Doilies, Critters, Hearts and Flowers

Lynda has been working of several tatting projects and planning a 50th birthday party for her husband so she hasn't had a lot of time for taking and posting pictures. We'll have to wait until she's had time to recuperate and do some blocking and picture taking.

Wendy has no time for tatting, she's just too busy with embroidering quilt blocks, participating in exchanges, going to a conference, uploading pink pictures to the Passionately Pink for the Cure site and making salt dough for her kids to use.

Anne has been posting some lovely sunset and sunrise pictures and has kept up with her knitting projects. Whether, tatting,knitting or crocheting, it's always the same with large projects. The bigger they get, the longer it takes to complete a row.

Sarah has been cataloging her books in Librarything and she's displaying several hats she made for a baby.

Sapna has posted a whole collection of things she has done recently. The heart shaped motif from Tatting Patterns and Designs by Gun Blomqvist and Elwy Persson was done twice because she didn't like the brown colour of the first motif. She used the green thread purchased from Marilee as an accent colour on the square motif from the same book. The basket from Gina's blog was tatted in size 20 crochet thread and the green 5 sided motif another of the Blomqvist and Persson designs. The Rosette is a design from Georgia Seitz' web site. The four leaf clover was tatted with Marilee's thread. While attempting the Rosette Sapna created these little earrings, and now that she has experimented a bit she thinks she might try it again with beads.
Norma continues to work on the TAST challenge and she has been experimenting with dyeing some cloth. She attended the 41st Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale Quilt Auction with her son and posted some lovely pictures of the quilts they saw.

Diane has finished 2 more of Mary Konior's Bell Flowers in size 20 Flora. Inspired by Mark's posting about working in fine threads, Diane tried the Briar fragments in King Tut quilting thread, color #934 and was amazed at how tiny a piece of lace she was able to make. She laid it on one of the squares from the Square Deal Weave-Along to photograph it. Then she decided to make more squares so that she could see the diamond pattern emerge.

Bev has posted a picture of a spectacular sunset and the tatted fan with the tassel and a fastener large enough to accommodate embroidery scissors that she made for her exchange partner in Singapore.
Kelly got an opportunity to tat some awareness ribbons and she'll post pictures when she's had time to block them.

Clyde has posted a picture of his miniature orchid that's in bloom .Anemone is finished and looks simply gorgeous.

Mark spent a hot weekend demonstrating at one of the local heritage shows and had several familiar visitors come to sit and tat with him. Mark was asked to make a pair of doilies by a friend and he has chosen to tat "Mom's Pink Doily" from Nancy's Bestitched web site. One down, one to go.

I have added instructions on how to do a screen capture to get a picture for when just highlighting doesn't work. I spent the weekend climbing the ladder into the attic and helping hubby haul out 30 years worth of STUFF so that the contractors can come in and re-insulate it. Twelve hours of hauling heavy boxes of metal parts out of a fiberglass filled attic and down the ladder and then downstairs left me exhausted and sick, which is why the challenge page hasn't been updated. I'm still dealing with laryngitis and a low fever, but at least I'm awake. I did manage to finish off the modifications to the collar for my sister in time to take it down to Hamilton on Wednesday when I went to the surgeon for and independant assessment, but that's about it on the tatting front.

Snowy took a survey and shares her answers.

Marilee has posted pictures of several items that she is submitting to a lace exhibit. There are several collars, a neckpiece that was the beginning of her necklace designing, the centre part of Ben Fikkert's "Noel" in the book "Floriade", weaving with tatting incorporated and a heart from one of Elgiva Nicholls' books. These aren't part of the challenge, but they certainly are worth looking at. If the images were copied here, they wouldn't be large enough to do them justice, so go check out her blog.

Laura tatted "Star #1" from the Blomqvist and Persson book in Altin Balsak, but she found the thread a little soft.She has finished attaching the critters to the arm of the jacket and tried taking a picture of it in the mirror. What a wonderfully novel jacket.

Marty tatted Lucky Clover from the Blomqvist and Persson book in "Jewel of the Nile" King Tut quilting thread. It measures about 6.25 inches (16 cm) in diameter. She doesn't have plans for it so it might end up as a gift.Melissa shares some CQ treasures she received, a purse she created with a pair of CQ blocks, and a tutorial on how to make a Spiderweb Rose in silk ribbon embroidery.

