Fleur de Lis Figure

Playing around with the fleur de lis edging led to this lovely surprise. The figure is 3 inches (7.6 cm) long and 1 1/2 inches wide (4 cm) tatted in size 20 thread.

You are looking at an unblocked test tat using three shuttles. Many attempts to keep the shuttle count down to two ended in missteps, but also led to new discoveries.

I am cheered, delighted and excited by this outcome.

This figure CAN be tatted using two shuttles, but would require the second four-ring cluster (the top part of the fleur de lis) to be tatted separately and attached as you go.

To tat it all in one pass was a bit more tricky. The issue was throwing off a ring and chain combo from a SCMR.

For those who don't mind two extra ends to hide, using two shuttles would be easier.

I will be writing out this pattern to share!

While the process did not yield a fleur de lis edging, it produced other tat bits and built my design confidence. In the end I do think that a fleur de lis edging will come forth.

I Make These Mistakes...
...so you don't have to. See the uneven chain? I hid the final two ends in the wrong place. Click on the image above for a close-up.

Now I turn by tatting focus back to an unfinished project - Wanda's Hearts Honor Bookmark. (Sorry for the blurry cell phone photo.)

Absorbed in bright color and captivated by the split chains down the center, this second stage is even more fun than the first. The first stage was pure pleasure to tat! The rest should go smoothly and will result in what is sure to be an all-time favorite bookmark.

Thanks again, Wanda, for allowing me to test tat this pattern!

Paisley Scarf Edging

Spotted on Etsy

Red Grey Paisley Silk Tatting Lace Long Scarf

Here is the link to this Etsy item: Red Grey Paisley

Take note of this graceful way to "unique-ify" a silk accessory.

Hmmm, I have a shoebox full of long-neglected accessory scarves a round here somewhere...

Don't the colors of the lace match the scarf perfectly?

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My ability to re-size photos (PhotoShop) is still on the fritz. (*grumble*) But I am still tatting. (Wishing I could show you...)

Remember this? Dipping a Toe in the Design Pool

Here is a slightly out-of focus shot from my cell phone. It shows my attempts to tat a fleur de lis edging. Right now it looks more like a weird light bulb filament, but once I get the shape worked out to my satisfaction I will offer up the pattern for free.

Here is a second cell phone snapshot.

Gina, you have been waiting since June of 2009 for this project to bear fruit. Hope I haven't kept you waiting too long! I am still toying with ideas. Hopefully soon it will be finished. Soon!

An Austen Afternoon

Photo processing issues have not yet been resolved, so I beg your indulgence a while longer.

Today The Sprout and I are feeling much better. After lunch we go to visit Sw4nkyL4c3r to deliver a Christmas-in-July gift. The ladies have planned an Austen afternoon of tatting. The Sprout will show off his Hot Wheels and no doubt play games on my iPad.

Which Jane Austen film to choose? Persuasion, Miss Austen's final novel? Sense and Sensibility? (a personal favorite) Northanger Abbey? Pride and Prejudice?

Since I appear to be the last test tatter to complete it, I will be working on Heart's Honor by Wanda Salmans. So sorry to keep you waiting Wanda!

St. Basil's Turns 450

Today's Google logo celebrates the 450th anniversary of St. Basil's cathedral.

Since my PhotoShop is on the fritz and my hand isn't steady enough for sharp, clear cell phone close-ups, I offer up Onion Dome. It was inspired by St. Basil's cathedral.

It is my first design effort. If you want the pattern, it's here in .pdf format.

(Thanks to CrazyMom for suggesting Keep and Share and holding my hand through the account set-up and file upload process.)

Tatting Tea Tuesday

No tatting has happened this week.

Today both The Sprout and I are under the weather with sinus pain and pressure. (Actually the 2 hounds are medicated too.) A heat advisory and a code orange air quality alert are in effect for a wide swath of my state, so we're staying indoors.

