Full day of tatting

Today was almost a normal day! Mom and I went to get our hair cut this morning, and it sure feels good to look neat and tidy again.

Mom and I have been watching Endeavor on Amazon Prime and while we watched today, I tatted. It seems like forever since I've finished a tatting project!

This is one of my favorite tatted cross patterns, Christina from Tatted Bookmarks: cross-shaped  by Lene Bjorn. I didn't go looking for my King Tut thread today. Instead, I used the ball of size 40 Lizbeth sitting on the table by my chair. The color is #677, Lime Green Med. The shuttle is from Veronica of TattingShuttles on Etsy, and the crochet hook is one of my go-to tools from Dave Stanbrough of Grizzly Mountain Arts.

It sure felt good to be alert enough to follow a tatting pattern today!

Lilly's Star

Lynne Urwin asked me to test tat another pattern for her, and I was happy to help! This one is called Lilly's Star. Lynne and I have been messaging back and forth on this one all weekend. This is the first version. Lynne decided the rings were a little too squished together, so she did some tweaking.

I've been cutting it pretty close on my threads lately, not really leaving enough for the little flower motifs for Vicki Clarke. When I went to wind this shuttle with thread, I thought I'd give it a try rather than just taking the thread off. I finished the flower with nearly 6" of thread left!

This is the second version of Lilly's Star, with one less small ring. It helped that I used the correct size gem this time!

Update! I forgot to acknowledge my shuttle makers! The pierced wood shuttle is from Veronica of TattingShuttles on Etsy. The Ice Drop Addict shuttle and purple butterfly shuttle are from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design. The multi-colored flower shuttle is from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine on Etsy. I love all of the talented shuttle makers I've "met" over the years!

Tattika

Tattika the tatting fairy is a year old! To celebrate, Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design offered tatting shuttles and these adorable tote bags. Mine arrived on April 1st, a perfect way to celebrate International Tatting Day!

I put my new shuttle to use today. I'm still enjoying tatting Ice Drops, especially my Doodle pattern. I'm nearly finished with my ball of Lizbeth #115, Springtime. I think I probably have enough for three more Ice Drops, so I'll keep trying different picot variations.

I finished another bookmark today, again using size 20 Lizbeth Springtime. The pattern is Autumn Bookmark from Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. The shuttle is by Veronica of TattingShuttles on Etsy. The pattern calls for a tail with a tassel, which I left off so that I could use a bookmark sleeve. Done in autumn colors, this bookmark reminds me of falling leaves. In Springtime, I just see a pretty bookmark!

Yesterday

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous! The sun was shining. The temperature was perfect. There was a gentle breeze. Dave worked outside planting vegetables, mowing grass, taking care of chicks and ducks, while I sat in the shade watching him. It was just what the doctor ordered!

I enjoyed a little knitting, browsing through books, and tatting. I just love this beautiful hand-dyed thread, Lake Effect, from Marilee Rockley. Certain color combinations make me unbelievable happy, and this is one of them! The shuttle is another beauty from Veronica of TattingShuttles on Etsy. Etsy is a very dangerous place for me to visit. Too often I find something I must have!

I'm in the mood to tat a square mat. I love a little square mat. So, I'm going through my Mary Konior patterns and tatting some up so that I can decide which pattern I want to use. I'm tempted to do one in hand-dyed thread, but I also have a strong desire to tat one in a dark blue. This pattern is Masquerade from Tatting with Visual Patterns.

Practicing the patterns in light pink is easier on my eyes, with the added bonus of using up what's left on a ball of thread. I don't think I have enough of this pink left to tat all of the patterns I plan on trying, but time will tell!

Catching up

I know it's been a long time between blog posts. Honestly, I just haven't felt like blogging. I've been engrossed in working on multiple projects, watching technique videos, reading, and subbing. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

I only tatted when I had free time at school this week, and that wasn't very often! This is the Pink Fudge pattern I'm playing with. I'm not sure this is the stitch count is what I'm looking for, so I'll keep playing. The shuttles are from Veronica of TattingShuttles on Etsy. I'm really drawn to Russian designs. I've probably been greatly influenced by my mom, who has a love of Russian and Chinese history and art.

