There Really is No Place Like Home

 

Today my copy of Martha Ess' new tatting book arrived!  It is titled, Whimsical Tatting, and it is a delightful compilation of characters from The Wizard of Oz, dragons, an alien, an adorable puppy, and an equally adorable kitten.

Whimsical Tatting Patterns
by Martha Ess

I've said it before and I will say it again, Martha's patterns are 110% pure pleasure to tat. Clear instructions, gorgeous photos and diagrams - what's not to love?

A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others. – The Wizard of Oz

Dark Days on the Horizon 

My husband has asked for a divorce. My world has been thrown into chaos and uncertainty. Trying to find a lawyer. Beginning a job search after 16 years as a Stay-at-Home-Mom. 

The only things that are certain for me are:

1. Navigating divorce proceedings will not be easy. 
2. There will be many days ahead that outright SUCK. 
3. I need to get everything Brody and I are entitled to/due for as long as possible to provide for Brody

I may not be able to blog for awhile. But I will try to keep tatting (I am officially adding tatting to the category of SELF CARE.  We all know what good therapy tatting is!)

Corina's Crown, Take Two

Crown tatted by IsDihara, February 2014

Can you believe the mistake with Corina's Crown was staring me in the face and I didn't see it?

Crowns tatted by Corina van Krieken, April 2013

Chalk it up to stitch count error, not a botched technique.  The hat band section of the diagram clearly shows three groups of four (4) stitches for rows one and two.  I tatted three groups of six (6) so of course I got a misshapen chapeau. Recalibrated stitch counts fixed the problem and the crown tatted up a treat.

No idea why I thought Corina's perfectly written 4's were 6's.  I had an easy point of comparison in the sixes Corina wrote for the top of the crown. I make these mistakes so you don't have to!

It was fun trying out the other methods of block tatting so I call this a win-win learning experience with a regal crown to show for my efforts.

Motif 3: Corina's Crown

The first Tatting Tea Tuesday in February dawned with a desire to tat a golden crown.  So off I zoom through the pixels and bits of Pinterest to find Corina from the Nethlands' lovely design:  Tatting Crown - free pattern.

Here is a photo of Corina's crowns.

Crowns tatted by Corina van Krieken, April 2013

Here is my first attempt.

Crown tatted by IsDihara, February 2014

Motif 3 - Corina's Crown
Crown tatted using the Lock Stitch method of block tatting.  Thread choice is Lizbeth^® 20 Gold #611.

In recent years I have grown used to my results more closely matching the pattern photo, so this crown came as a bit of a surprise.

Don't get me wrong. It is a very nice crown. But mine does not mirror the tight brow band or the regal height of Corina's crowns. The stitch count is exactly the same.

This is precisely why I love tatting.  Two people can tat the same thing and get slightly different-looking results. Hmmm, what to do if I want more Corina-esque crowns?

Martha Ess provides the answer for the base. Try a different method of block tatting.

Martha's book "Holidays on the Block" describes four methods of block tatting and shares the advantages and disadvantages of each one. My first attempt uses the lock stitch method (The one with which I am most familiar.) As for the rest, I need to tat a few more crowns to get the exact look that I like.

This crown is very pretty.  But the quibbler in me wants to sample techniques to see if I can get the same look as Corina did with her crowns.  Besides, this crown took no time at all to tat so why not tat a few more?

I will update this post with attempts 2 and 3 as I squeeze them in around (the dreaded) household chores and Day 11 of TIAS.  Stay tuned or check back for progress!

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

Motif 25 - Magenta Monster Mollusk

A few weeks ago I was asked by a young girl if I would tat her a small animal -- a pink octopus like the one I had on the display table during one of my summer tatting demos.

So I grabbed my shuttles and began a test tat.

The magenta-colored head tatted up perfectly. 'I got this,' I thought and pressed on.

