Grace's Craft Blog

Motifs 37-42

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 16:05:00 +0000

I was busy busy with my tatting over the summer. My son was staying with his aunt and I spent a lot of time over at her house with my shuttles and thread while visiting him.

Here's another motif from my grandma (left) and my almost-the-same copy from the Blomqvist/Persson book. It was interesting to study Grandma's motif and note that she didn't sew her ends in, just tied and snipped them very close. These pieces of hers are at least 21 years old (she passed 21 years ago) and the knots are starting to work open. Her tatting is so pretty and I hope I don't lose the pieces but I'm reluctant to add glue, etc., so I'll just take good care of them.

I made two doilies this summer--pretty incredible actually!

I made this Jan Stawasz doily with size 10 ecru Lizbeth and size 10 Artiste in Water Lily.

The left shuttle is a Starlit shuttle from Handy Hands, and the one on the right is made by Veronika in Europe, purchased from her etsy store. You can see it pretty much holds as much as the Starlit and is a bit shorter and nicer to use but it did have incredibly tight points. I am hoping if I use it with size 20 on my next project I will enjoy it more. So pleased with it though!!!!

Completed Jan Stawasz doily, given as a gift.

Linda Davis Coronet Doily
Lizbeth thread size 40

This Linda Davies doily really pops in two colors. I don't think the pattern really shows to advantage done in one color. This is something I've also found true in the new snowflakes I've made this year. I'll add another post for those.

Also have done some work on my Stawasz Masterpiece/Monster doily from the Robotki magazine 8/07. It is so lovely in person and I would love to finish it in the next six months.

These are Nancy Tracy's Cupcake II pattern from the be-stitched blog. My niece requested one for her daughter as a commemorative Christmas ornament. The purple/pink one is hers. These are all size 40 Lizbeth. By the third one, I was pretty good at it!

At this rate, I'm definitely going to hit the 25 challenge twice this year! Woot!

Motifs #30-36

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 17:17:00 +0000

I made this bracelet for my mother for Mother's Day this year. It's made with size 70 cotton vintage thread using a design by Shannhob I purchased on Etsy.

Below is a pansy from a Priscilla book from the 1910s era. The thread is size 40 cotton Lizbeth in the center and middle (purple colors) and the cream on the edge is a glossy polyester. Made it into a pin.

Left, I came up with the design for this bracelet myself, size 20 Lizbeth in rootbeer and ecru with glass beads painted gold. The rings overlap and weave together. Gift for my niece's birthday.

Below right is another birthday gift for a 1st grade niece--so the pattern is more simple and so teensy! and cutie cute.

My grandma made the white motif 20 plus years ago and Fox sent me the burgundy motif recently. (below left) I loved that they were they same pattern! It looked familiar but I couldn't place it.

Fox told me it was from the Blomqvist/Persson book, and so I made my own (right) in a multi size 40 Lizbeth.

Last entry for this blog post--Gold Dust size 40 from yarnplayer on Etsy, pattern from Tatted Animals by Inga Madsen.

Giraffes made for gifts (as usual lol) to use as bookmarks.

Next time, friends!

Motifs #25 through 29

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 03:06:00 +0000

More catching up to do!

I made this pendant for my sister's birthday back in April, my design adapted from a sample in the American Civil War Museum, with glass beads in honey and Lizbeth size 40 thread in Coral Splash and Sunkist Coral.

You may remember my trip last summer and the collar, which I have on an old blog post --->

I started work on my own collar but still not complete! Always stopping to make presents.

Below, set of coasters, Blossom Medallions in DMC size 8 perle cotton, pattern courtesy of Gloria Nelson this spring.

New motifs, no posts forever!!! Numbers 7-24

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 03:06:00 +0000

It's been a crazy strange year. So no posts for months here. :( I do frequent YOUR tatting blogs but my motivation for doing anything constructive is at an all time low.

This pretty pink snowflake is from the end of last year, from Jennifer Williams' book. Made from Edda Guastalla's Master thread size 30 color rosso. Glass czech beads. I love this pattern and made several silver/multi color ones.

