Testing and Playing

picot joins.doc



I can't get the pic to show up with labels, but the link above, Picot joins.doc will show it when you click on it. I seem to have lost some labeling capabilities when my original photo editor disappeared.

Anyway, we were having an onlist discussion about the requirements for joins on the T.A.T. proficiency program. Seems I missed the part where it says to count the join as the 1st half of the ds and then do the 2nd half. To me this always added a stitch. So I tatted it up to see where I got that idea. It still seems to me that the 3rd ring where I counted the join as the 1st half of the stitch, is a little shorter between the join and the next picot, compared to the ring before where I joined and then tatted a full ds. hmmmm....looking on the backside, they look identical.


The ring on the left is the one I joined, counting the join as the 1st half ds. The middle ring I joined and followed with a full ds.

Somebody 'splain to this ol' Lucy what the deal is!



Last night I attempted Easter Egg #14 in Tatted Easter Eggs...with the quilt thread on the left. I bought this thread at Walmart. They have several very pretty variegateds and I thought I'd give this one a try. The egg has the chain picots crocheted with a slip stitch all around. First of all, I should not have tried this pattern with this teensy thread. I started out using my crochet hook handle as a picot gauge which made them nice and uniform, but it was very tedious and they still seemed too big for the size if this thread, so I eyeballed it. You can see a few stray biggies. Next, I should have cut and tied my threads and started the crochet part with another thread, but it was late and I was tired and wanted to finish, so I pulled up the ball thread from where it was and only hid the shuttle thread. Well, hiding ends on this fine thread is a challenge to begin with, and then pulling up the thread I used on the chain to start the slipstitch didn't help matters any. You can see that it looks a little boogered where I started off. But aren't those pretty easter egg colors? I do think the ring picots might have looked better if they had been a bit smaller. They sort of fall all over each other and are hard to make out. hmmmm....I could glue this to a card and put a teensy bow on my boogered part. Or tat a teensy yellow chick to cover it? That would be a big ring for the body with a picot for the tail and another picot, cut, for the feet, and a small ring with a cut picot for the beak.

Anyway, I think we are going to talk about someone else's motif with the crocheted slipstitch edging in the Online Tatting Class tonight.

Saturday!

I noticed Sew Thankful is having a sale on the Perfect Quilter thread as well as other threads.

Last night I sat down and tried out a pattern from the book I got last weekend, Tatted Easter Eggs, but first I had to empty some shuttles...so I just started a pattern in the book, #14, and tatted til the thread was gone.



This particular egg featured "rolled" tatting, where you wrap the shuttle thread around the core thread continuously for a certain length. I had trouble with this technique before, but last night it went smoothly. The biggest problem was I had it so tight that it was hard to close the ring, so I made the 2nd one a little looser. You can see how the one on the right is larger than the one on the left. It makes a very smooth line in the ring, nice as a design element. Many of these "eggs" are perfect for miniature picture frames. Or a nice way to feature frame something on a crazy quilt project.

There is an example on Dan, the Tatmeister's site which compare the rolled tatting with a regular ring.



This is a cylinder of thread that I bought at St. Vincent's earlier this week. It was only a dime and I couldn't really tell what size or kind of thread in the package so I bought it because I was curious. What is even more intriguing is that it is made up of 4 strands side by side, not twisted, and looks like a flat cord when you unroll it, but the strands easily separate. Each strand looks to be about a size 10 thread. I have no idea what it is used for. But for a dime, I was entertained for awhile!

I bought some quilt thread at Walmart the other night...that's what I wanted to use on the Easter Egg patterns, but by the time I emptied a shuttle, I was ready to go to bed. Maybe tonight!

