Ornaments and bookmarks

 

I started the morning with a button ornament.

Then I decided to tat a Workbasket bookmark.

I followed up with "Christina" from Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn.

I had decided I really wanted to complete three button ornaments today.

I was very pleased to achieve my goal!

14 years

It's hard to believe that I started my blog 14 years ago on my 55th birthday. Where has the time gone?

Today was bookmark day, and I chose to work with Daffodil Dell by Tatskool. This is the Workbasket pattern I love minus the picots.

When I want to work with just one shuttle, I love tatting Curds & Whey from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior.

Finally, I decided to try tatting Christina from  Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. This time I left off the picots for a totally different look.

I still have a little bit of Daffodil Dell left, but I'm pretty sure I'll need to choose another color tomorrow!

Blue Moon

 

Today I had fun tatting with Tatskool's Blue Moon. I started with another "Christina" cross bookmark from Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. Did you notice my new blue shuttle? Its from Alexy Romanov, who can be reached on Facebook. It's a great shuttle!

I had to tat some more donut pendants today. This one has a plastic donut.

This one has a rose quartz donut. I'm keeping one for myself, and I'm leaning toward the rose quartz.

To finish the day I tatted Laura Blanton's Coronavirus Button Cross. Oh, yes... I also tatted a little flower motif from Mary Maynard's Tatting Rings of Flowers. There was just enough thread left on the shuttle!

Play day

Yesterday was play day. The high school drama club was finally able to perform Back to the 80s, the musical that was supposed to happen March 13, 14, and 15 of 2020. Except for one, the cast members who graduated last year were able to return for this year's performance.

Mom and I attended the noon performance, and our timing was just right for getting a picture with Carol aka Madam Director.

Dave and I attended the 7 p.m. performance, and Mom requested a picture of the cast. I was happy to oblige!

Between performances, I wound Yarnplayer's Celery on to shuttles. I have loved this color for many years, and this skein was one of Marilee's giveaways that I won a few weeks ago. I hadn't tatted a cross bookmark in a while, and I like to keep them on hand. One of my favorite patterns is Christina from Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. I decided to try something a little different for the top instead of the one in the pattern. I think I prefer Lene Bjorn's tassel!

I found some coconut wood linking rings on Amazon. I think they look good with the Celery thread, but I don't like the black necklace with it. So, I ordered some brown ones! They should be here in a couple of days.

It seemed silly to order just one thing from Amazon, so I also ordered natural abalone donuts. I think this one looks pretty good with the black necklace.

Oh, I didn't stop there! I also ordered smaller coconut spacer beads. I think they work pretty well!

This is it!

More than 50 years ago, I was given a cross bookmark as a thank you gift. That's when my interest in tatting began. I had never seen tatting before, and I was fascinated! The girl who gave me the bookmark moved shortly after giving it to me, so I was never able to learn to tat from her. It took me 20 years to learn how to tat.

The Internet gave me the ability to search for the pattern, which turned out to be from Workbasket. I was sorting through some files on my computer last night and found the pattern. Naturally, I had to tat it!

The thread is size 40 Lizbeth # 40-9100, Arctic Evening, one of the new Limited Series threads. I like the thread, but I'm not sure I like it for this pattern. I think this cross is prettier in a solid color, or perhaps something with more subtle color variations.

I also tatted "Christina" from Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. The color variations seem to work better with this pattern. However, I think I still prefer solid colors fro cross bookmarks.

I haven't worked tassels for these two yet, and I'm not sure I will. I adore tassels, but I find they sometimes get caught and get pulled out of the book, something I find very frustrating!

How do you feel about tassels on bookmarks?

Full day of tatting

Today was almost a normal day! Mom and I went to get our hair cut this morning, and it sure feels good to look neat and tidy again.

Mom and I have been watching Endeavor on Amazon Prime and while we watched today, I tatted. It seems like forever since I've finished a tatting project!

This is one of my favorite tatted cross patterns, Christina from Tatted Bookmarks: cross-shaped  by Lene Bjorn. I didn't go looking for my King Tut thread today. Instead, I used the ball of size 40 Lizbeth sitting on the table by my chair. The color is #677, Lime Green Med. The shuttle is from Veronica of TattingShuttles on Etsy, and the crochet hook is one of my go-to tools from Dave Stanbrough of Grizzly Mountain Arts.

