Autumn tatting

Here are some birthday presents I tatted back in November.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #684. Motif #18

For my sister, I tatted Frivole's Flowering Quatrain Bookmark. I quite like this pattern, and think that it would be fun to tat again. My sister liked it as well.

Done in size 10.

Next came the birthday of another cousin whose name begins with W. Since he likes blue, I used different shades of that color for each letter, with some added colors from the variegated threads. The letter patterns are from The Tatter's Paradise again. Can you tell that I like the style of these letters?

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #100. Motif #19.

I made a few leaves using  Frivole's La Feuille Frivole pattern to put on the front of letters that I was sending out. This pattern is really cute, and quick to tat!

Done in Lizbeth size 80, #601. Motif #20.

To begin this month, I tatted three of Robin Perfetti's First Snowfall pattern. They're so dainty  looking, and the diagram pattern is easy to follow. I enjoy using size 80 thread, although I'm usually hesitant to pull any from my stash.
Kind of silly, I know.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #638 and #671.

I  tatted part of one motif of Jane Eborall's Diamond Patchwork pattern in a Christmas red and green as a white elephant gift for a Christmas party I went to. The individual motifs were fun to tat, though I will admit that I began each with ring number two of the pattern instead of with a self closing mock ring. I really like how it turned out, and am interested in making the actual doily shown in the pattern's picture.
Well, it's another thing added to my list of future tatting projects.

With Christmas almost here, I have some more tatting projects already completed that will be posted afterward, and some that still need to be finished before the day arrives.


Best of luck with your own projects, and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday.

The dragon of excess rises

I have another excess thread project to share today. Done in size 10, I started with this critter's legs and went on from there.

Basking her wings in the sunlight, Dragonthing fears nothing.

Standing about four inches tall at her snout, this dragon... thing has a wingspan of seven inches from wingtip to wingtip.

Despite having six horns and a keen sense of smell, Dragonthing secretly wishes she had eyes.

After making the legs, I began the body at the tail and worked my way up to the neck. Then I made the head and attached it. After that I made the framework for the wings, and lastly the membrane.

Dragonthing loves all the colors in her wings, and rides through the air like a kite.

I tried two different patterns for attaching the split ring wing membrane to the wing frame. With the wing on the left, I connected the split rings until reaching the elbow joint, then doubled back and forth until reaching the base of the frame, and then took each row in a straight line.
With the wing on the right, I took the split rings to the base of the frame on the first row, and had straight rows through the entire work.
Both methods work, though the first method is more time consuming.

Shifting her wings, Dragonthing hears the howling wind.

From the tip of the wing membrane to her head, Dragonthing is about eight inches long.
After I finished tatting the wing membrane, I attached it along her body by sewing. That way, I was able to position it exactly as I wanted.

I enjoy making excess thread projects. They are an opportunity to tat whatever I might feel inclined to make, while using up thread from other projects in a way that I don't need to worry as much about hiding the ends or running out of thread in the middle of the project ... okay, I still have to hide the ends in split rings when changing colors, but split rings are probably my favorite tatting technique. So they don't count as much.

Well, I hope you liked Dragonthing, the vaguely dragon-like creature made from excess thread.

Good luck with your own projects!

Knitting and motifs

Well, here are some things that I've been meaning to post for a while. To begin, here are the first two things I knitted!

Knitting is a bit easier then crocheting.

Kind of wobbly on the sides, but I find that keeping the tension for knitting is easier for me then keeping the tension for crocheting. The I-cord was my first piece of knitting, and took some time. The coaster took less time to make, and was enjoyable to make.

I look forward to knitting more things in the future, and perhaps adding tatting to my knitted projects.

Next up is a cupcake I made for my Aunt for her birthday last month.

Lovely purple cupcakes are not all grape flavored.

I quite like this cupcake pattern by Be-Stitched. It's easy to make, and looks nice in many different colors. This one was made in size 10 thread.

Done in size 10. Motif #14.

This Oval Medallion pattern from This 'n' Tat was enjoyable to tat. I like following diagram patterns on occasion, and this one was easy to follow.

Done in size 10. Motif #15.

This Pentawheel Medallion is also from This 'n' Tat. I thought it would be fun to do it in three colors. I always enjoy split rings, so that was a plus for this pattern.

Done in size 10. Motif #16.

This Spiral Medallion is another pattern from This 'n' Tat. I like how the picots on the long chains are only on one side. It's a pretty pattern, and I like how the two colors I used blend with each other.

Done in size 10. Motif #17.

Now, this black cat is from the Tat-man's Cat on a Broomstick pattern. I tatted broomsticks on their own last year, so I thought I would do some cats on their own this year. I like how it came out, and how the cut long picots transformed into whiskers.

Snails and letters

Well, I've been moving at about the same pace as these pretty snails from Tatting Animals, by Inga Madsen.

Guess what, we're going to be inside letters! Motif #13.

These lovely critters were done in Lizbeth size 20, #620 as the body, and #121, #124, #131, and #135 for the shells. The two on the left have a bead, while the two on the right do not.