Sherry has Martha Ess' book "New Critters on the Block" and plans to try some block tatting. She has been working steadily on editing her book and took a break from it to go hiking and post some lovely autumnal photos.

The California Poppy pattern was shared with the online class by Lyn Morton. Wally used 2 tones of yellow, the darkest in the center and she added an extra repetition on the 2nd motif so it was a little bigger.

Lions, Snails, Butterflies, and Snowflakes

Elizabeth posts a pattern of mine she calls "graduated circle." that she mainly uses for earrings, but here used it in a pendant for a tatting exchange run by Mary Donahue. Elizabeth would like to have some "play" time for some abstract or asymmetrical designs, but she's just too busy keeping up with the demand for her tatting. Well, Elizabeth, that's what you get for being popular!

Pamela's playing with Lions. She did both versions of Martha's lions and I have to agree that I like the fluffy mane lion better than the curly one. The fluffy one is done in Coats Aida 10 and is 6cm tall and the curly lion is made from Coats Madura Red Heart 20.

Wendy posted pictures of the cookie house her kids decorated for Halloween. The girls did a geography report on Brazil and they collaborated on the poster, but did separate reports and sang Happy Birthday in Portuguese.

Sapna is still fighting with clunies and onion rings, so to take a break from them she tatted the round motif from Melissa's blog in two colours, a little heart in blue and her first butterflies. The pattern form the Gun&Elwy's book done in one colour AKA Laura's 2 colour Pyramid motif, was done in Rose's crochet thread size 20.

Diane has indulged herself with hand dyed threads from Marilee, and a ceramic shuttle from Sherry. She tatted Mary Konior's Bell Flower from "Tatting with Visual Patterns" using the lovely green "Leafy" dyed thread and now she can't decide what colour to use to tat the other parts of the motif. She has joined the Square Deal Weave-Along and she thinks she'll add her motives to the woven background. Now does she make 3 blankets for her grandchildren or make little bags?

Bob started off trying to make a heart, but it's turned into a really cute snail.

Ruth has a new book almost out called " Tatted Butterfly Garden" and she's taking pre-orders for it. Lots of lovely butterflies and flowers.

Clyde's at row 7 on the Anemone doily. Lots of little motives to join together on this one, isn't it pretty?

Some time ago my husband Rob, started some software and then he got too sick to work on it. PDFPick is done now and can be used to catalog all of your PDF files like the ones from the online class or from any of the web sites that share vintage patterns and magazines in PDF format. It's a great way to keep track of all of the craft files you have and it lets you keep a record of the description of what's in them along with a picture from the file so that it's easy to recognize. There's more about it on my blog and on my web site. For subscribers to my newsletter, it's a great way of finding the pattern you want.

Laura tatted this snowflake from the Tat-Along project in size 30 DMC Cebelia in pink and white, but she really wanted to do it in red and white.

Sherry crocheted a hat in chartreuse and added some sprightly blue and yellow tatted flowers for accent.It's really cute!

Cats and Flowers, Hearts and Critters, tatting of all kinds

Pamela has been making lots of cats from Martha's book and decided to try for a Siamese cat. The first attempt was close, and she thinks her second attempt is just about purrrfect.

Wendy is working on a yo-to swap, and planning to make a Halloween cookies house with her kids.

Anne has posted an autumn picture of the moon low in the sky.

Laurie has done a tutorial on making a dream catcher postcard and she's working on plastic canvas Letters for the kindergarten class.

Sarah's technical glitches have been worked out and she's back to blogging about knitting.

In addition to working on her TAST samples, Norma has tatted the Simple Flower Heart from Martha Ess' new book "Tat's Amore" using #20 Anchor thread and the same thread was used for Connie Strobel's fan design. The "Elegant Coaster" designed by Linda S. Davies was also done with Anchor #20. The change in the appearance of the thread colour is simple due to the change of the background.

Clyde is up to row 6 on "Anemone" and so far the colour variations seem to be swirling out from the centre.

Mark has been working with some very fine vintage rayon thread and he has plans to make a number of motives and attach them to tulle for a shawl or cloth or veil, he's not sure just what it will be yet. Also posted are some yummy pictures of the cake and the room they decorated for the wedding.

Jon has done a wonderful tutorial on how to tat around a plastic ring and attach a motif into the centre of it.

Snowy has adopted 4 kittens that were sadly in need of care when she got them. Now they are more robust and becoming very helpful with her lace making.

