Carol's Little Treasures - A Tatting Blog

Tatting for Christmas

2011-12-13T15:50:00.007-05:00

I have been busy tatting for Christmas. I always seem to wait until the last possibly time to start on items I want to tat before Christmas and this year was no exception. I did manage to get quite a bit done though. With all the new Lizbeth threads, I had a hard time deciding what to use first. I wasn't sure how I felt about the color - Blue River Glades, but after I tatted with it, it has become one of my favorite colors. The blues and greens are so rich in color, I just love how this motif and earrings turned out. The motif that I made into a pendant is a pattern by Mark Myers, Shuttle Motif. The earrings are by Jennifer Williams. Click on her name and then go to patterns and here is the direct link to the earrings.

These Tatted Christmas Tree Earrings are a favorite of mine to tat. I tat at my Library on Thursdays. There is a crochet group that meets on Thursday afternoon and I asked if I could come tat while they crocheted. Then a knitter asked if she could come, so we keep growing in size. Anyway, I had been tatting these tree earrings and three of the ladies asked if they could buy a pair of the earrings. They are quick and easy to tat. The Christmas tree earrings are a pattern by Brenda Bonilla and the pattern was in an old Knots Newsletter.

I normally tat these in the solid green color, but this year I tried the very pretty variegated Lizbeth thread Christmas Green Mix 152. I'm not sure which color I like more now. The solid or the variegated???

Last but not least is a pendant set made in another new Lizbeth thread, Autumn Spice -136. This is such an awesome color and Yarnplayer's Tatted Leaf pattern looks great in this thread. The Celtic Motif I tatted as the pendant is a pattern by Rosemarie Peel "Tatting for Pleasure." I have gotten many compliments on this set when I wear it.

Front Side Back Side

I still have more tatting to show, but I'll save it for another post.

Happy Holidays!

Twilight Tatting & Feargal and William's Whirlwind Tour Around the World In Just One Afternoon

2011-09-10T11:28:00.005-04:00

My dear friend Rayanna had a birthday over the summer and I knew she was reading the Twilight series, so my gift to her was the book "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" by Stephanie Myer. I wanted to tat a special bookmark for her, so I came up with a Twilight themed bookmark. The Apple and Bat are patterns by Mark Myers.

Now onto Feargal and William's whirlwind tour around the world in just an afternoon. The Vandergrift Library, where I work, had a summer reading program that took the children around the world. Miss Scarlett made all the arrangements for Feargal and William to visit many countries around the world.

First we departed from Vandergrift International Airport and flew to the Cayman Islands. Feargal and William had fun at the beach and can even be found climbing palm trees.

Then we stopped in Costa Rica where they played with the monkeys and were swinging from the vines.

A quick stop in Antarctica to see the penguins and they were off again. It was too cold to stay long in Antarctica.

SSHHHH.....Feargal didn't let his Mum know he was stopping in Ireland for a quick visit. He just wanted to check on his pot of gold.

Africa was fun! They got to ride on the giraffes and lions.

Here they can be seen visiting with the Koala bear in Australia.

The last stop on the tour was China where they learned about Chinese culture and they also learned how to use chopsticks.

I sure had fun with these little guys. But it was time for Feargal to move on. He is now in a new location visiting with another Leprechaun relative of his. I'm sure you will hear more of Feargal's Leprechanu adventures soon.

Demonstrating Tatting at the Vicary Mansion

2011-08-24T09:02:00.001-04:00

I was finally able to make it to the Vicary Mansion in Freedom, PA, when they had one of their historical events. Each year the town of Freedom and the Vicary Mansion celebrate Freedom/Vicary Day. The town has parades, food, games and entertainment, while the Mansion hosts historic crafters demonstrating Quilting, Bobbin Lace, Paper Quilling, Scherenschnitt, and Tatting, along with giving tours and explaining the history of the mansion.

We had four tatters demonstrating plus a special Guest who came all the way from Ireland on a world tour. Feargal the leprechaun came to the Vicary Mansion along with his secretary, Miss Scarlet. Feargal and my William had a grand time meeting the other tatters. There was my mother Peg, Evalyn, and Kathy Nikalwicz of http://www.kathysvictoriantattedlace.blogspot.com.
This was such a fun and relaxing day for me, to sit and tat all day and talk with visitors when they came through the mansion. Kathy and I had a lot to talk about too.

Miss Scarlet, Feargal, and William (my leprechaun)

Kathy, Me, Peg, Evalyn

This tree full of beautiful tatting belongs to Kathy.

Vandergrift Arts Festival

2011-07-19T08:44:00.007-04:00

My Local Library, Vandergrift Public Library, where I work, was involved in the Vandergrift Fine Arts Festival for the first time. We had Fiber Arts displayed throughout the library and demonstrations going on as well. There was embroidery, quilting, crochet, spinning and tatting demonstrations going on. I was of course demonstrating tatting along with my Mother, Peg and my friend Rayanna was there for awhile too.

I was talking to the lady who came in to demonstrate spinning and I realized that I had e-mailed with her before. Misty joined one of the yahoo groups for tatting and I saw that she was from my area. I had lost her e-mail address and lost contact with her until I realized when I was talking to her at the Library who she was. What a small world. So I hope to get together with her to tat somtime.

It was a very busy day in the Library with people in and out all day watching the various demonstrators and looking at our wonderful displays. This is my tatting display.

This is the quilter's display.

Each group that demonstrated donated an item for our raffle, which was a fundraiser for the library. I tatted Yarnplayer's Duchess necklace in Lizbeth thread, dusty rose, from her "Boutique Tatting" book and the earrings I tatted to go with the necklace was Yarnplayer's Carnival Earrings. I made a bracelet to go with the set too, I just used a basic Rosette pattern. I was very pleased how it all turned out.

This event went over very well and our fundraising for the Library was a success.

Other interesting information about Vandergrift, Pa, if you have seen the movie that was at the theater 6 months ago, I Am Number Four", part of it was filmed in Vandergrift. Here is a shot of the main character, Alex Pettyfer, in front of Grant Street Music, which is actually Trygar Music. This is where my son, Cameron takes his guitar lessons. My daughter, Katrina got to meet Alex and had her picture taken with him. It was all very exciting to watch the movie being filmed in our home town.

Tatting Seahorses Again

2011-04-18T09:06:00.001-04:00

I'm tatting Seahorses again. I do love Jane Eborall's Seahorse patterns. She has two sizes of sizes Seahorses. I used the Medium size Seahorse this time. There is also a little Seahorse Earring pattern, which is adorable!! Last year I was at a craft show and I saw a Seahorse pendant, it was made of metal and I thought I could tat a Seahorse pendant. So here is my version of the Seahorse pendant.

I work at the Vandergrift Public Library and in March we held a birthday Party for Dr. Seuss. My daughter dressed up in a costume, which was a "What is That", so the costume could be anything. I made a mask for the outfit and added a little bit of a tatting around the edge.

I also want to wish my son "Cameron" a Happy Birthday!! He turned 16 in April.

Flurry Heartache and "The Plane, The Plane"

2011-02-23T09:03:00.001-05:00

I know this tatted heart is a little late for Valentine's Day, but I finally finished it. This is Jane Eborall's Flurry Heartache. I think the design is brilliant, the way the pattern just flows and it makes a really nice shaped heart. For the center bead, I used a 6mm heart bead, which fits the design perfectly. I found the hearts at DS9 Design, and bought one of the multi colored packs of hearts, this way I can match the hearts to all the pretty colors of Lizbeth thread I have bought.

"The Plane, The Plane" does anyone remember the show Fantasty Island from 1977 where Mr. Roarke's, little side kick, Tattoo would run up the main bell tower to ring the bell and shout "The plane! The plane!" to announce the arrival of a new set of guests at the beginning of each episode. That's what the arrival of Jane's plane reminded me of. LOL!! As I was tatting the pattern, I kept thinking it was a reptile of some sort. Even up to Day 9, when every one was guessing an airplane, I thought maybe it's Godzilla or something like that. LOL! But here is my tatted plane. Thank you Jane for another fun TIAS!!

Yesterday I received the Pop-O-Bobbin shuttle I ordered and I also bought one of Jane's magnet bookmarks. Well, I'm very happy with the shuttle, I bought the Cocobolo Rosewood and the grain on the shuttle is beautiful. I can't wait to load it up and give it a go. And Jane's magnetic bookmark is just the cutest bookmark ever. I bought a blue/green flower bookmark and love it. The magnets are so strong that it really does hold a lot of pages in between the magnets and stays in place.

I am working on putting together a costume for a Dr. Seuss party at the library where I work. The character that I am doing is called a "What is it", so it can be a combination of Seuss characters and I am decorating a plastic mask right now and I am going to add a little bit of tatting on the mask. I'll show a picture of the mask when I'm finished.

Tatting the Unknown & Tatted Bat Jewelry

2011-02-01T21:54:00.002-05:00

I have been working on Jane Eborall's TIAS. I'm still not sure what it is, but I have a few guesses. We'll see if I'm right or not very soon. I am a little behind, I have only tatted up to Day 5 and we are already up to day 7. I better get busy. I have tatted a few evenings with my friend Rayanna and she is also working on the TIAS.

For Christmas I tatted Rayanna's daughter (April) a gift. She really likes the Twilight movies, so I thought I would make her a Tatted Bat Pendant and Bat Earrings, perfect for a Vampire fan.

The Bat Earrings and Pendant are Mark Myers design.

The earrings are done in size 20 thread and turned out the perfect size for an earring. The pendant needed to be a little bigger, so I used Perl Cotton Size 5 and size 20 thread together, that created a little bit larger bat. I also tatted a second bat pendant, which is a design by Megumi, which is a little bit of a different shaped bat. I think both were a bit hit.

I have quite a few things tatted over the holidays that I didn't have time to post about, here is one of them. I found a round metal filigree (not sure what else to call it) at JoAnn Fabrics and thought I’d add some tatting to the piece. So I just started tatting and adding beads. I’d tat a chain and then come up through a hole with the thread, add some beads and then take the thread down through the next hole and pass the shuttle through and continued the chain and so on. I don’t think I could recreate this piece if I tried. LOL!! I think I will add a jump ring and a ribbon and wear it as a pendant. I think I like how it turned out, but I’m not sure….. I have more of these metal filigrees so I’ll try something different next time.

Sherry at Tatting Tales is having a Give Away. She is giving away one of her awesome Ceramic Shuttles. Click on her name to take you there!!

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-17T12:33:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!! Time has gotten away from me it seems. I have been tatting, a little bit anyway. I just haven't had time to post any of it. But it is a new year and I hope to do better with keeping track of what I am making.

Right now I am taking part in Jane Eborall's TIAS. I have no clue what we are making, maybe it will be an Opossum like Heidi, the Cross-Eyed Opossum at a zoo in Germany. Isn't she cute!

Well here is my tatting on the TIAS, what ever it is.

I'm looking forward to the next installment, which I hope comes out soon.

