free to add to this pattern and create something all your own! If you have any questions or if there is a direction that is unclear please leave a comment and I'll be checking in! Enjoy!

 

Frilly Roses

I so enjoyed making the Frilled Rosettes from my Previous post, that I made a couple more! The pattern is very simple: use any tatted rose pattern and add picots!

 

Here is the back of one of the roses and a plain rose with no picots - they are the same pattern, with and without picots.

The frilly rose is the centerpiece of my Doodad Dare. I copied the outer edges from the pattern in Lene Bjorn's '24 Tatted Snowflakes.' I don't consider myself very good at making up patterns but I may just have to try adding some different designs for the second tatted round.

The possibilities are endless and that's what I love about 'em! I'm thinking of making some of the frilled rosettes for lapel pins to sell at the artists market! Hope you are having a great week! Enjoy!

 

Doodad Dare projects

 HOORAY!! I've completed the Doodad Dare by LaceLovin'Librarian!!! Diane sent me four tiny little doodads that I had a blast creating tatted pieces to go around each one. I posted the shuttle picture so you can see just how small these little treasures were. For the first pair I made earrings. I looked around Etsy and Google for inspiration and came up with a simple flower pattern and attached the little doodads to the lace. They turned out pretty cute!

 Here is was I did with the other two! I made matching snowflakes for Diane and I! Her snowflake is in the mail and on its way. Thank you Diane for sending me the doodads and including me on this fun adventure! These snowflakes have a fun story I'd like to share : )

Photo Courtesy - Flicker Album

It all started on Pintrest... I saw this picture, at left, and HAD to make one! The website has some really gorgeous tatted lace pieces-  be sure to check out the photo courtesy link. I really like the look of tatted rosettes and what intrigued me is that this one had picots on the chains to make it look frilly! So I made up my own rendition and wrote up a pattern. I don't consider myself very creative when it comes to making patters but I was pretty excited to be able to recreate the picture that I saw. I'll be doing a blog post all about these frilly roses soon so stay tuned! :)

So while spending a rainy day looking round and linking to a couple different blogs I found another tatting blog called: Mary's Handmade and she did a post about this very snowflake! Long story short, her blog is in Romanian, so I copied what her blog post said and plugged it into GoogleTranslate and TA-DA! I could read her blog and what she said about the snowflake! You can read her post HERE. She got the pattern from the book '24 Snowflakes' by Lene Bjorn! I might have to add that to my wish list; looks like a great book!

So that is the tale of my tatted Doodads. Quite a fun adventure!  Hope you are having a great weekend! Love from Illinois,

 

When life gives you lemons...

 Or you could say, "When the thread for your new doily breaks." Hehe! Yes, I tried my first split chains yesterday only to have to pull them out. As I started tatting the many rounds of only chains for the Classic Doily, the thread I was using started to fray. I even did a Shoe Lace Trick so I could switch shuttles, but it didn't work. Every time I would join a chain to the previous round the thread would snap. SO, I decided  that I'm going to use the center motif as a start for those pitcher covers! I love how the center is worked and it's the perfect size, about 4-3/4", to cover a standard coffee mug. Now I'm going to play around with adding the frills to the side by either tatting an elongated crown pattern or using TamingRose's Trick! Hope you all are having a great weekend! The weather here is picturesque fall; clear skies, plenty of sunshine and a high in the low 70s!!! We even went to the apple orchard this morning and ate apple cider doughnuts and drank cider! So yummy!

 

WIP & UFO

I find it amusing that no matter how many amazing and beautiful patterns I find, I never have the time to tat them all!! Thus the WIP (work in progress) and UFO (Un-Finished Object) are created. Currently in my lovely tatting bag from Diane (LaceLovin' Librarian) I have four WIPs and four UFOs... Geeez!

• My mom's doily I made her for Mothers day - I gave it to her with a couple more rounds to go and now I'm on the last round so I'm close...it's only the end of August, right ; )
• I'm playing around with something totally new: tatting with yarn in my new Starlit shuttle from Handy Hands. It is kinda fun to work with yarn because the smallest tatted flower turns out to be pretty good sized and the shuttle is so big that it holds a nice amount of yarn.
• I saw on Pintrest that if you tie macrame knots over your earbuds/headphones for an iPod or MP3 player the chords won't tangle. So I'm tatting the first half of a double stitch over mine so that they won't get all messy in my backpack or purse. I love the jolt of color and the spiral pattern that the half stitch creates :)
• And my last project is possibly the most exciting! I entered in the Doodad Dare and am working on my surprises! Well, there are actually 4 doodads that I'm working on so my WIP numbers are through the roof! Oh well, it's a good think I love tatting!

And to add to the hubbub in my tatting bag, yesterday I saw that Linda posted her new 'Classic Doily Pattern.' Gotta tat that one! My mom LOVED the pattern so now I just have to decide what color to make it in. It has a LOT of rounds so I'm thinking of making it in a size 10 so it's really big : ) I have quite a few balls of white size 10 thread so maybe I'll use that up. Oh, the fun never ends!!

Hope you are will have a wonderful and safe Labor Day weekend!

 

Double Doodad Dare!

 After reading Lace-Lovin' Librarian's post I contacted her and said I was interested in her Doodad Dare! I received my doodads in the mail yesterday and already my head is spinning with ideas! I'll be keeping it a secret which ones I got in the mail so you'll have to wait until the end of Septemeber when I post pictures of my creations! I'm excited to get started so I'm off to tat some practice pieces before adding the doodads!

Hope you are having a great week! 

 

So Busy tatting I forgot to Blog about it!

 I've been tatting so much lately I forgot to write a blog post about it! We have been watching the Olympics after dinner most nights this week so I've had plenty of time with my shuttles. Here are some of my current projects and tattings:

Yarnplayers motif called 'Five Petal Pendent.'

Yellow Headband - about 15" of tatting with some elastic at the ends! I saw this idea on Pintrist and had to try it!

My favorite one! It's Mary Knoior's 'Anniversary' tatted in Lizbeth 'Pineapple Parfait' I am loving how slightly variegated that thread is!

 

Yarnplayer's 'Wonderous Windows.'

Headbands!! They are so simple and fun to make! Hoping to sell some at the next artist's market!

We are finally getting some rain here in Illinois! More time to tat! The Yarnplayer patterns are from Marilee Rockley's Book "Up and Tat 'Em." Have a great Thursday everyone!

 

Celtic Update....

 Here is some of the progress on the celtic doilies from PineyWoodsTatter's Blog. 

To the far left is my first attempt...a very 'knotty' little guy! I tried making a SCMR and didn't quite behave the way I wanted. Middle left was attempt #2. This time I tried making three standard rings and then using the SCMR to join them together to make the celtic design. Nope, that one didn't work either. I had to pull the chain thread through the other rings to get the chain to overlap and that ended up in a mess too! Middle right is attempt #3 which I got a little farther then #2. I started with one normal, tatted ring and added SCMRs to make the celtic effect of one chain overlapping another. I missed one of the rings so I had to stop but finially on the far right is a completed celtic center for PineyWoodsTatter's motif shown HERE. Now that I made one, I'm not sure if I want to add the next round to it! Haha!! I think I'll try this guy a couple more times with some larger thread and add the next round of chains to those.

Here is a close up on the best center of the celtic motif I was trying for.

This was a fun challenge! I'm really liking using the SCMR technique a lot and think I'll have to give split chains, block tatting, and some other advanced tatting techniques a try!

 Have a great weekend everyone!