I finished the second mitten tonight. Certainly not my best knitting job but it was a good warm up. I forgot I bought those round knitting looms last winter on clearance. I should give those a try for some hats. Mostly, I just want to use up this yarn rather than put it in "storage". I don't have to. I just want to. Once again, I'm beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed by what I want to get done.

I need to set up the display window at work this weekend - a holiday safety theme. I tried writing up some dialogue at work today...but I just can't quite get on paper what I sorta see in my head. It's not clear yet and that's why.

I did a little surfing today, trying to catch up with everyone. I found that Turkey Feathers is having a Scavenger Hunt to go with her Dollar Days on Etsy. Looks like a fun timewaster....not that I need anything to waste my time on!

One thing about this time of year is that there is so much inspiration that I feel like my head is going to explode. While I was waiting for my lunch today, I was jotting ideas down on a scrap of paper from my purse. I have a paper laying by my desk at work that I scribbled some ideas on the other day and I seem to remember writing something in a tablet here at home. Getting ideas is no problem...executing them is. There are people paid to think up designs. They don't even have to actually do them, they just come up with the idea or the sketch and someone else does the detail work. I want a job like that!!!!

I did get the gingerbread boy in the E-snips files. I have him on my yahoo group too, Tatting Goddess Updates, as well as some others in the file section. I tried to find my Southwest Butterfly to add and I can't seem to find it on the computer so it must be saved on a CD. I'll find it another time. I think I looked on the home computer but not the work one. Ha! Found it. I'll put it in before I go to bed.

I also changed the url for Irish Pam's blog on the sidebar. I had her personal blog listed there but her tatting blog has a different link. Not sure how that happened. I think I have some blogs to add - I'm usually in a hurry when I check my google alerts and don't check to see if I have them listed.

I found some pretties while shopping this evening but I can't show you because they might go to you or someone you know.

Tomorrow I tat at the Brew Pub from 10-1 for Dickens of a Christmas. I've mentioned it here before...just about every year, I think. LOL!

It's Here! It's Here! I absolutely adore this shuttle. Oak leaves and acorns have been a favorite motif of mine ever since I can remember. I put off bidding until late. Georgia did tell me there were more like this in the works, so if I didn't win it, I could try again. What if the next one has red leaves, or brown and purple leaves? sigh...temptation..and it came in this Christmasy tin to boot!

Thanks to everyone who commented on the butterfly bookmark. I agree - a ribbon would distract from the tatting. I'll try using it without anything for awhile. I can always add a tail or tassle later. This butterfly motif in this particular way has inspired me to try something else. At the moment, I'm knitting a second mitten so I want to get that done first....although I get bored doing the same thing too much.

HI AUNT MARY!!!!

My aunt who was visiting from Texas last week commented that I could say hi to her now and then from the blog. She's probably thinking....."I'd rather have that bookmark." LOL!

I started walking the treadmill again which I really needed to get back to, but it takes up so much time after walking an hour, showering, and then eating dinner that it shoots half my evening and then I don't have much time for tatting or anything. I'm skipping it tonight so I can get more done. I'm going to try to get my gingerbread boy pattern in the links in the sidebar. I had so much fun making him last year. Or was it the year before?

I was in Walmart the other day and found some buttons and ribbon that I'm anxious to play with but they aren't Christmasy so maybe I'll wait. Actually, I better get busy for some exchange deadlines coming up.

I finished the tatted part of the bookmark last night, staying up until nearly midnight because I just had one and a little bit more flutter motifs to go! You know how it is...just a teensy bit more and it should only take a few minutes. I was sweatin' it at the end because it looked like I was very close to running out of thread on the shuttle. So now....do I run a ribbon through it or do I put a tassel at one end? And if I use a ribbon, what color? If I put a tassel on, how am I going to position it? In between the "wings" or should I pull it through both loops over the wings? I know this looks extremely "Springy" when we're in the throes of Christmas tatting - or maybe you are, I'm not yet. I need to get this done and out of the way so I can move on to the traditional red, green, white, gold & silver.