Next time I will post pictures of a tatted pendant and earrings that I made with a Twilight theme.

Happy Tatting!

Tatted Edge on Prom Gown Wrap

2010-06-06T10:19:00.001-04:00

Wow, where has the time gone to? I haven't posted in such a long time. I've been so busy, that I barely can keep up with reading blogs anymore.

I do want to show an edging that I tatted for my daughter, Katrina. I put the edging on a wrap that went with her prom gown. Katrina looked so elegant in her prom gown, so classic, like Gone with the Wind.

I have not tatted much lately, and need to get back into the swing of things. I bought one of Sally's Pop-o-Bobbin shuttles and just love using it. The thread tension is just perfect. I got it in the cedar wood and one for my Mom in cherry wood.

Well, that's my quick post. I don't know when I'll post again, Katrina is graduating on Thursday and I need to get busy planning her graduation party. Yikes, where did the last 18 years go???? Too Fast, that's for sure. Congratulations Katrina!!!!!!

Celtic Tatted Cross and My Prize has Arrived

2010-04-16T09:22:00.008-04:00

I haven't been able to do much tatting lately, I am working 2 part time jobs now. I'll have more time in the summer to tat as one of my jobs is at an elementary school, so when school is out I'll just be working part time at the Library.

I did mange to tat this Celtic Cross by Ruth Perry. I like how the chains cross each other and the celtic center. I used one of my favorite Lizbeth threads, Wildflower #109 and the solid match, Dusty Rose #621. I also did this cross in two shades of green awhile ago.

Also when I have a few free moments, I like to blog surf. I'll either do a google search on tatting and just go to different links or at the top of the blogs you can hit the button (Next Blog). You never know what blog you will end up at, but I love to get lost while surfing blogs. I have found some interesting blogs this way. Funny, I did some surfing just now and came across a tatter's blog I have never seen before and she has the same celtic cross on her blog. The Space Between, she tatted her cross in a magenta and dusty rose, very nice!!

Aileen at Aileen's Wicked Tats, had a Birthday giveawy and I was a lucky winner in her giveaway. I was so surprised that I won. Aileen sent so many goodies to use for tatting. Look at those colorful buttons. I see some tatted brooches from them and one can always use more beads. :) I also look forward to trying out the tatted rings. I see on Aileen's blog she has been tatting with these rings and making scissor fobs and pendants. Great idea!! Thank you so much Aileen for your generous gift!

I don't know if you all have been to Lady Picot's blog, but she tatted a manger scene that I think is fantastic! My favorite parts of this are the Angel in the sky and the Star of Bethlehem... the sheep are cute too. She also tatted a Gorgeous doily in black, red and gold. She has lots of eye candy on her site.

Well I'm off to work. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Happy Tats!!

Thread Received from Katherinne McKay and Giveaway by Wicked Tats

2010-03-15T08:40:00.010-04:00

I have some beautiful thread to show today. I signed up for a giveawy on Katherinne McKay's Digital Alchamy and even though I wasn't picked as a winner, she sent me a sample of some thread that she has dyed. It wasn't enough that I received this lovely color "Fire" thread, Katherinne made an oriental oragami card to send the thread in. The card is just Beautiful!! I have already tatted a couple things from the thread. The colorway is perfect for the flower motif I have made. I have also tatted the "Hope" butterfly by Lady ShuttleMaker.

Thank you Katherinne for the Beautiful oragami card and thread!! Sherry, thank you for sharing the "Hope" Butterfly pattern. I'm sure I will make it over and over again.

Now to tell you of another giveaway going on right now. But hurry, time is running out to sign up for Aileen's Wicked Tats 2nd SPEEDY GIVEAWAY.

Happy Tatting!!

I REALLY Am a Prince - Tatting Tea Tuesday

2010-03-09T19:54:00.005-05:00

Happy Tuesday!! Tatting Tea Tuesday I might add!!

I am having one of my favorite teas....Ginger Peach made by The Republic of Tea. I have so many favorite teas from this company and the teas come in decorative tins. They have some cute tins right now, with some delicious flavors of tea. I think I am going to order their new tea "Year of the Tiger" Chocolate Orange Red Tea and it is in the cutest tin. This tea sounds delicious!!

A few years ago, my friend Rayanna, gifted me with a Hallmark ornament which I think is so appropriate for today. The ornament is so sweet!! Two friends having tea and sweet treats. I think the spoon legs and peppermint stick legs with sugar cubes are so cute!

I have been working on a special project over the last few Tuesdays, well, I mean I have tatted on the project on other days of the week, but I want to show it today for Tatting Tea Tuesday.

This picture is entitled........

"I REALLY Am a PRINCE"

The fairy is Jane Eborall's Flat Fairy pattern and she is waving her magical wand to turn the frog into a prince. I used Flora size 20 thread. The frog is a Pam Palmer design and is in her Tatting Treats Two book. I made him a size 80 variegated thread. The mushroom is Heather "The Tarnished Tatter's design. And the crown is by Ellen "Singtatter". I drew the background to complete the picture.

Yesterday I received some HDT that I won in a Thread giveaway by Katherinne McKay of Digital Alchamy. I tatted some with it last night and will blog about it next time. I have a migraine tonight and can't seem to concentrate any more.

Happy Tats!

Snow, Snow and More Snow.....Keyed up Earrings

2010-02-08T20:05:00.013-05:00

We Are SNOWED in!

Our area of Western Pennsylvania got 2 foot of snow Saturday. Many of the roads are still covered with snow. Many of the back roads are impassible. School was cancelled today, Monday and we just got word that school is cancelled for tomorrow. And we are to get 8-10 more inches of snow Tuesday into Wednesday. Wow, we haven't had a snow storm this bad in a very long time. Here is a picture looking off my front porch:

Here you can see the snow is up to our mailbox. Needless to say we had no mail on Saturday.

Then we had to rescue one of our chickens. Her name is Free Bird. Why is she named Free Bird you ask? Well as soon as she realized she could escape the coop and fly out, she did. At about 6 months old, she flew out of the run at the coop that has a 6 ft high fence. We kept trying to put her back in and she kept flying out. She did not want to be cooped up with all the other chickens, so she has lived free range in the elements for 3 years. We make sure she has food and water everyday and even built her a shelter where she sleeps in the grapevines. So this is why our son, Cameron, named her Free Bird. Here is Free Bird, stuck in the snow. Luckily she didn't sink all the way to the ground and must be on some hard snow, but it almost swallowed her up. We looked out the window and just saw her neck sticking out of the snow.

Cameron to the rescue!!

Look at how much snow is on the roof of Free Birds nest in the grapevines.

Then Katrina wanted to go out in the snow and take pictures, so I had to get one of her. It was very hard to walk in the snow as it was up to her mid thigh.

I don't know if we will have school the rest of the week if we get the 8 inches on top of this.

So today we had the day off from school, I thought maybe I would get to do some tatting, but no such luck. I woke up and was so dizzy all day, I couldn't do anything but sit. Every time I moved I got sick in my stomach and my head was spinning. I couldn't even lay down or close my eyes. I am feeling a bit better this evening, and hope that by tomorrow I am completely better. Oh and I did spend about two hours on the phone with Norton Antivirus. A backdoor virus got on my computer, it represented it self as a reputable site and fooled Norton. What havoc it played on my computer. But $100 dollars later and I'm virus free. What a pain in the neck!!

Now onto the tatting part of the post. Over Christmas, I tatted Yarnplayer's Keyed Up Earrings in Lizbeth thread, I think it was the Sherbet color. I love this color thread.

One last picture for you, it is my Leprechaun William at Christmas time. I found him making new friends with some of Santa's Elf's.

Tatting Tea Tuesday - Norman the Rooster & his family plus a Tatted Scarecrow

2010-02-02T14:52:00.013-05:00

It was so much fun to tat Jane Eborall's newest TAIS. I was pleasantly surprised that the mystery item we were tatting turned out to be a rooster. Norman and his mate Aileen worked out great with another pattern I was tatting of Jane's. My first attempt at Norman was done in a light lavender and light pumpkin color.

So after Norman was complete, I tatted him in another color to go with some other tatting I was doing for a fall display on my dining room table.

Seems like everyone was tatting leaves, which I thought was a great idea. I thought it would be neat to add a Scarecrow to the display, but where to find a tatted Scarecrow. I am not a designer, but I knew of a fantastic pattern that could be altered to be a Scarecrow. I have used Jane Eborall's Bridegroom pattern before, so this would work. The first time I tatted her Bridegroom pattern, I altered it slightly and tatted Harry Potter. I was pleased with how he turned out. Click HERE to see Harry Potter. Then in my previous post I used the same Bridegroom pattern to tat Frankenstein. I have so many different ideas in my head that the Bridegroom and Bride could be. So in the future I will have more to show.

But for now, here is my Tatted Scarecrow. I have a little stuffed animal Scarecrow that I used as my model for the color of clothes and hat he wore.

Here is my Scarecrow model and the Tatted Scarecrow:

Here is a close up of the head. I put felt behind the hat so that I could glue the hay/hair behind the hat and not be seen.

So what do you think?

I don't know now if I will just lay Norman and family along with the scarecrow on my table runner as seen in a few posts back, or frame him in the picture I drew to showcase him. Hmm, I'll have to think on that one.

Happy Tatting!

Secret Santa Exchange Part 2 - Tatted Frankenstein & His Bride???

2010-01-13T08:09:00.017-05:00

In my last post I wrote about what I received in the Secret Santa Exchange, but I didn't show what I tatted and sent to my exchange partner.

My exchange partner was Carol Amich (Battatter) and I know she loves anything Halloween. Well, this isn't quite Halloween, but something along those lines and I thought she would get a kick out of it. I tatted Frankenstein and his Bride. LOL!! How far out is that one.....way out there I guess. I used Jane Eborall's Bridegroom pattern for Frankenstein and her Bride pattern and altered them a bit and this is what I came up with.

Then I used scrapbook paper and drew a background that looked like a brick wall, added a tatted bat and drew a spider web and put glitter on the web and added a tatted spider. Pretty creepy looking, huh??

Here is the rest of what I sent Carol. Some Halloween HDT by Heather and also one of her shuttles, thread, beads, dragonfly pin,

tatted snowflake, Halloween confeti, and the heart shaped material, is a rice heating pad. I got the pattern from Hope Green. You fill the bag with rice and heat it in the microwave and put on your neck or shoulder or where ever you need heat. It stays warm for a long time and the shape allows it to drape so nicely around you neck. I love mine and use it all the time. In fact, if it is really cold out and my bed is cold, I'll warm the heart rice pad up and put it at my feet and I get warm real quick. The polar bear stocking is from Avon and of course there is the required chocolate.

I so enjoy the Secret Santa Exchange. I think it is more fun putting together the package for someone than actually receiving a package. LOL!!

Happy Tatting everyone!

Secret Santa Exchange

2010-01-12T19:15:00.014-05:00

Finally a chance to blog about the Secret Santa Excange. My partner was Sherry, Celtic Dreamweaver.

