I'm back to tatting!

I downloaded a copy of the Finnish publication Fox mentioned on her blog. Diagrams are at the end. I had to highlight and enlarge it enough to see to see the numbers and this is my first sample. I meant to climb out of the first round with a split ring but I started in the wrong place so that meant I ended in the wrong place to use a split ring productively.

So then I made a second one in two colors and with beads. Ooooooh....sounds rich, doesn't it? But the thread that I tatted the rings with kept breaking on me which was frustrating on its own. Then I realized that though I started in the right place, I couldn't make a split ring with the two colors and beads. I refreshed my memory about the SSSR but I couldn't see that working with beads and I needed the other color to come out in the same place too. In the end, I didn't like it so you shan't see it. I know, I usually show all my mistakes but not this time. I have PLENTY of other eye candy for you! Later, I will show you another one in one color and beads so you can see how it looks and I'll even tell you where to make the split ring.


I wanted to wrap up the Lace Day posts by showing the goodies that went home with me.
I've mentioned before that I'm doing bobbin lace now. I still meet with my lace friend Sally on most Tuesdays and plug away at it. I post those on my lace blog which also includes embroidery and other forms of lace. I found this pricker at Debbie Beever's booth (Lace & Such). You put your own needle in, whatever size you want and if it breaks, you can replace it easily. My other pricker already has a nice curve in it from all my poking! (it's NOT supposed to curve!)

I bought one bobbin lace book, one of the less expensive ones, largely because it looked similar to the bookmarks I've been making so how hard can this be????? Ha! I say that because I've been struggling with the same bookmark for...oh...3 weeks now. But I'm almost there!

I love these old vintage magazines. I have some other years but these are both 1916. Both have some tatting in them too.

Now for the lovely gifties from others.

When you registered at the front of the church, you could also pick up a whimsical pin like this. Carolyn Regnier provided a huge variety to pick from plus there were little magnet hats as freebies. I think that's where you picked up a pre-ordered commemorative shuttle or bobbin or could buy some extra's if you didn't preorder and wanted one. At first I thought this was a bird, but I think it's really a kooky fish!

Way back last year I met up with Millie Moody at Starbucks. She was visiting relatives in Lafayette but she is from Northern Indiana. She told me she was planning to come to Lace Day but I was so surprised to receive this sweet card from her with a tatted leaf inside. Thank you Millie!

Many of you know I collect Tea-for-One's but I have stopped buying them except on rare occasions because I've run out of places to put them. I'm going to do something with my kitchen cabinets in the summer that I hope will give me more room to display them. Quite unexpectedly, I was gifted with this one from Charlotte Nottingham, another guild member. Thank you so much Charlotte for thinking of me! I love it!

International Tatting Day!

Well...I shouldn't wait for the summer to be over to post everything. My granddaughter will be 3 months old by then and this will be a book! So I decided to do a monthly post until I'm ready to get back here. I am getting a lot done.

The OWOH event was back in February but there were 2 prizes I won that took awhile to get here.
This cute pin, which I knew as a "kilt pin" back in my youth, came from a lady in Israel with a couple of handmade beads on it. Can you tell which ones are the handmade ones? Her name is Shirley van Der Veldt and her blog is (love this name!) Things That Make Me Go Whoo! I love those rings she just made. You can visit her Etsy shop here.

This original artwork came from Pam Aries in Florida. Unfortunately, she didn't put the name of her blog in her emails. I found it after the initial notification but have forgotten the name. I'm sure it's on the list of participants though and you could always contact her by emailing me if you wish.

I was going to try to visit and email every participant who commented on my post during the OWOH event but I think I got sidetracked at about #35 and haven't pursued it further - I will.

Vinnie tatted a couple of small doilies and then tatted a heart using one segment of one doily. I'm not much for tatting doilies, even though I do still want to try doily #1, so I tatted this heart instead in some of Tatskool's choco-raspberry in size 40.

I added picots and an additional chain at the top, then I tatted a tail and it has become a birthday gift to my first Mother-in-law.

It's probably just as well that I'm not blogging. This was worthy of a rant. I'm still not convinced of the reliability of Lizbeth thread. The colors are to die for but I keep running into issues. There isn't a single one I've used that didn't split at some point when I retro-tatted. Usually a split thread is one I've picked at a lot or rarely just poked in the wrong place, but this thread has performed like this more than I think is a fluke. This little clump came from a ball of pumpkin colored thread that I bought recently from either Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's. I had used between 15 and 20 yards when I came across this. I was just winding it on the shuttle - - nothing sharp had been poked in it and it hadn't been wound and unwound or anything to stress the thread. I still haven't used enough thread on any ball to know how it looks from beginnning to end. I'm trying not to be too pessimestic about it - I know it's very popular. Buyer beware is all I'm saying.

