Christmas Bells

 While I have been busy with vacation Bible school issues, my sister, Elaine, has been tatting for Christmas. You know how it is, if you are making Christmas ornaments or gifts, you have to start way early to get them done in time. My sister has been looking over patterns to use for her ornaments for several months already. She decided to use my Christmas Bell pattern for some of them. (I'm very flattered).

Check out these cute bells! She added charms that reflect the interest of the different recipients instead of jingle bells. I love how they look with the charms. 

Elaine has also been trying out my Christmas Ornament 2023, which incorporates charms or beads, too. We have been searching through our beads to see what we have between us that she might like to use. The ones she has shown me look great.

Elaine has had time to tat, I've been too busy to do much. After the vacation Bible school - which went great! - I've had other things I have been busy with, keeping me from doing much tatting. I did take the time out to tat a cross for a friend of mine whose father died a couple of weeks ago. Some things are important enough you just take the time to do.

I made my Graduation Cross again. I like the look and it's easy to do. 

I'm now doing post-vbs work - making sure all the thank-you notes are written, organizing all the receipts, figuring out what to keep and what to get rid of by recycling or donating, and cleaning up the mess I left of my desk. I'll be sharing pictures soon. Not of the mess, of the vbs decorations, lol!

"In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable."    Dwight D. Eisenhower

Springs and Angels

Spring with a bell

We recently replaced the seat in my husband’s old truck. After seeing decorated springs on Pinterest, I convinced my husband to help me take out all of the springs from the old seat so I could play with them. I have had a lot of fun with them!

Spring with snowflake

My versions all have tatting attached in some way. When I told my sister over the phone what I was doing, she could not visualize the concept at all. Once she saw them, she was very enthusiastic about them.

Angel tree

I’ve also made a lot of wings for wine cork angels. And had quite a few people volunteer to give me more corks ☺. Between the angel wings, small snowflakes, and angels, I’ve been very busy tatting and assembling ornaments. I needed tatting done for a craft show my sister and I attended.

Craft show 2024

We did this craft show because we saw how well the vendors did last year. It is not a big show, but it was well attended. The booths were about eight feet wide but only half that wide, making the set-up interesting. Unfortunately, there were very few customers to see our booth. The weather was much warmer than last year, and people just weren’t coming in, let alone shopping. It wasn’t a complete bust but I’m glad it wasn’t an expensive show. We did a good job with what we had.

The good news is I have a lot of angels and springs to give to my family for Christmas! Both the springs and the angels were big hits. And I have a lot of corks to make more angels for next year.

My sister, who started tatting again last year, decorated ball ornaments for family. She has done an amazing job!

Ornament tatted by my sister

I got one, too! Love it!

The pattern for these is from a book my sister bought at Tatting Corner last July, Tatting Christmas Decorations by Bziukiewicz. She has enjoyed this book immensely. She started with the easiest and has begun working on the more complicated ones.

How is your Christmas and holiday tatting going? Have you accomplished what you wanted?

“Tatting picots calms my rushing mind.” Gloria Nelson, Sparkling Light Creation Studio

It's Christmas Time

It’s hard to believe Christmas is less than two weeks away. It seems like Thanksgiving was just the other day! I have been busy tatting, but time seems so short! Will I get everything done in time?

Every year I try to make a special ornament for family and close friends. I don’t usually think what they will be until I pick up the shuttles to start. This year I had a vague idea several months ago. I had found some cute beads at JoAnn’s that I just knew would look good in a Christmas ornament, I just didn’t quite know how. I tried a few things.

2023 Christmas ornament 1 try

This ornament is on a bangle bracelet. It is made with size 10 white thread and size 6/0 clear beads. The snowman almost looks like it’s in a snow globe, don’t you think? I like the look, but it took longer to make than I was happy with. I gave it away in a gift exchange with our women’s group at church.

I tried again using a bangle bracelet. It is also made with size 10 white thread and 6/0 clear beads. Without the ribbons, I wasn’t that excited about it, with the ribbons I was much happier. I gave this one to my mom.

Bangle Christmas ornament for Mom

Neither of these has become this season’s ornament. I’ve been working on what I have decided to be the ornament of the year but I’m not sharing that until I have given them out. And I still have a few to go.

The other day before I went to the party for the ladies at church, I realized I didn’t have a pair of earrings that I wanted to wear. I decided to make a simple pair.

Christmas earrings

They are not elaborate but still festive and went with the clothes I was wearing. I just love that a few minutes with a shuttle, thread, and a few beads left me with a cute pair of earrings. These are made with size 20 white and little red beads, 10/0 (?). A lovely little gift I gave myself.

I am leaving a gift for you, too. The pattern for the Compass Rose has been added to the My Patterns page.

Will I get everything done in time? Maybe, maybe not. But I’m going to enjoy the doing and not worry about the time. It’s a self-imposed goal anyway. I think I’ll relish the season instead of stressing about it.

What are you tatting for Christmas?

“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things, not the great occasions, give off the greatest glow of happiness.” — Bob Hope

Ornaments and Runners

Every year I make a unique ornament for close family and friends. Sometimes it is tatting only, some years other media is incorporated. This year I decorated glass ornaments with sheet music and tatted angels. I shared the idea of it a few weeks ago. Not much changed other than tatting the angels out of size 20 thread instead of size 10.

Glass Christmas ornament for 2022

The hardest part was deciding what to do at the top of the ornament. I worked with greenery and raffia, but doing that took me a long time with each one before I was happy with them. Then I found a spool of gold metallic ribbon. This looked good and was much, much faster! I didn’t redo any of the ones with greenery. When we had our Christmas dinner at our house, I let everyone choose.

Ornaments for Christmas

Before everyone got here I put them in a fabric-lined bowl for a more finished look. They went over very well, each going to a happy home.

Our dinner was the chance to give my daughter her table runner. While making a runner for a lady I know, I ended up making edgings that looked good but had a lot of stitch differences as I figured out what I actually wanted. I thought my oldest daughter might like it, even knowing it wasn’t perfect. She did want it, but finding time to get it to her was an issue. We decided the date of the dinner would be okay, as it is a winter runner, not a Christmas runner.

My daughter’s winter runner

These edgings don’t have the outside row of tatting on them, and I think I like this better. For all that they are not shaped like snowflakes, they look good with the snowman and snowflake material. She sent me a picture of where she put it.

Snowman runner with snowmen

Can you tell that she collects snowmen?

Years ago I gave my mother-in-law a Christmas runner. She had it out all year. My father-in-law gave it back to me after she died and he moved out of the house.

Old Christmas runner

This year I found some fabric that will look wonderful with that green edging. I’m planning to transfer it to the new runner. It makes me happy that she had so much use out of it, but I think it’s time to repurpose the edging.

We, along with most of the US, had a dose of Arctic air this last week. For us here in Kansas, it only lasted about five days, and we only received about an inch of snow. I have seen how hard other areas were hit by this, and feel blessed to have had it so mild. We had another little bit of cold weather Christmas night, along with ice. So glad we didn’t have to go anywhere! It is only the beginning of winter, so I anticipate more of the cold weather is coming, but we will have nice weather through to New Year’s Day (at least, that’s what the weatherman is forecasting, LOL!)

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas season! Stay safe and well!

“I happen to love creating handmade ornaments even when I mess up I still have fun.” Hilary Farr