Bookmark - Complete!

Finished it today during my lunch break!  Fully stretched out, it's not quite a foot long (well, we have some big ol' books!).

I tatted the tail as lock stitch - the equivalent of 30 DS, then did one ring with each shuttle, and finished with a SR.  I continued with more lock stitch, same as before, then did three SRs in a row.  One more section of lock stitch chain finished the tail; then a not-quite-closed SR to hold the tassel, and the bookmark was finished!

The thread is size 20; Berry Burst (Lizbeth) and the lavender I was using a couple of posts ago (DMC Cebelia).

If anybody has a sure-fire method of making tassels, I'd love to hear it!

The Old-Fashioned Heart in a Newfangled Way!

This is a lovely pattern from the talented hands of Etha Schuette,  and I had always meant to tat it.  She first published it in 2000 (I believe), and has recently updated it (discovered this by browsing her site).

It’s not complicated at all, although it looks it!  It’s a surprisingly fast tat for such a detailed lace motif, and after tatting one by her original pattern, I started thinking of ways to not have to deal with the ends.  To me, the most obvious was – find some way to use them, such as for the tail of a bookmark.

I started on the chain at the bottom of the heart and worked my way around; climbed out with a split ring, and climbed into the second (and last) row via a second split ring.  When I had tatted all around the heart and was back at the beginning, I joined into the base of the second split ring and tatted a third split ring for the point at the bottom of the heart.  Now I'm ready to start a lock stitch chain.

The Better to See You With!

Check out that big ol’ blue eye!  The parrot’s green eye was a little bit small, so I knew I wanted to use a larger bead for the seahorse’s eye.  I think I went a little overboard (oops)!

I didn’t put beads on the seahorse, although both of Jane’s variations call for beads; I didn’t think about it before I left for work this morning, and couldn’t have finished it today if I had taken beads with me and strung them during my lunch break. 

I used the last of the DMC lavender (lilac?) along with Lizbeth Spring Fling on the seahorse.  I love this color combination!  Pity that the DMC ran out before the seahorse was complete!  I did have some Lizbeth Antique Violet Medium on another shuttle, so I finished with it.  Oh, and I reloaded the empty shuttle with the DMC when I got home and noted that the color number is 210. 

This was fun!  It was also a lot quicker than the parrot – I had just a few SRs left to do when I got home this evening, so I went ahead and finished it up.  Now – what shall I tat tomorrow??

This Bird's Not Tough, But It Is Pretty Stringy!

Finished!  Well, almost – I still have to deal with the thread ends, but I’ll need to decide what I’m going to do with it first.  Why sew in the ends if I end up sewing it onto something like a shirt or a bag?  I can use the thread ends for as far as they’ll go!

I like the muted colors – maybe this is a female parrot!  I used Lizbeth Wildflower Garden and DMC in lilac – the ball isn’t close at hand, and I don’t know the number offhand – and both threads are size 20. 

Doesn’t Jane do the neatest animal patterns?!  I started the parrot on Monday and only tatted during my lunch break, and finished today – so that’s probably about 100 minutes, which isn’t too bad.

I think I’ll tat one of her seahorses next!  From the air to the sea – after that, I’ll have to pick an animal that is land-based.  Any suggestions?

Tat Days Anticipation!

One month from last Friday…just one more month…eeeeeee!  The anticipation is killing me!  September 3 will be a Bank Holiday here (Labor Day) so all the banks will be closed.  My vacation officially starts Tuesday, September 4…and Thursday, September 6, we leave for Toccoa, Georgia!!  Eeeeeeee!

I have a lot to do before then – decide what to take and what to take it in; decide how we’re going to get there from here; pack for both of us.  Whew!  I’m tired already!  I think I need a vacation!

I’m just about to start tatting Jane Eborall’s Parrot – the pattern is found here.  I’ve decided on a more pastel approach, so once I get going on it, I’ll post some pictures.  I need to decide on a bead for the parrot’s eye…decisions, decisions!

