Maria

Mom and I had a busy afternoon, but I still managed to finish another cross. This is Maria from Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. The thread is size 40 Lizbeth #9602, Golden Honey. This is one of the Limited Series threads. It looks good enough to eat!

Elderberry Jam

Yesterday I tatted a Doodle Ice Drop and most of a cross in size 80. When I got home from school, I found a mistake, so I snipped off the thread and started over. A couple of hours later, I looked at the discarded piece and realized I hadn't made a mistake after all. Too late! Next time I think something needs to be snipped, I'm going to set it aside for a couple of hours just to be sure!

I really wasn't discouraged about working with the size 80 thread, so today I re-tatted Maria from Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. I'm so happy I did! I think it looks wonderful in Elderberry Jam, and it matches my personalized shuttle!

Another white day

 

I was in the mood to tat a cross today, and I chose "Maria" from Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross-shaped by Line Bjorn. It's been a while since I've tatted this one, and I forgot how large it is in size 20. I'm thinking of doing another in size 80 for a comparison. 

They were predicting snow flurries this weekend. That didn't happen, but thinking of snow flurries did put me in the mood to start tatting snowflakes! This is Snowflake #1 from Robin Perfetti's new book Four Dozen Tatted Snowflakes, available in her Etsy shop. I'm not sue if I'll get all four dozen tatted by Christmas, but I'm sure going to try!

What would the day be without an Ice Drop? 

The best laid plans...

I really did have a great day of tatting and crafting planned out, but once again I let myself become distracted.

I must have spent three hours flitting from one page to another on the Internet. It all started because I wanted inspiration for my next band. I never did find what I was looking for, and to top it off, I didn't get my loom warped... not good!

I needed to move around some, so I worked in my sewing room until lunch time. I didn't accomplish much... I spent too much time looking at the books I was trying to organize. I did manage to gather up two bags of trash. That's progress, right?

After lunch, I sat down with my tatting. I finished "Maria" from Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. I had started this cross yesterday, but I made several mistakes. Why does it take so much more time to fix a mistake?

Once again, the left-over thread on the shuttles was used for an Ice Drop. I really like the way this one turned out!

I did it again!

I forgot to take pictures, and my sewing students made the cutest pillows today. Bella made a pillow for her grandmother with blue roses on the front and a black print with pink roses on the back. Nadia made a pillow for her bedroom, green with colorful circle designs on the front and solid purple on the back. Riley had a zebra print for the front of her pillow and a raspberry leopard print for the back. They all turned out so cute, and the girls' smiles were from ear to ear!

A few weeks ago, Dave and I visited our friends Gus and Irene. Irene's mother, Maria, was visiting as well. While Dave and Gus worked on digging a sandpoint well, Maria and I sat and talked about crocheting, tatting, yarns, and threads. I put together some samples of Lizbeth thread and yarn from Hobby Lobby and passed them on to Maria. As a thank you, Maria sent some of her beautiful work home with Dave today.

Maria is one of those very talented people who can look at a crocheted piece and recreate it. I admired Irene's table runner, and Maria crocheted one for me!

Maria also knit this beautiful hat for me. I'm all set for winter!

I've been tatting while watching the Cubs play in the World Series. I'm not a big sports fan, but I've always enjoyed watching the Cubs. I can't remember players' names. I don't understand stats. I just like watching baseball. I think that's because I used to watch the Philadelphia Phillies with my Great-grandma Morris when I was a little girl. I think it's kind of cool that the color I chose is Cubby blue! It was purely accidental. I just grabbed a ball of thread from my apothecary jar, and this is the color that came out. I wonder if that's a sign? ;-)

Maria

Maria is one of my favorite cross patterns from Lene Bjorn's Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross~shaped. This one is in size 80 Lizbeth #678, Olive Dk. The finished size is about 3 1/4" x 2 1/4".

I don't feel like I accomplished much in September, but I sure did learn a lot! After all, this September was my first time to attend Palmetto Tat Days!