I made it to Curves this morning around 10:00 a.m. It wasn't too busy, but within minutes, the room was crowded as others came in. I found out early this week that I'm not limited to 3 times per week - I can come every day if I want. I keep seeing more and more people I know. I would say at least 75% of the women there are age 40 and over. There are few young women. A large percentage of them are 50 and over, like me. There are 3 other locations here in town....so maybe the chickies are going to a different one and the hens are coming to this one. LOL! I've just been coming regularly this month and I've noticed several of the women are doing much better than they were at first. I'm hoping coming every day they're open will work for me. I have a hard time getting much out of it so far, but I may go to 3 circuits instead of 2. Maybe push myself a bit too. My friends think it's because I already walked the treadmill so much and was very active with my work, walking most places on campus. I've never been sore, never felt pushed, and my heart rate has never moved to the limit. But I am getting some upper body exercise which I wasn't getting before. Monday is the weigh and measure day so we'll see what the results are.

Ebay Returns!

Yay! Got my T-shirt today with the silver shuttle and Tatting Goddess embroidered on it. Connie has an online ebay store. I plan on getting something for warmer weather later on. You can also email her at sjconsignment@comcast.net



I also got this shuttle today - a win on ebay. I already have one similar but it was going so cheap, I had to give it a home. I thought the ends probably didn't quite close right since no one was bidding and they weren't, but not too badly. I fixed one end, but the other hasn't cooperated as nicely. I think I can get it to come together, but I'll have to fix my "fix" first. LOL! I used my hairdryer and a spring clothespin. I clamped in a spot that didn't work too well the first time, but the second time worked perfectly. It was already full of thread; an off-white that I don't find very appealing, but it's a good quality thread so I'll make up a simple edging that I can carry along with me.

On Monday, I got a set of 7 Stitch n Sew magazines that I won on Ebay. Turns out I already had 3 of them. I also won about a dozen more that will show up some time next week. I'm pretty sure some of those are the missing Umbrella Bouquet series I've been looking for.

Cookies for Santa

Finished and blocked! It turned out a little smaller than expected. And my foundation chain must have been looser than I thought....so I don't know if I will enter it in the fair or not. Other than that, I love it.

I thought I might have more to add today....doing some test tatting but also wanted to experiment with Kaye's star and didn't have time. I'm headed for the treadmill right now and then hope to make it to the online class tonight.

So....that's it for today

Greenfield and SNOW

This morning I went to tatting guild in Greenfield. The forecast was nasty so not many of us there. I took Tami, a tatter I met at a church bazaar last year, with me. The roads were fine going there. About half way back, they started getting bad, but we made it home fine.




Last night I was trying to empty some shuttles and tatted up this Heart of the Butterfly by Irene Woo. The pattern is also in Online Tatting, edited by Georgia Seitz. I was going to use two shades of pink but then I saw I was going to run out of one color, so I switched to white for the inner rings. Now it looks like I have red, white and pink. LOL! That red just looked like a really deep pink last night! I remember the 1st time I tried that pattern a few years ago - how I struggled to find a starting point. It's little things like that which tell me how much I've progressed in tatting.

The beaded flower/snowflake was taught by Kaye in tatting guild today. It won't be long before Kaye has a book ready for us. This was a very simple project, but I like the flower effect and it gave me lots of ideas.

I spent money there too.


I got Dianna Stevens' Animal Bookmarks, Tatting Fantasia by Iris Niebach, Tatted Easter Eggs by Kirsten Wind Hansen, and Joy Botchlet's Cluny Tatting Designs.

hmmmm....I might have to tat something from one of these tonight!

Surfing Day

Mary M's Cro-Tat Primer and patterns. I prefer to either tat or crochet, but this is a good site for anyone interested in following up on this technique.

Another Italian site. Centrino girandola reminds me of the "Rob Peter to Pay Paul" design. This could use a wonderful play on colors. If you look at the close up, you can see it's just a very simple onion ring motif.

For laughs - this chicken butt viking hat! She doesn't have the pattern posted yet.

Secondhand Crafts has some interesting goodies. I'm always for finding a use for something instead of just pitching it.

Crafts for your Valentine!

Look at what these decorative buttons are going for!

O'Gosh Buttons!
Did you know there is a webring for button enthusiasts? Look at these miniature paintings on buttons. Here are some samples of tatted jewelry - I'm thinking of how you can use buttons instead of the flowers. I've made some pins/brooches combining tatting and an unusual button. I also used a Christmas button on a red beaded tatted amulet bag once. So you can feature a gorgous button and tatting all in one superb creation! I think Rachael Jackson's patterns would adapt to a decorative button nicely too.