When I returned back to work, I found this lovely wooden cabinet on my desk. A fellow who works in the department made it for me. I haven't decided yet what I will put in it. He made it for tatting supplies....and we all know I couldn't possibly fit a whole room into this little box but it might hold a few balls of thread, some beads and shuttles. OR...I could use it for jewelry. OR I could put my teas in there and my diffusers or bag holders. I'll move it around from place to place before I decide. Right now, it has one completed mitten next to it. Marj, one of the friends I stayed with in Florida, gave me a box of 8 different colored skeins of knitting worsted. I thought I could either give mittens and hats away to friends or to the homeless shelter. This one is big enough for a man. I used a bigger size needle and it worked out nicely. It's just a plain mitten - not the foldover fingerless type. I might do those later. I thought this would go a whole lot faster than it did!

Here's nosy Skunk....he had to check out what I was photographing. Of course, he gets right up in my face so it's nearly impossible to snap a picture of him unless it's his butt. I got the pic but he's almost got his eyes closed.

Here's a bookmark in progress using the butterfly edging in Mary Konior's A Pattern Book of Tatting, page 24. I love this edging and the thread tats up beautifully. I started it just to try out the thread and then decided I needed to actually do something with it. I don't really have anything to put it around and the colors don't match my furnishings so bookmark it is.


All I have to figure out now is which way to turn it. I think it would be better to turn it so the bottom of the wings are joined, because the picots are smaller there...but it looks like it might be more appealing if I turn it so the picots at the top of the butterfly are joining. I've scanned it turned each way but I still don't know. I want to tat a few more flutters before turning so I have time to think on it.

This is some old J&P Coates thread, size 70/80, in color 175.

I spent the day with friends in Brookston and took along some polymer clay for Paula and I to play with. I'd printed out a tutorial for a gargoyle and we had at it...even though neither of us has ever worked with this clay or had any tools...or even a sculpting background. LOL! We had such fun!

The very first face I made was just about perfect and then I squished something and started all over....about a dozen times. I still don't like this face but I got tired of doing it over. Then I really messed up with the hands and feet and it looked more like an animal crouching....so I added a tail. I didn't have my camera with me so I couldn't get Paula's photographed. I thought we did pretty good for pure amateurs!

I made a few beads too, with texture, just to see how they would turn out. My camera does not photograph this well at all. Ah...I switched to "superfine" and it photographed beautifully except I've put polish on the bugger and he really looks gross now.

These are hankies Paula gave me. One has a bobbin lace edging which I come across even more rarely than tatted edgings. One has cutwork and embroidery and two have embroidery in the corners. Thanks Paula!

I got further on the mitten - almost ready to shape the top. I really need to use up some craft supplies. It's ridiculously cluttered around here!

Look at this adorable Bug Knit! They are knitted by Althea Crome Merback, who is in, of all places, Bloomington Indiana! That's worth a day trip in itself! Wait til you see the photo of 5 teensy knits lined up on her finger! Nano-knitting! You can also buy patterns and needles from her. Can you tell I love miniatures? LOL!

Knitting Pattern Central
http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/mittens_gloves.php Last winter I suddenly started knitting foldover fingerless mittens. Only got one pair done. The wife of one couple I stayed with last week gave me a box of yarn, 8 different skeins of knitting worsted. Perfect for hats and mittens, I think. So this evening, in the mood to maybe knit up a pair of mittens or a hat, do you think I could find a pattern I already printed out? Nope, but I did find nearly a dozen tatting books that can't fit on my shelf...and that's why they were somewhere else. Not a good feeling.

So anyway, I goggled mittens. I tried fingerless mittens but those have no flap at all and I couldn't remember what the foldover flap type is called but I had a hard time finding a pattern last winter. I decided to try the link at Knitting Pattern Central and there are TONS of mitten and glove patterns. I found four versions of the kind I'm looking for and I didn't even click on every link. So if you're looking for a quick knit gift....try there.


On my search, I stumbled upon The Island of Misfit Patterns which I found amusing....with a few usable patterns to boot. And here's another cool one - Vintage Stitchorama! Well,actually, she seems to have several blogs....a bit on the dark side if you like dark humor. Look at this fabulous crocheted choker! I'm thinking a tatted version wouldn't be hard to come up with.


