Presents from South Korea

 

Don't you just love it when the letter carrier has a package for you? Sure you do! I received these lovely gifts from Lady Shuttle Maker, aka Sherry Pence. They have been here for a few days, but I wanted to wait and post them when it was almost time for her to be back from vacation.

The eye glass case is very beautiful and elegant. It feels like silk. The beads were in the little yellow case which is just the right size for a shuttle. I love the Jungle Fever hand dyed thread. I have no idea what the interesting postcard says on the front of course. On the back she is thinking me for my contribution to 4 o'clock rock and encouragement in her life. I feel I get much more encouragement than I give.

Thank you dear Sherry. I hope you had a wonderful vacation and a very special Valentine's Day tomorrow!

Clover Drop Heart in "Hydrangea" HDT

 

I finally managed to get a little tatting done. Between arthritis and sinusitis, I've not been very productive. This design is by Nancy Tracy of Be-stitched copyright 2005. The thread is Lady Shuttle Maker's hand dyed thread named "Hydrangea." The thread is size 20 and the heart is about 2 1/4" wide. Happy February everyone!

Pansy Angel #3 by Blossoms & Blessings

 

I took a break from this angel to tat the dragon. Now I've finished the angel and I really like her in this thread. It is Lady Shuttle Maker's hand dyed thread "Fuchsia" in size 20. I have almost depleted my stash of this color. Guess that means I like it!

Clyde's says things are better in three's. Now I've done three!

Speaking of Clyde, we had a lovely conversation last night. I discovered that my VOIP phone plan allows me to call Canada for free! His voice was exactly as I had expected and I felt as if I've always talked to him. Sometimes good friends sure do get scattered far away from each other.

Jon's Quantiesque Snowflake #3

 

This one counts as this year since I finished tatting it last night and I'm getting it posted on Christmas day - right? I just love this pattern and tatting it in Sherry's Old St. Nick and Country Christmas hand dyed threads was a true pleasure.

I will now go put snowflake #74 on the Rainbow Christmas Tree.

Merry Christmas to all!

Ferris Wheel in Old Saint Nick and Country Christmas HDT

 

Lady Shuttle Maker's custom hand dyed thread in size 20 Old Saint Nick and Country Christmas really compliment this snowflake design of mine. The yellow is Flora. As I was tatting, I kept thinking I had made poor colour combination choices, but now that it is done I really like it. I used the second variation at the bottom of my pattern which can be found by clicking on the Ferris Wheel snowflake at the top of my blog. That will take you to my pattern page. Please let me know if you tat any of my patterns. I'd love to see pictures!

Royal Diadem by Sherry Pence

 

Now that the book is published, I have Sherry's blessing to show you the doily I tested for her. This is one of the reasons I had little tatting to show in regular intervals. It is an intricate, and lovely, doily and I hope it will be treasured by one of my children one day. Please don't let the intricate look stop you from trying it. It is amazingly simple when you take it one step at a time, especially with the way Sherry has it laid out in the book.

This doily is tatted in size 20 Flora thread. I will go back and tat it again in HDT now that I know I can do it!

Royal Diadem was an absolute joy to tat and I have been so anxious to share it with you!

Floral Snowflake in HDT "Tulips"

This snowflake is still unidentified. Sorry. I tatted it this time in Lady Shuttle Maker's hand dyed thread named Tulips. It is size 80 and a scant 1 3/4" in diameter like the one in Winter Blend.

I see now that I should have taken more time to straighten out the chains before I scanned it, but I'm too tired to go back and do it over!

I have started tatting Iris Niebach's Beatrice in Flora size 20. Progress picture soon. I just had to join the crowd.

Pattern for Winter Blend/Easter Egg Snowflake

Here it is. I hope it works.

WINTER BLEND and EASTER EGG SNOWFLAKES
Copyright 2008 Laura Blanton

Abbreviations
R ring
Ch chain
- picot
vsp very small picot
SCMR self closing mock ring
Clr close ring
Rw reverse work
Dnrw do not reverse work
Slt shoe lace trick
Lp locking picot
+ join

I used front side/back side tatting in this pattern. I have started tatting almost everything that way. It just looks so much better to me and is no trouble. Using Jane’s method, I have used italics and bold to mark sections where I suggest reversing the order of the ds to achieve this look. This is only needed on round two as the other rounds are all worked on the same side.

The Easter Egg snowflake is size 20 in five colors. The variegated is Lady Shuttle Maker’s Easter Egg hand dyed thread. The others are Flora.

The Winter Blend Snowflake is size 80 in four colors. I meant to use five but didn’t notice until it was too late that I was working both the rings and chains in round two in one color. The variegated is Yarnplayer’s Winter Blend hand dyed thread and the other is DMC tatting cotton.

FIRST ROUND
Start with locking picot where the "S" is on the diagram in the center
SCMR ch 7 ss R 4 vsp 3 vsp 4 cr ss ch 3 ss R 4 vsp 3 vsp 4 cr ss ch 7 close SCMR ch 2
Repeat 5 times. Join to beginning locking picot. Cut, tie and finish off ends.

