Stubborn

I could have accomplished so much today, but because I'm being stubborn, I only managed to tat one Ice Drop.

I really like the way this one turned out!

The stubborn part? I'm working on a pattern with beads, and I closed a ring too soon. I've opened beaded rings many times, but this one is causing me fits! I'm guessing I've spent about four hours trying to get this ring open. I could have easily snipped it off and re-tatted it. In fact, I probably could have tatted three or four of the motifs in the time I've spent trying to fix my mistake, but I'm stubborn!

Adapting

After a couple of false starts, I managed to turn "Auriel" from Twenty to Make, Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams into an Ice Drop!

I think round 1 makes a pretty Ice Drop by itself, so I may tat this again.

The hard part was figuring out how to keep the glass gem from falling out the back. I don't know why it took me so long to think of joining the chains after 3 ds.

I love the way this turned out.

I find that I'm getting more and more ideas for Ice Drops. Will this addiction ever end? I hope not ...at least not for a while!

Design day

I'm going to be teaching at Tatting Corner's Tat Days in July, so I've been busy designing a new Ice Drop! I worked on an idea on the way to and from Alabama, and I spent this morning working on the pattern. Designing and writing up a pattern takes a long time!

I won't be showing my design until after Tat Days. It will make the anticipation more fun!

I did take time to tat two Ice Drops today. This one is in Karey Solomon's hand-dyed thread, Distant Mountains. I do love this color!

My friend Mary Lou loves purple and green, so I thought of her as I was tatting this one.

I have an idea for adapting another of Jennifer Williams' designs as an Ice Drop. I sure hope I have time to try it out this weekend!

Auriel

Today was another snowflake day. This is "Auriel" from Twenty to Make Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams. The shuttle was a Christmas present from my friend Denise. My favorite color is blue (I'll bet you didn't know that! ;-)), and Denise's favorite color is pink. Denise commissioned Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design to make us blue and pink matching shuttles. I love it!

When I picked up the mail after our return from Alabama, I had a package waiting from my friend Michelle. To commemorate our tatting retreat in July, we ordered shuttles from Frivole.

Both sides are beautiful! I hope I'm able to attend the next Twin Cities Tatters retreat. It was so much fun, and I'm pretty sure I could convince Denise to ride along with me!

A purple kind of day

I started off the day tatting Stars in Stars by Eliz Davis aka Tatknot. It's a simple pattern to follow, and I like the way Eliz chose to weave another star across the top.

I practiced this oya fan pattern again today. It's looking better, but it's not nearly as nice as the one in the video.

I am happy with my improvement! Maybe the next time I'll have enough thread to finish the motif!

It was snowing this morning, so I was inspired to tat a snowflake. This one is "Alison" from...

Twenty to Make, Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams. This looked like one that could be adapted for an Ice Drop, so I gave it a whirl.

I think it turned out pretty nicely!

I suppose it would look better if I did front side/back side tatting, but I don't want to work that hard, and the technique confuses me.

I'm not sure I'd be able to explain how I tatted this, but I will try again. I messed up on some of the rings with picots. I can see the rings that are incorrect, but I'm sure it wouldn't be noticeable to non-tatters.

Yes, it's been a purple kind of day. I wonder which color I'll choose to use tomorrow? 😀

I thought I'd get more done...

I only managed to tat one Ice Drop today. I meant to accomplish so much more! I did iron some fabric, and I balanced my check book after going to the bank and the post office. However, the cold weather we're experiencing made me super sleepy, and I wound up taking a nap!

I'm practicing basic loops for oya. Some look really good, and some look awful! I watched some more YouTube videos today, and I'm sure that all I need is to keep trying. I hope I don't give up before developing at least a modicum of proficiency!

Happy new year!

My new year is off to a great start! How about yours?

First, I found an Ice Drop that I finished Christmas day.

Next, I practiced oya, following a YouTube video. It looked so simple! My results are horrible, but I will try again. I have a feeling this pattern was a little too advanced for me.

In order to make myself feel better about my skills with thread, I tatted a basic Ice Drop. This one is in Karey Solomon's Distant Mountains hand-dyed thread. I do love this color, and I feel much better knowing that I have a little bit of skill when using a shuttle and thread!