Owl pendant Another creative idea.

It's hard to believe but I haven't gotten back to tatting yet. I've spent this whole week knitting the wrist of ONE mitten. LOL! Actually, I had one mitten almost done and wasn't happy with it so I ripped it out. Red yarn is so thick it doesn't work up as nicely as the other colors sometimes so I switched to another skein and another pattern. I really need to be working on Christmas stuff but here I am, procrastinating. I think I just needed a break.

A good part of is this post was actually 2 others I had in drafts. We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner today. A wonderful dinner truly! All my kids and grandkids and my sister and her family. And some extended family. Tomorrow I visit my friend in Brookston and have dinner with her and her family. Saturday I will connect with a visiting aunt and uncle from TX. I have no idea when I might get anything else done, like putting away stuff from my trip and putting up my tree or even cleaning house so I'll have room for my tree. I could use a vacation. LOL!

Hey, I'm back! What is it about vacation that drives us to make really bad...BAD..purchases? Like this red alligator/brocade bag? I got it specifically to put my tatting in...and methinks me won't be leaving it behind anywhere, try as I might. LOL! It also had a neck pillow and some lotions that I gave to my cousin. I do like all the pockets and the long strap and the little container for my shuttles but wow! Seems kinda ....red...ya know?

And of course, I had to make the requisite tea-for-one purchase! I didn't take it out of the box yet, but it will go well with my winter collection of tea-for-ones.....not quite as pretty as some I have but it's whimsical. Okay? LOL! I have my whimsical moments.

My cousin and I went to a "thrift store" in Ocala and the proprietor wanted to sell me this big storage cube of yarn and thread for $10. Some lady died and this was her stuff...she was so irreverent. Anyway, I looked in it and found this shuttle. The thread was mostly Knit-Cro-Sheen and other stuff not good for tatting. The ends on the shuttle don't meet on one side. So I offered her $5 and told her the thread wasn't any good and the yarn wasn't much use either. And it wasn't....I really paid her too much for what I got. I gave most of the thread and yarn to my cousin, keeping a few skeins of this one cotton thread that I hope to play with in color-dying. The thread on the shuttle is rotten. Most of my rings broke on closing. But it was fun to play with for awhile. I'll test the skeins before I go to the trouble of dying them.

In yet another store, I found a bag of some thread (Sherry T - you got your wish) and some hankies with the perfect edges for tatting. They are kinda brown though...so hope a good soaking takes care of that. I bought a few other things from that lady and didn't pay even $2.00. She was just wanting to get rid of stuff and I forgot she had a sign saying 75% off.

I think this is the least I have ever tatted for years now. These are just some bits and pieces to empty shuttles or floss holders. The only time I had to tat was when I was in my hotel rooms and most of the time I was staying with someone and we were BUSY so I didn't tat.

These two motifs were tatted just last night. I stopped in Franklin, TN after driving through some really bad storms. As it turned out, there were tornado warnings in the area so it was a good thing I gave up. I still had 5 hours driving ahead of me and it was dark.

The shuttle shaped motif is from Vida Sunderman. This is thread I dyed several years ago...forgot I even had it in this bag, but it's much smaller than the thread Vida used in the pattern. It's meant to be framed. I just left it in a book since last night so it's not really blocked to shape, but you can see how it tends to an odd shape.

The other motif is a snowflake from Jan Stawasz' book, one of my favorites, but I made the picots too big for this size thread. I thought it was going to cup but they just kind of warp instead. Mostly, I wanted to see how the shape worked with this size thread.

I did get something accomplished! The curds & whey edging from Mary Konior is part of the T.A.T. course for attaching to hankies. I thought I had that part done but not attached. First of all, I hadn't tatted enough repeats and secondly, something was wrong...haven't figured it out yet, but something didn't look right, so I just made a new one. Also, the motif that goes in the hanky corner was wrong too. It's good to lay that stuff down and look at it again later. I'm anxious now to get this part done and send it off at the beginning of the year for evaluation.

