Mercy!

Now you can do your needlecrafts in the dark! No tatting shuttles there but I'm sure if the manufacturer were educated about tatting that there would be! There ARE crochet hooks and drop spindles as well. hmmm....something to consider when the power is out ...or those long camping weekends in the middle of nowhere. You can buy these luxury needlecraft tools at an Ebay store. Of course. You can get anything on Ebay. LOL!

I helped a friend in Greenfield pack in anticipation of moving this coming weekend and in addition to several other things, she gave me this wooden round thing. During my lunch hour, I happened to pop into Ding-a-Ling and saw an instruction booklet for a device that looked very much like this one, only those are plastic. Turned out to be like a Knifty Knitter. Giant spool knitting. Well....then I decided to google and explore the links. So much out there!

And now that I'm thinking about it, I think I have a straight one somewhere,which is called a knitting rake. Always wondered what that thing was!

Last night I crocheted on the shawl. It seems so slow-going. Wanted to tat but there were only a few empty shuttles do I tried to empty a few instead...which still involves tatting but only little bits of fluff. Maybe tonight.

I redesigned my RPL teapot. I like this one much better. It could still use some improvement, but I probably won't do anything further with it for now.

I've been sorting through my clothes today. During a heat wave, I got all of my summer clothes out, but we had a cold blast right after that so I still had some winter things upstairs. I also knew I had way too many clothes taking up space that I wasn't wearing so I went through everything in my drawers and closet. Changed my sheets, started laundry. I plan to paint the bathroom next weekend over the holiday so I'd like to get a lot of other stuff out of the way. I'm also pre-treating some clothes that had spots on them. Got a nice little pile for hemming......it never ends.

I helped a friend with her packing in Indy yesterday. She's moving from an already small efficiency size apartment to an even smaller one and watching her ruthlessly discard things she has had for years and years was motivating. I've lived here 29 years. I'm going to have to be more than ruthless. LOL! I don't need to get rid of that much stuff but it's made me very aware of all the things that I don't use and don't need so why do I still have them?

Well...in the interest of continung my momentum....that's it for now!

The tatting books I ordered from Toni Storer came last night! I've barely had time to look through them. I took them to tatting guild today for everyone to look over too. The first two books are $20 AUD and the smaller third one is $15 AUD. Contact Toni at tatters_rule at dodo.com.au (change "at" to @ and remove the extra spaces) to pay at Paypal and arrange for shipping. I can't say when I'll get to tat from them. I'm so far behind now that I don't even make a list! LOL! I love the bluebells and I'll probably try at least one Christmas ornament before Christmas.



Here's the fob we made today at Tatting Guild in Greenfield. No, Kaye's pattern is not yet available. It was a challenge. I've never done stacked rings before. I had to leave before I was completely done but as I waited in the car for my friend to show up for lunch at a restaurant, I finished off the ends which was way easy!

I've been steadily working on this shawl. Hot weather is not normally a good time to work with yarn, in my opinion, but it was very chilly when I started it. It's going along well but I have to pay attention to the rows. This is yarn I bought on clearance a long time ago. I think there is just enough. Maybe not enough for the fringe.


I took a break from crocheting last night and stitched the filling in this teapot. The teapot design arose from one of my cookie cutters. I used traditional colors this time. I'd like to do the teapot again but this time curve the braid so that the lid is separate from the pot and maybe round out the side with the handle. There are lots of variations I could do. I found the filling stitches in a book from the library, Starting Needlepoint Lace - A Course for Beginners, by Valerie Grimwood. (Donated by Lafayette Lacers, btw) The stitches all looked the same when I glanced through the book but I picked these two and they are delightfully different. I really like them!

So...what about tatting? Nancy from Be-Stitched.com has a new fan bookmark pattern today for subscribers. It says it is for a beginner, but I think it's probably meant for an experienced beginner. LOL! I notice lots of cuts and ties which can't be split rings and you have to pay attention to where to place the next segment.

