Luther's Rose Pattern Done

It’s weeks later than what I had promised it would be, but the pattern for Luther’s Rose is done! I’m sharing today, before I’ve test-tatted it, because Reformation Day is celebrated this coming Sunday. I don’t believe it is a hard pattern to tat, so you may have time to do it before this Sunday. There are a lot of repeats, so once you get going it shouldn’t be too hard. It has taken me much longer to write out the pattern that it takes to tat it! I haven’t test tatted the entire thing yet, but I wanted to get it out there. Let me know if a problem gets you. (I updated the pattern to correct issues 11/01/2024)

Framed Luther’s Rose

I framed the Rose and added Luther’s description of it. This is an 8×10 frame, the Rose is 4 5/8″ (12 cm) across. I had to make the words of the description in 10 pt instead of 12 pt so it would fit in the space left. As I’m not giving this one away I can change that part later if I want.

I don’t remember the size of the original Rose that I made back in 2017. I think the frame I put that one in was slightly bigger, maybe 11×13 inches, so comparing them in the pictures isn’t really much help. I do like how this looks in the frame. I’m curious which one you like better, this one or the original.

I’ve also been tatting for Christmas already. Shocker, right? I usually don’t get started until December! I’ve been using shuttles that my husband, Jack, has made for me. I’m loving them! They are light and soooo smooth! I carry them with me in a mint tin so they don’t get damaged in my purse.

Christmas tatting, with shuttles by Jack

All of these are my patterns. The snowflakes are simple ones, almost doodles. There are a lot of snowflake patterns out there that may be similar, but I was only doing ones that came to me as I tatted. The little angel is ‘Small Angel’, which is found on My Patterns page. The larger angel is the first pattern I ever designed myself way back in the late eighties. This represents only a few of what I already have done, but I need quite a few more. But, hey, it’s still October, I might have time!

Miscellaneous Tatting and Update on Luther's Rose Pattern

I’ve done it again, haven’t I? It’s been several weeks since I last posted. It’s not that I don’t have things to post about, it’s just getting time and pictures to do it.

I’ll start with the Luther’s Rose pattern I promised. Do you know how much harder it is to diagram and write out a pattern than it is to just tat it? I’ve been working on it and it seems to keep getting longer and longer. I even took my computer with me on a trip just so I could work on this pattern. And it still isn’t done! It didn’t help that I had a bad attack of allergies while we were gone, making it hard to concentrate. Now that we are home again I’ve made a lot of progress but still have a bit to go. And I have not reviewed it to find mistakes! I have the cross, the heart, and the white rose parts diagrammed and, I think, tat-able. If anyone would like to get started on it to have it done by Reformation, and don’t mind taking a chance on the pattern, email me. (wandasknottythoughts (at) gmail.com) Update 10/24/2024: pattern can be found on the My Patters page.

We’ve been traveling quite a bit lately. My last post was right after we got back from Branson, Missouri. A week after we got home from there we went to Colorado to visit our daughter and take her dog back. They moved at the start of September and it was easier for us to keep her dog until they got into their house. After a month we took the dog to their new home and stayed a week with them. This is where I had the allergy attack. I am allergic to their male cat. I don’t have much trouble unless I pet him and then don’t wash my hands right away. The good news is that I had time to tat in the car on the drive, which is about nine hours each way, as well as the trip to and from Branson.

Bookmarks

My other daughter, who still lives close by, requested more bookmarks. These paperclip bookmarks are easy to do while riding in the car. I don’t have to try and keep track of where I am in a pattern, which is great. My daughter still wants more, but this was a great start.

I also started on snowflakes for Christmas while we were traveling. I’m not fond of tatting with white while not at home due to the chances of it getting dirty, but I did it anyway. I have plans for small snowflakes this year and need quite a few. I wasn’t following any patterns, just making easy ones.

