Cats, Bats, Hankies, Leaves and Ornaments

Pamela has been tatting bats and black cats for Halloween using Ruth's Tootie Fruity Bat, the best one done in Coats Red Heart 20. Mark's bat was done in Flora 20 and Mark's design for a cat on a broom was done in Flora 20 also. Check out the spooky collage Pamela made with it all!

Sylvia's blog has exceeded it's transfer limit again this month.


Wendy posted a picture of the quilt she sent to Suzyhomemaker, some of the squares she has woven, and a picture of some of the Halloween witches she has. This is Wendy's 500th post and she's doing a surprise gift give away. Don't forget to leave a comment on her blog.


Anne has picked up some more yarn and now she has the delightful task of deciding what to knit with it.Her nimble fingers have been busy and she's down to the last 10 rows of the Icelandic Fan Shawl. She's also working with some silk yarn and making a scarf and as if that's not enough she's half way through tatting a small motif.
Sarah has been reminiscing about the television she used to watch.

Connie made several baby blankets out of soft and cozy polar fleece, and another one she crocheted. She also posted a picture of the doily she crocheted.

Iris posted Part 2 of her South Carolina adventure. I suppose Iris probably travelled the greatest distance to attend the Palmetto event and contributed to making it another great event. Iris has also been tagged to post 7 weird or random facts.


Norma admits that she already has too many pans in the fire. She's working on the TAST challenge, a CQ winter block, a Secret Santa exchange, and using vintage hankies her mother gave her she has put together a wall hanging for her mother and started another for herself. She included on hers one of the hankies she made with a tatted border. Isn't this a wonderful way to revitalize old hankies that may have stains or rips?
The lock joins necessary to make the Autum leaf from Nancy Tracy's Tat's Where I Stopped have been giving Diane some trouble. Lock joins take practice. You need to make sure the thread is in the proper place before you pull it tight. Diane followed the instructions I gave for putting links in your posts and in your sidebar on Blogger and it just wasn't working. That's because she's using a Mac and I use a PC. After some frustrating changes she now has some icons that work.Bev has been tagged to post 7 weird/random facts.

Ruth has posted a Halloween jigsaw puzzle. The twisted Celtic rings make this delightful snowflake in one round. The Christmas ornament is one that Ruth made for her Mom and Dad when she was about 13 years old and the thread was knit cro sheen so it's about 3x5 inches. Ruth knows the design is in DMC's Festive Tatting from 1983, but she's wondering if it was in an older publication too. Any ideas?

Mark rescued some antique netted lace done in very fine thread. Sadly he also had to attend his lace teacher's funeral. We'll be thinking of you Mark.

Snowy has been tagged to post 7 weird/random facts.

Laura is continuing to tat leaves from Sherry's pattern. She used size 10 crochet cotton for one and didn't like how it turned out, but the size 5 DMC Perle Cotton made a beautiful leaf.
Melissa finally got to meet in person a friend she's had for a year on the internet. Isn't it amazing that we can know so much about people we've never met because of this wonderful thing called the internet.

Sherry has moved the link to the Autumn Leaf pattern to the side bar and she's working on a cover for her book.The November Shuttle of the Month has a lovely autumn tree on it.

Leaves and Hearts, Trees, and Witches

Martha has completed her 25 motives. Actually I think she was finished a long time ago but since she didn't count any of the unsuccessful trials she did while designing, and she couldn't post the pictures of the hearts she did for her book until it was published, she wasn't able to blog about her progress. I still think we'll all agree that she has done an outstanding job.

Bhavani has been making good use of online resources. She looked at the needle weaving from the online class and then took an old motif from the Antique Pattern Library and applied the technique to it. Look at the wonderful effect, and it completely changes the look of the lace.

Wendy is continuing to work on her Halloween yo-yo quilt. The kids are working on quilling and origami ornaments for a decorated Christmas tree contest. And Wendy is still on a quest to learn as much as she can about Oya lace.

Connie has been doing some gardening, and she finished a crocheted doily and some baby blankets, but no pictures yet.

Diane has tatted several little flowers #1, #9, #10, #11, and #15 from Mary Maynard's Tatting Rings of Flowers and displayed them on the woven Double Outline Diamond from the Square Deal Weave-Along. Both the squares and flowers are pretty.

Bob has done a lovely Bonsai Cherry Tree and he's thinking he might do it again in variegated blue for a Willow Pattern effect. Bob has been tagged to post 7 weird or random facts.

Moni has been tagged to post 7 weird/random facts.

Kelly's aunt is home after cancer surgery and now they have to wait for the test results.

Carol is back now that she has a new computer just in time for her to post her newest 3D creation named Calila. A purple and black and green witch, complete with warts.

Ruth has been having adventures in electronics as she learns about pod casting. Now that she has acquired all the right equipment she just needs a script and she'll be off and running.