There are 2 hatbands that are works in progress. I'd like to finish one of them for the fair. There is an art contest for the zoo. I'd like to tat animals and collage them within a painting but I don't think I have time to plan that well before August 1. I have a couple of designs I was playing with that I'd like to get back to. And lots of work to do outside now that it isn't raining anymore. One son has a birthday on Thursday and his wife on Monday......I have no clue what to do for them.

So....back to work.

I was determined to get some tatting done this weekend and more pointedly, this eagle! It's for a friend and I bought the pattern specifically for that purpose! It turned out to be a challenge. I think I started Wednesday night. Had to email Carol and find out what I was missing. I discarded my first try and started again Thursday night. No time Friday night or all day Saturday so about 10:30 Saturday night, I tried to finish the wings....finally accomplished my goal after midnight! I did take a break in there. LOL! I made this version out of size 20 AIDA thread that I bought in Australia. It measures about 3" x 3" but the wing span is slightly over 3" because of the picots.

I spent the majority of the day at a workshop led by local artist Lorie Amick. I started a painting but never got past the misket. I did play with some techniques with color that Lorie showed me. Mostly I just admired the other artists' work.

After that I came home, showered and headed into town to volunteer at the Taste of Tippecanoe. It was incredibly hot. I didn't stay long after my stint was over - just long enough to eat and gab a bit.

Guess I should get to bed. There is mowing and garden work to be done when I get up..........though I heard thunder awhile ago!

I bought a new purse at Walmart during my lunch hour. The one I bought in Australia and loved so much is disintegrating. I know it wasn't the best quality - but it had pockets in all the right places and held everything perfectly. I was considering sewing one with the same dimensions but I doubt that I'll get to it anytime soon. The summery beige number I bought today is BULGING. Clearly, I need to downsize somewhere.

No, there is NO tatting in there so it's not a question of making a decision on that. I carry a 15 x 20 inch canvas tote for my tatting. Everywhere.


I don't think I really need that clutch billfold. In the process of transferring stuff from one purse to another, I found an edging I started last week. Ooooops!

I'm crocheting a shawl now. RED! I'll wait until I get into the pattern stitch before I show it. This isn't the one I was doing before. That one is an official UFO waiting to be pulled back into a skein. I'll have to do some intensive study to figure out what I did wrong on that one before I'll try it again. This is also not for the Feast - which can be neither red nor crocheted to be period correct.

I crocheted a heart motif for a sachet last week and finished it Sunday night. As I finished up the LAST half of the LAST round, I could see where I messed up way back on round 3 or 4. I kept thinking something didn't lay right. Now I know. sigh.....it should have been obvious...guess I have too much on my mind. So now you know why I'm not tatting bunches and bunches! Crocheting or knitting is a breeze to rip out. I used to hate it, thinking of all that work going to waste. That was before I learned to tat and understood what sheer torture picking out tatting was. There is no RIP OUT in tatting. It's half stitch by half stitch. Most of the time it's easier to cut the offending part off and attach a new thread, but if it's not very far back OR you're running low on thread, you un-tat. I'm just a little reluctant to do anything special right now for that reason.

The County Fair is coming up. All I have is samples from classes to enter and I will definitely enter them just so there is something in that category.

Later...oh, well I HAVE to tat now. Carol Amich's celtic eagle pattern arrived today. I will try to get to it before the evening is over!

Want to learn Japanese Embroidery? This is quite fascinating! Or Armenian Embroidery? I was looking for specific ergonomic tools having to do with needlecrafts when I found these. Also lots of neat projects here at the Embroider's Guild online. And SHISHA!This is a beautiful form of folk embroidery embellishment from Russia and Central Asia.


Gourd art There are numerous gourd tutorials at this site. Check out her galleries - beautiful work there. I even found some teapot gourds! This particular piece is a candle holder but there are drums and vases and birdhouses. The site is one in a gourd webring so I imagine you could find all kinds of good information there. I still have a whole bunch of gourds that I grew ...ummmm...not sure how many years ago now...but I'm pretty sure I can still paint on them or better yet....add lace. My friend Bette showed me a gourd she bought somewhere with needlelace covering the outside of it. You can tat with anything so you could tat sinew or wire if you wanted to make sure it would hold up in the elements.




