Wrapping up odds & ends

I got more books done! I had them put two of Toni Storer's books into one binding. I even had Sharon's book rebound and they were able to do it with my samples still taped inside! I actually took a few out that I thought were too close to the inside edge, but they did a great job. Only $4 for all 5 books.

I stopped at Trinity Mission the other day, a second hand store that uses the profits for charity. It's apparently under new ownership or management and they have been making a lot of changes so it takes me awhile to find my way around. There's not nearly as much that I'm interested in now since they are largely going to furniture and clothing, but I managed to find a few goodies anyway. This pillow for instance. It didn't have a price on it but I got it for $1.50.

The basket is hand crocheted and it appears the ribbon flowers are hand made too. I'm pretty sure I have basket pattern somewhere, but I know there are some tatted ones too. Wouldn't this be pretty with a tatted basket and tatted blossoms?

I suspect this was made from a dishtowel of some kind. The stitching wasn't anything fancy so I'm certain it was handmade and not purchased this way. The ends are not quite even. I think if it were me, I might make these side seams inside instead of outside.

Click on the image and it will enlarge - you can see the hand stitching detail along the bottom edge. It's very simple but effective. I haven't decided yet where I will put it but it's a smaller pillow so I will probably put it with some dolls and stuffed animals. That reminds me, I found a blog recently that had reclaimed a shelf unit with the cut-out hearts. Remember those? Cut out hearts and bears and such were very popular at one time. I have a small lidded bench with a back that has cut out bears, I think. Maybe it's hearts, but I got an idea on how to cover those up. Tiles! A small tile, either 3x3 or 4x4, that I paint...or not. I don't want to give up the bench but I don't want it looking so dated either!


I got the "blackwork" done in brown at this same place, along with the beads and birdie, all in separate packages. I don't think anything was more than 55¢. There was another small blackwork piece like this one and then a long runner but I just got this one. It's very nice work.

I love the birdie. Not sure what I'll do with him yet.


I bought these two framed needlepoint photos when I was with Gail the day after we returned Jane safely home. She took me to this fabulous place where you buy stuff by the pound. It's brought in bins and you rummage through them at your own risk. LOL! I realized when I got home that I had some nitrile gloves in my luggage that I'd forgotten about. They would have been helpful.

I like the frames because they are square matted, perfect for displaying a lot of tatting. You can see in this closeup that the needlepoint is real, not a photo, but I will take those out and maybe have a giveaway for them. I really just wanted the frames! I'm pretty sure these are handmade too.


This was a gift from Gail and Jane got one too. Isn't the little bag adorable? It's a tube-like zippered bag, just the right size for a little bit of tatting supplies. My photo with everything in it did not turn out, but there was a tube of beads, a skein of watercolor thread, a spool of Sulky thread, this strand of beads and the Shuttle Socks! Thank you Gail!

Now this might be a bit boring - just some jewelry findings that I got at the craft outlet store we went to.Silver and gold bits. I think they were only 33¢ each but I could be wrong. Most of the stuff wasn't that great of a bargain but there was a huge variety.
I hope to put some tatting on these filigree findings but I probably have some beads or buttons that will fit on the flat empty space too.These rectangle pendants are open and I thought it might be a fun challenge to find something rectangular to tat in them. A little different from the typical bangle, huh?

These were from the bead store where I went with Jane & Gail. There were tons and tons of beads there - it rivals Von's here locally in variety of beads and actually has more in terms of beading supplies. That's where we got the little drawstring bag too. The beads pictured here are vintage beads, very very tiny and expensive. I loved the hummingbird charm and grabbed it after I'd already made my first purchase, I think.

This sweet little damsel was in one of the bins at the buy-by-the-pound place. Her hair is a bit messy but she was calling out to me to make her pretty with tatting. And beads. And ribbon. LOL! Any ideas?

These threads came from the thread store after the bead store in Ohio. I honestly don't remember buying the red spool. LOL! I don't have a clue what I had in mind although that might be what the clerk there talked me into buying but if she did, I don't remember why. Bad, huh?