The pattern at right and lower left is Unfolding Heart by Marilee Rockley, purchased from her Etsy shop (yarnplayer). Size 20 Lizbeth dark purple and purple Twirlz. My first attempt was less than successful but I was happy with the second try and made a wedding card with it.

Below is doily #13 from free-tatting.com. The thread is DMC perle cotton size 8. About 6 inches. Given as a wedding present. The patterns at this site are notoriously hard to follow but the end result (attempt #2) is very satisfying.

At left, pattern AnnaMarie by Alenalea Rako, available on her etsy shop. White one in size 20 Lizbeth and pink is vintage size 70. I have two partially done pieces in this pattern, making a book mark. I'll show it off when complete.

Earrings at right from Edda Guastalla's pattern Poyel angel. Thread is viola Master thread from her website, contrast dark purple size 20 Lizbeth, gold plated earwires and crystal beads.

Cross from Rita Weiss Traditional Tatting Patterns, thread is size 70 Coats and Clarks vintage, gifted to me. I made a second one with longer side arms to be more in proportion with a crucifix, not pictured.

Shamrocks (5 of them in March) from Marilee Rockley's free pattern on her website, HDT size 40 Celery from yarnplayer (Marilee) on Etsy. Delica beads. This is one of my favorite colorways.

Stunning mauve earrings based on design by Edda Guastalla, Minuetto. Cyclamen thread from Italy (Edda's shop) and Lizbeth 636. Crystal beads and glass pearl. These are just stunning! I had to mess with them a bit to get them to work for me and I'm absurdly proud of them.

At right, trying out the double square from Edda's blog. Made with rame and bronze Range thread from her store. It's like 3-1/2 inches long so maybe a big LARGE for an earring?

What a lovely bookmark gifted to my sister for her birthday along with earrings based on the short arms. I think I counted this last year without the tassel so won't count it again.

Below: Earrings before ear wires attached, 2 pairs of leaves in Marilee Rockley/yarnplayer hand dyed thread, Delica beads. Adapted from a cross pattern by Elaine P Gan, available for purchase at Craftsy.

And finally, me wearing my TotusMel pendant from the center of her Gothic Doily pattern available at her Etsy store (totusmel). The pattern is designed for needle tatting and has Celtic weaving so you will need to use needles or get some Celtic shuttles. This is in size 60 Sunlight thread from Edda's shop. And that catches me up to March! :D

Avoiding tatting gaposis (with left-handed pix only)

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Sat, 27 Feb 2016 18:10:00 +0000

Here’s a nice little trick—snug up your rings and chains to avoid small gaps. The picture of the doily I’m making has noticeable (though very small) spaces between the rings, but I’ve got a couple of tricks to minimize that space.

On ring #2 of your set, wrap the thread as usual but OVER ring 1 as pictured at left. Make that first stitch, and you will see that stitch overlaps ring 1 just a touch (at right).

With 3 stitches complete, that first stitch still overlaps the prior ring just a teeny bit.

After you've finished all your stitches for the ring, secure the ends of the ring before pulling closed, as pictured at left and right. Pinch firmly and pull closed.

Tip: I add a second half of double stitch just before I close each ring. It helps them to lie flat and not pull under. Learned from Joelle Paulson.

Finish ring grouping as per your pattern. There are three rings in my grouping.

Now, to minimize gaposis with the chains, fold the ring grouping toward you as below:

Begin your chain, making sure your first stitch is as snug as possible.

When you've done maybe 3 stitches, fold up your already completed chain and check the spacing/gap.

So these are my tips! Hope you have success with them! Happy tatting. (Pattern by Iris Niebach)

2016 Challenge Numbers 1 through 6

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 01:53:00 +0000

Christmas presents for my sister and her daughter. Rose is tatted in Master 30 color rossa, silver glass beads, silver bail on a ribbon necklace (purchased). The earrings are from Edda Guastalla's Poyel pattern available on her Etsy shop. Thread is Range Multicolor and aqua is Altin Balsak polyester. Gold plated wires and crystal beads.

This is the Poyel angel from the same pattern as the aqua earrings. Master thread in turchese.