A hand quilting thread by Coates in a color I haven't seen before - I'm not sure which number is the color: Art. V62V Y L 887. Here's the butterfly edging I'm trying out with it! It's interesting to see that the tireder I got, the looser the middle of the butterfly became. It's turning into some vivid jewel-like colors.








Okay, I came up with a practice template for the Romanian Point Lace. One book said to use single count canvas and iron interfacing over it because the grid would still show beneath. I opted to use a plastic canvas and forget the interfacing. The problem with plastic canvas is that even permanent markers tend to wear off fairly soon.

Blogger kept having problems over the past few days so this is the first opportunity I've had to publish.

I spent all of Saturday in Chicago listening to inspirational speaker Esther Hicks. My views on religion and such are probably considered unconventional by some and uncomfortable by others. I have no interest in trying to pursuade anyone about anything but I've been studying this material or line of thinking for 40+ years. It's bound to come out now and then. Anyway, I had a great time and lots of food for thought. This was my 4th workshop.

My oldest son and a friend were out this morning way, way too early to cut up the Maple tree that fell in the last major storm. I'm getting driveway stone next week. Going out to set my tomato plants and plant the rest of the garden when I'm done here. I've spent 3 hours making up samples and a worksheet about tatting with beads for my new tatters. I even found a few methods I hadn't tried yet. I also have to work on my Romanian Point Lace project for next weekend.

On my way home I stopped at a convenience store yesterday that I was in a few weeks ago and got this Gypsy Doll. I fell in love with her then but wanted to check online and see if I could find something similar. No luck. This one has been there awhile, I think. The rubber bands holding the bubble wrap on were dried up or disintigrating. I'll definitely change her jewelry. It's all cheap plastic stuff. She needs real shoes. And I'd like her blouse to have handmade lace on it. So....here's yet another UFO but at least it looks good as is.


To my delight, when I got home yesterday, Martha's book had arrived! I wasn't expecting it until she returned from Palmettos. OH....hey, everyone's off having fun there, aren't they?

Well, I better get out in the garden so I can tat later!

Oh mercy, it's June already!Last night I finished my latest Romanian Point Lace piece. This is one I designed myself. Basically, I was trying a "doodle" because that's what we've done in lace guild and what we're encouraging members to try to develop their own piece from so of course, I had to have an example. I got sidetracked along the way and put away the threads I was using for filling and don't remember exactly where I put them away, so I pulled out a few new colors to finish up with. I didn't like the way they were working out anyway. LOL! I have another idea in mind using the same pattern though. My divider bars were an experiment that didn't work out. Well...they're okay, but not as okay as I visualized. But then, nothing is perfect first time around, is it?

And speaking of Romanian Point Lace, also known as Macrame Crochet Lace, the latest issue of Anna features this as the course of the month. There is a new filling stitch I've not seen before and I used it or a version of it on the piece above. I started out well but something went wrong along the way. It was too late and I was too tired to go back and correct it, but I'll work on it somewhere else.

I don't often go looking for craft magazines on ebay these days but I saw an Old Time Crochet recently that I didn't think I had. I won and it came quickly though I didn't really have time to look at it until last night. I don't always remember what I already have but I was rewarded - this isn't something I had and look at the unique tatted basket! I really can't quite figure it out but I haven't read the instructions yet. It says netted but some of it looks like mignonette. Okay, the 1st round after the center medallion is tatted but after that, it's a buttonhole stitch so it is netting. The border around the top edge is actually needle woven and then the handle is done with a knotting technique that is not tatting. Definitely a challenge. There is much I would change, to tell the truth. I would have a larger and sturdier center for one thing. I would have less netting, and more rings or something for the sides to make it more substantial. I like the handle though.

Well, I'm making a dedicated effort to spend less time on the computer and more time with household ......things. I bought some different fabric tonight for the kitchen curtains. I'm still not sure about them.

