Spun Sugar 2nd attempt

 

I hope this works. The picture was there at first and then it disappeared. Sorry!

Spun Sugar Doily Finished!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!

Presenting - Clyde The Mad Tatter's doily pattern - Ray Of Hope
Hand Dyed Thread in Rhubarb Pie by Yarnplayer
My tatting and color arrangement

Here it is!

 

This doily was an absolute joy to tat! If you go over it with a magnifying glass, especially the last round, I promise you will find some faults. You will not however find any fault with Clyde's pattern. It was a breeze start to finish.

I had been saving this thread for some time looking for just the right pattern. I think I found it. Clyde was so generous to let me test tat this for him. I hope he will be proud of it - I am!

I will sit down and add up how much thread I used as soon as I can. It is only 9" in diameter in size 80 thread.

Set Stitch Tatted Bag

 

I finally did it! One of my birthday presents was Diana Stevens' book "It's In The Bag." I have been wanting to make one of her designs almost since the advent of my tatting adventure. I tatted it in size 20 Flora thread with size 11 seed beads from Michael's. I haven't lined it yet, as you can see. I will have to find a scrap of the right material and sew it by hand. I've no machine, and don't want one. (They don't like me.)

I know I haven't finished the doily. That I will do before I start anything else. I just had to take a couple of days and work on this bag. It has been an incredibly difficult week in my house. Maybe that's why the bag isn't lined - so I can drop my problems in and they will fly away. That's an idea.

I'll spare you the details of each problem, but the biggest of them was two sick dogs. One is still not well. The other has gone to a better place as of yesterday afternoon at 3:00. She was 17 years old, as is the one remaining, and had a very good life. She was my mother's dog and I promised to take care of her. I have done that to the best of my ability and now maybe she and mother are together eating pizza or chicken.

Some of you love animals as I do and will understand my grief for her yet joy in her freedom from suffering. Enough of that before I start crying again! My little dog Boudreaux is taking some medicine that I hope will have him better soon.

We also have an official addition to our little family. The little kitty we have been feeding outside for about five years, has moved in as of last week. I took her to the vet on Wednesday and had her checked and vaccinated. She had already been spayed. She is a tiny little thing weighing in at just over six pounds. (My other two weigh 10 and 18 pounds.) She holds her own with them, so don't worry. She is street smart and has long, scary claws!

I have been reading blogs and commenting as I can. There is lots of beautiful tatting going on and I think many of you are making great contributions to the advancement of tatting as a recognized art form. Good work! You know who you are!

Eye Candy

I gave out some of my tatting business cards today. It occurred to me that anyone visiting my blog for the first time wouldn't know where to find the eye candy as things get lost down in the blog.

If you are here for the first time, please click on the Flickr button to see pictures. Or, you can look down the left side of the blog and click on the labels for things you want to see like hearts or snowflakes.

Please be sure and check out my favorite tatting blogs which are also on the left side.

I hope you enjoy!

A Query

O.k. I will soon be ready to start tatting bags and dragons. If you experts, otherwise known as "mass consumers of beads", would please tell me where you get your beads I would be most appreciative. There are lots of them in hanks on ebay but I want good, uniform beads if I am going to put this much work into my tatting.

Thanks in advance1

Awards and Tagging

Whew! That was a lot. I hope I got it all right. TattingChic put a disclaimer on her blog that no one should feel obligated in any way to participate in any awards or tags. I must echo that. Please just consider the honor if you don't want to do it or have been tagged too many times.

TattingChic tagged me several days ago and I haven't done anything about it. I just haven't had time or a clear head. Sorry. Everybody already knows the weird things about me anyway!

Arte y Pico Award

Arte y Pico Award
I have been given this award by Clyde and by Ais. I am so honored to be recognized by these two wonderful members of the tatting community. Thank you both so much.

There are some rules to the award.


Rules:
1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you copnsider deserve this award,
creativity, design, interesting material, and also contrubuites to the blogger
community, no matter of language.
2) Each award has to have the name of the
author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3) Each
award-winning, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog
thathas given her or him the award itself.
4) Award-winning and the one who
has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y pico"blog , so
everyone will know the origin of this award.
5) To show these rules.

My first pick must be Jane Eborall. She was my first and best mentor. I love her designs and she is always so helpful no matter what. Besides that, she is the one of the most amusing people I know. Thank you Jane.

My second is Jon. She was one of the first to share her patterns with me and has become a great advisor, teacher and friend.

My third is Sharon. She encouraged me to join the 25 Motif Challenge. If not for her encouragement and help since I joined, I seriously doubt I would be where I am today. The challenge kept me tatting! Thank you Sharon for all that you do for us.

My fourth is Pamela. Pamela is the most wonderful adivsor on all things animal and helps everyone get their tatted animals right. She is a wonderful tatter and has become a good friend who encourages me tremendously.

I'm not going to name a fifth as I can't leave anyone out. So, thanks to all of you especially Clyde who is one of my best friends, Yarnplayer, Lady Shuttle Maker, Tatting Goddess and Lace Lovin Librarian. Also, Georgia Seitz, AK Tatter, wrote two of the first books I purchased and contributes greatly to the community. My adopted son that we all fight over, Tatman Mark, wrote some of the first patterns that I ever tatted. If I have failed to mention you, please forgive me and know that you are there and important to me.

