Motif 24 - German Triangle Motif

For Tatting Tea Tuesday I decided to forego tea and focus on creating a new blog header. Still tweaking the fonts, but doesn't the lace look good in succulent summer colors?

Inspired by Jeff Hamilton (Bridge City Tatting) and Fox (Tat-ology), I have blithely jumped on the bandwagon for Susanne Schwenke's triangle motif.  The pattern and diagram are available in her book "Spitzen-Kreationen" on pages 42-43.

Susanne Schwenke triangle motif
tatted by IsDihara

Thread used is Lizbeth® 20 #156 Juicy Watermelon. I was using up leftovers from the Jane's Bookmark Cross I made at the end of May. This triangle is so nice to tat and gave me good practice working only from a diagram.

The backdrop is one of my fingerless gloves. The soft halo the Angora fibers give the lace is quite pleasing. Here is another look at the gloves:

Hand-spun Angora
knit fingerless gloves, top

One side is smooth and the other is ribbed so it is like having two sets of gloves in one.

Hand-spun Angora
knit fingerless gloves, bottom

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

A Call for Dragonflies

The 2013 Tat Days scholarship fund raiser involves tatting dragonflies (as well as other bits).  All tatters are welcome to participate. Dragonflies must be received no later than JULY 1st.

Sharing a quick list of  free dragonfly pattern links:

Libel, the Dragonfly © Riet Surtel Smeulders 2002
http://www.georgiaseitz.com/2002/sssr/rietdfly.html

Beaded Dragonfly – Sue Hanson © 1999 and © 2005
http://freespace.virgin.net/bo.hanson/Tatting/BeadedDragonfly/BeadedDragonfly.htm

Dragonfly - © Jane Eborall 2011
http://www.janeeborall.freeservers.com/dragonfly.pdf

Dragonfly Pattern © Shirley Hill
http://www.ringoftatters.org.uk/patterns/shirleyhill/sh.html

Dragonfly and Swan © Jon Yusoff 2010
http://tatsaway-patterns.blogspot.com/2010/02/dragonfly-and-swan.html

Mrs. Mile's Dragonfly © 2010
http://lalalime.blogspot.com/2010/06/life-in-general-my-first-tatting.html

Little Beaded Dragonfly © Debbie Arnold 2000
http://ds9designs.com/littledragonfly.pdf

Dragonfly by © Lisa Reichert 2002
http://www.tatsall.ca/patterns/LRdragonfly.htm

Also, a lovely dragonfly designed by Sharren Morgan is included on the Tat Days 2010 Pattern CD. Here is a snapshot.

And a dragonfly I tatted from Riet's wonderful pattern  (see link above): Outdoor Tatting - Dragonfly!

Please consider sending in one or more dragonflies of your choosing to help raise money for the scholarship fund.  As a scholarship recipient last year, I can attest to the value and NEED for this marvelous scholarship.

That is why I am stitching and tatting to create a decorated wall hanging to be auctioned off for fund. It is a huge blessing to tatters who otherwise would not be able to attend.

Editor's Note:  As of publishing time the link to the 2013 Tat Day Fundraiser page was broken.  As soon as it is working again I will add it to this post!

UPDATED at 2:10 p.m. on June 8, 2013
The link is back up!  http://www.georgiaseitz.com/2013/new2013fundraiser.pdf

And there are more opportunities than I knew!  Flowers, dragonflies, tatting to adorn Mardis Gras masks...please read through all the ways you can help!

Double Cross

The first Tatting Tea Tuesday of summer started out with me sipping an iced green tea Nojito.  I make my own mint syrup, adding several splashes of lime to the green tea plus a fresh sprig or two of mint.  YUM!  Feel free to add rum if you prefer a Mojito-tea concoction.

