Motif #6 and Holy Holly Kaleidoscope!

Igoya, my twin sister, granted me permission to post this image. She created it from a photo of an ice-glazed holly bush in her front yard, using a software program called Kaleidoscope Kreator 3.

Does this image inspire you? It inspires me. Wouldn't it make an amazing tatted snowflake?

If you think this image should be made into greeting cards, please leave Igoya a comment at her Etsy shop or here.

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First Snowflake
For Tatting Tea Tuesday, I'm working on partridges
and Wendy Durell's 4 Ring Snowflake while sipping Snowberry Tea.

4 Ring Snowflake
© 2009 Wendy Durell

This auspicious flake is the first one I have ever attempted that actually was completed in time for holiday gift-giving.

It was made using "Signature" thread from Japan. It is a long staple Egyptian cotton quilting thread that comes in several solids as well as variegated colors. The color is M07 - Pastels. It is pale enough for snowflakes, but would also be divine tatted up for baby.

I am counting this snowflake as motif number six (6) in my 25 motif challenge.

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

Secret Revealed: Ornaments

Today I sit down with a fresh-made pot of aromatic Tazo^® Passion and Celestial Seasonings^® Moroccan Pomegranate Red tea to work on holiday tatting projects and catch up on backlogged blog posts.

First things first, revealing the project I alluded to in my December 2nd post  — partridges for my purple-themed holiday tree. See one peeking coyly over her shoulder? Isn't she a beauty? I think the cardinal is jealous.

The idea was to create partridges and pears out of wool felt. For a pattern I started with a screen capture of the cartoon partridge from the 70's sitcom, The Partridge Family.  (The opening sequence with the theme song is available on YouTube.) From there it was easy to make pattern pieces.

Partridge Pattern Pieces
Here is a flat scan of the tatted wings. I added a few glass beads to give it some sparkle. Tatman's shuttle motif adds just the right je ne sais quoi to make this handmade bird stand out.

Partridge Wings with TattingShuttle Motif © 2002 Mark Myers

What about the pears?

For these, I used a wool knit fabric the color of red Anjou pears. Then I added needle felted roving to add dimension. It was my first attempt at needle felting and it was a lot of fun to do. I made six of these last year and ended up giving them all away to friends who fell in love with them. So I made more this year.

Needle-felted Pear Ornament
The pattern for this comes from the book Warm Fuzzies: 30 Sweet Felted Projects, by Betz White, in case you want to try your hand at making them too.

I love how my Anjou pear turned out. Even if you've never needle felted before (like me) you can do it and it will look good! Plus the stabbing motion made with the felting needle helps relieve pent-up holiday tension. LOL!

My goal for 2010 is to showcase tatting in more mixed media projects. Wishing you all successful and joyful holiday crafting in the days and weeks to come!

How does tatting help you cope with life?

The other day I saw this in my Handwoven eNewsletter:

For Women Only: 
How Do Fibers Help You Cope with Life?
The University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, is conducting a research study to  explore the role of textile hand- crafts such as weaving, spinning, knitting, felting, and quilting in women’s lives. The research team says that, surprisingly, very few studies have ever examined the relationship between fiber crafts and mood. The survey is brief, and the study will run until the end of February, 2010. 

If you would like to participate, click here for more information and a link to the anonymous online questionnaire.

It is too bad that a separate tatting category isn't included in this research study, but there is a "lace making" category, as well as a place where you may enter in your own craft choice.

When I took the survey I typed in tatting.

Whether or not you choose to participate in the survey, how does tatting help you cope with life?

Tatting, Interrupted

This week's Tatting Tea Tuesday post arrives a day late and maybe even a dollar short.

It has taken awhile, but The Sprout finally figured out how to delete an entire blog post while I was typing the final paragraph! Grrrr...

It is a testament to my love for him that I let him live.

I can't possibly recreate yesterday's post from memory, so here is the short recap. No tatting this past week.

Instead, I spent many hours researching household appliance reviews and the government's Cash for Appliances stimulus program. Clothes dryer is dead, dishwasher is dead, clothes washer declared dead on principle (it is over 12 years old). AND last evening we discovered a broken window that needs to be fixed before pumping more hard earned heating dollars (literally) out the window.

It has been a tough week.

But today I saw this Felt Holly Corsage on marthastewart.com and thought, "what a great start to a mixed media project for the holidays!"

Add tatted holly leaves on top of the felt and Voila!

(I know, we're all in the throws of Snowflake Madness or Tatted Gift Madness or whatever you are calling your holiday handcraft frenzy. Another project? No thanks.)

I plan to print this out and save it for next year. A nice, easy solution that actually reduces tatting tension levels!

