Another little one

Yet another little crocheted bag with tatted edging in the works! 

Tatted Edging

easy ring and chain edging

Here's a simple little edging that I came up with the other day as the wind howled and the snow swirled! It's pictured here done in size 10 thread, hand dyed by Karey Solomon of Graceful Arts Fiber Studio. Love her hand dyed threads!

Easy to take along wherever you go and pull out if you've got a few minutes to spare. Also good to have with you if you're out and about and someone asks "Don't you do tatting? That's a lost art!". Not lost at all .... right here in my purse!

Here's the pattern:

Ring: 4ds  1P  2ds  3p  2ds  1P  4ds (reverse)

Chain: 4ds  3p  4ds (reverse and keep repeating)

Join the first P in each chain to the last P in the previous chain. You can notice from the pic that I tend to make the first and past picots (P) in each ring longer than the others (p). I like the look, but by all means experiment and use what works for you.


Here's a more detailed pic:

click me to see more detail!

Happy Tatting!

Wedding Gift

I finished this up last week. I think I can safely say it's the biggest thing I've ever tatted! As you can see I used various colors, all size 10 thread. It measures about 30 inches in diameter.

Tatted doily. A wedding gift for my niece.

The pattern can be found on Renulek's blog (the queen of huge tatted doilies!!)

winter works

The cold and snow has had me a bit down this winter ..... where is spring???? Anyway, an idea came into my head one day as I was looking for a new gig bag for my soprano ukulele. I noticed these hemp gig bags made by Eddy Finn and thought that it might be fun to spice one up with a bit of surface decoration. I have to admit it's been years since I've embroidered, so I thought of the project as a way of practicing some stitches I had long forgotten. As you can see from the pics I also added a bit of my tatting that I found kicking around and sewed on a few shiny things here and there.

And of course I can't finish there.... I ordered the concert size uke bag and I'm starting once again!

Here's the finished work!

More bags

Below is a pic of two bags I just finished up this weekend. These are also two of my favorite colors! The purple one is done with Lizbeth size 3, needle tatted and crocheted, lined with dark purple felt. The green one was made with Lizbeth size 10, shuttle tatted and crocheted, also lined with dark purple felt.

Hmm....yeah, I make lots of bags...freaky!

The Blue Bag Project

I like to make all kinds of small bags.... probably because I can usually get them done fairly quickly, not to mention that I'm a bag-o-holic, so it's just something I enjoy! Over the last few years I've been working on combining crochet and tatting in various ways and I really like the way it looks.... plus it's a great way to use tatted edgings since I love to tat, but I'm not exactly a lacy collar or cuff kinda woman.

crocheted bags with tatted embellishments

People often ask me about a pattern for these, but since I don't follow any and I'm just too lazy to write one up, I decided to do a photo essay (with a little video added in) on how I go about making these. Just click the link below to the Blue Bag Project. I hope someone finds it helpful!

The Blue Bag Project

The Blue Bag almost completed.

Big Clover

Just got back from a great time at the annual Fingerlakes Tatting Conference. It was great to see friends, meet new people and catch up on tatting geekery!

While there I picked up a set of the new larger size Clover shuttles .....and I love them! Much nicer feel and grip than any other of those larger sized shuttles I've tried, so if you're a Clover junkie, you'll love these shuttles.

doing the craft fair thing

I hadn't done a craft fair in a while, so I decided to do a local one last weekend. Here are some pics I took of my table.

I've been into making a line of party bags lately... for proms, weddings, parties, etc!

Along with my standards little bags, I did a series of American Girl hats with matching backpacks.

A close up of a tatted bag, lined in felt.

A bunch o' little bags and crunchies!

sixth day of december

The sixth day of December.

Here's another pretty one! This one was, in a word ..... futzy! Ok, so you might be wondering what the heck that means?!? Futzy, at least for me, means fussy, fastidious.... hmm... a bit annoying!! It is, however, a snowflake that keeps you on your toes. Since I do right side/wrong side tatting (ie. I tat my chains and rings off chains with the double stitch in reverse order) I did need to pay more attention than usual to which direction the chains were going in and there were a couple times I lost count so don't look toooooo closely!!

But, I was pretty pleased with the result and the overall look of this one. Day seven is ahead!

fifth day of december

Ok, here's a lesson on blocking... it's one I don't remember enough. Like I've said, I'm a pretty lazy blocker.¹ With that said .... here's the fifth day snowflake ..... before and after!

BEFORE: wow.... it's a mess!
Tell your friends you're experimenting
with "freeform" tatting!