 I make these mistakes so you don't have to
Almost immediately I misunderstood the directions, not noticing my error until four limbs had been completed.  (So very like me, and precisely the reason for test tatting a piece first.) I ended up with NINE limbs instead of eight.

Motif 25 Nonny the Nonapus
May I present my strange creation and the head of his soon-to-be eight-limbed cousin? Here Nonny is holding up his claim to fame.

Nonny is tatted using Lizbeth^®  20 Magenta Dk 618. He measures about 1.5 inches (3.81 centimeters).

EDIT:  The pattern for Martha's adorable octopus can be found on page 14 of her book, "New Critters on the Block."

Test tat of Octopus © 2006 Martha Ess,
Tatted by IsDihara 2013

This completes my second 25 Motif Challenge.  I finished it in less than 2 years, an improvement from my first challenge.  (FYI--if one motif is tatted and posted within a two-week period it should take no more than one year to complete the challenge.)

I am not disappointed with my timing, just being aware of it.  The challenge isn't about racing to meet a deadline. Completing the challenge gives me a great sense of accomplishment and keeps me tatting on a regular basis.  Both are good things.

So I will carry on for a 3rd Challenge, so long as you readers aren't hopelessly bored.  Completing my class projects from Tat Days 2012 will be the goal for the first part of this new challenge. Hearts and Beanile lace jewelry and critters, oh my!

More Monster Mollusks
If you would like to read more about monster mollusks, two links to stories about real-life nonapus (or enneapus) are included below.

• Susami, a blue-ringed octopus: Nine-limbed octopus gives aquarium a leg up
• Common octopus: Nine-tentacled octopus

"Strange beauty, eight-limbed and eight-handed Whence camest to dazzle our eyes?" 
~Arthur Clement Hilton

Holidays, Heart & Gingerbread Boy

Is'Dihara, Anita, Sw4nkyl4c3r and Karen
met to tat and chat at Panera Bread

This past Saturday the Piedmont Lace Guild of Virginia met at a local Panera Bread to make lace.  Pictured above are four of the attendees, including a brand new needle tatter, Karen, far right.

What a fun way to kick off the 2013 lace-making year. Books and patterns were browsed and discussed, as were threads, tools and techniques. Lots of catching up and chit-chat. All enjoyed while we worked on our lace projects. Here is what I worked on:

"Love of Beads" heart  © 2012 Martha Ess
Flora 20 red with matching seed beads
Tatting by Is'Dihara

It may look like a bit like a fan, but this is Martha Ess' "Love of Beads" heart pattern from 2012 Tat Days. It will be a gorgeous Valentine heart when finished, don't you think?

Santa left wonderful goodies under the tree in 2013, like this silky soft shawl. (Pictured here with the Norma Benporath Lace Mat I tatted during Jon Yusof's tat-along.)

Purple Pashmina

JB must be one of Santa's Helpers, because she included two holiday hand towels with her heart exchange mailer.  Photo one is how one looks hanging in my powder room.  And a close up of the exquisite embroidery work on each towel. So elegant!  Thank you so much, JB.

JB also sent (along with a filigree woodcut ornament for my tree) this flirty and fun bracelet.  The beads are made of paper. The best part is that sales benefit BeadforLife.org.  I'm a strong supporter of organizations that empower women and help to enrich/change their lives.  Girl Power!

Sadly, I have run out of blog-writing time. So I must beg your indulgence to wait a few days more to see the progress on my Gingerbread Boy.

Don't forget! Jane Eborall's 2013 TIAS starts THIS Friday, so there will be loads of fun tatting to see us through the cold, dark days of January!

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

Tatting Tea Tuesday - Dead Battery

As odd as it sounds, today's Tatting Tea Tuesday post has been derailed by a dead battery.

Before I go off on a dead battery rant, (We've all been there, right?) it is time to confess. I did not tat over the holidays (*gasp* Horrors!) but have started tatting again.

Here are my current works in progress.

Goodness! Please pardon the sad state of my apple accent rug. I swear I vaccuum it. There is nothing like a tatting photo to really show the lint and dirt, eh?

