Traditional Cross

I can't believe I finished the second cross for Mom! This is the Traditional Cross pattern from Tatting Patterns by Lyn Morton. Again, this is Yarnplayer's "Golden Glow" size 20. The cross is approximately 4" x 5".

The shuttle is the very first one I bought from Sherry Pence aka LadyShuttleMaker. I don't know if I was the first to buy one of her shuttles, but I was among the first! This shuttle was purchased before the LadyShuttleMaker Etsy shop opened. I bought it when she was only known as the MadMadPotter. I sure am glad Sherry decided to design shuttles!

Update: The scan doesn't look too bad on my Mac, but on my Dell at school it looked awful! So, I came home and took a picture. The photograph shows the true color of the thread, but I haven't taken the time to figure out how to take a really good picture. I want to just point, shoot, and get a perfect picture! You know... instant gratification! Maybe I should check out the photography classes at the junior college,or read the manual!

Tatting collection gone wild!

I recently upgraded the operating system on my Mac laptop to Leopard. Are there any other Mac users out there? Any way... Mom suggested I try Bento, database software developed for Macs running Leopard. I downloaded the trial version on Saturday, and I'm in love with it! I've already inventoried my tatting books... at least the ones that are in order on the shelf! I'm going to add pictures (a wonderful option in Bento). The plan is to catalog all my books, tatting and otherwise, and at the same time sort through to see which ones I don't want any more and in the process tame my collections. I haven't decided to eliminate anything so far!

As I was inventorying my books, I realized that I haven't tatted any patterns from many of these books. Besides my collection of tatting books, I have quite a collection of shuttles and thread. So, I'm setting a challenge for myself... tat one pattern from each book, using a shuttle and thread that haven't been used before. I figure, if I leave a little thread on each shuttle, I will know that I have used it.

My first entry: "Basic Cross" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Lyn Morton; shuttle by Diana Andra (available through Lacemaker); thread by Yarnplayer (Marilee Rockley) - "Golden Glow", size 20.

Basic Cross Pattern by Lyn Morton

Here it is, everyone! I finished the Basic Cross Pattern from Tatting Patterns by Lyn Morton. The cross will go at the back neck edge of the liturgical stole to cover the seam. It measures just under 4" across, exactly the size Mom wants.

I'll use Lyn's Traditional Cross pattern from the same book to make the two crosses for the front of the stole. The scan really darkens the color of this gorgeous thread, Marilee's Golden Glow, size 20. I may wind the next shuttle today, but I think I've done enough tatting for the weekend. What do you think, Mom?

Weekend tatting challenge...

My mom asked me to tat 3 crosses to embellish a liturgical stole that she's making. This is how much I managed to finish the day I broke my arm, Dec. 30, 2007. My tatting challenge is to see how much of the cross I can complete over the weekend. I'm using Marilee's Golden Glow. Wish me luck!

Bre-Aly Thread

Zarina asked me how I liked the Bre-Aly thread I purchased, and honestly, I hadn't tried it yet! So, my task this weekend was to try my new hand-dyed thread.

I don't really care to work with size 10 thread for tatting, and I really purchased it to make a Patricia Kristoffersen doily (#52 from 99 Little Doilies, published by Leisure Arts). I'm really happy with this thread as a crochet cotton. It was easy to work with and blocked very nicely. I also like the way the color flows, especially in this little doily.

It's really not bad as a tatting thread either! I tried tatting Mary Konior's "Curds & Whey" from Tatting with Visual Patterns. I had a terrible time with the pattern. It's charted beautifully, but I kept counting incorrectly and reversing my work at the wrong time. I literally retro-tatted each ring! After the last mistake, I just gave up and cut the thread. This thread was surprisingly easy to undo, and I think it held up very well considering all I put it through. I never felt like the thread was going to break, and although it did become fuzzy from unpicking the knots, I think it still looks pretty nice in the rings I finished. I then tatted a little clover... no unpicking necessary... so maybe you can click for a close-up and see how the thread held up.

I will definitely buy more of Brenda and Alyssa's thread. I love the feel of the thread and the color (which is definitely pastel in person... the colors show up much better in Brenda's Etsy shop), and it's packaged in neat little cakes that don't roll away!

Transitions in Tatting

It's here! I just got home from a day out and about, and when I opened my mailbox, I found Sharon Briggs's book Transitions in Tatting from Flat to Floral. I'm so excited! I've only had time to quickly flip through it, but I can tell I will enjoy it thoroughly! There are beautiful pictures, both color and black and white, detailed technique descriptions, and fabulous patterns! Thank you, Sharon!

I felt the earth move under my bed

I know, I know... I'm no Carole King! Dave and I were awakened by the earthquake that hit southern Illinois this morning. The bed was moving back and forth enough that Dave got out of bed immediately. I, of course, remained tucked under my cozy comforter! The two of us only remember feeling an earthquake one other time, when our daughter Carol was about one... that would have been the summer of 1982. Dave was eating a bowl of soup, and we all watched the soup slosh around. From listening to the news this morning, there have been others that we never noticed.

An earthquake in Illinois is nothing compared to the ones we hear about in California, but it was noticeable! I'm sure Gina and Mark felt it much more than we did... I'll be checking out their blogs!