500th post

I don't usually pay attention to these things, but I noticed as I started today's update, that it's the 500th post. I guess that means that there has been a lot of tatting going on. Which is a really good thing!

Tattips started with Vida Sunderman's Little Ring Snowflake and modified it doubling the stitch count because she was using a finer thread. It was worked in Lizbeth size 20, Butterfly Breeze and came out beautiful. Agasunset has remade the Victorian Collar Necklace based on her sister's wedding necklace.
Alan has learned how to make earring findings, jump rings and clasps and used his new skills to turn a 7mm cultured pearl into a dangle on this motif from Patti Duff's "Mini Tats" for these earrings. Bev has a new Pop a Bobbin shuttle and used it to start this bookmark in size 10 Celery HDT.

Heather was tired but still tatting which isn't always a good combination and she ended up with a broken thread. Why is it that this always seems to happen when you're near the end of a piece? Here are some pieces that didn't suffer the same fate. M has tatted 'Heart's Desire' by Susan K Fuller in Lizbeth 20, col 601, white and col 613, golden yellow medium. but now that it's done she's not sure she likes the colours together.

Earrings, Hearts and Siamese Elephants

Agasunset's silver Peacock Eye earrings are made from an element of a doily. Liyarra discovered yet another source of HDT and while the colour is lovely the thread isn't as crisp, but it looks like there are some negotiations in the works to do the colours in a good 6 cord thread. Brigitte tatted the Scalloped Heart from Tat's Amore by Martha Ess with vintage Size 30 Star 6-cord thread and put it into a glass heart with some Ferrero Rocher chocolates for a Valentine's Day exchange at her Lace Guild Meeting.
Bonnie was challenged to tat a pair of Siamese elephants. She started with Jane Eborall's design and tweaked it so that the 2 elephants could be joined together at the trunk. To add to the challenge she wanted to tat everything front side so it meant reversing everything for the second elephant, but in the end she triumphed.
Diane began Beatrice by Iris Niebach in size 20 Raspberry Sorbet from Tatskool and then ran out of the lovely HDT and had to wait for more to arrive. After several ups and downs the doily is finally completed and ready to be sent to Diane's friend.

Fox has soldiered on with her bonnet and reached the round where she can switch to something more colourful and she's hoping that it will all work out because the pattern seems to be not quite right. Her TAT program is on track and she has taken a page from Vinnie's book and tatted a motif to hang in her car.
Kelly has had a stellar week. She received Sherry's latest book and with it came some HDT. In addition she was able to tat a doily called "Loop-di-Loop" by Hartmut Hass in DMC size 30.
Marty got 2 designs instead of one out of this pattern. She had intended on doing the same design as a mirror image but it was too big, so she is using the 2 sections as the tops and doing 2 different bottoms. Sherry shows us another of her Hope butterflies along with some new hook pens in size 13 with some size 14 to come.

Earrings, Necklaces, Hearts, Butterflies, Edgings and Motifs

Tattips adapted a Mary Konior pattern from "Tatting with Visual Patterns" to make these bell like earrings in Lizbeth size 20 Sherbet Delight. Masquerade, also by Mary Konior, has been tatted in Lizbeth size 20 in Sherbet Delight and Raspberry Pink light. Agasunset shares the story of how her aunt taught her to tat, how she was inspired to turn a half finished doily into a bridal necklace in white and pearls and how she re-did the design recently in black and genuine Amethyst as a gift for her aunt. She's also thrilled that a magazine wants to feature her earrings in their summer issue. Liyarra shares with us a new source of HDT that tats up very nicely as you can see on the motif here.
NancyD has tatted 2 more Rose Cross bookmarks, one in red and white and the other in yellow and white.
IsDihara has been itching to show TatsKool's new transition thread called Flame Lantana. Here it is in all it's glory tatted into Betsy Evans' Rainbow Heart Bookmark and a partially completed motif from an Iris Nieback doily. Gorgeous thread that looks so scrumptious you could eat it with a spoon. Ancolie is tatting a baby bonnet that she had to modify to get the right dimensions. She's not sure it will work out properly, but if it doesn't she'll turn it into a holdall.

M has tatted Alladin from the book Tatted Snowflakes Collection by Jon Yusoff in Lizbeth 20, col 655, Wedgwood light and col 691, mocha brown medium and comments that she doesn't often think of putting these colours together, but if the shades are right, they work.
Nita is working on a hens and chicks edging in black with red beads which she will use to trim the neckline of a red T-shirt. There have been some comments on the tatting lists about not knowing what to do with a black edging and this is a perfect answer. Sherry has posted the pattern for her HOPE butterfly in PDF format.

Motifs, Butterflies and Murder?

Tattips took an edging pattern found in "Star Books #66 - Crochet and Edgings" and turned it into a triangular motif in lavender Cebelia size 20 so that she can use it in a variety of ways.
Tatteristic used both shuttle and needle tatting to create this butterfly. She already had her shuttles wound CTM and decided to use the needles for the inner sections of the wings. The threads are Lizbeth size 20 Turquoise Twist 142 and Spring Green 680.
Ann has been inspired by Fox's Bonnicide post title to suggest a whole tatting themed murder mystery. (No tatting was harmed in either post.)
Ellen has received some lovely goodies from Sweden including some wonderful tatting.
Fox has put aside the bonnet she wanted to kill in favour of some brilliant flame coloured HDT. She tatted the motif from "The Tatted Artistry of Teiko Fujito" in "Flame Lantana". Jeff did some test tatting for Sherry, "Amberlynn" was tatted with Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #129 Purple Splendor. "Swirls" was tatted in Lizbeth size 20, in colour #125 Seascape. "Rose Garden", by Mary Konior, from her book "Tatting in Lace" was tatted in DMC Cordonnet size 20 thread in white.

Butterflies, Crosses, Doilies, Baby Bonnet and Butterflies

Shanan was busy with family issues and forgot to post days 10 and 11 of TIAS. Here is her finished rooster. Steph has tatted another of Sherry's delightful butterflies. This one is called Opal and was tatted in Marilee's "Purple Pansy", size 80. Wouldn't it make a gorgeous pendant?
Bonnie has tatted some crosses in memory of a friend's mother. Wendy's Split Ring Cross made with Marilee's size 50 Nicobar Pigeon HDT and Elizabeth's Lace's Tatted Cross Pattern made with the same thread.
Anne has been making progress and has only 11 more motifs to go. It's looking wonderful and I can't wait to see it completed. Diane has row 5 of the "Hostess Piece: Placemat" from Mary Konior's Tatting Patterns completed and it's looking wonderful. Her daughter and granddaughter may have to fight over this one.
Fox is having more problems than just boredom with this baby bonnet. It appears that the pattern may be wrong because she doesn't seem to end up with the same number of rings as the pattern says she should have. Has anyone done this pattern so that they can shed some light on it? Martha used a very big shuttle from Nina Libin designed for tatting with beads for this project. It's just a tease, because there is more to it than what we can see here. Tatters like to tease!

Heart's Desire, Peacock Bookmark and Diamond

Cindy tatted Susan Fuller's "Heart's Desire" in Size 40 Lizbeth Carribean. The Peacock Feather Bookmark by Wally Sosa's a tail that doesn't look quite like the one in the picture. It's done in Wedgewood Dark and Spring Fling Lizbeth threads size 40.

Steph has tatted "Diamond", another butterfly from Sherry's latest book. The thread is vintage J&P Coats in size 70, color 177.