I returned Jazz to his owners today. Elena had Cold Soup for me when I arrived. It's a common Russian dish served on hot days. It's made up of finely cut radishes, cucumbers, boiled egg, and green onion. Separately, she makes a huge amount of beet juice. There is probably a formal name for it, but it's like a broth with a bit of garlic and onion flavoring in the cooking and also some citric acid to give it a bit of whang. The cold chopped veggies are placed into a bowl and then the cold beet juice spooned over it. She added some organic salt and some sour cream. There were hot boiled potaoes on the side, covered with dill...oh, and there is lots of dill in the veggie mixture too. You put the potatoes in last - a hot added to cold. some people add meat but she doesn't. It was quite tasty! She also added some lovely rolls, apologizing for not having the typical brown bread that is usually served with this soup. Then she plied me with hot strawberry green tea and some chocolate mint thingie.....I had no idea I was going to be fed!

I tried sewing the tatted inserts into a sample of the fabric. I need to find a neater way to do it but mostly I was looking to see how the thread looked with the fabric. The purple definitely looks better than the ecru but I don't think I will use either one. I think instead, that I will tat a hen and chicks edging and be done with it.






I couldn't believe how fast I got those placemats! They were here on Friday. There are 12 here and they look perfectly matched.








Here's a close-up so you can see the perfect tension. How do they do that? They look machine made but we know tatting has not been perfected on machine. There are embroidery programs for digital machines that mimic tatting but these are definitely tatted with crochet. I did notice the ends are simply tied and cut short. I think the separate elements are tatted individually and then joined together by a crocheted chain between each element. I brought them to my tatting guild on Saturday mornting. "made by machine" kept coming up, but we know that isn't so. I'm disappointed because it devalues tatting. Can you imagine the beautiful tatting that could be done by the maker if they had a free license to do so?

Last night I discovered that blogger.com has a search box on their home page where you can search for blogs by keywords. I've used google for that in the past. When I first started blogging - before I created my blogs actually - I searched for tatting blogs. There were one or two, which either weren't active or the focus was on knitting or another needlecraft. That's why I started blogging! I wasn't the very first, but darned near.

I've been pleased to see more and more developing. I enjoy the "fixed" websites too, and those are my reference points, but the changing day to day tats of others is also a special delight to me. It was a pleasant surprise to see blogger come up with 5,485 hits. Those aren't all tatting blogs - they are entries about tatting ON blogs, but that's still a decent number. I plodded through about 100 + before I gave up. A large number were knitting or crazy quilt focused blogs with tatting as a side interest from time to time. A couple were purely for advertisment. And before I quit, I noticed some were repeating, just using different dates. Mine was listed twice - both older entries, and I saw several of my group members in there too.

There were some entries that mentioned tatting in LiveJournal that appeared to be fiction writing but I didn't pursue those since only members can read them. I'm a member but my audience might not be. One entry that I did pursue however, is the poem below which is a blogger.com blog that everyone can access. I emailed Carol and asked if I could post it here and she generously gave permission.

Without

I could live in a hermitage
drawing windows tight with lace,
patterning the sun nervously on the wall,
tatting while fantasies shuttle quietly
between prayers.

I won't live in a hermitage
in neatly stitched lines and circles, alone,
without.
Joining the other minds beside opened windows,
we dance stormy patterns.

Carol at http://carolsbookblogs.blogspot.com/2006/04/without.html

Now....I should do some legitimate work related work.

I really like this motif. I tatted it in a tiny thread and framed it last year. I thought it might be nice for the curtain. This is size 60 Coates. Still not blocked. I was going to go to bed early last night but I was soooooooo close to finishing this...so I did. I did a better job on this one. In the last one, it looks like my chains are turned.

Since I started this entry, I've made the purple medallion too.





This is how it looks on the fabric. The space behind it will be cut out so it's still kind of hard for me to visualize. I'm going to try a round motif too, and also the purple color. Maybe I should actually sew a sample in to see how it will look?


Conductive steel thread Make your own wearable LED display clothing! LOL! I looked at the thread, wondering about tatting with it, but it requires lots of other stuff, like a battery, to light up. Ingriguing idea however....tatted Christmas ornaments that light up, for instance.

