Oops!

I guess I have too much on my mind with end-of-the-school-year stuff, because I made a major mistake!

I was ready to join the next arm to the center, when I realized I had made a mistake all the way back to here. Of course I snipped the thread in the wrong place and had to remove an extra ring and chain, but now I'm ready to continue.

I tend to lose interest in a project once I've made a major mistake, which is probably why I have so many works-in-progress!

So, in an effort to clear my mind, I started another Spinning Wheel glass mat by Mary Konior... my comfort tat!

The Workbasket April 1955

Thanks to Patti, I now own the original cross pattern that I've been looking for since I began tatting!

I actually finished tatting this at Tollway Tatters yesterday, but I didn't have a tassel or tail for it. I'm not sure I like this one, but I did manage to use up the thread on the shuttle. I can always change it later.

The cross on the left is the one I figured out from a picture. There's not a huge difference between the two crosses, and I'm very happy with the way they each turned out!

The thread is size 20 Lizbeth, #621. The crosses are about 4 1/2 by 3 1/2".

Now, which one should I tat next? ;-)

This is the pattern...

that started my interest in tatting!

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a long time know the story...

Back in high school, a new girl in the neighborhood tatted a cross for me as a thank you gift. I still have it in the house, someplace really, really safe! ;-)

For 20 years I tried off and on to learn to tat from a book with no success. Then one day, Denise called me and told me that she had learned to tat in 20 minutes from a video. She lent the video to me, and the rest is history!

I was very excited to see this picture on Pinterest, so I printed the picture and began searching for the pattern. I discovered that this is an old Workbasket pattern, and some day I'll take the time to search for the December 1958 issue that I believe holds this pattern.

I've tatted this pattern before, using the original cross as my pattern. However, I really wanted to find the original pattern. There is an Etsy shop that sells a reprint of the pattern for $3.99, but I was sure I had seen the pattern, or something similar, somewhere else.

Sure enough, there's a free pattern from Becky Dempsey, dated 2002! My stitch count on the rings is different from Becky's. Her rings are 8-8. Mine are 6-2-6... such a minor difference!

I need to decide on a tassel for this cross. It is a gift for Rachel, who is going to try her hand at blinging some of my tatting shuttles. She creates fabulous nail art, and she has decorated cell phone and camera cases. I'm really looking forward to seeing her creations! Rachel is a former student of mine, as well as a friend of my oldest daughter, Alison. I now teach Rachel's children in school, but I will be retired before her grandchildren are born! ;-)

I had an unexpected parcel in the mail yesterday... a tatting gift from Fox! She knows my weakness for shuttles, and she sent me two that she was sure I'd enjoy. She is so right! I do own two of these shuttles that I have never taken out of their original packaging. They were a gift from my son-in-law's father, who lives in Slovakia. I am thrilled that I will be able to tat with these little beauties and still have a set in the original packaging! Thank you Fox!

I guess it's time to get on with my day... so much to do, so little time to tat!