Two versions of the Flowery Crinoline Angel, designed by Erin Hollway Moseley, available on the 2015 Palmetto Tatters CD. Left: size 20 Lizbeth thread. Right: Master thread in rosso, modified skirt with an extra row of the crinoline and no roses.

Pendant design Ewa M, Sunlight size 60 rame/black, crystal drop and satin ribbon necklace.

UFOs tatting only

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 19:57:00 +0000

We all have them, Unfinished Objects. WIPs- work in progress. PIGs- project in grocery sack.

My tatting objects:

Starting top left: Ribbon Christmas tree by Jane Eborall, little black thing is the first bit
of a Celtic doily by Totus Mel that I decided I had to use needles for because I was going
to lose my mind trying to work it with shuttles, Renulek 2015 doily, purple Hearts and Flowers
cross (Julie Patterson) just needs a tassel, blue cross needs only one ray, Amusement Doily
almost finished (pattern by Celtess), Star Doily from Workbasket only needs 4 more rows to
finish last point, then a super easy border,and of course Jane's tat along is the light blue bit up
there by the cat shuttle. Ecru doily with yellow rings around the border is from free-tatting.com
Doily #13.

Jan Stawasz' giant doily in Polish magazine from 2008. Just touching it today
made me want to get back to this project. It is so beautiful!

Motifs 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 19:20:00 +0000

Collection of earrings above were a Halloween present. I looked at a few patterns and came up with the pumpkin, size 20 Lizbeth. I think the stems are Leafy Greens.

The snowflake earrings are from Decoromana's snowflake pattern on Etsy. Done in white size 10 Aunt Lydia's with iridescent twist. The red ones are in the thread I featured a couple of posts ago, size 10 with a metallic twist, Garden Metallic.

Light blue wreath is Posy from Mary Konoir's book Tatting with Visual Patterns. It's reversed because I'm left-handed. Hehe.

This is Nell Angel from the 2015 Palmetto Tatters Guild CD. I love this! After making one in straight red, I saw a holly motif in the center. I used a short piece of red thread, encapsulating it to make the center berry. The red is the size 10 Garden Metallic and the green is Lizbeth 167.

My husband commissioned me to make a collection of five angels for his boss's Christmas present. Four of them are new to me, so counting 4 of them in my motif count. If I counted ALL the tatting I've done this year and not just new to me motifs, I would have gone well over 50, perhaps 75. Wow. I tat entirely too much, and I'm not going to stop!

Below left, Donata Jones Angel in an Hour. Pattern not available at large. I asked her personally for it. Below left is Lenore English's Dimpled Ring Angel. Rather than all the shoelace tricks (SLT) I used 2 shuttles. Collection entirely white size 20 Lizbeth.

Left to right, Gladys Angel by Sharren Sarver Morgan (2012 Palmetto CD),
Recumbent Angel by Donata Jones, Dimpled Ring Angel
by Lenore English, Angel in an Hour by Donata Jones,
Ice Angel by Anitra Stone (also on 2015 Palmetto CD).

Displayed in beautiful light up box my husband made.
He also made the angel statue for them another year for their gift.

There are a few more things I made in 2015, but I'm counting everything after 12/15/15 in the new year as I joined a Facebook 25 motif challenge too and that's where they are starting their count. I may count mine differently this year, counting everything just to keep track and see how much of my time I truly spend on this beautiful art!

2015 Motifs/doily #33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 18:43:00 +0000

I'm counting this Round Doily from Russian free website as part of 2015 motifs. I finished on my August trip but just sewed in the ends and photographed last night. I made this as part of a tat-along challenge. As with all things I've tried from that website, they don't work out perfectly. You'll notice I missed a join on round 2 and the doily lies better for the overlap of the rings there. I am part of a tat-along group again this year that has 2 more motifs from that site, and I'm not super looking forward to it--fiddly and messy but pretty patterns.

In September I started with the snowflakes and angels. Here are some closeups of snowflakes. Small white one at left is from Lindsay Rogers' book Tatting Collage. The blue ones and gold one are from Lene Bjorn's book of snowflakes. Soooo many snowflakes! The little gold one is made of Sunlight size 60 color Oro from Edda Guastalla's shop.

