Tollway Tatters

 

Tollway Tatters met on Zoom today! Sue was kind enough to get it set up for us, and we met for a little over three hours. It was so nice to spend time with tatting friends!

I worked on round 2 of Renulek's 2021 Spring Doily. I think I could have accomplished a lot more, but I accidentally tatted one motif too many. It takes a long time to untat one of those motifs!

Since we all had such a good time today, we've decided to try and meet the last Saturday of each month at 9 a.m. central time. It may be a while before we can get together physically, and meeting by Zoom is a pretty good alternative. If you'd like to join us, just visit the Tollway Tatters page on Facebook. Sue will post the link for the Zoom meeting a day or two before we meet. Even if you can just drop by to say hi, we'd love to have you join us!

Something new

 

I'm not with button ornaments or ice drops, but I am starting something new. Have you started? Do you know what it is? This is round 1 of Renulek's 2021 Spring Doily, available on her blog and in her Etsy shop. I chose to purchase the pattern so that I can work on it at my own speed. I get a bit anxious when I can't keep up the pace of following the tat-along. Purchasing the pattern makes me feel much more relaxed!

My Granny Rectangle afghan is growing! I can't believe how quickly it's working up.

I was sorting through my tatting bag and found that I had a donut that I hadn't blocked and posted. I think this is the last of this pink thread. I lost the tag, but I think it's Lizbeth Pink Parade. I guess it's time to choose another color!

 

We were back in school today, and everyone seemed to be happy to resume the school year routine. I managed to tat an Ice Drop while supervising.

I spent the afternoon working on my Granny Rectangle, and I'm very pleased with how quickly it is growing!

Granny Stripes finished!

 

We had a remote learning day today, so I was able to work on my Granny Stripes afghan while monitoring student progress today. I finished it mid-afternoon. I can't snuggle under it, though. It's for my nephew, Andrew!

Since Granny Stripes was spoken for, I decided to start a Granny Rectangle out of the leftover yarn. I'm not sure how big I'll be able to make it, but I'm hoping it's big enough to be a lap robe. If not, I do have grandchildren who might like it!

Granny Stripes Afghan

 

I tatted two button ornaments today. They look very Spring-like, but I'm not quite ready for Spring. I'm still enjoying Winter!

I'm finally getting close to finishing my Granny Stripes Afghan. I hadn't touched it for a long time, but I spent most of my free time working on it this weekend. I only have ten rows left to crochet, and then I'll be ready to crochet the border. I'm looking forward to having another project finished!

Frog eyes

I was getting ready to mail frogs off to my grandchildren when I had an idea... eyelashes!

Adapting one of my button ornament patterns really made a difference.

So now Kara's pink frog has pretty pink eyes.

Janko's black frog has the red eyes he wanted so that his frog would be like one of his dinosaurs.

Sophia wanted blue eyes on her green frog. Now I'm happy and I can package up their frogs to be mailed on Monday.

I think Kermit the Frog might be a little green with envy!

Seven picots

I only managed to tat one ornament today. I like the offset circle in the donut. It seems to put the ornament in motion! This is the December 8 button ornament with seven picots. This one may be a keeper!

Hearts are hard

 

I don't know why I try, but I do. After tatting Robin Perfetti's Candy Heart yesterday, I decided to try my hand at a button heart. I wouldn't say it's awful, but it's certainly not pretty like Robin's! Part of me wants to try again, and part of me wants to just leave hearts to the experts. I think I'll leave them to the experts! 

I think I do better going around in circles!

Candy Heart

I'm a big fan of Robin Perfetti, and I was very excited when I saw she had a new pattern in her shop! Candy Heart is a fun and easy tat. I even managed to tat the SCMR without any hesitation. There are two versions included in the pattern, and I love them both!

Frogs

 

Granddaughter Kara asked for a frog, a pink frog. There was no way I could send Kara a frog and not send frogs for Sophia and Janko. So, I spent today making frogs!

One more pink

 

I tatted one more Ice Drop in pink today. I could have done more, but I was too busy looking up things online. 

I found an easy bread recipe that I really like. Apparently Mom and Dave like it, too. It's almost gone!

Still in the pink

 

I'm still playing with pink! A Doodle Ice Drop was a great way to start the day.

Of course a doodle button was in order as well!

And one more Doodle finished my tatting day!