While in Florida, besides visiting my cousin with her 10 Rottwielers and 1 white wolf pup, I also visited with some friends from another list who attended an Abe-Hicks workshop with me. We went to Fort DeSoto, Phillipe Park, Coney Island, and The Pier. Then I visited an aunt in Sarasota that I haven't seen for a few years and finally...another friend, Sheila, from yet another list, who lives in Tampa. I got to leave a day or so early - which is good....I really needed another day free before returning to work. Turns out I have a tree laying on the power lines to my house. Still have power, but not a good thing to be laying around like that.

Doing laundry now and putting stuff away. Catching up on email and blogs next!

Vacation!

I'm off to Florida in a few hours. It's been so hectic trying to get everything done at work that I stayed way late Thursday and Friday to have all the paperwork done. Yesterday was spent catching up at home, running errands, and packing.

For those who worry about me driving alone, I've found that I pay closer attention when I'm alone than when I have a passenger, and I stop a lot, A LOT - about every hour to 1 1/2 hours, and I take my time. First stop is my cousin in Ocala. Well...actually, I'll stay at a hotel on the way. I'm not a drive-all-night person.

I have a suitcase packed with my tatting. Yep, a suitcase - and there's still another bag. LOL! I'm only taking a few books. If I work on anything, it will be the T.A.T. binder, but I also wanted to play with my beads and there's a nice bunch of those with me. The hard part was picking which threads to take with me. I took some for the T.A.T.....just remembered...I need size 10 in one project and I didn't pack it yet! And then I packed several specialty threads - the ones from King Tut or embroidery threads that I add a filament to, Marilee's thread, and a few other unusual ones. I'll make small motifs with them to see how they work up.

So posting here will likely be very sporadic, but I do know I'll have computer access...I'll mostly check email and let the rest go.

Look at what my sister got for me from Half-Price Bookstore! I don't have any of these Rosemarie Peel books. I know the Tat Five is out of print. These are in perfect condition, look and feel like brand new!



And this one too! Not so new looking but very close and certainly not one I even knew existed. I don't understand the language but there are diagrams with numbers.


This is the UFO I picked up the other night and started working on again. As I looked at the scan, I got to thinking that it would look nice appliqued as a flower on somthing but I would have to make some leaves too...lavendar leaves? LOL!



These are even more blossoms. I know I had planned to put three of them on a hat and I was going to somehow join the purl tatting of all three in rows to make the hatband wider.

Ah well...the best of intentions!

I was up until after 1:00 a.m. finishing up the second bootie last night. I had to have it done today because Paula leaves tomorrow for Houston to see the new grandbaby. They really are sweet. The pattern called for a 2nd yarn for a contrasting color but I made them all one color. There was also a loop at the ends for the buttons but I knitted a buttonhole in. I should have made the strap longer to accommodate that but I didn't even realize it until last night and I wasn't going to knit yet another set! These are bigger than the first pair.

This is a butterfly from Ruth's book. It's the variegated butterfly although I didn't match up the colors as she suggested. I was emptying out a shuttle and more interested in the shape than the colors initially. I also couldn't figure out the magic body. It was too late Monday when I got to that part so I just made one up. The Magic Body somehow encapsulates the threads of the wings so you don't have to hide them, but I was beginning to be all thumbs by the time I got to that point. Maybe next time.

Last night was the last meeting of my lace group members for tatting. Only 2 could make it. Dagmar is working on a 3D snowflake by Toni Storer. She's braver than me! I'm her mentor and so far we've figured it out, but it's the most difficult pattern in the book. Cathy switched from the bell she kept redoing the center of to a Christmas tree. It was a good move. She was almost done with the tree before we left. I worked a bit on the trash to treasures bag and also tatted on the hatband of the blossom I taught year before last at Hector. I have 2 samples in progress from that time that I never got around to finishing up.

