Ah Ha moment.

WE all have them, those moments when we look at something and it finally clicks! Well I had mine today. I have never tried double picots before. I just didn't- no good reason. Maybe because when I was doing most of my shuttle tatting I wasn't exposed to them. And I don't know if you can do them in needle tatting.(have to think about that for awhile) So I googled how to do them. Got directed to online tatting class and Mark Myers lovely pictures. Let me back up here I don't learn by just pics alone- I am an Audio and Visual learner. So to stare at picture alone doesn't cut it in the instruction group for me. But if I read them out loud I usually can figure things out. So the pic below is my 1st successful tatted double picot.Yeah!

O.K. so it isn't exciting and now I should make something that uses them I will in time. First have a whole bunch of ufos screaming 'finish me!'. Next pic is one of those pesky ufos- Marilee's pattern 'Keyed Up' available in her Etsy store, done in size 20 Lizbeth thread. (forgot which one I used I think it is Purple Pizzaz). Now to hide threads, get the other leaf on it's mate and stiffen- and ANOTHER pair of earrings!Lol
It was fun to make.

Last weekend we sent Becki back to Alaska. It was such a short time she was here. She really enjoyed her ORFF Conference in Milwaukee, but she was really tired. She stopped off in Anchorage on her way back to Met and didn't have as good of a time as she'd hoped.(ticket prices are $1200 or more so that is a very good reason she is not coimg home.)

So-we are putting a Christmas package together for her. Homemade fudge, tree trimmings, hand made ornaments and some other goodies so she can trim a tree and not be too homesick.(1st Christmas away from home ever for her). Of course what is tree without tatted snowflakes?! Jim wants to make some wood ornaments for her. She is going to have one fine tree there in Metlakatla Alaska if you ask me!

Life just keeps us all busy. Hope everyone out there in tat land has a great week! TaTa for now.

30 years and still counting!

Happy anniversary to us! Today marks 30 years of wedded bliss! Here is a family photo taken on Bill's birthday of us all. The three striking 'children' in front are James, Becki and Bill. Me and Jim are in the the rear. It has been a wonderful 30 years and I really hope all of us are around for the next 30 years! :)

Tracy's Heart

My first 'Heart for Tracy'. Sorry didn't quite get it straight on scanner, but you get the general idea. There is a story here about the love of someone who is helping a dear friend through a very hard time. The designer of this pattern is Heather Johnston and her dear friend Tracy has stage 4 Breast Cancer. Heather designed this heart and asked those who would to tat it and send it to her so she could use it in a fundraiser to help with the cost of Tracy's care. This is truly a labor of love. I have lost way too many dear friends to this horrible disease. Heather's friend is only 33.Way to young I think to leave your loved ones behind. So if you would like to tat this heart and send it to Heather to help her cause you can find out how by visiting her blog http://thetarnishedtatter.blogspot.com/ for Tracy's Heart pattern by Heather in her October posts. There will be more information there. There is a link about the fundraiser for Tracy when you access the pattern.
I will remember Heather and Tracy in my prayers and definitely will make more hearts.
(The thread is size 20 'Purple Pizzaz' in Lizbeth)

WOO HOO I Won!

Woo Hoo. I found out Friday I had been one of 3 lucky winners of Yarnplayer's(a.k.a. Marilee Rockley) giveaway to celebrate her being published ! Well actually a beautiful picture of some of her lovely tatting! And today look what came in the mail! Here is a scan of the actual page that shows Marilee's beautiful necklace.

And then there was this very nicely wrapped package.

And inside- a nice surprise of size 20 of some Marilee's very own hand dyed thread! I screamed for about 5 minutes when I found out I won. I enter giveaways, but am the bridesmaid never the bride. Until this time!

Thank you Marilee for your very generous gift! I have to think of something someone would want that I do for a giveaway. Maybe a tie dyed T-shirt or crochet dishcloths or crocheted rug or maybe some of my many balls of thread and and some tatting shuttles? I have to work on it.

On a different note. I have been tatting, but I have had the attack of a pinched nerve in my back and left leg that has made even sitting less than fun. After many trips to the Chiropractor and Massage Therapist I can stand up straight-literally. So I hope to finish my ufo's soon.

And Becki the long lost child(not really she has been in Alaska working) is coming to town for the ORF Conference in Milwaukee this weekend. We are excited to see her as this will be the only time she will be down until summer! :(

I just can't thank Marilee enough and I am very excited I won. I am very proud of Marilee and am happy she is part of tat land. She is a very talented person. And I for one am blessed for having her out there! Ta ta for now.

'Lacy Treasures' with Lizabeth Thread.