Square watermelon? This photo is from Purdue too! I'll have to pop over to the Hort department and see if they have any samples around. Apparently this is a specialty in Japan.

On Tuesday evenings after work, I've been meeting with some other ladies informally as a way to mentor tatting skills. One of the ladies got a book on needle tatting since last week and used it and the shuttle both to practice with. My guess is that she is hooked now. When you're that determined to "get it", then there's no stopping after that.

There are so many new tatting books out! Check Georgia's site for some book reviews but there are more that aren't on there yet. There are new books from Toni Storer and Judith Connors (Australia) and one from Martha Ess.

At The Calico Cat, there are some free instructions for tatted trim on a hanky baby bonnet or ring bearer pillow. I see a new name there too, with a few patterns, by Ramona Sturtevant.

I also found another craft blog, , Miss Alice Faye which features some tatting in the archives, but the knitted shawl in recent entries is beautiful!

Now here is some tatting with a strong GREEN presence. Nice work but I'm not fond of the color.

Elegant egg titled "Heidi's tatting". I'd say this was inspired by someone's tatting!

Another instructional video? Looks like this tatter has made one too.

I decided to buy these. I can't imagine these being sold for so little. I suspect the thread is a cheap cotton but we'll see.

Nefertatti Need I say more?

Looks like this was done in sewing thread! Notice how she attached tatting to placecards. Looks like a scrapbooking idea to me.

Guess who's come to visit?


This is Jazz, our secretary's cat. She brought him with her from Russia, so now I have an international....ummm....pet house. You thought I was gonna say something risque there, didn't you? I'm keeping him while she & her family visit the Smokies over the holiday weekend. My cats are outside for the summer so there's not a big conflict going on, although Jazz has been peeking out over the window of the storm door at my cat who is VERY curious about who this is in the house.

Okay, if I get up RIGHT NOW, I will almost make it to bed at a decent hour!

I got this video off Ebay and it arrived yesterday so I watched it last night. The teacher is Linda Driskell and she is talking with host Jean Farish Huls. This is part of a series of videos on needlearts. The instructor clearly knows what she is doing and moves at a pace fast enough that you don't fall asleep but not too fast to understand. The close-ups of the hand movement are clear. I like her suggestion to bring the left hand (or hand holding the ball thread) into a gentle fist when transferring the knot or making the flip. It releases the tension and gives you someplace to put those fingers. I've noticed saying to relax them doesn't really help. She starts off immediately with a simple ring edging, progresses into a ring and chain edging, and then a round motif of rings and chains. She shows how to wind a shuttle, including using a paddle-like shuttle winder, and gives lots of little tips along the way. One thing I learned that I hadn't heard before: in a ring only edging, when you close the ring and start the next ring, where do you begin the next ring so that it is far enough away to not pull the rings inward, yet not so far that you have little loops of bare thread hanging of all different lengths? She suggested pulling your shuttle thread to the right and then see where the picot on the last ring made ends on that line...then go a little more to the right and start your ring there. It worked well for me! So now I've got an extra video for beginners.


I was cleaning out some stuff in my bedroom last night when I found this piece of fabric in a bag. I bought it at a 2nd hand store - it's a yard long and 45" wide. I love the butterflys and I love the color combination. I'll have to make something really cool with this....and with only a yard, it'll be a challenge!

I bought a tiny lavender on cream print from Walmart to make some kitchen curtains. I started tatting the motif I'm going to insert in the valance part last night. The thread is also something vintage I picked up somewhere forgotten now but it's a size 60 Coats ecru. I love the way it is tatting up, so clean and crisp. Some threads make me feel like such a clumsy tatter, like I can't ever get my tension right. They are supposedly good threads but I'm beginning to think different. I also have some purple that matches nicely. I wasn't sure which color to use so I will make one of each color and then lay it on the fabric and see which feels best. I'd like to put a tatted edging on it too, but since this is an experiment, I don't think I'll invest the time in that for now. Besides, I don't have enough of either color for that and I think they are both discontinued or unavailable now.

Well...off to meet with my tatting newbies. We're doing a little crochet this evening too!

