Another tatter joins the challenge

Clyde has tatted a row of hearts in red and given us a brief review of his thoughts of 2006.
Laura is working on a friendship doily and she has posted her centre and it's just darling.
LaRae shows us another of her favorite patterns. Very simple, but will you look at the gazillion precisely even picots!

Welcome Charlene our newest participant. Charlene has just decided to join the challenge but she tatted these pieces in November and will be including them. The motives already completed are snowflake, tree, bell and swans.

Reflections on the past

We're winding down 2006 and this challenge that was begun in the summer is half over. Several of our participants have finished their 25 and started another 25. The stimulation of participating together has made us all better tatters and better designers. We have watched a number of people go from baby steps into becoming accomplished tatters, several people have been challenged into trying their own designs. Everyone has created the most wonderful amazing laces and we have made the world around us more beautiful. Many of the pieces that were created for the challenge have been shared with the tatting community and we are all the richer for it. Way to go tatters, you all deserve a pat on the back for a job well done.

Ruth has listed her reflections on tatting in 2006. Definitely food for thought.

Sharon shows us what cranberry looks like in tatting.

Marilee has done another pair of her block tatting angel earrings, this time in red.

LaRae shares a walk down memory lane with a You Tube video.

More Christmas Tatting

Mark had an opportunity to tat over the Christmas holidays and he has created a number of intriguing pieces. These designs are a take off on Bedfordshire bobbin lace. A snowflake, a bell, a round medallion and an adorable candle complete with a little handle.

Maria designed this little motif all on her own just to wish everyone Merry Christmas.

Carol shows us some of her favorite Christmas decorations both inside and outside the house. She had some lovely items sent to her in a Christmas exchange, a lovely bag with tatting and some decorated shuttles, and since Carol loves Halloween another partner sent her an exquisitely done bat necklace. Today she has posted the gifts she sent out to her own partners, Santa and Reindeer napkin rings. How clever is that?

Marilee has created some lovely earrings using block tatting.

Want to see a young Santa in training? Just look in Laura's blog and while you're there check out the purple snowflake.

LaRae has done Eva's Heart, it's a favorite of hers. She shows us the motif in both white and purple.

Martha gave some wonderful tatted bookmarks this year. She did Julie Patterson's Candy Cane ornament and added some decorative picots, and then gave it a tassel. She also did her cross pattern called Diamonds and Pearls and the Flowery SCMR Bookmark by Jane Eborall.

Dawn has been having trouble sleeping so she has been working on a celtic cross pattern from Ruth's book.

Sue has uploaded pictures of the tatting she sent out. Earrings, a picot gauge with a tatted fob, a beaded cross and a decorated shuttle were some of the items included.

Time for quiet reflection

After a busy few days with a flurry of new laces, the last couple of days have been quiet. Time for everyone to slow down and just enjoy family and friends.

Donna has had a very full life for the past few months, but now that the Christmas break is here she's been able to do some tatting she has begun with Masquerade, a motif from Tatting With Visual Patterns by Konior. This motif was done in size 10 Cebelia in a vibrant Scarlet colour.

Laura shows us an early Christmas present, a lovely cabinet to store all of her supplies in. She has also tatted Sharon's snowflake from the newsletter.

LaRae tatted a candy cane from Vida Sunderman's book, Decorative Tatting. This design uses a pipecleaner to give it colour and help it keep it's shape.

Winter Wonderland or Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Mark has posted some lacy pictures, but they're the kind created by ice laden trees.

Dawn has done another 3D picture ornament. This one is in a variegated blue with an altered stitch count. It's amazing the different look you get from subtle little changes.

Sue is fond of saying, "I don't do big." but in the arena of "small" she has done oodles and oodles of tatting. There's a whole choir of angels in all kinds of shapes and colours and a bevy of beaded wreaths, along with some slightly larger earrings, complete with jingle bells.

O Christmas Tree, with Snowflakes and Shamrocks?

Ruth has posted a shamrock. It's a little early for wearing the green, although with the warm weather we've been having it doesn't seem much like it's winter.

