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!

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!

Progress

I'm making progress with Stella Alpina, and I haven't had to undo too many mistakes. I'm paying much closer attention!

I decided to make another bookmark today to give myself a little mental break. This hand-dyed thread is from Sherry Pence aka LadyShuttleMaker. I've lost the tag and can't remember what the color is called, but it sure is pretty!

If you click on the picture to make it larger, you get a much better idea of the true color of these two pieces.

Fresh Start

I had to prove to myself that I could start Stella Alpina correctly. So, here it is! I've looked at my tatting and the pattern several times, and I think I finally got it right. I'll quit for tonight and check it again tomorrow before doing any more tatting. This is Altin Basak #381, size 50. I really like working with this color. It's bright and easy on the eyes.

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!

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!