Teeny tiny tatting shuttles

These 10 little shuttles arrived today. Aren't they cute? I put the Clover shuttle in for a size comparison. I found them on Etsy here. I think they'll be great for my quilting thread. I'll be sure to let you know. I have a feeling this is going to be a fun tatting summer!

Oops!

I guess I have too much on my mind with end-of-the-school-year stuff, because I made a major mistake!

I was ready to join the next arm to the center, when I realized I had made a mistake all the way back to here. Of course I snipped the thread in the wrong place and had to remove an extra ring and chain, but now I'm ready to continue.

I tend to lose interest in a project once I've made a major mistake, which is probably why I have so many works-in-progress!

So, in an effort to clear my mind, I started another Spinning Wheel glass mat by Mary Konior... my comfort tat!

Cleaning up

The end of the school year is fast approaching, and I have some catching up and cleaning up to do! All of the books are now in order in the elementary library, with 22 books still out. This week I need to focus on getting the middle school/high school library in order, and I think we have about the same number of books still out there. We'll be out June 5th, but I'm attending a school conference with my daughter June 6th, so in my mind I won't be free until June 7th... much later than usual!

With so much to finish up at school, I'm finding it very difficult to focus on tatting at the end of the day. However, I did take some time this week to finish up two projects.

First I finished another Spinning Wheel glass mat from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. In case you didn't know, this is my all-time-favorite pattern! ;-)

This one is in size 10 Teenybopper by Yarnplayer, and it measures about 7 1/4" across. I love the colors, and I'm sure one of my granddaughters will claim it for her own!

This is my variation of The Workbasket cross that I love so much. I started this one when I was on jury duty a couple of weeks ago. All I needed to do was cut, tie, and hide the ends. This is in size 80 Majestic, a very nice tatting thread.

Here it is next to the same pattern tatted with size 20 Lizbeth. As you can see, there's quite a difference in the size!

Yesterday I received a beautiful card in the mail from my friend Carol. She included a cross bookmark... yes, it is THE cross bookmark! Carol found it when she was out shopping with friends before she learned to tat. Isn't it amazing that someone in Indiana chose to tat the pattern that I adore? Thank you for your thoughtful gift, Carol!

Please welcome Carrie!

Hello, dear friends!

It has been a very busy week with play practice every night. My feet hurt. My hips hurt. My arms hurt. My legs hurt. I'm having a blast! Unfortunately, there's been very little time for tatting. I have started on another Workbasket cross, but I'll wait until it's finished before I post a picture.

If you read my most recent Tollway Tatters post, you know that we had the great good fortune to meet Carrie this past weekend. Carrie is seated in this picture, with Carol standing behind her. Of course we asked Carrie when she was going to start a blog, and believe it or not, she started one right away!

Please visit Carrie here and welcome her to both blogging and tatting. There's nothing quite like a kind word and a bit of encouragement!

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!

Grabbing tiny bits of time

This is Dave's busy time selling blooming tropical plants. I don't have a head for business, but I can alphabetize invoices and record payments, so that's how I spent my evening... not much time for tatting!

This is a picture of the cross from the December 1958 issue of The Workbasket. I will be tatting this one soon! I kind of like the squared off arms, different from the crosses I usually decide to make.

Yesterday morning I found time to begin the last round of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. I think it will go fairly quickly... once I get some time to tat!

One of my nightly routines is to soak my feet in Epsom salts after dinner. I find it really relaxes me. Maybe that's because I'm rooted to a chair and I have 20 minutes to call mine! One of my Origami pouches was sitting right next to me, so I opened it up and found another pink cross that I started a couple of weeks ago. What's a girl to do? I worked on the cross, of course!

Lace-lovers to the rescue!

Thanks to some wonderful tatting friends and sleuths, I now have the pattern I've been looking for! I feel so lucky that I received so many responses regarding the cross pattern. I'm pretty sure that the original bookmark I received was from this issue of The Workbasket, because it was given to me in 1967 or 1968, too early for the Rebecca Jones book or the Becky Dempsey version.

Thank you, Patti! This is the April 1955 issue, and the pattern I've been looking for is right there on page 6!

Lucky me, I also have the December 1958 issue on its way to me! That's the issue I was originally looking for, but I have found that the cross in that issue is slightly different. I'm really going to have fun tatting both of these pretty patterns this summer. Now to get my tassel skills up to snuff!

Look, Jane... split rings!

I know, there are only three of them, and they're not integral to the cross pattern, but I did tat three split rings!

I was trying to use up what I thought was a little bit of thread on my shuttles. I wanted to empty them and refill them so that the last round of Doily VI by Jan Stawasz would have no extra thread joins. Silly, I know, but that's the way I want it. Guess what? I think I have enough thread left for another cross!

Did you notice the two shuttles? Rachel, who does fabulous nail art, decorated them for me. She actually painted those designs on! They're not paper or fabric that has been decoupaged. It's actual art work!

Isn't this zebra stripe awesome? This is an altered Starlit shuttle... no pick tip!

I told Rachel to feel free to do her thing... one side, both sides... whatever she was inspired to do. I'm glad that she only decorated one side. The decorated side is so smooth, I'm afraid the shuttles would fly right out of my fingers if both sides were decorated!

