November and December tatting from 2015

Well, I haven't posted in a while, so here is a bunch of the tatting I've done.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #134. Motif #22 of my second challenge.

This Sweet Heart Tatted Bookmark by Kersti was made for my sister's birthday back in November.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #601 and #604.

I made Jane Eborall's Badger Bookmark for my cousin's birthday, which was also in November. I really liked how this came out. The beads were a bit of a challenge, but I think they turned out looking nice.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #647 and #122. Motif #23 of my second challenge.

This butterfly is Figure 214 in The Complete Book of Tatting by Rebecca Jones. I made it for my mother's birthday at the beginning of December.

And now, here are the pieces I made as gifts for Christmas. Due to some scheduling errors on my part, I postponed making any of these until the start of December. I don't recommend waiting that long to start such a project, and will hopefully be better this year at making these throughout the year.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #601.

First, a Cloverleaf Snowflake from Tatted Snowflakes, by Vida Sunderman. I forgot to take a picture of it until just before I gave it to my friend, hence the green background.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #601.

For my oldest sister and her family, I made Figure 260 from The Complete Book of Tatting by Rebecca Jones.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #152.

I really liked how this Elegant Snowflake from Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman turned out.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #152.

Then I made Figure 262, from The Complete Book of Tatting by Rebecca Jones.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #152. Motif #24 of my second challenge.

I loved this Crystal Petal Snowflake, from Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman. My friend loved it too.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, # \601.

Here's a Whirlaway Snowflake, from Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman.

I made two Dainty Snowflakes from Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman. They were done in Lizbeth size 20, #601 and #151.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #601.

This Tiny Snowflake, from Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman, turned out really cute.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #601.

I liked this Sparkling Snowflake, from Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, # 671.

Then I made a Poinsettia, from Christmas Angels and Other Tatting Patterns by Monica Hahn. This is probably one of my favorite pieces I tatted in December.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #601 and #151.

A Minaret Snowflake from Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #151.

A Spoke Snowflake from Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman. I actually made two of these, but the pictures I took of the other one (done in Lizbeth # 152 Christmas Green Mix) didn't turn out very well at all.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #671 and #151.

A Ruffled-Star Snowflake, from Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman. I think next time I do this pattern, I'll use less red thread.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #151, #671, and #601.

Here is Figure 258, from The Complete Book of Tatting by Rebecca Jones. I like this pattern, and it reminds me a lot of the Brain Cell pattern by Martha Ess that I made back in June 2014.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #152 and #671. Motif #25 of my second challenge.

This Holly is Figure 273, from The Complete Book of Tatting by Rebecca Jones. This is another of my favorites from this season of tatting. This is also the final motif of my second 25 Motif Challenge.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #152 and #671.

A Trefoil Snowflake, from Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman. This is another pattern that I made two of, and that the picture for the other one (done in Lizbeth #151 Angels Love) didn't turn out well enough to be posted here.

I try to only post pictures if they display the featured tatting well enough that people can see the proper colors and easily see the fine details of the pattern that was used. I don't always succeed in taking the best picture, but most of the time there is at least one that is good enough to post.

Anyway, I hope that the pictures I post are acceptable to all of you.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #152.

Here is a Pinwheel Snowflake, from Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #152, #601, and #671.

This final piece is one I made after doing the Holly Figure 273. I fiddled around with the leaves of that pattern, and then connected them to a central motif made of rings. Then I filled in the empty space with rings and chains made of Josephine Knots. I dubbed it the Hollyleaf Motif when naming the picture, but didn't actually write down the pattern while making it.

I hope that you all have a wonderful new year of tatting, or whatever craft or hobby it is that you love to do!

Tatting fun and some knitting finally done!

 Well, I have a backlog of photos that I've been meaning to post. I hope that you enjoy them.

Done in size 20 Lizbeth thread,  #601, #603, #604, and #691. Motif #16 of my second challenge.

This puppy is from Inga Madsen's Tatted Animals. I gave this to my cousin for his birthday, and based the colors off of our puppy, who loves my cousin very much.

Done in size 20 Lizbeth thread, #656 and #694. Motif #17 of my second challenge.

