Queen of Hearts

 

It's getting to be that time of year... hearts and flowers for Valentine's Day! I was looking back in my blog, and I haven't attempted Mary Konior's Queen of Hearts from Tatting with Visual Patterns since April of 2010. This is the first time I've come close to tatting this heart in a way that pleases me. I guess having more tatting experience pays off!

I greatly admire those who can design heart patterns. I've tried with no success. Hearts are hard! This one is in size 40 Lizbeth Poppy Red #669. 

I haven't done much tatting since Christmas. I needed to give my hands and wrists a rest. I also find that it's more difficult to tat in the cold weather. So, knitting and crocheting have been my go-to projects.

Daughter Carol bought Wally a teepee. He really enjoyed sitting under the Christmas tree, so this seemed like a fun idea. Carol put the teepee together several days ago, but Wally resisted spending time in there until last night. He looks quite content in his special space!

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!

When life hands you lemons...

Life didn't exactly hand me this lemon... it was of my own making! I was trying to tat Laura's Victorian Heart in size 10 Flora, color #133, with my new Grizzly Mountain Arts signature shuttle. About half way through the second round, I realized I was tatting the wrong number of stitches. I wasn't in the mood to retro-tat, so I finished up the round and added the final ring.

I didn't want my tatting to go to waste, or even sit in a basket waiting for me to be inspired. So, I decided to start a crazy quilt block. Of course, I needed colors that would compliment the heart, so I looked at my fabric stash and chose fabrics that were left from previous projects... a rather simple task, considering my stash! My fabric choices don't always thrill me when I'm piecing a quilt block, but somehow I'm always pleased when the block is finished. We'll see if that holds true for this one!

I've crazy quilted Christmas stockings before, but they've been completely machine embellished using stitches on my sewing machine. This will be my first attempt at hand-stitching embellishments. I've pinned the tatted heart in the spot where I think I want it to be, but I'm not ready to sew it on yet. I think I'll try some embroidery work first to see if the heart still fits in this spot.

Thank you, Melissa, for all your CQ encouragement and inspiration!