Lately Lady Grey tea has been helping me get back in the tatting swing after an extended bout of "winter plague." Thankfully everyone at Silly Hat Central is recovered and healthy.

The photo shows three projects in the hopper, with Jane Eborall's TIAS making four! I haven't yet done today's TIAS Day 1 bit, but will post my progress once complete.

The lavender satin Christmas ball will have this simple motif attached at the top and bottom. I am playing around with a strip of dark purple edging for the middle, if I decide the top and bottom pieces leave too much empty space around the center. Stay tuned for the finished product.

Next up is a bookmark-in-progress using Lizbeth® 20 Autumn Apple Pie #169. The pattern is the marvelous Broomstick Tatted Bookmark © 2010 Martha Ess.

Dirt aside, the apple rug shows the close match of the color chosen to represent the flesh of the apples. Sort of a pale, greyish white offsets the rich red and golden tones. Lint, dust specs and dog hair are not part of the plan. (sigh)

A whole separate post about Autumn Apple Pie is coming in a few weeks, but for now let me say that I am (as I suspect many of you are) dissatisfied with this colorway.

Remember my post from September 15, 2011, ♥ Lizbeth® is here ♥? Autumn Apple Pie was my favorite of the lot.

On the ball this colorway looks good enough to eat. I stand by that assessment.

But let me come right out and say it -- tatted up, this colorway does not deliver the way many other Lizbeth® colorways do. In some cases the colors "pool," in other cases the resulting lace resembles a dog's breakfast. Or worse, the by product of a dog's breakfast.

Here is the same bookmark tatted using Lizbeth® 20 #125 Seascape:
Motif #15 - Broomstick Tatted Bookmark

What makes #125 Seascape so enchanting and #169 Autumn Apple Pie fall flat? Is it the irregular lengths of the colors? Is it the way they blend (or don't blend) together? Is it the pale, greyish white that throws off everything else?

These are the questions I am willing to get to the bottom of.

Hey, that last line reminds me of a movie...was it Sleepless in Seattle? When Tom Hanks talks to his son Jonah about starting to date again?

The final unfinished snippet of lace is a half-finished heart tatted in Lizbeth® 20 Purple Iris Fusion #162. Even half-done this heart looks splendid. Captivating colors in pleasant progressions that add to the appeal of the end product are what I am accustomed to with Lizbeth® threads.

But I digress...the heart pattern is called Broad-Shouldered Heart © 2004 Karey Solomon. It appears on page 23 of her booklet Hearts Belong to Tatting.

SwankyL4c3r, my needle-tatting pal, chose this heart for a Valentine-themed tat-a-long (TAL) held on Sunday, January 8, 2012. What a fun afternoon we had, tatting this winsome heart! The only change to the pattern is the ring making the heart's bottom point.

White seed beads add a dainty outline to the sweet shape, don't they? Can't wait to finish this one.

Well, I have rambled on a whole lot longer than intended. Thank you for sticking with me through the end!

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

Tat Days Projects, Part I

Tatting Tea Tuesday - Hello October
Director Sprout set the scene, which explains the octopus and menacing tea light tree. ツ

While week one felt fall-ish, Columbus Day weekend sun brought temps in the mid-to-upper 70s. So instead of switching over to hot tea, today I settle in to tat with a sun-brewed glass of decaf green with peach iced tea. Later, The Sprout and I will bake pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies.

Let the huddles break, breezes blow and leaves rustle. My tea and thread cupboards are stocked, shuttles wound, and my favorite Pashmina shawl is at the ready.

Can you believe Tat Days ended three weeks ago? Still so much tatting to do! Here's what I have been tatting in the after glow of that marvelous, fun-filled event.

Crazy Mom's Hearts Afire Cross © 2011
Tatted in Lizbeth^® 20 Victorian Red

Motif 4 - Hearts Afire Cross
Just look at this adorable dimpled heart cross. I couldn't attend this class because Nina Libin's Winter Solstice was at the same time, so I opted to wait for the pattern CD to make the cross.

