Tatting Tea Tuesday

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.

Motif #10 - Partridge in a Pear

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!!

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.