New beads--no-go. Attempt at mask laughable!

I tatted one of the motives for the veil while at my sister's. I used the new little pearl beads I had found. I tried them in different spots, but none looked as good as I would have liked. The beads are so small that they just blended in with the white thread. So that option is out. But I think they would look great on the child's necklace with the heart that I did in pink a while back. When I get bored, I think I will try that.

While at my sister's in Florida (wow, I miss Florida!) I got to attend my cousin's Costume Party. She throws one every few years and it just happened to be while I was down there. So Saturday, while waiting for the evening to come, I got to thinking about the tatted masks I've seen and loved. Never had a reason to wear one or make one. But my cousin LOVES the season, so I think she would get a kick out of one and wear it till it fell apart. Only having the small white thread (DMC 60) for the veil, I tried a quick mask. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Thump! <--that's me laughing my head off. Embarrassment aside, here's what it looked. Mind you, I just tatted without a pattern in mind. As I am terrible at hiding ends, I tried to tat non-stop, without tying off and starting in a new place. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Thump! Awe, and I just got my head back on straight!

Are ya laughin' yet? (-:

another preview

Here's another preview of the veil I'm tatting. But at the bead store yesterday I came upon some very small pearlized beads. Hmmm..... Maybe instead of adding big pearls along the edge like the original designer, I am thinking of putting them throughout the motives. Hmmm..... Getting on a plane tonight to visit and help my sister out for a week. I think I will try tatting up a motive or two with the seed beads and see how it goes. Be back in a week for an update and maybe a pic or two.

RED ! ! ! Love it....

Did the necklace with some shiny red seed beads. Gonna wear this one today and all thru Christmas holidays! And retook some pics of the purple one, but the beads showed up more blue than the color they are in real life.

Here's a close-up. Gosh, wish I could show you how the beads really shine and sparkle. But I know you all have wonderful imaginations so I will leave it to you to imagine.

Hey, I actually sat down and figured how many knots are in this: 9150 something.

new necklace

Not my design. I wish it was, but it comes from a much more talented designer than my self. But I loved it and had to try it. Just have to add the clasp and extender chain. It was done in white DMC Cordonnet Special sz 70 with purple seed beads. Too much fun was had!

-----

How does anyone make these things to sell? I only get excited about a pattern that I like and if I make it I never want to give it away!

Bad picture/colors, but fun tatting anyway!

Okay, okay. I know! Scanning doesn't work on 3d images. And the color is WAAAAY off! It is actually a pretty set of leafs in different shades of blue, with small seed beads thrown in for fun. (-:

I'm gonna try this one again with a verigated blue thread. The only thread I have at the moment is thicker than the black thread so I am curious how it will turn out.

And I did the 3d scanning again! ha. Okay, I am really bad at these photos. I can't find the camera. The hearts on the bottom are clear pink. Very cute. I even made a pair with red hearts. These I made the other day to sell and can't stop wearing them. Oh, well. Maybe I should stop making things I like? Yea, like that's gonna happen!

School has started!!!!

Yea! The house is empty. At least during the day. The girls started school this week and the boys are off at summer camp for a couple of weeks. Is it horrible that I am excited to have the house mostly (hubby home, too) to myself? That I am NOT upset that my youngest has gone to school? I always hear of parents, especially moms, that are sooo very upset that the youngest has started in school and is growing up. I'm not. I'm quite excited! I find it amazing what all I can get done before lunch now. Laundry, dishes, bathrooms, more laundry, floors, dog cages, laundry again, getting rid of junk, etc. Amazing!!!

Anyhoo, have had an incredibly busy and full summer. Did not get to do as much tatting as I would have liked, but had fun anyway. Have started on a project, though. Instead of attaching the motifs together, I am just tatting up a bunch of them first. Here's a sneak peak.

They are tatting up alot faster than I had thought they would. I don't think it is going to take me the years that I thought it might. But then again, with the hit and miss tatting schedule I have, it just might take that long to complete.

I tried my first attempt at hiding the ends. Didn't turn out so well. I was trying to "sew" the ends in with a needle. Maybe my needle was just too big? I had a hard time getting it into the stitches/knots and even threading the needle. I am using size 60 (my favorite) thread. I used my smallest needle in my sewing/quilting stash. Any other suggestions?

Easter bunnies LAY eggs....out hatch.....

Puppies!!! (Never understood the whole "bunnies laying eggs" thing to start with, but now, eggs hatch puppies?!?!?) Little things are sooo cute! Of course, I tried not to puke when we got done at the vet's and I saw the bill. I guess it was still less than actually having a baby -- and plus, no labor pains. Okay, I'm not really laughing at that joke.