Can I make a confession? Over the years I have been pretty tight-lipped about my uncanny ability to break a thread when closing a dimpled ring. Those durned dimples got me every time.

That was before learning to close the dimpled rings second half-first, then first-half. The technique was first shared by Sue Hanson at 2008 Shuttlebirds Tatting Weekend. Sue called it the Dimpled Yorkie. Crazy Mom's pattern includes tips for closing her vertical heart split rings this way. Brilliant!

In fact, the whole Hearts Afire Cross pattern is a work of genius. It cleverly throws dimpled hearts off of dimpled hearts, then moves on to vertical heart split rings. It sounds complicated, doesn't it? But Crazy Mom's instructions are crystal clear and make it easy! If I can do it, you can too.

Sunrise, Sunset Bookmark © 2011 Martha Ess

Motif 5 - Sunrise, Sunset Bookmark
My first Friday class was with Martha Ess. We made her Sunrise, Sunset bookmark. The thread is Altin Basak 50 in colors AB355 Copper and AB336 Periwinkle.

Martha's patterns are 110% pure pleasure to tat. Clear instructions, gorgeous photos and diagrams - what's not to love? That said, her Sunrise, Sunset bookmark raised the bar.

Oops! Mine looks a bit topsy turvy, doesn't it? Sunset, Sunrise!

Don't fret if your bookmark curls a bit. Mine looked like this before pinning it out. A quick shot of steam and it was right as rain. (The pretty shuttle was made by Georgia and Richard Seitz.)

That which we call a rose, by any other name
Next up is a "rosone" (Italian for rosette) in progress from Il Lavoro Chiacchierino 14, page 8. The thread is YarnPlayer's Celery in size 20.

Celery (the food) has always been dreaded diet fare at Silly Hat Central, but YarnPlayer's Celery HDT is so fresh and pleasing it is easy to "swallow." ツ

This was my airport tatting project, not a Tat Days class. The bits I actually tatted in airports ended up looking positively wretched, so I cut it off and started again. This second try looks much better.

Last is a photo of the silly, "just say no to celery" pin I made for a fellow Tat Days attendee. My 2011 tatting resolution was to create more mixed media items with my tatting and this pin helps to meet that goal. Hee, hee, see how the Celery HDT accents the stalks?

I honestly couldn't judge the recipient's reaction beyond initial confusion (which, all things considered, was understandable) but the joy in creating, completing and giving it (On time, too!) made it all worthwhile.

This post just scratches the surface of my class projects so there will be a part II. Then comes Tat Days Loot! As for hijinx, all I can say is "what happens at Tat Days, stays at Tat Days." (Sometimes genteel, southern ladies can be bad.)

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

A Traveling Adventure Series?

Gentle tatters, our community is poised to create a new custom.

Two "traveling book adventures" are in progress and a third is in the preparing stages. All in loving tribute to tatting paragons who have gone before, but who are not forgotten.

It all started with Angeline Crichlow.

Through the generous efforts of Fox in Canada, a copy of "Let's Tat" has been "on loan" - whisking its way around the globe from one interested tatter to the next and so on. Three Cheers for Fox and Angeline's Traveling Book Adventure!

[Responding to a request I have received for information on how to acquire books published by Angeline Crichlow (deceased 1997): This is the information I have:

Angeline Crichlow*
order by mail C/O her daughter, Jeani Crichlow Wieck, 4309 SE Flavel Portland OR 97206. Contact IsDihara (me) privately if you would like a phone number.]

Here is a link to my 2009 post "Let's Tat"


Mary Konior*
A year and almost 4 months ago, Tat Land lost another treasured rose in Mary Konior. We all love her patterns and will likely love them for generations to come.

