Wee Snowballs

Wee Snowballs is an Ice Drop pattern by Jean Inglis. This was a fun tat loaded with Josephine rings. However, I know I did something wrong, because Jean's sample is much more compact and truly looks like snowballs!

I have this adorable metal tree in my bedroom. It's loaded with my January tatting, 33 Ice Drops and 6 snowflakes. Not bad, I think!

Playing with thread

I didn't have anything to post yesterday, because I spent most of the day working on my design and pattern for Tatting Corner Tat Days. Sorry, no sneak peeks or sharing of the pattern until after Tat Days, July 5-7!

After sending off my pattern for test tatting, I decided to play with the thread I had left on my shuttles. I kind of like the way this one turned out. Dave named it Hexagon Ice Drop. The pattern's really pretty simple.

Tat the basic Ice Drop using two shuttles.

For round 3:
Ch 9; reverse work
Ring: 6+6, joining to picot on chain from round 1; reverse work; switch shuttles
Josephine ring (I used one ds followed by 11 second half stitch); switch shuttles
Ch 7; reverse work.
Ring: 6+6, joining to picot on chain from round 1; reverse work; switch shuttles
Josephine ring (I used one ds followed by 11 second half stitch); switch shuttles
Ch 7; reverse work
Ring: 6+6, joining to picot on chain from round 1; reverse work; switch shuttles
Josephine ring (I used one ds followed by 11 second half stitch); switch shuttles
Ch 9; join to base of ring on round 2

Repeat pattern five times. Cut, tie, and hide ends.

Design day

After Dave and I spent the morning doing housework, I had the afternoon all to myself... time to work on my design for Tatting Corner's Tat Days July 5-7!

I am so close to finishing my design. In fact, I was sure I was finished, but I had an idea to make it even better as I was working on the second pattern repeat. I'm going to finish the version I'm working on now, but I think I'll be trying a different twist to the design tomorrow.

So, there was only time for one basic Ice Drop today. It was a good day!

Puff!

This has been a busy two weeks for subbing! Conferences, flu, and doctor appointments have kept me busy... as a sub, that is.

Today's little Ice Drop looks like a little puff to me. I returned to my basic Ice Drop pattern for this one. The chain next to the glass gem has three picots, and the outer gem has five picots.

The picots on this one are smaller than the ones on the last two ice drops. Puff!

A lovely surprise!

Thanks to Kathy, I found out that my Ice Drop pattern was voted Best New Pattern on Craftree! I've been a member for a long time, but I haven't been very good about visiting on a regular basis in the past year or so.

Thank you to all who voted for my pattern. I am surprised, flattered, and very grateful for all the interest in my little pattern. I truly am surprised at the number of people who have worked with my designs and have adapted the basic Ice Drop pattern in ways that I never could have imagined!

Today was another sub day. Tomorrow will be also. Today I chose to do three rows of picots. This Ice Drop is very fluffy! I was asked to take a picture with the light shining through. I like that the back side of the Ice Drop shows through.

Working a full week has tired me out! I think I'll go to bed early tonight.

Ruffled

I was subbing in 5th grade again today. I really do like those kids!

When I got home, I finished the Ice Drop I started this morning. I like the two rows of picots. It looks so frilly and it ruffles slightly, which I really like.

Maybe I'll try three rows next!

5th grade

Today I subbed in 5th grade, and I had a wonderful time. I was in my friend Peggy's old classroom. Peggy retired several years before I did. If Peggy were to read my blog post, she would laugh at the thought of me teaching math! Despite my mathematical shortcomings, all went well.

Luckily, I had time to tat an Ice Drop when I got home. I do get great pleasure from tatting these little ornaments!

Playing with hearts

I tried working with the basic Ice Drop pattern and picots.

I tried a variety of chain lengths,

trying to find a stitch count that enhanced the shape of the acrylic heart.

I can't say that I'm happy with any of them. In fact, looking back on the heart designs I've tried, I think I like my first one the best, the one that reminded me of Minnie Mouse.

I'm getting kind of tired of hearts. I may do some more experimenting, but I think I'm ready to move on to other things.

Not quite...

I'm still going for a heart shape. This isn't quite what I was hoping for, but I think it's getting better. I can see that I need to shorten the chains at the bottom. It's funny, but as I was tatting those chains, I was afraid they'd be too short!

