Just got my copy of the March/April issue of Piecework magazine in the mail.
Imagine my delight when I opened it to page 12 to find a tatted edging submitted by none other than Fox in the Trimmings section. She must be so excited!
Congratulations Fox!
FYI--I have been to every news stand and bookshop in my area looking for this issue of Piecework magazine and haven't seen one copy. They might not have been delivered yet. The link above lists March 9th as the news stand date.
Keep your eyes peeled and if you spy one, drop everything and flip to page 12 to have a look!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Lion or Lamb? And ♥ for Postie
How did March arrive in your little corner of Tat Land?
Gusting winds mixed with mild sunshine were the order of the day in ce petit coin, rather like a spunky lamb kicking up its heels.
This illustrative cartoon by PBS Stargazer Jack Horkheimer on In Like a Lion and Out Like a Lamb tells the constellatory story behind the old adage.
Whether or not you are a weather watcher, (Say that three times fast.) the early light of Spring is not far off. Lion Winter may not retire quietly, but we may take heart that light is just an equinox away.
Tatting Tea Tuesday
Hot tea has been a steadfast companion these past few days. Today instead of Throat Coat, I sit down with a comforting cuppa Rooibos Vanilla topped off with a splash of chocolate soy milk. Mmmm, so yummy.
Work continues on my ChocoRaspberry nine-sided motif but have decided not to show it until I finish the second round. Test tatting for Heather, the Tarnished Tatter continues too. Can't show you that either, just yet.
What I can show you is an Easter Egg and four goodies that arrived Monday via post.
Easter Egg No 5
© 2004 Forleget Akacia
This is Easter Egg No 5 from Tatted Easter Eggs by Kirsten Wind Hansen, published by Forleget Akacia. It is tatted in two rounds using one shuttle and ball thread. I chose Lizbeth size 40 in Marble (color 121) for the rings and DMC Cordonnet Special size 40 in Ecru for the chains. The finished egg measures 6 cm by 7 cm or approximately 2 ½ by 2 ¾ inches.
Easter Egg No 5 is motif number nine for my 25 motif challenge. Lizbeth Marble (color 121) is a timeless, masculine colorway. Great for projects with bold, classic tones. It was not on my list of threads to buy, but jumped off the shelf and said, "Take me home!"
♥ for Postie
Postie brought lots of wonderful things yesterday. Three goodies from LadyShuttleMaker:
After poring over the butterfly books, I decided I couldn't wait and tatted Twitter last evening in bed. The instructions say it is a good project to use up left over thread on your shuttles. And it is!
Twitter © 2010 Sherry Pence
Twitter was tatted using 2 shuttles wound CTM with Lizbeth size 40 Marble (colorway 121).
Can you believe this wee flutter is the first butterfly I have ever tatted? So charmed was I that I tossed it on the scanner even before finishing off the ends.
Lastly, Postie brought the 40-page booklet entitled, Elgiva Agnes Nicholls, Tatter, Life and Career 1900-1982 by Heather Lickley for the Ring of Tatters.
Tatskool showed me her copy a week or so ago during a video chat and I knew immediately that I HAD to have this book for my tatting reference library.
It is a lovingly recorded and well-researched bit of history, with many previously unpublished photos of Elgiva and her work. If you are a collector, this booklet is a must-have for your library.
Gusting winds mixed with mild sunshine were the order of the day in ce petit coin, rather like a spunky lamb kicking up its heels.
This illustrative cartoon by PBS Stargazer Jack Horkheimer on In Like a Lion and Out Like a Lamb tells the constellatory story behind the old adage.
Whether or not you are a weather watcher, (Say that three times fast.) the early light of Spring is not far off. Lion Winter may not retire quietly, but we may take heart that light is just an equinox away.
Tatting Tea Tuesday
Hot tea has been a steadfast companion these past few days. Today instead of Throat Coat, I sit down with a comforting cuppa Rooibos Vanilla topped off with a splash of chocolate soy milk. Mmmm, so yummy.
Work continues on my ChocoRaspberry nine-sided motif but have decided not to show it until I finish the second round. Test tatting for Heather, the Tarnished Tatter continues too. Can't show you that either, just yet.
What I can show you is an Easter Egg and four goodies that arrived Monday via post.
