Necklaces, Edgings and Earrings

Tatteristic is trying out some patterns from Mary Konior's book, Tatting with Visual Patterns. Since she wanted to work on edgings, she tatted Curds and Whey using some thread sent in her Handy Hands order which she thinks is Grape Pizzaz. She wanted something almost mindless to work on during the Super Bowl and decided on a simple white edging to add to a burp cloth. Linda belongs to the Vintage Quilting Society and one of their community service projects is postcards for military personnel. This is a sample of the postcards with some additional tatted bits.
Alan has been overcome by cuteness and was compelled to make these super cute teddy bear earrings in silver from Patti Duff's Mini Tats.
Carol tatted Yarnplayer's Keyed Up Earrings in Lizbeth thread over Christmas and is just now showing us the results. She thinks the colour is Sherbet color, but whatever it is she loves it.
Diane's seven-year-old granddaughter, Eva, requested a pink tatted cross. This one is from Mary Konior's Tatting Patterns tatted in Parlen Oren Bayan Dantel Ipligi, size 50, color #066.
Martha has been playing with more buttons and things and she likes the results of some better than others, although the last one here is her favourite so far.

Nita created this design for simple necklace and earrings. It was tatted in Opera size 10 using 5 first half ds in between the pearl and crystal beads.

Pink, White and Green

Fox has been making progress on her pink and white confection. She finished the TAT exercise she was working on but the results weren't satisfactory so she's picked up a new ball of thread in a different colour and plans to start again.
Diane tatted the light green motif from The Tatted Artistry of Teiko Fujito in size 20 Flora #228. The dark green motif is from A New Approach to Tatting by Yusai Shokoin worked in Parlak Oren Bayan Dantel size 50, #063.

Snowflakes, Motifs, Centrepiece and Bookmarks

Carolyn is trying to use up some threads before she succumbs and buys the new threads she wants. This one snowflake is form Festive Snowflakes & Ornaments edited by Barbara Foster in Flora color 2053 size 20 and it measures 4 1/4" across.
Liz recently finished several motifs. The snowflake is based on heart doily by Kelly Luljak tatted in blood red Perle 8. Acacia by Judith Conners was mad in Coats 20 in a blue with some dark blue/purple beads as accent and Sally Magill's MHC Snowflake is done in Lizbeth 20. Of course everyone will recognize the completed Rooster from Jane's TIAS challenge.
Fox is having difficulties with the TAT exercise again and is taking breaks from it to work on this pink and white confection. Wouldn't it look adorable on a little girl? Vanessa tatted Tammy Rogers maple leaf again, only this time she took the plunge and tatted it in size 80 thread.
Bonnie is joining the One World One Heart giveaway For which she has tatted "Poppy" a tatted gecko designed by Jane Eborall and tatted in Sherry's Spring Poppies size 20 HDT.
Anne is displaying 2 centerpieces. The old one had 14 rows and she is using slightly thicker thread and has reached row 11. The new one will be slightly larger.

Diane finished Spinning Wheel glass mat from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior in size 20 Vanilla Sky from Tatskool. The two bookmarks are Stumpy from Kersti Anear. The other little pieces are her favorite way to use up thread on a shuttle, making Leaf Braid from the Konior book.
Laura has finished her Lizbeth mat which turned out to be a robust 20 inches wide. For her previous challenge she did 25 snowflakes, so this time around she's doing bookmarks. She's already completed an adaptation of a pattern from Tatting in Lace by Mary Konior using Coats 40 crotchet thread in ecru. She used Lizbeth 20 in Country Turquoise Lt for 2 designs modified from The Complete Book of tatting by Rebecca Jones and the last one is an adaptation from Tatting in Lace by Mary Konior. She used DMC 20 Cordonnet Special for the joined motifs from the book Tatting by Myra Piper.Finally, she used Lizbeth 20 thread in Mocha for another Myra Piper design. Nita tatted this earring design by Marilee Rockley. She tweaked it a bit and says it's lots of fun and fast to do for gifts.

Hearts, Edgings and TIAS

The question was asked and I repeated it on the tatting lists, what to do with finished motifs. Here are some of the answers:
Scatter them around decoratively on shelves and tables as "mini-doilies".
Put them on cards.
Add a thread hanger to make ornaments or sun catchers.
Join several motifs in a straight row for a bookmark.
Put them on fridge magnets (stitch to a scrap of fabric, glue the fabric on cardboard, glue a magnet to the back of the cardboard).
Attach them to bags.
Give them away.
Use them in mixed media projects.
Combine them into larger tatting projects like dresser scarves or table mats.
Use them as insertions for sheer curtains or hand towels or pillowcases or other linens.
Create a sampler board to display them.
Use smaller pieces in scrapbooking.
Attach small motifs to card stock to make bookmarks.
Sew them to the collars of shirts
Use in crazy quilts or swap with someone who does.
Decorate a stuffed animal with them.
Create scenes and mount in frames or applique to clothing.
Place larger motifs inside acrylic coasters and smaller ones inside acrylic key chains.
Decorate a barrette.
Add some glitz like, feathers, netting, beads or other notions and attach a broach pin to the back.
Make a tissue cover for purse size tissues, or go for a larger tissue box cover.
Iris Niebach suggested that they are ideal for decorating little boxes covered with fabric. Inga Madsen of Denmark taught her how to make such a box and together they will be creating a book so that we can all create decorated boxes.
Just some suggestions for what you can do with the motifs you create.