Carol shows us her Christmas tree full of hand crafted ornaments including tatted ones of course.

Marilee has tatted Samantha's butterfly snowflake. Isn't is cute?

Christmas lights and crimson snow

Diana has very busy and hasn't had much time to blog. She created a very Christmas-y necklace using little Christmas light beads on a split ring band tatted in red thread. It looks like there's some jingle bells on this necklace too.

Laura has created a snowflake inspired by one shown yesterday. It just goes to show you that two people can tat something that looks the same visually, but the process they go through to make it, may be very different.

Hearts, Flowers and Snowflakes, Oh My!

Wally shares an adorable motif in Maltese tatting. She has also posted a Fluff Picot motif where the picots are cut and the thread frayed. Both of these patterns are available from her web site.






Suzy Snowflake is the name of the motif Ruth posted. Eight long arms with a flower at each tip.









Barbara has posted a motif from Tatting With Ann Orr which she has done in size 40 ecru.






In lieu of tatting Laura has posted some awesome sunrise pictures taken from the restaurant. Sunrise? At the restaurant? What time did you get up for this?


LaRae shares a picture of some corporate tatting that will be used for demos.The Shuttlebugs passed this project around and it grew into Grandma's Flower Garden. The pattern is from Mary Maynard's book, "Tatting a 4-Square Ring".








Dawn has made another 3D picture ornament. This one is only 2 rounds.

It's snowing tatted snowflakes

Arlene has been tatting more snowflakes and prolonging the tatting so she can enjoy it for longer.

Clyde has been tatting more of Rebecca's crosses, in between walking the new puppy and making rum balls for his kids.

Mark is still trying to recover data from his hard drive crash. What a devastating thing to happen. We don't realize how much we have come to rely on these old circuit boards and memory chips; until they don't work.

Jon has posted the picture for a beaded snowflake and shares the pattern for it with us.

Riet has posted 2 lovely snowflakes done in metallic thread and like all of us she's been tatting, tatting and tatting.

Sharon has posted a snowflake that's in her newsletter.

Snowy is showing us all of the lovely motives she made mounted on cards to be used as Christmas greetings. Christmas cards aren't as popular in France so Snowy has used colourful recycled paper to mount her tatting. It does look different with the different backgrounds.

EeKoon has done a review of her crafts for 2006.

Laura shares a picture of her tree covered with tatting. It's so beautiful I want one of my own.

LaRae shares a picture of her peppermint doily. It looks good enough to eat.

Dawn has re-done the candle in 3 colours so that she could have a yellow flame. She has also added a 3D snowflake with her daughter's picture in it.

Glowing snow and purple haze

Arlene has been tatting snowflakes from internet patterns, iuncluding the one recently shared with the tatting lists by Ben Fikkert. She has used glow in the dark thread for some of them, I wonder how it will look? If all the lights are off, would it look like a snowy night?

Mark has been having major computer problems at work and may have lost a lot of files including some personal files. Lets hope the hard drive isn't fried.

Christmas is purple at Carol's house. There aren't any new motives to look at, but you'll love all the tatting that's on her purple tree and purple wreath.

Earrings, Candycane, Doily, Moose

Ruth shows us a Celtic Ball with Hanging Cluny Poinsettia.

Maria has been busy teaching 3 year olds and getting them ready for Christmas so she hasn't had a lot of time to tat, but she has managed to do a beaded edging and some beaded earrings.

Marilee is also working on earrrings. Who wouldn't love these delicate treats with the name Quickie Snowflake Earrings?

Laura has tatted more candy canes blending colours together for a different effect. She's also managed to complete her challenge, but like several others have done, she's thinks she's going to start over again.

LaRae tried the Tatted Star Doily from the Winter 1998 edition of Old Time Crochet in green, which didn't fit in with the colour scheme for the Dodge house Christmas tree, but it is pretty.

Dawn has added some wired wildlife to her blog. She tatted Dianna Stevens moose in wire and then did Ruth's celtic butterfly with the outline in wire. After all that wire work she switched to Clea cotton to tat the candle from Nancy's Be-stitched page.