Dusty Blue Spinning Wheel

I finished my Dusty Blue Spinning Wheel glass mat, and I think it's really pretty! The thread is Oren Bayan size 50. I guess I really don't understand thread sizes, because this is the same size as the ones I've tatted in size 20 Lizbeth, 5 1/2". Oren Bayan thread is much softer than Lizbeth, so I don't think it will work well for snowflakes. However, it does make a pretty doily!

As I've mentioned before, I love Rita Richmond's shuttles! (Shuttle by Design)

I filled both shuttles, and as you can see, I have plenty of thread left. I do like tatting the Spinning Wheel (Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior) with two shuttles. I find it's easier to carry my tatting with me, and I prefer switching shuttles to using the shoelace trick.

If I finish an Ice Drop each day between now and Christmas, I should have plenty to decorate my own tree as well as enough to give away. Besides, I have some more beads I'd like to try!

Dusty blue

I subbed yesterday and today, and since I don't have to plan for lessons during the teacher's plan time, I had time to tat!

This time I'm tatting my Spinning Wheel glass mat (Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior) in size 50 Oren Bayan #058. The shuttles are two of my newest from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design. They're gorgeous and wonderful to use!

It's been a few days since I've made an Ice Drop. I'm still hoping to have enough to fill my tree by Thanksgiving!

Bud Fragments Bookmark

Have I ever mentioned that blue is my favorite color? At the Downers Grove lace event, I purchased a few balls of blue thread, including this beautiful Oren Bayan size 50. I had the urge to tat a bookmark, and here's what I came up with.

The two motifs are Mary Konior's "Bud Fragments" from Tatting with Visual Patterns. I decided to be brave and try tatting it all in one piece, and I surprised myself! I tatted the fragment on the left first, tatted my chain, and then started the other motif with a split ring. It was a bit of a challenge for me to tat the pattern in reverse order so that it resembled Mary's design, but I achieved my goal!

Now for my product review... Best Press. Normally, I just steam my smaller pieces, and I'm usually a bit displeased with the end result. For larger pieces, I thoroughly wet and use my blocking board. This time, I tried steaming, and again, I wasn't completely pleased with the result. Then, I sprayed on the Best Press, and positioned all the rings and chains... they stayed exactly where I wanted them! I think I'll be using Best Press regularly. : )

Queen of Hearts

A friend asked me to decorate a ring bearer's pillow for her daughter's wedding, and I immediately thought of Mary Konior's Queen of Hearts from Tatting with Visual Patterns. I'm not sure how I'll use it yet, but I will have the pillow finished by the end of this week. The thread is Oren Bayan #058, size 50.

I see an oopsie at the bottom. I guess I'll have to block it!

Something new

I love Mary Konior's books! Every once in a while I pull them off the shelf and browse through the pages, admiring the simple elegance of each design. I've been in the mood to make a doily larger than my favorite Spinning Wheel glass mat, but I couldn't decide which pattern to use. This morning I decided to start on the Hostess Set from page 45 of Tatting Patterns. Mary states that this pattern is from Penelope Book 3 from the 1950s.

I can see lots of possibilities for this pattern. Round 1 pictured here would be just the right size for the coasters that I purchased last summer if I use a slightly finer thread. This is the Oren Bayan size 50 that I used on the last two crosses. Because this piece is tatted in rounds, I'm assuming that it could be finished off after any of the rounds and still look complete. An advantage that I see to tatting in rounds is that if I run out of thread, I can just stop! It will be fun to see how this one turns out. How far will I go? As far as this ball of thread will take me!