Marilee has used her hand dyed threads to tat a version of Mary Konior's Briar fragment. This piece will be used on some note card.

Laura has posted pictures of her favorite subject, Isaac, although she admits she had to snap fast before he moved. She has managed to sew the critters she tatted onto her denim jacket. She's got a couple more to add, but she had to take a break from using the invisible thread. That stuff holds well and is invisible but it's like trying to work with a coiled spring.

Sherry has introduced a shuttle of the month at a discounted price. The October shuttle has a lovely orange pumpkin on it. A note on the Tatted Ring of Bloggers, it is apparently incompatible with Yahoo 360.

Wally designed "Rose's Peace" incorporating some mother of pearl tear drops she got in Cairo. She's hoping to find a gold shank button to fit in the centre so that it can be used as a pin.

Tatted Bells, Butterflies and Black Swans

Terry took all 13 of her tatted bells to Palmettos.This is one of the old bells, "For Whom The Bell Tolls" from the 1st book, "Tatted Ornaments" done in 2 colors with added Swarovski crystals. She spent a lot of time in the hospital with her BIL and started one of the hearts from Martha Ess' new book "Tat's Amore" but she forgot the book and had to "wing it" for part of the pattern. The variation looks good doesn't it?

Pamela couldn't find a pattern for a black swan so she used Martha's block tatted pattern for a white one. These swans are swimming in their own tatted pond.

Wendy is crocheting a lot of hexagons to create a skirt or blanket using scraps of vintage threads and working out a pattern for some gauntlets.It seems like there was a sudden snowfall in her neighborhood.

Anne has been knitting finishing up some old projects and starting some new ones.

Sarah has been busy with knitting and spinning and trying to figure out some Japanese instructions.

Joyce has finished a baby quilt in blue yellow red and green which are appropriate colours when you don't know if it's a boy or a girl.

Sapna is struggling with clunies. The first is right but the second just doesn't look right so it's cut and star t again. So she's given it a break to do onion rings, only they aren't co-operating either.

Diane tried using the thread ends to attach a motif but the thread was too thick and it didn't look any good. So she got out all of her motives and hid all the ends - much neater looking.

Bob has worked out a new design that he calls Harlequin and has shared the pattern with us. You have to be on your toes to keep track of the colour changes in this one.

Moni took a little 3 sided motif and turned in into a little doily.
Kelly is trying to cram some tatting time between jobs and not having much success.

Ruth shows us the Celtic Knot butterfly for N.C. class students to try. I love it!

Clyde continues on with the Anemone doily and the next rows add contrast in colour and in the tatting. The first rows were bare of picots and the next row has and abundance of them. The 5th row adds some separation from the denser earlier rows to give some contrast in texture too.

Marilee has added some eye popping colours to her hand dyed thread and created earrings and pendant with them. She is all the rage on topicraze and is celebrating by putting some of her thread on sale in her Etsy shop.

Laura's newest motif is from "Tatting Patterns And Designs" by Gun Blomqvist and Elwy Persson tatted with DMC Pearle Cotton #12.

Melissa has been working steadily on her CQ bedspread and she's thinking of doing some more blocks to create a wall hanging and co-ordinate the whole room. She had planned on adding the tatted fern, but for got about it. There will be more blocks she can add it to.

Sherry has made some ceramic reindeer bells that she plans on adding to her Etsy shop. The snowflake that she tatted has been added to the crown of a knitted hat and more "Diane" shuttles are in the works.

Kathy used an interesting 4 strand thread called "Enjoy" a 100% Cotton Lace Yarn in size 40 to tat this Workbasket motif.

Snowflakes, Doilies, Critters, and Another Dress

Lynda is working on tatting a cover for a communion set the her father, a retired minister uses when he visits folks. It sounds like it's going to look lovely.

Martha tatted Jane Eborall's frog from the Palmetto Tat Days. She didn't have the right beads for the eyes so she wants to do it again when she gets more beads.

Wendy is crocheting flower blocks from scraps of vintage threads to make covers for a bed or maybe 2 or maybe….She hasn't decided yet and things may still change.

Connie tatted Linda S. Davies' "Elegant Coaster" design using DMC Cebelia size 10 thread in color #745 Banana Yellow.