Here is a link to my 2009 post No Rose Without a Thorn

Martha Ess (a great tatter in her own right) has generously launched a second "on loan" traveling book adventure. Yes!  A copy of Mary Konior's "Tatting in Lace" has also begun traveling. Three Cheers for Martha and Mary's Traveling Book Adventure!

So tell me, what do you think of starting a "traveling book adventure" series?

My two cents: it would be a lovely tribute to the tatting paragons who made their own textbooks when none were available, who published so that tatting did not perish, who shared of themselves to keep our gentle art alive.

Photos from Tat Days, part 1

Waving Hi from Tat Days! What a marvelous, tat-in adventure it has been so far. Warm, southern-style welcomes, adding faces and names to dozens of online friends, incredible classes, shopping and more.

Photos are added. It is good to be home (*hugs.home.network*)

Georgia posing with Ciarrán.

Perhaps the most surprising thing was that I didn't fall down in a dead feint at meeting Georgia Seitz. In fact, when I introduced myself she gave me the biggest hug. Thank you, Georgia, for being even more wonderful in person than you are online.

If you click on the image to enlarge it and zoom in on Georgia's ID badge, you will see her thyme leaf warding off insidious microbes. It is not the clearest photo. The leaf is tatted in Lizbeth 40 #136 Autumn Spice and I thought it looked so pretty!

She got that leaf as a gift from me, since she was so busy during the conference. Couldn't leave Georgia's threads unprotected, no!

Tatters chatting in the lobby.

By my estimation, 75 lacers attended Tat Days.

Everyone I met is more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. Truly. Everyone.

First impressions

Southern hospitality rocks! What a luxury to find real feather pillows and a down comforter on the bed. The waitress at our first restaurant, a place called Ribeyes, went out of her way to suggest local attractions for The Sprout and never once let on that we talked funny.

The steaks and burgers were so tasty at Ribeyes that we ate there twice. It was always hoppin'-busy and the clientele raved to us about how much they loved the food.

The second night the same waitress greeted us warmly and said, "You came back!" Then she asked The Sprout if he saw the Zedonk at the zoo. As busy as that woman was both times, I was surprised she remembered us at all. That's hospitality, eh?

But back to Tat Days! So many tatters' faces that were familiar to me from photos are now personalized with conversations, shared classes and meals, games, activities and chats.

Martha Ess shows Krystledawne's mom Karieann (left) and me (right) how to tat her broomstick tatted bookmark.

Karrieann turned out to be sitting right next to me in my first Friday class. Crazy Mom was a few seats away. Pre-class conviviality turned many unfamiliar faces into new tatting friends.

CrazyMom, how did I manage to spend so much time with you and NOT get a photo of you?!? 
(Methinks you are crazy like a fox.)  I'm so envious that you took Nina's bead class! So many great classes and not enough hours in two days to take them all.

Photo kindly shared by HJ Hess (center)
John (left), me (center front) and Karriean (right)

Krystledawne, more proof that I met your marvelous mom!

Squeeee! Martha Ess taught my first class -- a broomstick tatted bookmark. This was the class I was most eager to take and it turned out to be the biggest challenge. *mumbles* (...still haven't completed it...) But I will!  It is such a brilliant pattern! FAB! Cross your fingers that I finish it tonight.

Crafty Tatting 2 class with Georgia Seitz and Bernie Cosell (another VA tatter) was so much fun! We learned how to make pop-up inserts on which to affix tatted motifs and these 3D paper holiday trees we then could decorate with tatting. Crafty goodness!

Bernie taught me Maltese Rings. It was so easy once I got over my mental block. Thanks, Bernie! Now I can tackle those teapots in Martha's "T is for Tatting" book that I have been longing to tat.

Wally posing with Ciarrán after class.

I took two classes on Saturday with Wally Sosa and oh my! Both Wally and her techniques are delightful. I danced out of her classroom on twinkle toes thinking of ways to add Schwarino Flying Rings and Rolled Picots to my projects.