It sure felt good to be alert enough to follow a tatting pattern today!

Saturday only?

I hope not! Now that Open House is over, I hope to settle into a routine so that I can tat and blog on a more regular basis. For some reason, it just hasn't happened so far.

This week I worked on "Christina" from Tatted Bookmarks - cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. I love this pattern, and I have tatted so many it feels like an old friend. I used size 80 Lizbeth #149, Peacock Blues. It's a present for a very special little girl (not one of my granddaughters) who loves blue. I guess we're kindred spirits!

I was pleasantly surprised to receive Martha Ess's new book, Flights of Fantasy, in the mail yesterday. I really wasn't expecting it to ship until after Tat Days. I am not disappointed. This is a fabulous book, especially if you love dragons, unicorns, and Pegasus!

Thanks for publishing another fantastic book, Martha! Now I just need to choose my threads, load my shuttles, and tat... or should I finish up the projects I've already started? Decisions. Decisions.

for Chris

This cross if for my friend Chris whose father-in-law passed away last week.

The pattern is "Christina" from Tatted Bookmarks cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. The thread is size 80 Lizbeth, Turquoise Twist #142.

Another Doodad Double Dare Entry

Monica finished her Doodad Double Dare, and her finished pieces are gorgeous! Please hop on over, take a peek, and leave a comment!

Today I spent time tatting a cross for my friend Chris's mother-in-law, whose husband passed away this past week, a mere six weeks after going through open heart surgery. Chris chose yellow for her mother-in-law.

This is some Lily thread that I've had for quite some time... the price sticker says 60 cents! There's no size on the label. I'm guessing it's size 70 or 80. The pattern is "Christina" from Tatted Bookmarks ~ Cross-Shaped by Lene Bjorn.

Imagine my delight when I opened my mail today! My friend Carol sent me some doodads! Thank you, Carol!

Sue found some wonderful little doodads at her local Hobby Lobby and shared some with us at our last Tollway Tatters meeting. If you go to her blog, you can see some of the beautiful snowflakes she has tatted with them. Anyway, I went to my Hobby Lobby in search of them... no luck!

Carol decided to go hunting, and she hit pay dirt. Her Hobby Lobby just started carrying these jewelry components... yippee!

Now I need to go back to Sue's blog and look at those snowflake patterns again! Thanks for sharing your patterns, Sue!

Speaking of Tollway Tatters... we're meeting next Saturday, November 17. If you'd like to join us, please shoot me an email and I'll give you the details.

Celtic Prayers from Iona

I've been reading about Lisa's travels abroad, and loving every minute of it! Oh, to have the time and money to visit all the wonderful places she's been. Maybe some day...

Anyway, Lisa wrote about Celtic Prayers from Iona by J. Philip Newell. I enjoy reading devotional books, so I ordered it and I'm very happy that I did.

Like any good librarian, I felt that it needed a special bookmark. My friend Denise and I have been discussing "Christina" from Tatted Bookmarks: cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. This is a pattern I have tatted several times, but never before in size 80 thread. I'm very pleased with the finished bookmark! I used size 80 Lizbeth #144, Leaf Swirl. The finished size is 3" x 2 1/4" without the tassel. Since I really prefer very thin bookmarks, I think I may try this pattern again in quilting thread.

Do you ever have trouble following charted patterns? The charted patterns are my favorite, but I can get lost in them. I almost always make a copy of the pattern and mark off the rings and chains as I finish them. I still make mistakes, but not nearly so many! I find that by doing this, I get a much better feel for the flow of the pattern.

What are your tips for following intricate patterns?

Success with Christina

I was determined to tat "Christina" correctly! I am happy to report that I was able to tat this piece with only one slight glitch. I had to re-tat one ring because I didn't hold it while closing it. It twisted up on me. Not a big deal. I sure am happy I was able to complete this so easily!

The pattern is from Tatted Bookmarks - cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. The thread is size 40 Lizbeth, color #164, Blue River Glades.