Elcie and the Hippocampus

Hey everyone, here are a couple of motifs I've finished.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #618 and #644 . Motif #4 of my second challenge.

This motif pattern is Elcie by Wanda Salmans. It was an easy pattern to follow, and I like how it looks in these colors.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #647 , #686 , and #688 . Motif #5 of my second challenge.

This Hippocampus pattern is another one of the things I've been working on recently. I love mythical creatures, and am always looking for new tatting patterns featuring them. When I can't find a pattern, I think about trying to make one up myself.
I like how the hippocampus turned out, though the tail took a couple of drafts to get right.
Thus far, I've been focusing on making up patterns for mythical creatures that are hybrids.
What kind of patterns do you like?
For those of you who design patterns, what kind of process do you go through when making a new pattern?

Bookmarks and Buggies

 Hey everyone, sorry about not posting any of my tatting projects, but I've been working on a sewing project that has taken most of my time.
That sewing project is almost complete, so once its finished, I'll share it with you.
For now, here is some tatting!

Done in Lizbeth size 80, #603 and #138. Motif #1 of my second challenge.  

I made this Autumn bookmark by Mark Myers for my Grandfather's birthday. This is a really pretty pattern, and I like how these two colors look together.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #135 and #647 . Motif #2 of my second challenge.

This Easy Bookmark from Learn to Tat by Janette Baker was made for my niece. Back when I was learning to tat, this was one of the first bookmark patterns that I ever tatted.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #621 and #132 . Motif #3 of my second challenge.

I was invited to a baby shower for three of my friends, so I decided to make Jane Eborall's Baby Buggy for each of them. This pink one turned out really cute.

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

These sea green colors make for a nice simple design that would work well for any baby.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #657 and #143 .

Then there's the blue buggy. I like how the lighter blue from the variegated thread is positioned in the center.


So these are a few of the things I've been working on, so expect some more a little later.
Best of luck with your own projects, whatever they may be.

Late Christmas Tatting

I had meant to post these right after Christmas, but got busy with other things. Anyway, here is the tatting I did for Christmas 2014.

Done in Lizbeth size 80, #601, #638, and #671. Motif #21.

I love how this one turned out! It's the December 2013 Snowflake, by Sharon. When I was looking at the pattern, I thought it would look nice if done in three colors. This is a pattern that I would definitely do again.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #152 and #671. Motif #22.

I really enjoyed the Design Tutorial Snowflake, by Robin Perfetti, It is a pretty pattern that reminds me of a wreath (hence my color choices).

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #152.

This Snowflake 2 is another of Sharon's patterns. This was an easy pattern to tat, which is quite nice to do in between more difficult patterns.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #152 and # 671. Motif #23.

The Celtic Style Christmas Wreath pattern is by Birgit Phelps. I haven't done much Celtic style tatting patterns, but I might look into more now that I've done this pattern. I tatted the full pattern, and then tatted some without the final row.

Celtic style wreath, without the last row.

Why did I tat some without the final row? Because I thought they looked nice both ways.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #151.

The Five-Pointed Star is from the book Christmas Angels and Other Tatting Patterns, by Monica Hahn. Whenever I look at this pattern, I'm reminded of starfish.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #152.  Motif #24.

The Star of Leaves pattern is also from Christmas Angels and Other Tatting Patterns, by Monica Hahn. This was probably one of the more difficult patterns for me. I don't use a gauge to measure the bare thread (or picot lengths, for that matter) so the bare thread between each level of the points had me a bit nervous.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #152.

Now, the name I have for this pattern is Snowflake 16. Unfortunately, the pattern I have saved only has some pictures and the pattern, not who designed it. So if anyone recognizes where this is from, I would love to know. It's a pretty pattern, and enjoyed how all of the rings came together.

Done in size 10.

This angel is from a Nativity pattern by Jenni Sherriff. I plan on doing the rest of this pattern at a later date.

Done in Lizbeth size 20, #633, #640, and #647.  Motif #25.

I love how this Tea Cup and Saucer pattern turned out. This is a pattern that I've been wanting to do for a long time, and one that I would do again and again. I didn't connect the tea cup to the saucer, so you lift the tea cup up.
It's just an adorable pattern.
And with it, my first 25 Motif Challenge is completed! It was an exciting challenge, which allowed me to tat twenty-five patterns I had never done before. I've enjoyed the challenge, and am going to begin my second challenge immediately.

Letters done in Lizbeth size 20, #656, and #657. Roses done in DMC size 30, yellow. Sewn onto muslin.

This was the big project. My family drew names for Christmas, and I got my Grandfather. I decided to tat letters to spell Families are Forever, and then frame it. I used the letter patterns from The Tatters' Paradise again, and then tatted some roses using Vicki Clarke's Roses are Red pattern. The most time consuming part of this project was the sewing.
I do not like sewing.
But it was worth the effort, because my Grandfather loved it.

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.