Tennessee Maple Leaf

 In October my husband and I took a trip to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. This is the time of year you hear about how beautiful the fall foliage is. There were trees in full fall colors, there were trees that were still green, and there were trees that were bare. It was beautiful, not as much color as we were expecting, but we weren't disappointed. 

We didn't see as much wildlife as we thought, but we did see some. Like several black bears. This one was on the side of the road as we drove into Gatlinburg. He didn't pay any attention to the traffic.

Everywhere there were signs to not feed the bears, not leave food in your car, and lock your car doors, as bears have figured out how to open car doors. These signs are in town and in the National park. We took them seriously.

I took my tatting with me (of course!) and I actually did a little bit. I was inspired to make a maple leaf in fall colors with Lizbeth 136 Autumn Spice. This is a lovely, variegated thread, just right for making fall leaves. I brought along size 10 to make it easy to see and work with in dim lighting that you may have in hotel rooms, and while we traveled.

Tennessee Maple Leaf 1.0

There are beautiful patterns on the Internet of maple leaves, but I didn't look them up. (There are a lot of tattoos that come up when searching for them!) This is what I came up with while on our trip.

I had made the mistake of leaving home without a hat of any sort, but the weather was cool and windy in some places. Instead of buying a souvenir hat I bought a plain, black one at Walmart. I didn't get the leaf finished in time while we were there, but I added the leaf to it on the way home.

Yes, I made another, different, leaf, made while thinking of how to make the maple leaf. They look pretty good on the hat.

I have written out the pattern, but while verifying the pattern, I decided to change it up a bit. Not much, just a little, this one made in size 20 as I was home. Same Autumn Spice, just smaller thread.

Tennessee Maple Leaf 2.0

The modification gives it a bit more height and makes the stitch counts more consistent. I also made a change in the way the stem is made. I think I'll put both ways on the pattern. Depending on how the rest of the day goes, and if my computer will cooperate, I'm hoping to have it finished by the end of today.

Here at home, we've been enjoying beautiful warm days that don't feel like fall at all. There have been a few cool days, but they don't last long. There were just enough cold nights that the leaves turned color, then fell. Most leaves left on the trees won't be there much longer. The weather man says that it will get much cooler next week, but it's November, we should expect that. 

 

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving, but it seems to be coming very fast. Then it will be Advent and Christmas. And I still haven't decided what my Christmas ornament will be this year! I really need to get on it!

Update: I've added Tennessee Maple Leaf pattern to My Patterns page. November 15, 2025

"Anyone who thinks fallen leaves are dead has never watched them dancing on a windy day." –Shira Tamir

Mini Witch is Done

I finally finished Kaye B. Judt’s Mini Witch. I was leery about working on it until I had time where I knew I would not be interrupted. She is made with a few techniques I hadn’t done before, not hard, just different. And it was in black thread, which is hard to see if there wasn’t enough light.

Mini Witch from Tat Days

I had a few issues when assembling this little witch. It was caused mainly by not reading the directions well before I started it. I think she ended up a bit short because of how I put the skirt on the body, and I didn’t scrunch up the arms enough, leaving them almost too long to hold the pumpkin. After assembling the body I thought I was ready to put on the hat. I picked it up and found I had only the brim and the hair, the crown of it wasn’t finished. Oops. Just a small delay in finishing.

This is the last of the projects for Tatting Corner’s Tat Days. All the projects will look great at Halloween when I use them in decorating my house. I’m planning on making a dress for the Pocket Toddler appropriate for the day.

Recently I have been busy working on writing out patterns instead of doing much tatting. I have one that I am submitting to teach on the cruise in November. This one is a bit complicated to write out as it is not flat and has been quite a challenge. My husband is pretty excited about this piece, it’s pretty cute!

The last couple of weeks here have been excessively hot. Not as hot as the southwest, but plenty hot. I’m glad I have things to do in the house as it is oppressive to go outside. I’m looking forward to next week when it is supposed to be a bit cooler. At least with the heat, I’m more inclined to work on the patterns, inside where it’s cool.

“Forget about frying an egg on the sidewalk; this kind of heat would fry an egg inside the chicken.” — Rachel Caine

Cats, Hats, and Bats (and a few other things)

Tatting Corner Tat Days is officially over. It was a wonderful three days for me, meeting new people, and seeing friends from last year. Lisa did a great job of organizing all of the tatting classes, and making sure everyone had food that met special dietary requirements. Thanks, Lisa!

