Blogging slug

Yup, that's what I'm becoming! The days have been going so quickly, that before I know it, it's time for bed and I haven't blogged. That doesn't mean I haven't been tatting!

Maria, The Knackful Kniiter, and I have been emailing back and forth about Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel glass mat from Tatting with Visual Patterns. Maria had this idea to use green for the chains and floral colors for the rings. Why didn't I think of that? Any way, we decided to try it out to see what we could come up with. I got the jump on Maria, because I had the colors I wanted to use on hand. There are definite benefits to having a thread stash!

I also had the advantage of nine hours in the car, driving to Minnesota! I used size 20 Lizbeth, #684 Leaf Green Medium for the chains, and #171 Green Coral Sea for the rings. I love the way it turned out! Thanks for the challenge, Maria!

We made a quick trip to Minnesota, up Friday and back Sunday, to pick up daughter Joanne and our newest granddaughter Sophia. They'll be visiting for two weeks... lots of fun for me! While we were visiting with daughter Andrea on Saturday, granddaughter Ella asked me if I would "knit [her] some tatting." What's a grandma to do?

Ella wanted the same Green Coral Sea for the chains, and she chose #119 Jelly Bean for the rings. I'm not sure I would have chosen that color combination, but I'm not four years old! ;-)

In typical four-year-old fashion, Ella asked me about every 15 minutes if I was finished knitting her tatting yet. When she tired of asking, she told me I could mail it to her. That I will do!

The Workbasket March 1953

This was a strange pattern to tat, because the center is added last!

I found it a bit difficult to tat the center and add it at the end.

I'm not sure I like the look of this one. It is 5" x 8" in size 20 Lizbeth #170.

If I were to tat this one again, I would design a different center, and I think I would make the bottom length shorter. I'm not sure I like the longer chains at each end either.

However, I really like the design that the joined clovers make on the ends!

Thanks to Tatting Marie for sending me this pattern!

Running out of thread

...is always a possibility when using a partially filled shuttle!

My shuttle is rewound and I'm ready to finish the bottom of the cross. This one's taking me a long time, because I'm just not catching on to the pattern. It's not difficult, it just requires my very close attention so that I don't lose my place in the pattern!

Six years ago today...

...I began blogging, and it has been a wonderful experience! Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that I began blogging with the encouragement of the wonderfully talented Sherry Pence aka LadyShuttleMaker. I shall forever be grateful to her for introducing me to this wonderful forum for communicating with other lace lovers!

Today is also my birthday... I can't believe I'm 61 and that I have four grown daughters and five grandchildren. Didn't I just graduate from high school?

There won't be much time for tatting today. Some of my family will be over to celebrate, and I'll get to see the rest of them next weekend. I can't believe I have to share my special day with fathers! ;-) Imagine how Christmas babies feel!

I'm making slow progress on my latest cross. I have to follow the directions line by line... thank goodness for Post-It notes! The directions say that the finished size is 4 1/2" x 7" with size 30 thread. I'm using size 20, so I'll be very interested to see how large this turns out!

Happy Father's Day to all those dads out there!

Gold Dust... gone!

Yup! I used it all up!

Isn't it amazing how much can be tatted from one skein of hand-dyed thread? I decided to take the tassel off the cross. I just didn't like it. I started to tat "Flower Pot" from Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz, but I realized I only had enough thread for the center of the pot, not the entire pot. So, I used up what was left on my shuttles to make bits of "Leaf Braid" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior.

I started another Workbasket cross tonight. This one is from March 1953. Tatting Marie was kind enough to send this pattern to me. From the picture, this is not a pattern I would have chosen to tat. However, now that I've started it, I really like it. I sure am glad I set up this challenge for myself!

The Workbasket March 1951

I had enough of Yarnplayer's "Gold Dust" to make a cross bookmark, so I chose this one. I love the thread, but I'm not too sure about the finished cross. I think it's the tassel I don't care for. I followed the directions for a tassel that came with the pattern, and I just don't like the look. I think I might change that out tomorrow... right after I decide what my next project will be!

Gold Dust Spinning Wheel

Just a quick post to show off my latest Spinning Wheel. Thunder storms are rolling in!

Palmer's Posy Shuttle

My newest shuttle arrived today, Palmer's Posy from La Cossette. Isn't it pretty? I could hardly wait to try it out. This is a modified Aerlit shuttle, and I was eager to see if the modifications improved the shuttle. In my opinion, they did!

I do have several of the Aerlit shuttles. My only complaint about them is that the bobbins seemed stiff and slightly difficult to move. I'm sure it's possible that some shuttle and bobbin combinations work better than others. That said, I'm happy to report that this shuttle works beautifully!

The motif is "Flower Fragment" from A Pattern Book of Tatting by Mary Konior. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the motif is actually a pale pink, size 20 Lizbeth #621.

I think I could tat these little Flower Fragments all day long! 

And now, back to tatting...

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind! I can't remember an end of the school year when I've had so hectic a schedule. But now that things have slowed down, I think I'll have a little time to tat!

I did manage to work a little on my latest Spinning Wheel glass mat. I've lost the tag, but I think the name of this hand-dyed thread is Gold Dust. The colors don't show up well on the screen, but trust me... this is one gorgeous colorway from Yarnplayer!

Denise was able to meet up with Sue Anna earlier in the week, and Sue Anna sent another beautiful HDT from Yarnplayer. This one is called Campfire, and I can't wait to tat it up. Thank you, Sue Anna!

Besides being addicted to hand-dyed thread, I am also addicted to tatting shuttles. Bet you didn't know that, did you?

These are my two newest Handi-Wind shuttles from Grizzly Mountain Arts. Dave has listed 12 of these beauties so far. I missed out on the first and last listings. I didn't see them until the morning after they were listed, and by then they were gone! That's okay, because I did manage to purchase two from the middle listing.

Let's see... I have two, I know where three others went... I wonder who the lucky tatters are who managed to purchase the other seven?

The Workbasket December 1958

As you can see, I managed to fix my mistake and finish the cross. This one is pretty big... 6 1/2" by 4 1/2", not including the ribbon. I used size 20 Lizbeth #621. I think I would like it better tatted in a finer thread. This one is too big to use as a bookmark, but wouldn't it be pretty framed?

Thank you to Beedeebabee and Lelia for finding this issue of The Workbasket and sending them to me. I have such awesome friends!