I showed photos of some other leaves I knitted that are SO MUCH BETTER than these! I made these Monday night as a refresher for the class I'm teaching at my lace guild Saturday. I don't know what happened. They are so awful! I used 0000 needles (also purchased in OH) and a skein of size 5 thread for the red variegated one. I lost my holes along the stem and then somehow ended up with some odd misplaced hole in each leaf! Clearly I need to practice again. The white one was the second one I made that night in an effort to correct my mistakes and it was even worse! I like to think it was just an off night. (right...)

Okay...that's it for now. Are you bored yet? LOL!

Tatting Tea Tuesday 9-8-09

The Saturday Evening Post October 22, 1927
Tea Time by Norman Rockwell

You can find directions for a cute knitted tea cozy here: http://slipslipknit.com/?page_id=292

The other one has embroidery on it. I think some tatted motifs would look just fine, don't you?


I demonstrated tatting at Global Fest on Saturday afternoon. I really didn't get much tatting done. I started the center of one of Martha's teapots but the thread broke a couple of times and there was one woman who talked for the longest time about all kinds of other stuff. People sometimes give you their life history in these situations. LOL! The photo above is Cathy, our current President. Cathy also is the I.O.L.I. librarian, so if you've ever borrowed books from I.O.L.I. as a member, this is who handled your request. Well...for the past many years anyway.


This is Kelli, our current Community Projects person. She is a fabulous lace knitter. She takes care of scheduling our volunteers at events like this. Kelli raises rabbits and also spins yarn. She judges rabbits in faraway places too. Perhaps you've met her and didn't know her connection to us.


This is the shawl and socks Kelli knitted. Ha! Talk about knocking your socks off! There are also some other shawls in more traditional colors which are so very beautiful. I do have a few photos of those but will show another time perhaps.


This is just a small sample of our lace display. Bobbinlace, tatting (recognize the pattern from Tatting Collage?) and hardanger. I have more photos but again, maybe another time.


This is what has been occupying a good portion of my free time. My sons are putting in a new door in the basement. It's in now and the room is painted and the floor has one coat of paint. I think it will need another, time to cure, and then wax. At the moment, I can't even get to my washing machine. ONE MORE WEEK!

It's really hard when we all have busy schedules to find time to do this. The bald son is a caseworker for the local mental health facility and the one who moved in to save up for grad school next year. The other son, the one with the hair, is the one who got married last year and who just celebrated his 28th birthday on Sunday. He was a Labor Day Weekend baby, then and forever. I think his birthday has missed Labor Day weekend only once so far. Anyway, they are great help and money savers. I couldn't afford to hire all this out.

Okay - I'm off to work! And I need to find some tea to drink on the way!

My pictures are not all that great today but I don't have time to make them better. This is the wristlet bag from Sharon Brigg's "Transitions in Tatting" book which you can find at her website. I tatted mine all in one color but her sample is in two colors.


You can see that the handle is long enough to slip over your hand to your wrist and it will hold a small ball of tatting thread - a ball up to the size of DMC Perle Cotton size 8, 12 or so. It might hold a ball of Altin Basak but it might stretch it out too.


Last week when Jane, Gail and I visited a bead store, they also had these little bags that just fascinated us! They were in two sizes, small and large. The small size being $2.50 and the large was $5.00 each. I got a small one. I had a horrible time picking just ONE. There were so many pretty fabrics. This one is closed.


And now it is open! We were intrigued by the way it closed and opened. Oh yeah...you pull on two ends and it closes and then you pull on the other two ends and it opens. But the thread stitched through the top band only moved when you closed it. The same threads did not move when you opened it. Finally we figured out that the opening tabs were simply stitched at each end with a short thread. It was still the other threads that actually moved. I probably didn't explain that very well, but they were the cutest bags!


Here's my bag with two shuttles which are currently tatting the next project in Sharon's book, the beaded bag. Hers is in white and pearls, a bridal bag. No upcoming brides that I know of but I think this will go with a special blue dress I have. I've tatted more than you see here and already made a mistake in joining one clover. I continued to tat to the end - will turn the corner tonight and then be working in rounds but before that, I'll cut out the offending ring and fix it. I thought about ignoring it but the further I went, the more it stood out to me!

