Saving Beatrice

Poor Beatrice! She's been on hold since November 9, when I ran out of thread! Luckily, Tatskool had some of her luscious Raspberry Sorbet left, so I quickly ordered the last two skeins. For some reason, the mail system took F-O-R-E-V-E-R! ...a whole month to be exact! By the time the thread arrived, Dave had begun decorating for Christmas... he goes way overboard, and I have to put tons of my favorite stuff away. Naturally, I put Beatrice in a very safe place... too safe! When the thread arrived, I couldn't find my precious little doily anywhere! I dutifully wound the thread onto my dragonfly thread winder, knowing that Beatrice would show her pretty little face at some point.

When we were putting the Christmas decorations away, I found my beloved Beatrice! However, I had put the new thread in a very safe place, and couldn't find it anywhere! So, I put Beatrice in a very safe place, knowing that the dragonfly would flit my way sometime in the future.

Saturday, I decided to do a little organizing in my sewing room. Guess what I found... my dragonfly filled with beautiful thread! But where had I put Beatrice? I just couldn't find her. I won't tell you my sewing room is now organized... that would be a complete lie! However, I did find myself drawn back to the cluttered mess several times on Saturday and Sunday. Late Sunday afternoon, I decided to give up on tatting for a little bit and work on my lace scarf (in the works for two years now). When I opened my knitting basket, guess what I saw smiling up at me... Beatrice! Luckily, I had placed the dragonfly next to my chair so that I could work on Beatrice as soon as I found her!

End of the story, right? Wrong! I happily tatted along, and when I thought I was finished, I realized I had one pattern repeat too many! So, I carefully un-tatted my precious HDT to the necessary point and prepared to finish my lovely little doily. Now are we at the end? No! I discovered that I made a mistake at the very beginning of the doily! I joined the second cluster of rings to the wrong picot on the first cluster of rings. I almost cried! But, I didn't... instead I carefully looked at the doily to see what I needed to do. I cut out the first ring, and carefully unpicked the second ring. I finished Beatrice about 9 last night, and now you can see her in all her glory!

Poor girl... she's been through a lot! I hope to carefully wrap her up and send her off to a friend this week. What!? I'm not keeping her for myself? No, she was started with a particular friend in mind, and that friend will receive her... better late that never! Luckily, I have enough Raspberry Sorbet to make a second one for me!

By the way, Beatrice, designed by Iris Niebach, is about 8 1/2" across in size 20 Raspberry Sorbet from Tatskool. Have I ever mentioned how much I love HDT? Oh, and even with retro-tatting, I finished this little beauty in 10 days... woo hoo!

Beatrice - Spring Green

Have I told you that Beatrice is one of my favorite Iris Niebach patterns? I don't know how many of these I've made, but I never get tired of Beatrice. This one is in Lizbeth Spring Green from Handy Hands. There is one mistake where I forgot to join, but as my friend Shirlee would say... it's good enough for who it's for... me!

Maybe I should block it now...

Blue on blue...

Oh, wait! That's such a sad song, and I'm far from being sad! I leave for Alabama tomorrow... two weeks with my beautiful, talented mother! Bonus... Tattycat and I will get to meet each other in person! Whoo hoo! Last September I got to meet Yarnplayer at the Harvest Festival. What fun it is to get to meet online tatting buddies in person!

I know I said "Eleonora" was calling to me (in Pamela's "Apple Blossom"), but "Pensacola Beach" kept telling me that since I was headed south, I really needed to use southern-inspired thread. So, I started my second "Beatrice" in "Pensacola Beach" last night. Of course, the shuttle I wanted to use still had some thread on it, so I used it on my favorite single shuttle pattern, "Leaf Braid" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. Then, I changed my mind and decided to use my new shuttle from Grizzly Mountain Arts! I can be so fickle!

So, my tatting bags are almost packed... HDT in silk and cotton for 6 crosses, supplies for "Eleonora" and "Beatrice", supplies for bookmarks, picot gauge, scissors, patterns... I hope I'm not forgetting anything! Now, I guess I'd better look into packing clothes for the trip...

Personal tatting challenge no. 3

I've completed my third personal tatting challenge! This is "Beatrice" from Tatted Doilies by Iris Niebach. I am fascinated by Iris's designs. I love that a complex piece can be completed in one round. Even if I do reach a level of expertise where I feel like I can design, I doubt that I would be able to envision patterns the way Iris does! The thread is Altin Basak #3004, size 50. I used a SewMate shuttle, which I really like. However, when it comes to plastic shuttles, the Clovers are still my favorite.

Oh, dear! I just thought of something... now I'll have to choose a new project!

Shuttling between projects

I've been spending time with "Beatrice" by Iris Niebach this week, but since I haven't been to therapy in two weeks, I decided I really need the workout I get from crochet.

Three evenings for a 6" crocheted doily is an awful slow pace for me, but at this point I'm just grateful that I can crochet! This is #11 from Mini Masterpieces: 30 Little Doilies by Patricia Kristoffersen.

Good news from the doctor! More therapy has been approved! The insurance company only approved 6 sessions out of the 12 the doctor requested, but something's better than nothing! I guess I'm going to have to force myself to tat, crochet, and knit this summer... all in the name of healing my wrist, of course! Sigh! A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

Beatrice

Yes, I've been tatting! I'm working on "Beatrice" from Tatted Doilies by Iris Niebach. I'm using Altin Basak, size 50, color #3004. It's funny how my attitude toward thread has changed. This used to be one of my treasured balls that I was saving for when I really developed my tatting skills. I think the thread is really pretty, but I chose it as practice thread before turning to my precious HDT!

I don't know what I did with the scanner, but this is one of the clearest scans I've had so far! The colors show a bit brighter than what they actually are, but I like the way the piece looks.

My therapist took range of motion measurements yesterday, and she's very pleased with my progress! I do my exercises faithfully, and I tat a little bit here, a little bit there... you get the idea! It's paying off. I'm very glad I worked with size 3 thread for a while. I now have a much better understanding of how everything goes together. I'm also glad that I'm forced to work on this doily slowly, because my stitches are so much neater than they used to be!