2009 Changes to the Challenge

Administration note:
We currently have 33 first time participants and 15 repeat participants in the challenge, which means that the update team has to visit about 50 blogs to present the information in a condensed form for your enjoyment. In the past we have also visited the blogs of 25 past participants who continue to post lots of fun tatting things. Because the participation has grown so much we just can't keep up with it, so we will no longer be visiting the blogs of past participants and reporting on it here. However if there is good reference information like the tutorials Jon has done, or something of special note that we become aware of we will try to make mention of it. You will notice that the links in the side bar have been broken into current and past participants so that you can easily check any of the links for yourself at any time.


Kelly is new to the challenge and she already has her first 3 pieces done. Her first motif is the Celtic Style Christmas Wreath by Birgit Phelps done for an Iris friend. The snowflake is from Ruth Perry's (Rozella Linden) book Easy Tatting. Her third motif is a square version of the snowflake from the same book that she plans to keep adding to and make a table runner. Angie has the second round on the toe of the baby bootie done.
Steph's second motif is Pam Palmer's Miniature Peacock from Tatting Treats, tatted in Sherry's size 80 'Helms Deep' with blue beads for the eyes in the feathers. His body is DMC color 3747, very light gray.
Vinnie finished off the cross she had been working on and the colour choices really make the pattern pop. It's in the Priscilla Tatting Book1 available from the Antique pattern library. She used split rings for the corners and avoided an lot of extra ends to hide. Here's the finished celtic motif she was working on and it looks like the stitch count worked out. I think it's pretty terrific for a design worked on the fly. Just to use up the thread on the shuttles here are some little squares.
Wanda tatted Micheal's snowflake,made in DMC size 10 with silver beads. The red one is one she designed a few weeks earlier, in maroon DMC size 10, with white pearl beads.
Carolyn has tatted Simplicity by Lyn Morton from "Tatting Patterns" in size 10 thread and it's 2 3/4" across.
Heather tatted this small motif with her "the tropics" HDT and she thinks her shuttle tatted chains need a bit of work. She started playing with a 2 shuttle piece which eventually evolved into Teri Dusenbury's Wheel of Fortune Snowflake Pattern in her curried pink HDT and white. The pink should be in her shop soon.
Joy finally got around to sewing the lace onto a pillowcase that she's had finished for weeks. The picture and the lace are a perfect match.
Wally finally has an internet connection again and although she's been tatting she hasn't been able to post anything. This heart is her newest challenge motif a pattern by Nancy Tracy from Be-Stitched. She used the pink and blue El Beida perle #8 I had left on the shuttles.

New Member's and Lots of Snowflakes

Jill starts of the tatting challenge with a bang with two motif's. The first is
a simple snowflake pattern from Myra Piper's book "Tatting". It is the #5 snowflake pattern tatted in size 40 thread. The second is Jon's "Quantiesque" snowflake in quilting thread.

Angie has started the 25 motif challenge with a bookmark that she made using the pattern of the center of Jon's snowflake. Steph has tatted Ladyshuttlemakers Royal Diadem in HDT Pansy size 50. It turned out beautifully. Anne is introducing Ringtrim, a micro dragon that she designed.

Tattingchic shares 17 unfinished objects and works in progress. Since they aren't really challenge pieces you can check out her blog to see the rest of them. This one border for a linen circle with needlelace centres.

Ancolie has tatted 3 small doilies for the challenge. Two in white and one in blue.

Vinnie tatted a cross and snowflake but is not sure if she wants to use them as part of the challenge.

Carolyn tatted Marilee's "Joyful Bell" in size 10 thread and it's 2.25 inches long.

Jeff did Lenore English's "January Reflections" snowflake for motif #17 of the challenge in Cebelia size 30 thread in colour # 797. Diane is doing the challenge again and has posted her first two motifs.

Jon shows how Gina turned her Quantiesque snowflake into a bookmark and it's give her ideas for some of the motifs lying around in her tatting box.

Laura has tatted Pansy Angel with the pattern from Blossoms and Blessings Designs and it is done in HDT. Very nice Laura.
Mark has tatted a wonderful beaded necklace and earring set.
Norma was given a box of vintage crochet pieces which also included a doily with a jersey type fabric centre which alreday has holes in it. She wants to remove the lace and put it on a piece of linen she has.
Tami has tatted Anne's dragon for her son.