Someone brought up the T.A.T program and how I was progressing on that. Ummm.....I do have it out to take with me on vacation. The only challenge about it is being absolutely correct (which takes all the fun out of it sometimes) and getting it done. I've never been one to go for awards and certifications unless I had to...and I don't have to. It's a personal choice, a personal challenge. It's a good program to pursue. It pushes you to do your best and figure out details you might not otherwise - but unless you are teaching, there's not a lot to push you to complete it. Even so, I would encourage anyone who has the time and motivation to give it a shot...Tatters Across Time -T.A.T. I have to say I was quite envious of Abby Small's display at Palmettos - she has completed the entire program and framed it all nicely. If I don't get it done while on vacation, it will have to wait until after the beginning of the year...and actually, I don't think they accept them for evaluation now until January.

For some reason, I don't have Carol Amich's blog listed in the sidebar but you should go there and check out her 3D witch.

Life is very busy right now. After next weekend I'll be in FL for 2 weeks and I'm not sure how much posting I'll get to do.

Yesterday I went to the Greenfield Tat Guild, the 1st time in months and the last time for the year. I don't have it done yet, but I was tatting Kaye's project for Hector, NY tatting guild next year. I'll have to find out if early publicity is desired once I get it done. You'll love it!

Shortly after we got started, Ruth Perry, aka Rozella Linden, showed up. A day trip with a friend...and she joined us, finishing up another Mr. Clank while there. He is every bit as clever as he looks on her blog. She also showed a picture of a bat she has in mind next. You'll love that one too. As an added surprise, she gifted my lace guild, Lafayette Lacers, with a copy of her latest book! You can be sure I'll tat a few goodies out of it before I hand it over to the library. Actually, I won't see the Keeper of the Lending Closet for awhile, but I'll be sure to let the group know it is available. Thank you Ruth!

These are a couple of blossoms inspired by Tatting Collage by Lindsay Rogers. I was emptying some shuttles and found the blossom.....it's a center ring with long and short picots with chains making the petals afterwards. The chains were 35 stitches long....I shortened it considerably, mostly because I didn't have that much thread left on the shuttles and I didn't want to tat such huge petals either. A few picots on the petals might be nice too.

A coworker was showing me a Chinese knotting technique she learned at a craft fair she was at last weekend which prompted me to get out my book of Chinese Knotting when I happened across a spool of cord this weekend. These are two very simple knots. When I tried one that was a bit more sophisticated.....I gave up. I think it was simply too late for my brain to function that precisely. Maybe on another day.

Today I've been going through a bookcase, trying to sort it out...it's largely cookbooks. Why can't I get myself to part with them? I gave away a dozen or so several years ago...only to find the remainders multiplied when I turned my back. I have a few set aside for my son and I haven't been through all of them yet. I do have a box full of other books to dispose of though. I'll offer to a few friends first and then off to the library's book fair. Not a single tatting one though.

Speaking of tatting books, while I was at tatting guild, my sister called from a used bookstore telling me about 6 tatting books she had in hand and did I want them. I had 3 and the other 3 I wasn't sure about so said, "Get them!". I know one of them is Rosemary Peel's that is out of print but online. (Tat 5?) I'm looking forward to getting them in hand!

Bette sent me the link to a beader recently and I found this goddess bead made by Sheila Morley. You can get to her blog and several places where she sells her beads from this link.

I have been tagged by http://celticdreamweave.blogspot.com/

Here are the rules which you must abide by if you are tagged.
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 3 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Facts, just the facts, ma'am!
1. I was barely a month past 18 when I got married, a mother at 20 and widowed at 25.
2. I taught myself to knit and made my first sweater when I was 13, which I then sold to a neighbor for $5 because I didn't like it anymore.
3. There is full-blooded Cherokee in my background, as well as English, Irish, German and Dutch blood.
4. I know how to drive a stick-shift and once had a small pickup truck for 3 years, which I loved driving.
5. I have an online metaphysical group with which I sometimes do online meditations, remote views, dream interpretation, and color therapy.
6. My cousin pierced my ears when I was 16 with an ice cube and a needle.
7. My favorite dog was an Irish Setter named Foxy.

