A Busy Week

Wow, it's been a busy week! One daughter and her son visiting for a week and a different schedule at work makes for quite a change of pace. My visiting grandson is about 21 months old and full of energy. And we had several visits with our other daughter's son at the same time. Talk about go,go,go! Add on top of that working a different shift for three days - it plumb wore me out!

As you can imagine, I didn't get a lot of tatting done, just one small motif from the January 1960 Workbasket magazine. I was putting away the Workbasket I just bought and picked up this one to look through. This medallion is supposed to be joined with six others to make an edging for a pillowcase.
I didn't quite make it per the directions: instead of making the center ring then doing a cut and tie, I made the center ring and climbed out on the last picot. And I'm not really sure that it would come out correctly if you followed all of the directions. I had to refer to the drawing a couple of times and I was still a little unsure (the drawing, aka "picture" isn't accurate, either!). This is not a hard pattern, simple rings and chains, but before I made the second round I wrote out the directions in a more modern fashion just to be sure - a person can really get lost with all those words and paragraphs! Considering I did a lot of tatting from Workbasket magazines back when I was learning it's amazing that anything was finished! And actually came out looking like they were supposed to!

I got something fun in the mail this week. I did a little exchange with Stephanie Grace at "Tat's What She Said", just for fun. I suggested the butterfly from Soyloquesoy on Intatters. This is the lovely card she sent, and a few extra goodies. Didn't she do a great job on the card? Thank you, Stephanie Grace!

I haven't quite decided what I am going to use the paper-fold inkwell with yet, but I've got a vague sort of idea. Now if I can only find the time!

Today's tea was just plain decaffeinated tea. I didn't really have time to savor a cup today and didn't want to waste a special tea when I couldn't take the time to really enjoy it. Maybe next Tatting Tea Tuesday won't be quite so rushed.

Wishing all of you a wonderful week, with maybe a little tea and tatting!

Trying New Bookmarks

I've been getting quite a bit of tatting done this week but there's not a lot I want to share today. Most of what's been made is unfinished due to lack of time. I did make a couple of bookmarks. I'm not exactly happy with them but they have potential.

The one on the left I started at break at work for a challenge on The Tatting Forums, which is to make one bookmark a month. I didn't have a pattern and didn't think what I was doing completely through - it didn't come out quite the way it was supposed to: ( It looks a little unfinished, don't you think?

The one on the right was another thought, one that pretty much did come out the way I thought it would. It's a pain to make, though! I did make a few decisions in mid-stream, which is obvious by the couple of ugly rings: p If I make this again I'll do a few things a little different, and maybe add a tail or something. Both bookmarks are made in Lizbeth #682, size 20.

I also started on a butterfly this week for a friend of mine. The prototype has been made and decisions mad e of changes I would like to see when I make it again. The prototype looks very plain as it was made in ecru size 30 because I had two shuttles already wound with it. Size 30 is definitely too small for what I have in mind for this piece. The next time I plan to make it in Lizbeth Caribbean in size 20 and use beads. I'm not very proficient with beads, but practice makes perfect, right?

I don't know how much tatting I'll be getting done this week. I have to work some very different hours during the week. And my daughter and her son from Washington D.C. are here for a week! Yippee! We're going to try to get together with our other daughter and her family as much as possible this week, too. Both grandsons together - it's going to be fun!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week this week!

Miscellaneous Stuff on Tatting Tea Tuesday

I actually got quite a bit of tatting done this week. I had to restart my doily again - it seems to have had the wrong number of repeats : ( - and then got the second round done as well. It's not blocked as there is a lot of work yet to be done on it, but it's looking pretty good. Some of this was done while waiting to pick my entries up from the fair.
I forgot to take a picture of my fair entries with their ribbons. My doily and the bookmark (same pattern as this one but in different colors.) each received blue ribbons and the earrings received a red (it was in the same class as the bookmark). I was pretty happy even though there was no other competition. If nothing else this should help keep the tatting classes for another year at least. I kept the fair book to keep in mind other places that I might be able to enter next year (maybe jewelry, note cards and stationary).

While I was at my mother's house the other day she gave this piece of tatting. It was on a doll/baby dress that her mother gave her. Mom doesn't know who tatted it, but she knew I would like it. I haven't decided how I'm going to display or use this piece but I would like it to be seen instead of tucked away in a drawer somewhere. It is made with small thread, looks like size 70.
On InTatters there is a thread about Innocent Design Challenge which I thought sounded like fun. I started several times: had one that looked waaayy too big. It might have been okay, but I cut off some and tried again. I don't have a bottle to try it on, just the dimensions Kersti gave. Obviously I need to have a sample to work with as this was the next result.