I'll try again, but probably not tomorrow. I'll be subbing again!

Test tatting

I had the great honor of test tatting Robin Perfetti's new pattern, Classic Heart. I tatted it two times and found both the written directions and the diagram very easy to follow. This one is done in size 20 Lizbeth #173, Purple Marble.

One of my tatting friends asked if I had tried tatting around a heart shaped gem. I hadn't, so I decided to give it a try. I think it looks more like Minnie Mouse than a heart, but at least I gave it a try!

Just one...

Between subbing and doing laundry, I only had time for one Ice Drop. Better one than none, right?

Flu season

Flu is going around, so I've had a busy week subbing. Yes, subbing is cutting in to my tatting time, but I'm happy to help out. Besides, I enjoy seeing the kids!

So, I only managed to tat one Ice Drop today. Still, one is better than none!

My little princess

Sophia loves Frozen! I think she looks adorable in her new Elsa dress!

Despite my aversion to split rings, I started Jane's TIAS today. The first two split rings are terrible. The core thread twisted and I couldn't close the ring completely. However, the third split ring worked just fine. I guess that goes to show that I need to practice split rings on a more regular basis.

Today was a last minute sub day. Still, I managed to tat two Ice Drops. These are the new version. They do look nice and clean, but I think I'm ready to go back to my other version!

Chain, chain, chain

When I first started working on Ice Drops over a year ago, this is the look I was going for. It took me almost a year to figure out how the leave off the extra chain around the center bead, despite the fact that other wonderful tatters figured it out and gave instructions. I can be a bit thick at times. I do like this look, but the funny thing is that I've become quite fond of those chains around the center. I can add beads, picots, or leave them plain.

Chain, chain, chain...

Getting ready...

My shuttles are wound, and I am ready for Jane Eborall's 2018 TIAS. I've only completed two of them, but I've started them all. My favorite was the scissors. I do have all of them printed out, so maybe I'll finish them all some day!

Today's Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth Arctic Waters. With the crackled glass gem, this one reminds me of Frozen, just like the one I tatted yesterday!

Disney princess challenge

One of our Ice Drop Addicts members challenged us to tat an Ice Drop to represent a Disney princess.

I found these beads in my stash, and they reminded me of Elsa from Frozen.

I know it's not the right shad of blue, but I think granddaughter Sophia will love it!

I might have to make one for her sister Kara as well. They both love to stand in front of the t.v. and sing "Let It Go!"

Purple Marble

I only had time to tat one Ice Drop today, so I'm glad I chose a pretty color! This is Lizbeth Purple Marble. The shuttle is from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design.

Most of the Christmas decorations are put away now, and Dave took me to pick up my sewing machine today. I really have the urge to sew!

Befuddled by beads

"Mary" from Twenty to Make Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams is a beautiful beaded snowflake.  I was really looking forward to tatting it, but I kept making mistakes, forgetting to add beads in the appropriate places.

The pattern is really very simple, so I decided to tat it without the beads to see how the pattern flows.

Now that I have the pattern down pat, I think I can successfully add the beads. I think it makes a great Ice Drop, too!

The shuttle is one of my favorites from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design.

Sub day

I subbed in second grade today, and I had a wonderful time! The teacher was well organized. The kids were well behaved. It was a perfect day.

The only downside was that I only had time to tat one Ice Drop. This is a basic Ice Drop with picots on the chains, which gives it an extra frilly look. Why two shuttles? They were filled with thread, and I used one as the shuttle and one as the ball. I find it much easier to carry two shuttles with me, and a shuttle doesn't take up nearly as much space as a ball of thread.

Both of these beautiful shuttles are by Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design. Rita is such a talented lady, and I am happy to count her as one of my friends!

Catrin

I'm really enjoying tatting the designs in Twenty to Make Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams. It's great fun to see if I can figure out how to turn them into Ice Drops.

My only disappointment in tatting this snowflake is that there was something on my iron that left red marks on the snowflake. I'm really not sure what was on my iron, but I sure wish I had seen it before I pressed my snowflake! The red is gone now. I read somewhere that a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser was good for cleaning irons. It worked so well the first time I tried it, I haven't used anything else in a long time.