Well...I plan to get home earlier tonight!

Last week my sister and I stopped at Tuesday Morning. It was only Monday but we were at Tuesday. heheheheh


One of my finds was this teapot notepad. It appears to be a product, like the teacups at the left here, of this brand name, Sensuali-Tea. I know there was a website on the packaging but when I try to bring it up, all I get are websites with its products - not the website itself. So google on your own if you like. I don't have time right now!

The tatting underneath is a second version of my lesson 4 motif with the Design Tat group. Someone suggested making it in two colors so I tried it. I think at some point I will try making a small mat with these motifs in size 80 thread.


I don't know that I've ever mentioned it but while I like tea, there are very few "flavors" that I like. I don't like the fruit teas. I do like SPEARMINT flavored tea and SEE - I found a can of Bentley Spearmint tea in silk teabags during my same trip to Tuesday Morning!

I also like Chai (minus the milk) and orange/lemon/spice flavored teas. Not raspberry or blueberry or cherry or pomengrate or vanilla. I'd rather have the real fruit in those cases and vanilla in my sugar cookies. LOL!


This was actually one of the first items I picked up and carried around with me. Two linen towels with two scented butterfly soaps. I couldn't resist!


Here's a closeup of the towel and the soaps. There is a Mary Konior butterfly edging that I want to tat for these towels. Aren't they sweet?


And here's a closeup of the embroidered butterfly. Simple but elegant. I need a house to put them in. (SMILE)

I finished the wristlet bag from Sharon's book last night but it was blocking this morning and still not quite dry. I'll show it in the next post. I'm also starting the beaded bag which is next in her book. I'll also show some of the goodies from my O-Hi-O trip.

And a Tatting Ta-Ta to all!

Wow! I haven't posted since Tuesday! Where to begin????? Hmmmm...right after Tuesday would be good, right?

Wednesday afternoon I left a little early from work and got my oil changed. It was the first oil change since I leased my car and it HAD to be done before I embarked on a trip. I then went home and hurriedly finished packing, hoping I had everything I needed. Then I took off towards Ohio to meet up with two of my favorite tatting friends!

This photo barely begins to show you the fun we had!

My partner in crime ~*~*~*~ Gail Owens

The "Target" ~ Jane Eborall

Serious Talk

Spotting something!

Although Jane claims to be kidnapped, she was clearly a willing victim! Gail and I headed over to pick her up in hopes of arriving at 10:00 a.m. I have a GPS that I have come to rely on heavily and it's been a trustworthy guide for the two years I've used it. I plugged in the address and off we went. The address kept reverting to another house number but we figured it would be close enough.

HA! Famous last words! ....close enough.....

We did arrive on the street with the right name. Unfortunately, we could not find the right house number. Back and forth, around and around the block....oh, there's one street that was mentioned on Gail's directions..we'll just follow it til we find the right intersection....round and round, back and forth.

Okay...there must be a jog we hadn't jigged but we decided to call and beg for mercy. I'm hearing a lot of one-sided conversation that doesn't sound too promising. Finally, Gail says,"we're in the wrong town." Huh? LOL!

Well...we weren't in the wrong town, but we were on the wrong side of town and on the wrong street. Right street NAME but wrong street. Turns out there are three streets with that name. No wonder my TomTom was confused!

We finally arrived at 11:00 a.m. with Jane standing outside flagging us down! What a way to begin an adventure!

We started off at a bead store. I think we were there a very long time. Very long. And we all bought something but I think we talked about what could be made from every bead we saw first! Then we went to a thread store. The shop focused on needlepoint but that didn't mean we couldn't use something there for tatting. I did buy one spool of thread that I'll show in another post, since this one is going to be long anyway.

After that we decided to check out a bakery across the street and then realized we were too hungry for all that rich sweetness so we walked across the street again and ate at a cute little deli. That little photos at the bottom of the collage showing Gail and Jane in front of some columns ( from a wall mural) is from the deli.

Bellies full...now where?

