The Workbasket April 1955

Thanks to Patti, I now own the original cross pattern that I've been looking for since I began tatting!

I actually finished tatting this at Tollway Tatters yesterday, but I didn't have a tassel or tail for it. I'm not sure I like this one, but I did manage to use up the thread on the shuttle. I can always change it later.

The cross on the left is the one I figured out from a picture. There's not a huge difference between the two crosses, and I'm very happy with the way they each turned out!

The thread is size 20 Lizbeth, #621. The crosses are about 4 1/2 by 3 1/2".

Now, which one should I tat next? ;-)

A lovely day for tatting!

We had our Tollway Tatters meeting today, and it was fabulous!

Sue was waiting patiently when I arrived. I was lucky to be able to see her gorgeous sun catcher before everyone else arrived. This picture just doesn't do it justice. It is unbelievably beautiful!

Sue spent the day tatting around cabone rings, based on a pattern by Jon Yusoff. She makes it look so easy!

Sue Anna and I had a dueling iPhones thing going on. She won... I put my iPhone down!

Sue Anna spent her time working on Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel glass mat in size 3 Lizbeth. We're all waiting to see how large it will be in size 3!

Marilee spent a lot of time teaching today.

In fact, Jean finished her first chain!

Carol helped our newest member, Carrie, feel welcome. Carrie has only been tatting since December.

December?! Yes, December! Look at how beautiful her tatting is!

And there were goodies...

Marilee brought pretty gift bags filled with...

sticky notes, beautiful hand-dyed thread, and chocolate! No picture of the chocolate... I ate it!

Sue Anna shared some thread.

Carol brought some wonderful little boxes that lock closed, and Sue shared some pretty little findings from Hobby Lobby. Did you notice that I chose blue? ;-)

Barb made these adorable little snap close bags. Don't you just love the tatting shuttle embroidered on it?

We had a wonderful day, and we're hoping to get together again in June. I wish everyone in Tatland could join us!

One more in pink

I finally finished the cross I found hiding in an Origami pouch. This is my interpretation of The Workbasket cross that I had been searching for. Thanks to many friends who read my blog, I now have  all but one cross pattern from The Workbasket, and I think Carol is bringing that pattern to Tollway Tatters on Saturday. I think it's time to begin my Workbasket cross challenge!T

Unblocked

I finished!

This is the unblocked version of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. It's 14" across, and I used size 20 Lizbeth, Latte Foam.

I wanted to block it before the big reveal, but I can't find where I put my blocking board. I'm sure it's someplace really safe!

And now for a proud Grandma moment...

I think Sophia likes her tummy time!

I like candy!

...tatting candy!

When I was on jury duty Monday, they gave us a 2 1/2 hour lunch break... not long enough to make the drive home, so I treated myself to lunch at Panera Bread and then headed to Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and JoAnn Fabrics.

I found decorative tape at Michaels, and two packages of Clover shuttles at Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's. I wonder why each store only stocks two packages at a time? Anyway, I decided to do a little blinging!

The tape wasn't quite wide enough to cover the shuttle, but I think it was close enough. The shuttles look so bright and cheerful, I decided they would look tasty in a candy dish. Don't you just want to pick one up and tat? :-)

Jury duty tatting

I had jury duty today, and it was uneventful. I arrived at 8:30, went to lunch at 11:00, reported back at 1:30, and went home at 1:45. Luckily, I brought some tatting supplies along!

I almost completed a cross in size 80 Majestic. As you can see, I was undecided as to which color to use, so I took three with me. 

I visited with a very nice woman during the morning session, who asked about my progress a few times. She seemed interested, but not enough to learn how to tat. She told me that her passion is machine embroidery, something I did for a while, but I quickly lost interest.

Right before we were dismissed in the afternoon, two women asked me what I was doing, and I showed them my progress on the cross. I think that if we had stayed for another half hour, I just might have had two new tatting students!

Look what arrived in the mail today! My dear friend Beedeebabee read my post about The Workbasket cross, and she found this copy for me on eBay! Thank you, Paulette! As soon as I finish the two crosses I have in progress, I'm going to tat this one!

I thought it might be fun to find out how many tatted cross patterns were published in The Workbasket. I found this database online, and if I counted correctly, I found 14 tatted cross patterns published between 1951 and 1989. Wouldn't it be fun to find all of those patterns and tat them? Here are the issues I have listed...

March 1951

March 1953

January 1954

April 1955 (I have this one. Thanks, Patti!)

October 1957

December 1958 (I have this one. Thanks, Beedeebabee!)

June 1963

January 1972

February 1973

December 1977

November/December 1983

March 1986

February 1987

March 1989

Carol will be bringing some Workbasket cross patterns to Tollway Tatters on Saturday. They've been torn out of the original magazines, but maybe with a little detective work, we can figure out which issues they're from. 

Do you have any of these issues lying around? I'd love to see pictures of the various crosses!

Tollway Tatters Update

Tollway Tatters will be meeting Saturday, May 18. If you are in the Chicago area and would like to join us, please email me for details. We would love to have you join us!