I tag Gail http://glow-tats.blogspot.com/
I tag Clyde http://ca.blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-H4GUNLUyfrYbz2N3pLyTNyo-?cq=1
I tag Jon http://tatsaway.blogspot.com/

Speaking of knitting, last night I knit this bootie for my friend Paula's first granddaughter, Brenna. I was going to knit the 2nd one tonight but didn't get home til nearly 9:00 p.m. and I've been on here since I got home. It's a sweet Mary Jane pattern but there is another one that I want to make even more that has the straps crossed. I knit this pattern from here but the one I want to make is from Saartje Knits.

So now, I'm going to at least cast on and knit a few beginning rows before I go to bed.

Card Tutorial #1

It's really easy to dress up an existing greeting card with tatting. I thought I'd show how I transformed this one step-by-step in a tutorial. There's nothing unusual about the tatting...all simple rings and chains. I'll be making another card like the one I showed in the last post soon and I'll do the same thing with it. It's just meant to give you some ideas that you can apply to your own cards.

Here is the “naked” card. I pick out the spots where tatting will work and leave the rest alone. In this case, I’m tatting yellow blossoms, green stems, and the leaves below. The leaf shape is perfect for clunies, but frankly, I’m not in the mood to make so many clunies so I’m just going to approximate the leaves on the stems and there will be a mass of green for the bottom…vague and not very precise. This is how some paintings are done…with suggestive shapes and colors but nothing really defined. I’m not particularly fond of the “frame” on the card and I could tat a simple edging instead. I need this card fairly quickly though as well as 2 others so I will not take the time to make an edging for this one.

The thread I’ve used is size 60/70/80 throughout. A bigger card could take bigger thread but this one is only 3 x 5 inches and bigger thread doesn't permit much detail on a card this size. Even though I'm not using much detail, I can still tat more of what is there than if I used bigger thread.


I’m making very simple rings for the blossoms, 4 ds, 8-10 picots with 1 ds between, 4 ds, clr. I’m using a larger hatpin as a picot gauge to make the picots uniform. I usually just eyeball it, but you can see the difference here. Can you tell which one is eyeballed? It only has 4 or 5 picots. They seem bigger somehow. In this particular case, the hatpin gauge works well.

I always have trouble deciding what to do for the stems. I tried purl tatting on one…didn’t like it. Too bulky for this size card. I used a regular chain with small rings for the leaves in the end. Some have a regular chain ending with a lockstitch chain, which is straighter normally, but not in this case. I pressed all the blossoms but they still tended to curve sharply at the bottom. As long as I get most of the curve out, the rest will ease into the right shape when I glue it. The leaves aren’t going to match each stem exactly. I tried to make them close to what was on the card, but it would take more time than what I have to make it exact.

After I glue the blossoms on, one by one, I let them dry. I’m just using a string of rings for the mass of green at the bottom but I’m using 2 shades of green, like real foliage, to give the impression of light and shadow and newer & older leaves. Again, it’s not exact, but for someone who is willing to go to that much detail, it’s possible.

The contrast between the print on the card and the tatted pieces shows up more on the scan than in person. It tends to look more blended but in some cases, I’m sure it would be more obvious. I could add a tiny tatted butterfly or a bee charm as well as a tatted edging frame if I had more time, but you can see that even a small amount of tatting makes the card special.

Here's the brooch! I couldn't find my stiffener so I used watered down glue and it took forever to dry out. I still need to either find my stiffener or buy a new bottle. A new bottle would be good...not sure how long I've had the other one. Years.

I got stumped trying to do the Tatmeister's wide picot. I thought I had it figured out but every time I tried to close the ring, it only closed the loop, not the original ring. So I emailed Dan...hope to hear back soon.


I finished ONE of 4 cards I'm making. They're all the same - and figuring out what to tat for each segment was the hard part. Next time I will skip the pot on the left. It's really fun...just tedious. And I have glue all over my fingers. I need to find a nicer way of gluing so that it isn't so in-your-face. We had tornado warnings tonight and the sirens were going off and I kept checking the radio and computer. I figured as long as there were crickets chirping and cicadas singing then all was well.

Last night I met with guild members for tatting. Since I'm helping everyone, I don't tat anything that requires much focus. In fact, I just emptied shuttles and made the 2 brownish flowers and the butterfly. After I got home, I tried to tat some florals for some cards but someone called and I find it very difficult to cradle the phone between my head and shoulder and tat at the same time, to say nothing of talking and trying to pay attention to a pattern. So....not much done.