Arlene tatted this lovely hanky using Lindsay Rogers' pattern from "Tatting for Special Occasions: Edgings" in DMC 70-80 white and pale blue. Isn't it gorgeous?

Mark was inspired by Bedfordshire Lace and used half ring braid, lock stitch chain, and cluny techniques in tatting to make this heart. He used Oliver Twist thread in size 30 but he comments that it normally comes in size 50. I don't know how Mark comes up with so many amazingly different ideas in tatting.

Some folks were having trouble with links and I have added some info to my blog.

Marilee has posted a proposed schedule for dying threads, so you can plan ahead.

Laura has been making more of Sherry's Autumn Leaf, but she found that when she used the larger size 10 thread the hole in the middle left the leaf without structure. So with Sherry's permission she has added some rings to the centre. It took a couple of tries to get it they way she wanted it. It took many more tries to get some pictures of Isaac. Unlike tatting, he wouldn't sit still for the camera.

Sherry has been playing with her Autumn Leaves design and created a wonderful fall necklace with it. Then she did a beautiful card for Mary Konior and followed up by tatting a few more colourful leaves. My dentist used to have a mobile of autumn leaves sealed in plastic hung above the chair. I think a mobile of these leaves would have been far more interesting to look at whilst having dental work done.

Kathy has been on another trip, this time to visit her family, and she returned with lots of tatting to show. The first motif uses a very colourful Manuela size 20 with matching beads in a Workbasket pattern from 1971. The next motif is made with DMC Perle cotton size 8 and the pattern was sent to Kathy along with the bead used in the middle. The edging design is from the May 1948 Workbasket and it's tatted with a multicoloured Altin Basak size 50 thread. The variegated yellow thread is Perfect Quilter and the pattern from the November 1960 Workbasket. She has also posted some pictures of family fun as the clan made beautiful music together.

Wally is moving her blog over to Multiply so little by little she will bring the content into the new blog the link to her 25 Motif Challenge pages is also changing. The new link is on the side bar at the right.

More Tagging than Tatting

Gail has been tagged to post 7 weird/random facts.

Elizabeth created a shuttle design for the TatChat group back in the 90's and she still uses the design today. Here it is as a pin and done again as part of a necklace. Isn't it lovely? Elizabeth has also been tagged to post 7 weird/random things.

For everyone who thinks that dazzling designs drip from a designer's shuttle, Martha shows the slow, steady, scrupulous journey from concept to completion. There are 9 variations shown here for one small heart. Now multiply that by the 19 designs in the book, and Martha has done the challenge 7 times over!Pamela tatted one little mouse with Coats Red Heart 20 and another with Coats Mercer Anchor 20 and there is a significant difference in the finished size. Did you know that the plural for mouse, the rodent is mice, but the plural for mouse, the Manually-Operated User-Selection Equipment attached to your computer is actually M.O.U.S.E.s because it's the plural of an acronym? Last year Wendy's neighbors left a nativity set on their doorstep one piece at a time until the night before Christmas the last piece, the baby Jesus was left and the gifter revealed. What a nice way to celebrate the season! She is working on a Halloween yo-yo quilt, planning it as she goes.

Anne has added the pattern for her dragon wave wrist warmers to her web site.

Sarah has added some books to her library thanks to the book fair, and she did a little weaving just to try out bias weaving.

Joyce participated in the scissors fob exchange and has posted pictures of the fobs given and received. She made one with a button centre and another with beads. Beads do add another dimension to the tatting, but it also takes more time working with them. I prefer bobbin shuttles for working with beads.

Connie has posted the tatting she did while away. Jon's Heart Snowflake was done in DMC Cebelia Size 10 in a pale yellow and Mary's Square Motif was done using a sportweight yarn. Wally Sosa's Base motif #2 was made using Knit-cro-sheen metallic as an experiment. The "Butterfly Snowflake" by Samantha Melinychuk was tatted with Clarks O.N.T 6-cord Size 30 in a variegated blue. She also did a crocheted snowflake as a sample for a friend.

Sapna posts her 19th motif. She's also been tagged to post 7 weird/random things.Norma is recovering from cataract surgery and slowly working on her TAST samples. She has posted some pictures of a round robin CQ block where they are stitching a favorite Bible story or verses and this block has incorporated the lace corner of an old hanky.

Diane is modeling the hats Teri D made.

Bev has completed Mark's bat and it's waiting for Ruth's Tootie Fruity bat to join it.

Kelly aka Catherine has completed the Tatalong motif, Mark's bat and the X of the Cecelia doily but hasn't taken any pictures yet.

Ruth saw a picture that looked so much like tatting, she had to give it a try. Introducing Mr. Clickety Clank the Bone Collector.

Arlene has used the glow in the dark blending filament on another beautiful ornament. It makes ME smile and I can't even see it glow. Arlene has also been tagged to post 7 weird/random facts.