Gillian

I got called in to sub at the last minute today, but I still managed to find time to tat "Gillian" from Twenty to Make Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams. Because this was such an easy tat, I was able to turn it into an Ice Drop after dinner.

Yes, I have another new shuttle from Emiko Suenaga. Isn't it beautiful?

Doomed!

I think my attempt at tatting "Helen" from Twenty to Make Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams was doomed from the start.

I finally gave up trying to undo my beaded ring this morning. I wasted a lot of time yesterday, and when I did decide to give up I realized how foolish I was with my time. This is the point where I messed up yesterday. I guess it doesn't always pay to be stubborn!

I really shouldn't try to tat while talking on the phone. I'm not sure if I should try and rescue this snowflake or just drop it in the trash can.

After my disaster, I decided to relax with an Ice Drop... familiar territory, you know!

I did return to "Helen" after dinner, this time without the beads. I'm pretty sure this was my first time to tat lock chains. I think I need a little more practice! This new shuttle by Emiko Suenaga arrived today. It's available exclusively at Tatting Corner.

The back is just as pretty as the front!

Stubborn

I could have accomplished so much today, but because I'm being stubborn, I only managed to tat one Ice Drop.

I really like the way this one turned out!

The stubborn part? I'm working on a pattern with beads, and I closed a ring too soon. I've opened beaded rings many times, but this one is causing me fits! I'm guessing I've spent about four hours trying to get this ring open. I could have easily snipped it off and re-tatted it. In fact, I probably could have tatted three or four of the motifs in the time I've spent trying to fix my mistake, but I'm stubborn!

Adapting

After a couple of false starts, I managed to turn "Auriel" from Twenty to Make, Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams into an Ice Drop!

I think round 1 makes a pretty Ice Drop by itself, so I may tat this again.

The hard part was figuring out how to keep the glass gem from falling out the back. I don't know why it took me so long to think of joining the chains after 3 ds.

I love the way this turned out.

I find that I'm getting more and more ideas for Ice Drops. Will this addiction ever end? I hope not ...at least not for a while!

Design day

I'm going to be teaching at Tatting Corner's Tat Days in July, so I've been busy designing a new Ice Drop! I worked on an idea on the way to and from Alabama, and I spent this morning working on the pattern. Designing and writing up a pattern takes a long time!

I won't be showing my design until after Tat Days. It will make the anticipation more fun!

I did take time to tat two Ice Drops today. This one is in Karey Solomon's hand-dyed thread, Distant Mountains. I do love this color!

My friend Mary Lou loves purple and green, so I thought of her as I was tatting this one.

I have an idea for adapting another of Jennifer Williams' designs as an Ice Drop. I sure hope I have time to try it out this weekend!

Auriel

Today was another snowflake day. This is "Auriel" from Twenty to Make Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams. The shuttle was a Christmas present from my friend Denise. My favorite color is blue (I'll bet you didn't know that! ;-)), and Denise's favorite color is pink. Denise commissioned Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design to make us blue and pink matching shuttles. I love it!

When I picked up the mail after our return from Alabama, I had a package waiting from my friend Michelle. To commemorate our tatting retreat in July, we ordered shuttles from Frivole.

Both sides are beautiful! I hope I'm able to attend the next Twin Cities Tatters retreat. It was so much fun, and I'm pretty sure I could convince Denise to ride along with me!

A purple kind of day

I started off the day tatting Stars in Stars by Eliz Davis aka Tatknot. It's a simple pattern to follow, and I like the way Eliz chose to weave another star across the top.

I practiced this oya fan pattern again today. It's looking better, but it's not nearly as nice as the one in the video.

I am happy with my improvement! Maybe the next time I'll have enough thread to finish the motif!

It was snowing this morning, so I was inspired to tat a snowflake. This one is "Alison" from...

Twenty to Make, Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams. This looked like one that could be adapted for an Ice Drop, so I gave it a whirl.

I think it turned out pretty nicely!

I suppose it would look better if I did front side/back side tatting, but I don't want to work that hard, and the technique confuses me.

I'm not sure I'd be able to explain how I tatted this, but I will try again. I messed up on some of the rings with picots. I can see the rings that are incorrect, but I'm sure it wouldn't be noticeable to non-tatters.

Yes, it's been a purple kind of day. I wonder which color I'll choose to use tomorrow? 😀