Pink

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that my favorite color is blue. I also love green, purple, and red, but I've never really been drawn to pink. Still, pink shows up in so many of my projects. I like it as an accent, and with four daughters and five granddaughters it's inevitable that pink is going to be the requested color at some point!

I've lost the tag for this particular pink, so I don't know the color number or name. I suppose I could look it up, but I'm a little too lazy to do that! It does look pretty as an ice drop and a button ornament. I don't mind small projects like this, but it would take a great deal of effort for me to tat a large piece in pink!

Donut doodles

I am really enjoying tatting with donuts! I love that my Doodle Ice Drop pattern adapts so easily to these pretty little rings.

 It doesn't seem to matter what size donut I use, the pattern works!

Doodling

I can't help myself. I love playing with my Doodle Ice Drop pattern. Today I tatted with a donut.

Then, I moved on to a green button. I think it's a pretty good color match!

Finally, I finished with a cream colored button. That's the end of that ball of green. I truly have way too much thread. I think using it to tat ornaments is a great way of using up partial balls. I don't have to worry about dye lots, and I have something pretty to show for my efforts. Besides, I need to work through my stash of buttons, glass gems, and donuts!

Look what arrived in the mail today! I've been eagerly awaiting this book. No, I don't speak a word of Italian, but I am thrilled to have Edda Guastalla's new book to browse through. I'm a big fan of visual patterns, so I'm pretty sure I'll be able to work on these designs. Let the fun begin!

January 12 button ornament

 

This ornament is a mistake. It is not at all what I had envisioned, and now that it is finished, I can't remember what I had originally intended!

January 12 Button Ornament

Materials:

5/8" four hole button

size 20 thread

2 shuttles wound continuous thread method

Symbols:

+ join

- joining picot

Round 1:

Ring 3 - 3 + 3 - 3, reverse work (join to button)

Chain 6, reverse work

*Ring 3 + 3 + 3 - 3, reverse work (join to picot on previous ring and to button)

Chain 6, reverse work**

Repeat from * to ** around, with three joins in each hole, joining final chain to base of 

first ring.

Round 2:

Ch 7, lock join to base of next ring

Repeat around, reverse work after last lock join

Round 3:

Ring 12, reverse work

Chain 18, lock join to base of ring

Chain 7, lock join to base of next ring, reverse work

Repeat around. Cut, tie, and hide ends.

To be honest, I finished designing the button ornament yesterday. Still, I already had one for the 11th, so I saved it for the 12th.

Today, I focused on using glass gems, buttons, and thread that I had in my tatting bag that I carry to school. I'm almost out of this ball of ecru thread. I may have enough left for one or two more ornaments!

January 11 button ornament

Today is my brother's birthday. I'd like to say that I designed an ornament for his birthday, but I didn't. I just happened to design one on his birthday. Happy birthday, David!

Does this look familiar? I added a second round to the January 10 ornament.

January 11 Button Ornament

Materials:

5/8" four hole button

size 20 thread

2 shuttles wound continuous thread method

Symbols:

+ join

- joining picot

Round 1:

Ring 3 - 3 + 3 - 3, reverse work (join to button)

Chain 6, reverse work

*Ring 3 + 3 + 3 - 3, reverse work (join to picot on previous ring and to button)

Chain 6, reverse work**

Repeat from * to ** around, with three joins in each hole, joining final chain to base of 

first ring.

Round 2:

Split ring 6/6, do not reverse work

Chain 12, reverse work

*Ring 6 + 6, reverse work (join to base of ring on previous round), reverse work

Chain 12, reverse work**

Repeat from * to ** around, joining last chain to base of first ring.

Cut, tie, and hide ends.

My friend Shelley was inspired to adapt my Doodle Ice Drop as a button. I love the thread color, and I LOVE all those picots!

I was inspired to try Shelley's tourtiere recipe. It was delicious! We had it for dinner both last night and tonight, and there's just enough left for lunch tomorrow. It's been a while since I've tried a new recipe. This was a great way to start out the new year!

I seem to have Doodles on the brain today. A doodle donut started my day.

A doodle button quickly followed. I'd like to say I'm going to tat a Doodle Ice Drop tonight, but I think my tatting for the day is done!

To join or not to join

I've been wanting to tat 12 rings around a 5/8" button, but I've been avoiding it because I really dislike trying to close small rings. It's hard enough for me to make my fumble fingers close a small ring neatly, but add the challenge of a ring snugged up to a button... yikes!

