Spring has sprung...an Egg!

Spring has actually felt like it's been here for weeks but finally my red bud tree is blooming.  I'm sitting outside while I write this enjoying the birds singing and the lovely flowers in my lawn (okay, they're weeds, but at the moment they brighten  up the lawn).  A little while ago a wild hen turkey crossed our yard followed closely by a tom, eager to show her his lovely tail feather display.

I have done very little tatting this week, so have nothing to show. I did post the Easter egg pattern on the sidebar. Unfortunately, I haven't had much time to work on it, either.  It's mostly written out long hand, but does have pictures and general diagrams.  I wanted to get it out there before Easter even if it's not quite the way I want it. I will be updating it when I have a little more time. It is mostly a ring and chain pattern with a couple of SCMRs. If you happen do make it and find any mistakes I'd be happy if you'd let me know so I can fix it. 

Though I haven't done much tatting this week I do have tatting related news, I just haven't had the time to work on the pictures.  Maybe I'll have them ready for next week. 

Speaking of next week, April first is this coming Sunday - International Tatting Day.  I have a list of things I need to tat and am hoping to be able to sit and enjoy some chocolate while I work on at least one of them.  If it's a nice day maybe I'll try to go to the park or sit on a public bench somewhere and share it with the public (tatting, not necessarily the chocolate).

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine."

Anthony J. D'Angelo

The optimist keeps his eye on the doughnut, the pessimist only sees the hole

Still Tatting for Easter

Are you surprised it's not another bunny? 

I made this Easter Egg for a challenge on Intatters a couple of years ago.  I only made one then, but I'm in an Easter type mood for tatting and thought I'd do it again. It's in Lizbeth #115 "Springtime", size 20. I didn't use beads - I was lucky to have the time to tat this without!

I did want to have the pattern ready today, but it's not quite done.  I'm hoping to have it done very soon, so keep an eye on the right side of the blog. 

I found a site that has some cute Easter poems.  Check this out. 

Five Little Easter Eggs


Five little Easter eggs, lovely colors wore;
Mother ate the blue one, then there were four.


Four little Easter eggs, two and two, you see;
Daddy ate the red one, then there were three.


Three little Easter eggs, before I knew
Sister ate the yellow one, then there were two.


Two little Easter eggs; oh, what fun,
Brother ate the purple one, then there was one.


One little Easter egg; see me run!
I ate the very last one, and then there were none.

Found at http://www.alphabet-soup.net/eas/eastpoem.html 

Tick Tock Goes the Clock

After 40 years or more of silence this clock is now keeping time again.

This is my grandparent's Gilbert clock.  It had quit working back when I was a child. I have a few memories of it chiming, but not for years and years.  I inherited this when we moved Grandma out of her house to an apartment.  My husband surprised me a couple of months ago by taking it to a man who repairs old clocks.  It just came back a week ago.  We've been getting it leveled and adjusting the times to get it up to correct time again.

This clock is a Gilbert clock made about 1915 - 1920, according to the repair man.  It has a pendulum inside in the back and has to be wound with a key.  When I got it, it was missing the glass front and the hands, and was wound too tight.  It now chimes the hour and once on the half hour and makes a lovely tick-tock sound. Once we got it level it keeps time very well.

I've gotten very little tatting done this week. I'll probably share it next week, maybe even with the pattern. It's more Easter-themed tatting, can you guess what it might be?

"In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance.  In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did that produce?  The cuckoo clock. "

Orson Welles

"Love is not a clock. You simply cannot take it apart just to see what makes it tick, and even if you could, you probably could never get it back together again."

Bunny Face

I've decided I like the bunny face.  I've made a few more, playing around with it a little, mostly with the ears.  I think the bottom one looks a little more like a dog than a bunny, but still has potential.  I don't think this will become an edging, at least not without a lot more work, but it looks pretty good as a bunny face. 

I've been trying to find out if there is another bunny that is made like this.  I've found several really cute bunnies: 

Tatman has a couple of cute bunnies here and here. I also hear he has a pattern for a bunny in an egg, but I don't know where to find the pattern.  I saw it on Steph's Stuff; very cute!

Bella OnLine has several bunny patterns, including a few edgings, found here.
[the first link on the page, Brenda's Bunnies, does not contain tatting. It looks to have been hacked]

Nancy has a cute one on her be-stitched site, here.  

I checked Dianna Steven's book 'Animal Bookmarks, a Tatted Zoo', which has a really cute bunny bookmark, but it doesn't look like this either. 

So, if anybody is interested, I have put the pattern up on my sidebar.  The pattern has the rounded ears like the top two in the picture. I made the bottom one today while I was sipping my Tatting Tea Tuesday tea, after I had the pattern 'finished'.  I might make an addendum for changing up the ears later.

This time of year thinking of bunnies makes me think of Easter, so I'll leave you with another Easter poem.

Sky Bunnies

The sky is full of bunny clouds

So soft and fat and white,

I wonder if they're hiding eggs

For stars to find at night.

Because it's Easter Eve, you know,

And there's no reason why

There shouldn't be an Easter hunt

In meadows in the sky.

From http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems15.html