I sat infront of our tree with William at my side, anxiously waiting for me to open my gift.

Sherry sent so many balls of Lizbeth thread in the most gorgeous colors. I do love tatting in color :) There were 8 balls of variegated and 3 balls of solid colors. In fact I am working on the latest TIAS in one of the variegated threads that Sherry got me.

William couldn't wait to get his hands on the thread!!

She also sent lots of pretty beads in different sizes, shapes and colors, a few fancy pins that tatting can be added too, seven books on crochet and lastly, a beautiful cross stitch picture of a snow scene with a snowman with a tatted edge of Mary Knoir's blackmagic. The picture is Gorgeous!! I will have it framed and leave it up year round to enjoy. The tatted edge looks perfect on the picture. Thank you again Sherry!!

So Many Things to Blog About

2009-11-24T08:58:00.017-05:00

I'm so excited to have won the Garden Giveaway that Clyde the Madtatter had on August 24, 2009. Clyde made a video slide show of his beautiful gardens and added a Giveaway if you could identify a plant in the slide show that was around when dinosaurs roamed the earth. I guessed the Sago Palm and won the Giveaway. Clyde tatted the most beautiful, delicate bookmark for me and sent it along with a skein of HDT. He used Yarnplayers HDT Lavender Orchid in Size 100. I love the bookmark Clyde. Thank you so much. Please visit Clyde's blog and watch his garden tour, his garden is so lovely. He also has a slide show of Rocks and Gems and Fossils that he collects, which is amazing. Thank you Clyde!! Hope your surgery went well and you are on the road to recovery!!

I also entered a Giveaway that IsDihara at Ambitatterous had. She wanted little motifs and edgings to send to Mothermark to use in the cards she makes. Mothermark makes such creative cards to resemble teapots she collects. My little tatted samples were chosen and will be sent off to Mothermark to be used in the future on one of the cards she creates. Just for entering the Giveaway, IsDihara sent me two packets of flowering tea and two balls of peach star thread. I have never heard of this kind of tea and am excited to give it a try. Thank you Isdihara!!

Then Heather The Tarnished Tatter, asked for a few tatters to test out her tiny shuttles that she made. They are so cute and so tiny. I have small hands, so tatting with them was fun, they fit in my little fingers perfectly. I used size 80 tatting thread and got at least 4 yards on each shuttle. Below is the heart I tatted with Heather's tiny shuttles. Thank you Heather for letting me test the shuttles.

Then I have been wanting to post this picture for sometime now. It is a pattern by Lenore English. I taught my best friend, Rayanna, to tat in 2006. We get together to tat in the evenings and she came over this fall when my Mom was here and we all tatted and chatted the night away. Rayanna tatted this Awareness Ribbon for my daughter, Katrina. I like how Rayanna added the Angel in the center of the ribbon. Rayanna just started blogging and has been putting her tatting up on her blog. You can visit Rayanna's blog here!

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been voting to help the"Kiski Marching Band" win Band of the Year. (((WE WON)))) KISKI was named as Band of the Year!! We already knew we were band of the year, you only have to look at Kiski's band competitions and see that they have won all their competitions. So Thank You again from Katrina and I for helping us to achieve that goal. We had almost 50,000 votes.

Tatting Tea Tuesday

2009-11-13T09:04:00.012-05:00

IsDihara at Ambitatterous is having a fabulous Giveaway, but today is the last day to sign up. All you have to do is tat a small snippet of an edging or a doodle or small motif and put it on a 3x5 card to be entered. Just by entering the Giveaway, you will receive a flowering tea. If you win the Giveaway, your tatting will be sent to Mothermark and your tatting may be used on one of the cards she creates. If you haven't been to Mothermark's blog, go check it out. She collects teapots, very unique teapots and she creates cards resembling the teapots. The teapots are pretty awesome as well as the cards she creates.

I have more to blog about, but ran out of time. In my next post I will blog about the Giveaway I won when I entered Clyde The Mad Tatter's Giveaway. He has a slide show of his gardens, which are so beautiful. You really should go check it out. But more on that next time.

Here are the samples I did for IsDihara's Giveaway, just a few edgings and motifs out of Rebecca Jones book.
Happy Tatting!!

Fabulous Giveaways, Tatted Heart & Kiski Band Needs you Again

2009-11-05T08:27:00.017-05:00

There are so many great giveaways going on right now, I hope I remembered to list them all and that you will click on over to the blogs and check the giveaways out!!
First There is a giveaway at Annabelle Stamps Blog

She is having a giveawy on the stamp set and sprinkles. She also has a blog Andrea's Stampin' Moments that she blogs about the cards she makes using her stamps and sprinkles.
I like to use stamps and embleshments to make cards and add tatting to them, so this would be a nice set to win!!

The next giveaway is by Elizabeth's Tatted Lace, Elizebeth is celebrating her 100th sale at her Etsy Store. She is giving away a pair of her Tatted Pumpkin Earrings, they will look similar to these earrings in the photo below. Aren't they just AWESOME!!!

Then LadyShuttle Maker at Tatting Tales, is still having her Random Monday Mondo Giveaway. She will pick a random Monday to give something away. So far she has had 15 winners and plans on doing the random giveaways indefinetly. Now how COOL is that!!!!

Of course I had to show some tatting in this post. Here is a quick little tatted heart that I made, the pattern can be found at Victats Blog. This little heart makes a great bookmark, or would look great as a pendant. Thank you for sharing the pattern. There are also other lovely patterns on her site, she just put a pattern up for a "Bandaid Heart" it is so cute!!

Now onto the Kiski Area Marching Band. Thank you all who helped vote Kiski Area Marching Band of Vandergrift, PA, to be band of the week in my last post. We did win band of the week and it was so exciting.

Now we are trying to win BAND OF THE YEAR!! If you could take a moment to help by voting for us, Katrina would be so happy!! VOTE FOR KISKI BAND OF THE YEAR Voting will go on until November 20th. So Vote often if you can. Thank you so Much!! CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Here is a clip of our band when we won band of the week. Katrina can be seen towards the very end of the clip, she is to the right of the drum major directing the band, her face is partially hidden by a boy infront of her, but you can see her playing her flute.

Here is a picture of Katrina, her Dad and myself. It was Senior Night at the football game and we got to escort her down the field with all the other seniors.

Tatting Tea Tuesdays - Tatted Leaves, Acorns & Pumpkin - OT Please vote for KISKI

2009-10-27T16:16:00.022-04:00

Fall has arrived and I have been busy tatting all things Fall. For the last few weeks, I have been tatting leaves, acorns and a pumpkin. There are so many great patterns for tatted leaves and some really pretty variegated threads, that it makes the tatted leaves look authentic!!

Before I learned to tat and tatting took over my life, I use to cross-stitch. One of the pieces I did was a large table scarf with cross-stitched pumpkins and fall leaves as a border. I have used this on my dining room table every fall for about the last 25 years. Well, I thought maybe I could change it up a little bit by tatting some leaves and just laying them around on the table scarf. Here is what I have done so far.

First I have a lovely little pumpkin designed by, Sherry Matthews. I really like how the leaves are tatted.

The next two leaves I have done so many times. It is an old Workbasket pattern that was updated by Tammy Rodgers. Here I used Yarnplayer's Sugar Maple HDT and a solid butter cream Manuela and the right leaf center is also Manuela in light pumpkin. I also tatted a few acorns, which are designed by Karey Solomon and is in her book "Tatting Turns over a New Leaf.

Next is another leaf out of Karey's book mentioned above, it is called "Simple Leaf". These are also done in Yarnplayer's Sugar Maple HDT.

Here is another pattern out of "Tatting Turns Over a New Leaf" by Karey Solomon. This is a Silver Maple Leaf, done in Sugar Maple HDT and a solid red Manuela for the center. I like how this one turned out.
This cute little leaf is designed by Sherry "LadyShuttleMaker".I used Altin Basak thread.

My Last leaf is a desgin by Gale Marshall at Tats All, I used Yarnplayer's Nectrarine HDT
I really like this color.

Here is my dining room table all decorated for Fall. I think next year I will continue tatting a few more leaves and pumpkins. There are still some different leaves I didn't tat, but it will wait till next year. I'm ready to move on to my next project.

Wait a minute, I took this picture thinking I was done, I was putting my camera away and I noticed that something looked different on my dining room table. I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought I better take another picture, just to make sure...........

yes, I see him now..............

he just had to get in on this picture...........

I see he has made a new friend...................
Do you see him????????

He is hiding, and he just popped out to say...................

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

HI WILLIAM!!

p.s. Very OT - Could you take a moment to help vote Kiski Area Marching Band for Band of the week???

My daughter, Katrina is in the Kiski Area Marching Band. This is her senior year and she so enjoyed her time in our Marching Band. Kiski Area Band is in the National Class of Marching Bands and have won 1st place in their AA class 28 times in a row. They just had a regional competition in Masillon, Ohio and 21 bands from 6 states participated, they once again won 1st place in their class and took 1st place over all.

Our local news station WPXI in Pittsburgh always showcases a "Band of the Week". In all four years that Katrina has competed, the local news station has never done a story on our band. We sure would like to see Kiski get recognized and showcased on our news station. If you go to this link:

WPXI Vote for the Band of the WEEK

Just vote for Kiski Area that's all you need to do.

Whatever band has the most votes by Friday, October 30 at 12 noon will be showcased on the local news.

This is Katrina with tears of joy, after learning they took 1st over all!!!

Thank you so much!! Katrina appreciates your Vote.

Tatted Pig and Lady Shuttle Maker's Giveaway

2009-09-27T16:24:00.007-04:00

I Tatted this cute little pig a few months ago and forgot to post a picture of her. She is a Pam Palmer design, she is in one of her Tatting Treats books. I'm not sure I like the background paper I used behind her, I may change it to a plain lighter pink bacground.

I think I am done tatting leaves and will start on some pumpkins tonight.

Happy Tatting!!

Tatted Crosses, Blog Award & Aileen's Halloween Mystery Giveaway

2009-09-26T12:08:00.010-04:00

I have so much to blog about, but I am still not feeling 100% from being sick. But I would like to show a much honored blog award that I received from Carolyn at Draffin Bears. She has awarded me the Bella Sinclair Award. The Bella Sinclair award is for Art Inspiration, Friendship Sisterhood, Sharing, and Caring. Bella is such an awesome person who is a very talented artist and a very caring person. Please visit her blog as well as Carolyn's blog, they are both such wonderful ladies.

I would like to pass it along to a few people whom I enjoy sharing e-mails with and visiting their blogs as well:

Laura at Laura's Tatting Muse

Pamela at Tats a Kool Challenge

Isdihara at Ambitatterous Tatting Tea Tuesday

Aileen at Aileen's Wicked Tats

Thank you again Carolyn for passing this award on to me.

I also wanted to mention that Aileen at Aileen's Wicked Tats is having a Hallowversary Mystery Giveaway on her site. So far there will be three prizes awarded. How fun is that. Can't wait to see who wins and what the prizes are. Thank you Aileen for the chance to win a mystery gift. Click here to enter her giveaway.