Tonight, I took a nap since I got up extra early to make it to an early inspection. I still tatted - after I put everything back into the storage bin I was going through at the weekend. I just got tired of everything on the floor and I couldn't remember which pile was for what. I did keep out a few printouts to play with. One was Beth Zipay's TatChat Shuttle which I printed out almost exactly 9 years ago. 10/19/98 - a year after I learned to tat. I don't know what prompted the design but I think there was some kind of challenge or exchange behind it. I remember seeing a few patterns that were labeled "shuttle" and were shuttle-shaped.

So I tatted this one tonight but I used a SCMR at the 2nd end because I was trying to get the same effect as the 1st end which started with a tiny chain and tiny split ring. I know it was supposed to look like the pick on a shuttle....I see now that I should have eliminated the chain and just done a small ring. Maybe next time. I also wanted this to back a button, a shank button, so I tatted it in. It's on the blocking board now, drying with stiffener.

Funny thing, I've been talking about the 1975 Maple Leaf in Workbasket and that Workbasket was in that storage bin. In this version, like Tammy's, the rings are all the same and the chains are all the same, so the early Workbasket version is different.

BTW, I'm amazed that Beth's pattern is still online at the very same location! I'll show the finished one next entry. I could take the hairdryer to it but I shoulda gone to bed 20 minutes ago!

OH look look! An Grianán. A friend from Cork took some courses here and told me about it...the sort of thing I've envisioned for years! A school for all the crafts! I love knowing it exists. I had this link in drafts and nearly forgot about it. Pam said she had a wonderful time there.


My sister and I visted Helio's Tearoom in Carmel, Indiana at the weekend. The rooms were filled with PINK. There were 8 or 10 Red Hat Ladies in their red hats and purple clothes. Sorry...it hurt my eyes to see so much red and purple together. I understand the concept, but no thanks. I'll wear the red hat or the purple suit, but not together. Afterwards, we walked down Main Street and shopped. We also had to chat up the locals, as you can see. She bought a few things in The Addendum....the clerk being someone from Lafayette who recognized her name but didn't know where from. I bought some linens in the antique mall. There was actually some tatting there - very well made and starched and pressed. Also in one booth, there was a T-shaped piece of cloth with tatting in the open blocks. Big thread, not pressed...the label said "unusual" and it was, but I didn't buy it. Just didn't like that big thread.




He's done! And I don't want to make another one. I would like to make a bookmark sized one but not another mat like this. I enjoyed doing it...once. LOL! Okay...maybe later, but not for several months.



After the filet crochet, I was nearly out of thread on the ball - or thought I was, so I thought I'd tat something small and be done with it. I was also going through a storage bin, trying to figure out what to get rid of and what to keep. There are some very early Workbaskets I bought this year that were a disappointment. I was going by the picture on the outside of the mailing envelope and thought I was getting something I didn't have. It turned out the picture on the envelope was a pattern you got when you subscribed. I already have most of these, but there were a few I didn't have. These are the fold out versions of Workbasket when they first started. I decided to make this little hexagonal doily. I had to add one stitch to the count and I used split rings and split chains to do it all in one pass. It turned out nicely. I'll probably put it on Ebay later, with an updated pattern notation and diagram.

Now here's the next one I tried. Different Workbasket, same kind of foldout. They are exceptionally preserved and this is one I did not have. I think most people who tat know about the Maple Leaf pattern in the February, 1975 issue. I wonder how many people know there is an even earlier one?

I tatted this exactly the way the instructions said to. They suggested using 2 colors and they said it was for a handkerchief corner but that it made a fine edging when the leaves are attached together. I made it in size 50 Altin Basak and you can see it turned out on the smallish side. I haven't compared it with the 1975 pattern to see what the difference is but I know they are slightly different. I don't know why but I was surprised to see they actually said RW (reverse work).

