Gillian

I got called in to sub at the last minute today, but I still managed to find time to tat "Gillian" from Twenty to Make Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams. Because this was such an easy tat, I was able to turn it into an Ice Drop after dinner.

Yes, I have another new shuttle from Emiko Suenaga. Isn't it beautiful?

Doomed!

I think my attempt at tatting "Helen" from Twenty to Make Tatted Snowflakes by Jennifer Williams was doomed from the start.

I finally gave up trying to undo my beaded ring this morning. I wasted a lot of time yesterday, and when I did decide to give up I realized how foolish I was with my time. This is the point where I messed up yesterday. I guess it doesn't always pay to be stubborn!

I really shouldn't try to tat while talking on the phone. I'm not sure if I should try and rescue this snowflake or just drop it in the trash can.

After my disaster, I decided to relax with an Ice Drop... familiar territory, you know!

I did return to "Helen" after dinner, this time without the beads. I'm pretty sure this was my first time to tat lock chains. I think I need a little more practice! This new shuttle by Emiko Suenaga arrived today. It's available exclusively at Tatting Corner.

The back is just as pretty as the front!

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? 😀