Sometime ago I made a couple of crosses for a friend, I think the one on the left was from Rebecca Jones book and the other from a Ring of Tatters book. Both are very easy crosses to make.

I am currently tatting leaves to add to a table scarf that I have crossed stitched leaves on. I made the table scarf about 10 years ago and I thought the addition of some tatted leaves with Yarnplayer's HDT Sugar Maple would look good on the scarf. I am almost done tatting the leaves and I want to tat a few pumpkins as well. I will blog about it when I am finished.

Thank you for stopping by! Have a great weekend!!

My Tatting Throne - Where I Tat!

2009-09-08T14:48:00.008-04:00

Sometime ago some tatters were blogging about where they spend their time tatting. I know this is soooo late, but this is where I spend my time tatting.

William - My Lucky Charm, is always by my side when tatting. He also helps me locate my tatting tools when they are misplaced. I had trouble finding my Birthstone Shuttle, he told me it was in my new tatting bag, the one made by Jane Eborall. Isn't it so cute, the material is musical notes.

So William kept insisting my shuttle was in the bag, so I told him to find it for me. He dove into the bag and pulled out my favorite shuttle. I was able to tat again. I was working on another Lotus Flower. I will post that next time.

I wanted to show the heart bookmarks I was tatting. The pattern was in an Australian Newsletter and is by Julie Patterson 2008. The purple and green one is Valdani Thread. The pink and rose one is Flora.

I am home sick today, I have a bad cold. I haven't had a bad cold like this in a long time. I hope I feel better by tomorrow. This is my third day of feeling awful.

Tatting Tea Tuesday

2009-08-19T09:05:00.017-04:00

Does Ice Tea count? Because that is what I had. I made a pitcher of regular flavored tea, but I always add one flavored tea bag, and this time it was apple flavored tea. This way my tea always taste slightly different.

Now onto the tatting part of this post. My Mom and Niece were visiting this past week and I got to do some tatting with my Mom and good friend, Rayanna. It's always fun when we can get together and tat. I made a motif for my niece, she just had her 12 year molars out, so I wanted to tat something for her. Sarah picked out the colors, Navy, Variegated Pink and White. The pattern is Jane Eborall's Lotus Flower. I love how this motif looks.

We also went to the zoo when they were here visiting and I got some really good pictures of the animals, especially one of a shark in a new tank. The polar bears are in a tank like this also. The tank has two enormous underwater viewing tunnels offering unparalleled views of the animals. If you are in the tunnel and look up, the shark or polar bear can swim right above you. It is sooo neat. I got a picture of the shark as it was swimming above me and you can see the sky above the shark, so it looks like the shark is swimming in the sky.

Here is another picture of the new tanks. Katrina sitting in front of the shark and Cameron is watching the polar bear swim by.

This is my niece Sarah standing by the tank with the Sea Lions.

Some other pictures that I liked, the Zebra and an Orchid.

Here is the newest baby elephant at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Isn't he cute!!!

It was a fun day at the Zoo.

Catching Up

2009-08-10T10:51:00.015-04:00

It sure has been a busy summer. I have not had time to update my blog in such a long time. I have been tatting, but have not had time to update my blog. I wish there was more time in the day, just for tatting and reading tatting blogs. I try to tat and read a few blogs everyday. This morning I took pictures of what I have been tatting over the last month. I forgot to take pictures of a few things before I gave them away :(

I did finally manage to add a picture to the top of my blog title. It is the Reversible Motif by Jane Eborall. I loved tatting this motif. I used Yarnplayer's HDT, Tourmaline with matching threads. This is such a pretty colorway.

This is the front side of the motif.

This is the back side of the motif. I don't know which side I like best.

I wanted to make earrings to match each motif and use them as a pendant/earring set. I am very pleased at how each set turned out.

Then I made another Peacock colored motif (see previous post). Using Jane's "Lotus Flower" pattern again. The last one I made I turned in to a pin for my jean jacket. This time I added a ribbon/cord and it is a lovely pendant with matching earrings. I just love the colors in this motif too.

One more picture to post. Jane's new Multi Beaded Earrings. I love how this is made and there are so many possibilities for the bottom of these earrings. Thanks for all your wonderful patterns Jane. As you can see I love tatting your patterns.

I still have more to show, but it will have to be on another day. I need to get out to the garden and pick peppers, basil, and dill to freeze. It sure is hot today, it's about time though. Our summer has been rather cool, which is ok too, but we need some hot days and nights to help our tomatoes ripen.

Thanks for visiting my blog today. I enjoy reading all the comments everyone leaves.

Have a great day!!

Memorial Day Pin & Peacock Colored Pin

2009-05-27T09:21:00.009-04:00

Memorial Day was a great day. First there was the Memorial Day Parade in Vandergrift, PA. My daughter, Katrina, is in the Marching Band, and they marched at the parade. We had great weather for the parade.

Then we spent the day doing odds and ends outdoors, planting in the garden, took a long walk in our woods on the trails and cooked out!

Then in the evening I had time to tat. I saw that Kathy at "Kathy's Victorian Tatted Lace" tatted a red, white and blue motif. Which of course really fit the day and inspired me to tat something red, white and blue. So I found a pattern that I have wanted to tat for many years, and never have. It's a pretty little heart by Billy Heisler "Heisler's Creative Stitchery" the heart pattern can be found here. This was quick and easy to tat.

I have a jean jacket that has embroidered Peacock Feathers on the sleeve and back. I love the colors used in the feathers. Teal, Dark Lavendar, a Bright Green, the colors in the feathers are so vivid. I wanted to tat a pin in these colors to wear on my jean jacket. I thought how nice the pin would look with the embroidered feathers. Luckily I just ordered some Lizbeth thread and they were the perfect color for this project. I used Jane Eborall's Lotus Flower pattern. I love how the pin looks with my jean jacket.

All I have to do now is glue the tie tack pin to the back of the pin and I'm all set.

Now to go plan my next project. It will be another mixed media project with some tatting and a drawing.

Elmer, The Patchwork Elephant

2009-05-23T14:59:00.012-04:00

Many of you with young children may know of the book series "Elmer" by David McKee. Elmer is not a normal color elephant, he was patchwork. Elmer was yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green black and white. This series was a favorite for both my children when they were little. We read the books over and over again.

Well, I got this idea to tat Elmer in patchwork colors and add a drawing to go along with him. It was such fun creating this picture. I recently discovered how much fun it is to draw. I didn't think I could draw, anything but stick figures though. But I have been so inspired by art blogs lately that I have been doodling.
The elephant is a pattern by Jane Eborall. One of her many animal patterns on her website.

Here is "Elmer". Tell me what you think!

I also wanted to upload a few pictures that I took on Mother's Day weekend. Even though I had strep throat, I did get to go on a Nature Walk with my family in our woods. We made nature trails in our woods and it's fun to walk and enjoy the queit peaceful atmosphere.

This is heading back to the Nature Trails.

Tatted Bookmarks & Pattern Page

2009-05-01T09:45:00.011-04:00

I love to tat bookmarks. There are so many styles to choose from. These are two of my favorite though. The cat bookmark is from an old Knots Newsletter #50 from 2002. The cat is also in Diana Stevens Animal Bookmarks book.

The butterfly is my favorite butterfly to tat. The pattern is by Mary McCarthy and was in the Workbasket Magazine I think 1990. There is to be a bead in the center of the butterfly, but I left it out since I didn't want the bead to damage the book it would be used in.

I came across a Tatting Site I have never seen before. It is called "Free Tatting Patterns". I don't know whose site it is and none of the tatted pieces look familiar. Although the Wide Tatted Necklace does look like something Totusmel would have designed.

If you click on Read the rest of this post on each blog entry, it gives the pattern to that piece. There are some really pretty pieces of tatting here. I really like the pink white necklace.

Does anyone recognize who this site belongs to? There is even a Tatted Tie on here. Very interesting!!

Well let me know what you think.

Happy Tatting!

Mother of Pearl Button Brooch

2009-04-27T15:29:00.017-04:00

Don't you all just LOVE Jane Eborall's patterns? I know I sure do.

Thank you Jane for sharing so many wonderul patterns with us!!

I have made quite a few of her Mother of Pearl Button Brooches, but this one has to be my favorite so far. It was a gift for a new friend.

I found a lot of Mother of Pearl Buttons in my button stash and thought this is a perfect pattern to use them with.

The thread is size 20 Flora color 62, which is a soft variagted pink and the beads are a mix that I got from DS9 Designs, Miyuki Mix 18 "Abracadabra" I did add some cream colored beads to the mix. Debbie, at DS9 Designs, has a lot of cute bead mixes for projects. Click on the picture to see how pretty these beads look with the thread.

The weather has been so nice here in Western Pennsylvania this past week. I am thinking about summer already. I did another doodle, thinking about my garden and planting sunflowers.

Happy Spring!!

I've been Tagged and Doodling

2009-04-19T20:07:00.012-04:00

I've been tagged by The Lady Who Tats at Your Crowning Glory!!

The rules are:

1. go to your documents/pictures.
2. go to your 5th file.
3. go to your 5th picture.
4. blog about it.
5. tag 5 people …...

Ok... The picture that I am blogging about was in my 5th file, the 5th picture. Which works out great as this was a tatted notecard that I made and didn't get to blog about it yet.

I made this cute little tatted basket added some tatted flowers and used some scrapbook paper. It's pretty enough to frame.

The basked was on the Tatting Pattern Calendar on July 16, 2007 by Laurie Walton.

Now to tag 5 people, which are blogs that I enjoy checking for updates.

Ridgetatter

Vinnie at Vinnie's Tatting

Heather at The Tarnished Tatter

Carolyn at Draffin Bears

Steph at Steph's Tat Stuff

I also have been doodling and thought I'd put this quick doodle on here.

Mary Had a Little Lamb & I've been given an Award, The Renee Award

2009-04-11T15:53:00.013-04:00

HAPPY EASTER!!!!! I wish everyone a very joyous day with loved ones!!

Mary Had a Little Lamb..... Lamb.... Lamb.... Lamb. She has 4 so far. I loved making this little lamb. I have wanted to make this lamb for sometime now. Ever since Jane Eborall had her Tat It And See (TIAS) of the button girl. There is a new TIAS going on right now if, so if you want to give it a try, click here. The pattern is given in parts and you don't know what you are making till the end. It's a lot of fun!

This little button lamb is so cute. The pattern is by Martha Ess and can be found here on Jane Eborall's Site. Martha just published a new tatting book, "Tea is for Tatting". The Teapots are fantastic. I have to get this book.

Wow.... I can't believe that I have been given this awesome award by TattingChic and also by Pamela at Tats a Kool Challenge, The Renee Award, it was created by Bella Sinclair.