© 2004 Forleget Akacia
This is Easter Egg No 5 from Tatted Easter Eggs by Kirsten Wind Hansen, published by Forleget Akacia. It is tatted in two rounds using one shuttle and ball thread. I chose Lizbeth size 40 in Marble (color 121) for the rings and DMC Cordonnet Special size 40 in Ecru for the chains. The finished egg measures 6 cm by 7 cm or approximately 2 ½ by 2 ¾ inches.
Easter Egg No 5 is motif number nine for my 25 motif challenge. Lizbeth Marble (color 121) is a timeless, masculine colorway. Great for projects with bold, classic tones. It was not on my list of threads to buy, but jumped off the shelf and said, "Take me home!"
♥ for Postie
Postie brought lots of wonderful things yesterday. Three goodies from LadyShuttleMaker:
- a skein of size 50 Treebeard HDT to pair with some Omega size 50 in color 1394 Brown Gray.
- The Exquisite Collection of Tatted Butterflies, volumes I & II
After poring over the butterfly books, I decided I couldn't wait and tatted Twitter last evening in bed. The instructions say it is a good project to use up left over thread on your shuttles. And it is!
Twitter was tatted using 2 shuttles wound CTM with Lizbeth size 40 Marble (colorway 121).
Can you believe this wee flutter is the first butterfly I have ever tatted? So charmed was I that I tossed it on the scanner even before finishing off the ends.
Lastly, Postie brought the 40-page booklet entitled, Elgiva Agnes Nicholls, Tatter, Life and Career 1900-1982 by Heather Lickley for the Ring of Tatters.
Tatskool showed me her copy a week or so ago during a video chat and I knew immediately that I HAD to have this book for my tatting reference library.
It is a lovingly recorded and well-researched bit of history, with many previously unpublished photos of Elgiva and her work. If you are a collector, this booklet is a must-have for your library.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Farewell February & So Long Setbacks
Bye-bye blustery blizzards! Hello March with your lion-like moods. Roar in so April arrives like a lamb for International Tatting Day (April 1) and Easter (April 4).
Out, Out Bad Tats
The tatting has been a struggle these past few days. Rings won't close, badly tatted-over ends pull out and so on. This slump has had a carpet-bombing effect on my mood which bleeds over into everything else.
Take my latest craft store outting, for example. I thought I brought home a new spool of that wonderful Signature quilter's 100% cotton thread (Egyptian long staple cotton in size 20) in a color combo called Mallard.
Mallard (M45) has lovely teal, purple, tan and ivory shades. I tatted a ring and the thread stretched and broke almost immediately upon closing. It turned out to be decorative spun polyester in size 30. Not at all what I thought I bought. To make matters worse, "size 30" is the equivalent to tatting cotton size 80.
Potty training tantrums from the Sprout are also causing frayed nerves (not to mention extra laundry) at Silly Hat Central. Sprout's negotiating skills have leaped forward and we must be smarter parents to stay a step ahead. Part of me is really proud and part is terrified.
On a brighter note, the fortune in my after-meal cookie said this: A truly creative person rids him or herself of all self-imposed limitations.
Sayonara, slump! I'm tossing you out with the February trash. Need to make room for true creativity.
This coming week I will be watching closely for Postie to bring any of these tantalizing goodies:
Out, Out Bad Tats
The tatting has been a struggle these past few days. Rings won't close, badly tatted-over ends pull out and so on. This slump has had a carpet-bombing effect on my mood which bleeds over into everything else.
Take my latest craft store outting, for example. I thought I brought home a new spool of that wonderful Signature quilter's 100% cotton thread (Egyptian long staple cotton in size 20) in a color combo called Mallard.
Mallard (M45) has lovely teal, purple, tan and ivory shades. I tatted a ring and the thread stretched and broke almost immediately upon closing. It turned out to be decorative spun polyester in size 30. Not at all what I thought I bought. To make matters worse, "size 30" is the equivalent to tatting cotton size 80.
Potty training tantrums from the Sprout are also causing frayed nerves (not to mention extra laundry) at Silly Hat Central. Sprout's negotiating skills have leaped forward and we must be smarter parents to stay a step ahead. Part of me is really proud and part is terrified.
On a brighter note, the fortune in my after-meal cookie said this: A truly creative person rids him or herself of all self-imposed limitations.
Sayonara, slump! I'm tossing you out with the February trash. Need to make room for true creativity.
This coming week I will be watching closely for Postie to bring any of these tantalizing goodies:
- 2 Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles from Jane Eborall -- one in Sycamore and one in Walnut.