The blue variegate pictured on its own (below left) is Master size 30 turchese also from Edda's shop.

The white/blue snowflake is from Joelle Paulson's blog, Le Flocon Frivole, near bottom of page linked above. Made of size 20 Lizbeth Blue Ice. This is a super fiddly tat until you get used to how it works. I love Joelle's snowflakes. She models them after photographs of real snowflakes.

The small flower shaped flakes at right are from Jennifer Williams' snowflake book. Made of Range Multicolor also from Edda's shop, glass beads. Wish the picture showed how beautiful this thread is!

I donated 8 snowflakes to our school for their fundraising auction. The majority of the rest I made were for an order of blue and white, Frozen theme, a total of 8 pictured below. I feel like I'm such a slow tatter, but that's a lot of snowflakes!!!!!

The Frozen themed order. Silver and white
flakes with the distinct center ring are also
from Jennifer Williams' book.

I'm getting super frustrated with blogger. The pictures won't go where I want them to! I'll start over with another post--finish up 2015 once and for all. :)

Motifs 28, 29, 30, 31, 32

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 06:23:00 +0000

Not the best pic, but this is a tea towel with a cross stitch band where I sewed on a teapot from Pam Palmer's book Tatting Treats 3 and Anne Bruvold's Square Star. The thread is size 12 Sulky Blendables. I have blogged about this thread before. The variegation repeats are subtle and frequent enough for a beautiful effect on small pieces, such as the Square Star. The towel was a gift for my sister-in-law on her birthday.

Another Square Star earring set I made this summer.
Thread is also Sulky Blendables size 12.

This lovely vintage star doily pattern is from a 50's Workbasket I bought on Etsy. The magazine paper is so crumbly that I took pix so that I don't lose the pattern. I am making it in Lizbeth size 40 Rainbow Taffy with coordinating green. I nearly finished it while on our Virginia vacation in August. There are 8 rays of the star and I think I only have one left, but I took a break from all my doilies to work on Christmas ornaments. After the first of the year, I'll take a picture of all my doily WIPs. My goal is to finish all of them next year. I can do that, no sweat!

I found this amazing blended thread, cotton with a metallic twist, that is smooth and gorgeous to work with. For some reason, the red is the best quality for tatting. It is size 10 Garden Metallic by Nazli Gelin. In the picture with my green/white quilt, the left snowflake is from Lene Bjorn's book 24 Snowflakes and the star on the right is from Monica Hahn's book.

I have found that red is horrible to photograph (at least on my cell phone), hence the two different pix below to try to show the color on the left and the metallic sparkle on the right. Still doesn't do the thread justice.

The Lene Bjorn snowflake is such a beautiful piece! It is all split rings and thrown rings, and I will not be doing another one for a few months due to a repetitive motion injury. It just hurts too much to do split rings, more than a couple at a time. I gave away or sold nearly all my snowflakes and stars but this one is MINE and is hanging on my knick knack shelf in my bedroom.

Above left, both snowflakes are from Jennifer Williams' snowflake book. The yellow/gold snowflake is in Aunt Lydia's size 10 gold with a metallic twist in it, and the blue one is the Garden Metallic with a silver twist. Above right, pattern is from Lene Bjorn's snowflake book and the thread is size 60 Sunlight Oro from Edda Guastalla's shoppe in Italy. This is a delicate little piece that I am also not giving away. :)

I have fallen in love with several of Edda's threads and must curb my habit! The shipping is pretty high to the US but not exorbitant. Here's the website. It's in Italian but she speaks English and you can message her if you need help. Use Google translate button to negotiate the site.

For the 2015 challenge I decided to only count my motifs the first time I made them to make it harder, so no counting any of the Square Stars or the Monica Hahn star. I've made gazillions of both!

Thread Zapper and MORE MOTIFS! #25, 26, 27

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 15:38:00 +0000

So here's the thread zapper:

Thread Zap II by the BeadSmith

I leave the battery loosened when not in use. It's fantastic for using on polyester thread. I've been using it a lot lately working with my gorgeous metallic threads for tree ornaments.

