...and then there were two!

...of Iris Niebach's beautiful motifs! Iris presented this design as her Christmas present to all tatting friends in December 2002.

Fox has been inspiring all of us with her beautiful beaded versions. While I haven't taken the beading plunge yet, I did want to get back into working with Iris's designs. They're amazing!

Thank you, again, Iris and Fox!

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!

Back to tatting

No, I haven't given up tatting for bobbin lace. The two are cohabiting quite nicely, thank you! As you can see, I've been working on a larger project, Stella Alpina from Tatting Fantasia by Iris Niebach. I have a love/hate relationship with this doily... I love the pattern... I hate that I've never been able to get through it without making major mistakes! It's not Iris's fault... the directions are fine. I must get over-confident in my ability to follow patterns, and I make terrible mistakes that cannot be ignored! This time I had to cut out... yes, I said cut out... two sections because I counted rings and chains incorrectly! When I was visiting Eileen earlier in the week, I took along tatting samples, and their were two pieces of Stella Alpina that I gave up on last year.

If you look closely, you will see that there is one place where I forgot to join. Oh, well! I love the color. I love the pattern. I love that it's finished, except for blocking. This one will find a home in the tatting shuttle display case that my dad made for me. It's 8 1/2" from point to point, and I used Lizbeth Turqouise Lt. #662, size 20 from Handy Hands.

I think I'll go back to Myra Piper's book now and give my brain a rest! As for bobbin lace... I have another bookworm ready to go! I'm going to keep making those little creatures until I'm happy with the end result. That should give me enough for Christmas presents for family members. Do you think they'll be happy with receiving just a bookworm? Probably not, so I'll have to come up with some more ideas... there's nothing like planning ahead!

Happy Tatting Day!

Here's what I'm working on... Stella Alpina by Iris Niebach. I told you I'd be giving my brain a break!

The thread is Lizbeth Turquoise Lt. #662. The chocolate is in my desk drawer at school... yes, I'll be munching between classes!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Tatting Day!

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...

Knitty Gritty Daffodil

I haven't been blogging much lately. I've just been too busy! I've had to make choices... do I blog, or do I tat? Guess what wins?

Didn't this turn out great? It's the Daffodil Doily from Learn to Tat by Janette Baker in size 20 Knitty Gritty from Yarnplayer (Marilee Rockley). I love this color combination! I followed my own corrections, and I think the doily turned out beautifully! I may play with the outside edging another time. The doily lies perfectly flat until the last round is tatted. I have some ideas for changing the edging slightly so that the doily doesn't require as much blocking.

I've been inspired by Bev and Marty to tat another Iris Niebach doily. Iris's designs are challenging, fun, and beautiful! Right now I'm working on Beatrice... I know... I've already made a few of these. What can I say? I love the pattern! I'm using Lizbeth Spring Green from Handy Hands. My replacement thread arrived Monday. I'm so glad Barbara was able to get the thread manufactured to her specifications. The new batch is fabulous! It has a beautiful sheen, nice hand, is very smooth, and most importantly, it is tats up very nicely. I know I'm only on my first ball, but if all the other colors I have are as nice as this one, I think anyone would be pleased with it.

Cornelia!

I finished "Cornelia" from Tatted Doilies by Iris Niebach last night. I stayed up past my bedtime to block it, and I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. I found two twisted rings, and when I took it outside to photograph it I realized that I didn't block very carefully. I was so eager to blog about it, I didn't take the time to block it properly, but as my mom would say... a blind man on a galloping horse will never know the difference! I'm sure my tatting friends will forgive my slightly messy display! It's so much fun to finish something and then show it off!

The doily measures about 11" across. It's tatted in size 20 hand-dyed thread from Sherry Pence aka LadyShuttleMaker. The rings are in Citrus Limon and the chains are in Guacamole. I have to send extra special thanks to Sherry for dyeing another batch of Citrus Limon for me. I needed enough for just under 2 pattern repeats. So, if you're thinking of using HDT for this one, you'll need to make sure you have three 50 yard skeins, one for the chains and two for the rings.

I've already started my next Iris Niebach doily... "Eleonora" in size 20 Apple Blossom from Pamela Myers. I'm really enjoying the challenge of Iris's designs, and I'm learning a lot about tatting!

