Working on some small doilies

It is Spring break and some of the activities that were planned provided me with some tatting time as well.

The first doily I tatted this week came out great. I finished Heather Johnston's Mini Doily #21, tatted in all white. I used a thread that is slightly larger than size 10. The finished doily is about 5.5 inches in diameter--just right to sit under a candlestick.

My second effort was less successful. I began one of Roger aka Freedman's doilies using some white, size 20 thread that was already loaded on a shuttle. I took it with me Wednesday planning to finish it in the car. Oh, no! When I had added in more white thread, it wasn't a match! It had not been noticeable in interior lighting, but it was glaringly obvious in daylight! Of course, this addition was back near the beginning of the doily and the two threads were not mixed strategically as I had used the shoelace trick periodically to make the shuttle thread last longer. I really like the way it was looking, so I'll start it again tonight. It's a lovely pattern. I hope to finish it before classes resume next week.

No Tatting, but reading blogs

I took a vacation this morning from studying to catch up on tatting blogs. It has been wonderful and inspiring. Blips in the internet service may have resulted in some of my comments being sent several times while others didn't make it at all, but I appreciate every one of you who share your thoughts, ideas, and work. Thank you!

This is the last semester for my bachelor's degree. I've thoroughly enjoyed it, but it does shift one's priorities for one's time for a few years. I'm taking 6 classes this semester, so there has been even less free time. Now I'm starting to do some job hunting as well. I look forward to entering this new phase of my life as well as getting back to designing more tatting patterns. I've been scribbling ideas in a notebook without time to follow through.

Have a great week and may all of your knots be the intended ones!

couple of motif bookmarks

It has been a long time since I tatted Sarah's First Bookmark so I made myself one in my favorite Manuela variegated thread. Then I decided that Fox's Abigail motif would make a great motif bookmark as well. I apologize, Fox, for messing it up on my first try. I repeated the clover instead of the large ring as I rounded the top. I was at the beginning of the next clover before I realized what I had done so I decided to continue anyway.

Added 2 pattern links

In browsing around the internet, I found a link to my oldest daughter's first bookmark pattern. It is a quick and fun motif bookmark with a tassel tail. Sarah doesn't find a lot of time to tat these days, but she dusted off her shuttles to tat a few Christmas presents. Enjoy!

Suzann also has a jpg posted of my Wheel Bookmark which was drawn by hand. Here is a picture of it to go with the pattern.

Enjoying the Holidays

When finals were over I got busy decorating for the holidays and shopping for presents. I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my family and getting things done here at home. I'm afraid that, in my haste to get presents wrapped and delivered, I forgot to take some pictures of the bookmarks I made for my great-niece and great-nephews. I tatted Mark Myers football for the boys, adding tassels in their individual team colors. Their sister received Heather Johnson's Tatted Lady 2 in variegated pinks.

I'm catching up on my blog reading and I look forward to spending some time at the forums before I get back into the swing of another college semester. See you around!

tatting and school

On the tatting front, I've almost completed a crinoline lady. I'll put up a picture as soon as she's finished. At the moment I'm bogged down with finishing papers and presentations and studying. I've got a test Monday, presentation Tuesday, and then the push is on to get ready for finals. It will all be over, for this year anyway, soon. I can hardly wait to tat my way through the Christmas holidays! There is so much I want to do.

Finishing touches done on my only completed project

It is a good thing I was making this one for myself because it is full of flaws. It is a lovely pattern, though, and available for free at http://free-tatting.com

Many thanks to those of you who sent birthday wishes. I'm enjoying a lazy day.

Thanksgiving Day

Many of us are celebrating Thanksgiving Day here in the United States. I have a day of fun and family planned. There will be more than 20 of us gathered in one place. I expect lots of good food and laughter. Obviously, I have lots for which to be thankful today.

Tomorrow is my birthday. While many are out taking advantage of the frantic 'Black Friday' sales, I plan to spend the day updating my blog with a few pictures and tatting with some raspberry tea by my side and my feet on a cushion. Sounds great, doesn't it?

I hope all of you are enjoying time with family and friends this weekend, holiday or no holiday.

Happy tatting!

bookmarks

I've spent a lot of time today reading the many tatting blogs that I follow. I can report that I've managed to get a little tatting done since my last post (sorry, no pictures at the moment). One bookmark is ready for the finishing touches. I also started and abandoned a few projects as well, so there are a few additions to my UFO collection. I've been playing around with a few design ideas in my head, but I have not picked up shuttle and thread for any of them. I'm getting a nice collection of projects I want to work on when I'm less busy with school work.

No tatting to post

The last few weeks have been very busy ones. One of my courses this semester was an 8-week course instead of the usual 16. It ended last week, so I have a little breathing room in the remainder of the semester now that I'm down to only 4.