Kelly joins the challenge and she has 2 motives completed. The first motif is Nancy Tracy's "Pretty Tatted Kitty" from the Be-stitched website needle tatted in size 20 thread. The second motif is the Rabbit from Lisa Trumble's web site shuttle tatted in size 20 thread.Anne's job sent her to Longyearbyen where she saw the northernmost sundial in the world which was designed by Louise Rigozzi, who Anne knows. She had enough time while away to start an Icelandic fan shawl and when she returned she had received her invitation to Ravelry.

Sarah has added a YouTube video to her web site as practice for doing hairpin lace tutorials.

Diane tatted "Posy" from Mary Konior's book "Tatting with Visual Patterns" in a variegated size 20 Flora thread and had enough left on the shuttle to do "Honesty" another pattern from the book. Then she tackled "Stella alpina" from Iris Niebach's "Tatting Fantasia" ans she loves how it fits together.

Clyde has begun his new doily "Anemone" from Tatting Doilies and Edgings by Rita Weiss.

Mark has added more pictures of his trip to Colorado to his album. The demonstration on the weekend went really well and now they get to concentrated on decorating the gymnasium to make it look like something other than a gym and make and decorate the cakes for the wedding this weekend.

I posted a picture of a tatted dress made by Sheila Dusome. It's been worn by 2 generations of tatters.
Snowy was talking to Laura and that prompted her to get out her bobbin lace to make a bookmark. Shown on her blog is a roller pillow with the bookmark in progress.

Melissa has finished another round robin block and it looks superb.

Sherry tatted this snowflake from DMC's Tatting for Today #15209 "Tree Top Ornament" and now she's wondering how to stiffen it.
Wally has added a small rosette to her flower designs. This one is from an antique book, but she can't remember which one.

Flowers, Critters and aTatted Dress

Elizabeth tatted this design using a copper thread that gives a lovely effect. The thread is a stinker to work with, so she doesn't make any large projects with it.

Pamela loves Marth Ess' critters. Her newest additions are the tigers done in Flora thread sizes 10 and 20. It's the perfect colour for these little guys.
Wendy has a yo-yo tutorial on her blog and she's been having some fun spelling with decorative blocks.

Sarah has added a new knitting pattern to her site and her books have arrived. They passed inspection so now they are in the shop for sale.

Connie has been packing for Sukkot and wondering if she's packed more projects than she needs. One of her projects is stalled a little as she fixed a problem with broken thread. The motif is one of Jon's designs "Hearts Snowflake" made with Omega size 50 thread she received in an exchange.

Norma has been stitching for the TAST challenge and working on a CQ block. She has also posted some pictures of the ceremonies at Virginia Military Institute where her granddaughter is a cadet.

Bob has posted pictures of the 4 legged family members and the amazing cluny leaves and flowers he designed. He's not sure what to do with it, but maybe it would look good on a denim bag.

Bev did Sue Hanson's one pass fan and says it's great for practicing split rings. Now all she has to do is add beads and a tassel on the bottom.
Ruth taught this little birdie at Shuttlebirds, and in N.C. this year. After Palmetto's she stayed with Katie and this is the one that Katie tatted.
Clyde has plans to tat a doily using some of the wonderful Hand Dyed Hues thread and he's wondering if he should post pictures in progress or wait until it's done. Sign in to vote for your choice.

Mark has posted some pictures of his 2 felines and will be posting more pictures from his trip soon. He and Kim have lots of decorating work to do for the upcoming wedding and just to make things interesting they have a lace and silk ribbon embroidery demonstration to do this weekend.

The Mobile Tatter's Guild in Mobile, Alabama purchased this dress, hat and purse which were found in an attic. Laura's friend, Elizabeth, who is a member of the guild is the model for the dress. Laura has also opened an Etsy shop where she has a collection of crocheted items and a needlepoint bench cover for sale.

Charlene has posted her pictures from Palmetto's where she took several workshops. She did folded rings with Marth Ess. The Footprint, Angel, Shamrock, and the beginnings of a Daisy are the items she has to show. Then she did the Flower Wreath with Karey Solomon. She took the Cluny Flower Bookmark with Mimi Dillman, but will need a little practice on that one, and then it was on to Jane Eborall's Red Eyed Frog. Afterward she picked up "Tatting Patterns" by Lyn Morton from the sales room and she's already done a beaded butterfly from the book using some of her new threads.

Melissa shares some wonderful fabrics and laces she was gifted to help embellish her CQ bedspread.

Wally's 3D Sunflower is tatted with an Egyptian thread, El Beida cotton perle # 8.