Haven't had a whole lot of time for tatting lately, and probably won't again for a while yet. Crazy family going-ons and all. But one night, at 2am in the Emergency room waiting area, I did get a chance to try a bookmark pattern I had seen. (No worries -- child just had a super high fever -- all better now.) The Royal Trio Bookmark by Ellen Lai was one I had trouble with when I had tried it before. I got it now. Love it. Then, I took out one of the split rings, continued it for a few more times, added a clasp and got this. Made a simple bracelet out of it.

Here's the link for Ellen's pattern. http://singtatter-corner.blogspot.com/search/label/free%20pattern

You have to scroll down a ways. It is after the tree bookmarks. It really is pretty in the thread she chose. Take a look.

Ow, Ooo, Ow

So I thought I would do a little cleaning....The shower curtains in the bathrooms needed scrubbing. I hadn't done it in a while and the mold, well, Yech!!!! I couldn't find my rubber gloves -- probably had been taken and used by the guys in the house for some project or other. I didn't think it would take me long so I went to scrubbing the curtains in the tub barehanded. I guess I used a bit too much bleach...... My finger tips are all sore and hurt to the touch (I am typing this with my nails only.) and the backs of the first knuckles look skinned! I am more disappointed less at the pain (and stupidity) than with the fact that I can't tat. So many patterns, so little time. I am in the Design Tat group and I can't redo the homework from the third lesson (wanted to change my pattern) and can't hold the pencil for lesson four.

And, by the way, how in the world do you get the bleach smell out of your skin? I think it is permanently etched in my nose membranes!

On the brighter side, the shower curtains look brand new! AND they don't smell of bleach (or so my hubby says - I still can't smell anything but the bleach!)

Whew! I'm back....

For my wild and crazy fans out there (or the ones in my head) I finally got back to tatting. Lots of activity around here with one child moving to another state (temp.) and something called Spring "Cleaning" where we try to make as big a mess of the house as possible. Anyhoo....

Here's a small lap quilt I made from scraps. I was thinking of selling it, but have no idea of price and can't bear to part with it. Although, all it is doing is sitting, folded-up, on a shelf in my wardrobe. One of my first attempts at quilting, horrible edging, not square, the points of the triangles don't exactly meet....but I don't care. It's my own doing, and I can't help but like it. (-: It is just draped over the edge of our bed in the photo. It is warm, perfect for legs when watching tv. But I also thought of using it for wall decor, but it might be too big....

Okay, those of you that tat alot and doing blocking and stiffening have so many wonderful ways of doing it. I don't have room to set up an ironing board or table that won't get cleared. So I have started using my sewing box top. It is just slightly cushioned and works great for lining up edges along the pattern in the material. See that little white ball on the left? I had so much fun making that little pattern. My husband, who really doesn't care about all this "girly lace stuff" even commented on it and wants it for the Christmas tree this year. Cool!

I was in a drawing/contest for a box of things from Ruth Perry. I got it just before I left out of state last week. I finally opened it and talk about Christmas!!!! I couldn't believe my eyes. So many different shades of green (my favorite color) greeted me! It took me a day to remember that she had asked what color I liked. She even put in a couple of fabrics that make me want to pick up my (very beginner's) quilting again. I am already turning over designs ideas in my head. Oh, how I wish I had a craft room. Anyway, she included some great threads and shuttles, and some very neat cases for organizing my stash stuff. One of the threads I used on Lesson 3 from the Design-Tat group. We were given the center motif and told to add a row and create negative space. I wish I had made the chains longer. I wanted more negative space. I will do it again and make the chains longer, right before I add another row. This is fun.

The larger shuttle is a celtic bone shuttle, that I liked so much I got another one. The smaller one is one that Ruth sent me. Yes, there is thread in it. I have already used it to make a bookmark for one of my sons. I love it. It is so small and so much fun to use. I was worried about it holding enough thread to make any thing. I was using size 80 and it still has some left over. Yea! What can I use it on next?

I showed a picture in an earlier post of a necklace for a little girl I made. I had a cool painted bead I couldn't decide how to use....until now. I tatted around it and then attached it to another necklace/choker for an adult. The ribbon simply ties in the back for an adjustable, one-size-fits-all fit. Don't know why it is showing up sideways. It is right side up on my computer, but is sideways when it is uploaded. But you get the idea.

Until next time, hopefully not so long in coming, this time.

Tatting has gone to the Races

I was doing a Google search to get an idea for a tatted bird and came across this page.
http://www.pedigreequery.com/tatting+bird Appearantly, there is a horse named Tattingbird. He is the son of Threadlace, the daughter of Interlace, son of Straitlace.

How can anyone say tatting is a dying art? People are betting on it winning!