Isabel has been working with the Spanish group translating the PRISCILLA book. Different people are working on different selections in the book and this is one of the patterns Isabel has been working on. Some of the lovely intricate designs are created with long sections of bare thread which are then worked over in a variety of decorative stitches. In this design the edging is done in mirror strips and the bare threads are covered with needle weaving which creates a solid bar through the middle of the pattern. Bev's flamboyant rooster, the result of Jane's TIAS is perched on top of a cliff crowing for all he's worth. Bev has also pointed out that there are a lot of rooster mug shots that haven't yet made it to Jane's blog for show and tell.
Heather has been doing test samples with her new HDT colours. Rainbow Candy Cane and Wine and Roses.
Marty finished her TIAS but she's wondering if she might be in trouble for showing a naked rooster. Not knowing what she was making, she chose pink for the body and now she's blushing.

Snowflakes, Edgngs, Bonnets and Shamrocks

Fiyero has completed 3 more motifs; "Second Day of December" from Lene Bjørn's "24 snowflakes in tatting" tatted in Omega size 30, Jon Yusoff's "'Quantiesque' Snowflake"tatted using Lady Shuttlemaker's HDT "Helm's Deep" in size 20 and a breast cancer awareness ribbon in pink size 20 Cebelia which will soon be available in his Etsy shop with half of the proceeds to be donated to research.
NancyD has tatted a charming hanky edging which took 5 full shuttles and one whole week to tat. The pattern is from the Helping Hands Newsletter Winter 2009 tatted in Lizbeth size 20 thread and color # 111, Candy Candy.
Fox started her TAT exercise and has this little pile of threads to show for all her hard work. She took a break to tat something fun but the perfectionist in her made that impossible, so she started again. In the interest of something simple and fun she took a run at Sherry's treble clef.

IsDihara hasn't been able to get in touch with the Danish Tatting Guild to see about getting the pattern for the motif Liyarra posted. So while she was waiting to hear from them she enlarged the picture and tried to tat it from there. She didn't quite manage to get it right but tatting in Tatskool's ChocoRaspberry size 40 made her hungry for chocolate. She has finished the Beeton Edge in Bracken Crunch and she is stitching it onto a quilted ball ornament. And just for luck she has a couple more itty-bitty shamrocks from "The Tatted Artistry of Teiko Fujito.
Linda shares with us a CQ block embellished with tatting for the Palmetto's Scholarship program.
Ellen is participating in the One World One Heart event and for the giveaway she will be tatting the name of the winner and mounting it on a ribbon and inserting it inside a sleeve. Check her blog for full details. Heather had a busy day yesterday but she still managed to get some tatting done.
Nita is doing the challenge again for the third time. She's been away from tatting for a while due to some surgery, but she's back at it again and her first challenge entry is a doily by Eileen Stafford. She had already done the doily in dark purple and pink. This time she did it in Lizbeth size 20 purple and lavender.

Eye, Heart, Scarecrow and Rooster

Ann has finished her TIAS and noticed that although it was challenging as a whole, the little bite sized pieces enabled her to tackle it a little at a time and complete a pattern that she would have otherwise shied away from. Wanda tatted one of the hearts from Teri Dusebury's book Tatting Hearts. She repeated a small section of the heart design and attached it to a shirt. Just one of the many uses of a motif.
Carol was delighted to see that the TIAS turned out to be a rooster. After he was completed she did another in different colours to go with a fall display for her dining room table. He fits right in with the scarecrow and pumpkin she tatted, but she's not sure if she'll leave him on the table runner or frame him in the picture she did to showcase him. Marty's niece has to wear an eye patch, but that's OK when Aunt Marty can tat such a scary eyeball for it. When you're 8 being able to scare the boys is FUN. Made with Lizbeth size 40 using a centre rose and some modified block tatting and long picots for eyelashes, it's just a perfect size and perfect effect on the yellow eye patch.

Necklaces Earrings, Motifs and Treble Clef

The Guidelines

1. Permission to copy. When a participant joins they are authorizing us to copy their pictures to be shown on the challenge blog.
2. There is no need to advise the Challenge Team to let let us know when you've added things to your blog. We check all of the blogs when we do an update.
3. We can't keep track of how many motifs each person does. You may post articles of tatting that you don't plan on including in your 25, or you may post a pair of earrings and count each earring as a separate motif. We don't read minds, so it's up to each participant to tell us when they have reached their goal of 25.
4. We know from past experience that the challenge is addictive. If you finish and plan on doing it again let us know so that we continue to check your blog on a regular basis.
5. Whenever you get a chance don't just view the pictures here, take the time to click on the links to people's blogs and read all about what they are doing, instead of just getting the snippets of it here. People like it when you take the time to visit their blog and comment on their work. A lot of the fun of the challenge is that we get to know each other and encourage one another to try new things.