Well, there was a big craft outlet store that Jane wanted to go to so we went there. Huge - and not air conditioned. Jane picked up the stuff she had planned to get there and then we looked around for a short while. Gail spied some tatting from China. Cute little hearts and some larger doilies - cheap as dirt. We didn't buy any. It's not a very good feeling when you know how long it takes to tat something like that, even in big thread and with a simple design.

At this point we were on our way to Gail's house and she took us to a little craft place near her home. Let me tell you - this place was packed from floor to ceiling in every room. It was originally a tiny house. I think they must have had as much in there as was in the warehouse we were in earlier! We had fun rooting around in it though. I ended up putting back about half of what I was carrying around.

By this time, we were ready to settle in for a bit and arrived at Gail's house. Gail has a lovely and very friendly Shelty collie named Shelby, and two huge cats, whose names I've forgotten already other than they are also known as the "Blues Brothers."

Gail fixed a scrumptious dinner and then we talked, and talked, and talked. Can you believe we barely tatted at all? In fact, I'm not sure we did. We all showed our tatting stuff - books, shuttles, thread, patterns. We got to see what Jane is teaching at Palmetto. If you haven't signed up for her classes, you'll wish you did, trust me!

We ended up giving each other some gifts too and I'll show those along with my purchases in another post but I did want to show these for now:


I was totally surprised to find this bag from Jane with my NAME on it! LOL! Some of you may remember her mentioning another bag like this back in June! Now, I've got my very own to decorate with tatting!

Here's the tag. Does it not say "Gina B"?

And look at what was in a little bag from Gail! Aren't these just adorable? Shuttle Socks! They'll keep my shuttles warm this winter when they're idle. Gail knit them from sock yarn so they are definitely socks!

Well, you'll just have to imagine how great the day was. We took Jane back home LATE that night. I wish I had this kind of fun day every month!


I probably should save this part for another post but it was the first pic I uploaded so I'll just go ahead. It was in my mail today! I found it on Abebooks.com last week and ordered it. I have another book by this author which is basically just a baby outfit - booties, bonnet, and trim. This one has lots more in it though.

And the best part (almost) is that it is autographed! This is actually a lesson book with 6 lessons, tatting history, and 15 projects. She uses short notation, two shuttles, and mentions tatting in color. It's really very interesting. The student made some notes in the back page - underlining the word "relax" when it came time to flip the knot. LOL! Same as today and the point I emphasize with students.

Hopefully the next post will show some of the beads and thread I bought as well as other odds and ends.

Thanks to Gail and Jane for such a memorable Thursday!

Tatting Tea Tuesday 8/25/09

I was blog surfing last weekend and found this
Felt Tea Bag Softies Tutorial. You can click on the steps of the directions and they expand.

Well, naturally, I just had to try one ...or two...for Tatting Tea Tuesday! I couldn't find my white felt so I turned to the red felt and immediately thought of peppermint tea. It just so happens I have a huge peppermint cup to put them in! I think it's actually a soup bowl, but you don't know that from the photo, do you?


I couldn't stop at just one. And now I'm thinking...hmmm, I have gold and brown and black felt...nice Autumn colors. Maybe I should tat an acorn, or a mum or a tiny squirrel or Autumn leaves?


The space isn't really too large so you have to find small motifs. I decided to make an easy candy cane by tatting two short strips of the ricrac stitch (also known as Victorian set stitch and node stitch), joining the second color at the base of the first one before I tatted it. Then I twisted the two together and stitched it to the felt in a candy cane shape. The problem is, red on red is hard to see. If I were to do it again, I would stitch the candy cane on an oval of a different color and then stitch both to the "bag".


For the second bag, I attached a little motif I'd already made and tatted the "string" between bag and label. I used a blend of white and silver thread to blanket stitch around the outside. I really suck at letter embroidery but maybe if I practiced more, I would do better. I'd like to think so anyway.

If you have the motifs already tatted, the longest time is taken up stitching everything together. I think they would make nice sachets too. Embroider on little muslin bags and embellish with tatting.