Here's what Bella has to say about why she created this award:

"This one is meaningful to me in three profound ways. Firstly, it was created in honor of Renee, one human being who has made such a difference in the lives of many just by being. Her honestly, wit, intelligence, and grit are a tremendous source of inspiration. She can elicit raucous laughter and guffaws in her banter, and then turn right around and offer the most heartfelt, gentle words of wisdom and emotional support. She is a spreader of love, simple and true. And her love is infectious.
Secondly, this award was created in collaboration with one of my best friends, Ces. She is, in Renee's own words, truly original. She is an incredible artist, both in pen and ink and paint. She is fiery passion with a gentle hand. She is laughter, fun, joy, intellectual stimulation, a sister. The concept and design of the award belong to Ces.
Thirdly, this is a brand new award, and I have the pleasure and honor of spreading the seed, watching it grow. I hope it finds its way to those who are like Renee: the acorn, a small package becoming a tall and sturdy oak giving more acorns, becoming tall and sturdy oaks, giving acorns…"

I really like that these awards didn't have any "rules".

You can pass it on or not. You can pass it on to as many or

few as you want. It's very cool!

Thank you so much for the very touching award. I am very honored to receive an award that was created with love!

Am I Late or Just Super Early for Next Year - Shamrocks and My Leprechaun, William

2009-04-07T15:04:00.015-04:00

That is the question of the day. Am I late or just super early for next year? I was planning on tatting Shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day. I had all good intentions of giving a few out, one to my Mom, one for my Aunt and one for my Sister and of course one for myself. Well, I didn't make it in time. So am I late or am I early???? I have 7 Celtic Shamrocks completed, and I think I will give them out now, so I don't loose them if I wait a whole year to give them out. LOL!! Now the second problem here, well not really a problem, but I made the Shamrocks in different shades of green, and I had a hard time choosing which to keep for myself. I may have to make on in each shade, I like them all.

I wanted to thank Marilee (Yarnplayer) for posting her part of the Shamrock pattern. I think it is an awesome Shamrock. Thank you Marilee!!! Also Ruth Perry for her instructions on the Celtic center. Thank you!!

As you can see, I did each Shamrock slightly different. The lighter green is the new Lizbeth thread, Spring Green, I used a solid green center on some, that was Flora thread and the variegated thread is Manuela. I just need to add the split ring finding on the top so they can be worn as pendants. My Leprechaun, William, is having fun just laying around in his field of Shamrocks. LOL!! He is just getting back from an adventure of his own. If you want to see what William has been up to, go visit him at the Leprechaun's blog.

I guess this completes my second round of 25 Motifs. I lost count and did over the 25. Guess I'll start again. I got this round done rather quickly.

I have also tried something new. I have been so inspired by some art sites that I have been following (Bella Sinclair Doodlespot) and (Gem n I) that I thought I would try drawing. Below is one of my attempts. I had this cute birthday card and I just copied what I saw. I think I did ok for my first try. The drawing is very light, I didn't want to press real hard with the pencil, because I did a lot of erasing. LOL!

Christmas Gifts - Needle Threader & Pendant - Totusmel Giveaway

2009-03-14T08:47:00.013-04:00

I'm still trying to get caught up from Christmas with my blog posts. I wanted to post a picture of my new needle threader that I got as a gift at Christmas from my daughter. It has the big eye so you can get a large thread in the hole. It is made by Clover. I like how the actual threader is protected and won't get bent like my other one. The only thing I wish was different, it should have a hole or something so you can attach it to a chatelaine or ribbon so it doesn't fall in between the couch cushions. LOL!

I also received this awesome glass pendant from my Mom. It opens up and you can put tatting in between the glass. I put a butterfly in there for now. It is a really cute pendant.

I just signed up for an awesome Giveaway by Totusmel. Check it out, if you haven't already - http://totusmel.blogspot.com/ She creates some very unique pieces of tatted jewelry.

Thanks for visiting my blog!!

I Need More Time

2009-03-05T08:22:00.012-05:00

I have been away from blogging, but just because I haven't posted any blogs lately doesn't mean I haven't been tatting. There just isn't enough time in the day to read all my favorite blogs, read all my e-mails from the tatting groups, tat, photograph and blog it all. Oh and then there is the small things that need taken care of like that dirty word......housework. Blah... I need to squeeze that in somewhere.

Well anyway, I saw a drawing the other day that reminds me of how I feel most times. We could all use some extra time .... Here is an excellent drawing of saving time. Wish we could save time and take it when we need it most. The drawing was done by Bella Sinclair. I love this drawing, it so precious!

Check out Bella Sinclair's Doodlespot blog for more unique drawings.

Bella is a very talented artist and her blog has become one of my favorites! HI Bella!!

With St. Patrick's Day coming up real soon, I wanted to make a Shamrock pin and Yarnplayer has a very unique Shamrock. I have to say, I really liked tatting this one. I love how the bead in the center of the Shamrock is added to the beginning loop of the SCMR. It worked perfectly! I love how this Shamrock turned out. I think the pattern could also be used as a very unique cross if the stem was a little different. Thank you for sharing such a lovely pattern Marilee!! Oh and if you haven't checked out her Etsy Shop, you should. She sells beautiful HDT and Jewelry and she has a new Celtic Style Shamrock pendant for sale that is such a neat design.

I also just tatted a Carnival pendant from her book "Boutique Tatting". I used Manuela thread and measured it so I could do it again in some of her HDT. I don't want to waste any of that thread. Now to make the matching earrings next.

Well I have to close this post, time has gotten away from me again and I'm going to be late for work if I don't get going. Wish I could stay home and tat all day! Where is that time bottle when you need it........

New Tatting Books

2009-02-11T16:20:00.009-05:00

Right before Christmas I treated myself to two new Tatting books. The first one is by Heather at The Tarnished Tatter blog, "Motifs A Many" There are 35 motifs in her book. They are quick and easy to tat up. I also bought one of Heather's tatting shuttles that she made. It is so cute and fits nice in my hand. I tatted most of the motifs with Heather's own HDT. Here are some of the motif's I tatted. I think my favorite one in this bunch orange and cream colored one on the bottom row in the middle and also the little one done in white thread. I still have lots more to tat out of this book.

Also for Christmas I ordered myself a copy of Marilee's (Yarnplayer) new book "Boutique Tatting". I can't wait to try out some of the patterns in this book. I have quite a few of Marilee's HDT's and my latest one is the Pansy color. I got some pretty beads to use with this thread. Maybe this will be my next project.

I haven't had time to tat in the last few days, I've been too busy. Maybe tonight I will try to tat. I know I won't be able to tat Thursday, Friday or Saturday. I have something going on each of those nights.

Happy Tatting everyone!

Tatted Edge for Gloves

2009-01-25T19:42:00.003-05:00

I received a pretty cream colored gloves for Christmas, and I thought how nice they would look with a pretty tatted navy edging. So I searched all my tatting books until I found the perfect edging. I found it in an old Dover book "Tatting Doilies & Edgings" by Rita Weiss. I used Oren Bayan 50 color #747 Navy with a silver lined crystal bead. The motif on the top of the glove is from Patty Duff's "Mini Tats Book" Mofif #21.

Here is a close up of the gloves.

I also finished some crosses that I made for a friend and will post them next time.

I'm not sure how to count this in the motif challenge, But there are two motifs and 2 seperate edgings, so I guess this would be Motif # 7, 8, 9 & 10. I'm doing pretty good this time on the challenge, I only started this challenge on January 1, 2009 and I'm already up to #10. I actually have much more than that done already, but I need to take pictures of everything. I wonder how quickly I can get this challenge completed. The first time I did the challenge, It took me 10 months to complete.

I just wanted to thank Sharon and the gang for hosting the challenge and show-casing what all we have been tatting.

Happy Tatting everyone!

More Christmas Tatting - Motif #5 & #6

2009-01-07T19:42:00.006-05:00

Here are two more motifs that I tatted over Christmas. I made a Christmas Card and added the tatted tree. This is a very cute little tree. Then I tatted this lovely bell and added a jingle bell to it. I found both of these patterns at: Wanda's Knotty Thoughts

Thank you for sharing these patterns Wanda!

I finished tatting the edge for the gloves I received for Christmas. I need to attach the tatting and I will post a picture next time.

I am currently working my way through Heather's (The Tarnished Tatter) new book that she published right before Christmas. She has so many cute patterns in her book. I'll post picture of the motifs when I finish a few more.

25 Motif Challenge - Completed & Starting the Challenge Again for 2009

2008-12-30T18:00:00.017-05:00

I have been slow to post all I have tatted in the last few months, but I finally can say that I have completed my 25 Motif Challenge. I completed it sometime ago, but could not show many of the pieces because they were for the Secret Santa Exchange I was in. I posted those pictures in my last post. Here are a few more tatted gifts that I gave out for Christmas.

Here is Motif #25. The bead tatted tree was tatted for a friend from church and I also made her this tatted pin.

Now I will start the 25 Motif Challenge over again. The pin above is Motif #1 and the pins below are #2 & #3.

Here are two other pins that I made and sold recently:

I am looking for a supplier for these porcelean flowers. If you know of a company that sells them, the flowers range from 6mm to 15 mm, Please let me know. I bought a lot of these flowers 15 years ago when I started making these kind of pins and I only have a couple flowers left. These ones were made by "Duncan" and I don't think they make them any longer.

I also tatted a pair of earrings for another good friend. I used Yarnplayer's HDT "Tourmaline". I like how these earrings turned out. Motif # 4.

That's all for today. I still have more pictures to post, but I want to go tat on my latest project. I received a pair of cream colored gloves for Christmas and I tatted a navy motif with silver beads to put on the glove and I am tatting an edge in the same thread and beads to put on the cuff of the gloves. I have one done already and I am just starting the edge of the second glove. I'll post the gloves when I finish them.

I have also received some awards lately. The first one is from Judy at CJ Stitching & Blooms. It is the Kreativ Blogger. I also received an award from TattingChic, and it is also the Kreativ Blogger. Thank you so much Judy and TattingChic. I appreciate the award. I will forgo passing on the awards, atleast for now.

Happy New Year and Secret Santa Gift Exchange

2008-12-30T09:23:00.028-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I wanted to wish everyone Good Health and Happiness in 2009!!

I joined in on a Christmas Exchange on Gina's Threads of a Tatting Goddess again this year. It was so much fun preparing a package for my partner, LB Locke. What I enjoyed most was tatting the brooch for her. I read on her preference list that she liked brooches, so I found the prettiest brooch I could find, it was a Jane Eborall design and tatted it for her. This is Motif #17 in the 25 Motif Challenge:

Well, I liked it so much that I had to have one for myself, so I made another one. I also made one for my Mom for Christmas too. Actually I made two for myself, one in blue and one in rose. I used antique mother of pearl buttons that i had and I think they are all so pretty. Motif #18, 19 & 20.

I also enjoyed tatting a little edge on this felt mitten that I found. I used a size 50 thread, so it would look delicate. I also tatted some little snowflakes to put on the gloves too. The clear, silver lined beads made the tatting sparkle. Motif #21.