School's off to a great start! I can tell I'm getting older... I really need a beginning of the year checklist... I'm finding something each day that I forgot to set up! Luckily, I'm pretty good at adjusting my lesson plans on the fly... it must be that I've been doing this for so long. I can't believe that this is my 24th year of teaching, 23 of which have been in the library/computer program!

Tatting Together Square Motifs edited by Iris Niebach

Tatting Together Square Motifs is the result of a tatting course taught by Iris in Denmark. The challenge was create "a square motif in only one round or more rounds without interruption"... a very difficult challenge, in my humble opinion! Twelve very talented tatters contributed to this book.

I hope my little reviews inspire you to try at least one of Iris's patterns. Iris, thank you for publishing your lovely books and for providing me with hours of pure pleasure!

Tatting Fantasia 2 by Iris Niebach

Oh my goodness! Talk about inspiration! Tatting Fantasia 2 is totally about variations on a theme... ovals! I love ovals! They fit in places where circles, squares, hexagons, and octagons are just too big! Of course, for extra inspiration, Iris includes motifs at the back of the book that just call out to be part of something spectacular... think striped blocks, triangles, squares, hexagons. This looks like the most challenging of Iris's books to me, but how boring would life be without challenges? I think you will not be disappointed with this book!

Tatting Fantasia by Iris Niebach

Did I say Tatted Doilies is my favorite Iris Niebach book? I may have lied! Tatting Fantasia is a fabulous book! Again, everything is clearly explained and diagrammed. This book includes three doilies, three hexagons, three squares, and three edgings. What more could a tatter ask for?

If the tatting pattern police do knock at my door, I may have to find a good hiding place for my Iris Niebach pattern books... maybe in my sewing room!

Tatted Doilies by Iris Niebach

If the tatting pattern police ever stopped by my house and told me I could only keep one Iris Niebach book, this would be the one... thank goodness there are no tatting pattern police!

Tatted Doilies by Iris Niebach has 12 beautiful doilies, plus photos of two variations of one of the doilies. There are examples of every doily shape I can think of: round, oval, square, hexagon, octagon. I know, I didn't mention rectangle, but I think even I could figure out how to put two squares together to make a rectangle! As always, Iris includes detailed explanations of techniques and beautifully diagrammed patterns.

Of course, I love doilies! If I had never learned to tat, I would spend all of my time crocheting doilies. I love giving gifts of lace, and to me, a doily is a usable work of art. If you don't like doilies decorating your furniture, you can always frame them and hang them on the wall, which is what Mom chose to do with the Iris doily I made for her.

Iris by Iris Niebach

Zarina has asked me to review Iris Niebach's books, and I am happy to share my opinion of each with you. Actually, I'm flattered that I've been asked! I'll post each review separately so that my blog entries aren't terrifically long. The librarian in me says, "Review them in alphabetical order by title." So, that's how I'll do this. Unfortunately, my copy of Iris's newest book hasn't arrived yet (maybe today), so alphabetical order will be a little off!

First, let me tell you that I am terribly biased when it comes to Iris's designs. I mean no offense to any other designers... Iris is my favorite! I look at her books over and over again. For me, Iris's designs are like my favorite novels... I never grow tired of reading her patterns. I am fascinated by the "character" of each design. I understand more each time I go through one of her patterns. There are details that leave me awe-struck! Some day I hope that I will have a complete collection of all of Iris's patterns tatted by me (a little redundant, but I'm sure you'll forgive me). The designs are not hard to follow, but they do take concentration... at least for me! I am currently working on my third doily by Iris. I found that I forgot an important join (I've done that with every piece I've ever tatted... you'd think I'd learn from my mistakes!), so I've been retro-tatting for about a week (I am very slow and careful). Is it worth it? Yes! As I carefully pick out each of my mistakes, I learn more about designing, and I'm learning to be patient! Thank you, Iris, for sharing your genius with all of us!

Iris is a beautiful little book with wonderful explanations and illustrations. The first pattern is a detailed illustration of the design element that makes up the Iris doily motif, which is a square. Iris then takes you through the steps to create a triangle, using the motif design. Following the idea of variations on a theme, Iris next presents the edging, which can border the doily or can be used as an edging on its own. A beautiful butterfly design is next, then an explanation of striped block tatting.

I highly recommend all of Iris's books!

Focusing does pay!