Part of my surfing also took me to this intriguing blog named Embloggery. The stitcher committed to posting entries that were entirely hand-stitched. Many of the words are symbolic so you really have to think about them. See if you can figure this one out before you go to her blog. She's moved on to other things, but I thought it was creative and clever. If you click on the photo on her blog, it will take you to her Flickr site where you can see all of them with notes. You know what else is cool? She's in Indiana! Bloomington, to be exact.

design class lesson 4

It's going to be a busy week. I had an unplanned day off today for personal business. I'm visiting some of my favorite tatting friends on Thursday and need Friday for travel, so that leaves 2 days to do over a week's work. Won't happen. But I'll hit the high points and schedule the remainder for the following week.


I worked on our lesson 4 assignment for the design class at the weekend. We were to design the next round of a center motif. The only rule was to join at the 4 picots on the original center motif. This was my first attempt and I wasn't happy at all with it, even after I blocked it. It was going okay until I made the last join and then it didn't lay flat. I got it to lay flat by blocking but I didn't like the pointy clovers making it look like a square when a square was not what I intended. I managed to round it out, but I still didn't like it.


So the next day I examined it more objectively. I decided to turn the clovers into twin rings instead and add a whole lot more stitches. I even made the chains in the center motif with more stitches which helped it lay better. I like this version much better. If I had time to tweak it more, I would add a few more decorative picots in some strategic spots and possibly make a change where the outer rings are right above a picot on the chain. Might join there or just eliminate the picot altogether. Or not. It's still squarish - which I finally accepted was going to happen if I made the same design all around, but there are enough curves to soften it. I doubt if this is anything new. I imagine just about all the variations on a simple center have been done. It's what you do after that or the changes you make within the basic design that may be different. At any rate, I'm good for now.

We got the east side of the basement washed yesterday. My son got sick afterwards - apparently stomach flu since we ate the same thing and I didn't get sick. He's better today but stayed home and took care of himself. It will probably be next weekend before that side is painted. I sometimes miss the days when I decided I wanted to do something to the house and dove in and kept at it until it was done or I was exhausted. There is much to be said for being a SAHM. I loved it. Would love to stay home now even though I have no children to take care of. I have plenty of other things I want to do!

I saw this on Steph's Blog and wanted to see what it said about me!

Your rainbow is strongly shaded violet and white.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are a contemplative person. You appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. People depend on you to make them feel secure. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you've mastered it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

It seems like it has taken me forever to tat this and it's only the first half! This is the next project in Sharon's book, a little tatting bag. It's not blocked either since I still have to tat and attach the other half. My first three attempts were horribly frustrating. I think I just had too much on my mind and it was late and I was tired. I could not seem to remember where I was in the pattern and never got to the 3rd motif without seeing that I forgot to join somewhere or joined in the wrong place. So I gave it up that night and began again the next night - which I guess was only last night but it seems eons ago! I am using a different thread, Regina size 16, which I ordered online several years ago for the simple fact that it carries my given name. LOL! This size 16 is between size 10 and size 20, not like the size 16 in Finca perle cotton. This thread is actually a little soft and prone to fuzziness but it's a pretty color.

Sharon indicates to do it in two colors but I stuck with one. It has enough split rings and split chains to drive me crazy already without having to figure out how to keep the center of each motif one color. I know I could do the SSSR but I didn't want to.

I've been off the past two days - catching up on cleaning at home and hopefully the basement will be done this weekend. My son will be doing the bulk of the work this time but I do want to help him.

It cooled off considerably today and has been beautiful. I hope it stays this way for awhile.

I took some books and movies back to the library today but I still have some I'm looking at. I went through a few tonight that I will return tomorrow. I was doing some bead research but every time I get in a library, I bring home way more books than I can ever actually read. I have two that I think I will renew - actually four now that I think about it.

In cleaning off my table today and finding a few folders with printouts, I remembered more projects I want to try.

OH FOR THE LUV OF PETE ~ WILL I EVER STOP BEING INSPIRED?????

I hope not.

Every so often someone emails me and asks a question or comments on a link I've posted or ....shows me something they were inspired to do from my blog! Such is the case with Chris from France. She found my post about vintage patterns using ric rac braid with tatting.

You can see her motif here!

See what she has done with a pattern from the Beeton Book of Needlework? She simply added picots to the original design. Makes it look very sweet, doesn't it?