It is so difficult not to break into peels of gleeful squeals over every tiny detail. I am trying to maintain a modicum of composure, but you all must realize that I was such a wide-eyed, first-timer!

I marveled at seeing more than one or two tatters in the same room, interacting and learning together. I was amazed at the silent auction items, the Mary Konior display (more on that later) and the display of tatted works people brought just to show and tell.

I was humbled by the gorgeous tatting people wore on their bodies and the laces flying off their shuttles.

Meeting Riet Surtel-Smeulders was such a treat! Riet was so sweet to share bars of Belgian chocolate with The Sprout (I got one too). YUM!

But the most humbling thing was how many people approached me and said how they knew me. Hegla, bless her heart, even described me as FAMOUS (What?) and like family.  But every sentiment and gesture touched my heart deeply.

'Cause you all don't realize how special it was for me to meet and spend time with all of YOU! The pleasure was entirely mine. I can't wait until I get to see you all again to make more Tat Days magic.

So -- anon, when I can share photos and tales of a leprechaun reunion, high jinks, a lep of unusual size (that Ciarrán quippingly called Gigantor) and the lovely Miss Scarlet!

Tiny Round Teapot is Finished!

Thread: Handy Hands' Flora 20

White-to-Dark Purple variegated

I finished tatting Martha Ess' Tiny Round Teapot. Isn't it adorable? After all that built-up angst over the folded split ring, it turned out to be the easiest thing in the world to do. Silly me.

Can you believe I started this on June 23? If you would have told me that it would take me a whole month to tat this, I would have said you were crazy.

Ultimately careless mistakes ruled the day. You'll see that when I started, it looked as though I was tatting around the same direction as the picture in the book. Maybe I was. But I realized later that my teapot was tatting up in the opposite direction of the one in the book. Huh?

Guess I really shouldn't be surprised. Swords get rusty if left unused. It is time to get cracking and sharpen my blade. (Practice, practice, practice.)

Note two other bloggers who tatted this charming teapot. Their teapots face the opposite way.

Icelas Fishbowl of Tatting: April 26, 2009

The Space Between: Of Teapots... : April 7, 2009

Here is what my teapot looks like facing the other way. See how after the first the picot joins show? But if you look at the first photo, the first picot join shows on that side.

I'm chalking up the directional issue to my own careless error. It really is a delightful, wee teapot. And truly not difficult at all.

The truth is, this little project has blown the barn doors wide open for me creatively speaking. Martha Ess achieves a perfectly delightful teapot shape with simple, clean lines. Brilliant!

Tatting Tea Tuesday

Thread: Handy Hands' Flora 20
White-to-Dark Purple variegated

It’s time for another Tatting Tea Tuesday!

Tatting hubris got the better of me this week. I imagined sitting down and working stitches quickly and effortlessly the first time through, regardless of the new techniques involved. (Go ahead. Laugh. I make these mistakes so you don’t have to.)

The false starts began with me not paying attention to which shuttle I was using. Then I jumped into the Self Closing Mock Ring (SCMR), forming the loop with knotting thread, not core thread. Sorry Shuttle Brothers! Your excellent instructions clearly state that it must be done with the core thread.

Following that I used the core thread shuttle to tat the center ring. Another big no-no. It only took me about an hour to painstakingly open up that center ring and pick out the stitches. I got lucky; the thread didn’t break and I was able to recover.

Tiny Round Teapot pattern is not difficult. I just kept making basic, careless mistakes. That said, I don’t have a finished teapot to scan in for you this week. But I have successfully mastered the SCMR.


It is time to step back and practice folded split rings before working the one in the teapot. So I’ve stopped for now at the folded split ring and switched to a set of practice shuttles.

It may not look like much, but the small snippet of lace above shows quite a bit of progress made this week.

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

---

On a completely different thread, I saw an adorable tatted heart pattern for sale on Etsy called Paw Prints on my Heart.

I’m a dog lover so this heart is a perfect addition to my collection of tatted heart patterns.