Giraffe, Heart, Cross, Notes and Celtic

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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Angie is the latest person to join us and she doesn't have any challenge pieces done yet, but she has been working on some lovely tatting. Her latest endeavor is a baby bootie for an anticipated new arrival.
Steph is another new participant and she's beginning with Jane's giraffe done in Star Tatting Cotton, color 158.
Wanda made it through the holidays and she shares with us the lovely table setting she did with a tatted snowflake at each place setting as a small gift for her guests. What a wonderful idea!
Ellen has been showered with gifts recently including an exquisite mother-of-pearl lacquerware box, an MP3 player and a pair of rings because she couldn't decide which one she wanted. To top it all off she received her secret Santa package which included a lovely tatted ball ornament, thread beads and chocolate.
Arlene tatted Teri Dusenbury's "Sadie's Heart" in Marilee's 'Nectarine' HDT using two tatting guild shuttles from the Shuttle Shoppe. The butterfly shuttles are also from the Shuttle Shoppe.
Bev tatted 25 of these crosses as favors at a LWML Guild meeting brunch that she hosted. The three notes are destined for a denim bag and were done in black thread using motifs from Patti Duff's, Mini Tats. Finally we have a celtic motif experiment done in variegated Perfect quilter thread in blue/green. Carol is keeping up with her resolutions and has already made the Violet Doily by Abby Hegwald.
Diane has been suffering from tatting withdrawal, so she loaded up her new Jan Stawasz shuttles and got to work on a Spinning Wheel glass mat. The Stawasz shuttles are meant for working with size 10 thread.
Gina shows some pieces from the Anna magazine that use tatting an fabric together, something that we in North America don't do very often.
Jon wishes everyone a Happy New Year and shows us Clyde's version of the Quantiesque snowflake.
Laura received a beautiful Hawaiian Christmas card which is very intricately cut in white with brown paper behind it. The card came with Marilee's Tourmaline in size 80, a Celtic snowflake in size 50 Apple Blossom and some little copper darts for marking pages.
Marilee created a lovely doily named "Arches" some time ago and now she is sharing the pattern with us.
Mark received a gift from Erin which included some tatting that Rudolph did!
Marty used Anne's dragon pattern on 2 white satin balls, tatting one dragon in red and the other in green. Three snowflakes from Jon Yusoff's Snowflake Collection fill in the rest of the ball.
Mary has plans to write a book, but things have been put on hold for a while so that they can do some renovating.
Pamela tatted Wally Sosa's Fluffy Snowflake in size 10 Flora in yellow and white with fluffy picots. Then she did it again in size 20 Flora in red and white with short uncut picots.

Sapna is having a sad start to the new year with the death of her uncle.
I've been thinking of some ideas for a new challenge. Does anyone have some thoughts on a new challenge for those of us who have done this one and need a new goal?

Happy New Year, Secret Santas, more snowflakes and other treasures

Heather has a lovely assortment of shuttles in her Etsy shop. Very pretty Heather.






Kathy shows us one of her first 3-D bell designs - 1992. She created the bell in 1992 and used a photo of it for her Christmas card that year. The bell itself is about 3" high.


Tattingchic wishes for herself and everyone else, a much better year in 2009. She also shows us the first of her "snowflakes of the month from Fairiebees.



Carol is sharing pictures of the Secret Santa she sent to L.B. Locke. She also has pictures of what Bina sent to her.









Jeff has joined the ranks of fans tatting Jon's Quantiesque snowflake. He tatted it in lovely Valdani thread and plans to tat more of them.


Margaret found her tatting needles while searching for a recipe to make for her church potluck supper. She didn't find the recipe but tatted this lovely blue medallion.


Iris has redone her lovely collar in grey wool with metallic. It is lovely. She is working on the 3rd one now.


Joy has made another of her lovely little ornaments by tatting around a cut-out from a holiday card. So sweet!


Vinnie is our newest addition to the challenge. I'm starting with her progress on a lovely butterfly. She has also made several pair of earrings. One design she has named Eva after the Wall-e movie.





Carol has a picture of her "Thread Bear" and shares her tatting resolutions with us.
Jon has a picture of her Quantiesque snowflake tatted by Clyde in Marilee's Fern size 50.
Laura finished her Starlight doily in Tatskool's Coral Reef size 20 just in time to post it before the new year.
Marilee gives us patterns for earrings, a snowflake, a bookmark and a Victorian edging. Thank you Marilee.
Pamela has so many beautiful things to show us, you are just going to have to check it out. She got lovely American gifts from her friend Kat. She also shows us more snowflakes. I particularly like the ones she did from a Wally Sosa pattern.
Sharon is tatting really sweet square motifs and shows us how they would look joined together. The first are in a sort of burgundy color and the last ones are white. Very pretty.
Sherry got lots of great gifts from Heather. She also found some really neat beads in Seoul that are inspiring lots of new ideas.