necklace

When I made TotusMel's mask (last post) I decided I liked the look of the center motif. So I made a few more of the motif using the crystal beads on the outside picots. I liked the how the motif looked so much that I made it into a necklace. I had a few blue beads left over from other projects and used them in an asymmetrical necklace. I'm not normally a blue kinda person but I like the necklace.
The scanner doesn't do it justice. In fact, it looks kinda crappy in the picture. Have you noticed that its hard to get good pictures of tatting? Even when I use a proper camera I'm rarely happy with the picture.

Masked

In my minutes of lurking I found the link for TotusMel's mask pattern and decided to try it out. I had the right sized thread, beads and wire handy. I have to say that I really enjoyed making the mask...it took awhile but I could make it much faster the next time.
I was tempted when I started to just fudge it but in hindsight I would never have got to this point. What you don't realise when looking at the pictures is that the mask has its own curves which conform to your face. In fact it kinda sticks there on its own, the ties just gives it extra security. If you set the mask on a table it holds it's structure and doesn't go flat.
Just a warning though, the pattern is very brief (for tatting patterns) and relies heavily on the pictures for the joins. Print of all the pictures!!! I didn't and had to squint at the small pictures to try and figure out where to make my joins. This is what took lots and lots of time. Its been awhile since I've retro tatted so much. Its a great pattern, I'm tickled pink with the mask and would definitely make more of TotusMel's patterns.

Simple Heart

I made this heart a few years ago to send in an exchange. Its very quick and easy to make.

Simple Heart Pattern
By Vicki Clarke

RW= reverse work
C= chain
R= ring
- = picot
+ = join

R1 6-4-4-6
R2 6+ 4-4-4-6
R3 6+ 4-4-6 RW
C 10 RW
R4 3+ 3 RW
C 10 RW
R5 3+3 RW
C 10 RW
R6 3+3 RW
C 10 RW
R7 3+3 DO NOT RW
C 4 jn (to 2nd picot of R2) 4 RW
R8 3-3-3-3 RW
C 4 jn (to 3rd picot of R2) 4 DO NOT RW
R9 3+3 RW
C 10 RW
R10 3+3 RW
C 10 RW
R11 3+3 RW
C 10 RW
R12 3+3 RW
C 10, tie and cut OR to make the tail:
3 split rings of 10/10 and finish with a tassel.

One of my classes at Tat Days was a lavender sachet. I love lavender. Pam Freck shared with me what her Mom makes with the lavender that grows in her garden. So I was happy when I received a little package from her the other day that included on her mom's lavender sticks. She also included a magnet from the Tatting is in my Heart Tat Days. Thanks Pam, I really appreciate it. Its a great idea for when I manage to get some growing.
On another note, I'm planning for a flu prevention night for my Sparks (girl guides 5 and 6 years old). So I've been looking up all the Public Health and CDC information about flu prevention and the basic message is don't touch your face and wash your hands a lot. This has me wondering- are crafters/needle workers at a higher risk since we tend to touch everything? How often do you stick a crochet hook, needle or pins in your mouth? Do you use your mouth as a 3rd hand? Just a thought.

The other day I posted a picture of a doily and Tattingchic asked for more information on the doily. Well, here's the scoop:

I made that doily using a five point motif that I joined together around a center motif. To fill the gap between the motifs I used hearts. Everything turned out just hunky-dory (see exhibit A). I really like the doily so the same doily again using a Sherry's silk thread but no changes to the motif. The problem is that the space between the points of the stars was bigger the 2nd time and the hearts just didn't cut it. So I used another star to fill the gaps (see exhibit B). I swear to you that its the same pattern, same picot size and my tension is pretty consistent across the board. I just can't figure out why the chubby cheek hearts (that's what I call the hearts) weren't big enough. Any ideas?

I really like the motif so I've made a few with extra rounds. I've talked about these in previous posts. I'm calling the motif a star but it's really a pentagram. Did you notice that every other round the pentagram is inverted. Is that a big deal or have I watched too many episodes of Supernatural?

Tea Time Terror

The reign of Tuesday Tea Time Terror continues at Ambitatterous in her Knot-Tea Paroday giveaway contest. Take time to check it out at http://ambitatterous.blogspot.com/2009/10/little-knot-tea.html

In order to win a beautiful quilted ball ornament you have to change a few lines in a quote about tea. Since I love giveaways I decided to yahoo tea quotes and found a few I liked:

"Tea tempers the spirit and harmonizes the mind, dispels lassitude and relieves fatigue; awakens thought and prevents drowsiness." (Lu Yu, 5th Century Chinese Poet)


"If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you." (William E Gladstone)

These quotes seemed perfect for a tatting time massacre but then it occurred to me that a good Canadian girl could come up with something a little closer to home:

No Tatting Tonight / New Lacy Nature
The Guess Tat

Lonely pattern deep inside
Find a couch where I can hide
Silent shuttles crowdin' me
Sudden chains, but I have tea

No tatting tonight in my coffee
No tatting tonight in my tea
No tatting to stand beside me
No tatting to run with me

tat-un-do-tat tat da-un-do-tat
tat-un-do-tat tat no no
tat-un-do-tat tat da-un-do-tat
tat-un-do-tat tat

Poor Randy, what have we done to your song?

Just wanted to share

I was happy to receive an email from the South today. Pam Freck sent me a picture of her completed fall flower brooch. It looks great! In class I found that I did not accurately judge the amount of time the class would need. I wanted to have everyone to make a leaf and then get a chance to start the first round of the flowers. We ran out of time...

Doily decor and Coffee for pincushions

I found out something interesting at Maya made's blog today: you can use coffee grounds as a filler for pincushions and it helps to keep the pins rust free. Check it out at: http://mayamade.blogspot.com/2009/09/rust-free-pins.html. While you are there, check out today's post about what she did with some of her doilies.

Her post brings up an interesting question: what happened to doilies in decor? Is it just too granny? Personally, I love doilies and covet ones I see at other people's houses. I don't mean the dollar store doily but the real handmade ones. Before I had my house I would make a doily and give it away. Now one of my one going projects making doilies to suit my decor. I truly think that a doily can be a table top art piece. So I love Maya's idea of putting the doilies in the hoops.