Tammy Rodgers has yet another version. Hers has all rings the same size and all chains the same size. The one I've tatted here has a larger center ring in the clover and the chains between the clovers and rings below are shorter. No stem. If you remember the mask I embellished last Spring, it was from Tammy's version. I think. LOL! I don't remember if I used my printout or if I pulled out the 1975 Workbasket.

It appears that I lost my earlier entry today. Ah well...I suspect I clicked before I saved, even though it automatically saves. These are some strawberries I tatted last week to show my guild program chair. We're looking at a few different versions to see which might work best for a certain project. These are from Workbasket, July 1995. I added the leaves at the last minute and don't like them but the pattern actually calls for them to be sewn to green felt and I didn't like that idea either. This is a mouse pad that has a "window" compartment that had a card showing help instructions for something at work. I decided to put the berries in there for the time being.

Whoops! Can you see my mistake? I'm glad I scanned it - I kept thinking the border wasn't quite right but couldn't see it last night. This morning it GLARED at me! Tonight I ripped out the 6 rows I had crocheted the night before. I'm almost where I was last night now. I hope to finish this over the next 2 nights. Until this morning, I thought I'd get real close tonight to finishing. I wonder if I can adapt this to a bookmark somehow?

This is an experiment - I'm using the antique gold thread I bought from Rita Cochrane in Ayr, Ontario with a strand of sulky gold and an adorable angel button. I really need a shank button instead of a 2-holed button but it looks so nice behind this one. This is actually the center of a snowflake and I plan to tat the rest of the snowflake around it. I started a second center with larger picots but I don't think it will work with the rest of the snowflake.

So Much Going On!!!!

I have not been tatting much...still working on the filet crochet...and I wanted to get THREE of them done???...I don't think it'll happen. It's more than half done now and you can see it taking shape. This was actually a cross-stitch pattern that I adapted to filet crochet. I will need to add an edging. I don't like them left naked. I always like something with a little more substance to help them keep shape.

I started a new blog to show all my thrift store finds. This is one of them. I believe it is a candle holder from PartyLite but I'm going to use it as an ornament display. The bottom is not nicked - that's just the carpet coming up over the edge. I was inspired to buy this after seeing Carolyn Regnier's win in the I.O.L.I. Bulletin. It's on the back cover inside, if you have the newsletter. Carolyn's tatting patterns are also in there. She won 2nd place in the Original Design contest. Kelly B.Corretore of NY won 1st place in Technical Proficiency with her tatted doily from Traditional Tatting Patterns edited by Rita Weiss. I also wanted to mention that besides the traditional article from Bobbie Demmer (Thoughts on Tatting), Judith Connors from Australia also has an article on Inverted Tatting. Bina Madden has a continuing series on tatting that will carry on in the next issue. So...this is way more tatting than I've seen in the Bulletin for a long long time.

Okay...back to the candle holder...I plan to hang some ornaments with tatted covers on it...the small balls, only 1"...and we'll see what else I can do to it. I think the spiral is level enough that they will stay in place, but if not, I can wrap it with small diameter greenery or tinsel.

Mary Donohue is stepping down from the International Tatting Exchange at the end of the year and Rachel Jackson will take over at that point. The new site is here if you want to see the offerings for 2008. There are still a few exchanges open for the year at Mary's site if you want to participate in those. I had fun with them and you should check out the photo albums to see what was made.

I noticed Ruth Perry is giving advance notice of a new book. You can contact her from her website if you want to pre-order. Sherry Pence says she has a book almost ready so keep an eye on her site. I mentioned Karey's Solomon's newest book in my post about Ayr, Ontario. There is an ongoing collection of book reviews at Georgia's site if you want an idea of what is in other books. The newest ones won't be there, of course.

The 25 Motif Challenge has a whole new group starting - you can start anytime - so if interested, just contact Sharon at that site.

My Lace Group tatters met on Wednesday night at the library and got started with their individiual projects. I realized I can't really sit and tat if I'm going to help them...but I didn't take anything with me anyway other than samples and inspiration for them.

I really wish I had a couple of weeks off so I could tat, knit, crochet, quilt and paint to my heart's content. I also found a project with polymer clay I want to try.

So much...so much....and so LITTLE time!