Needle and thread

Today I was in the mood to practice needle lace. All it takes is a needle and thread.

I'm still making lots of mistakes, but I'm learning. The yellow flower only has four petals because I snipped a thread when I shouldn't have. Rather than be discouraged, I started another flower in red.

This is my best effort so far. There are still mistakes, but I can tell I'm improving.

Feeling confident, I started a fourth flower. Once again, I goofed. I skipped the second loop, so there wasn't a place for the fifth petal. Oh, well. Maybe the next one will be better!

A purple kind of day

I started off the day tatting Stars in Stars by Eliz Davis aka Tatknot. It's a simple pattern to follow, and I like the way Eliz chose to weave another star across the top.

I practiced this oya fan pattern again today. It's looking better, but it's not nearly as nice as the one in the video.

I am happy with my improvement! Maybe the next time I'll have enough thread to finish the motif!

It was snowing this morning, so I was inspired to tat a snowflake. This one is "Alison" from...

Twenty to Make, Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams. This looked like one that could be adapted for an Ice Drop, so I gave it a whirl.

I think it turned out pretty nicely!

I suppose it would look better if I did front side/back side tatting, but I don't want to work that hard, and the technique confuses me.

I'm not sure I'd be able to explain how I tatted this, but I will try again. I messed up on some of the rings with picots. I can see the rings that are incorrect, but I'm sure it wouldn't be noticeable to non-tatters.

Yes, it's been a purple kind of day. I wonder which color I'll choose to use tomorrow? 😀

I thought I'd get more done...

I only managed to tat one Ice Drop today. I meant to accomplish so much more! I did iron some fabric, and I balanced my check book after going to the bank and the post office. However, the cold weather we're experiencing made me super sleepy, and I wound up taking a nap!

I'm practicing basic loops for oya. Some look really good, and some look awful! I watched some more YouTube videos today, and I'm sure that all I need is to keep trying. I hope I don't give up before developing at least a modicum of proficiency!

Happy new year!

My new year is off to a great start! How about yours?

First, I found an Ice Drop that I finished Christmas day.

Next, I practiced oya, following a YouTube video. It looked so simple! My results are horrible, but I will try again. I have a feeling this pattern was a little too advanced for me.

In order to make myself feel better about my skills with thread, I tatted a basic Ice Drop. This one is in Karey Solomon's Distant Mountains hand-dyed thread. I do love this color, and I feel much better knowing that I have a little bit of skill when using a shuttle and thread!

Refreshed!

It felt good to take a week off from blogging, tatting, and other crafting. Now my creative juices are refreshed!

It's been a fabulous week! All four of my daughters, their significant others, and their children were all together for Christmas and a trip to Alabama to visit my mom. As an additional surprise, my mom's youngest brother arrived in Alabama on Christmas Eve and chose to stay and visit with us. I did consider getting together with tatting friends in the Mobile area, but Mom doesn't like to stray far from home, and we chose to spend time visiting in her apartment while the rest of the family explored the area.

When we arrive Tuesday night, we all took Mom out to dinner. The staff at Ruby Tuesday was fantastic and handled our group of 17 wonderfully!

It was impossible to get a good picture of everyone.

We were all having too much fun!

Luckily, there weren't many other patrons that night!

For me, the highlight of the trip was visiting with Mom's friend Sezer, and seeing many of her fabulous Oya pieces as well as other lace.

I didn't take pictures of everything.

Some of the pieces were made by Sezer.

Some of them were made by Sezer's mother.

Some were gifts.

Sezer explained how her mother used store bought pieces to enhance some of her fabric.

She also explained how some of the pieces were made.

I was in total awe!

Sezer doesn't do much Oya any longer.

She gave me a spool of beautiful silk thread, as well as some silk needles. So, you know what I'm going to try out in the new year!

We were only in Alabama three days, but it was wonderful!

Yes, I did watch YouTube videos this morning, and I pulled out my two books on Mediterranean knotted lace. I have a long way to go, but I am glad to finally have the inspiration I need to learn something new!

No, I haven't given up on Ice Drops. In fact, I came up with the idea for this one in the car. It needs some tweaking. I have to figure out some stitch changes, and I want to figure out a sequence of switching shuttles and reversing work to enhance the pattern. I think this one will take me a few days to figure out, but I'm having fun and I think that's what it's all about!