Clyde has been tagged to post 7 weird/random facts.

Mark posted the most gorgeous floral spray using Oliver Twist thread. I'm glad he got the visibility problems sorted out because it's just too beautiful to miss. Mark has also been tagged to post 7 weird/random facts.

Jon has been tagged to post 7 weird/random facts.

I have been tagged to post 7 weird/random facts too.

Snowy has also been tagged to post 7 weird/random facts.

Marilee has a new colourway done called "Winter Blend" in frosty looking blue. Marilee is starting to write down her colour recipes so that theoretically she will be able to reproduce the colourway. Marilee has also been tagged to post 7 weird/random facts.

Laura tatted Sherry's Autumn Leaf pattern in 4 colours and made a small mistake which she didn't notice until the end, so she re-worked it in Gemini Double Strand Crochet Thread by Royale color # 0460 Golden Yellow/Pumpkin and it's a very fall like colour. She may do a bunch of these and create a mobile with them. Laura has been tagged to post 7 weird/random facts too. Marty's sister did this tie dyed long sleeved onesie for a winter baby and Marty added the tatting along the neck using one strand of Gütermann cotton thread and one strand of Signature machine embroidery thread. The diagrammed pattern for it is on her blog. Marty too has been tagged to post 7 weird/random facts.
Melissa has completed the tatted cuffs for her sweater. It certainly adds a touch of pizazz to an ordinary sweater. While she was on a roll adorning winter clothing she finished embroidering the lapels of her jacket and added some beads for sparkle. Doesn't it look terrific?

Sherry received a surprise package in the mail from Diane which included some wonderful tatting threads and the shuttles that Diane blogged about.

Lots of Tatting Treasures

I started this update Friday morning and here it is Monday afternoon and I'm still working on it. Some days it just takes a while to report on all the variety of activities you folks are involved in. I apologize if I've missed anything. Sometimes I notice that things have been updated again after I've gone through the first time, especially when it takes me several days to get through them all. If there's only one blog that's updated I'll include it, but if there are a lot, I'll catch them the next time around.

While Bhavani was browsing the internet she discovered the "Encyclopedia of Needlework" by Therese de Dillmont on the Project Gutenberg site. The on line version is more recent that her copy and has some additions missing in hers. She's settling in to her new home and new job but hopes to have some tatting to show soon.

Wendy has posted some quilt blocks from an exchange and she's still on the hunt for books to make the kind of lace she wants that in are in a price range she can afford.

Sarah has been doing a lot of Christmas knitting and weaving a lot of different squares for the Square Deal Weave Along and just for good measure she got in a little crochet. Still no tatting.

Sapna has been making good use of her Easy Tatting book by Rozella Linden (aka Ruth), tatting a six sided motif, a small heart and a square motif. Lots of quick little tats that look really pretty.

The Square Necklace is another lovely design by Iris that will be in her jewellery book. She's working hard to get as much done as possible before she has to babysit her grandchildren in November. Iris also shares with us more of her Palmetto adventures.
Diane has done some more squares for the Square Deal Weave Along and she has decorated some shuttles for a friend as a gift using the wee tatted pieces made earlier. Sherry has tagged her to share 7 random and or weird things about herself. And Sherry has also helped her with setting up some links.
Kelly has been busy too linking to other bloggers. I don't think it is necessary to ask permission to link to a blog. In fact linking to the one anther's blogs and web pages just makes us all that much more visible. Kelly has been tagged by Melissa to share 7 weird and or random things about herself.

Carol's computer died on her, so no pictures until she has it back. She's been working on some exchange piece that she can't show yet anyway.

Ruth has posted Tootie Fruity The Southern IL fruit bat. The pattern was shared with the online class and in the Tatting Pattern Calendar. Ruth has also launched the first ever, Tatting Podcast.

Arlene has knitted some cozy socks and tatted an ornament from Ann Stearns book using a Sulky blended hologram filament and a glow in the dark thread. Next up she plans to do some angels in the same thread and maybe we have another podcast coming.
Mark couldn't find a suitable birthday card for his Mom so he did a hand made card and he and Kim are making a butter pecan cake cut into 4 horizontal thin layers with coconut pecan filling and maple buttercream icing. Yum!

Jon has posted a daisy picot snowflake with pattern and step by step instructions with pictures. This will be a good page to bookmark so that we can refer people to it.

Snowy has been tagged for 7 random or weird things about herself.

Here are the earrings Marilee did using her new Tigereye thread.

Laura did Martha's Flower Bouquet Heart tatted in Flora size 20 and DMC Cebelia size 20 and had to master the SCMR to do it. She thinks she may frame these to go in her Victorian bedroom.

Marty learned to tat from this Coats and Clark book she bought in 1974. There's some good patterns in those old books, but I agree, I much prefer visual patterns.