While Schoolhouse Rock plays for The Sprout, I peruse a lovely book that arrived today via post from amazon.com - Tea with Jane Austen by Kim Wilson.

The dust jacket sums up my first impressions of this book concisely. "Who would not want to sit down with Jane Austen and join her in a cup of tea?"

As for tea, I am sipping iced Jack Frost - a caffeine-free herbal blend of African red bush, vanilla, peppermint and spearmint. Hoping it will help dispel the hateful heat.

Stay cool in your corner(s) of Tat Land. Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Bastille Day Macarons

Bien sûr, Bastille Day is Thursday, July 14.

Call me crazy (I'm not even French), but I get into the spirit of the day. Typically Silly Hat Central celebrates Bastille Day with a French-style meal, a Bastille Day cocktail and a few impromptu exclamations of "Storm the Bastille!"

Not quite the fever of joviality that descends upon Paris, but il est bon, oui?

This year there will be macarons. Yes! There will be be macarons!

What? You want to get in on the mac action?

Bastille Day Macarons Near You

Lucky Australian tatters who wish to try these lighter-than-air confections can visit Baroque Bistro in Sydney for limited edition Bastille Day macarons.

Tatters who live in or around Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand can avail themselves of a FREE macaron at The Department Store.

Mount Holly, Vermont tatters and their neighbors can drop by A Dozen Eggs Bake Shoppe for Bastille Day sweet treats.

Pasadena, California, tatters who wish to try a tasty mac can go to 'Lette Macarons on South Fair Oaks Avenue. The PasadenaNow.com Living Section (Food and Wine column) had this to day: Let them eat macarons!

I will be making my own and nibbling them with tea on a picnic blanket, but however you celebrate your inner monsieur or mademoiselle...

Vive la France! Vive le macaron! Vive la frivolité!

Elusive Shuttle Socks

There are some CRAZY socks out there. Anatomically correct bone socks, toeless socks (which look kinda cute in the photo), Union Jack socks, even Foot Kandy.

Every once in a while, I read about a tatter who has purchased novelty socks with shuttles on them. Who sells these?

Quilters have novelty socks: Quilters Socks
Knitters have novelty socks: Knitting Girls

Will one of the Palmetto Tat Days vendors have them?

Tatting Tea Tuesday with Sw4nkyL4c3r

July kicked off with fireworks and a wonderful Tatting Tea Tuesday! Sw4nkyL4c3r dropped by for some shuttle tatting. (She is a needle tatter.) She wanted to get in some shuttle practice in order to demonstrate Civil War-era tatting during the commemorative event later this month. (Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War and the Battle of First Manassas)

Tatting Tea Tuesday leftovers

We noshed on "Romeo & Juliet" cookies from the bakery, drank strawberry tea, tatted and chatted the afternoon away.

Every so often she would giggle and say, "I did it! Six whole stitches," or "Look! A ring with three picots." And then she would giggle again, saying, "Of course, if I were using my needle I'd be done with the whole project by now."

She was absolutely right. She is a fast needle tatter. Her stitches do not suffer in the least for speed. They are uniform and evenly tensioned. Talk about a natural.

I also introduced her to the owner of the Yarn Cloud (the shop where I teach shuttle tatting). The owner asked if she would teach a needle tatting class in September!

This is marvelous news for anyone thinking about trying tatting!

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
It is Christmas in July and I believe! I feel like standing on the street corner, yelling "Hear ye! Hear ye!" because Yarn Cloud sells Lizbeth threads!

Many have sighed heavily and resigned themselves after JoAnn Fabric and Crafts limited sales of Lizbeth threads to a small fraction of their US stores. Hobby Lobby came to the rescue, but the closest Hobby Lobby in my area is 35 miles away. So I am thrilled to have a local shop that carries quality tatting thread.

As for tatting, I got farther along on the foundation chain for my ring trim braid lanyard. Last post it was 18 inches (45.7 cm). It is now 32 inches (81.3 cm) long. Only 4 more inches to go. Then the fun really begins!