On a more serious note, have you read Jane Eborall’s post of October 14, 2024, on her ‘Tatting and Not a Lot Else’ blog? She found several “tatting” books that are awful. I’ve been hearing about a lot of fakes out there that are possibly made with AI or people stealing other’s work. I highly recommend that you use caution when buying any new craft books of any kind.

Besides hoping to get the pattern finished, I hope to have pictures of some of the other tatting that I’ve been doing ready soon. And to post faster!

“The family is one of nature’s masterpieces.” George Santayana

Last-Minute Gift - Again

I didn’t plan on it being a last-minute anything, but I just didn’t get on it fast enough – again. I had the ideas and I still didn’t get to it in time. But I did get it done on time.

Once a month, other than a couple of months in the summer, there is a Bingo game put on by the American Legion Auxiliary which my sister is a member of. The entry is a white elephant gift, usually a bit nicer than I think of as a white elephant gift. I decided to take a bottle decorated with tatting. I had a month to do it and I did it on the day of.

Kitty on a bottle gift

I used my Button Kitty pattern for this, with a few modifications; beads for the eyes and nose, and a couple of extra rings. I used Lizbeth #HH10696 Autumn Orange Med with a 3/4″ (7/8th”?) 4-hole button, the beads are 8/0. The kitty looked a little lonely there by itself, but a few flowers made it look less lonely.

Kitty on a Bottle side

On one side I added this flower, made in Lizbeth HH20695 Bright Orange on a 1/2″ 4-hole button. It’s a simple ring and chain pattern. A doodled leaf in Lizbeth HH20684 Leaf Green Med helped sell it as a flower.

Kitty on a bottle other side

The flower on the other side of the kitty is made of HH20695 and HH20696 on a 1/2″ 4-hole button, also with a simple ring and chain pattern. I added two leaves on this side, the same pattern as the other.

I liked how this came out on the burlap wrapped around a Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce bottle. Looking at the picture – after it was given away – I should have put several rounds of jute around the top of the burlap. I think it would have given it a more finished look.

I finished the gift with a bunch of fake sunflowers to make it a vase. When the gift was won and opened there was quite a conversation about tatting among the attendees. That is always a win.

I haven’t finished the Luther’s Rose pattern yet. We took a little vacation, which put me behind on the pattern. My plan at the moment is to work hard on it this week. Maybe I can finish it by the weekend? I’ll try!

“Each day provides its own gifts.” Marcus Aurelius

Luther's Rose 2024

In October of 2017 I shared my version of Martin Luther’s Rose. Martin Luther designed the seal on or about 1530 to represent his theology. It is commonly used to represent the Lutheran church.

Luther Rose 2017

I was on a short timeline when I made this. I speak about my motivation in my post “Luther’s Rose” from October 2017. I mentioned I would like to make it again but with a few changes. I started thinking about it again a few weeks ago. I started writing out the pattern as I had made it then, but decided now would be a great time to make a few of the changes I had thought about back then.

The cross is the same as I made it seven years ago – but I am thinking about modifying it slightly. Maybe. It is done in Lizbeth black HH20604. This is an easy cross to make and writing out and diagramming the pattern didn’t take long.

The heart is almost the same as it was originally, just with a different stitch count to make it slightly bigger. I haven’t finished diagramming it yet, but it shouldn’t take long. There are several heart patterns out there that are similar, but I don’t think they are quite the same. I made it in the same color as last time, in Lizbeth Christmas Red HH20671.

The white rose part is where I started to make changes. I thought before that the petals were not defined enough. They are this time! I used Lizbeth Snow White HH20601.

After changing so much of the rose I needed to make changes to the leaves. I used Lizbeth Kelly Green HH20713. This is a brighter green than what I used last time. And they look a lot more like leaves.

Making such changes to the center, the blue rounds definitely needed to be updated. It took some time to figure out how to fill in the open spaces around the petals and the leaves and leave it smooth enough to have the gold rounds look round. By the time I reached the blue rounds I was so excited with how it was working out that I spent too much of my time on it instead of things around the house that needed doing. I should have posted Monday, but I was too intent on this! The blue is Lizbeth HH20707 Sky Blue Dark, and I think it’s the same as I used before.