Josephina

This sweet little motif is "Josephina" from Happy Occhi by Petra Tornack-Zimmerman. I used size 20 Lizbeth, Pineapple Parfait #170.

This was the perfect pattern to tat while trying to learn the words to songs... always tough for me. Thank goodness we have the words printed out. Can you imagine my embarrassment if I belted out something like, "There's a bathroom on the right!" on stage?

One round to go!

I finished Round VII of Doily VI from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz. I'm using size 20 Latte Foam, and it now measures 13" across. I can't believe I have only one round to go!

Learning to blog on my phone

My Internet is down again! This is becoming very frustrating. I wonder if it's the rabbits again?

I received another new shuttle this week, this time from LadyShuttleMaker. I do adore her ceramic shuttles! I try to buy one special shuttle each year. Who am I kidding? I have more than 40 ceramic shuttles, and I only "met" Sherry six and a half years ago!

I have more to write about, but since I've never blogged via phone before, I think I'll stop here and see how it posts. Wish me luck!

One fantastic week!

Despite being laid low by a stomach bug on Tuesday, this has been a fabulous week!

Play practice began on Monday, and although I didn't need to be there, I attended Middle School Drama Camp and participated in learning the dance routine... for as long as I was able. Oh, my goodness! I knew I was out of shape, but this is ridiculous! I'm going to have to do some training in the coming week so that I'm prepared for learning the dance routine I have to know! It was suggested that we practice jogging in place while singing "One" from A Chorus Line so that we're prepared for the finale. Are you kidding me? The thought of jogging in place makes my knees and ankles ache. I've been trying to learn the lyrics, and my tongue gets all tangled around the words. What if they kick me out of the play? Can I get by with lip syncing? I'm the old lady in the cast, so hopefully the director (daughter Carol) will cut me a little slack. ;-)

The best part of the week was receiving a new tatting shuttle to beta test for Dave Stanbrough at Grizzly Mountain Arts!

It is awesome! Do you see the little handle attached to the top? It's to help with the winding process.

Can you see the deep slits? It does take a little longer to wind this shuttle because of the deep slits, but the shuttle is so smooth, I don't find it to be a problem. Winding shuttles is very therapeutic for me. If you're addicted to winding quickly, this shuttle may not be for you. I forgot to measure the thread as I was winding, but I do know it holds much more than a small Clover. I'll try to remember to measure the next time I wind it.

This is the hole where the handle screws in. While tatting, I put my thumb over this hole. I found that it helps me keep my grip.

The top is nice and smooth. I do love the feel of wood when I'm tatting. What are your thoughts on a shuttle like this? I'd love to give Dave some feedback from tatters. Would you be interested in a shuttle like this?

Dave told me in his email that he will probably never be able to make typical post shuttles again because of problems with his fingers and hands. However, he misses making shuttles, and he thinks he'll be able to make some of these as well as some of his flat shuttles with no problems.

You can always visit Grizzly Mountain Arts to see what Dave has available, but beware... I'm an avid fan of his shuttles, spindles, and picot gauges, so if I see them first, you may not have the opportunity to buy one!

So, what did I make with this new shuttle?

Another Pineapple Parfait cross! I'm kind of addicted to this pattern now that I have it memorized. The Pineapple Parfait was sitting right next to my chair, and I just couldn't resist using this yummy color again.

Fox the Enabler got me into trouble again. We tend to do that to each other! She emailed me about a book that was being discussed on InTatters, and she wondered if I was familiar with it. I quickly searched for the book, watched the YouTube video, and decided that the book was not for me. There's nothing wrong with the book. In fact, it's wonderful! I just thought about all the books I have that are, as of now, unused... meaning I haven't tatted anything from them.

I did find the book on Etsy for about half the price I had seen it in other places. I sent Fox the information, and she also decided to pass on it for now. Then, one day I received an email from Etsy indicating that I had an item in my cart that needed to be paid for... oops! I didn't realize I had put it in my cart! Or if I did, I thought I had completed the purchase... I'm afraid the old brain just isn't what it used to be. Anyway, I figured that I needed to pay for the book because the seller had been waiting for payment.

It arrived this week, and there are some wonderful designs! One aspect that I find very interesting is the use of color, so different from what I would ordinarily choose. However, when I think of the bright colors in Ukrainian costumes and the gorgeously decorated Easter eggs, the color choices make sense. I'm very happy to add this book to my collection!

I chose the name Lace-lovin' Librarian for a reason... I am fascinated by all kinds of lace! I am always excited to receive my lace issue of PieceWork magazine, but this year's issue is especially wonderful. Can you see what attracted me on the cover? "Discover a Master Tatter"...five full pages devoted to Lily Mae Burley Patrick! I'd have to look through my past issues, but I do believe this is the most extensive article devoted to tatting in any issue I've ever read in PieceWork! I highly recommend checking out this issue!

After tatting "Sonnenschein," I knew I had to have Happy Occhi. I can't believe it arrived so quickly! If I counted correctly, there are 25 patterns in this book... fabulous!

I managed to finish all my laundry last night, so I think I'll take a little time to tat today. :-)