Ending the year on a positive note!

I finished tatting Doodad Snowflake #1 in Snow White last night...

placed it on the tree this morning...

and then started a Triangular Doodad Snow Crystal!

I do like this color, Lizbeth Snow White #601.

I'm thinking of keeping this little tree up for the month of January so that I can fill it with beautiful snowflakes!

We did get a dusting of snow today, but not enough to make me think it's winter in the midwest!

I had to go to the post office to pick up the mail that collected while we were away, and I was thrilled to see what arrived in my absence!

The shuttle on the left is one that I purchased from eBay. The back says Christmas 2012. Can you guess who made the bobbin shuttle? If you guessed La Cossette, you're correct! She also sent me the beautiful blue snowflake... lucky me!

I re-subscribed to Ring of Tatters, something I had neglected to do for a couple of years. I decided to treat myself to three new books.

What's really great is that the patterns in each book are different!

Now that I'm all set with patterns and shuttles, I guess I'm ready for the new year to begin!

Tollway Tatters 2013

Yup! You read it correctly! The Tollway Tatters are starting 2013 off the right way... with a tatting get-together! We'll be meeting on Wednesday, January 2. If you'd like to join us and need details, just drop me an email and I'll give you the specifics.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that five years ago I slipped on a 2" patch of ice and broke my left wrist in 11 places. Knitting and tatting played a big part in my recovery. I am so glad that I've regained most of the mobility in my wrist. My only problem is that when the weather gets really cold, I cannot keep my left hand warm

Denise to the rescue! As part of my Christmas present, Denise knit me a pair of tatting gloves... fingerless mitts that will keep my wrist warm and allow me to tat. This is easily the best Christmas present ever!

Denise wanted to make sure I exercised my wrist regularly, so she also gave me a beautiful Bocote shuttle from The Shuttle Brothers! I do love wood shuttles, and this one is a beauty! Yes, there was thread, and coffee, and wine. I can tat day and night with the appropriate beverage! ;-)

Thank you, Denise!

I finished tatting Doodad Snowflake #2 in Snow White on Christmas morning. However, with all the excitement of having grandchildren here and preparing for our trip to Minnesota, I did not finish it and hang it on the tree until this morning.

Yes, I'm still in snowflake mode, and I think I may be throughout the month of January!

Our trip to Minnesota was wonderful! We had a surprise baby shower for daughter Joanne, who is expecting a girl at the end of March. Daughter Alison and family joined in the fun via Skype. Isn't technology wonderful?

Son-in-law Jake was on a hunting trip for two days after Christmas, so we didn't open presents until Friday. It was so much fun extending the holiday through the end of the week! No pictures though... I forgot to take my camera along, and I never thought of using my phone. The phone may be smart, but apparently I'm not! ;-)

On Thursday, daughters Andrea and Carol drove me to meet Michelle and her daughter for lunch... quite a treat for me since neither Andrea nor Carol tats!

Michelle and Theresa had put together a wonderful Christmas package for me!

Do you think this is a hint that I should start tatting snowmen? ;-)

Look at all the goodies! Two hankies from Aunt Rose's collection, beautiful blue thread and beads, doodads, and a ring and bobby pins to decorate. Do you see the key on the left? That's a beautiful brooch made by Theresa!

Michelle also brought along a book for me to read, review, and pass on. So far, I'm really enjoying it. I read 68 pages on the way home, which is saying a lot... I don't do well with reading in the car! More about the book when I finish reading it!

After lunch, Michelle and Theresa whisked me away to...

a bead shop! You'd never have known it was a bead shop from the storefront or the name, but inside we found treasures galore! I could have purchased so much more, but I remembered the stash at home and exhibited extreme self-control. I asked the clerk about silver-lined beads and tarnish, and she told me they can tarnish over time, but she didn't think it was something to worry about. She showed me some silver lined bugle beads that were very old, and they just looked more mellow, so I bought some seed beads that were calling my name.

I think I have some more doodad tatting in my future! Thank you Michelle and Theresa for a wonderful tatting get-together! I hope that next time I'm up we can arrange a time when Cindy can join us!

Christmas Eve Snowflake

Family has started to arrive, so this will probably be my last post for the week. I've really enjoyed this snowflake challenge put forth by Allison. Thank you, Allison!

This is my Doodad Snowflake #3 in size 20 Lizbeth, Snow White.

Merry Christmas, dear tatting friends!

Doodad Snowflake #4 ~ Snow White

The house is clean (except for my sewing room), most of the laundry is done, the tree is decorated, and Denise and I got together this afternoon to exchange Christmas presents. Whew!

To top it all off...

I managed to tat my snowflake for the day! This is my Doodad Snowflake #4 in size 20 Lizbeth, Snow White.

My little tabletop tree is looking might pretty!

Saturday Snowflake

Somehow, Saturday got away from me! I managed to get some of the laundry done, all of the Christmas presents wrapped, and a little house cleaning in the morning. We had company for lunch... had to make sure Dave's homemade ravioli was acceptable for Christmas Eve! ;-)

In the afternoon, Carol and I went to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Dave made fatties for dinner (ravioli dough fried in olive oil... probably not very healthy, but it is a family tradition), and then I sat down to tat!