If your tatting looks like this (see BEFORE pic) don't give up hope! It may not be you, it just may be that gremlin otherwise known as the twist of the thread. And, in all honestly, this is a pretty chainy motif and unless you tat extremely tight your chains might need to be straightened out a tad.

So have no fear... the power of water... it's like awesome! I wet it down and gently pulled and tugged things into position and voilà! It came out actually looking like something!

AFTER: it really IS a snowflake! the Fifth day of December

Onward to the sixth now! Woo woo!

¹[Note: Confidentially... I'm a somewhat lazy crafter in general. I mean, if I make a mistake (that happens only once or twice a year... oh yeah) I only untat, undo, rip out, etc if its presence will cause a major issue as I go forward with whatever project I'm doing .... yep, that's me. We all got bigger problems in life to fret over, so for me a missing picot or one or two more/less stitches isn't going to keep me up at night.]

fourth day of december

The fourth day snowflake is another one that I've made in the past and a fairly easy pattern to follow:

The Fourth Day of December snowflake, tatted with Olympus 40.

I decided to use two different variegated threads. What's nice about this one is that you can work the snowflake continuously because of how the second round starts with a chain coming up from the last chain of the first round... it's always good when you don't have to cut and hide threads!

Now to the fifth!

third day of december

Here's a fuzzy favorite of mine! As I mentioned before, I've made several of these in the past... it's a lovely pattern and the layers of picoted chain add a bit of three dimensional flair.

Third Day of December snowflake in turquoise.

Just in case you're not familiar with the book these patterns come from, here's the reference:

Bjørn, Lene. 24 Snowflakes in Tatting. Akacia, 2002.

You can probably find it on Amazon or wherever you find tatting supplies and books. It's my kind of book... small (abt. 8" x 5" - easy to throw in a purse) and to the point! It's not for beginners. There are minimal written instructions, but each snowflake is diagrammed and at the beginning there are succinct instructions on how to do a lock stitch, false picot, work with beads, do ring on ring, chain on chain and false chain. I just realized that there is no explanation of how to do a split ring, and that does come in handy in some of the patterns. Although I say it's not for beginners, you're certainly able to pick and choose which snowflakes you do, some are easier than others and they are all lovely!

I'm really surprised I've managed to finish one every day since I started.... I assure you that won't be the norm as time goes on, but for now ... on to the fourth day!

second day of december

I had more time that I thought I might yesterday, so without further ado .... here's the second of the 24 Snowflakes:

Second Day of December, using Olympus thread, size 40.

For this one I used a shade of purple for the chains and a variegated for the rings. It could have been done in one round if you used a split chain, but since I wasn't using the same thread on both shuttles, it's done in two rounds.

Now.... I really should have taken a pic of this one before I blocked it! It was one wavy crumply looking snowflake and I was a bit worried that my tension was just not right for this pattern (this can, of course happen... I've had things turn out where I really needed an extra segment - or one fewer - to make something work right) but when I would flatten it out it did seem better, so I'll say this: Blocking is really worth it!!

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I hate the feel of starched things, but blocking can be the bomb! I'm a pretty lazy blocker too .... I simply dampen the whole motif and lay it out a towel, gently pulling it into shape to dry. I don't pin it all down and poke at every picot like I've seen shown in some books. I mean, I'm doing this for fun, not for the some state fair competition, so I don't see the point of getting all anal about it!

On to number three! Gotta say.... the next one is one I've made several times before just I think it's just too cute. More to come...

first day of december

First Day of December snowflake, tatted in Olympus, size 40 thread.

Yay! I just finished the first snowflake in the 24 Snowflakes book. I'll need to hide the ends and block it. Don't know how you feel about starching, but I dislike greatly the feel of starched items, so I won't be starching it. I find my snowflakes hold well without it.

Having never worked this particular pattern before, I have to say that it was not particularly difficult. The hardest part (and I find this true of most one shuttle designs) is being consistent with the amount of thread to leave between rings, but being a nudge or so off on some didn't make a big difference while working this pattern for me.

Ok... on to number 2!

snowflakes in September

My fall tatting project ... make all 24!

Since I've been devoting myself to other kinds of fiber projects lately I really haven't been tatting too much, and in all honesty I haven't been feeling much tatting mojo lately, but... I do miss having a small project to throw in my bag when I'm on the go and is easy to pull out and do anywhere.

So, I've decided to tat my way through the 24 Snowflakes book by Lene Bjorn. I decided that I'll be using my favorite tatting thread for all the snowflakes, Olympus, size 40. Each one will be in a different color, though.

