Thanks to Monica!

I got a slip from the post office today to pick up a package.  It was my secret shuttle exchange from Monica in Argentina!  

I waited until I got home to open the package although it was tempting to rip it open as soon as it was in my hands.  There was lots of goodies and Minica was very generous!  Monica sent a LaCossette shuttle and 2 celtic wire shuttles her brother makes.  The care that LaCossette takes to cover her shuttles is amazing.  Anytime I decoupage a shuttle it stays sticky but LaCossette's is perfect.

Monica also sent some thread she dyed herself.  The colors are quite lovely.  Finally there was a Jane Eborall motif tatted by Monica.  The yellow boxes in the first picture is Dulce de leche bars.  Of course I ate the right away!

Working away at things

I find that there is always a round in any doily pattern that seems to take forever.  That's this round on Karey Solomon's Swirly Doily.  I've been working away at it for about 2 weeks.  Its a very dense round and the sections almost overlap.  Since it was this aspect that attracted me I guess I can't whine too much.  I can't wait to be in the next round.

Between bouts of the swirly I've been making earrings.  My sister gets me to make something for her co-workers every year.  This year I thought earrings would be fun.  The metal doodads I purchased from Ginny Weathers during the Fringe Seminar.  I've used size 40 thread and seeds beads for this style.  It gets boring after awhile so I've changed the pattern a little for each pair.  I've already lost a pair but I have 7 pairs with 8 more to make.

Cinnamon Cruller

I had some people ask about the motif in the last post.  It's called Small Motif 2007 by Jane Eborall.  If you click on the name it will directly open to Jane's pattern.  I did it with 2 colors but otherwise followed Jane's pattern exactly.  

Today I spent the afternoon cooking and tatting while things cooked.  I finished a doily by Karey Solomon called Cinnamon Cruller.  Its from her book Sweet Knottings.  Karey made her sample using size 40 thread but I used size 20.  The variegated thread is Karey's, I think it was called playground?  I loved making the center although I wasn't sure it was going to work.  I kept double checking the pattern to make sure I was doing it

correctly.  The center doesn't look right until the very end of the first round.  All the half stitches in the third round were tedious.  I enjoyed tatting the pattern and will tat it again in the future.  There's a doily called Swirly in Karey's most recent book of doilies I want to do first.

Updates

I've had problems posting from my iPhone lately.  I finally realized that blogger needed to be updated.  This is sad because I lost a few posts.  I have this picture on the phone but not the others.  I guess when you takes pictures through blogger they don't save on the phone.  This pattern is from Jane Eborall. It was fun and quick!

Regular tatting

For the next little while I'm taking time to tat normally.  By that I mean following a pattern.  I recently taught a class on pattern reading and realised that I haven't sat down and read a pattern for a while (other than proofing my own patterns).  I also haven't tatted just for fun in the last few months.  This is a real shame since I picked up some really cool books at the Palmetto and Fringe Element Tat days.  So I decided to just follow directions for a change.

I've started with one of the patterns that came in the seminar package from Palmetto Tat Days.  It's a teapot by Martha Ess, the finished teapot can be molded into different shapes.  The pattern is meant to decorate some of the blocks Georgia Seitz gave out over the Tat days.   I decided to use some hand dyed yellow and yellow/brown variegated threads I ordered from Tats Kool a few years ago.   For the chains I used the yellow and the rings are the yellow and brown variegated thread.   It took me longer than I thought it would to tat the teapot. In my head I thought I just whip it off in an hour.  Not so much.  I haven't sewn it down yet instead I've been playing placing it on the block.  The pink variegated edging is supposed to look like a tray.  I tatted a heart while back in the same thread as the rings on the teapot so I'm going to use in the middle.  I couldn't find it so I threw in another motif for the picture. 

Kelly is a safe driver and a star.

I need to clarify that Kelly is a very safe driver.  There's no need to avoid taking the 401 highway. Don't be afraid to come to Canada or drive in our great province of Ontario... 
...but don't you love the mask?

 

 

I really wish that I had taken pictures of the Fringe tat days but these things happen too fast. I'm hoping to work on each of the projects over the next week or so.   One of the highlights of the weekend was getting Karey Solomon's new book Twinkle, Twinkle.  On the ride home (with Kelly driving) I made one the patterns.  I don't have the name handy but I have a picture.  You can't really tell but the tips of the star is made with roll tatting.  The thread is from Karey as well. 

Great Weekend!

 I had a great weekend at the Fringe.  I took my life in my hands on Friday and drove up with Kelly.  The map says it should take 2.5 hours but we keep arriving within 2 hours.  Kelly "claims" that she isn't driving too fast but this time she provided me with something to calm my nerves- a mask!  I think she doesn't want me to see the flashing lights of a police siren behind us.

 

 

 

 

I taught 2 classes and took one.  The class I took wasn't tatting instead we covered a tea canister with Ietje Jachovich.  She was a great teacher and a fun class.  If I get a chance to take a class taught by her then I will definitely take it!