This is my Doodad Snowflake #5 in size 20 Lizbeth, Snow White.

I think it looks perfect on my little tree!

Doodad Snowflake #6 ~ Snow White

I think I may have to do an entire series of white snowflakes, especially after seeing the picture of Marie's tree!

It really does show up nicely against the green tree and colorful lights!

Are you ready for this one?

Believe it or not...

I tatted a snowflake in white! Snow White, to be exact. This is size 20 Lizbeth #601. The pattern is my Doodad Snowflake #7.

It's already hanging on my little tabletop tree, and I love the way the white stands out against the green background! Who knew white could be so pretty? ;-)

Tatting Marie knows...

She sent me a photo of her fabulous Christmas tree filled with tatted snowflakes and ornaments, accented by a gorgeous tree skirt embellished with tatted angels. Unbelievably beautiful!

You'll never guess what came with this beautiful photo card. Come on... try! I'm not going to tell you. No, I'm not. You're going to have to see it to believe it...

Am I the luckiest girl in the world, or what? I am so thrilled to have this beautiful blue Christmas tree!

It looks wonderful with my Christmas tree display on top of our entertainment center. Thank you, Marie! I am over-the-moon with happiness!

Cherub's Wing Snowflake

Well, I managed to use up the last of my size 10 Lizbeth in lavender. Thank you for the thread Sue Anna! Never fear, I do have more size 10 in the house. I just need to unearth it! ;-)

I love this little pattern! Cherub's Wing Snowflake is another from A Veritable Tatted Blizzard by Samantha Melnychuk. I Googled the title and found that it is still available from a few vendors. There are 10 patterns in the book, and the cost is $22. I know I've gotten my money's worth out of it!

Itsy-Bitsy Snowflake

I had some size 10 lavender Lizbeth left on my shuttles, so I decided to make another Itsy-Bitsy Snowflake from A Veritable Tatted Blizzard by Samantha Melnychuk.

I've had this book for quite a long time, and I've made many of the snowflakes. The patterns are very easy to follow. This is probably my favorite snowflake from the book.

Marian Snowflake

When I saw Yarnplayer's new pattern, I just had to have it! I love the look of rings on rings, small rings, large rings... it's just perfect!

Mine is a little larger than Marilee's. I used up the size 10 Lizbeth that I had on the shuttles from Sue Anna. I do love the purple, but I think my next one will be in finer thread. This baby is 4 1/4"!

My Whitman's candy order arrived today, and I am thrilled with this tin! It measures 7 1/2" x 4 1/2" and it's about 2 1/4" tall. I just checked the web site... sorry, they're sold out of this one. Guess I got lucky!

I forgot!

...to post my Sunday snowflake! I took the pictures, saved them to my computer, turned on Brigadoon, wrapped Christmas presents, made dinner, watched t.v., and then went to bed. Yup... I forgot to post my Sunday snowflake!

Oh, did you want to see it? Well, sure...

Sue Anna gave me some size 10 Lizbeth on Saturday, and I started tatting another Triangular Doodad Snow Crystal right away. I was ready to start the second inner ring, when I realized my first ring had a count of 4 - 4 + 4 - 4 instead of 7 - 5 + 5 - 7 as I had used in the lavender.

My first thought was to cut off the thread and start over, but I wanted to see if the stitch count would work. It doesn't, at least not to my satisfaction. I really had to stretch those center rings to make the crystal lie flat. I don't think the 9 ds work for the smaller chain either. There's not the same size definition that I achieved with the original pattern, and I really liked that.

So, even though the changes don't quite suit my taste, I do have two more lovely ornaments!

Dear Jane (part 2)...

As promised, the Tollway Tatters plunged into the problem of making the larger doodad work with my triangular pattern. We were a small group today, only four of us, but thanks to Sue Anna, we found success!

Sue Anna suggested changing the thread size from 20 to 10, and it worked! The inner rings are 7 - 5 + 5 - 7. I did change the stitch count on the chains, although I think the original stitch count for the long chains worked better. On this one, the long chain is 4 - 3 - 3 - 4. The stitch count on the short chains is 9 before and after the small ring.

Barbara was busy working on a bell pattern, and she was very pleased with herself because she managed to tat more today than at any other Tollway Tatters meeting. Go, Barbara!

Carol was working on a Myra Piper motif in size 40. She was inspired by one that was a gift to her in size 20... very pretty, but too large for her mom's tree. She was using Lizbeth Blue Ice, one of my favorite colors!

I took a close-up of Sue Anna, but it turned out blurry. Here she's busy taking a picture of us, even though it looks as if she's singing Christmas carols. ;-)

So, here's a picture of the Triangular Doodad Snow Crystal in size 10 Lizbeth, all cleaned up and ready for the tree! Sue Anna promised to send me a picture of hers when she finishes it.