- 1 Tatting booklet - Elgiva Nicholls, Tatter: Life and Career 1900 —1982
- 2 Butterfly Pattern books from LadyShuttleMaker, plus two skeins of HDT in size 50 Treebeard
- Possibly, just maybe, a little envelope from Tatskool
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Flame Lantana up my sleeve
By now you have probably read Tatskool's post about the first in her new Transitions series of HDT. Code named ROY, it later was named after a lush Australian blooming plant, the Lantana.
You have no idea how hard it has been not to show you this thread. Keeping it under wraps was quite a challenge. Imagine me sitting on my hands resisting urges to madly type out my squeals of glee!
Far be it from me to pass up a "cahoot-y oppor-tooty!" It has been loads of fun pondering names and chatting about color. Here is what ROY reminded me of early on.
How boring is that? Tatskool's fiery lantana flower is so much better. Spot on!
Then the way the orange plays on and off the yellow put me in mind of molten glass†. Here is a slide I shot in 1986 for a photography class. Tatskool thought the molten glass was better. Closer to lava. She was right again.
†This nostalgic photo was taken at the glass manufacturing plant in my home town in Western Pennsylvania. The plant closed down shortly after the photo was taken.
Where are the Samples?
Hats off to the wily Fox for tatting a great motif that shows how well Flame Lantana pairs with black. My first thought when I saw her post was, 'Wow, that would make a lovely Monarch butterfly.'
My first sample is Betsy Evans' Rainbow Heart Bookmark. It is tatted in size 20 Flame Lantana.
You can see that I had to tat it twice. After not following my better judgment, I left a picot open when the diagram clearly showed it joined. (The written instructions said not to join.) The end result was the glaring little blighter on the left. See it?
My second (third if you count the heart do-over) motif is from a doily by Iris Niebach. I downloaded the pattern from her free pages. Here is the border pattern.
See how the colors flow! No pooling whatsoever.
It's too bad I ran out of thread on the final repeat. Only eight inches of thread were left on each shuttle so I had to stop. (If I hadn't tatted the first heart twice I would have had plenty of thread to finish.)
Eagle-eyed readers will also surely note that my center ring of hearts are not dimpled as shown in the diagram.
Fear of breaking and wasting precious thread led me to use the dimple technique in the Jessica Rose pattern. I thought it would be a good substitution since it is worked in half hitches as are the Josephine knots. It gives the center a ruffled look, which may not be pleasing to everyone.
I found this awesome pattern on Dale Marie's tatting blog, Shuttle and Thread. She is combining seven of these heart-filled motifs into an incredibly lovely doily. Please do go visit and compliment her on her beautiful work. The tatting is simply stunning.
Apologies to Iris Niebach for turning her hexagon into an incomplete pentagon. But it was so much fun to watch the colors flow and mingle as this motif took shape.
Tatskool has another first-rate thread to offer. And if her future releases are anything like this one, [I know, but I'm not telling!] you bet your sweet bippy I'll be in first line to get mine.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Flame Lantana Ho! UPDATED
Ahoy me hearties! Silly Hat Central is awash in deck swabbin', net and sail hangin' and lots of timber me' shiverin' today, so that the only ones who be walkin' the plank tomorrow for The Sprout's Dread Pirate party be scurvy dogs!
On Tuesday I be sharin' a peek of the latest treasure from Tatskool - the fiery Flame Lantana hand-dyed thread. Oh, it be fine and proper loot for a pirate!
If ye not be back, then I be sendin ya to Davey Jones' Locker! Aaaarrrggghh!
Avast! Ye know you're on deck when ye see me Jolly Roger! The snow be no hindrance.
Arrr, it be good t' be a pirate, argh! Be sure t' come back Tuesday for ROY treasure -- Flame Lantana HDT.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Snowed in Under a Cherry Moon
More snow! New Tea! And a tiny bit of tatting.
Valentine's Day has come and gone but I'm still feeling its rosy glow. So I start Tatting Tea Tuesday by brewing up "a romantic tea of tender warmth."
That's what it says on the package of Cherry Moon Decaf Green Tea I purchased as a Valentine's Day treat.
Disclaimer: I do not profit by promoting the teas I drink while tatting on TTT, but I do enjoy describing them.