Here is a sneak peek at a new holiday project I have allowed myself to start. It is related to a Christmas Eve dinner and gift exchange. Hopefully, I will be able to blog about it in a few days.

Lavender Shuttle Motif
© 2002 Mark Myers

Round 3 Complete

Done yesterday during Tatting Tea Tuesday, after switching tea flavors. Hee, hee! Italian Chamomile soothed me through the ring re-opening. After a short blog surfing break (you guys always make me feel better) I switched to Lemon Ginger tea and worked the final stitches and end-hiding bits.

What do you think?

Tweaking...
Taking a cue from weavers, I think I will try pairing this wonderful HDT with black or a coordinating solid to bring out the beautiful colors.

Is it just me, or does the Sweet Heart get lost? Birgit's heart makes such a stable and attractive center. It just won't do to have it get lost in the kafuffle.

The gap between the bumps is not pronounced enough for my tastes either. I will rework the pattern to give it a deeper plunge.

A long, maybe even twisted picot connecting the bottom tip of round two to round three would be good too. Oh, the possibilities!

A Heartbeat Away...

AUGH! It's frustrating to be so close and yet so far from completing this project. It is the project [original SweetHeart by Birgit Phelps, © 2003] I have been picking up (and putting down) since July.

The thread is Tatskool's lovely Rainbow Bright.

See that top ring there? The partially open one showing signs of an extended wrestling match? I am determined to reopen that ring. I have been working at it for over an hour now.

Not sure if my nerves or the thread will break first!

So it is time to unwind with a relaxing cup of Italian chamomile herbal tea and redirect my energies. Perhaps even write the instructions for round three and draw the diagram for this pattern.

UPDATE: Perseverence pays off! The ring is undone.

The jury is still out on whether this heart will have a pronounced enough gap between the bumps at the top, but I like the length of the point at the bottom. (That negative space around the tip is a bit floppy...some tweaking may be needed there.) And I'm not sure if the variegated thread is overpowering the design. Perhaps pairing it with a color-matched solid. Maybe black to lend a stained glass look?

Can you tell I'm one of those types who can go on indefinitely tweaking? LOL!

Moving on.

Sharon Briggs has said that once you start, you will find inspiration everywhere you look. Look at this surprising source of snowflake inspiration.

Image Source: Wegman's Garlic Naan

Tandoori Flat Bread Wrapper
Graceful little flake, isn't it? Because it is printed in a warm green, it reminds me of henna paste or an ivy plant. The dark green, bell-shaped bits could either be rings or Clunies. The dots could be joins or Josephine rings or nothing at all. The outlined edge could be large clovers or onion rings or dimpled rings or ...

Sharon, (if you are reading) you are a bona fide tatting genius!

Does this image inspire you? If so, please, please share. Would love to see where this leads you.

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

A Hush Falls

Today's post is a culmination of tatting angst and a nod to the hush that seems to be falling over Tat Land of late.

Please join me as I pour a tall glass of "Iced Tea" by The Carpenters and fracture one of their best loved songs.



I know you were expecting to hear the tune, "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)".

I had originally planned this as a Tatting Tea Tuesday post and it was my attempt at a tie-in. Yes, I hear the crickets...

I freely admit I am not as good at Tatting Tea tie-ins as Gina the Tatting Goddess. But I can fracture a quote (or a lyric) with the best of them!


There's a kind of hush,
All over Tat Land tonight.
All over Tat Land.
You can hear the sound of lacers mid-knot.

You know what I mean.

So listen very carefully
Get closer now and you will see what I mean
It isn't a dream

The only sound that you will hear

Are lacing shuttles [needles] clicking into high gear
Before Santa appears


What? More crickets?!? Y'all sure are a tough crowd.

Before you start lobbing rotten tomatoes, here is a fascinating PDF file. It is a tatting story that The New York Times originally ran on February 2, 1913. The title of the story was Tatting Rest Cure for British Brains.

Can you believe that under the headline it said this? "beats playing solitaire"  Oh sweet mercy!

I particlularly was amused at the spelling of the word doily : "d'oyley."

Another amusing bit was the term "toilet mat." Today, wouldn't a toilet mat be one of those fuzzy rugs that people use to accessorize their bathroom decor? I'm pretty sure that in 1913 they were referring to a lacy dresser scarf or some such.

Now, the next time you find yourself in the loo, the words "toilet mat" will pop into your head. LOL!

Remember — Tatting, it beats playing solitaire!

(To come full circle, it seems The Carpenters released their version of the Neil Sedaka song, "Solitaire" in 1975 and it reached 17 on hit charts of the day. As a kid my first LP was one of The Carpenters albums. Just more useless trivia...)

I know, I know...don't quit my day job.  Aren't you glad I shelved this topic in favor of dishing on HDT stash?

Have a great weekend!