So, what do you think, Jane? Will you be trying it in size 10? It's awful pretty!

Hugs, Diane

P.S. ~ It's 4" tall!

The Accidental Crystal

Snow Crystal, that is. I was tatting and chatting on the phone with Denise... a recipe for tatting mistakes... we have too much fun talking about what is going on in our lives and laughing at some of the things that happen to us. But I digress...

I was tatting my Doodad Snowflake #3 while we were talking, and I realized that I had reversed my work and tatted a ring to the doodad instead of switching shuttles and tatting an outer ring. It's kind of difficult to untat a ring while holding a phone between ear and shoulder, so I decided that my mistake was really a new design element, and I tatted on!

Not too bad for a mistake... or should I say new design?

Thread ~ size 20 HDT, Country Christmas by LadyShuttleMaker
Doodad ~ stock #H20 9117FY from Fire Mountain Gems
S hook ~ www.wirestormcreations.com

My ears are ringing!

Yup... I feel like a real designer! My Triangular Doodad Snow Crystal in LadyShuttleMaker's Country Christmas HDT has been featured on Craft Gossip!

Berries and Chocolate!

I really like this Boysenberry Dk thread. My only problem is, I have a strong craving for boysenberry pie! This doodad snowflake took me two evenings to complete. I really like the way it turned out, but I have some ideas for making it just a little better. If my ideas work, I'll post the pattern. If not, I'll keep on trying!

For inquiring minds... the thread is size 20 Lizbeth, Boysenberry Dk #644. The doodad is from Hobby Lobby, and the hook is from www.wirestormcreations.com.

We celebrated December birthdays at school yesterday, and one of the second grade teachers brought in a Whitman's Sampler tin. I asked her where she found it so that I could purchase one. At the end of the day, Aimee put the tin on my checkout counter in the library, with a few chocolates left in it! Thank you, Aimee!

I'm already starting to fill it with snowflakes and ornaments for next year!

Dear Jane...

I couldn't wait until the weekend to try and figure out a solution for tatting the Triangular Doodad Snow Crystal using a larger doodad, so here's my initial attempt...

Don't look too closely. It's really not very good. I only changed the inner rings: 7 - 5 + 5 - 7. You can see that some of the rings are really stretched. The chains are really stretched too. I managed to get it to lie fairly flat by using a little steam. I've tried some other stitch counts, but have quickly snipped off the ring and started over.

I think I may take this with me to Tollway Tatters on Saturday. Maybe we can figure something out together. When I/we figure something out, I'll be sure to post the solution!

Because people have been asking...

thread ~ size 20 Lizbeth, Boysenberry Dk #644
doodad ~ from Hobby Lobby (thanks Sue and Carol!)
S hook ~ www.wirestormcreations.com 

Doodad Snowflake #5 in Country Christmas

Love the thread, love the color, love the pattern... what more can I say? It even looks good on my tree, but I've given up on taking pictures of the tree because I just can't get a good one. Maybe I'll experiment with my camera after Christmas!

I participated in a button swap with Bri, and this is what I received today! The deal was to send two buttons and receive one back all decorated. I think it was a great deal! Thank you Bri!

As soon as Dave finishes his work in the sun room, we'll get the big tree up, and I will be decorating with loads of tatting!

Doodad Snowflake #3 ~ Country Christmas

Have I ever mentioned how much I love hand-dyed threads? They are smooth, luscious, and just plain beautiful! At one time, Sherry Pence aka LadyShuttleMaker offered to dye color combinations on request. I don't know if she still offers that service, but I do know that I fell in love with this color that I requested. You can still find some in her shop, so I guess others must have liked the color combo as well!

Before I forget...

Tollway Tatters will be meeting Saturday, December 15. If you're interested in joining us for some fun tatting and chatting, please email me for details. Wearing of tie-dyed t-shirts is optional! ;-)

Triangular Doodad Snow Crystal with pattern

Allison said it counted for the snowflake challenge. 

Denise reminded me that I had hand-dyed thread from Sherry Pence called Country Christmas.

Jane requested the pattern.

Now, if I could only figure out how to take a picture that shows the beauty of the ornament on the tree!

Here's the pattern for Jane, and anyone else who might be interested...


Supplies needed: 
2 shuttles
size 20 or 40 thread
doodad center with 6 holes (technically called finding, component, or link)

Wind thread CTM on two shuttles.

*Ring 1: 4 - 4 + 4 - 4 (join to hole on doodad), reverse work.

Chain 1: 3 - 3 - 3 - 3, switch shuttles.

Ring 2: 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 (5 picots), switch shuttles.

Chain 2: 3 - 3 - 3 - 3, reverse work.

Ring 3: 4 + 4 + 4 - 4 (join to last picot of 1st ring and to next hole in doodad), reverse work.

Chain 3: 6 ds, switch shuttles.

Ring 4: 3 - 3 - 3 - 3, switch shuttles.

Chain : 6 ds, reverse work.

Repeat from * three times. Remember to join last ring on doodad to first picot on first ring on doodad.