I also tatted a snowflake and attached it to a card that she could take off and put on her tree. The snowflake was Kim Millar's found on Georgia Seitz website. Motif #22.

I also tatted a motif to go inside a paper weight and a motif in a refrigerator magnet. That makes my 25 Motif Challenge # 23 & 24.

Here is a picture of all the gifts I sent LB.

Bina Madden, had me as a partner and I want to give a big THANK YOU to her for all the wonderful things she sent me.

First off there was a very cute Coca Cola Roadside Diner Tin, that held all my gifts.

A ball of Olympus size 40 in red. I can't wait to try this thread. I have not tatted with this brand before. A Susan Bates shuttle, you can never have enough shuttles. Some little plastic rings that come apart and are used as markers on glasses, to let people know which glass is theirs. small barrettes to clip onto thread. A tube of Ceylon Dusky Blue Beads.
A Silver Wire Star, which I will use as a thread winder. A porcupine quill, which is so cool, it is used as an unpicker. A tin of Barkley Mints.

A photo album to put my tatting in. A pretty little star tatted in a silver metallic thread.

A BEAUTIFUL Pair of Beaded Earrings in this lovely gold thread. These earrings are absolutely GORGEOUS. The beads are pearls and garnets!! Bina designed these awesome earrings.

Thank you so much for all the lovely gifts Bina! Everything is very special. A big Thank you to Gina for hosting another successful Secret Santa Exchange!!

William, My Leprechaun

2008-12-10T20:15:00.016-05:00

I was catching up on reading the tatting blogs and came across Pamela's Tats a Kool Challenge Blog. I learned about the Leprechaun's she is making for her tatting friends. I was lucky enough to receive William from Pamela last year in a Secret Santa Exchange, and William was sitting with me, talking on his cell phone and having a cup of tea and cake reading all the tatting blogs too. Well.... he got so excited when he read that some of his relatives would be coming over to the states that he jumped up so fast and ran to the next room.......

and headed for the closet and pulled out his suitcase and informed me he was going on a road trip.

I asked him how he was traveling on this road trip and he ran back to the closet and pulled out his bike and was ready to go!

William also wanted to take along my new HDT that I got from Heather - The Tarnished Tatter.

I told him it was too far to travel on his bike, so he jumped off his bike and came back in his mini van.

William had it packed so full that it was overflowing with tatting supplies, shuttles and lots of thread.

I hope he has a good time visiting with all his relatives, so far he knows of Oisin, he is with Laura at Laura's Tatting Muse Blog, then there is Killian, he is with Diane at Lace Lovin Librarian Blog & Cormac is with Gina at Tatting Goddess Blog and Danny is with Martha at Martha's Tatting Blog. William needs to locate one more Leprechaun so he can finish planning his trip. He hopes he checks in and blogs about his where abouts.

I Won a Giveaway

2008-12-10T15:31:00.009-05:00

The newest trend these days are blog giveaways. So many generous and talented tatters are doing this. I entered one and I won. The giveaway was given by Heather, The Tarnished Tatter.

Heather posted a mystery photo and asked if anyone could guess what the picture was. Heather takes some amazing photos. She even has a photography Etsy shop as well as an Etsy shop for 2 tatting books she published and some HDT.

My prize arrived yesterday and was I surprised!! Heather said she would send a sample of her HDT, well she sent more than a sample, she sent 7 skeins to try out. The colors are all gorgeous. I can't wait to try it out. I'll post pictures of what I tat so you can all see the thread tatted up.

Here is a photo of all the lovely HDT Heather sent.

Shades of Rose, Taffy, Peach Parfait, Berry Punch,
Marshmellow Rope, Golden Cranberry Avocada & Blue Raspberry

Thank you very much Heather for all the Lovely HDT.

Catching Up & Picture of TIAS #4 That I Tatted, Motif #16

2008-12-02T09:28:00.015-05:00

I have been absent from blogger world for too long. What's my excuse......I don't have enough time in the day to do everything I want to do. LOL! I can barely keep up with all the tatting blogs anymore. Now this is a good thing, that just means more people are blogging about their tatting, which I think is Fantastic!! I get a few minutes here and there and will go directly to the tatting blogs. But once I start looking at one tatting blog, it leads me to another that leads me to another and so on.....

I have been tatting in my long absence, I just haven't had the time to blog about it. I think I have possibly tatted enough motifs that I will surpass my 25 Motif Challenge. I will try to post one or so a day and try to get caught up.

The first thing I want to post is my TIAS #4 that was hosted by Lady Shuttle Maker. (Thank you Sherry for doing this). I had no clue until the end what we were making. This TIAS has been the most challenging for me so far. I have only done block tatting a couple of times, so this was great practice for it. But I think I still need more practice on block tatting. Plus, I never did the front side, back side tatting either, and I will need to work on this also. I enjoyed trying the techniques and will continue to use them. I did have a problem with the Lighthouse though. After I finished, I looked at my Lighthouse and then everyone else's and realized I left out a whole section. So my Lighthouse is shorter than all the others. But that's ok, I like it anyway.

Tatting Earrings Again - Motifs 13, 14 & 15

2008-06-27T16:04:00.015-04:00

I've been working on the 25 Motif Challenge and tatting earrings. I am up to Motif #15. I joined the challenge on March 3rd of this year, so it has only been 3-1/2 months and I've passed the halfway mark already. YEA!! This challenge has motivated me to keep tatting on a regular basis and photograph my tatting and post on my blog what I have achieved. I like that idea, as I have tatted so many things and gave them away without taking pictures of them. I'm sure there are many other tatters that do the same thing.

I have tatted Jane Eborall's Flat Snowflake Earring again. I love this earring pattern. This time I made them for my friend, Rayanna, who just had a birthday. I made them in her favorite color, purple. Earlier this year I taught Rayanna to tat. She was such a fast learner. She has even mastered split rings. Sometimes we get together in the evenings to tat, which is a lot of fun.

I tatted another earring from Jane's site, Flower Earring, these are almost like small bell shaped flowers. I like how they turned out and have the beads hanging down from the center of the flower.

The next earring that I made is a pattern by Nina Libin, Beaded Earring. I have had the pattern printed off for sometime now. I have always wanted to try this earring. There are a few variations to the pattern, just by adding more beads in a few places. I want to make a few more of these and experiment with different colors of thread and beads.

That's all for now. I have missed a few days on the computer and have to catch up on every one's blog and see what beautiful things others are tatting. Thanks for visiting my blog!! Happy Tats!

Tagged

2008-06-24T00:06:00.022-04:00

I've been tagged by two wonderful tatters, Joy and Diane.

Here are the rules:

1. Link back to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share 6 unimportant/random things about yourself.
4. Tag 4 people at the end of your entry.

I don't know if this means I have to list 12 unimportant/random things about myself since I was tagged twice, but here it goes.

1. I met Billy Boyd from the movie Lord of the Rings, he played the hobbit, Pipin.

2. I love to eat salads for supper. We grow a very big garden to supply everything we need for a healthy salad.

3. I started raising chickens a few years ago so I wouldn't have to buy eggs from the store anymore. One of our chickens doesn't want to live in the coop and pen with all the other chickens, so she has been free range for a year. She has been following me around lately and when she can't find me, she is now coming up to the house and flying up to the window sills looking in the window for me. Today she was on the porch on my glider looking through the big picture window looking for me.

3. My left eye doesn't move past the center, it is called Duane's Syndrome. Therefore, I don't see to my left unless I turn my head completely to the left.

4. So when I was in grade school, the kids would call me crossided lion, because my eyes crossed, because of the above reason.

5. I had a pet rabbit named Sugar when I was growing up. She was an albino rabbit.

6. I wore my Mother's wedding dress when I got married. It was a beautiful hooped skirt wedding dress.

Now for 6 more unimportat/random facts about my life.

7. In my previous post, I mentioned that I just got 7 stitches in my index finger from slicing my finger while cutting celery, well, the only other time I had to get stitches was from trying to separate two slices of frozen ham with a butcher knife, the knife went into my pinky finger and I had to get 4 stitch's. Ouch!!

8. I like my new pj's, they are green polka dotted shorts with a lavender top.

9. I met Cathy Rigby in 1972 and got her autograph at the place that I took gymnastic lessons. The reason I mention this is that my daughter, Katrina and I, just went to see the musical Peter Pan and Cathy Rigby was Peter Pan. If you don't remember, Cathy Rigby, throughout her gymnastics career, she was able to win numerous international gymnastic medals (including eight gold medals) and she went to the Olympics a second time in 1972. Cathy won a silver medal on the balance beam at the 1970 World Championships, being the first American woman to medal in World Gymnastics. I found a clip of Cathy performing as Peter Pan on YouTube - (I did not film this, it looks like this clip is from 2007:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofnOtAN71K0

10. I am fascinated by my friends retaining wall that has moss growing on the top of it. There are these beautiful little red flowers growing out of the moss.

11. I have held a hummingbird twice in my life. First time one was caught in the net that covered my blueberries, I got her untangled and let her go. The second time, it was a baby hummingbird that fell out of the nest and I picked it up and put it in the tree so cats wouldn't get to it. I watched the Mama bird coming in to feed it and the next day it flew off. It was amazing.

12. I never dreamed that when I learned how to tat, that it would become so important to me. I love how it relaxes me. I try to tat a little every day. I never knew how much all the people I have met through the internet tatting sites and lists would mean to me. Even though I have never met these wonderful people, I think of them as my friends. Especially, Jane E., Pamela, Hope G., TattingChic, Joy, Diane, Gina, and the list goes on and on. I can be a very quiet person of very few words at times, but I try to stay active in the list because I enjoy everyones blogs and journals. I appreciate everyone of our talented designers and love tatting their patterns. Thank you!!!!

Now to choose 4 people to tag, actually 8 people, since I was tagged twice:

I tag:

1.Pamela - Tats a Kool Challenge
2.BJ - Ridgetatter
3. Jon - Jon's Thread Escapade
4. Tattyhead
5. Nita's Creations
6. Connie - Tattin' N' Craftin' Rainbow Rose
7. Tayna - Wonk's Tatting
8. Carol Amich - Battatter's Belfry

ARTE PICO AWARD

2008-06-23T09:48:00.017-04:00

Who would have thought that I would ever receive an award. I'm so surprised and honored. Thank you Verito!

ARTE Y PICO AWARD

There’re rules, yes, there are:
Reglas (español):1) Debes elegir a 5 blog que consideres sean merecedores de este premio por su creatividad, diseño, material interesante y aporte a la comunidad bloguera, sin importar su idioma.
2) Cada premio otorgado debe tener el nombre de su autora y el enlace a su blog para que todos lo visiten.
3) Cada premiada, debe exhibir el premio y colocar el nombre y enlace al blog de la persona que la ha premiado.
4) Premiada y premiadora deben exhibir el enlace de Arte y pico, para que todas sepan el origen de este premio.
5) Exhibir estas reglas
~~~~~~~~~~~
Rules:
1) You have to choose 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award due to their creativity, design, interesting material and also contribute to the blogger community, no matter in what language they are.2) Each award must have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog in order to be visited by everyone.3) Each award-winner has to show the award and include the name and link to the blog that has given it.4) The award winner and the one who has given it have to show the link of “Arte y pico” blog, so that everyone will know the origin of this award.5) Show these rules.
~~~~~~~~♥♥♥♥~~~~~~~~
I chose to give the award to Pamela - Tats's a Kool Challenge, TattyCat - Laura's Tatting Muse, Joy - Joy in Tatting, Judy- CJStitching and Blooms, Diane - Lace-Lovin' Librarian.