While I was tatting these, I also noticed a difference between the diagram pattern and the example picture in the shell. A single chain that in the diagram is six double stitches long; while in the example picture it is three double stitches, picot, then three double stitches, and the picot is used to join a ring later on. That ring also is altered slightly, depending on if you need to use it for that join.

So the two snails on the left are tatted according to the diagram, while the two on the right follow the example picture.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #115 and #680.

This doily was for my Uncle's birthday, and is the Pinwheel doily pattern from Be-Stitched. At first I wasn't sure if he would like it, but when I gave it to him, he appeared to quite happy to receive it.

I did make the long chains of row four too loose at first, but I was able to manipulate the core thread so that I could spread the excess into nearby chains and rings. It took some extra time, but it made the final piece look so much better.

Look! I think it's trying to spell something in size 10 thread!

For my cousin's birthday, I tatted his nickname. He seemed to like it, which is what I always hope for when I give someone a piece of tatting.

The patterns came from The Tatters' Paradise, and other then accidentally tatting the second O in size 8 at first, everything went quite quickly.

Remember when I said that I was learning to knit? Well, I have a couple of knitted pieces to show once I take pictures of them.

Something pretty cool happened when I went to a craft store to get a pair of size 8 knitting needles. I was walking past an endcap in the yarn section, when something hanging underneath a clearance sign caught my eye.

Six balls of size 20 Lizbeth thread, for fifty cents each!

I was quite ecstatic with this find, and quickly collected them.

I'm not quite sure why they were on clearance, but they appear just fine and are all colors that I like (two balls of #100, one of #134, and three of #142, in case you were wondering).

Have you ever stumbled upon an amazing deal?

If so, please fill free to share your experience.

Bookmarks and a doily

Things are starting to finally slow down, so I'm taking this moment to show some of the things I've been tatting.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #671 and #119, #657 and #122, #618 and #124, #688 and #686. Motif  #12.

I did these back in June, when things were really busy. They were gifts for a get to know you activity with the other leaders up at Girls Camp. The pattern is LaRae Mikulecky's Lacy Bookmark. I enjoyed tatting these, although the one on the far right decided that it wanted to be curvy and longer then the others.
The leaders who were in my group for the activity really liked the bookmarks, and one of them knew what tatting was!

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #688 and #686.

This doily was done in July, during the last bit of camp business. The pattern is the Jasmine bread and butter plate doily from The Tatter's Treasure Chest by Mary Carolyn Waldrep. This was made for my Grandmother's birthday, and she was quite pleased when she received it.
I think that this is the best doily that I've tatted thus far, in terms of its ability to lie flat without much manipulation.
In addition, I also tatted four "Miss Caroline, the Crinoline Bell" by Martha Ess, but I forgot to take pictures of them before sending out the letters that they graced the front of. They were done in two colors of size 10, a light blue and a cream.

I've gotten pretty good at sewing in the ends with size 10 and size 20 threads.
I have some other projects that are completed or nearly completed that I need to take pictures of, so hopefully those will be put up soon.

So until next time, good luck with your own projects!

Birthdays and other stuff

Well, I've been busy tatting Martha's brain cell pattern for the past few months. I've tatting at least seventy-five the these for my ward's Young Women to put on their camp hats and shirts. Each brain cell was done in Lizbeth size 20, colors #620 and #621.

One of the shirts, the tatting filling in for the word nerve. Motif #9.

I enjoyed tatting these, and basically have the pattern memorized. My fellow leaders and I sewed one onto each shirt, and had each of the Young Women sew them onto their own hat.

The front of one of the hats, which we are calling our Thinking Caps.

For my own hat, I added a chain made from pink size 10 thread. I tightened the chain so that it would curl, then sewed it onto the hat.

Each Young Woman had the option of having six brain cell for their hat.

Camp has a medical theme this year, and my ward are the neurologists.

Fun fact: I don't really like sewing very much, but have done a lot of it while preparing for camp.

My hat has be split into a left hemisphere and a right hemisphere.

It took a while, but I was able to get all of the brain cells tatted before camp. The Young Women really liked them, so it was worth the time spent.

In addition, there were three birthdays since I last posted.

Done in size 10, and in five different colors. Motif #10.

The first birthday was one of my cousins. I wasn't sure what to make him, so I decided to tat the name he goes by. The patterns came from The Tatters' Paradise, and were easy to follow and quick to tat.

Done in size 10. 

Next was my Aunt's birthday. I really like this cupcake pattern by Be-stitched. This time, I did the frosting in two different blues, and quite like how it turned out.

Done in size 10, with sequin eyes. Motif #11

Then my father had a birthday! Again, I wasn't sure what to make him. Then I found Jane Eborall's 3D Octopus pattern. It was an adorable pattern that I wanted to try out, so it became his birthday present.


I have a few more projects in the works, but they're not quite ready to share.
I hope you enjoyed seeing what I've been up to, and good luck on your own projects!

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.