Here's a site I haven't seen before: Victorian Tatted Jewelry.

I like this sterling shuttle with the dogwood motif but not for $195.00.

Okay...that's enough for today!

Playing!

I had this done yesterday, published it, and blogger decided not to play. So here's a repeat!




I found this lovely celtic heart bookmark on the Needle Tatting Two MSN group site designed and executed in needle tatting by Roger Freedman. I've been trying to figure out how to do it with a shuttle since I'm not that crazy about needle tatting myself. Different members from my listgroup suggested winding and unwinding the shuttle, using a regular needle method as in New Dimensions in Tatting, finger tatting, and tatting in small sections. I ended up using a tapestry needle as a shuttle which permited me to tat the same way I do with a shuttle but the "shuttle" was small enough to pull through the chain of the previous heart motif before making a ring around it. My tension is not so great - I think because using the needle was a bit awkward for me. This is done in size 30 thread and I alternated colors for the motifs.

Riet has been playing with this motif too and used 2 colors for a single motif...and shuttles, unwinding to pull through in the proper places.


We're doing a beaded star motif in tatting guild Saturday. That will give me a chance to use the bead loader I ordered from Gale Marshall recently. I had one once before and barely got to use it before an evil cat took off with it. I looked everywhere but it was gone. The cat is still here. I think it is the one that insists on sitting on my deep wine colored tablecloth when I turn my back. I spritz him with water every time I see him there but it hasn't deterred him yet. He's only a bit more wary of me.

Ooooh...a cable knit tea cozy. I need to find a way to make some small tea cozies for my tea-for-ones. The little teapot generally holds enough water for 2 cups but by the time I get the 1st cup drank, the water is tepid. Microwaves take care of that, but at work, it means traipsing down to the breakroom which might be occupied with a training or meeting. I do have an electric teakettle too, but why bother with the tea-for-one if I'm gonna do that? Nope, I like to use these lovely pieces too.

Omigawd! Knitted Elvis Wig!!!!

If you like old-fashioned embroidery patterns, you will love Needlecrafter.com There are patterns, projects, and even thread colors to go by.

Decorating for Valentine's Day? candy heart tacks

Sunny Saturday!

I might have to take a nap pretty soon.

Before my grandson got here, I vaccumed the carpet. The cats have been leaving visible clumps of fur and it really shows up on this carpet. It just made me feel better to suck it up. LOL!

So Bailey and I go into Von's to spend his gift certificate on some crystals. I thought I'd get to look around a little at the beads. Ha! I think I sucked some of my brain up in that vacuum sweeper. Bailey requires constant attention. Look at this crystal, what about that one? Do you have this one Grandma? Why don't you buy that one for YOUR collection? This 8 year old child has absolutely no reservations about asking a clerk for information. Nor does it faze him to talk to anyone walking by. "I saw this on the internet" he says, to two employees working on a bead order. They smile. It's an amethyst geode about 30" high, sliced open and highly polished and very expensive. We go up to the front where he remembers seeing Austrian crystal beads and then we move over to another display. He hollars to the sales clerk at the other end of the counter. "Can you help me please?" He does say please. And when she gets there he asks her how much the smoky quartz crystals are, the small ones, since he only has $4 left out of the allotted amount of gift card. She tells him and he's $1 off in figuring what he has left, but we talk about it and he understands he has only $1 left. I tell him the Austrian beads are also crystals, they just have holes put in them and they are only $0.20 each so he could get 5 of them. He has her drage every single container out to look through them ALL. He finds a bigger blue one he really likes which is $0.50 so he can't get quite as many as he was going to. No matter. He's happy. And so am I.

THEN he wants to look at books about crystals (Von's is also a bookstore) and he asked the gentleman behind that counter if he has any books on crystals and that he does not want to buy one but he wants to look. Very loudly. Or maybe it's just that clear ringing child's voice that seems loud to me compare to an adult. ((ggg)) No shyness here either. So we look at a few. I guess I'll stop by some day during my lunch if I really want to look at the beads.