Two Jane's Bookmark Crosses
Designed by Grace Tan/Jane McLellan
Tatted by IsDihara 2013

This week I completed a second Jane's Bookmark Cross. One for each of Sapling's Kindergarten teachers. These turned out great! Both are lovely and were a joy to tat. Sapling's last day of school is June 13, 2013, so I even completed them before deadline.  Perhaps the most amazing part!

This second cross is tatted in Lizbeth® 20 #149 Peacock Blues. It measures three (3) inches in length (7.62 cm) and two (2) inches wide (5.08 cm).

Hats off again to Grace Tan who cleverly adapted Jane McClelland's bookmark pattern into a cross.  And gratitude also to Jane McLellan who adapted her bookmark from a braid that appeared in the May 1984 Anna Burda magazine.  Such amazing talent from these two tatting ladies.

Jane's Bookmark Cross pattern PDF may be downloaded from the Tatting Class Homework page: New Pattern from Grace Tan

Ramblings and a Sneak Peek

To kick off summer tatting season I had wanted to tat another Celtic Strawberry Heart by Birgit Phelps or one of Martha Ess' charming Split Ring Ladybugs (pattern available on Palmetto Tat Days 2009 Pattern CD).  Alas, with the stitching I am doing I wasn't able to start either project.

It seems the Piedmont Palm Frond group was the lone sponsor of a decorated wall hanging this year. We had been keeping mum about our theme but I see no reason to keep it under wraps any longer. Here's a sneak peek at our whimsical blue-eyed penguins:

Playful penguins wall hanging for
2013 Tat Days fund-raising auction.

There will be more to discover about these capricious penguins at Palmetto Tat Days in September.  The wall hanging will have hand-stitched applique, couching and some bead work as well as tatting and bobbin lace. My hope is that such fun-loving sea-birds will be in demand on auction night.

Bubble Tea and Motif 23

This post was supposed to be published on Tuesday. Since I started walking with a tatting friend on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I haven't been so consistent with publishing my Tatting Tea Tuesday posts.

This one, for instance. The tatting photos and starter text were prepared on Monday.  All I needed to do was sit down at the computer and finish after returning from my Tuesday two-mile walk.

Close up of the tapioca pearls in my tea.

Didn't happen.
The upside of a Thursday post is that I can share the bubble tea I am drinking today.

Lemony Green Bubble Tea (iced)

It is a super-tasty indulgence with cell-supporting antioxidants and cancer-fighting catechins.  Bubble tea is also called boba or pearl milk tea and originated in Taiwan.   Mine is tea without the milk, but if you add the milk you also get a small calcium boost.

Motif 23 - Jane's Bookmark Cross

As for tatting, I am having a great time making my first (ever) crosses to give as gifts to Sapling's Kindergarten teachers.  Hard to believe, isn't it? I have been tatting for over 30 years and these are my first crosses. 

Jane's Bookmark Cross
progress after day one

I just love how the green rings fall at each end of the horizontal bars and the juicy fruit hues cluster toward the center. And I used the SSSR to finish the bottom ring. A great method of hiding ends.

Scan of Day 1 progress on
Jane's Bookmark Cross

The white background on the scanner makes it harder to see the pale green stitches, but had the most sharp resolution.  Of course, these images are of the lace unblocked.

Jane's Bookmark Cross
progress, day two

This cross is tatted in Lizbeth^® 20 #156 Juicy Watermelon and measures three (3) inches in length (7.62 cm) and two (2) inches wide (5.08 cm).  Grace Tan cleverly adapted Jane McClelland's bookmark pattern into a cross, which itself was adapted by Jane from a braid that appeared in the May 1984 Anna Burda magazine.

Isn't teamwork wonderful? The evolution story of this cross is quite good too. Without the Internet bringing these people together would this cross have been created?

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

Motif 22 - Itty Bitty Beach Ball

Beach Ball tatted by IsDihara

Can you believe that overnight my corner of Tat Land had a frost and this afternoon the temperature is expected to rise to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.67 degrees Celcius)?