This is Kersti's Tatted Bookmark pattern. I made it for my uncle's birthday. He is a Denver Broncos fan, so I thought I would try and make the pattern look like their colors. I really like how it turned out. The pattern itself was easy to follow, and allowed me to switch colors without much fuss.
Now, you may be wondering why it doesn't have a tassel.
The answer? I don't really care for tassels, either for making them or for using bookmarks that have them.

Done in size 80 Lizbeth thread, #138, #670, and #671 .

I made Aislyn's bookmark, by Carrie Neahring for my great aunt's birthday. She loved it! I really enjoyed making it. The pattern was easy to follow, and the design is lovely. I did lengthen it a little, but that's just because I prefer long bookmarks.

Done in size 20 Lizbeth thread, #620 and #621.

Another friend of mine had a baby, so I tatted her little girl's name. I'm not sure how many times I can gush about these patterns (from The Tatter's Paradise) until I start boring people, but they are my go to for tatting letters

Done in size 20 Lizbeth thread, #618, #625, and #680. Motif #18 of my second challenge.

When I was looking for a motif to put on some letters, this design was just what I wanted. It is Star No. 4 from Tatting Patterns and Designs by Gun Blomqvist and Elwy Persson. When I first saw it in the book, I thought it would look pretty cool if done in three colors.

So do you remember the cousin that I tatted Jane Eborall's Fandango bookmark for earlier this year? Well, she asked if I'd be willing to tat her five more bookmarks for her and her sisters (okay, technically she is my cousin-in-law, but that is a bit of a mouthful).

They were done in size 20 Lizbeth thread, #146 and #603, #132 and #620, #184 and #657, #124 and #684, #122 and #633.

I said sure, and so had a Fandango bookmark making spree. I actually made seven bookmarks, but two of them were chewed up by our new puppy (the same puppy I mentioned earlier, in fact). This is a fun pattern though, and my cousin was happy when I gave them to her.

Done in size 20 Lizbeth thread, #124. Motif #19 of my second challenge.

I made some Beaded Butterflies from Tatting Patterns by Lyn Morton for some other letters was mailing. I think that motifs are a wonderful addition to almost any letter. They're easy to make, and add an extra personal touch.
Now, you may have noticed that I have a tendency to omit beads from patterns that call for them. It's not that I don't like beads, I usually just don't think about finding the right beads for the project until after I've already tatted it.
What do you think about using beads in tatting?

Done in size 20 Lizbeth thread, #100 and #638 .

This is Tatslife's Two Round Bookmark. I made it for my brother-in-law's birthday. This is another of those patterns that I've held onto for a while without tatting, so I'm happy to have finally tatted it. The pattern was fun, and I really like how the rings at the top of the bookmark turned out.

Done in size 20 Lizbeth thread, #132 and #680 .

This is Carolyn Groves's Simple Straight Bookmark. I made it for my aunt's birthday. This pattern is really cute. I like how the chains weave around the rings.

Done in size 20 Lizbeth thread, #163. Motif #20 of my second challenge.

This is Ruth Perry's Snowflake 2008. I made it for my aunt as a thank you for her giving me a few skeins of Lizbeth thread, one of which was the color I used for this snowflake. Now, I didn't realize until after I was looking at this picture, but I completely omitted a ring and chain off of each point. I feel silly about not catching that mistake, but I do think the snowflake still looks nice.
And at least I was consistent and made that mistake on each point!
Anyway, I loved the Celtic twist in this pattern. It was really fun to make, and my aunt loved it.

Done in size 20 Lizbeth thread.

This is the Coaster or Centre for Main Pattern from Tatting Patterns by Lyn Morton. I used some excess thread from other projects for this. It was a fun break from making bookmarks.

Done in size 20 Lizbeth thread, #138 and #694. Motif #21 of my second challenge.

This is Penolopy Bulnick's Tatted Pumpkin Earrings pattern. Now, the pattern was actually written for needle tatting. It was interesting to see how needle tatting patterns are written slightly differently than shuttle tatting patterns. I made some pumpkins on their own, and then I decided to make a pair into earrings for myself.
I think they turned out really cute.