We go to the library.....he loudly asks every librarian he sees if they have this book or that one. Ya know, I think he's gonna be one of those executives who snaps their fingers and expects you to drop everything for him. LOL! He really is very polite, but he definitely gets your attention. Don't you dare think of ignoring him!

So now we're home and he's playing a video game with his Uncle Jesse and I've got a break from the non-stop conversation. Now I remember why it was such a relief when the kids went to bed at night. LOL!

So....I was catalog surfing through Clotilde's and Annie's Attic which arrived today. I love to read about the antique tools featured in Clotilde's.


I found this handy dandy thread holder on a chain, meant for sewing thread, but I couldn't help but see it holding a ball of tatting thread. I've never been attracted to the wrist ball holders. I just know it would be in my way. I'll bet I could make my own to boot!

I've also been productive by transferring my photo albums to CD and freeing up room on my computer. I have plenty of computer room but it was beginning to get confusing. My scanner program automatically creates a new folder every month plus I had created additional folders and it was just too much to sort through visually. This year I'll also create folders within the folder to help sort them by category. It was fun skimming through the year's pics. Wow.....lotsa tatting, trips, and family events.

My regular email is down since they are upgrading the system. It was expected to be working by now, but it isn't so it will be awhile before I get to catch up on my reading. In the meantime, that nap is sounding better and better!

Lobster Song

If you don't get anywhere else on the web for tatting patterns, at least go here at Jane Eborall's site. The woman has a little bit of everything and surely the equivalent of 3 books! Her diagrams and instructions are superb. You'll be challenged and delighted, I guarantee it. Everytime I go to this site and see all the wonderful tattings she shares, I'm amazed at her creativity and generosity. She just added a lobster to the line-up.

Another lobster by Abby. I thought there was another one by tatman but I can't locate it. Popular creature, for some reason.

I got my order from Gale Marshall at
Tat's All today. I've ordered from Gale before but it was a small order back then when money was a little tighter. I saw she was finalizing some NATA stuff and why I've never ordered one, I don't know but I decided the time was right now.


Not only is my NATA number 67, that's the year I graduated from high school. Maybe I should play those numbers in the lottery.

I also ordered 3 balls of Olympus thread, 2 variegated and 1 solid. I see I have 2 other solids in my stash and it looks like I've not tatted with it yet. Now why haven't I? I also got a IBmini shuttle in sapphire.


I also got a book for left-handed shuttle tatting. I'm not left-handed but I know enough of them that I thought it might be useful. Also some bead loaders and a box of little aluminum cans with glass tops. I was inpsired at the time to do something specific with them which escapes me now, but I think it had to do with painting.


Well, I better be thinking of bed. My grandson will be here tomorrow and we'll go crystal shopping later in the morning.

Productive weekend!

I took my Christmas tree down last night. Took me about 3 hours. I've found 2 things since then that I forgot to pack away. Always happens like that.

My lace group met yesterday and we spent most of the session talking about Lace Day which is May 7. I'm really excited about the game we're going to play...Lace Jeopardy. I need to go back over my notes so I don't forget what I'm supposed to do. sigh.....so easy to do.

I'm a little more than half-way through my filet crochet mat. It's going faster than the snowman mat I did last year.

I really got a lot of cleaning done this weekend. Dishes out of the sink and into the diswasher. Ever since my son moved back home, that seems to be harder to get done. Also got my table cleaned off....another thing that seems to get dumped on all week. My living room looks quite bare with the tree gone. I cleaned off my computer desk which I thought was in pretty good shape to begin with but looking at it now, wow - what a difference!

I took a little stroll outside yesterday, admiring the winter wonderland. It was beautiful....and rapidly melting. Today I could hear things sliding off the roof. LOL!




I couldn't get into the AOL class tonight for the online class. My computer couldn't recognize something. So I'll try the other room tomorrow night if I can get there in time. The project is a cluny motif executed by Mimi Dillman. For a change, I actually got this started before class!