Below is a very lonely little Angel earring I tatted with Yarnplayer's hdt- can't remember the color but do know it is a size 50. I haven't stiffened it yet because my husband helped my by picking up my stiffy and I still haven't found it! (Beads are from DS9Designs at http://www.ds9designs.com/ ) These are Lizabeth thread # 117 size 20 and the pattern is Yarnplayer's "Lacy Treasure" available in her Etsy store. It is suppose to be a pendant and when Handy Hands has Lizabeth thread available in size 10 I will make a matching pendant from it. These are more earring size so that is what they will become. After all you can't have enough earrings!

This is another pair of earrings done in size 20 purple Lizabth thread. This is also a Yarnplayer pattern "Quadrille". I did these last summer and still haven't stiffened them. I think you can still get the pattern at her Etsy store. I really like Marilee's earring patterns and Jon's snowflake patterns. I also like a lot of other people's patterns. And if I can be honest I kind of have an obsession with collecting tatting patterns. I have close to 50 or so tatting books and hundreds (literally) printed patterns. I have 40-60 crochet books and dozens of knitting, Batik, Tye-die and weaving books. You might say I have my own little private library of books. Oh and lets not forget my collection of cook books, cake decorating books besides all the fiction and non fiction. OK I could have my own library-LOL. But someone has to have a reference center right? I have been collecting books for 40 years and I know that some patterns would be gone if someone like me didn't keep track of them .One day I will organize it all and label it so it can be easily accessed. Just NOT today.LOL. Well all good things must come to and end...so I need to get this on the web so I can get some other projects done. So TaTa for now. Smile, someone will think you are up to something!:)-
P.S. all the long beads are fairy daggers from DS9designs.

More fall leaves.

This is a 'Maple leaf' pattern originally in a Workbasket but diagrammed and fixed by Tammy Rodgers, done in a size 80 in 'Sugar Maple' by Yarnplayer(link to her in side tool bar). I don't remember what web site I got pattern. I think Georgia Seitz had it under maple leaves. Anyways, I remembered why I really didn't like size 80 thread. (You mean besides the fact that if you pull a little too hard when you close rings it breaks or was it because it is so easy to get a small knot in it that you don't see until you try to close your work.) But I have other little projects I want to do and size 50 is too big for some of my earring patterns.

The above picture is to give you some idea of size of this pattern compared to a quarter and size 10 in the same thread. I haven't decided if my leaf pattern is too big for earrings(too wide actually), so I was thinking doing the clover with a ring on either side and a short stem. Something to play with. If it doesn't work out I'll send it to LadySuttleMaker for her art project as a 'bit'.

On a brighter note I have become the proud owner of several patterns from Battytatter (Carol Amich) and Yarnplayer(Marilee Rockley). You will have to be patient till I tat some of them. I also found someone who designs quilt designs in tatting. Yes all I need is 48 hours in a day!Lol. Never enough time for hobbies.

Speaking of hobbies I think I'll 'practice' some more with size 80 thread! TaTa for now :)

A new ring and leaf.

The picture above is my Celtic tatted elm/rose leaf from Ruth Perry's book "Celtic Tatted Leaves and Flowers. The one on the left was needle tatted on a size 7 needle and the right one is my previously posted shuttle tatted one.The needle tatted one is bigger, and I wove it correctly, I like the look of the shuttle one better. No I'm not giving up needle tatting. There are some techniques I handle better with a needle than shuttle and visa verse. I just think for smaller threads shuttle looks nicer. When working with size 10 and 5 I don't think there is much difference in look. My opinion for what it is worth. The thread is Marilee Rockley(a.k.a. Yarnplayer) 'A Leaf Falls' in size 20.( Check her out at http://yarnplayertats.blogspot.com/ )

This is 'Melur' in size 20 'Lola' hdt by Marilee. The pattern is from Jon Yusoff's book "Tatting With Rings". The original pattern calls for size 30 but I used 20 without too much difficulty. I had a few glitches (not with pattern but with the tatter behind the shuttle) but as a whole unless you look REALLY close you don't see them. Decided Josphine knots and I are NOT really friends. But I keep working on them to make them better. I just close my rings a little too tight.
On a different note: LADYSHUTTLEMAKER needs bits and pieces of size 50 or smaller tatted pieces for her art. If any are interested in sending her some odds and ends you have ( maybe the frustrated with ufos you have laying around) check her out at her web site. There is a link to her web page on my side bar(Tatting Tales-All thing tatting).
I wish everyone happy 'tails' with your tatting and your other projects and I am going to work on a few of mine! TaTa till latter.
PS. I have links to both Jon and Marilee on my side bar so check them out! :)