SECOND ROUND
R 5+ to 1st picot on 1st ring coming off of SCMR, 5 clr rw
Ch 1 three picots rw
R 5 + to 2nd picot on 1st ring coming off of SCMR, 5 clr rw
Ch 3 – 3 rw
Repeat all of the way around and join to 1st ring. Cut, tie and finish off ends.

THIRD ROUND
Join thread to 1st of 3 picots on round below. This should put you above the ring to the left of “spoke” below. Ch 1, 5 picots lj to 3rd picot below.
Ch 10 slt
R 10 – 5 – 5 clr dnrw
R 5 + to 2nd picot on 1st ring 5 – 5 – 5 clr dnrw
R 10 – 10 clr dnrw
R 5 – 5 – 5 – 5 clr dnrw
R 5 + 5 – 10 clr slt
Ch 10 being very careful to snug up the 1st chain to the slt lj to 1st picot of next 3 picot chain.
Ch 1, 5 picots lj to 3rd picot below.
Ch 5, slt
R 5 – 5 clr dnrw slt
Ch 5, lj to 1st picot of next 3 picot chain
Repeat all of the way around and join to starting chain.
Cut, tie and finish off ends.

Copyright 2008 Laura Blanton

Please feel free to print this pattern for your own use. If you post pictures of your work, and I hope you do, please give me credit for my design and maybe put a link to my page. Enjoy and let me know if you have any problems with the pattern or diagram.

New Hand Dyed Thread from Lady Shuttle Maker

I have two new HDT's from Sherry" that came yesterday. The fuchsia is size 20 and the Vickie's Lilacs is size 80. I can't wait to see what they want to be!

I can never stress enough how wonderful it is to tat with hand dyed thread. The only time I use anything else is when I need solids to set off the HDT. So much fun!

Now, I need to talk DH into buying software that will help me diagram my new designs. I'm mighty ambitious huh?

Easter Egg Snowflake

Presenting snowflake #2 from my first snowflake design - "Easter Egg Snowflake". I tatted this with Sherry's hand dyed thread Easter Egg in size 20. The other colors are DMC and Flora. The size difference is amazing. The Winter Blend Snowflake fits the inside of the Easter Egg before the points start. I put a picture of the Winter one here so you can see them both close together. I guess I should have scanned them together. DUH!

Now, I can't believe none of you caught my design flaw. Yes I can. The size 80 is so small it isn't as obvious. As I was pressing the new one, I saw to my dismay that the outer ring needs to be rotated. The long points need to be in the center of the wheel spokes below. That's the best way I can describe them. That means I will have to put the long points over the three picots instead of the one picot. I will change the pattern notes as I go. I'm not going to take this one apart. It is still pretty like it is. I'll just change the next one.

Now that I have tatted the second one, I will work on writing up the pattern and get it posted for those of you who have asked for it.

Heart Design #2 in variegated hand dyed thread

For my taste, this is a perfect example of variegated thread is not at it's best in every pattern. While I do not dislike it, I think it is much prettier done in the solid thread. No matter how lovely the HDT, and this one by Sherry, Lady Shuttle Maker, is lovely, it just doesn't always work. This one is Grapefruit and I have tatted lots of pretty things with it. It's not the thread - it's the pattern. Where I start the pattern with a locked picot at the beginning of a chain, when you get back around and join, the two colors make it stand out too much. I scanned both hearts together so you can see the difference.

Most of you experienced tatters know this well. For any newbies, here is a good example. While I will always love tatting with variegated thread, especially HDT, sometimes it just isn't at it prettiest in certain patterns.

AND THE WINNER IS!

Congratulations Sherry AKA Lady Shuttlemaker! I let Isaac blow kisses over the whole lot of names in the bowl, but I let the birthday boy, DH Bill, draw the winner. I hope you will enjoy the book Sherry.

Thanks to all of you for entering. Maybe I'll have another one to draw for one day. 14 people responded and I wish I had one for each of you. There are never ending ways that tatting rewards our lives!

Design Bug

It seems with all of the flu and viruses going around, I've been bitten by a bug very familiar to most of you. I avoided it for a long time, but now it might be a terminal case. I COULD NOT GO TO SLEEP LAST NIGHT BECAUSE LEAF DESIGNS WERE FLOATING IN FRONT OF MY CLOSED EYES! This just won't do. I am going to put a notebook and pencil by the bed tonight so I can turn on the light and sketch them out before I forget them. Maybe that way I will be able to go to sleep. I have drawn them this morning and now I just have to find time, and clear enough eyes, to try and turn them into tatting!

I know how I must have gotten it! The virus didn't come over the internet so it could only be from three sources. Marilee, Sherry or Clyde. Bill kept telling me this hand dyed thread was dangerous to my health. I guess he was right! No bother. I'll just have to "work through the pain."

I am also working on my doily and this round is really going to frame the doily well. And, another snowflake rose. This one is even smaller than the pink one. I crocheted the center with a size 14 hook VERY TIGHTLY and the leaves are in size 12 Sulky quilting thread. A bit fiddly, but pretty.

Pictures one day.