Frost in mid-May is freaky in my little corner of Tat Land. As weird weather patterns increasingly become the norm (Two weeks ago an unprecedented 18" (45.72 cm) of snow fell on Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.) I pine for warmth and sun.

This itty bitty beach ball evokes sun-soaked feelings and playful memories. Sunshine seems to follow beach balls where ever they go, so tat a beach ball if you too are ready for summer sun!

In the photo above the beach ball has been lightly starched to hold its shape and is drying around a ping pong ball. (This is only the second time in my life I have starched a piece of tatting.)

Here is a better photo:

Beach Ball tatted by IsDihara

This beach ball is adapted from a balloon pattern found in the Ring of Tatter's 25th anniversary book (page 42). The balloon has been designed by French tatter Edwige Renaudin. Only slight stitch count modifications were needed to transform a delightful balloon into a playful beach ball. 

Threads used were:

Lizbeth^®  20 # Golden Yellow Medium
Lizbeth^®  20 #671 Christmas Red
Lizbeth^®  20 #652 Royal Blue
Lizbeth^®  20 #601 Snow White  (optional)

If your little corner of Tat Land is bouncing like a beach ball between bizarre weather patterns, perhaps you should set your sights on tatting something evocative of fun-filled days.

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

Motif 21 - Pram Pride

IsDihara's TIAS 2013 complete!

These darling baby carriages will count as Motif 21 for my 25 Motif Challenge. 

For those who like to know, here are the threads I used to create these cuties: 

Lizbeth 20 #168 Latte Foam for the body of the pram on the left.
Lizbeth 20 #125 Sea Scape for the body of the pram on the right.

Lizbeth 20 #603 Ecru for the wheels and handles.

What does your pram say about you?  

Mine say that I LOVED tatting January's mysterious and whimsical TIAS.  It was brilliant!  The releases kept me guessing well past the half-way mark. (It is the guessing that I like most of all.)

In fact, I stopped tatting on the last installment to tackle Sapling's 6th birthday party and a few other real-life bits, but kept putting it off JUST so the fun wouldn't end. (Crazy logic, I know.)  Eventually they called to me to be tidied up and taken out for a stroll.

Merci mille fois, Jane, for giving us this delightful game to play. It sure was fun!

Here is a quick guide for deciphering what your baby's actions are when in an outward-facing pram.  If the person walking toward you:

• Smiles or comments about how cute your child is = Baby is asleep.
• Gives you pitying looks = Baby is crying.
• Looks of horror = Baby is covered in vomit or the wind has stuck a crisp packet to it’s face

(I found these amusing tips on a blog post entitled "What does your pram say about you?") 

And last, but not least, is this image of the limited edition BMW Pram Royal Baby Stroller. I hadn't seen it before. Apologies if your little corner of Tat Land has been inundated with it.

 

Contemplating Wavy Gravy

Oh, what fond memories I have of making the One-Ball Wavy Gravy Hat (original design © 2007 Elizabeth McNamee) by ElizaMac.

Jane from South Africa knitted a delightful variation in June 2012 (her blog post is titled Gilded Hat) and I have been thinking about knitting another one ever since.

For those on Ravelry, a pattern page is available here that includes a link to the free pattern.

Elizabeth's original blog post:  Noro Kureyon One-Ball Wavy Gravy Hat Pattern

I first stumbled across The Wavy Gravy hat (surprise, surprise) while on a late-night blog crawl. After knitting two in quick succession, I made a third using "Christmas Pudding" colors and donated it to charity.

If you have never seen a Christmas Pudding knit hat, prepare to say "Awwww."

Image Source: Driftwood Blog

Audrey Wilson shares links on her design blog for darling Christmas Pudding pin cushions and tea cozy patterns:  The Design Studio: Christmas Pudding Knitting Workshop and Hand Knitting Patterns

The Wavy Gravy hat I will knit will not be a Christmas Pudding.  Rather, it will be more like this one again by Jane from South Africa - Two Hats