I got this far with Miranda’s Challenge before the penny dropped – for those joining us late, it turned out that the sketch of the doily printed on the fabric Miranda purchased and showed us on her blog was not, as originally thought, a vintage, out-of-copyright pattern.  It’s actually the first three rounds of a Nancy Tracy pattern, used on the fabric without Nancy's knowledge or permission.  Miranda didn't know - she bought the fabric in good faith.  I don’t think I’ll finish the challenge – my heart just isn’t in it anymore.  I unwound the shuttles (one was nearly empty, anyway) and put the unfinished doily in my thread box.  Maybe someday I’ll take it out and finish it…who knows?  It just isn’t going to happen right now.

Miranda’s Challenge!

Check out Tatting Fool, for Saturday, July 28!  Miranda has offered a challenging exercise in design – not exactly a doily, but an illustration of one.  The illustration is part of an all-over print on some fabric she happened to run across while shopping at Jo-Ann’s.  She included a couple of pictures of the fabric, and anyone familiar with the construction of tatted lace will recognize it for a tatted doily.

But – it’s more of a sketch of a doily, than an actual doily….and therein lies the challenge!  Can you construct a reasonable facsimile of the doily, with no pattern, no stitch count, no nothing?

I don’t always participate in these challenges – time is one reason, then there is the frustration level when what I think should work, doesn’t.  But – with only three rounds, why not try?

Here is my test piece – rounds 1 and 2 complete, and round 3 in progress.  By the time I get all the way back around to the beginning, I think I’ll have a pretty good idea of the stitch count that works for me (yes, I am making notes as I go).  I’m tatting this one with what is left on several shuttles, so it should be >ahem< quite colorful when it’s done!  I’ll tat it again, from my notes, in two colors and without cutting at the end of each round as I’ve done here.  Since it’s an experimental piece, I didn’t even hide my ends – I tied and clipped! 

This Tatter’s Treasure Hunt!

My granddaughter, age 7, is an aspiring tatter; she loves handling the shuttles, comparing the sizes, unwinding the thread on them, and seeing all the pretty colors.  This said, she’s not actually making knots, unless you count this  =============>

Somewhere in that tangle are 10 shuttles, one chatelaine with two crochet hooks and several other tools on it, a piece of black felt with two sewing needles in it, and a pair of scissors.  You have 10 seconds – GO!

Did you find them all?  No problem if you didn’t – I did.  I got them all untangled after we got home last night, and even had time to empty the thread off two of the shuttles by tatting this little cross!  They’ll be giveaways for the South Carolina State Fair, which we’ll visit in October with the Palmetto Tatters Guild.  We’ll be demonstrating tatting as well as teaching, so if you’re in the Columbia area on Saturday, October 13, please do stop by and visit with us!

The cross is easy-peasy; as I mentioned above, I’m making them to use  up the last of the thread that’s on the shuttles.

Tiny Cross

©2012 Sharren Sarver Morgan

3 rings and 2 split rings

Pull off about 12” – 14” for finger tatting the split rings and one ring.  Pull off additional thread for R1.

R1:          1^10^1.

SR2:       1+4^1 | 1+4^1.

R3:          (use Shuttle) 1+10^1. RW

R4:          (finger tat) 1+10^1. RW

SR5:       1+5 | 1+5.

Tie ends together to form hanging loop, and cut from shuttle.

You can also make the world’s tiniest bookmark by pulling off more than a foot of thread to start; plan for at least 1½ feet.  You can tie this thread to another shuttle and avoid finger tatting, if you like.  When the cross is complete, make a length of lock stitch cord (whatever length you prefer); then, tie the ends in an overhand knot and clip the threads for a tiny tassel.

I used size 20 thread but wouldn’t size 80 be amazing for this pattern!  I’ll get right to work on that as soon as I get a bigger magnifying glass!