New favorite Lizbeth thread size 40 Rainbow Taffy
Pattern is from Kersti Anear's blog.

Classic edgings in Lizbeth size 20, colors 696 and 655. Gifts for my aunts on our Virginia trip this summer.

Virginia was amazing. Look at the collar I found at the Museum of the Confederacy. The women smuggled these North to sell because there was no money in the South.

This tatted collar is single shuttle, rings only. Very cool to see it in person!

Still more tatting--this is only up to August--to catch up on. I hope to do more blogging tonight.

Catching up (motifs 21, 22, 23, 24)

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 18:57:00 +0000

Two beautiful crosses from Elaine P. Gan's book. Instructions well written and great diagrams. I highly recommend. Thread on left cross is multicolor Range thread from Edda Guastalla's web store. Thread on left is size 40 Celery hand dyed by Marilee Rockley at her yarnplayer shop on Etsy.

This little edging is my own schematic--It's made continuously with split rings. Thinking about using it on a blouse with a boring neckline, but haven't gotten to it yet. I do love it but it's a lot of work with the splits--makes my hands cramp up.

I started this vintage, out of print edging on the train from Utah to Sacramento. Not the best 16 hour trip I've ever spent! It's super fiddly but oh, so pretty. This is done in Penny thread in Royal, size 30 I think, also from Edda's shop.

I bought the pattern from an Etsy shop. I'm sure it's available somewhere for free. I was thinking of it as another possibility for the boring neckline.

I have a bead/thread zapper that cleanly melts the ends so it doesn't ravel, as this thread is super slick, shiny polyester. It is very durable and beautiful in jewelry, and I got a good bit of it in different colors, but it makes me cuss while I use it, so I haven't made any larger projects from it. It's so lovely but it unwinds while using it--no friction. The rings are hard to keep closed as well. Something worth trying to master again, but not at this time.

Completed work: 18, 19, 20

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 19:00:00 +0000

More finished tatting! I donated this Rocking Horse by Pam Palmer from the book Tatting Treats 2 to an online drawing. I love the way the wall hanging turned out.

So here's another wall hanging! The Enterprise, designed by Bat Tatter Carol Amich, pattern purchased on Etsy. Gave to a dear Trekkie friend.

Here's the finished mystery doily from the Craftree tat-along. Must post this onto the Craftree site and get my badge.

Doily and horse in size 40, and Enterprise size 20.

That's all for today. Time to get back to work!

More motifs--I've been too busy to blog! Motif 13, 14, 15,16, 17

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 22:45:00 +0000

I finished this gorgeous Valentine doily from Land of Laces blog!

This is such a sweet piece! The hearts in the center are repeated on the edge. Tip: Don't make 6 like I did. Make only 5 in the center. On rounds 4 and 5, don't be discouraged by rippling because it will all work out once you've finished both rows. I have used size 20 Lizbeth for this doily.

These cute earrings are made from a motif on Anne Brunvold's blog. It is not in the English pattern section. Go to the main blog and use the translate feature on Chrome. I made several of these in different colors using Sulky Blendables, a new thread to me which I LOVE. About 6 yards is required for 2 earrings.

I especially like the short repeat on the thread--perfect for jewelry!

This peach motif I made from a Russian website. I apologize--I didn't record the site!

Pictured here: Left, Mystery Doily from Craftree, Center top and right top, motif from Japanese book (pictured below) and center bottom and right bottom, heart motif from Lyn Morton's book (pictured below).

All these threads are size 40 Lizbeth except the purple one, which is size 20 Twirlz. I like the tweed effect of the Twirlz, but it is hard to see the stitches while working it and you lose stitch definition when complete as well.

As always, I am not counting multiples of same motif in my count.

Motifs 11 and 12, progress on LandofLaces doily

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 12:59:00 +0000

These darling little earrings have been complete for some time, but I finally added the hardware. Ruth's Tatted Heart, motif adapted from a Jan Stawasz pattern in Tatted Treasures, and orchid flower (adapted) by Jeanne Lugert.

