Starting the day off right

I woke up early this morning, and before breakfast I had finished my morning chores. So, I sat down to tat my ornament of the day.

Once that was accomplished, I perused another French tatting book: Frivolity to the shuttles by Edwiga, Renaudin, 2012. I remember that I purchased this book because of the layered tatting techniques presented. I know I tried the technique, but it is something I will need to revisit.

In an effort to use thread already on shuttles, I chose a simple motif from page 121 of the book. I miscalculated and did not have enough thread to finish the last round. This was a very simple motif, and I think I will tat it in some color other than black!

French

And now for a book in French, translated as Tatting: delicate and precious from 2005.

There are lots of lovely motifs in this book. I decided to start with a triangle. It doesn't look quite right to me, but I think it might be because of the multi-colored thread. Aside from the motifs, there are some beautiful doilies, edgings, and baby gifts. The designs are diagrammed, so I don't need to learn French to tat them!

Today ended up being busier than expected, but I did manage to finish another button ornament. I feel so accomplished!

 

Slow day

 

Mom had a checkup yesterday, which she passed with flying colors. We celebrated by going to Dave's favorite pizza place, Aurelio's in Homewood. Our pizza was delicious!

I had a hard time getting motivated today. I started this ornament early in the morning, and didn't finish it until after dinner. Still, I have another one finished!

I finished another hat today. I've been having fun passing out hats at school. I have a bag upstairs filled with hats that Mom and I made last year, and the kids are loving them!

Coral pink earrings

Next up on my bookshelf is Tatting the Jewels: Necklaces, bracelets, earrings by Annamaria Riccardi, published in 2013.

I am fascinated with tatted jewelry! I haven't tatted many jewelry pieces, but I love looking at the pictures and patterns.

I remember tatting earrings for my mom and some of her friends years ago, but I can't remember which pattern I used. The pattern is called "The Coral pink earrings" and can be found on page 24. As you can see, mine are not coral pink!

I'm not sure where my earring findings are right now, so I'm storing the two pieces in a bookmark sleeve so that I don't lose them. Bookmark sleeves sure come in handy!

My button ornament for the day was finished before lunch time! 

Looking back

Do you remember when tatting a peacock was all the rage? I do! I bought the book, but I never tatted the peacock. Occhi: Boat lace frivolity by Leopold Stocker Verlag was published in 2011. 

I did tat some of the motifs from the book, from pages 98 and 102. Will I ever tat the peacock? Time will tell!

Six of us retired teachers met at Olive Garden for lunch today. Our last get together was the end of June. It was nice to get together and catch up.

I started dinner when I got home, and then I finished another button ornament for Christmas 2026. Since I'm tatting a simpler pattern, it's much easier to tat one a day. Will I keep up the pace? Probably not, but I'm having fun!

Missing out

I've been missing out on a lot of blog posts, and yesterday I realized why. During our Tollway Tatters meeting, I mentioned that I had been relying on blog feeds to keep up with blogs and that they weren't reliable. My friend Stephanie said that she had never used a blog feed and just bookmarked the blogs she likes to read.

That's when the light bulb went on! I started out with bookmarking blogs years ago, but started using blog feeds to keep up. The blog feeds I tried no longer exist, and the feed on Blogger is not reliable. So, yesterday afternoon I started bookmarking the blogs I read. There aren't nearly as many as there used to be, and I discovered several blogs on my Blogger list that never show up.

This morning, I was able to catch up with the blogs that I enjoy. When I get a little extra time, I'm going to start looking for more blogs so that I can keep up with crafty friends around the world!

Today I explored Frivolitkova Lace by Hana Horakova, published in 2004. Google translate didn't give a translation for the word frivolitkova, so I'm guessing that it's the Czech word for tatting.

I chose to tat this two shuttle pattern found on page 46. The name of the pattern translates as Two Boat Velvet. This pattern is so simple to tat! I think it's one of my new favorites. 

There are several photos showing tatting as hair ornaments, but really intrigued me were the pictures of tatting with different lace centers. These are some of my favorites...

This one reminds me of a spider web.

This one reminds me of Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel glass mat.

This one reminds me of crocheted tablecloths that my mom used to make.

This one reminds me of Dorset buttons. There are so many interesting ideas!

Another tatted ornament is ready for next Christmas. I'm already having visions of having an ornament of the month. Ha! We'll see if that happens.

Another skein of yarn has become a hat. I really like the colors in this one!

 The next book on my tatting shelf is Encyclopedia Frivolity by S. I. Anni.

I haven't figured out when this book was published, but it has loads of inspiration.

I especially liked this scene filled with images from nature... clouds, sun, hills, animals, fish, and flowers.

This little fish on page 76 caught my eye, and I was able to tat him up quickly. The book is loaded with ideas for incorporating tatting into garments. I'm not sure that I'll ever try any of them, but I find the application of tatting to clothing very interesting.

My quest to use up yarn in my stash continues. I've been crocheting and knitting in the evenings. Somehow, the yarn feels much better than thread on these cold winter nights. I've had some requests for hats from high school students, and as long as they're not picky about colors, I will continue making hats for them.

We had a special Tollway Tatters meeting today. Since January has five Saturdays, we decided to skip the last Saturday in December and meet the first and last Saturdays in January. We had a nice turnout of seven people while I was there, and during our meeting I managed to tat two button ornaments. I really think I will be prepared for next Christmas!