Melissa used a pattern Marie Smith sent her to create an edging for the cuffs of a sweater. Her friend Debbie found some wonderful tatting patterns in some old Workbasket Magazines and scanned them so that she could share them on her blog. There are numerous patterns including a tatted alphabet. Melissa has been very busy and has lot of pictures to share of her CQ blocks and silk ribbon embroidery and she's also been tagged to share 7 weird/random things about herself.

Sherry finally got to have her husband home on his birthday. She has also been tagged to share 7 weird/random things. Teri D sent her a wonderful package of goodies including some lovely tatted pieces. The request has gone out for cards to be sent to Mary Konior care of Sue Hanson and Sherry is sending her this lovely autumn leaf she designed made in Ruby 5 thread. Sherry has posted the pattern for it on her blog.

Pigs and Hearts, Stones and Butterflies

Pamela has tatted the onion ring pig found on Jane Eborall's web site in a variegated Flora size 20, then in a brighter pink Flora size 10 and she just couldn't resist the urge to add wings. Of course, adding wings made the pig 3D so she has him suspended in a copper bracelet. Also displayed are her flea market finds of 4 lovely shuttles and a gecko pin.
Wendy's yo-yo afghan has grown big enough to be a bench cover. She's thinking about getting some cookie cutters for stand up Halloween cookies. Wendy has also shown 2 different yo-yo layouts that can be used. One of her other interests is Armenian Lace and she's been looking for all the information she can get on it. Today she has posted pictures of some 4 ring butterflies done in size 10 crochet thread. These will go in the butterfly room.
Anne has been honoured that the folks at Revelry want to use her photo of her Bird’s Eye Shawl as a sample photo for the pattern. She's been knitting some wrist warmers and a colleague suggested she make two more pairs with blue yarn. She bought lots of yarn so now she has enough to make 12 pairs. That's a lot of cozy wrists. Anne says the picture of the dragon wave wrist warmers shows the beads up clearer than they appear in real life.

Sarah has listed a lot of yarn for sale as she helps someone else de-stash. She joined the square deal weave along a couple of weeks late so she's been playing catch up. Also on display are some knitted hats and caps from her new book. Now she thinks she'll work on writing a book of knitted lace. Hey Sarah, when do we get to see some more tatting?

Iris has given a beautiful description of her Palmetto Tat days, with more to come. She picked up a lot of new techniques and tools for tatting and shares with us a picture of a marvellous earring design which incorporates a stone in the centre, surrounded by beaded tatting.
Diane's tatting seems to be more mistakes than successes recently so she's taken a break and done some woven squares.

Kelly started a doily from the Bestitched web site using some vintage size 80 thread that kept breaking. She noticed an immediate difference when she switched to newer thread. She's also started on the Tatalong project using Cebelia thread size 10. Her shuttle tatting isn't looking the way she wants it, but rather than switch back to the needle she's going to persevere. Today her blog is full of the kitty characters she lives with.
Clyde is a great fan of hand dyed threads and he shows off some of the "Leafy" thread he purchased from Marilee's Etsy shop.

Mark posts a picture of a "quicky" bookmark design he created, although if you know anything about Mark, you'll know he consistently wins the Tat Off for speed, so it's doubtful anyone else would call it a quick project.It's tatted is a variegated light blue to lavender Waterlilies silk thread by Caron Impressions that tats up about the same as size 30 cotton thread. Also posted are pictures of some lace finds.
I still don't have any tatting to show, just an embroidered butterfly that really wants to be put out of it's misery.

Snowy can finally say goodbye to the black doily she tatted with Venus thread. The thread was terrible to work with, but just look at how elegant the doily looks.
Marilee has created another colour of hand dyed thread for her Etsy shop. This one is called "Tigereye" and it's used here to try out a new design she is working on.
Laura tatted the "Freeform" heart from Tat's Amore in DMC Cebelia size 20 and it was so much fun, she did it again. The second time it was done in blue and white Flora size 20.
Marty used Motif #5 from DMC's Tatting for Today and some cheap ecru crochet thread to make a tatted mat. She didn't like the results. It got dyed and she still didn't like the results. After some major blocking the picots still won't stay in shape. The outsides can't be stretched enough to keep the insides flat and she's still not happy with it. I feel your pain. I've been there too.
Sherry has crocheted another had and added a matching tatted motif to it. Her new butterfly pattern that will be in her book is called "Cluny Love" and features a flower in each wing with cluny leaves. The model was made using Rubi 5 thread size 20. Sherry's visit to her grandparents let he do some sightseeing and while she was away she created another butterfly. This one is called Queen Alexandra and was also tatted with Rubi 5 thread. Sherry plans to put some of the Rubi thread in her Etsy shop. Her newest purchase, wasn't thread, but a new costume and now comes the tricky part, where does she add tatting to it?