I happened to find this on flickr when I was looking for something else and the link took me to an Etsy shop so I ordered it. After seeing the other items there, I recognized them as the work of Little Lace Lady. It's quite sweet.

One thing that has consumed a lot of my time was making this baker's dozen of earrings that a friend requested I make to sell in her spa. We'll see how it goes.

The baby's room once the painting and trim was done.

The bonnet as of 3/22/10. I'm not at all sure this is going to work out so I'm going to trim a cloth bonnet with tatting so that I will at least have something for the baby shower! You'll have to wait for next month's summary to find that out!

On March 25th, a Ft. Wayne tatter named Millie was visiting relatives locally and contacted me to see if we might meet. Well hey, I don't pass up a chance to meet a tatter!
I wanted to give her a little gift so what would be more appropriate with Easter coming up than to tat an Easter Egg? Easter egg #23, in fact, from Tatted Easter Eggs by Kristen Wind Hansen. I don't know why I haven't made more eggs from this book. Someone else posting one on their blog prompted me to look my copy up.

The thread is a Coats thread, size 20, that I bought in Ireland, probably in 2002, my last trip there. The ball is getting puny because I liked the color a lot and have used it in the past for many tattings. I was surprised at how big the egg turned out - about 4" x 2 1/2". This book has a minimum of instruction. You have to refer to the symbols in the front to know what they mean. The only instructions on this page: 2 shuttles; Make the Easter egg in one round.

I had to study the diagram quite closely. There was a tiny triangle to indicate "paperclip" which I didn't even know until much later. I thought it meant starting point and figured out I needed a paperclip there. I actually needed to put the paperclip there every time I ended up on that side to make an inverse picot to join in. (about 35 times) The diagram looked like two rounds but she said to make it in one round....so that's when I figured out the rings were thrown off the chains. (34 of them!) I got a little confused by the numbers too. Where some larger rings were, the numbers 4 and 4 were underneath. I actually had to retrotat when I finally figured out that meant the upper chain part, not the ring. I did get it done in one round.

So I blocked it and then decided to add the ribbon with the button here. Originally, I was going to make a bookmark but it was so big, it would have looked funny. This way she can use it as a photo frame or hang it or whatever she likes. Turns out she scrapbooks so it's even possible she might use it there.

I had a great time visiting with Millie. We sat in Starbucks and talked for THREE hours! Wish I'd gotten a photo!

And here are my last tattings for April 1 - International Tatting Day!

More eggs from Tatted Easter Eggs by Kirsten Wind Hansen. Easter Egg #19 had me skeptical clear up until I blocked it. It looked pretty in the photo but not quite so in the actual tatting. I made a mistake or two but I'll leave it to you to find it. If I tat this one again, I will use 2 shuttles instead of shuttle and ball - just now noticed it actually says TWO shuttles! I was doing a lot of SLT's. (shoe lace trick) I would also add a picot on each loop of the "bow" to attach the triple rings to. They are not done as onion rings but rather a ring and then two chains which is how I prefer to tat these anyway. I believe it was a size 20 thread, Coates. I really like it since it is blocked. Already in a card for a goddaughter.

The second egg that looks like it came from a peacock is Easter Egg #3. I've made this one before and always forget to block it so that it has a "swirl" to it. It's tatted from some Superior Quilting Thread, 30 wt. which is about size 40 or 50.

The next is Easter Egg #5. You can do it one color but I really like using two. I suppose you could mix it up even more by using 4 colors and making each part a different color ring from the chain. It's very simple and quick. I used some Flora size 40 for this one. This one is already in a card too!

The last one is Easter Egg #8 and I was disappointed in it. Maybe I should have stuck with one color but I was feeling adventurous. The disappointing part was the spiral chain. Even with blocking it just did not look as neat as the photo. Maybe another stab at it would come out better as I would focus on making the spirals more even.

I will be tatting even more eggs before Sunday.

In the meantime,if you celebrate Easter - many warm and loving wishes to you with friends and family and the same if you do not celebrate it.

TODAY - Tat, Eat Chocolate, and tell everyone you know about tatting!!!!!