Magnifier Case

December just flew by! We were so busy with family, work, and church I had to make choices of what things were done and what was left undone or to do later. I have some things to blog about they are some of those things to do later.

I did get some tatting done, including several Ice Drops (to be blogged about later). A last minute gift that I tatted was for our pastor’s wife, who has a lot of trouble with her eyes. I had been thinking of getting a magnifying glass for her for a while, but I wanted one that was easy to use and portable. I found one at Hobby Lobby a few days before Christmas that was almost exactly what I had envisioned. It just needed some way to be carried that kept it nice and was easy to access.

Magnifier and case with tatting

The felt and thread I already had at home. I design tatting but I’m not as well versed in designing with material but I was able to come up with a case made out of the felt. Of course, it couldn’t be left plain. Lizbeth Caribbean worked well with the purple felt. The tatting on it looks simple but I had to make it hard – the edging has rings on the other side, like the gem in an Ice Drop.

The entire case and tatting were done Christmas eve day/evening. You can’t make a case for something you don’t have or I would have started much earlier! I thought about attaching the tatting with fabric glue but decided that as much use as it might have, sewing was a better option. The purple paracord I had left over from my Tat Days costume worked well for the lanyard part.

Magnifier case with tatted edging

I’m happy to say that the recipient loved both the magnifier and the case. It will come in handy at church but also for things like reading labels at the store and menus in restaurants.

I’m hoping to blog a bit more frequently than I have been lately. I not only have been tatting some but also taking a few pictures. Maybe not everything, but most.

Here’s to a new year with lots of time for tatting! And taking pictures. And blogging. 🙂

“The beauty of handmade is in the imperfections. Anything perfect is machine made.”   craftprofessional.com

 

Happy New Year!

Tatted Star

One of my granddaughters had a program this week, which meant I traveled up to Nebraska to see it. Instead of taking the time to cook supper, we went out to eat at Ruby Tuesday in Bellevue. As we walked in I was pleasantly surprised to see a tatted star ornament hanging from the hostess desk.

Tatted star found on display at Ruby Tuesday in Bellevue, Nebraska

Of course, I brought it to my daughter’s attention. The manager over-heard my remark and commented how surprised he was that someone recognized what it was.

While we were waiting for our order the manager came over to talk about tatting. His mother tats items like this then gives him a stack to pass out at work during the Christmas season. I learned that his mother is 88 years old and has been tatting for about 10 years. She has tried teaching people to tat – to share the fun – but most have decided it was too tedious (?!) for them.

I had brought my collection of Ice Drops with me to visit the family so the children could choose which one they wanted for their tree, but did I have them in my purse? Surprisingly, no, I had left them at the house. I showed him a picture of the Cosmic Ice Drop I’d made, which he thought his mother would like. It was an amicable conversation.

I wished it would have worked out that I could meet his mother. As that wasn’t possible during my short trip I decided to give her the Cosmic Ice Drop. After the program, we went back to the restaurant so I could deliver it to him to give to his mother. He was amazed that I would do this. But it is the season of giving, isn’t it?

“Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.” Boris Pasternak    picturequotes.com

Ice drop for Christmas?

It’s that time of year when I start getting worried I won’t have my Christmas tatting done in time. It would help if I started earlier, but every year there is some reason or reasons it doesn’t happen. My main seasonal tatting is making a tatted ornament of some type to give to family and special friends. I’m just now getting started on them, and there is definitely not enough time to get them done!

I think I’m making Ice Drops again this year. I made simple, basic ones last year.

This year I’m getting a little more adventurous! Of course, they’ll take longer…

I started out with a Cosmic Ice Drop, pattern by Nicola Bowersox.

Cosmic Ice Drop in white without any beads

It’s not very cosmic without the beads her pattern calls for. I used white thread and a clear center. It came out well and I remembered how to do it – yay!

Ice Drop with red gem center

The Cosmic Ice Drop pattern is beautiful, but I don’t have time to locate and use beads in my tatting this year as I’ll be doing a lot of it in the car. So I came up with a different outside. I also had to modify the back, as the gem is cut like a diamond and sticks out the back.

Ice Drop back side with red gem center

I’m going to try some with darker thread, maybe blue. The white shows every bit of dirt that might be on your fingers. If I’m going to get many done I might not have pristine hands to tat with all the time.

I haven’t figured out how to tat in my sleep yet. I’ve dreamed about it but there is no solid evidence that tatting was done when I wake up. I guess I’ll have to stay up later instead.

“Even the strongest blizzards start with a single snowflake.” Sara Raasch

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Two Cross Bookmarks

It seems like a long time since I last posted. Oh, it has been! Every time I tried to sit down to post something more urgent or import came to my attention. If it wasn’t for the family it was for the church. There were grandchildren’s ball games to attend, their concerts to enjoy, a few birthday parties to celebrate, and several activities with the church. All of these events included some length of travel. Unfortunately for my tatting, I was driving instead of a passenger to most of these events, so very little was accomplished.

Sadly, what little tatting I have completed lately has been for funerals; one of my husband’s cousins and the father of a friend of mine passed within a week of each other. Both had been ill for some time so they weren’t surprising, but that doesn’t make them any less hard on the families.

Traditionally, I put a tatted cross bookmark in the sympathy card. I usually have several already made, kept in a drawer to be handy for such occasions. I’m sure I have a couple somewhere, but they are temporarily misplaced. Still, I needed two. One I started on the way to work and finished on the way to the funeral. The other I was actually able to sit down at home and do.

Tatted Cross Bookmark in Autumn Spice

This one was finished on the way to the funeral. The best background I had was my leg. It is in Lizbeth size 20 #136 Autumn Spice.

Tatted Cross Bookmark in Vineyard Harvest

I took the time to tat this one at home. It is in Lizbeth size 20 #131 Vineyard Harvest.

I am now trying to figure out how to I’ll find the time to tat Christmas ornaments. Every year I include them in Christmas cards for family and special friends. I haven’t even started. I haven’t even decided what I’m making yet.

Do you think I could tat them in my sleep?

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.”  Norman Cousins

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