I hope I did this right.

DISCLAIMER:

Awards and tags can be fun. But do not feel obligated to accept the award if you find it a burden or otherwise makes you uncomfortable it's okay by me if you do not accept it.

Please take it as a compliment from me and consider it OPTIONAL.

Tatting Again, Motif #12

2008-06-17T19:07:00.011-04:00

I am finally getting back into tatting. A few weeks ago I sliced my index finger while cutting celery and had to go to the emergency room and get 7 stitches. OOUCH, it sure did hurt. I got my stitches out and my finger is feeling better now, so I am finally able to tat again.

But while I was not tatting, William, my Leprechaun, (see post below for William's story) finished tatting the motif he started one day while I wasn't looking. To my delight, he tatted a flower pin. I use to make these when I learned to tat 19 years ago. The back of the pin has a tie-tack fastener. These pins are quick to make, they are just basically two rosettes put together with a porcelain flower in the center.

My husband was out of town at the end of May, he was in Guthrie, Oklahoma, on business and he had some free time and wondered into an antique shop to see if he could find me a birthday present and he found a little antique sterling silver shuttle for me. I was so surprised when he gave it to me. It is about 2-1/2" long and has the initials A.M. engraved on the top and the bottom of the shuttle is stamped with C.B.&H. Sterling. If anyone knows the company, C.B.&H. or anything about the shuttle, please let me know.

My Lephrechaun - William

2008-05-13T16:43:00.009-04:00

I am one of the lucky ones to have received a Leprechaun from Pam in Ireland. She sent him to me when we had our Secret Santa Exchange. Well, I was reading Pam's Tats A Kool Challenge Blog, and she wanted all her Leprechaun's to check in. I am happy to report that William is having a grand time in Apollo, Pennsylvania. Let me tell you a little bit about William.

I have named my Leprechaun ,William , and he is my lucky charm. He sits by my computer and watches me while I visit tatting sites. Sometimes he sits and watches me tat too! He is a funny little fellow whom I feel so privileged to have.

I was tatting the other day and had to get up to answer the phone and when I came back, William had started tatting on my motif. He reminded me of the Fairy Tale by the Grimm Brothers "The Elves and the Shoemaker". Maybe William will have the motif done tonight.

Then two days ago, I couldn't find William. I wondered where he had gone off to. I searched high and low for him. Then I heard squeals of delight and you'll never guess where I found him. Did you ever see a ball pit at an amusement park? Well, I found William have a grand time with my thread. He dived right in just like a ball pit, only this was a pit full of thread. I had a heck of a time untangling him from the thread.

Yesterday I found him studying a pattern out of Mark Myers Book "Tatted Gathering of Angels". Maybe that is what he is going to tat for me tonight while I'm in bed.

That leads us to today. I came home from work and found him sitting at the computer. He sees all his friends and wants to know where they are and what they are up to. Are they as happy as I am, William asks.

So these are William's adventures for now. Who knows what mischief he will get into tomorrow. Thank you Pam, I adore William......

The reason for naming my Leprechaun William:

Why William you ask, well, I just watched the movie "P.S. I Love You" with Gerad Butler and Hilary Swank & Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Part of the movie was shot in Ireland and one of the Irish characters was William. So I named my Leprechaun after William in this movie. If you haven't seen this movie and like Romantic Comedies, you've got to see this one. I have to warn you that it is a tear jerker. I laughed and cried through the whole movie.

Nectarine Heart - Motif #11

2008-05-09T14:50:00.006-04:00

I finally had a chance to tat with some of the new (HDT) Hand Dyed Threads I got from Yarnplayer (Marilee). The color is Nectarine and the thread has such pretty colors in it. I can't wait until the Nectarine set of solid colors arrives, I bought some of these too!

I found the prettiest Heart to tat with this thread. The Heart was designed by Sandra. Sandra has a slide show of some of her tatting on her site and there are some lovely crosses and bookmarks, earrings and two snoods. If you get a chance, check it out.

I've been going through all my tatting books, mostly the really old ones, looking for something different to tat. I saw many edgings that would look nice as bookmarks and littls tatting bits that would look good for earrings. That's what I do when I am too tired to tat, I'll just look at the books for a little bit and dream about what I could tat.

Motif #10 - Partridge in a Pear

2008-05-01T07:47:00.008-04:00

Moving right along with the 25 Motif Challenge, I am already at motif #10, which I am very happy about, since I only joined the challenge on March 4, 2008. Here I have tatted Pam Palmer's Partridge in a Pear again. I tatted this one last year for a Secret Santa Exchange that I was in and posted about it earlier and can be seen on the post for February 6, 2008. My exchage partner was Jane Eborall, so she has the first one I tatted, which was tatted in all white. But I did this one a little different and tatted the pear in a beautiful golden color, which was made by Marilee (Yarnplayer), the color is called Golden Fleece, which you can get in her Etsy Shop. The Partridge is still in white. I used a pearl colored piece of heavy scrapbook paper and a piece of gold paper and used a fancy punch in the corners. I really like how this one looks with the golden pear.

Now I am thinking of what I will tat next. So many things I want to work on. I think I will tat a bookmark so I can use more of the HDT that I got from Marilee. I bought some of the beautiful color Nectarine. I think a floral bookmark would look nice in this color. I recently saw a floral bookmark that would look great with this thread. Now I can't remember where I saw it. Someone tatted about 8 of these bookmarks all in HDT's. I think the pattern might have been Kersti's, but I'm not sure. If anyone knows this bookmark, and knows where the pattern is, please let me know.

Tatting at Old Economy Village

2008-04-23T19:27:00.021-04:00

Below is a picture of my Mom, Peg. She taught me to tat in 1989. My Mom learned how to tat from her friend, Evelyn. My Mom, Evelyn, and Kathy Nicklewicz and a few other ladies from Beaver County demonstrate tatting at the historical village of Old Economy. I taught my daughter to tat a few years ago, so we have three generations tatting now! I have only demonstrated a couple of times with them and I wanted to post a picture of us at old Economy from 2005. It is a lot of fun to demonstrate at Old Economy, I hope to do it again this summer with my Mom.

Peg, Katrina & Evelyn

Katrina & Carol (that's me)

Peg (my Mom), Evelyn, & Carol

Tatting display that Kathy puts together.
To see more of Kathy's tatting click on her name.

Old Economy Village, Ambridge, PA, the third and final home of the Harmony Society, was built by one of America's ost successful Christian communal groups. In 1804, the Harmonists migrated to America from Iptingen (near Stuttgart) in southwest Germany seeking religious and economic freedom. Nearly 800 farmers and craftsmen followed their leader George Rapp (1757-1847) first to Butler County, Pennsylvania and then to Posey County, Indiana. They stayed 10 years in each, building and naming their towns Harmony. The towns were designed by Frederick Rapp (1775-1834), the adopted son of the Founder.

In 1824, the Harmony Society returned to Beaver County, Pennsylvania and settled in Old Economy. To read more about this restored historical village, click on the link at the beginning of this post.

Tatted Heart - A Workbasket Pattern

2008-04-21T09:32:00.004-04:00

I tatted this heart many years ago, it is from a Workbasket Magazine, I'm not sure of the year or month, I can't locate my copy of the magazine at the moment. But this heart reminded me of spring, with the daisies in the center of the heart.

2008-04-15T19:07:00.005-04:00

Motif #9 - Bead Tatted Earrings

I just finished another pair of earrings using Coats & Clark Button Craft thread. The pattern is Jane Eborall's, with a little variations that she has added. The colors I used give the earring a southwest look with the peach, turquoise, cream and brown.

I was at JoAnn Fabrics this past weekend. I wanted to get more of the Coats & Clark Button Craft thread, and I noticed they don't have as many colors anymore. They didn't have the peach thread that I like or the Copenhagen blue. I'll have to go to the Coats & Clark site to see if these colors were discontinued. I sure hope not, I really like using this thread for tatted jewelry.

2008-04-10T08:49:00.011-04:00

Tatted Parrot

I was going through my bookmarks of tatted sites and came across a link that I didn't think was there anymore. The site is from TatChat and there are still some patterns on that site that some you of may not have seen before. A mini heart by Liz, a heart by Betsy, a bracelet by Debbie, a butterfly by Lenore, three different tatted shuttle patterns and my favorite is the tatted Parrot by Mary Parrott. I tatted this a few times, once for a bookmark for a friend who loves birds, then I tatted it and sewed it on my daughters lunchbox when she was in 2nd grade. I think I still have the lunchbox somewhere. Katrina is 16 now, but I kept the lunchbox because I put tatting all over it. I also tatted the Parrot and framed it. I kept one for myself, which I made in 1998 and the other two framed Parrots's I donated to a bird club for an auction.

I found the lunchbox, I put on it my favorite butterfly by Mary McCarthy, parrot by Mary Parrott, a swan and chicken by Pam Palmer, a caterpillar and ladybug by Brenda Bonnila. On the other side I have a snake (who lost an eye) and turtle by Brenda Bonilla, a mermaid and seahorse by Jane Eborall. I think I will clean this lunchbox up and fix the snakes eye and put some of my tatting in it. I haven't thought about this lunchbox in so long, I guess I forgot about it.

2008-04-05T10:42:00.006-04:00

Motif #8 - Bead Tatted Earrings

Another quick item to tat are these beautiful earrings by Jane Eborall. This is my favorite earring pattern. I like to use Coats and Clark button craft thread, which is like a size 30 thread, but gives the earring a firm shape. There aren't many colors to choose from, but your beads can give you the color. The thread comes in white, black, cream, tan, natural, green, blue, red, maroon and blue. At least that is all I can recall right now. You can find this thread at JoAnn Fabrics with sewing threads.

2008-04-03T14:53:00.006-04:00

Motif #6 & 7 - Tatted Butterflies

I did manage to tat some last night. Just a few quick butterflies. This is such a cute butterfly. I added them to some birthday cards. This pattern is by Mary McCarthy and is in an old Workbasket Magazine.

2008-04-02T14:48:00.005-04:00

Motif #5 - Tatted Cat Bookmark

I seem to be on a roll with these tatted bookmarks. I always like to have some on hand. I have a few of the Tatted Cat Bookmarks already, this is the latest one I have made. The pattern is by Diana Howe and was in the KNOTS Newsletter, November 2002. I have made this bookmark many times. It is fast and easy and kids love this bookmark. You can also find the pattern in Dianna Stevens book "Animal Bookmarks, A Tatted Zoo" . Dianna turned this Cat Bookmark into a Lion Bookmark by making long picots on all sides of the face. Its so cute! You can find information on the book on her website. Just click on her name and it will take you there. As I was looking up her web address, I see that she has the Lion Bookmark Pattern on her website, along with many other nice patterns.