Practicing picots without a gauge

After seeing Tatting Marie's gorgeous tatting at our last Tollway Tatters meeting, I decided to try tatting without a picot gauge just as she does. My picots are not consistent, but I guess that just like everything else, it takes practice!

Another thing I need to practice is reading patterns! I goofed on the very last ring. Yes, I checked and double-checked before closing the ring, but I didn't see my mistake until I was sewing in the ends. Sigh! I guess I'll have to try this one again.

The pattern is Maria from Tatted Bookmarks - cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. I'm still working with the size 80 Lizbeth. I do love Peacock Blues!

Blogging slug

Yup, that's what I'm becoming! The days have been going so quickly, that before I know it, it's time for bed and I haven't blogged. That doesn't mean I haven't been tatting!

Maria, The Knackful Kniiter, and I have been emailing back and forth about Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel glass mat from Tatting with Visual Patterns. Maria had this idea to use green for the chains and floral colors for the rings. Why didn't I think of that? Any way, we decided to try it out to see what we could come up with. I got the jump on Maria, because I had the colors I wanted to use on hand. There are definite benefits to having a thread stash!

I also had the advantage of nine hours in the car, driving to Minnesota! I used size 20 Lizbeth, #684 Leaf Green Medium for the chains, and #171 Green Coral Sea for the rings. I love the way it turned out! Thanks for the challenge, Maria!

We made a quick trip to Minnesota, up Friday and back Sunday, to pick up daughter Joanne and our newest granddaughter Sophia. They'll be visiting for two weeks... lots of fun for me! While we were visiting with daughter Andrea on Saturday, granddaughter Ella asked me if I would "knit [her] some tatting." What's a grandma to do?

Ella wanted the same Green Coral Sea for the chains, and she chose #119 Jelly Bean for the rings. I'm not sure I would have chosen that color combination, but I'm not four years old! ;-)

In typical four-year-old fashion, Ella asked me about every 15 minutes if I was finished knitting her tatting yet. When she tired of asking, she told me I could mail it to her. That I will do!

A wonderful weekend!

The weather was absolutely fantastic this weekend! Our granddaughter Eva spent the weekend with us, so I didn't get a lot of tatting done, but I did finish one piece.

This is Maria from Tatted Bookmarks - cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn, with two modifications. I left the picots off the rings, and I changed the rings at the ends of the tassels. I was hoping for a more masculine look. Do you think I succeeded? The thread is size 20 Lizbeth #173, Purple Marble.

When we arrived home, I found two very special packages in the mail. First, some luscious new HDT from Monica! Monica proposed a swap when she saw my rose shuttles... HDT for shuttles. Being an HDT addict, I quickly agreed, and I'm so glad I did! Aren't the colors gorgeous?

My other package contained the most beautiful rose pin I have ever seen! This gorgeous embroidery on felt is by my dear friend Paulette aka Beedeebabee. I just adore her work, and I would recommend her to anyone! Right now, she has two Halloween-themed pins that I am sorely tempted to buy... an adorable witch's hat and a pumpkin. I wonder if she'll be making a black cat as well? I'll have to ask her!

I hope all of you had as wonderful a weekend as I did. My batteries are re-charged, and I'm ready for another fun-filled week at school!

In a funk?

All I wanted to do was tat a cross bookmark. I've tatted "Christina" from Tatted Bookmarks - cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn several times. After two failed attempts...

I switched to "Maria."

I know where the mistakes are, even if you can't see them!

I also struggled with "Adiratna" from Elegant Tatting Gems by Jon Yusoff.

I'm not quite sure where I went wrong, but it's just not quite right.

Maybe I should take a hint from Fox and try tatting in a solid color!

For Robyn

My friend Robyn's father, Walter, passed away this week. This cross is for her.

The pattern was supposed to be "Maria" from Tatted Bookmarks - cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. However, I realized I had made a mistake shortly after starting. Rather than un-tat, I adapted the pattern. I missed some chains, so I had to add some rings. It worked, but I prefer the original pattern. I think Robyn will like it.

The thread is size 40 Lizbeth #117, Country Side