More pictures

 

 

 

 

Here are two more pictures of the Mimosa tree. Also, a lovely bush that was my dad's. Unfortunately, I didn't pay much attention when he told me what it was. The bloom is lovely and then it makes the pretty orange fruit which isn't edible to my knowledge. I think the flower would be lovely tatted, especially in HDT! It's really a much more orange than the picture shows. I wish I could get a true color of it.

Painting Inspiration

 

 

 

 

This is the one Mimosa Tree DH allows to grow. He hates them as do many men I have discovered. If anyone knows why, please tell me!

From my front door I can see a branch that is so graceful and lovely it is begging to be captured on canvas. I'm going to try my best to oblige. I made these pictures for reference and thought you might enjoy seeing them. Maybe someone will want to tat them?

Let's try this picture again!

Snowflake HDT Rose & DMC

 

I broke a thread on my doily and can't see to fix it tonight so I thought I would finish tatting this snowflake. I started this snowflake so many weeks ago that I can't find the pattern I was using or remember who the designer is! Senior Moment? Nah, just too much stuff right?

It's size 20 hand dyed thread by Yarnplayer named Rose. The yellow is DMC Cebelia. After working with the size 80 HDT this is SO BIG!

Tomorrow morning will be back to tatting the doily. I'm almost halfway around the last row.

"All Done" as Isaac says!

Beads and stuff

 

Flora size 20, Altin Basak and DMC Perle Cotton

 

Hankys, SOME crocket hooks and other helpful tools

 

Tatting Books. I think this is all of them, but I won't promise!

 

More

Current projects go here:

 

SOME shuttles and HDT

 

Sulky size 12 thread and DMC size 80

 

Perle Cotton and Majestic size 80

 

And More

Patterns printed from the internet sorted by category and some vintage books from my grandmother.

 

 

 

More Stuff I Don't Have

In the bottom of MIL's sideboard (from her mother) is my knitting, yarns, acrylic paints and brushes and some beads.

 

In this big drawer is knitting needles and LOTS of crochet books.

 

The most important thing in the house - Isaac proofing!

 

More beads!

 

Stuff I don't have

I have been inspired by TattingChic to plead nothing to tat! Since I can never match her level of sarcasm, which is quite admirable, I will stop with it here!

This is my first thread cabinet full of thread that, like TattingChic, I don't have! It is supposed to be sorted by sizes on the shelves but gets mixed up.

 

More size 10 in the bottom of my jewelry armoire. See my smallest baby trying to help. You haven't seen her before. Her name is Jade. She is "the cat who will never come inside."

 

And yet more size 10.

 

There is much more to follow. Stay tuned.

The Letter Carrier Cometh!

Handy Hands is phenomenal. I have already received my order that I made Wednesday or Thursday. I only got notice that it was shipped yesterday.

I have been wanting these two books for a LONG TIME! I was afraid after reading TattingChic's post that I would end up in the same fix as she is with nothing to tat! I'm not ready to show you pictures of all the things I "don't have", but I will soon. One can never have too many shuttles, so I got two more of these Lacis that I like very much to bring my total up for free shipping and I needed the small crochet hook for my chain around my neck. Yes, needed!

I wish I could order every tatting book available, but we all know that isn't possible. I have to be very careful or we wouldn't be able to live in this house. These books, shuttles and crochet hook are for my birthday next week, so I really haven't seen them yet! LOL

Important Notice!

The new page element you see titled "My Favorite Links" is a work in progress. If you are on my link list, but not on this list, never fear. I'm working on it! I think I like this new element very much. It will help me know what all of you are doing!

Wooden Shuttles My Dad Made For Me

Since the rest of the doily is secret until I finish this last row and 1/2, I thought I would show you pictures of my shuttles Daddy made for me. The black ones are African Ebony, the red ones are Purple Heart and the others are assorted Maple (I think.) They are not my favorite to use as I prefer the thread on the inside of the shuttle, but they are treasures no less. The metal you see is where he inserted a piece of metal and bent the end to give me a hook but it didn't work very well. I have snipped them off and need to file them down good.

Some of you know my dad was a master craftsman in wood. My home is full to overflowing with treasures he made, including furniture and hand carved pictures. I also have lots of treasures my mother crocheted, knitted, quilted and made in ceramics. I am truly blessed!

TIAS finished

 

Here she is! I've named her Agatha as she was such a mystery. (She also looks kind of startled like she was the one who found the body!) Thanks to Jane for all of the time, effort and imagination that went into this project.

Spun Sugar Doily through row 10

 

Two more rows done, still having fun! The official measurement through this row is a whopping 6". Only 4 more rows to tat and then it will be done. I'm enjoying it so much, I will probably have to start over. I'm going to try and add up exactly how much thread is required for the whole doily. I have 4 skeins of Marilee's "Celery" that I think would tat up beautifully with this pattern. By the way, this has not been blocked, just pressed lightly for the scan. More tomorrow, I hope!

Vintage purses

 

 

I know this has absolutely nothing to do with tatting. Since some of you have been posting your tatted amulet bags, I just had to find something to try and compete!

These two purses came to me through my mother and her mother. Beyond that, I don't know to which ancestor they belonged. But I think they are beautiful. They "live" in my Victorian bedroom with my other antiques, (like me!)

Even though they are metal, they feel very nice and make me want to tat a bag. Guess that needs to be a future project.