Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Tatting Tea Tuesday — Never Enough Thyme

Whew! Freshly returned from Tat Days, I am itchin' to show you all the new things I learned. Sadly, I spent more time chattin' than tattin' and don't have a whole lot to show.

My mission today is to share a "secret" that I have been keeping. *drum.roll*


Thyme Leaf


My first design! It is a thyme leaf, but really you could use it for roses or any other leafy purpose. It looks wonderful tatted in Lizbeth #138 Leafy Greens (above). It also looks great tatted in solid colors.

It can be tatted with or without split rings, in one or two rounds and with or without beads.

For those who prefer not to tat split rings, tat the two inside clover elements separately, joining the second to the first according to the diagram. Then tat the second row separately. (Three sets of ends to hide.) 

If hiding all those ends makes you feel a little faint, it can also be tatted all in one pass.

Why the secrecy? Tat Days attendees were given this pattern as a freebie in their welcome packets. It was imperative that they all get one, you see...


"The game is afoot."
A tatting game was unleashed upon Tat Days, called Tathogen. It spreads like a virus because it is a virus game. This wicked little microbe eats your precious thread, unless you tat a cure.

The first morning of Tat Days I was overjoyed to find that a few early birds had already tatted their cure and were wearing thyme leaves on their ID badges. As I mingled, I handed out little cards that read "You've just caught necrotizing filitis. Please report to the quarantine area for treatment."

Oh boy! It didn't take long before folks were refusing those cards! They would say, "Oh, I don't want that!"

Nobody wanted to put their thread at risk. (Hee, hee.)

At the end of the conference, one tatter told me that she didn't like my games. They were too risky!

I'm guessing she enjoyed the element of danger. I appreciated her good-natured humor. It is more fun when folks play along!

Careful, it's catching
The pattern may have been a bit ambitious to complete during the hectic two-day schedule. But that's okay. Now you can tat yourself a cure to protect your thread!

Because you never know when the next Tathogen outbreak may strike.  ツ

19 comments:

Tatskool said...

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, so glad that it went down well.....now i have to tat mine...or else!

Tatskool said...

PS. please send me a copy of your little card!

IsDihara said...

Tatskool, roger that! a copy of the game card is on its way to you. Enjoy!

Jane Eborall said...

Ooooh, what FUN. I DO wish I'd been there this year.

แบบเต็มของสีและความสุข said...

Gasp! Not my limited thread supply!!! =O

Working on scaning my rings to send to you

Suztats said...

That's a great first pattern! I love it! Congratulations.

Fox said...

Beautiful leaf! Congrats!
Fox : )

tattrldy said...

Nice leaf pattern. Congrats on a great first design! Woo-hoo! Tat Days sounds like it was a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing some of your experiences with those of use that couldn't go.

Tattips said...

Your thyme leaf pattern is beautiful!

H J Hess said...

I was wondering who was the "terrorist" behind the Tathogen (TM).
All is now discovered!
It was really ingenious.
.

Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane said...

I love the way you presented your pattern! Okay, okay... I promise to try the split ring version!

Glad you had such a wonderful time... wish I could have been there!

Ladytats said...

sounds like you all had a lot of fun. congrats on the leaf pattern. it looks really good

Carol Schockling Lawecki said...

Congrats your your first design!! The leaf is lovely!

victats@gmail.com said...

Been giggling about this since I read it the other day. Great idea! Lovely pattern!

victats@gmail.com said...

Okay so I'm back having saw it again on Tatskool's site. It made me realise that if you did the bottom 1/3 in yellow/brown and the top in pink it's got a great shape for a soft ice cream cone. Just a thought.

Eliz Davis aka Tatknot said...

This settles the issue of what to tat for the September Bookmark Challenge at the Tatting Forums. I'll have to make a bookmark using this leaf because I MUST have a Thyme Leaf handy to protect my stash!

What a wonderful idea! I wish I could have been there.

IsDihara said...

Eliz (tatknot) - So glad you are protecting your stash! Just remember, if you wish to tat a stem, the second round must be started at the BOTTOM of the leaf instead of the top. Ten DS between those two small rings on the bottom. Tat them as a split chain (5 - 5) to bring the two threads out in the center of the chain and you're ready to make a "tail" or a stem.

See Tatskool's post for a terrific example of a thyme leaf with a tail:
http://tatsakoolchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/09/safe.html

IsDihara said...

OR tat 10 DS to connect to your starting point, at the bottom of the leaf. Cut, tie and hide ends.

A tassel tail may be added at the bottom to make a pretty thyme leaf bookmark.

battatter said...

Such an inventive idea! And such a cute pattern. I had better get working on mine to protect my threads and ornaments I am making!Thank you for the pattern.