Never Smile at a Crocodile by Jane Eborall. I couldn't wait to try this pattern when Jane posted it to her blog! My sister already snatched it for a bookmark.

Below is 3 rows of LandofLaces heart doily. She has canceled the 4-5 rows for now. Eager for them to be redone!

I have several more goodies complete or in the works but no pix yet! Love to see YOUR work too.

Tatting blahs! and more completed motifs (7, 8, 9,10)

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 15:49:00 +0000

UFOs: Jane E's TIAS scissors, Jan Stawasz's Robotki doily, Renulek's 2015 Spring doily, Renulek's 2014 Summer doily, and Land of Laces' Heart doily tat along.

I've made very little progress on the Jan doily since my last posting Jan 21. I made some hearts etc in the meantime, but still...

Renulek started a new tat along doily, pictured above in green/ecru/apricot. I haven't finished that round because the long chains are driving me nuts! I am so tempted to cut the 4th round off and start it over, but I won't let myself, and thus, stalemate.

Pink variegated doily is Renulek's Summer 2014, and I am at a standstill after 9 months of having it folded in a drawer because I cannot find beads to match the ones I ran out of, and I want to look a bit more before cutting the crown row off and doing it over again.

Finally, pink and white is from the Land of Laces blog tat along, and so pretty! The pink section is a single, very complex round. Fun to tat. The outer round has become monotonous--nearly done though.

The hubs was out of town for 4 days, so I tatted tons on the Renulek 2015 and the Land of Laces, alternating until I found myself....
SICK. OF. TATTING.

How could this happen? I am flabbergasted!

I broke up the monotony of those 2 doilies with this:

from Yarnplayer's blog, a Celtic knot shamrock adapted from Ruth Perry's pattern. I was super stuck at how to do the knot, having never done one before, but my tat friend LeQuita pointed me to a video demonstration and voila!

You will never meet someone more stubborn than I regarding doing my projects without tying knots and weaving in ends whenever possible. I made the shamrock in one pass, starting at the little ring on the stem where my paperclip is hanging, then working all the way around to make the leaves in a single pass. Size 8 perle cotton.

This one was for practice while I wait for my green beads to arrive from Fire Mountain Gems. Can't use the ones I got at JoAnn's as they randomly bleed on the thread.

Cute red mitten in size 40 Lizbeth is from Nancy Tracy's bookmark publication, Tat's Where I Stopped. I have made 2 and intend them for tree ornaments.

Such fabulous ideas in her book!

I have made hearts for Valentine's exchange as well though I'm late sending mine out. Heart O' Daisies from Teri Dusenbury's book and Old Fashioned Heart design by Etha Schuette. The daisy hearts are size 20 in white Lizbeth and size 10 Red Lizbeth. The others are pink size 20 and red size 40. I loved that pink so much that I made the Land of Laces doily center with it. It's just beautiful! Doily picture shows the color better. I had to mess with lighting and such to get the hearts picture right--red tatting does not photograph well for some reason. I have noticed this on other ladies' blogs and facebook pictures as well.

I am counting 2 hearts and the shamrock as motifs--not counting duplicates of the same motif.

Progress on the Robotke pattern by Jan Stawasz, new motifs (#6)

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Thu, 22 Jan 2015 03:52:00 +0000

I am about 1/4 of the way around on Round 8, and I'm loving the look of the wide piece of lace created when R6, 7, and 8 are all done! It amazes me that I made something so beautiful.

I borrowed Fox's idea of putting beads on top and bottom of the clover rings. Mine are clear. I started out with green ones, but they were of poor quality and bled onto my lace. ANGRY! Chop chop.

Tiny little ball of thread, size 70, Oren Bayan I got from Tatting Corner

Earrings I made with the Oren Bayan and silver Mill Hill beads. The motif is taken from a larger piece in my Jan Stawasz book.

Motif #5 and TIAS

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 23:19:00 +0000

A Little Owl by Barbara Payne

Day 2 Jane's TIAS

Love these cute owl earrings I made for a friend--may make some for my sister too. I got the pattern from the Palmetto Tatters CD, but you can also get it on Craftree for free.