I know I've mentioned before that I suffer from what my friend Denise calls "flights of fancy." Denise suffers from this malady as well, which is probably why we're such good friends! But, for the past two weeks I've done my best to stay focused on Stella Alpina, and that focused energy paid off! I'm so happy with the way this little doily (about 7 1/2") turned out! It's from Tatting Fantasia by Iris Niebach. I used Altin Basak size 50, color # 381. I loaded up four of my David Reed Smith shuttles, but only used three of them. Oh, darn! Now I'm going to have to find something to tat with that thread on the fourth shuttle! ; )

This one qualifies for my personal challenge!

Tatting "Stella Alpina"

I can't help myself. I am addicted to Iris Niebach's designs! I've started "Stella Alpina" from her book Tatting Fantasia. I'm using Altin Basak #3052.

I looked through several of my tatting books trying to decide which pattern to make for my personal challenge. I kept coming back to my Iris Niebach books. I am so tempted to change my challenge to tatting all the designs in one book!

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!

Works in progress

I feel like I haven't accomplished much in the past week, probably because I haven't finished anything! I did work on my new spring purse last weekend. I'm using my size 3 tatting bits to embellish it... I think!

Since I had the Daisy Chain edging down pat, I used up some size 10 in yellow already wound on a shuttle. I now have a pretty good idea of how much tatting I can get with that particular thread and shuttle... always a biggie with me!

Then I got really ambitious and started an Iris Niebach doily in size 50 Altin Basak... a much harder task than I had imagined because of the thread size. It may take me a long time to finish this one! The good news is, I'm really beginning to feel like I can tat again!

Therapy started yesterday... what a relief! I didn't think the insurance company would ever approve it! My doctor wrote instructions to the therapist and included the note "Be gentle!" She was! Jessica gently, but firmly went through the new hand exercises with me (I still have to continue with the old ones), and then she massaged my aching fingers and scar. She really loosened up my fingers! The scar... well, that really hurt, but it was a good hurt, like digging in to a knotted muscle in your back. I'm scheduled for three times a week for three weeks... I'm sure I'll be back to normal (whatever that is) soon!

A little bit of "Honesty"

It must be my Scottish blood... I just can't get rid of that little bit of thread left on the shuttle. So, I tatted a little bit of "Honesty" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior, page 40, size 20 Flora.

The circular piece is "Posy" from page 93 of the same book, using the same thread. This one definitely has a right and wrong side because of a thread that carries across the back to join each section of the motif. I really like the effect with the variegated thread!

I've completed one full pattern repeat of "Stella alpina" from Iris Niebach's Tatting Fantasia. I've had Iris's book for quite a while, but felt intimidated because of the size of each piece. Arlene (see link on right side) has been a great inspiration to me, meaning that I looked at the patterns even more carefully than before... ha! ha! ha! Then I received an e-mail from Iris! She told me that she thought I could tat one of her pieces and that her first book had some simple doilies. So, a few nights ago, I pulled out the book, an already wound shuttle, and got to work. What can I say other than I love the way this pattern goes together! Now that I have one full pattern repeat finished, I'm really getting into a rhythm!

Blocked!

Note to myself: NEVER post a picture of an unblocked piece again! I can't believe how awful "Angelica" looked unblocked in comparison to today's scan! Since I haven't taken the time to learn how to link to previous posts... "Angelica" (on the left) is from page 100 of Mary Konior's Tatting in Lace, size 20 hand-dyed thread from Yarnplayer.

"Hope" (in case you haven't guessed, it's the one on the right) ; ) is from page 92 of Mary Konior's Tatting with Visual Patterns, size 20 Flora, color #55. I can't believe that just a few months ago I thought this motif looked to hard for me to do!

I don't think I've found the motif I want to use for Eva's tooth fairy pillow yet. Maybe I really haven't found the fabric I want to use! I'd better hurry... kindergarteners have been losing teeth left and right this week!

I'm really feeling brave with my tatting. I started an Iris Niebach doily the night before last! I don't have much done. I'm trying to work slowly so that I don't make mistakes. That's not working too well. I've already had to undo a ring and the chain before it because after I closed the ring I realized I had joined the chain to the wrong picot. I've had to go back and take that join out three times now. The first join was done beautifully in the wrong place. The next two were twisted somehow in the right place! I'm sure I'll get it right. Maybe I shouldn't wait until 8:30 p.m. to start tatting!

By the way, if any of you who scan can give me tips on how to make my scans look as clean as yours, please let me know!