What I've been up to

Well, here are some birthday presents and other pieces of tatting I've been working from late March till now.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #135 and #680

As I've stated before, I enjoy the Spiral Bookmark pattern by Gina. I think the two colors I used for this blended really well with each other. When I gave this to my cousin for her birthday, she commented that it could be used as a bracelet.

Done in Lizbeth size 80, #111 and #104

This pattern is from The Complete Book of Tatting, by Rebecca Jones. I enjoyed tatting this, though I did have a few instances where the thread snapped as I was closing a ring. It was a bit odd, but other then that the bookmark came along quite quickly.
Again the two colors I chose to use blended well together.
My sister liked it, and was able to put the bookmark straight to use in a new book she had gotten for her birthday.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #100. Motif #5.

This is another pattern that I've been waiting to tat. I liked how Jon Yusoff's Chinese Coin Bookmark could be constructed two different ways. I decided to use the single pass method this time, and enjoyed the split rings within the pattern.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #621 and #684. Motif #6.

This bookmark was a lot of fun. It's Jane Eborall's Flowery SCMR bookmark. I still find self closing mock rings to be enjoyable to tat, and I was able to do an over the top join (OTT) for the first time as well.

Done in size 10. Motif #7.

This cupcake was for my Grandma's birthday. The pattern is one of three from Be-Stitched that are in this post. It was a bit challenging to hide the ends in the stem of the cherry, but I eventually did it.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #131, #688, #142. Flame done in a yellow DMC Cébélia.

This cupcake was made for my friend's birthday. Out of the two Be-Stitched cupcake patterns, I think this one is my favorite. I replaced the cherry from the pattern with a candle made of split rings.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #100. Motif #8.

This Rose Star from Be-Stitched was tatted by Honey. She and I had fun tatting the flower motifs for the center. I made the chains a little too tight for the outer edging, but it doesn't distract from the piece too much. This is also the first piece of tatting that I tried scanning, instead of taking a picture of the tatting and uploading it later.
I kind of like how it turned out, but think I'll experiment with some more pieces before deciding which method I like best.

In other news, I've began learning how to knit. Thus far, I enjoy knitting more then crocheting.