I really thought that adding joining picots to the sides of a ring, would be too bothersome. So, the button on the left has simple 6 + 6 rings. When I finished, it looked "off" to me.

Enter button #2 on the right. This time I tatted the rings 3 - 3 + 3 - 3. It looks more balanced to me, and I like balance.

Can you tell I'm really enjoying tatting lock chains for hangers? They're still not perfect, but each one seems to get better!

I'm sure this pattern has been presented many times, but I wrote it down for myself and I'm happy to share what I've done with you.

January 10 Button Ornament

Materials:

5/8" four hole button

size 20 thread

shuttle and ball

Symbols:

+ join

- joining picot

For the button on the left:

Round 1:

Ring 6 + 6, reverse work (join to button)

Chain 6, reverse work

Continue around with three joins in each hole, joining final chain to base of first ring.

Cut, tie, and hide ends.

For the button on the right:

Round 1:

Ring 3 - 3 + 3 - 3, reverse work (join to button)

Chain 6, reverse work

*Ring 3 + 3 + 3 - 3, reverse work (join to picot on previous ring and to button)

Chain 6, reverse work**

Repeat from * to ** around, with three joins in each hole, joining final chain to base of 

first ring.

Cut, tie, and hide ends.

January 7 button ornament

 

I really hadn't planned on designing any more button ornaments, but this one just kind of fell off my shuttles today. If you find any mistakes, please let me know!

January 7 Button Ornament

Materials:

5/8" four hole button

size 20 thread

shuttle and ball

Symbols:

+ join

- joining picot

Round 1:

Ring 4 - 4 + 4 - 4, reverse work (join to button)

Chain 4 - 4, reverse work

*Ring 4 + 4 + 4 - 4, reverse work (join to previous ring and button)

Chain 4 - 4, reverse work**

Repeat from * to ** around button with three joins in first and third holes and two joins in

the second and fourth holes.

Join final chain to base of first ring.

Round 2:

Chain 4, reverse work

Ring 4 + 4, reverse work (join to picot on chain of previous round)

Chain 12, reverse work

Ring 4 + 4, reverse work (join to same picot on chain of previous round)

Chain 4, lock join to base of ring from previous round

Repeat around. Cut, tie and hide ends.

Two plus two

I started off the day with two button ornaments. I used the same thread and the same pattern, but the color of the button really changes the look!

Plus, I tatted two Ice Drops. Both are Doodle Ice Drops with a little bit of embellishment. A few picots, different colored glass gems, and/or a few beads certainly add to the fun!

Ecru

 We headed back to school today! It was great to see students and staff members after the holiday break.

Ecru is not my favorite color, but I have been enjoying using it to tat around donuts! Today's tatting was inspired by my Doodle Ice Drop.

Speaking of Ice Drops, I decided it was time to get back into tatting Ice Drops. These glass gems are a little larger than I like working with, but I was able to use my original basic pattern by increasing my stitch count from 4-4-4-4 to 5-5-5-5. 

My Christmas tree for next year's fund raiser arrived today. I'm going to have great fun decorating it with tatted ornaments!

More donuts

 

Today was another busy one. I spent time this morning preparing for getting back to school tomorrow. Then Mom and I headed out for a doctor's appointment. Somehow, I still managed to tat around three donuts! 2021 is off to a great start!

Donuts

My donuts from Fire Mountain Gems arrived last week. Honestly, I had kind of forgotten about them, but they caught my eye this morning, and I decided to play!

I started with a simple ring and chain pattern. Everything is in 5s, my favorite number!

Then I decided it would be fun to add some Swarovski crystals. I love Swarovski crystals, so this one has been tucked away in the box of ornaments I'm keeping for our tree.

While tatting with the crystals, I got to thinking that the donut would look nice with rings, chains, and no picots. It's very simple, but I think it will be eye-catching on a tree.

Next, I decided to try three seed beads at the base of the ring. I'm not sure I like this one.

However, I do really like one seed bead at the base of each ring!

I also like one seed bead on the chain. The possibilities seem endless!

I wasn't sure I'd like tatting around donuts, but now that I've played with them, I've found that it's much easier that tatting with a button or a glass gem. I may play with different ring sizes next, or I may continue playing with this base pattern. Either way, I think I'm going to have plenty of ornaments for the drama club fund raiser next year!