My Zoo Flakes Challenge project hit a snag. My goal for the design was a one-round, beginner-level flake. While it can be tatted in one round with rings and chains, it is more complicated to tat than I had envisioned. I'm going to have to put it aside until I can give it a large block of my undivided attention. That might be Christmas break.

I'm thinking what I need for the remainder of this semester is some easy tatting and I probably need a challenge to keep me focused. I joined the bookmark-a-month challenge at The Tatting Forums back in August. I've got a week to complete one for this month and that sounds like the perfect project. There is a challenge at InTatters to tat the same bookmark pattern in a variety of thread combinations using both solids and variegated threads. That one appeals to me as well. So I'm going to sign off and go review my pattern stash. Maybe I'll have something to show you by next weekend.

New Threads & Snowman Progress

Hello, my friends. I found lots of wonderful goodies in the mail this week thanks to the Thread Exchange. The first is from crazymomtats; the second image is from Paige Marie. Both ladies were very generous. Crazymomtats sent me some extra thread (the last of her favorite Anchor size 40), and Paige sent me some lovely beads and buttons to play with and a 'spool' to load thread on. I've tatted with those, Paige. They make great emergency shuttles.

I forgot to tell you about the exchange I received last week from umintsuru. All of the threads are on little flower shapes. I would love to show you how they unfold, but I just couldn't get a decent picture.

Lastly, here is my progress on Jane Eborall's Snowman. Let me say that all of the problems I've had with this pattern are entirely of my own making and have nothing to do with Jane's design or pattern-writing skills. My tatting has been done when I'm tired and in very short spurts. You might be able to see that I missed a couple of joins under the head. I failed to read Jane's instructions and just glanced at the diagram before surging forward. I think it will still work out fine though.

I want to thank all of you who blog or participate at InTatters or The Tatting Forums. I've really enjoyed keeping up with what the rest of you are doing when I'm just too tired to work on my own projects. Keep them coming!

Zoo Flakes Challenge Progress

I took another step today in Isdihara's Zoo Flakes Challenge. I have a design drawn up, with stitch counts, ready to be tested. You must wait to see the design when it is finished. Anyone else joining the challenge? The ideas in the back of the book for creating a paper snowflake can be a great way to get your design started.

The Weekend Check-In

The first full week of fall classes has ended and I survived! I'm taking the evening for family time and then tomorrow it is back to the books. I'd at least like to start class Tuesday feeling organized.

I did a little tatting therapy this week. It's just a good thing that I'm more process oriented than product oriented! I decided to tat Jane Eborall's Snowman in size 3 perle cotton. Effort #1 is on the right side. I was almost half done with his body when I realized I had no place to join the next row! I had started the body in the wrong place! I could have salvaged his head, but family opinion was that I had used beads which were too small for this thread. So I cut out the beads to save for another project, dug out some bigger beads and started again. As I was completing this 2nd head with fingertatting (running out of thread on the shuttle), I suddenly realized I had omitted a picot from the last ring. While this would not normally be a big issue, I don't think I have enough thread to go back, add those double stitches, and still finish without having to add in some additional thread. And I'm soooo close to the end! Ah well. I will do what needs to be done, but probably not today.

The other picture is my gift to self which finally arrived in the mail. The 'finally' is more an indication of my impatience for its arrival than a comment on slow delivery. I've thoroughly enjoyed browsing its pages and look forward to tatting up some of Lyn's patterns. It is a beautiful book. I'm thrilled with the quality of the publication as well as the many lovely patterns.

Well, gotta run. My daughters will be showing up any minute for our little party.

Threads Arrived

The first of my thread exchanges has arrived at my door. Thanks, crazymomtats! Here is a picture of the goodies I'm going to get to play with later.

I'm supposed to be doing homework instead of playing with my threads so I guess I'd better get with it.

Checking In

It has been a busy few days. College classes have started and I already have homework! I logged approximately 10,000 steps my first day of class. I was so tired by the end of the day.

The tatting result of all of this is that I didn't manage to get my shuttles loaded for my next project until about 2 a.m. this morning when I was up with some annoying pain that wouldn't let me sleep. By the time I had my shuttle loaded, I felt calm enough to give the bed another try. It worked.