BTW, you can get the pattern for the Rose Ric Rac Motif by going to my Esnips account (link is in the upper right of my blog) and then clicking on the 5 Rose Motif link for the pattern. The number "5" meant it was the 5th pattern in that series. The others are there also.

I have a free webpage to put my patterns on but haven't had the time to do anything with it yet.

I haven't gotten any further with the bag from Sharon's book. It is still laying on the arm of the chair where I left it Monday night. Tomorrow I am off and will be working on my lesson plan for September in Canada. Right now I'll bet there are a bunch of people getting geared up for the Palmetto Tat Day. I think there is still time to register! You really should go to South Carolina or Cambridge Ontario this year! Doesn't matter which one - or better yet, go to BOTH!

Tatting Tea Tuesday Again

Tea Time ~ Originally uploaded by nikilynn

The photographer who manipulated this photo is only 15 years old. She is magnificently talented. Go see her other work! And she has a BLOG!


I emptied my phone of photos last night. Here is something I completely forgot about. Do you know what it is?


I am pretty sure I took it at Ding-A-Ling, a downtown craft supplies store. I'm also pretty sure it is macrame. But WHAT is it? LOL! I wish I'd taken a photo of the whole thing. i know I took this part because I was mentally translating it into tatting and wanted it for reference. See the woven picots? Angel wings or butterfly wings may be what I had in mind. I know I've wanted to use woven picots in both but haven't managed to get around to it yet. Maybe when I complete the design program I'll feel motivated to do so.
(Afterthought- it was not at Ding-A-Ling. They do not have hardly any open floor space with all the craft supplies taking up so much room. This must have been a shop in Noblesville when I walked around with my son & DIL at an open air mall there.)


Here's something else I forgot about. This is a new water feature at Purdue University. It's over by the Burton Center and Child Development & Family Services building. I was early for an appointment one day and sat in front of this and meditated for awhile. There are also benches and landscaping to make it such a nice place to be, listening to the water trickle down. I guess it is lit up at night but I have not seen it yet. You can't really see the glass panel that well but it is etched in Purdue icons - a tractor for its agricultural beginning, numerous engineering symbols, mathematical equations, the PU logo, etc.


And this is just a happy label I found in some 2nd hand clothing I bought made out of flax linen. Isn't that a wonderful thought to be wearing?

I came across this site after finding a pop-top crochet flower tutorial. There are still books available on Amazon about this 70's popular craft. I never made any of the items on this site, but I do remember seeing them in the media. I also remember cans before pop tops and pull tabs. You used a "church key", a pointed metal device that was leveraged on the side of the can and pulled up which then pushed a triangular piece of metal down, thus opening the can enough to drink its contents or pour them out. You had to punch a triangle on opposite sides to allow the contents to flow freely. Otherwise you just got a tiny trickle.

LOL! I'll betcha some of you reading this have NO IDEA what I'm talking about. You just always figured cans had something to pull or push, right? Or came with screw on lids?

I worked a lot in the basement over the weekend. We (son & I) hauled everything out and I scrubbed the walls down. Sunday I painted. It's only two walls because the other two walls need some special preparation and will have to wait. This area is where the storage will go ....or went. Later we moved all my storage tubs and boxes over to the newly painted side. I have so many bins to go through! There is just no sane reason for a person to have so much....stuff!


I finished up the bunny face from Sharon's book today. I buggered up the top where the ears are because I ran out of thread and tried to fudge a bit - ended up adding new thread but it dips where it should not because I switched threads. I also tatted rings opposite each other for the nose and just tatted one chain down to the jawline. I made it the way the instructions said the first time but mine looked BAD. I almost gave up on him but I'm glad I didn't. I had so many threads to hide that I just cut them long and then sewed the motif on a piece of felt. I'm literally too tired to piddle with hiding ends today.

I skipped the turtle and choker which are the next two projects and moved on to the tatting wrist bag. I've barely started it. I'm really not a turtle person nor am I a choker person so to keep my momentum going, I just skipped over them. I may feel more patient and willing to tat them later.