Heidi Holland sent me this post-it pen. Isn't it cool? Teensy little post-its fit right into the barrel (got 2 refills too) so you can write a note and post it on your work. It went straight into my tatting workbox! Heidi also sent me some wonderful organic teas. I haven't tried them yet but they sound sooo delicious - I know they have to be! Mint Melange, Chamomile Citrus and Green Tea Tropical. Also got a small tube of Nexcare hand cream which also went into my tatting workbox. Uhhhhh....I need a bigger workbox. LOL!

Tatters are the greatest! Nell sent me a few samples of the Turkish polyester thread she has. I have a few too, but they are a different brand. They look the same...but I wondered if they tatted the same? This is that shiny smooth delightful looking thread, Dantel.

I was disappointed in it as a tatting thread. Starting with the bookmark on the left:It's so slick I had trouble keeping a slipknot made to even wind my post shuttle with. The rings are very hard to close - it seems to grab against itself. Fortunately, it's an extremely strong thread so the extreme pulling I did to close the ring didn't snap the thread. It does look nice and shiny but I had trouble keeping my tension even because it slips a bit. I had to pinch nearly every stitch to keep it in place. The thread frays or comes apart easily if you have to untat it and catches on every little snag of dry skin or rough spots on anything. When I blocked it, it laid out on the board perfectly, but after it was dry and I removed it from the board, it seemed to take on a life of it's own. The heart curled up - you can't see it here because the cover of the scanner flattened it out and the tail curved to one side. Part of that curvature has to do with the nature of split rings, but usually when you block it, it stays the way it dries.

So then....I HAD to tat it in the thread I had and this is the middle bookmark in pink. I had all the same problems except it did seem to block better and the rings seemed a teensy bit easier to close. Maybe I got the knack of it better by this time. I wonder if I use a different color in the first thread if it will do the same thing. Sometimes it's the color dye that has an impact on how a thread behaves.

The whole time I'm tatting, I remembered the rayon floss I used to tat the Pam Palmer elephant. This thread is shiny and appears slick but it wasn't as bad as the Dantel. I used 2 strands of floss throughout the elephant. I wondered if I'd just forgotten that it was difficult to tat so I hunted down some floss that I still had separated and tatted the 3rd bookmark, shown on the right. It turned out larger but it was so much easier to tat! The rings closed easier and it blocked nicely. It does have a tendency to fray or split just like the other thread but the end result is shiny, just like the other 2 threads. It's not as convenient when you have to separate the floss strands and you are limited to 8 meters in length but I still like the actual tatting part much better.

I'm going to try the Dantel in some crochet cord and possibly as the filling stitches in some Romanian point lace and see how that works out. I'm a little concerned about it sliding out of the RPL as a filling stitch though.

BTW, the Butterfly Heart bookmark came from Dianna Stevens' Animal Bookmarks, A Tatted Zoo and this included design is by Bev Dillon. It's quick, obviously. I tatted all 3 in 2 evenings.

Here's the GinaB card I bought in Corning, NY after leaving Hector. It had all the elements I liked - flowers and dragonflies and done in watercolor so it could have been done by me...but it wasn't. You should check out Gina B Designs. I don't know her but she's gotta be good!


I decided to tat my daughter and daughter-in-law some motifs and frame them for Mother's Day.

Last night.

The peachie colored one was the first attempt - in a size 20 Manuela, I only got to the second round when I realized it was going to be too big for the frame. I think the color is all wrong now too for what I had in mind. I could have framed it this size but I wanted the 3rd row on there.

So here they are tatted, blocked and framed. I realized the silver frame had some chips out of it after I scanned it so I put it in a slightly different silver frame.


The gold one worked out perfectly. Both threads are King Tut quilting threads. It works up well although it will break if you are a tight tatter and pull too hard. I don't generally have too tight stitches. I have to give a little extra tug now and then but it's usually not a problem.

Yesterday was part one of the Romanian Point Lace program with my lace guild. I think everyone had a fair idea of how to do the cord by the time we left.