I've never participated in TIAS before, so this is fun! The shuttle on the right was decorated for me by Susan Fuller.

Keeping busy on the Stawasz Monster Doily too.

New year! 2015 Motifs 1, 2, 3 and 4

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:03:00 +0000

Featherline Snowflake, Jon Yusoff designer

This was tatted in size 20 white Lizbeth, from Jon Yusoff's blog. It was a fiddly tat, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Nice result, hanging on my new shelf DH built and gave me for Christmas.

Could be that the fiddly-ness was my own fault for doing it "my way" instead of following Jon's directions, but I was determined not to cut and tie. Success--made it all in one go!

I made this cute little doll (which has a treasure box in the bottom--opens across the belt to reveal hidden goodies) for my niece for Christmas. We put some bracelets in the compartment, and my brother said she squealed when she opened it, so I guess I "done good" this time.

The kimono has tatted flowers on it, tatted in size 80 Lizbeth Vineyard.

For some reason the spot right in front of the microwave was the only spot in the house I could get good light and get a clear picture of her. haha

Jewelry box doll, crocheted from etsy pattern

I am going to count Chura's doll as a motif, because I came up with the adaptation for her cherry blossom flower myself. :D Super fun. I hope when I get more experienced, I will be able to design things more often.

Pretty sure I executed Heart of Texas by Teresa Woods in one pass as well. Sometimes this stubborn desire results in fiddly-ness, as I mentioned above, and I'm not sure happy with the cleft of the heart on final round, but I'll probably do it again to get it right, because OCD. Completed in Lizbeth red size 40.

Teri Dusenbury's Forever Young pineapple doily

Please check out Teri's blog. She has posted her lifetime's work on it, so generous! Here's the link to Forever Young.

Used size 40 Lizbeth in purple marble. I'm not entirely pleased with my result--I think the range of variegation detracts from the pattern, and the doily ended up very small, only about 6 inches across. In addition, my own execution flaws made it super ripply. I had to modify the final two rounds to get a semi-flat result. Upon re-do, I would likely use a solid color to best show the pineapple design as well as a larger size thread to shoot for 8-10 inches in diameter. I also have some stitch count variations in mind if I would have the same rippling problem.

All the same, it's a lovely little piece and I would definitely try other of her pineapple pieces, which I think are primarily butterflies. I also have Doretha Albee's Pineapple Heaven in the huge list of "stuff I want to tat." :D

Progress on Jan Stawasz doily from Robotki magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 23:58:00 +0000

Motif 26

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 15:37:00 +0000

Pictures of the same motif based on a design from Anne Orr's collection. I had to modify the pattern to prevent cupping.

Thread is #10 white crochet cotton with a silver twist in it.

This thread is soft and more consistent than the Aunt Lydia's but the metal twist doesn't "stick" where it belongs. Aunt Lydia's has the metallic thread wound with the cotton, and the Garden Metallic has it kind of alongside/around the cotton thread. It is NOT good for tatting as the metallic filament stretches and bunches up when closing rings. Result-- a lot of breakage of the filament. I figured out tricks to make it work for me, but I would NOT buy this as a beginner. Aunt Lydia's metallic would be a better choice.

I really like the daisy in the center of this motif. There is a daisy-style center to my star in the previous post, and I've chosen a Jon Yusoff snowflake which also has a daisy center to add to this holiday collection.

Yippee! Motifs 24 and 25, I'm finished!

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 04:07:00 +0000

I tatted both of these ornaments from Monica Hahn's Christmas book. Can't see the sparkles too well in this picture. Made with size 10 Aunt Lydia's metallic gold. Really love these. Hoping to make a bunch for gifts/to sell.

Where has she been? And Motifs 21, 22, and 23

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Sun, 12 Oct 2014 01:19:00 +0000

What happened to the Renulek tutorial, you ask? ARGH! I ran out of beads and stopped working on it. I can't get more of the same beads, and it's just sickening. Disheartened. Put it in the drawer with the other UFOs (unfinished objects).

Never fear, intrepid tatters. I haven't given up on the art, just moved to a different project. Or two, or three...