When I reached the outside gold rounds I was on a roll! These rounds are easy, as they are chains only, but being the outside, they seemed to take forever! I almost stopped at two rounds of gold, but the third round gave it a much more finished look. I used Lizbeth Harvest Gold HH20699. (The picture of it on the Handy Hands site looks greenish – it is not! Maybe it’s my computer?)

Luther’s Rose 2024

Now I need to diagram it and get it ready to publish. I had hoped to have it done by the beginning of September, but obviously that didn’t happen. If I do it right, it should have a lot of copy and paste. Easy, right? That remains to be seen.

What do you think? Is this an upgrade or not?

“Symbols are powerful because they are the visible signs of invisible realities.” Saint Augustine

More Shuttles by Jack

My husband, Jack, is back in the work shop. He’s back to making more beautiful shuttles.

Jack found a cow horn in the garage that belonged to his dad. How long his dad had it or where he got it is unknown, but it’s been in our garage for awhile now. About a month ago Jack decided to make a horn shuttle out of it.

Horn shuttle bottom view

Jack watched several videos on YouTube to see how to work with horn as it’s a bit different than wood. The imperfections in the horn react differently than those in wood.

Top view of large horn shuttle

This shuttle is 3.24 inches long and 1 inch wide. He buffed this out to give it a sheen and make it smooth. I have decided that I will only use this while I’m sitting comfortably at home and use it only on projects done at home. No taking this baby somewhere I might drop it on a hard service!

Side view of large horn shuttle

You can see that the wood post is pretty short, but it will hold a nice amount of thread. He got the points just right to hold the thread in without unwinding when the shuttle is dropped to unwind a twist, but easy to wind the thread on.

There was plenty of horn left to make a second shuttle. Jack was experimenting with the material and things didn’t go quite as expected. The next shuttle blade he made was much smaller than he planned. I said give it a try anyway, see what you can do with it even if it’s a small shuttle.

Bottom view of small horn shuttle

Jack used the small piece for the bottom of the next shuttle. It’s interesting that the little divit in the small blade is in the right spot to give the thumb just a little bit of grip. This piece is 2 inches long and .75 inches wide.

Top view of small horn shuttle

The top blade of the shuttle is 2.5 inches long and .875 inches wide. The shuttle looks better in person and feels wonderful!

Side view of small horn shuttle

The wood post in this one is taller than the post of the larger shuttle. It’s placed in the location that best fits the curve of the two blades. I thought it might not tat well with the ‘overbite’ of the top blade, but it tats soooo nice.

Jack has also been making more wood shuttles. He finished another one out of redbud that is gorgeous!

Top view of redbud shuttle

Who knew that redbud wood was so beautiful? All of the shuttles he’s made with it have been amazing. This one is his best one yet. It is 2.75 inches long and .75 inches wide. He made this one with an ‘overbite’ on purpose.

Side view of redbud shuttle

Jack was able to center the post better on this one. This shuttle feels so smooth and light! I just like to hold it and feel it.

Bottom view of redbud shuttle

Isn’t it pretty?

Jack has two walnut shuttles almost done in the shop. I am looking forward to trying them.

There was a bit of a delay on finishing the Luther’s Rose pattern. My youngest daughter is moving for her work this weekend. We all thought it was going to be the end of September, not the beginning. My older daughter wanted to give her and the family a going away party, which had to be this weekend instead of in three weeks like we were thinking. I’m the closest to the party location, I don’t have any kids in school, and I’m retired, so I’m the one that did a lot of the planning and decoration making. With a short timeline other things got pushed back. I’ll have more time for the pattern again now.

I’ve also been tatting a few small snowflakes. They are easy and small, a little seed to get me in the mood for tatting for the Christmas season. I can’t believe how little time there is left to make everything I want to do! So now I’m busy again.

“The workshop to me always means great atmosphere, working, smell of wood, dust and, at the end of the day, you’ve created something.” David Linley