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.

Midnight disaster

I woke up at midnight last night to my dog barking furiously.  Kneessa spent the next few minutes trying to convince me that the plant stand was a dangerous hazard.  That's why she had to kill it. I've cleaned up a little in the picture but there was bits of my poor plant all over the floor.  Apparently it was a viscous plant.  Its amazing the amount of damage a 5lb dog can do in a short time.
I should have made a bigger deal out of it but instead I went back to sleep.  I will regret it later.  She is convinced that everything in the house is for her chewing pleasure including thread.

In process...

The earings in Nina Libin kit I won at the fringe weekend was also part of the online tatting class this week. I usually read the class notes because I can never manage to get to Class on my laptop. My iPhone on the other hand is a technological marvel and I made it with no issues. Not in time for the needle tatting class (what I was trying to sign on for) but once I finally got there I stuck around. So when they added Nina's pattern as a surprise I took it as a sign and ran to get the kit.
I forgot how tricky metallic thread can be. I have one earring done but it's a little lopsided. I made a mistake on how many beads are used in the first chain but didn't realize in time to fix it. It's tricky to retro tat metallic thread so I carried the mistake through the pattern. (after teasing Ginny Weathers for doing the same with my shoe pattern, sorry Ginny)
I don't think the extra beads made it lopsided. I think the swirl join is too tight so it pulls everything in the direction of the join or I might have made the other picots too big. I'm not sure. I'll see what happens with the second earring.
Thank God the kit comes with the beads already strung, there's About 400 beads on the earrings!

Weekend was over too fast!

I had a great time in Cambridge, Ontario this weekend with the Fringe Element Tatters.  I'm sorry that I have no pictures of the event to share with you but look at what I won at the live Auction!

I've been dying to buy this book!



The only thing that would have made this package
better would have been Nina herself.  So happy!



Thanks for all your congratulations and encouragement over my book.  I've sent 12 copies home with the gang from ZigZag Corner.   The patterns all use size 40 thread and I made all the samples with Lizbeth thread.  

Now for something new...

I haven't been posting very much for the last year or 2.  Partly because of personal stuff and partly because I've been trying to learn the art of pattern writing.  Its harder than you think to make projects, write out the patterns and then proof those patterns.  I occasionally share pictures but then feel bad because I'm nowhere near publishing them.  I hate to be a tease! 

What I finally realised is that I need to start with something small.  So this summer I've worked on grouping a collection of pendants into a book. These patterns use semi-precious beads as the base for a tatted pendant.  The shapes and sizes of the stones vary and seeds beads are used in a few patterns.  The book contains diagrams and full color pictures of the pendants.  I've called it "Tatting the Stone" (I stole the title from Romancing the Stone.  Do you remember that movie? I love that movie.) 

The book will be available this weekend for the first time anywhere this weekend at the Fringe Element Tatting Weekend.  Tatting the Stone has 22 pages with 16 patterns. 

The cover of the book

A few of the pendants included in the book.