Jan Stawasz doily from Robotke magazine, Renulek summer doily ALMOST finished round 9

Not content to muck up my Renulek, I also bungled the Stawasz doily.

On the many medallions, I joined them on the arms directly across from each other, which is not as written. Although I checked the pattern over and over again, I still managed to do it W.R.O.N.G. I was super super upset and put this in the drawer for several days as well, but now I've added row 4 and calling it done--saving the medallion chain for something else. I'll start the doily over again shortly.

These snowflakes are from Vida Sunderman's book. Ginny Weathers requested blue snowflakes for an exchange I participated in, and they turned out so nice, icy blue with matching beads.

This hedgehog from Be-Stitched was also made for an exchange.

So the snowflakes and the hedgehog are the next 3 items I'm counting in the 25 motif challenge. I haven't yet decided if I will count my doilies only once complete or separate new elements I learn in them as different motifs. We shall see.

Also making Teri Dusenbury's pineapple doily, called Forever Young, in progress. I'm nearly finished with it--here's a picture from early stages. Teri has generously given most of her patterns to us on her blog, so be sure to check it out (link above).

Non-tatting: finished Susan's monkey!

Thanks to Sue Manger!

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 20:38:00 +0000

This is an unusual blogging day for me. You've had 2 tatting posts and now I have even more to say!

Sue Manger, a friend I have made through internet tatting groups, sent me a package as a thank you for the picture tutorial for Renulek's doily. Totally unexpected!

A bracelet she made with "hand made" on the little hand charm.

Win! Purple is my color, girl, and it fits my fluffy body!

A La Cossette shuttle. Omgosh, I was SOOO thrilled. Sue, this is beyond generous! They are a bit pricey and so pretty.

A spool of pretty glittery blue thread.

And last but not least, some hand dyed lace yarn for knitting. Oh, it's so smooth and soft! I can't wait to try it! I don't knit much right now, but I have been wanting to try knitting lace for a long time, so it will be used and loved. Thank you, Sue!

Renulek Summer Napkin 2014: Round 8 DRAFT WITHOUT PICTURES

noreply@blogger.com (Grace Tyler) — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 17:33:00 +0000

We had family reunion this past week, and I am trying to catch up on my blogging now! Wow, it was fun, and we got to keep my niece and nephew who live out of state for an extra week. Bonus!

This entry provides step-by-step instruction for Renulek's 2014 Summer doily. You will notice I have added a bead to each ray that is not in her pattern.

NOTES: (Please review all instructions for round before beginning.)

For Round 8 you can use a single shuttle and ball thread if tatting in a single color if you like. I used two shuttles because I am using two colors--and I prefer two shuttles. I like the weight of the second shuttle hanging from the back of my hand. It creates additional tension.

If you wish to use beads, you will need seed beads as pictured at right. You can easily follow these instructions without using beads.

Instruction key:
The - represents a decorative picot, and the ^ represents a very small joining picot. If you blow up the picture, you will be able to see the difference in picot sizes. If you see +, that will mean joining picot.

I am left handed, so keep in mind that your pattern may be traveling the opposite direction around the doily. On close up photos for technique, you will need to flip-flop them mentally and envision the mirror image if you are right handed.

I'll begin with stitch count for the round so that if you don't need the pictures, you can get moving without further ado!

R 8+ (join to front of doily) 8 RW
** Ch 8 RW
R 4-4^4-4 (if you wish to add a bead, make sure these decorative picots are a good size) RW
Ch 8 (if using beads, add it with a 0.4 mm hook here to picot from ring, then join to this chain--see pics below) medium decorative picot, ch 8
Lock join to small picot on ring
Ch 8 RW
R 8+ (join to same doily picot as the first ring of the round) 8
R 8+ (join to next doily picot) 8 RW

Repeat from ** around doily.

Pictorial instructions:

Set doily aside. Begin by creating a ring, 8 double stitches. With right side of doily facing, join to previous round at any picot. Finish ring, 8 double stitches, close ring.

Reverse work. Add second thread if you are not using CTW (continuous thread winding or ball and shuttle).