The second block pattern for the Flora crochet-along from The Crochet Crowd came out on the 15th. Only two blocks were needed of this design. Mikey said this is the easiest of the blocks. It was very easy to crochet.

While doing a little craft organizing yesterday, I found a shawl that I had started years ago. I couldn't figure out where I was in the pattern. The notes were lost somewhere along the way. So, I unraveled the 4" on the needles and started a new pattern. This one is Blue Jean Saturday by Deby Lake, a free pattern download on Ravelry. So far, I'm really enjoying working with this super fine yarn!

I've made a little more progress on Caesious from Curls  by Hunter Hammersen. I'm almost near the end of my leftover ball of Mandala. This may be large enough for one of the little ones. If not, it's been good practice. I'm not sure if I'll ever make a full-sized version of this pattern. It's easy enough to follow, but I think it looks kind of boring.

Sir William Wallace Cademartori is enjoying daughter Carol's newly finished waffle stitch afghan.

This is the longest afghan I have ever made, just as Carol ordered. She wanted it long enough to tuck under her chin and over her toes. The afghan is longer than she is tall, and she loves it! What more could a mother ask for?

Tollway Tatters tat again!

We had a beautiful day for tatting on the tollway!

I remembered to take pictures of everyone, but not their projects! Brandy was tatting a cross, and Kathy was working on an edging to decorate her period costume for reenactments.

Sue Anna was working on a beaded project... one of Marilee's designs?

I didn't think to ask what Chris was working on. Nancy was tatting a beautiful doily.

I saw what Thea was working on, but I can't recall. We did have a wonderful time, although we missed several of our friends. Hopefully, more will be able to join us the next time we meet on Saturday, June 8!

I managed to complete one Ice Drop using another of Veronica's beautiful shuttles!

I even managed to work on my Tat-a-Renda tat-along doily! I sure am moving slowly on this one.

Last night I took time to work on my second block for the Flora crochet-along. I managed to finish about half of the gray border. I finished off the gray and cream early this morning. I have one more block to complete before the 15th. I think I'll be able to keep up!

Chains included

I was at school all day today, but I did manage to find time to re-tat the Doodle Ice Drop for my college roommate, Eileen. This time I remembered to tat all of the chains!

I was able to finish the back of my sweater last night. When I posted, I had misread the pattern. I thought I had 8 1/4" of ribbing left to knit. That didn't seem right, so I reread the instructions and found that I needed to knit 8 1/4" from the armhole stitch markers, which meant I really only had about 1 3/4" to go. That was an achievable goal!

Before heading off to school this morning, I started the ribbing for the front of the sweater. Then when I got home, I took time to work on it some more. I wonder how much I'll get done tonight?

Ready for ribbing!

I knit, knit, knit today, and now I'm ready for the top ribbing. I know I won't get it don tonight. I have to knit 8 1/2" and I don't have that much knitting left in me today.

This was supposed to be Eileen's first Ice Drop, but as I went to add the ribbon, I saw that I forgot the last section of chain. Drat!

Luckily, I have plenty of pink and lots of glass gems. The shuttle is another from Veronica of TattingShuttles on Etsy. Both sides are beautiful!

Testing, testing

It's testing week at school. Yesterday I proctored sophomores taking the PSAT, and today I proctored juniors taking the SAT. Tatting was not an option. The sounds that I find soothing would have been a distraction to the kids taking the test. So, I tatted when I got home!

I mailed off 18 Easter themed Ice Drops to Mom yesterday, depleting my supply. Not to worry... I have plenty of thread and glass gems!

I decided to start with the basic Ice Drop. I liked the shuttle so much, I decided to show both sides of it! This beautiful piece of art work is from Veronica of Tatting Shuttles.