I washed two loads of canning jars in the dishwasher today. They were filthy from sitting in the basement. I will be giving the bulk of them away. Other than the occasional batch of apple butter or some kind of jar bread/cake, I don't can these days. As I took the first batch out and put them in a box, I accidently clanked two together and broke both of them. I thought I got all the glass picked up but later in the evening, I managed to find a bit of glass with my big toe.

Hope it cools off during the night!

It's been another busy week. Most of my evenings were free for a change, but I tried to focus my energy on getting the basement cleaned and ready for painting. I learned that I'm pretty much done, energy-wise, by 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. so if I haven't started before then, I might as well wait for another day. We did get most of the stuff OUT of the room I'm working on. I just have the rest of one wall to wash down and then paint (hopefully today) and then move storage from the east side to the west side and begin over there tomorrow.

But I'm sitting here blogging.....

LOL! I do have to run into town and drop off a package to the phone company. We switched out the modem to a wireless one which allows both of us to be online at the same time on our own computers. I have a new printer/scanner too but will not hook that up until I have the basement project done. Why? Because it will involve another major cleanout, in my craft room. I don't have to, but I need to, and installing new equipment gives me a reason to get at it.

I also have to pick up paint and some other supplies so I'll be on my way soon.


I haven't been posting my homework for the design class but this is lesson three. Not real exciting yet, is it? LOL! That's why I haven't been posting it - but first basic steps are necessary and get us to thinking about what we're doing and why and where we're going with it.


I was playing with some thread this week too and tatted Heather's Blue Jay pattern again. It was called blue jay because she tatted it in that colorway of her HDT thread, but it looks nothing like a bluejay! I think of it as a spinning star or a whirligig but if I call it that and you go to look for the pattern, you won't find it under that name. This is from the book of patterns I won from her, Motifs-A-Many.

Th motif on the left was tatted from some white DMC, size 30 that I had on a shuttle and the varigated is some I bought online from an unknown maker. Honestly....I don't remember where I got it but the person wasn't known to me at the time anyway and I didn't bookmark it. The motif on the right is from Marilee's Summer Trail.

I should probably post a disclaimer here. I try to give credit where credit is due and if I neglect to mention where I got a pattern or what thread I was using, someone, somewhere, always emails and asks. For instance, even though I've mentioned that I'm going through Sharon Briggs book, Transitions in Tatting, when I stop mentioning it 3 or 4 posts later, and someone just newly reads my blog, they don't know what I'm talking about. Sure, they could try reading a few entries back, or google the designer's name or employ some other form of research but time is often an issue and I do try to remind myself to mention what I'm using and where I got it.

Another reason is that much of what I'm posting about is not something you can go to the store and look at. It's only available online, so not only is the reader interested in what I'm experiencing myself, they want to know where they can get it too. Someone who is new to tatting usually doesn't have that information at their fingertips.

So...I'm not advertising for anyone, but I want you to know where you can find the same things.


So what do you do with your shuttle endings? You know - that last less-than-a-yard that is left when you finish a project. I usually just make a ring with picots and save them up for ebellishment on a card or something.


This was a shuttle ending but I skipped ahead in Sharon's book and was looking at a project - the point of which really intrigued me - so I tried to tat as much of it as I could before I ran out of thread. It made an interesting motif, didn't it?


I also got to playing around with one shuttle ending thread that was long enough for several blossoms. Can you tell what is different? The ring in the middle is tatted differently from the outer ones. It's just a regular ds-picot sequence.

The outer two were inspired by Vickie's ruffled heart and the way we do ricrac/node/Victorian set Stitches. They are rarely done with picots, or at least I don't remember seeing picots. The only time is when I've made layered picots which means I leave the picot space, tat the 1st half ds twice, then leave another space and tat the 2nd half ds two times and continue that sequence. It leaves picots on both sides of the cord if you fold it out flat but when it is a ring, it makes 2 layers of picots, very fluffy looking. So...what if....I tatted a series of picots and only used the 1st half of the ds? Well...the outer rings are exactly that. I started the ring with a regular ds, p, 2 1st half ds, p, 2 1st half ds - repeat for as large as you want the ring to be and then close the ring. I found that the picots sort of lay right up against each other, slightly overlapping, while the center ring lays more flat.

Fun, huh?