A few Tat Days 2023 projects

These are a few of the projects offered this year under the theme “Ghosties, Goblins, and Tatting – Oh MY!!”. The Baby Bat by Rozella Linden is the only project I finished while there. Mary Anna Robinson taught the class from the book “Things That Go ‘Tat’ in The Night”. Those that took the class also received the book, yay! Ria and I discussed several techniques while making it.

Ria and me working on the Baby Bat

The “Halloween Cats on a Clip” class was by Mike Lyon, aka Shuttle Commander on Facebook. I did the orange on the clip with no problem and started the first cat with the size 40 black thread but had a few issues. I tat so tight I kept breaking the thread when pulling the SCMR closed. Finally, I went to a size 20 thread I had with me – and broke that thread, too. I gave up during the class but worked on it again that night and was successful with the size 20! I just have to learn to not tat so tight with these! I see lots of possibilities with these kitties! Looking forward to making more.

Working on the Sorting Hat on the way home

The Sorting Hat was the brainchild of Donna Pagano Denny. This was fun! I chose a bright color for it so I could see the stitches and finished it on the way home. As you can see in the picture at the top I don’t have it shaped yet. But I will!

Kristina and me working on our Sorting Hats

Kristina was in the class, sitting across from me making the hat. She was so fun to talk to! I found out she is already a follower of my blog! Hi, Kristina! Looking forward to seeing you next time! She sent me a picture of her Hymnal Angel that she made for Christmas last year. She did a wonderful job!

Hymnal Angel tatted by Kristina Fry

Another class I took where I didn’t finish the project was “What Am I?” or “Tatted Pocket Toddler” by Carolyn Craig. This is done entirely of Split Rings with a couple of very short chains thrown in. I am enjoying this immensely! I’m looking forward to dressing my toddler when I’m finished tatting the body. FYI, if you haven’t seen Craig’s Mermaids and all the toddlers she’s done, you are missing out! They are fantastic! She’s on Facebook and a member of the Friends of Tatting Corner group.

Tatted Pocket Toddler not quite done

I made a bit of a mistake on this, but it won’t make any difference, especially once she’s dressed and has hair.

The last class I took was Kaye B. Judt’s “Mini Witch”. This is so cool! Kaye (also a Friends of Tatting Corner group member) took the time to take us through the construction phase, which is the last thing to do, and which few got to (that I’m aware of). She had a table full of little dolls made like the witch in different colors and sizes and outfits. So cute! I think the only thing besides putting it together I need to do is to tat the second arm.

Mini Witch in pieces

Yes, there are several pieces – including the one tatted arm – that are missing. Like the head, a wooden bead. I have all those pieces, ready to go when it’s time to put them together.

Tat Days was so fun! I was sad to see it end, though my hands were glad of the break. My husband and I are already talking about going next year. Of course, before then there is the cruise in November, where I’ll get to see some of my tatting friends again. And I’ll be teaching a class then!

“Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world.” John Evelyn

Hat Medallion

I was given several very thin metal findings - 'doodads' - to see what I could come up with.  This is my first try.  The outside came easy enough but I kept wondering what to do with the center, which has a small hole. My solution, at least this time, is two rings, the larger on the bottom.  The tails of the two rings are threaded through the bead then through the hat to hold the medallion on.  The doodad is so thin it bends easily so I'm thinking maybe putting a button on the inside to help keep it from bending when wearing the hat.  

Lizbeth # 652 Royal Blue size 20

I put it on the side of the hat but I'm not sure it's positioned quite right yet.  I think I'll have to put the hat on a head to be able to see where it looks the best. 

Lizbeth #144 Leaf Swirl size 20

I've had the idea for while to make a bracelet with buttons and finally found a combination of buttons and thread that I like.   I've given this to one of my daughters to try out for awhile.  She has instructions to let me know what she thinks of it, what works and what doesn't.  She hasn't got back to me about it yet though I'm anxiously waiting.  I have some other, really cute buttons I would like to do this to but if there is something I should do differently I'd like to know before I start.

It's funny, for as many hearts as I did for Valentine's Day I haven't done a thing for Easter.  I guess it's still a few days away, I could still get something made...

Thank you to all of you who asked after my mom.  She is doing very well and is back home.  She does have some in-home care and a neighbor who checks in frequently so I'm not too concerned about her being alone.    She did spend a few days in rehab to get some of her strength back, which also relieved my sister and I.  We were afraid she would try to go straight home from the hospital.  This situation could have been a lot worse.  We are very grateful of how well things are working out and how well she is getting along.

"We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does.  Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining - they just shine."
Dwight L. Moody
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