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Tatteristic has tatted Mary Konior's Glass Mat In Lizbeth size 20 and would appreciate any tips you might have on joining the first and last sides together.

Cindy used a motif by Iris Niebach to practice some tatting techniques. She's wondering why everyone tats motifs and what they do with them. If they have 6 points I call them snowflakes and hang them in a tree. If they are square I do a bunch and join them together to make bigger things. If they're odd shapes like hearts or butterflies I applique them onto guest towels, clothing etc. Are there other suggestions as to what to use them for?
Ann has plans to combine tatting with embroidery and she is using a copy of a tatted edging and the fabric she wants to use, that she has sketched some possible variations on. Photo shopping images is also a great way to see what works and what doesn't before you invest the time in it.

Martha has been obsessed with buttons and stone chips and nuggets recently and she has turned them into the most fascinating jewelry. She's wondering is these would sell well on Etsy or if she'd just be wasting time better spent on other things. All of her pieces are unique, but is there a market? What do you think? I can see belly dancers using these as anklets and bracelets.

Sherry has a lovely surprise for everyone in her Mondo Monday Giveaway. Check out her blog to pick up your prize. These totally enchanting treble clefs use a folded ring to make the shape. This large model was tatted in Krystle's "Windbreaker" HDT. Sherry has also been challenging herself to tat with precious metals. It's difficult to work with, but it adds a new dimension to the lace.

Crosses, Doilies, Angels, Hearts, Snowflakes and Roosters

Special Note: Several of our participants create HDT and several are doing blog giveaways or have other noteworthy activities. It would be nice to include them here because this blog attracts a lot of traffic. However, this is a tatting blog and unless there is tatting showing in the picture, it won't get mentioned. So if you want to see it here - add tatting.

Alicia Alba has posted 2 more projects, a bronze and cream bookmark with a split ring border and a completed TIAS rooster. Wendy completed the TIAS and remarks that she would have used brighter colours if she had known what she was making. She used variegated green in Coats 20 for pattern of Holly & Berries by Mark Myers. Jeanie has been tatting and thought it was time to take some pictures. On the left in blue is Quantiesque from Jon's Tatsaway Blog and on the right in wine and pink is Lattice Heart by Birgit Phelps and the bottom motif is a Paw Print by Nancy Tracy.
Sunshinecraft was holed up in a training room for a couple of weeks without internet access, which was a good thing because I've had the wrong link to her blog and while she was tatting and posting I kept checking her blog post for January 1st. So here to play catch up are all the lovely things she has been doing. She made this lovely pink motif from a Japanese tatting book to practice her Josephine knots. Then to get comfortable tatting with beads she made these beaded edgings using some chunk silk she had from making thimble rings. She is working on a collar using DMC perle 12 The collar has 13 small motifs making for lots of ends to hide. She got down to the last row around the collar and worried that she wouldn't have enough thread to finish it. No worries. here is the completed collar and enough thread left over to tat a little butterfly. Now she's on to practicing cluny leaves and her strips of nice looking clunies are getting longer.

M tatted the Third Day of December from the book 24 Snowflakes in Tatting by Lene Bjørn in Lizbeth size 20, col 613 & col 623 & col 680. It looked so much like a flower when she started it that she began again in floral colours. It's a stunning motif. Wouldn't a bunch of them together look lovely as a shawl? Wouldn't a shawl like that be a stinker to wash and block?
Linda has a funky rooster, created when she did the TIAS and forget to change threads and didn't add a bead, otherwise he's perfectly funky.
Ancolie's new motif is Améthyste" by Pascale Provost.
Aileen is having a giveaway and among the prizes are a tatted lipstick/chapstick holder in your choice of colour and a crystal angel handphone dangle with lace wings. Check her blog for details.

Diane tatted 3 "Christina" from Tatted Bookmarks - cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn
from one 50 yard skein of hand-dyed thread size 30 "Forest" from Yarnplayer. The next cross pattern is from Tatting Patterns by Mary Konior and the thread is Parlak Oren Bayan Dantel Ipligi #063, size 50. The last cross in the same thread is "Monica" from Tatted Bookmarks - cross-shaped by Lene Bjorn. Ellen tatted Isabel's name in pink variegated Gutermann Sulky Cotton 30 thread which is one of her favourite threads. The four ATC fabric cards have the tatting glues in place. A fifth card has already been traded. Here is a tree full of really cute tatted owls. The hand sewn fabric tissue holder is decorated with a section of scrap tatting Ellen received from Jon.
Jeff, like a number of other tatters has been busy working on a Mary Konior design in her memory. What he chose to work on was Windmills. Why the design is called windmills isn't apparent until you see several of them joined like in the doily Jeff created. One motif shows a spiral effect, but when joined together you do see the windmills. In addition to windmills he has completed Jane's rooster in Lizbeth size 20 in colour numbers 656 (Dark Wedgewood Blue) and 142 (Turquoise Twist), along with DMC Cordonnet size 20 (White), which turned out to be good colour choices.