Design 3

I love this little motif! It's Design 3 from Tatting: 60 Original Lace Treasures by Christel Weidmann. This one is also done in size 20 Opera, color #506 (a very pale yellow... I thought I should clarify in case someone's looking for a beautiful creamy color). This design was very easy to tat, and it was a quickie. It measures about 2 1/4" across. I'm not sure how far I'll get in this book, but I sure am having fun!

Design 2

I just finished Design 2 from Tatting: 60 Original Lace Treasures by Christel Weidmann. When I looked at the scan, I realized that I pulled too tightly when hiding my ends for the first round. If you look at the ring at the bottom, you can see that there is no 1/4" space between the small and large rings. This is something I'll remember to watch for in the future!

I love working with HDT, but I have quite a stash of thread that needs to be used. So, I've decided to use the threads I have on hand as my "practice" pieces. Then, if there's a pattern I really like, I'll make it in HDT. This idea of mine might change... I get really bored making more than one of something. Design 2 is tatted in Opera size 20, color # 506. The thread is very soft... kind of a strange feeling after the firmness of the HDT! I don't know if it's hard to retro-tat, because, believe it or not, I didn't have to undo any rings or chains in this one!

One thing I'll do differently if I tat this motif again will be to increase the number of rings. Design 1 calls for 17 rings, while Design 2 requires 15. I had to do a lot of steaming to get this to lie flat. I had no trouble at all with Design 1. The two motifs are about the same diameter. The center opening is smaller on Design 2. I'm getting used to using my picot gauges... they really help when I'm measuring the space between the large and small rings!

Much better!

Luckily, I had enough thread to make another of Christel Weidmann's Design 1. All the picots are in the correct place, and all the joins are correct, so I am very pleased! If you look at the pin head, you can see where I made the mistake on the first motif. I guess I don't have to worry about that blind man on the galloping horse after all!

Picture frame?

I haven't had much time to tat or do any other type of needlework since school started a week ago, but I try to set aside a little time each day. I've started "Eleonora" by Iris Niebach, but I haven't had enough brain power to concentrate on it. I think I need to borrow one of Jane's brain cells!

Anyway, I decided something nice and easy was in order, so I decided to tat Design 1 from Tatting: 60 Original Lace Treasures by Christel Weidmann. I love the way it turned out! It's a shuttle only pattern, and I used one Clover shuttle full of size 20 Berry Parfait hdt from LadyShuttleMaker. It's about 3" across with a 1" opening. I think it would make a lovely little picture frame with my granddaughter's smiling face peeking through the lace. I guess that means I'll have to make three... one each for Eva, Lily, and the new baby due any time now!

Oops! I spy a missing picot! Wait! It's not missing... I joined in the wrong spot! Oh, well! It's going to have to stay the way it is. Maybe that blind man on the galloping horse will never know the difference! ; )

Cornelia!

I finished "Cornelia" from Tatted Doilies by Iris Niebach last night. I stayed up past my bedtime to block it, and I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. I found two twisted rings, and when I took it outside to photograph it I realized that I didn't block very carefully. I was so eager to blog about it, I didn't take the time to block it properly, but as my mom would say... a blind man on a galloping horse will never know the difference! I'm sure my tatting friends will forgive my slightly messy display! It's so much fun to finish something and then show it off!

The doily measures about 11" across. It's tatted in size 20 hand-dyed thread from Sherry Pence aka LadyShuttleMaker. The rings are in Citrus Limon and the chains are in Guacamole. I have to send extra special thanks to Sherry for dyeing another batch of Citrus Limon for me. I needed enough for just under 2 pattern repeats. So, if you're thinking of using HDT for this one, you'll need to make sure you have three 50 yard skeins, one for the chains and two for the rings.

I've already started my next Iris Niebach doily... "Eleonora" in size 20 Apple Blossom from Pamela Myers. I'm really enjoying the challenge of Iris's designs, and I'm learning a lot about tatting!

School's off to a great start! I can tell I'm getting older... I really need a beginning of the year checklist... I'm finding something each day that I forgot to set up! Luckily, I'm pretty good at adjusting my lesson plans on the fly... it must be that I've been doing this for so long. I can't believe that this is my 24th year of teaching, 23 of which have been in the library/computer program!

Beatrice No. 2

I don't know why this picture is sideways, but if you tilt your head to the left...


I finished my second "Beatrice" from Tatted Doilies by Iris Niebach today. I tatted it in "Pensacola Beach" size 20 from Sherry Pence aka LadyShuttleMaker. My only problem with tatting Iris's patterns is that I would sometimes lose my place and pick up the pattern in the wrong place, resulting in the need to retro-tat. I tried something a little different with this one. I made eight copies of the pattern, one for each spoke of the doily, and colored in each ring and chain as I finished it. Coloring in the rings and chains helped alleviate that problem and left me with pretty straightforward tatting. I found out that Pamela and Laura do something similar!

I plan on making one of Iris's doilies for each tray of my shuttle display case that my dad made for me. I think the doily helps set off the shuttles beautifully! This is my Grizzly Mountain Arts collection.


This was a wonderful week... I got to spend time with two of my grandchildren twice in one week! Tuesday, Alison picked me up at the airport. Then Alison, Eva, and Aidan came to visit on Saturday while Dan was at a men's retreat. Eva and Aidan helped Aunt Carol and Grandpa "peel" the corn for dinner. We feasted on corn on the cob, tomatoes, watermelon, and musk melon both times! Ahh, summer!

Earrings for Mom

Mom and I both admired Laura's earrings when we met on Friday. I don't wear earrings because of allergies, but I found out the Laura can't wear gold earrings either, so I may try a pair of silver ones and see how I do. Any way, since I finished all of the crosses for Mom, I wanted to do something special just for her. We went to Michael's yesterday and found lever back earrings and beads to go with the lavender weaving thread that Mom used for a liturgical stole. Nancy Tracy's Loopy Earring pattern is so easy to follow! Laura was right... it takes more time to string the beads than to tat the earrings!

Mom is thrilled with the earrings, and they go great with the outfit she's wearing today... a blue pants suit with floral embroidery that has the same shade of lavender as the earrings! Mom says the earrings look like angels to her, and I think she's right! I might just have to follow Tattycat's lead and tat up an earring wardrobe for Mom!

Hmmm... after looking at the super-sized picture of the earrings, I realize that I probably should have spent a little time laying them out neatly to do justice to Nancy's pattern. My apologies to Nancy. I tried taking pictures of Mom wearing them, but they're so delicate they don't show up well against Mom's skin. The earrings really are beautiful!