I've been using a loom like this one. I like it better than the plastic mesh star. Like anything else, the more you do it, the easier it gets. I figure clunys will be in upcoming T.A.T. projects so I better get used to it. LOL!

Well, son needs computer to print off resume and I didn't realze it was so late already!

You never know where you're going to uncover buried treasure!

I got a link for a specific project from a list I'm on and when I backtracked to the home page, CQMagOnline, I found this is an online magazine for crazy quilt enthusiasts. The projects are fantastic! There was even one for a carrying case for a portable Ott light. I immediately thought of Hopie with that one. That was in the current issue. When I followed some other links, what did I find but a needle-tatted pumpkin by Sherry Matthews! There's a lot of silk ribbon embroidery here and it has a definite Victorian flavor. It has a place in my Favorites for sure.

Want to stitch up some new rags for your pet? Sewing.org has some a hound tuxedo, along with some interesting caps and hats, bath bibs, dog beds, cat beds, and placemats. There are lots of other sewing projects at the site too.

I got the latest Anna magazine yesterday. No tatting, but there is a stunning knitted lace tablecloth. Several actually, but one in particular caught my eye. My 1st thought was that I wanted to make it and then I remembered that I plan to switch from my round table to a smaller rectangular one and how much do I use a tablecloth anyway? So, I'm undecided, but it sure is pretty!

Icy Delight Doily from Susan Fuller's book, A Potpourri of Patterns.

I started this on a flight, using some "Regina" thread and an unknown pink thread on a card. I don't know what happened to the label. Seems like it was a silk thread of some kind. It's made basically in one round. The center might have said cut and tie, but I made a mock picot instead....I think. I was trying out the thread and the pattern so I didn't do the picots as well as I would recommend now. They are supposed to be different sizes, alternating short and long which is very effective. This pattern also has beads but I didn't use any, since it was a test and I was on a plane.

It would either be a small doily or a large snowflake. If you click on it to see the larger image, it's a little bigger than the real thing, but not by much. Aha...I was wondering what I was going to do with it, since it's an oddball color for a snowflake and doesn't go with anything in my house as a doily.....but I think my granddaughter's bedroom is pink....she might like it.

OH!!!! I was so busy going on about my Secret Santa Goodie Bag that I forgot to mention my granddaughter tatting with me on Christmas Day. Katie is 11, until March, and told me she had been practicing a little everyday, but she was still having trouble with the ring. So I showed her how to do the chain instead and next thing you know, she's going lickety-split. Then I tell her to try the ring again since she is making the motion for the actual stitch so easy now....and she was able to make a couple of rings that closed easily. So I'm going to take her my size 10 Cebelia that I bought for the T.A.T. project and let her have that. I'm also going to take a simple ring and chain pattern for her to make a real complete motif from. I might motivate her by promising to take her to tatting guild sometime. heheheheheh

Tonight I want to work more on the crochet mat. I've got 2/5 of it done.

Eyecandy: Pine Needle Baskets and Tatted Lace

Done!

I've completed Phase I of the T.A.T. Proficiency Project. The pages are put together, the written part done - which wasn't nearly as much as I thought it would be. I kept misunderstanding one section which required me to make samples and explain opening a split ring. I kept looking at the line above which says "written technique evaluation" and thought I had to explain ALL the techniques in that project. Even after I finished the explanations I had to do and went back to recheck....I did it again....and was almost all the way through explaining the different techniques used in that item when I realized I didn't have to do that.



I just need to find a folder or report binder to put them in and mail them out on the 5th. I suppose you have to wait until you hear how you did in phase I before you can apply for phase II.

This evening I started organizing things in my craft room since I'm still not in the mood to take down the Christmas tree. I found a project I started on the flight to Las Vegas. It's Icy Delight in the Susan Fuller book. I also found a thistle bookmark I want to make so I trotted that booklet out to the living room.....which is when I decided to get the T.A.T. stuff in pages and ready to go.

Look at what I got from the clearance aisles!



The teensy bulbs and ribbons will find their way into some Christmas tatting next year, I'm sure. The hardanger Scissors Pocket Pendant (instructions only) was only 23 cents! Now how could I pass that up?