Yay! Heidi got her tin from me. I forgot to take a picture of the tin, but here's one I found online - it's the only lunchbox tin listed for Hershey's though I thought it was a little different. It's one I've had for awhile so it's "vintage". LOL! Actually, while I was going through storage cubes in the basement looking for something else, I kept finding tin after tin that I'd forgotten about. I think I even have one that would match the shuttle I painted for her which is a little further on here.

I had this flower done for her pretty early. I had looked through all,well - not ALL, but many of my tatting books looking for something floral to tat. I had 3 or 4 books pulled with potential motifs when I remembered Pat Stevens' Fantasy Flowers. I had so much fun tatting those while in Montana but never got around to actually finishing one so this was my chance! I checked her preferences in the list files and found she liked jewel-tone colors. I thought I picked two good tones, but after I was done, I found some that seemed clearer....but time was out. The "trailers", as Pat called the long center beaded pieces, are such an easy way to use up shuttle ends with beads. I purposely used the thread that the flower petals would be tatted in along with beads for the whole thing. Pat said you can't make a mistake with these flowers and I think that's true. Once I assembled it together, I didn't know whether to make it a long stemed flower for a vase or into a piece of jewelry. I thought it would be too lonesome as a single flower, so brooch it became!

It's been awhile since I painted a shuttle and this was almost an afterthought, delaying my mailing by one day since I wanted an extra coat of varnish on it. Can't guarantee it for tatting, but it's so much fun to paint and then to look at.

I'm anxiously waiting to see what everyone else got!

My yahoo group is in the middle of a tin exchange. My partner sent me this very cool bag packed full! I forgot to ask Heidi if she made the bag. I've barely been home with enough time to explore it thoroughly and it arrived on Monday. I noticed today that the inside of the bag is green just like the outside in pattern so I wondered if it was a reversible fabric or lined. I'll have to look at that closer tonight.




I had hoped to get a brighter photo but my camera was acting up again. I got more than the ONE required tin! I haven't opened any of them yet, but the Altoids has citrus sours in it, the larger rectangular one has pins inside (I've been eyeing those tins at Hobby Lobby for months!) and the little Love one has mints inside. I didn't read the racecar label to see what was inside. The little racecar reflects one of Heidi's interests! I also got some blue shimmery Sulky thread and blue beads. I'll have to try some of Nina Libin's Beanile patterns with that. Also have a slide-out credit card sized magnifier which will come in handy. And the sweets! You can see the Werther's Originals. You can't really see the big bag of Ghirardelli Caramel filled chocolate squares! It's not a big box like the link but it's definitely a nice sized bag of chocolate! Yummmmmm!

We also tatted a floral motif since it's Spring to add to the booty. I've been debating what to put this little floral sprig on. I have a denim shirt I've been meaning to trim in tattings. This might be a nice touch!

Many many Thanks to Heidi Holland! I'll post what I sent her when she receives it.

The other doily. This is another Altin Basak thread, size 50, color 3006. Both ladies loved them. I know both want to learn and I've got one who will come next Tuesday evening to meet with the other newbies and get started.

Again, I used two shuttles and climbed out of each ring with mock picots and split rings. It tats up fairly quickly. I started this one, including winding the boggins, during a lunch hour and got to the last ring on the next to last row, which was a split ring. I left it for the evening and finished that last row then.






I got the latest Anna magazine today. If you didn't order it, you might still be able to get one. They've made extensive use of fabric centers with eyelet edgings. I like the white one on the left in this grouping.




These blue ones are lovely too. There was one I didn't scan that used a lot of block tatting.







I loved this one the most. There is a unique treatment of the last row of chains that gives the sloping effect.





And guess what next month's course is? Macrame Crochet Lace also known as Romanian Point Lace! I'm not particularly interested in this one but the blurb mentions two smaller ones so I can't wait to see those!

Well these have been sitting around for a couple of days. I wanted to get them made for our secretarys last week but ran out of time so I tried to get them done at the weekend. I have some acrylic coasters I bought at a lace day a few years ago but I can't find the damned things! I did find one but I needed TWO. So they are going to receive them as little doilies instead. This one came from a Japanese book, Tatting, by Yusai Shokoin, page 74. The thread is Altin Basak, size 50, color 3052. I used 2 shuttles and climbed out of each round with a split ring. I plan to make another one in a different color. It's 3" across.