Now this morning, I've taken pictures of more of my threads for the thread exchange. I've got several new samples coming my way already and I'm so excited about trying some new threads. Sample sizes are a minimum of 12 yards (11 meters) which is enough to actually make something. The smaller the thread, the more you can make with it. If you haven't visited the website yet, you really should go see what is being offered. The selection is huge is this tatter's opinion! So, if you want to see any tatting pictures from me today, you are going to have the visit the thread exchange and look at my lovely threads. ;)

Tatting Tea Tuesday

I didn't manage to tat a single stitch today, but I found some time to enjoy your blogs and to check in at InTatters. The day got off to a good start with the arrangement of two thread exchanges. I'm excited about trying some new threads and sharing some of my favorites with other tatters. The mail service also brought me goodies today--24 Snowflakes in Tatting by Lene Bjorn! I've been admiring some of these flakes on other blogs and got an opportunity to add it to my library. AND Zoo Flakes ABC by Will C. Howell! Isdihara issued a design challenge at InTatters inspired by this book. The book shows you how to make a cut-paper snowflake using animal shapes. Isdihara has challenged us to design some tatted snowflakes based on animal shapes. I found a used library copy of the book being sold by a literacy program. It is a nice picture book that I will enjoy having as part of our family library. I have an idea for a design, but you don't get any hints.

One more day before I start college classes again, and I have a great deal to do. My Tat Do list is organized, and my blog is set up to follow what the rest of you are doing. My goal is to check in with you all at least once a week. I'll try to have some pictures of what I've managed to get done. Don't be surprised if a few are works in progress.

See you in a few days!

Baby Booties

I should have stuck with my favorite baby bootie pattern, designed by Lenore English. Instead I decided to try a pattern from one of my favorite beginner books. There are no zoomed in photos to help. This pattern has been a challenge to interpret from the beginning. I'm now within one round of finishing the first bootie, but I've decided that I can stop right now, insert a sock full of fiberfil, and call it a lovely pin cushion. It looks pretty good in the picture, but, believe me, it has some major shaping problems and the fit would be terrible. It will make a much better pin cushion, and I won't need to tat the other one! :D

Thread is Lizbeth size 20, color #686 Seagreen Light

Joined the Thread Exchange

I finally got around to posting some pictures of some of my threads on the Thread Exchange. I started with some threads I did not show you in my previous post about my stash.

I posted pictures of my collection of Mettler 100% cotton machine-quilting thread. I have used it mostly for earrings and bookmarks. It tats smaller than a size 80 (probably about size 100?), but is really easy to tat--slides like a dream. I first tried it about 8 or 10 years ago because it came in a beautiful selection of colors. Before you ask me how I can possibly see those tiny knots, I'll admit that, these days, I can't! I count them as I make them. One of the wonderful things about working with tiny thread is that a dropped or additional double stitch doesn't matter. Who is going to get out a magnifying glass to look? LOL It is far less noticeable than in the larger threads.

The other collection I posted is made up of some of my larger threads. The Nazligelin threads are a Turkish thread, 100% cotton, which I discovered this summer. I needed some heavier threads in colors my daughters would enjoy made up in bracelets. You've seen some of the bracelets here in my blog in previous posts. It is a 3 cord thread and does not slide as well as my favorite 6 cord threads, but it is the perfect size  for the bracelets. My daughters are thrilled with them. I think I'm going to make myself a few (the purple is for me) before I make them anymore. ;)

Many of you will recognize the DMC Cebelia, a 3 cord thread. I have several balls of these two colors so I have plenty to share.

The last picture is of 3 of my Manuela size 20 variegated threads. Manuela is probably my favorite 6 cord thread. (I admit I haven't tried them all.) All three of these are variegated threads. The center one is very subtle pastel shades.

So if you would like to trade some thread, head over to the Thread Exchange. The labels to the right will help you find specific threads being offered by other tatters as well. Leave a comment on the post that offers the thread you are interested in. Include your email address and the owner of the thread will contact you by email to arrange the trade. More details are available at the blog.

Sorry about the lack of pictures today. I've been doing a lot of end-of-summer cleaning and very little tatting. The crosses are the only pieces I've finished this past week. I guess I should go tat so I'll have something to show you later, huh?

Giuntini Crosses are Finished

I offered to tat some animal bookmarks for my niece's children, but they all wanted crosses. They want animal bookmarks, too, but they want crosses first. LOL Here they are in their favorite colors. All threads are size 20, but I mixed and matched Flora, Lizbeth, and Manuela to get the combinations I wanted. Finished size is approximately 8 cm by 11 cm. These aren't part of the fair entries I planned, but I was so close to finishing them that I decided to do so. As I mentioned earlier when I showed you the black and orange one, the pattern, Double Chained Cross, is by Jackie Giuntini and was published in the August 1998 issue of Tatter Tales.

Design Course Starting in September

Do you ever wonder how one designs a tatting pattern? Do you have an idea that you really wish someone would work into a pattern? If you can tat rings and chains, you have the skills to take Sharon's Designing Class. She takes you from the very basics, through designing a piece of your own, and then teaches you how to write up the pattern and diagram it! All of that sounds much harder than it really is, because Sharon takes you through it step by step. Sharon will give you a list of software suggestions for diagramming. Some are free or nearly free. You may even have software on your computer already that will work just fine. If you think you might be interested, contact Sharon through her blog here.