Double Core SSSR Success (and failure)

THIS POST was written in 2009 but it sat in my draft folder until today.  Now I am looking for the UFO and the Irish Crochet clovers that were made for this project.

The first bit of tatting I have done in over a week is this:

Boy did it feel good to get the half-hitches flowing again!

Note to the Occassional Tatter - Once you get into a daily tatting habit, it is surprising how much the tatting zen fulfills you. Try it. You'll be glad you did.

Even though my tatting "must do" list is overly long, I decided to try a technique that Martha Ess and TattingChic worked out in May 2009 -- Double Core SSSR with Two Colours

This technique is perfect for tatting Mindy Al-Aaraji's Clover Motif © 2003 in three colors. Either two or three, I'm still waffling. But probably three.

I even convinced my twin sister, whose lace crochet work has been published in magazines, to create the Irish Crochet clover centers for me. Big win!

If you have sisters you probably won't understand why this was a huge win. Your sisters (I'm betting) would grant your crafty requests without batting an eye. Mine refuses, so I took it as a green-lit SIGN from God, the Universe and Everything.

Naturally, she said I needed to make these myself "because they were so easy" to do. Heh, I haven't used a crochet hook to do anything besides hide knitted ends or join picots since 1977. My feeble attempts would derail this project and probably make a leprechaun angry.

Since I have one of those close by, I dared not risk it!

Here are her gorgeous clovers:




Remember to make tatting a part of your life every day!

Mattie the Battie and a Fall Flake

I discovered yesterday that Fox has stopped blogging.  It made me sad.  Of course I understand, because Instagram is a good deal faster for posting photos, but still, sitting down to the computer for a leisurely blog stroll is a guilty pleasure.  I will miss reading her blog.

So I am posting my most recent tats for those of you who (like me) still enjoy reading the tatting blogs.  My latest creation is a Fall Snowflake, designed by Robin Perfetti, called Solstice.  

Solstsice Snowflake © 2014 Robin Perfetti
Tatted by IsDihara

It is gloriously rich with blazing Autumn color.  The second round required three (3) shuttles to accomplish the color placement.  Overly complicated? Yes but the results speak for themselves.

Threads used are Flora 20 variegated yellow, Lizbeth 20 Harvest Orange Medium #694, Lizbeth 20 Autumn Spice #136 and Lizbeth 20 Christmas Red #671.

Free pattern available here:  http://tattingbythebay.blogspot.com/


Next is Mattie the Battie, designed by Erin Holloway-Moseley.  Erin shares a photo in her pattern of the real Mattie - her mother!  It is a free Halloween Tatting pattern shared on BellaOnline:  http://www.bellaonline.com/subjects/4798.asp

Mattie the Battie © 2013 Erin Holloway
Tatted by IsDihara

Georgia Seitz has this to say about Mattie the Battie:

Double Ten!!! In many cultures, the tenth day of the tenth month is considered a lucky day. And luckily for us, Erin Holloway-Moseley is sharing her tatted bat pattern. It is named "Mattie the Battie" in honor of her mother (see photo.) In Chinese, the word for good luck is pronounced "fu" and it sounds like the word for bat,"fu". Thus bats are lucky. Enjoy!

My bat is photographed before getting a block-and-steam "spa treatment" so eagle-eyed viewers will notice that the wings aren't even.  No worries!  It will all work out. Should I make Mattie into an Ice Drop bat?

Here she is with a red stone tucked into the approximate spot:

Mattie the Battie © 2013 Erin Holloway

Tatted by IsDihara

The gem is a bit small and would slide around once encased, so I don't think I will.  But I will be on the lookout for a larger red gem...

In these days leading up to Halloween, I wish you many happy tatting moments.  Trick or Treat!

Triangle Motif by Ninetta Caruso and Muskaan

Two VERY talented tatters have worked out a new three-sided motif that really looks like a natural snowflake (or a shield) to me. Sharing their incredible work:

All credit to Muskaan and Ninetta!!!
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/…/07/treble-with-m.h…

FO's to Show

After a rough patch (two surgeries and their respective recovery periods) I am back to healthy and whole and I couldn't wait to get shuttles back into my hands. I resisted the urge to splurge on NEW handcrafted shuttles and started sorting through the vast and various loose shuttles floating around my craft room.

You know what happens when you start looking around in your creative space? You find all sorts of unfinished things that scream to be completed.

I gathered up the tatting UFOs, put them in a pretty box and resolved to complete as many as possible before the end of the school year.

Hand-wound Happiness

Two HWT projects kept whispering, "Pick me,"  so I pulled them out and got to tatting.  I made it though one and a smidgeon of the the second UFO before starting a new project.