    I'm slowly working through the other classes on my own.  I've already made Heather Lickley's  Log Cabin Tatting.  I enjoyed this pattern and will definitely be making more cabins.

On my way

I'm at the airport waiting for my boarding call. I'm not so good at mornings. I don't do well on the early side of 6am. Next time, can someone remind me to fly in the night before?
I stayed at my friend's house last night. She's also pet sitting my dog. The dog wasn't impressed when I left her in the pen this morning. She wouldn't take the treats I tried to give her. I don't feel too bad since she gets to play with a little boy all weekend. To be honest I think she was more upset that I wouldn't let her wake him up than me leaving. She's stayed there before and always comes back exhausted.
I'm not sure if we are allowed to take pictures in the airport but I took a quick one.

Votes for necklace

Thanks everyone who helped me decide between making a necklace or a bracelet. Necklace was by far the most popular choice. I finished the round and added a ribbon to make a half necklace. I'm taking the necklace with me to palmetto Tatdays for the silent auction table.

Quick question

I have a dilemma. I'm started to make a bracelet and changed a few things in my intended design. Now I can't decide whether to make a slave bracelet or a necklace. What do you think is more likely to be bid on at a silent auction? I need to decide before I go any further. Any thoughts?

Making a list

I've been having mini panic attacks for the last month in anticipation of September.  August and September are kind-a busy for me this year but I've been over anxious and keep trying to skip weekends in my head.  There's another 2 weekends before Palmetto Tat Days and over a month to the Fringe Tat Days.     Yet I've been trying to prematurely pack for both events.  That doesn't work very well when you need the stuff you're packing away.   So instead I've elected to make lists.  Part of the issue is that I'm flying and I only want to bring a carry-on.  So extra junk needs to stay at home.  

The other list I'm making is for purchases.  I find myself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tatting supplies at one of these events.  There's every kind of shuttle, needle and thread.  I often get home and realise I forgot to get something.

A special visitor...

I'll give you one guess who decided to visit my yard this morning.  He's black and white and wears too much perfume.   Yep, a skunk decided to visit my yard.   My dog started barking like crazy a few minutes after I let her outside this morning.  She's a Shih Tzu so she barks a lot anyways but I went outside see why she was barking and there's a small skunk waddling through my lawn!

So at 6am this morning I'm yelling at my dog to get inside. 

There was no way I was going outside to get sprayed.  Eventually Kneessa came inside, not really sure what the fuss was about (I think she thought it was a cat).  I don't think the skunk was too threatened by the yappy dog but the screaming woman might have been irritating.  No-one got sprayed so I'm considering myself lucky.

A room with a view

On Wednesday I drove into downtown Ottawa for a meeting at the Westin Hotel.  The Westin has a great location downtown right beside the Rideau Center, the Rideau Canal and the Parliament buildings.  Combine the location with a great sunset and we had a beautiful view of the Parliament buildings and the Chateau Laurier.

This weekend I cleaned out my closets trying to get rid of some junk.  I'm planning on a visit to the Salvation Army drop off box tomorrow afternoon.  The drop off area tends to be full on the weekends so I'm waiting until they've had time to clean out what's been left on the weekend.  Last time, I opened the drop box and a box of records fell out on top of me.   So I'll wait until its safe.

I'm still working on organizing my tatting junk.  I need to pick up a few more photo albums for my odds and ends.  No tatting stuff is being shared with the Salvation Army.

Long time no blog...

I haven't been a very active blogger over the last year. It's a long story. I think of things to share and then never actually blog. Truly, I blame pinterest. I'm a Visual person and that site is seriously addictive.

I'm currently on an organization kick. I get motivated to reorganize in the summers. Its challenging due to lack of storage space in my house. I've found tips on you-tube but when it comes to tatting there's not a lot of help.
I have a lot of tatted samples of patterns not yet completed or written out. So to try to conquer my brimming green bag of tatted things, I purchased a small album from the dollar tree. If the album works out I will purchase a few more.
Tatting tools and stuff seem to appear magically in the strangest places in my house. I wonder if I'm the only one with this issue?

Ginny's Star

I've been working away over this last week to make a few of the patterns from the Finger Lakes Tatting Seminar.  I took the clunny star class taught by Cynthia Stevenson and the Celtic Star  with interlocking rings taught by Kelly Dunn.  I taught so didn't get a chance to take one of the longer classes.  I thought the line up was great this year and I wish I was able to take each class.  They were all great patterns and classes.

 For the last week I've been tortured trying to make Ginny's Star Attraction Doily.  There's nothing wrong with the pattern, just me.  Its a great pattern and I loved the finished samples.   Ginny uses doodads in the pattern and I keep adding the darn things facing the wrong side!  Its been taking me a little longer than I thought.  Evil Ginny!

Its taking sooo long!

A few thoughts...