I started number one today (the humble beginnings seen in the pic above) and I'm hoping to get all 24 done for my Christmas tree! I'll keep you posted on progress!

beaded

I've been quite pleased with how little purse/smart phone pouch worked out. The base, the pouch itself, is crocheted with two strands of size 20 thread held together. One is orange, one is more of a pale coral color. As I created the pouch itself, I tatted, with the orange thread, strips of beaded lace that I then crocheted in as I went along. The beads are size 11 seed beads in a mix of colors that I felt coordinated with the thread colors.

For anyone who can crochet and tat, this is a really easy sort of project and the result is quite lovely. Just find a favorite edging pattern and off you go.

 

Here's how it looked in the beginning!

Three rows of lace added at this point, there are seven in all.

the finished purse

close up of the tatting

they came from outer space

Ok, so they didn't really come from outer space. I've had these tubular hematite beads for a while now. I created a necklace with them that I wasn't happy with, so snip, snip, snip...

I thought they might look interesting in tatting, so I loaded some of them on a shuttle and just like pod people, they sprang out!

Seems a matching alien necklace is in order now!

more fancy phones

A few weeks ago I showed off my latest smart phone cover up:

I was so pleased with the result of combining crochet and tatting that I set out on making another. Here are the pics!

I used Lizbeth 10 for the crocheting and a matching Lizbeth 40 for the tatting.

Again I made the pouch itself as a wristlet that opens easily to get at your phone.

Here's a detail shot of the single crochet and tatting. This time I used clusters of three seed beads (size 11) on the picot of the chain.

Since I had some leftover thread, I tatted this lock stitch chain bracelet/necklace. The beginning and ending rings just slip over one another to hold it secure.I've never had a problem with one of them coming undone (you'd really have to get it a pretty hard tug).

Next up! I have a new idea for another phone pouch, but this time I'll be using different tatted ornamentation. Pics to follow!

Finger Lakes Tatting Conference 2011

Another year has come and gone.... the annual trip down Seneca Lake to Lodi, NY for the Finger Lakes Tatting Conference. I always pick up some new tip or idea there and it's great fun to hang out with all the other tatting geeks! This year there were people in attendance, not only from all over New York state, but from throughout the Northeast as well as Canada.

Here's a synopsis of my two day experience in photos:

I started the first day ready for action! My tatting bag, shuttles, winder and other essentials like coffee and water!

Workshop 1: using hand dyed thread ... yay!

 

Workshop1 : Making continuous/contiguous motifs - see flowers above (not separate motifs that were joined). A great technique since joining motifs can be a bummer!

Examples provided by our illustrious teacher, Jennifer Ostrander.

Workshop 2: Using mock tatted hairpin lace, taught by Ruth Perry. Mine is the one on the bottom.... hey, gimme a break, I hate using picot gauges!! Loved this technique.... thinking of ways to incorporate it into jewelry now.

It's always great to see all the projects people have been tatting away at since we last saw each other a year ago. I snapped a few pics of some of the great work I saw there this year:

A very simple, yet interesting and elegant tatted beaded strip that Ruth MacEachern showed me. I got ideas for this one!

This shawl edging, by Ruth MacEachern, was done in a wonderful variegated pearl cotton... some of my favorite colors!

Gorgeous little dark blue miser bag! Can't remember the name of the lady that showed me this, but it was great work!

Spiders! Lovely and ingenious design by Ginny Weathers.

Using hand dyed thread and a beautiful stone (eeek... can't remember the name of the stone!) this was created by Vicki Clarke as a gift for a friend.... but wait, hmm... Vicki was wearing it, shhhhh, don't tell!

Contest entries! This year's theme was "Tatting Along the Garden Path". It was extremely hard to pick just one favorite!

Ruth MacEachern was this year's winner! Love those ferns!

Every year we raise funds for a charity and of course, to support the annual event by holding raffles and silent auctions. This year I won this green jar of green stuff at the raffle ... love green!

I was also the lucky recipient of one of Ruth Perry's butterflies (I was the person in our class who had been tatting the fewest number of years, which is about ten now.) Shown also in the pic is this year's commemorative shuttle created by Sandy Maguire.

I did purchase a small supply of hand dyed thread from Karey Solomon of Graceful Arts Fiber Studio. Once you go hand dyed you'll never go back!

Workshop 3: On Sunday I sat in on two workshops by Karey Solomon. In the first she showed up how to do tatted "Catherine Wheels". Again, these are contiguously constructed .... way cool!

Workshop 4: In the second class we learned how to create a floating chain... a great way to back track!

Many thanks to all of you who work so hard each year to make this conference a success!!

I look forward to next year!