For the colors, I pulled some skeins of yarn out of our stockpile.

Now this beast is something that I've been working on for about a year.
A knitted blanket.
My sister taught me how to knit. I like knitting. It is kind of relaxing. I don't know a lot about knitting yet, but my sister said that I used a stockinette stitch and a reverse stockinette stitch.
I just thought it would be cool to make squares.
I used size 8 circular needles.

Shuttles in motion

Know what I said about not letting so much time pass before the next post?
Well, preparing for and going on multiple camping trips kind of left only a little time for tatting.
But now that those trips are done, the shuttles are back in motion!

Done in size 10.

First off, I was invited to a baby shower, and tatted the baby's name using the patterns from The Tatter's Paradise. What can I say? I like these alphabet patterns.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #132 and #684. Motif #15 of my second challenge.

This cute little Shuttlebug is another Jane Eborall pattern.
And it is adorable.
I enjoyed tatting this, though I decided to leave out the beads and change the eye beads into downward facing picots. This little fella is cute whether you add beads or leave them out.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #604 and #656.

And here is another simple bookmark that I made for a friend. It is an easy pattern which I whipped off the shuttle, and is really similar to the Easy Bookmark from Learn to Tat by Janette Baker.


I've a few other pieces completed, but still need to take pictures of them. So until next time, I hope that all of your projects go well!

Busy days can't keep tatting away!

Well, it's been a while, but I do have some fun pieces to share with you.

Here is what I've been working on during the last few months.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #146 and #603. 

Here is the Tatted Bookmark by Lenore English. I tatted this for my Grandmother's birthday.

Done in size 10. Motif  #9 of my second challenge.

This is Star No. 2, from the book Tatting Patterns and Designs by Gun Blomqvist and Elwy Persson. I wanted a cute flowerlike motif to put on some letters I was sending, and this fit quite well on them.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #138. Motif  #10 of my second challenge. 

This is edging 24, from A Tatter's Workbook. I really liked changing this pattern into a bookmark, and think it looks pretty spiffy.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #633 and #647.

Now, edging 39 from A Tatter's Workbook did not become a bookmark. Instead, it got connected to this handkerchief. I had a lot of fun with this one, constantly switching shuttles so that the colors would be where I wanted them. Once finished, I gave this to my sister.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #122 and #657. Motif  #11 of my second challenge.

This Butterfly is from Tatted Animals, by Inga Madsen. I made this for my mom, for Mother's day.

Done in size 10. Motif  #12 of my second challenge.

Now, I couldn't decide which color I wanted to use for Jane Eborall's Watering Can pattern.
So I used five.
I always enjoy patterns that use split rings. It's interesting to see how a pattern looks when done in different colors.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #618, #620, #680, and #688. Motif  #13 of my second challenge.

I've held on to this Paisley pattern by Mark Myers for a long time, without tatting it. So when I had some shuttles I wanted to unload, I thought this would be the perfect time to try the pattern.
Overall, this is a nice pattern, and it could be done in so many different colors.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #618, #620, #680, and #688. Motif  #14 of my second challenge.

I still had some thread in those shuttles, so I decided to tat Jane Eborall's Windmill. I really like how the sails turned out.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #657, #686, #688, #684, and #680.

The Butterick Butterfly Bookmark by Martha Ess made a great present for my aunt's birthday. These butterflies are so cute! Part of me just wants to tat a bunch of them, and then randomly give them to people. It could make someone smile, and share a bit of tatting with those who might not know anything about it.
Well, perhaps this could be my next excess thread project...

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #148.

This Lacy Bookmark pattern is by LaRae Mikulecky, I tatted this for my cousin's birthday, and since I couldn't decide what color to use, I thought I'd try this black and white variegated thread.

Done in DMC size 30.

Edging 18 from A Tatter's Workbook also got to become a bookmark. This time, for my Dad's birthday. A part of me is pretty sure that I've already used this edging to make a bookmark before...
Wait... nope! That other bookmark was from edging 17. The two are nearly identical, except for the inner chain.

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed seeing the tatting I'd done but hadn't yet shared with you. Hopefully I'll not let so much time pass between this and the next post!