This is the top of a soft drink bottle, which I am very sure is much smaller than the top of the Innocent bottle, as the dimensions given are about 2 to 2.5 inches (5 - 7 cm) diameter at the bottom of the hat and about that tall. This is about 1 inch x 1 inch (2.5 x 2.5 cm). I guess I could make that third round a little longer so the shape doesn't cup so much and put it on the top of an egg for Easter. Or maybe I can figure out a cute look for a Christmas decoration? ; )

I was planning on having a cup of Rooibos tea today to go with my tatting. As far as I know the cup of water is still sitting in the microwave...

Tatting Tea Tuesday and Motif #10

This morning I'm enjoying a glass of iced Vanilla Rooibos tea, which I have come to like very much. It is described as "a lush and indulgent blend of rooibos, Tahitian vanilla, cinnamon, apples and peaches" (Tazo box label). Mmmm. I'm drinking my tea with my feet up -ignoring the dirty house - glad that I'm inside instead of outside. We're currently enjoying very hot weather, but that should be no surprise, it is August in Kansas.

There has actually been a lot of tatting done this week but there's very little to show for it. Several things have gone directly into the trash after completion, or maybe a little earlier. I was trying for some earrings - there are so many beautiful creations on others' blogs that I just had to give it a try - but my first try was pretty ugly. First, I don't use beads very much, and second, some days things just don't work!! It did get a little better on my second try.

This is the only picture I have of these, because I was lazy and didn't snap a picture until I was on my way out the door. I was on my way to enter a few things in a local county fair, including these. I had this last minute thought that I should enter some tatting that wasn't "old fashioned", something to show that tatting could be modern and fun. These are a long way from being as pretty as, say, any that I've seen so far, but I will wear them. My sister liked them, too. These are made in Lizbeth #682 Country Grape, Dk, size 20. I'm going to consider them motif #10 in my second 25 Motif Challenge.

I also made another cross bookmark in the same color based on the motif from the November 1953 Workbasket. I don't know how I made such a mess of hiding the ends when I was done, but it is terrible! : (
Oh, well, I guess I need bookmarks, too.

Wishing you all a little time for tea and tatting.

Tatting Tea Tuesday with Tea and Tatting!

Greetings and Salutations! This has been a good week! A girl's day out on Thursday with my sister was a load of fun. We got our nails done, went to a wonderful scrapbook store in Derby called 'Scrappin' Time' (you may recall I just got back from vacation), had a relaxed lunch, visited with my daughter and her family, then went to JoAnne's and spent lots of money! What could be more fun than that?

Then Saturday I had the evening to myself so I spent it going shopping again! Okay, didn't spend nearly as much, and it wasn't quite as much fun because I was by myself, but still! Went into a quilt store to drool over the material and found out they are going to be having a beginners quilt class at times I can even attend - amazing! A friend of mine had mentioned she was going to be going to this, but I hadn't realized what the times. So we're both signed up for it now.

Then it was on to the Salvation Army store to see if there were any good bargains to be had. And look what I found!

I'm almost positive I've already got a copy of this, but at $0.49 I couldn't leave it there. It had a doily pattern and a motif pattern in it. I went home and made one of the motifs. Then I made another one. A simple pattern but nice look. These haven't been blocked yet, but except for the clovers at the ends of the arms it lays pretty nice. I say that though the centers bowed up a little, then found out if you make the picots of the little rings longer that problem goes away.

I know this because I tried it on the third motif. When I was almost done with this one I thought "just extend one leg a little bit and it will be a cross" and it was.

The two-toned blue cross is made out of Manuela size 20 in color 019 (dark blue) and a DMC blue that I don't have labeled. The variegated, unfinished cross is made from an unknown brand, size 30 thread that my mother gave me. I just added four more of the small rings to each side of the forth leg of the motif, and wa -la! a beautiful cross.

The second cross is for my mother as well as being made from thread she gave me. That was another thing that made it a good week: she picked up a bag of crochet thread from the senior center to give to me. I didn't take it all because most if it was white and ecru! There were several new balls of thread, but I can't see me ever using that much of regular crochet thread. I've gotten spoiled with Lizbeth and and few other types of thread that are much smoother and easier to tat with. But it was so nice of her I thought I'd make her a little something in the thread she liked the most.

I had more trouble with that thread than I've had in a long time! It was fuzzier than what I'm used to as well as being somewhat old - it kept breaking on me. Well, at least three times, and that's only because I started being v-e-r-y careful when I closed rings. And then at the end I got in a hurry and cut off the threads a chain and ring early :( Adding thread again for the last ring was a pain, but I was able to squeeze in the last chain with the little tail of the chain thread. Then I ran out of time. If I wanted a picture of it for this post I didn't have time to sew in the ends. You can see what I chose to do about it.

I'm calling the original motif as #8 in my second 25 Motif Challenge, and the cross as #9.

The title says there will be tea and there was. My daughter gave me a box of Tazo vanilla tea, which I can't remember the actual name of it. It has vanilla, of course, and a little peach and is very good. I had it on ice today. Though I was inside I saw that the outside temp was already 102 degrees (F). It made me hot just thinking about it.

Until next week, may you all have a little time for yourselves with a little tea and tatting.