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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Tatting Tea Tuesday - Scissors Fob

Slowly but surely I am whittling away at my Tat Days class projects. What do I have to show today? A darling scissor fob created with tatting and beads.

Motif 7 - Scissors Fob © 2011 Sharren Sarver Morgan


Tatted in Lizbeth 40 #638 Christmas Green with size 11 Dyna-mites™ seed beads in blue/lilac. The large bead reminded me of a Turkish "evil eye" bead (though it is not one) and 2 clear beads help keep the seed beads from slipping through the holes of the larger dangle bead.

Sharren Morgan taught this class and did a marvelous job working with students who got stuck. (Or like me, kept getting stuck again and again.)

I encourage you to take a class from Sharren Morgan. Full of Southern charm, laughter and patience, her inviting personality makes lessons approachable. Her command of the lessons and ability to problem-solve on the fly keep you going, righting stumbling blocks with ease. It wouldn't surprise me if she had a superhero alter ego. Sharren Super Tatter!

This class contained three new (to me) techniques:
  • how to use a bead spinner and a curved beading needle to string beads
  • Marie Smith's easy method of encapsulating a split ring (the metal ring used in jewelry making, not the tatted split ring)
  • pearl tatted chain with two shuttles

What a gratifying learning experience this was, and what a fun tat!


This in-progress photo actually shows the beads all lined up properly. The finished fob (first photo) is slightly askew after The Sprout had completed his expert examination and declared it "good."

Hindsight being what it is, a red-wrapped split ring would have been a nice touch to accentuate the spot on the large bead. No worries, just something to keep in mind for next time.

Tatting Tea Tuesday
As for tea, I have sadly put away my Sun Tea jar, switching over to stove-brewed tea. A delicious decaf Pumpkin Spice warms body and soul while I tat and listen to Pandora Internet radio.

Watching The Sprout dance and sing along with the Radio for Kids music feed makes Tatting Tea Tuesday even more special. Wish you could see it.

Want a sneak peek of the class project I am working on today?


Can you believe I added all those beads? Me?!?

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea and an OctoStarFlake!

5 comments:

  1. Wow what a sparkly scissor fob that is, you can't have too many beads and agree that the large bead does look like an "evil eye"! Sharren must be a very patient teacher especially with those who got stuck, I'm sure you weren't one of them really!
    Oh by the way love your witch on a broomstick, but she doesn't seem to be going anywhere!!!

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  2. Love what you've made!

    I'm having the hardest time getting beads on to my thread in order to tat with them. Any tips on that? The snowflake pattern I want to make says I need to thread 108 seed beads onto my 20 gauge thread. I worked for two hours last night and ended up with 25 on the thread (and about 100 sprinkled on the couch and floor). Help!

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  3. Love what you've made!

    I'm having the hardest time getting beads on to my thread in order to tat with them. Any tips on that? The snowflake pattern I want to make says I need to thread 108 seed beads onto my 20 gauge thread. I worked for two hours last night and ended up with 25 on the thread (and about 100 sprinkled on the couch and floor). Help!

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  4. Laurie, for the scissors fob I used a bead spinner and a curved beading needle.

    It takes a bit of practice (as does any new skill) to learn how to get the beads to "climb" up the needle on their own, but it is worth every moment!

    Also if you measure out how many beads it takes to fill one inch of space, you can quickly figure out how many inches it takes for 108 or more seed beads. This method goes MUCH FASTER than counting each individual bead (losing count and recounting) as you go.

    Hope this helps!

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