In the meantime, daughter Joanne requested some Easter Ice Drops. I'm so happy to have a reason to tat Ice Drops. This wonderful shuttle is from Grizzly Mountain Arts.

One of the nicest things about the basic Ice Drop pattern is that I can complete one in about an hour. It doesn't matter if I use 1, 3, or 5 picots. I do love the basic pattern!

I would love to figure out a tatted design to mimic this delightful shuttle from Banyek. I love collecting shuttles from around the world!

Commemorative shuttles

You may have guessed that I love collecting shuttles! I especially like commemorative shuttles, because I hope that at some time in the future there may be a tatter somewhere who gets excited about finding one of my little beauties and cherishing it as I do.

This morning I decided to join Jon Yusoff's tat-along, which is posted on Facebook.

Round 1 is in size 40 Lizbeth #618, Magenta Dk.

For round 2, I used Lizbeth #683, Leaf Green Lt.

It's been a while since I've tatted with size 40 thread, and I'm really enjoying it.

I really like the way the Boysenberry Dk looks with the crackled glass gem. This is the basic Ice Drop with three picots instead of one. The shuttle is another beauty from Veronica of TattingShuttles on Etsy.

I found my box of shawl pins this mornings, so I decided to wear my new Garter Lace Triangle Shawl to school today. I couldn't believe the number of compliments I received!

Daughter Carol took the pictures for me after school. Maybe I'll knit some more shawls!

Finish one, start another

In finally finished my Garter Lace Triangle Shawl from Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls by Martha Waterman.

Since it went so well, I decided to start another shawl right away. This one is Reyna by Noora Backlund, a free pattern on Ravelry. I did get off to a rough start on this one. I finished the 28 row garter section only to realize that I had made a mistake all the way back in row 3. Luckily, this is an easy pattern to follow!

I did some experimenting with my Doodle Ice Drop pattern. Both rows of chains that form the outer pattern have 6 ds on either side of the picot flower. In the original pattern the first row had 6 and the second had 7. I just wanted to see how it looked, another variation. The beautiful shuttle is from Veronica of TattingShuttles on Etsy.

Another of my experiments with Doodle Ice Drops was to add extra picots on the chains, giving a very frilly look. I think this one looks prettier in person, and I'm sure daughter Joanne will claim this one for her pink tree when she comes to visit this summer! The pretty green shuttle is from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design.

A fun new shuttle arrived in the mail today, another beauty by Rita Richmond! It arrived just in time for the frigid temperatures we're expecting again this weekend. The cold might be a little tough to take after having a few days in the 40s, but I'm sure we will survive!

Sun, no sun

Yesterday was sunny, bright, warm, and cheerful! Today is rainy, dull, and chilly. What a difference a day makes!

I think I placed the charm in a funny way on this Ice Drop, or maybe it's because the ribbon is so stiff. I now have another St. Patrick's Day Ice Drop, but this one is not my favorite.

I had a wonderful surprise in the mail yesterday. The cat shuttle is a present from my cousin Trish, and the heart shuttle is a present from my friend Rita. Thank you, Trish and Rita! These little beauties are from Shuttle By Design.

My newest shuttles from Russia arrived. Doesn't Veronica do beautiful work?

I managed to tat another motif for my sister-in-law's runner. I'm almost to the point of having the pattern memorized!

Brrr!

It was pretty cold this morning, but it's supposed to be colder early next week. So, I did my running around today, leaving little time for tatting.

I do need to replenish my little silver tree. I mailed off Ice Drops to my mom, sister, and nephew today. I also visited school to show the kids my tree. There are many 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders who took tatting lessons from me, and they really enjoyed seeing my little ornaments!

Yes, I've added to my shuttle collection. These two beauties are from Veronica in Russia. I had seen someone post a picture of a similar shuttle, and I contacted Veronica about purchasing one. She promised to let me know when one was available, and she kept her word! The large shuttle is about the size of a Tatsy. I love it!