A few weeks ago Diane at Lace-lovin' Librarian did a comparison of the larger tatting shuttles.  I found this comparison really interesting and helpful.   I didn't know that clover had made a larger shuttle and was happy to read about it.   In the past I've used mostly clover shuttles but lately I find larger shuttles more comfortable.  I like the normal clovers because they are small, thin, and easy to move around the thread.   I agree with Diane that there is something about the plastic they use to make the clovers that is more snugly than other shuttles.  Even the imitation clovers don't have the same feel.  Unfortunately, the same thing that makes clovers easy to handle is the same thing that's been irritating my thumb and wrist.  They are so small that gripping them for long tatting sessions is difficult (I know I shouldn't be tatting that long without a break...bad tatter!). 


This tip will have to go...any suggestions?


 I received  a Tatsy shuttle last fall from Kelly Dunn (tatfully yours) after she won a few at the Fringe Elements raffle table.  Since she's a needle tatter she had no use for the Tatsy shuttle.  When I used the Tatsy I was surprised that it was more comfortable to handle than I remembered.   In the past I found them bulky.  Since then I've pulled out a couple of larger shuttle brands I've picked up over the years and enjoyed tatting with them.

Right now, the thicker shuttles are more comfortable in my hands.  This is the complete opposite to about 2 years ago when I found them cumbersome.  I'm planning on picking up a Starlit shuttle this weekend to try out (and maybe a few more).  I'm hoping that I will like the thicker shuttle although I know I will have to do something about that tip.

 I collect shuttles for interest I never expected to use most of them. I guess there's a right time and place for each shuttle.   While I won't be giving away my clovers I'm really thank-full that there's a selection of shuttles out there.   A big thanks to all the people who work to provide choices for tatters.

I forgot to tell you

I forgot to mention that once again the Ottawa Police Force and I are on the outs over a small matter of 87 km/hr.  Yes, I got another speeding ticket.  This really burns my ass since the officer only gave a slow down sign to the cars that just raced past me.  Since those 2 cars suddenly braked I changed lanes and guess what?  Mr Officer pulled me over for a ticket because he figured I was trying to avoid him by changing lanes.   Why would I think he's giving out speeding tickets if the cars that just passed me going much faster didn't get a ticket?  I changed lanes to avoid rear ending another car.

Suffice to say I wasn't very gracious about the whole situation....

Since I was moving along pretty fast I think I'm just going to pay the ticket. 

It'll burn me but I'll pay it.

Don't forget about the homework instructions for my class at the Fingerlakes Tattins semianr.  They can be found here:  http://victats.blogspot.ca/2013/03/homework.html.

Homework!

If anyone out there is planning on taking my class this spring at the Finger Lakes tatting seminar then I have some simple homework for you.  I'm hoping that we'll get a really good start on the class if we do the simple tatting ahead of time.  It will give us lots of time to work out any mistakes or problems that you have with the pattern. 

Northern Star Prep

Materials

size 20 thread in color of choice
1 shuttle, wind 1 yard on shuttle CTM

Terms:

lp- long picot
p- picot
vsp- very small picot

Center Motif  (picture in header of page)

Make 2 motifs, one for the front and one for the back

R1       6 lp  6

C1       6 vsp 6

*R       6 +(lp)  6

  C       6 vsp 6*

repeat from * to * 4 times.  Join to base of R1, cut and hide ends

Now you are ready for my class.  See you in April!

Thread and 3 hours of fun

Unfortunately I left my iphone at home today so no photos.

I was going to share a photo of the brand new ball of thread that my cat tore apart last night.  I'm tempted to try to work out the tangle of purple thread but I keep flashing back to an unsuccessful rescue operation I attempted years ago.  I spent hours trying to save a tangled mess of green tatting thread and I finally gave it up. That was back in the 90s when any thread that was tat-able was precious and worth a fight to the death. These days I can salvage what's left of the ball and order a new ball of purple lizbeth thread for around $5 (not including shipping).   Thank God for Barbara Foster who has saved us from such desperate acts with her Lizbeth thread that is easily purchased from many sources. 

On another note, I am teaching again this year at the Finger lakes tatting seminar.  This time it is a 3 hour tour class that will hopefully result in the attendees going home with something that looks like the star in the header.   No shipwrecks involved although hijinks may ensue... 

Happy Valentine's Day

 I love Valentine's day, partly because its the only time you get away with mixing pink with red.  I love the idea of just going around and exchanging tokens of love and appreciation with friends and family for no particular reason.  I don't see it as a couples day but a day that is romantic for everyone.  A day for friends as well as lovers.   So my gift to you is a fun pattern to make hearts for your screen doors.  I've added the link at the side as Screen Door Hearts.

 

Wishing you love and joy with friends and family.

 

V

Finally!

I finally got a chance to sit down and do a post.  I'm not sure what I've been doing since October but its gone fast.  I had a few moments yesterday and today to sit down and tat a doily I've loved for years.  I've seen the pictures of the doily on the Internet and found it in "Tatting from Burda".  Its the doily with all the block tatted squares.  I wish that I had practiced doing those block tatted squares a little bit first.  They're not as tidy as I would like.   Its a neat pattern because you are crossing previous rounds to join the doily together.   In the picture I've completed the first 3 rounds.