This one is a relaxing blend of decaffeinated Sencha green tea and hibiscus, plus some unspecified flavor mix concocted by the Eastern Shore Tea Company. I do not taste cherry, but I do detect a light fruit (orange or apple?) and rosehips flavor. A quick check of the company's web site confirms the blend has hibiscus, rosehips, apple pieces, orange, and cherry flavors. Wow, if only I were as good at wine tasting!
The packaging invites the buyer to share this tea with a special friend. And so I shall.
If you would like to try a sample of Cherry Moon Decaf Green tea, let me know in the comment section below and I will mail you a foil-wrapped tea bag. Be sure to email me privately with your contact info!
Now for the tatting.
An experiment is underway. Here's the hypothesis: Can Lyn Morton's Margaret motif (found in her book, Tatting Patterns, page 81) with its six-petal flower, be tatted as a nine-petal flower and turned into a nine-sided motif?
So far I like the way it is progressing in Tatskool's luscious ChocoRaspberry. The five-petal posies are positively cheerful. And would be even more so if tatted in Springtime colors with green chains.
I did make one more change to Lyn Morton's pattern. I threw off a ring from the connecting chains in order to expand the circumference of the circle, allowing room for nine posies and creating a bit more negative space.
Pardon the messy state of the tatting (unclipped strings and what not). I had hoped to be farther along, but with a pirate birthday party planned for later this week, I'm swamped. Aarrgh!
Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful.
See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!
Valentine's Day has come and gone but I'm still feeling its rosy glow. So I start Tatting Tea Tuesday by brewing up "a romantic tea of tender warmth."
That's what it says on the package of Cherry Moon Decaf Green Tea I purchased as a Valentine's Day treat.
Disclaimer: I do not profit by promoting the teas I drink while tatting on TTT, but I do enjoy describing them.
This one is a relaxing blend of decaffeinated Sencha green tea and hibiscus, plus some unspecified flavor mix concocted by the Eastern Shore Tea Company. I do not taste cherry, but I do detect a light fruit (orange or apple?) and rosehips flavor. A quick check of the company's web site confirms the blend has hibiscus, rosehips, apple pieces, orange, and cherry flavors. Wow, if only I were as good at wine tasting!
The packaging invites the buyer to share this tea with a special friend. And so I shall.
If you would like to try a sample of Cherry Moon Decaf Green tea, let me know in the comment section below and I will mail you a foil-wrapped tea bag. Be sure to email me privately with your contact info!
Now for the tatting.
An experiment is underway. Here's the hypothesis: Can Lyn Morton's Margaret motif (found in her book, Tatting Patterns, page 81) with its six-petal flower, be tatted as a nine-petal flower and turned into a nine-sided motif?
So far I like the way it is progressing in Tatskool's luscious ChocoRaspberry. The five-petal posies are positively cheerful. And would be even more so if tatted in Springtime colors with green chains.
I did make one more change to Lyn Morton's pattern. I threw off a ring from the connecting chains in order to expand the circumference of the circle, allowing room for nine posies and creating a bit more negative space.
Pardon the messy state of the tatting (unclipped strings and what not). I had hoped to be farther along, but with a pirate birthday party planned for later this week, I'm swamped. Aarrgh!
Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful.
See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Always on my Mind
As Valentine's Day winds down in my corner of Tat Land, I wanted to pop in with a heart day recap.
The lads surprised me with many lovely valentines. First, the Sprout bounded onto the bed bright and early exclaiming, "Happy Bal-tine Day!" and planted a big, sweet smooch on a sleepy mommy. Isn't that just the best way to start a day?
Next was the opening of the cards and presenting of two (one small and one large) heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. Good gracious! Mr. Whitman and Mr. Stover, the lads had you both covered!
So far the orange creme curse hasn't reared it's sickly sweet head. (Growing up with three chocolate-loving sisters, it inevitably fell to me to reach into the box and pull out the dreaded orange creme candy every time.)
But there's more! Big Daddy pulled a large gift-wrapped box out from under the bed. Inside was a new Dell laptop computer. It has a 17-inch display. Sweet!
That's my guy, bringing home electronics. Not that I'm complaining. Now, if need be, I can blog from the road or bed.
These photos were taken during a January trip to the National Mall where we visited three of the Smithsonian museums. Everywhere I turned I was seeing hearts.
The displays are so well done at the Smithsonian. Even the most staid subjects are brought to life with color and lighting. Check out the bones:
Wishing you all a whale of a day filled with sweet wishes, surprises, treats, and tatting. See you on Tuesday, when I am hoping to show you some of the tatting I managed to do over the weekend.
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