Jon Yusoff's Merriment doily pattern was one repeat away from finished.  Why hadn't I tatted one more repeat?!?  We'll never know.  I had used two variegated Valdani 12 threads hand-wound together to get the marled effect.  While not for everyone, I found this thread combination to be pleasing and easy to work.  It was a fun, quick to finish tat, which motivated me to keep going.

So I chose this UFO for the next project.

Aren't the threads pretty?  Round one was a square and round two alters it into a bracketed square.  A King Tut sewing thread (pictured) was hand-wound with a size 30 HDT to achieve the cheerful combo. The pattern for this is of Russian origin and was found on Pinterest.com.

So much pattern piracy happens on Pinterest that I decided not to share the pattern here.



Still slowly plugging ahead on the Russian motif, I start thinking about a Poppy pattern designed by Jennifer Williams in 2012.

"...the new Liz Metallic^® threads would add a wonderful sparkle to her pretty poppy...I have a ball of Christmas Red #324...doubling it up with a solid red would add more poppy-ness..."




Boom!  I have started a Poppy Project.


Last but not least are the two MERFOLK completed back in January for Jane Eborall's final Tat It And See 2018.  My very purple mermaid has big, brown eyes and her name is Sirena.  She is friends with Herman the Merman, who has crazy copper-colored hair.

Sirena is tatted with Lizbeth 20 #165 Grape Splash. Strands of Elderberry Jam #177, Lilac Medium #642 and a variegated brown sewing thread make up her hair.  Her long locks are tied back with a scrap of green sock yarn "seaweed."

TIAS Day 5 - Trunk, Paisley or Glow-on-the-Go?

Day five (5) dawned and I kid you not, my first waking thought was for the TIAS.  Some (not tatters) would say I was going fou-fou-nutzo.  But we all know what is important, don't we?

Of course we do!

So I hopped out of bed and headed to the computer to see what Day 5 brought -- even before coffee!

My printer died so I am tatting from electronic screens this year.  Luckily, my iPad allows me to bring the pattern to my favorite tatting chair and work.  Here is my quick snapshot showing my shuttles and the screen. 

I chose Lizbeth^® 20 #165 Grape Splash thread to tat this curious, unknown-as-yet "wotzit." My glow worm might be morphing into an elephant trunk.  Either that or a paisley?

 
The open picots could easily be for a paisley shape.  But I'm not giving up on my glow worm just yet. Lil' Lumo might just be preparing a travel home to carry on his back.

On to Day 6!

Muppet Musings on T.I.A.S. Day 4

Day 4 of Jane Eborall's Tat It And See is here and I found the next wee bit very interesting.  Rings get smaller as they progress down the center line which reminds me of the handle of a spoon.

Could it be a spoon? The open picots seem to indicate that we will be tatting "around the horn" and doing something mysterious at the top of the work. That is was is so addicting about TIAS, not knowing where the tatting is headed.

Which segues nicely into the Muppet Thought of the Week:





My Day 4 photos are presented by Kermit the Frog because he is a very well-traveled frog.

What does Kermit think about Day 4? At first I thought he might have been hinting that we were tatting a glow worm.  Kermit eats glow worms, so let's assume he's hungry and carry on.

Now I have two guesses to share with my Day 4 photo:  a spoon and a glow worm!

Kermits looks quite pleased with himself.  Which way will the TIAS 2018 go?  Who knows? Each Day gives us another clue.  

2018 Tat It And See Challenge Accepted

Hello, tatting friends! I have accepted the challenge from Jane Eborall in the form of her beloved Tat It And See (T.I.A.S.).

She has announced that 2018 will be her last year running TIAS which makes me sad.  For many years now, TIAS has always been Jane's fun community January tat-along.  But it is a tremendous amount of work for Jane to plan, design, test and carry out.

Will 2018 really be the final one?  Let's hope that Brain Cell #3 begs, wheedles and whines for another go in 2019.

TIAS 2018 Days 1-3
Tatted by IsDihara

This snippet makes up Days 1 through 3 and tomorrow Jane releases Day 4!  Part of the fun is posting your progress to Jane with comments and guesses -- what could it be?  What does it look like today?  She uploads each participant's guess and photo to her TIAS blog.

So far this bit of tatting has been exceptionally fun for two reasons.  It is the first bit of tatting I have done since October 2017, and it is so far working up great in size 20 Lizbeth 165 Grape Splash.

Hurry up Day 4, because right now I see a mysterious WHATSIT tail waiting for legs, body, neck and head.