Miscalculations

I have finished tatting the third china hutch edging! I’ve even finished blocking it, but I haven’t got it in the cabinet yet.

I noticed on the first two shelf edgings that they might be just a bit shorter than I planned. So I made the 3rd edging a bit longer. Maybe too long. I’ll find out soon.

The edges of the first two edgings might not really be long enough

For a bit of a change and to answer a question I was asked about making one, I decided to make an Ice Drop, specifically Diane Cademartori’s Basic Ice Drop. (You can check out all of her adventures on her blog Lace-Lovin’ Librarian.) I’ve made it before, but this time I goofed.

The center isn’t quite right

This gem is the same size I’ve used before, but this time I didn’t do something quite right. Maybe the joining picots are too short. Or maybe the gem is just bigger than the one I used before, even though they came out of the same package. Whatever I did, or didn’t do, I’ll have to find a different center if I want to finish this ice drop.

I can’t say that either of these miscalculations are mistakes. With the china hutch doors closed, which they are most of the time, you can’t see either end of the edgings, so I’m not unhappy with them. The Ice Drop can be saved, I just have to find a different center. Let’s just call them learning experiences.

“Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else’s.” Billy Wilder

Gifted Crosses

In between working on the china hutch edgings I’ve made several cross bookmarks as gifts

This one is April’s Cross that I gifted as a wedding gift. The bride sent me a picture of it as I did not remember to take one of the finished bookmark before I gave it away. It came out nicely.

The finished wedding bookmark April’s Cross

I also made one to celebrate a baptism. Well, I made two, as I wasn’t happy with the first one. The pattern is my take on a traditional cross.

Two cross bookmarks in my version of a traditional pattern

Both of these are made in size 20 Lizbeth thread #605, Silver. I wasn’t thrilled about the length of the long arm of the top one, it didn’t look proportionally correct with the other arms. So I’ll keep the first one for me.

Both recipients were pleased with their gifts, which also makes me happy.

Now I need to stay on task and finish the third edging for the china hutch.

“The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find their greatest happiness in using it.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Second Edging Complete!

Yes, it’s true. I’ve completed the second china hutch edging AND put it on the shelf!

China hutch 2 shelves done

The top one is the first one, the bottom one is the second. It looks like I should have made one more repeat for the length, but I’m not going back. It doesn’t have as many repeats as the first one due to picot length. The second one is a bit more consistent with the length of the joining picot in the first row. I might be able to adjust the way it lays on the shelf to fit the width a bit better.

Two edgings are done on the china hutch

With the doors closed, the way they are most of the time, you can’t see that the edging does’t quite reach the sides. The first edging needs to be straightened just a bit, LOL! I’ll get to that later.

I am still working on the third shelf edging.

Still working on the third edging

I’m on the second row of it, too. I just keep running into things that need to be done that are more time sensitive than the edging, both tatting related and otherwise.

In the otherwise category, I’ve taken care of a couple of the grandchildren several times that I hadn’t planned on. Whether at their house or our house there are other things to do than tat. My granddaughter likes watching videos that show how to make Barbie accessories, so we’ve made a few of those. Good thing I have a bunch of crafty things handy!

“You don’t have to get things done all the time to be productive.” David Harsanyi

Split rings and beads

One of my daughters had a birthday recently. We took her and her family as well as our other daughter and her family out to lunch to celebrate. The day before her birthday I thought about tatting her something (I always leave it to the last minute.) Earrings can be quick and easy – relatively speaking – so I decided to make her a pair.

Split ring dragonfly earrings

The dragonfly wing beads I bought last year from JoAnn’s, the same time I bought the beads for these earrings. I used Lizbeth metallic thread #311 for the finished earrings, but, I didn’t start with that thread. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to make them so I practiced with cotton thread first.

Trial and error for the dragonfly earrings

My first try was with cotton thread and single shuttle split rings. I was not happy with them at all. They might be good after a bit more refresher practice, but there was a time limit for getting them made. I like the look of the split rings in the middle one, but they looked a bit too big. So I made the split rings a bit smaller, which resulted in a happy tatter and a pretty set of earrings.

I used a few other beads bought at the same time for my Christmas gift ornaments this last year. They were made almost the same way as the earrings but with different stitch counts.

Beaded split ring Christmas ornaments

The biggest issue I had with these ornaments was I couldn’t put them in my Christmas cards to send them! Which in a way was good, as I didn’t have enough beads to make as many ornaments as I usually do. But those that received them were thrilled with them.

I don’t tat with beads often, usually because I make messes with them. I tat a lot in the car, so beads end up on the floor, between the seats, or lost. Okay, I’m also impatient with how much slower I tat with beads than tatting without. But once in a while beads are fun to work with, and usually turn out pretty good.

“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” Denis Waitley

Patriotic Earrings

Red, white, and blue earrings made for Independence Day 2020

One of the things I enjoy about tatting is making something on the spur of the moment and it comes out just as I envisioned it. Or maybe even better! Once in a while it all just comes together and, bingo!, there it is.

These earrings are like that. For the 4th of July, we were going to our daughter’s to enjoy family, food, and fireworks in the evening. In the morning I finished a little piece in red, white, and blue, something I try to do every year when I noticed how much of those threads I still had on my shuttles. I wanted to free those shuttles up, but what to make? Earrings for the evening sounded like a great idea.

Patriotic earrings for the 4th

For all that they came out well, they still had their moments. Hiding the ends and finishing off all three colors on such small pieces was interesting. And why I decided to use a picot that had to be joined with a twist (the second side of the ring to a facing ring) I’m not sure. I mostly try to avoid those if possible. And adding the jewelry findings, for me, is problematic. Sometimes everything goes smoothly, sometimes not so much. These went relatively smoothly.

Every time I tat with red, white, and blue thread together I notice how hard it is to find a good background to take pictures. Most of my background choices wash out one color or the other. I tried eight or nine backgrounds to get a decent picture or two of these earrings. So even if the picture doesn’t come out as well as I hope, I am happy with the subject of it.

I happily wore my new patriotic earrings that evening. We had a wonderful time! And now I have a cute pair of earrings to wear, to be patriotic whenever I want to be.

“Alfred Hitchcock once told me, when I was analyzing a lot of things about his pictures, ‘Clint, you must remember, it’s only a movie.'” Clint Eastwood