This was going to be my other coaster originally. It does fit in the acrylic one but since I can't locate a second one, I went to plan B. LOL! I really do like this motif though. It is also from the same book, this time on page 71. I used a finer thread, Flora, size 50, color 80. It appears the same size here but it's actually about an inch smaller. Altin Basak size 50 tats up more like size 20/30. Flora size 50 is truly a smaller thread. The pattern has only 5 rings in the center but I could see that wasn't going to work without bowling so I added a 6th ring and it worked out beautifully. Again, I used 2 shuttles and climbed out of each round with either a split ring or split chain. The directions indicated using a ball and shuttle so you have to cut and tie if you do that.

Okay, this was my first attempt at a coaster. I used the motif from here:
Tatted doily with heart motif. I'd like to do it over and see if my tension changes after knowing how it will work out. The inner part of the chain humps on the heart were supposed to be 26 ds. I quickly figured out it needed to be a few less to lay nicely under the second, outer chain with the picots. I had trouble keeping my long picots from twisting too. About halfway though, I was getting the hang of it. It's quite large, about 4" across. I decided it was too open for a coaster. I think this was a size 20 thread but I'm not sure. I'd like to try it in a smaller thread too.

Sunday I started scanning some vintage Home Needlework Magazines for the tatting archive but it's very time consuming. I got 2 done on Sunday and 1 on Monday but on Monday, the pdf scan didn't transfer for some reason so that was a wasted hour. Very frustrating. I was home late today so it will be tomorrow before I can tat or scan either one. I suspect I will be mowing tomorrow night too!

Carol Amich's 3D Tatting

Knowing I'm not going to get a lot of tatting done for a few weeks, I thought it might be fun to interview a few tatters and feature their work instead of my own! My first victim...err...featured tatter is Carol Amich from Frankfort, Indiana who tats these lovely 3D critters in what is called "solid" tatting.

Me: What got you started on this type of 3D tatting to begin with?
Carol: On some site a few years ago, someone mentioned 3D tatting, and that you could possibly get the book by Angeline Crichlow from her daughter. (Angeline had passed away) I wrote to her and got it. It was a home-made type book, with ribbon binding. Many photos in the book were actual photos cut out and pasted on.

Me: Oh wow! An original. That has got to be a treasure! Is it about the technique only or does it have projects in it too?
Carol: It has the technique and a few "patterns". I remember the angel (though hers was bald!), Santa, pig, ball, and soldier.

Me: What inspired you to do the 3D Santa & Reindeer?
Carol: I love Christmas things, and had to have a 3d Santa. I had made one a few years ago, but it was one of the first things I did, so I thought I could do better. And, Santa must have a reindeer, so I made him a little pal..

Me: How long? How many versions?
Carol: It probably takes me 2-3 hours to do something fairly simple like the lizard. Because you are pretty much creating a tatted fabric. I think the elf I did took 3 weeks. The ones that are bigger, with color changes and embellishments, take longer. Trying to decide on the colors and add-ons is probably the hardest part. Each 3D creature is pretty much unique, because there is no set pattern, there is a technique, but no pattern. Each one is created as you go, almost like sculpting. I have even called this Sculptatting.

Me: Thread type and size?
Carol: I amost always use DMC 8. I like it because it doesn't twist or knot up, and it is the easiest for me to find.
Me: Plans for the future?
Carol: Oh, I am always planning something. I need to make a 3D version of my pet parakeet, maybe something mythological next. I also love Halloween, so I will need to make something like a spider or who knows? I am alway up for suggestions, too. Then, there is regular tatting. I always make orginal patterns for my exchanges, so I need to work on those too. Maybe make some other types of dinosaurs to go with my T-Rex. I have a little steno pad in which I write down ideas. I sort of draw it out, and then try to figure out how to tat it. This has always worked out for me.