I didn't get to tat on April 1st, International Tatting Day, but I did have the required chocolate! :) I will make up for the tatting tonight. I'm not sure what to start on. I think I will get back to making earrings.

2008-03-27T15:01:00.007-04:00

Motif #4 - Tatted Thistle Bookmark

Moving right along with the 25 Motif Challenge. I have tatted another of my favorite bookmarks to make. The Tatted Thistle Bookmark by Jean N. Faeih.

I have done this bookmark many times and in many different colors, but my favorite colors are the thistle colors. This tats up quickly and makes a nice gift. I made a slight mistake on this bookmark though. At the top where all the long picots are, this is usually the rose color and the rings are the blue. I must not have been paying attention when I tatted this. Oh well, it still looks good. I think my next bookmark will be a cat bookmark. Kids love this one.

2008-03-25T09:03:00.004-04:00

Motif #3 - TIAS - Tat It and See by Diane Saunders

Looks like the TIAS is a big hit. Diane Saunders started the second TIAS. This was a lot of fun tatting. She put little bits of the pattern up on her website every couple of days. The finished piece turned out to be a Tulip, so the color I chose to tat with, a varigated peach, worked out just fine. I added a tassle on my Tulip, for a bookmark, that I will give as a gift. If you want to seee all of the Tulips, Diane has them on her blog here.

2008-03-24T10:24:00.009-04:00

Motif #2 - TIAS - Tat It and See - by Jane Eborall

This certainly was a fun project. Thanks to Jane for coming up with this idea. Giving us directions to tat something that we had no idea what we were making, until the project was almost finished. It was like making a jigsaw puzzle without the picture. I enjoyed tatting this project.

Jane had more than 100 people tatting this mystery motif. Check out all the Hippos on Jane's TIAS Blog.

I have been doing a lot of tatting lately and will eventually upload my next tatted piece to add to my 25 Motif Challenge.

2008-03-04T07:52:00.013-05:00

Bead Tatted Butterfly Earrings Motif #1

I finally did it. I joined the 25 Motif Challenge. This is my first motif in the challenge. I made these earrings as a gift for a friend. This is such a pretty butterfly. The pattern is by Teri Dusenbury. I used Coats and Clark Button Craft thread, which is like a size 30, this is a light peach colored thread.

I am looking for a supplier for these heart beads I used at the top of the butterfly. They are a 6mm Mother of Pearl flat heart bead. If you know where I can find some, let me know. I only have a few of these left and I like to use them with this earrings.

I just starting tatting a bookmark by Jean N. Faeih, Tatted Thistle Bookmark. I love this bookmark and have made many of them. Usually I use Manuella thread, but this time I am going to use the Altin Basak thread, so the finished size will be slightly smaller this time. I'll post a picture of the bookmark when I am done.

I found this really interesting looking shuttle at Morning Glory Antiques. It has a gothic face on the sterling silver shuttle. They have some unique lookng shuttles listed. Its fun just to look at what is available. I like the shuttle that has the Dogwood blossom on it.

2008-03-04T07:35:00.005-05:00

Tatted Butterfly Earrings

I have been tatting these lovely Teri Dusenbury Beaded Butterfly Earrings. I need to find a supplier for the flat 6mm Mother of Pearl Heart Bead. I don't have many left. If anyone knows of a supplier, let me know. I love to tat these earrings and give as gifts. These earrings always get lots of comments. I use Coats & Clark Button Craft Thread, which is like a size 30. This color is like a peach color. I think I'll use a tan colored thread next, but I'm not sure on the bead colors yet. I also have started tatting a Thistle Bookmark. This is one of my favorite bookmarks to make. It was designed by Jean N. Faeth. I'll post a picture of that when I am done.

2008-02-07T14:28:00.001-05:00

Pam Palmer Designs

I am working my way through Pam Palmer's designs. I really like tatting from her patterns. As you saw in my last post, I am tatting from her "Twelve Days of Christmas" book. I have already tatted the Partridge in a Pear and next comes Two Turtle Doves. But in the mean time I will post pictures of some other Pam Palmer designs that I have tatted. First is her Festive Elephant. I enjoyed tatting this one so much. I used vibrant colors for the blanket on the elephants back and shiny gold beads on almost every picot on the blanket, including all the picot joins. The picture doesn't show how truly shiny this piece looks. It still needs framed, I really need to do that so I can get him up on my wall.

I also enjoyed tatting her Peacocks. Again, the picture doesn't do the piece justice. I used a gold metallic thread with the greens and blue colors of the peacock's tail.

2008-02-06T15:46:00.001-05:00

Secret Santa Exchange

It has been so long since I updated my blog. I have been tatting, I just haven't uploaded any of my finished pieces. One thing I want to post is a piece I tatted for the Secret Santa Exchange I was in. My exchange partner was Jane Eborall. I tatted a piece by Pam Palmer, from her book "The Twelve Days of Christmas." I tatted the Partridge in a Pear. I framed it using some scrapbook paper and a fancy corner punch. I loved this piece so much that I made an exact duplicate for myself. : )

I also tatted a heart and put it in a keychain, tatted a name tag, and sent a few other goodies like M&M's, Dark Chocolate Cinamon Altoids, notecards with tatting on them and some different flavored teas.

I received some wonderful gifts from my exchange partner, Pamela Myers from Ireland. She sent me a beautiful handmade cloth tree with tatting on it. I still have it hanging in my livingroom. There is room on the back for me to add 6 motifs. It can be reversed and hung with either side showing as there will be tatting on both sides.

Pamela spoiled me with so many nice things. She tatted a beautiful red and white snowflake and made me a Leprechaun with a piece of gold in his hand and he has a tatted sash. He is adorable. There is also a lovely hand made card with a tatted pointsette, and music to my ears, some irish music on cd's. The cute little Ireland Teddy Bear will get some tatting added to him soon, a little coin purse that I can use to put a little ball of size 70 thread and a shuttle to put in my purse, some silver metallic thread and last but not least, some yummy chocolate. Thank you Pamela for all the goodies you sent me!!!

2007-05-04T08:43:00.000-04:00

I've been busy tatting Seahorses. I just love Jane Eborall's patterns. She has three fantastic Seahorse patterns on her site. First there is the little Seahorse earrings. These are so quick and easy to make up for a little gift. I like to display them on pretty scrapbook paper or print off a background from American Greetings Creata card progam that I have, to present them when giving as a gift. This background was perfect for the earrings.

I also made some of Jane's medium size Seahorses and put them in bangle bracelets like she was doing. I am having fun doing that. I also did her dolphin in a bangle bracelet too.

2007-02-28T09:08:00.000-05:00

Tatted Horse

It has been a long time since I have added anything new. I have been having trouble with tendinitis in my elbow and ended up needing surgery because the tendons ripped off from the elbow and the tendons had to be re-attached. I was off work for three months and not aloud to tat either. That was so hard, being off work for all that time and not being able to tat. I was in a cast and sling for 2 months and couldn't use it for anything. So I am slowly getting back into tatting.

I tatted this horse from Inga Madsen's "Tatted Animals" book. I think the animal patterns in this book are so realistic. I used scrapbook paper for the background and bought some scrapbook 3d stickers to accent the picture. I think it turned out so cute. It is for my niece, Sarah, for her 10th birthday. She loves horses.

2006-06-06T22:42:00.001-04:00

KOKOPELLI

I finished another project and I really enjoyed planning out the design of the mat for this project. Once again, I used my scrapbook supplies to do this. The Kokopelli on the left is designed by Debbie Flork and the pattern on the right is by Jane Eborall, both patterns can be found be found on Jane's site. We have two pictures that were given to us by friends that at one time lived in Taos, New Mexico. So the pictures have that Southwest flavor. I am going to hang the tatted Kokopelli with the two other picutres that I have. I think the pictures look good together.

2006-06-05T08:51:00.001-04:00

Framed Tatted Heart

I posted this heart below when I finished tatting it, but I just recently finished framing it. Once again, I used my Creative Memories Scrapbook paper, punches and cutters to create the mat. The heart pattern is from Pam Palmer's Tatting Treats book. I painted the frame to coordinate with the colors of mat I made.

I have been teaching my friend, Rayanna, to tat and she picked it up very quickly. I went over to her house last night to tat some. She is working on a Awareness Ribbon, in pink. I was working a little cross from Patti Duff's Mini Tats book. I want to put the cross in the scrapbook I am doing. I will use it on the pages that have pictures of when my children were baptized.

Then I need to figure out what to tat next. I have so many things I want to tat, it is hard to choose what to do next.

2006-05-24T15:03:00.000-04:00

Katrina Ballerina

I finally got around to framing the pair of ballerinas I tatted. This is a pattern by the very talented Jane Eborall.
You can get to all her wonderful patterns by clicking on her name. I tatted these ballerina's for my daughter, Katrina. She painted the frame to match the colors in her room. My friend, Rayanna, got me into scrapbooking and I used these tools to make the mats for framing the ballerinas. I am very pleased how this turned out. I like the punch I used for the border, it has a look of lace to it. I showed my friends daughter, April, who is 7 years old, the ballerina's and she liked them. She is taking ballet and tap. So I just finished making a pair of ballerinas for April and will give them to her after her recital.

I hope to post another picture tomorrow. In an earlier entry, I show a picture of a heart that I tatted for myself. I finished framing it and I used my scrapbooking punches and cutters and card stock too.

Next I will be tatting a little teddy bear from Patti Duff''s Mini Tat's Book.

2006-04-05T08:55:00.001-04:00

UNDER THE SEA
I have wanted to post a new picture of my Sea Scene for some time now. I had to split it into two pictures because it is getting so big and I still have a few things I want to add to it. Will this picture ever stop growing? Most of the patterns can be found on Jane Eborall's site.

A few patterns I bought from Debbie Arnold at DS9 Design. I want to add some seaweed, Jane's Lobster and Crab. Then hopefully I will feel like I am done adding to the pictures. I still need to find some material to mount all this tatting onto. I'm not sure what kind of material or what color to use. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

2006-04-04T09:04:00.000-04:00

Tatted Swan Bookmark

I finished the swan bookmark I was making. It is from Dianna Stevens book "ANIMAL BOOKMARKS, A Tatted Zoo" I think this is my favorite so far. The swan is so delicate. I am making a second one right now, I just have a few more rings to go. Then I will start tatting Jane Eborall's Ballerina. It is for my daughter, Katrina. I know she will like these. I'll make the pair and frame it for her. Then I will make one for my niece, who just started dance and another ballerina for my neighbor's little girl.

I wish I had more time to tat. I only get a couple hours in the evening. So it takes awhile to finish anything.