Heart gift tag from Sherry's pattern

Thanks for this pattern Sherry. I think I will be making more. This is the first time I have used size 80 hand dyed thread and I like it. Sherry made this one and I think the name is Patriotic. Since it has three colors, I think it would be better suited to something bigger. I'll work on that.

Sherry, Marilee and Clyde kept telling me that tatting with size 80 hand dyed thread is nothing like tatting with regular size 80. I was skeptical, but decided to give it a try. They were absolutely right. The rings close easily and it doesn't twist up like regular 80. I am sold! Oh, no! Now I need more thread.....

I did accomplish one more thing today, but it is still a secret!

Angelica Butterfly and Spring Poppy thread

This is Lady Shuttle Maker's pattern, thread and shuttle. This is the first pattern I have tatted from her book, "The Exquisite Collection of Tatted Butterflies", but it won't be the last. It is also the first of her Spring Poppy thread I have used. It is size 20 and I used DMC Cebelia for the rings. I thought I would take a break from snowflakes and before going back to Dame Margo and tat a butterfly. Then in the mail today, a surprise. My newest thread from Yarnplayer so that I can finish my Rhubarb Doily. It is gorgeous! Now I have to decide what I am going to do next.

Happy Tatting!

Rose Snowflake for Rainbow Tree 2008

I have been tatting on this occasionally for a couple of weeks, at least. The center is the same one from Denise Munoz' book that I have tatted so many times, but the leaves are all mine. I wanted to see if I could make up my own outer round, so I just did it. You wait and see - one day I'll start from scratch and do the whole thing on my own! (I hope.)


I was kind of worried about the leaves being too frilly, but I like them. I had first drawn it out to chain around them for an outline, but I didn't like the way it looked. I know in real life rose leaves are not frilly, but in my world they now are!

The red thread is Sherry's hand dyed Red velvet size 20 and the green is DMC Cebelia size 20.

I just got two skeins of hand dyed thread from Sherry today. I hope be tatting snowflakes all year for the next rainbow Christmas tree. Clyde and I definitely have a problem with HDTA. However, we really don't want any help towards a cure!

Snow Storm LOL

The best thing I can show you about our "snow storm" is my orchids with the little bit of snow behind them through the windows! Our 1" to 4" turned out to be less than 1/2". Still, I got a cake and chili out of it!

The pink Dendrobium orchid has been in full bloom for a couple of months. The one that is showing just a bit of white is a Jewel orchid with 7 bloom spikes about to burst open. I am very pleased with them.

I am not going to do anymore tatting on the doily until I get some thread from Marilee. Meantime, I am finishing a snowflake that I started weeks ago and then I'm going to start some more with some NEW HAND DYED THREAD!!!! Yahoo! Two skeins came from Sherry (Lady Shuttle Maker) today and I have two more coming from Marilee (Yarnplayer.)

Doily Update

I have made an unconventional move, at least for me, on round 3 of the doily. I'm not ready to show a picture, but I think you will be surprised. I know I am! It means slower tatting because of ends to hide. That's all of the hint you are going to get.

Also, I have finished round two on my Tat It And See, as I'm sure most of you have. It is so much fun wondering what I am tatting.

Hooray! I awoke this morning to my second sale on Etsy! And, it was highest priced item on there - the piano bench cover. Now I can buy more hand dyed tatting thread.

I'm off to check Marilee and Sherry's sites to spend my money.

Pictures tomorrow.

Rainbow Snowflake

Okay, here we go. It is almost ALL MINE! About a month ago I started the center rings from a pattern in Gwyn and Elwy's book. I just couldn't figure out how to go any further with the pattern, so I put it aside hating to throw it away. Finally, yesterday I picked it up and just started tatting. Yes, you heard me - I just started tatting! It was great fun and I figured I had nothing to lose except a little time. It was very difficult to keep it from ruffling as the rings were so close together. So, I pressed it flat and kept going. Next, I used ends from Marilee's Rhubarb Crisp and Sherry's Grapefruit to do the little test tat in the second picture. I absolutely cannot stand to throw an inch of these threads away. I don't know what it is, but it inspired me and helped me to see what would fit on the snowflake. Then, I studied it and tried to figure out what would tie them together and how I could do it in one run. I used a Flora size 20 variegated green for the chains and Sherry's grapefruit for the rings.

I am so happy with this snowfake. I know I can't call it my own design completely, but it is the closest I have come except the little flower I did last year. Maybe this will set me on the road to designing from scratch.

Thanks everybody!

Rainbow Tree in Grapefruit Thread

Since Clyde has renamed my Christmas Tree to Rainbow Tree, I had the bright idea to tat a rainbow tree to go ON the rainbow tree! This is Sherry's hand dyed grapefruit thread. We can't grow grapefruit trees in Alabama, so I had to make us one.

This is the same pattern from the Be-stitched newsletter that I used for the green tree. I'm going to put beads on that one.

Tatting trees isn't as much fun as tatting snowflakes, so look for more snowflakes. At some point, I have to start tatting a doily with Marilee's Rhubarb Crisp thread. I am just trying to be sure I have the right pattern before I start tatting.