Sugar Sweet

This heart is Betsy Evans's design and tatted by me. The "chain" is just a bunch of split rings. (I LOVE doing split rings! Now if only I could figure out cplit chains...) The back is tied with a small white ribbon. I made this a child size, and by tying the ribbon in the back tighter or looser, it can fit any size child. The ribbon can be trimmed shorter for a smaller neck.

The photo was taken in my bathroom, so the light is a little dim and off color.

- - - - > On another note, I was approached by a shop owner yesterday. She told me of a jewelry store she is opening in late March. She is going to have a section for local artists and wanted me to put some of mine in her store. Ah.........I wasn't quite sure what to say. She asked for a business card, etc. I told her I was strictly small potatoes, really not much, even in inventory. She said that was okay, gave me her card and told me to call her. Wow! That was pretty cool.

Wha'cha think?

Picture one: Red and yellow shells on silver plated filigree square.

Picture two: Cat's eye beads. Interchangeable drops. One for every day of the week and two for Saturday and Sunday.

Picture three: Swarovski crystals in pastels. Very sparkly.

A Thought to Ponder

Do the potatoes that you buy in the store seem to keep getting smaller? To me it seems so. Now if you want the large potatoes, you have to buy them individually, like they are an exotic item. I lived on a farm, when I was much younger, and our main staple was potatoes. As you can see in this photo, we grew 'em big. The potato on the right was an eatin' tater. The one on the left was used as seed for the next year's crop. And some of the middle ones were cut in half and used as seed also.

So what are they doing these days with the big potatoes? What an awesome baked potato that would make, yea?! Makes you kinda say "Hhmmmmmmmmmmm....." doesn't it? Or maybe, "Mmmm!!!"

A warm day at last

We finally have had a couple of warmer days here. The bulbs and trees are really confused, but it is great to be able to let the kids go outside and run wild. Get out that pent up energy kids have natually. Following is from an older post of mine, but it is still relevant. Just need the wheel to be big enough for a teenager now. (Of course, my genious Dad told me how to do this with an exersice bike quite easily. Then said I should take a turn on it. He's right, again.)

From Dec. 2005:

Here's a thought from the "in" side of sane: You know those little wheels in hamster cages? They go round and round.... I need one or two. But I need someone to build it to specifications. It needs to be big enough for a two year old and/or a four year old. Any takers? Anyone out there like to build things? Here's a project for you! I think it would be great. Give the girls some way to get that last bit of energy out before bed. Maybe then they won't get out of bed (six times tonight) every night. And on those rainy days, great way to let them get their exercise. Hey moms, how 'bout those days when you just don't have the energy to take them out to the park? Sick mom, alergy season again? Flu got you down for the count? Pull out the wheel, they can run all they want. Oooo!!!!! Wait, I got one better!!!! You want to cut down their TV time? Electric bill just getting too high? HOOK THAT WHEEL UP!!! Plug the TV into the wheel. Those kids want to watch that video again for the upteenth time? Then run, children, run. They beg to watch a cartoon on Saturday morning? They pick the show, they run. Dont' want to run? No electricity, no tv, no video. That would be the end of the 'couch potato' generation.

Here's some new pictures

Okay, it's been a while. I have lots of pics to post. Hope they all turn out well. I am having so much fun. I have been working on the 3D flowers from Linda. Don't have pictures of those yet, haven't even put any together, just tatting the pieces. I am very excited to see how those will turn out, but am going to tat alot of the pieces first before trying to put any together. This first picture is a choker and earrings (close up of the earrings to the right) I made for my niece. Just need to add the hardware. I'm thinking of hanging a charm or two to it to give it, especially the earrings, a little bit of weight. I can't remember where I saw this pattern on the web last year. If it is yours, let me know and I will post credit to you.



I tatted the Hearts Entwined pattern by Jon. You can find it on her website at the right.











I had so much fun, I did it twice. I am going to keep one for myself and put the other on a card, probably to my mom. On the right is a scan of my first try with two different shades of pink. I didn't like the way it made the lighter one look dirty, which took away from the darker pink's nice color. So I did it all in the darker pink and it turned out nice.


Here is the lighter pink thread. The picture doesn't do it justice. It is such a sweet light pink. Both threads are DMC, size 30. This heart is from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konier. (I think I spelled her name right.) I really liked this one. Again, I made two, couldn't help myself. I wanted to keep one just for me. I promptly lost the pattern after making the first one and had to tat the second one by looking at the first. It still turned out well. This pattern tats up very quickly. I finished the first one in one evening watching movies.



With the size 30 thread, the Queen of hearts tatted to 2" x 2.25" and the Hearts Entwined to 2.5" x 2." (That's width by height.)



Now my creative brain cells have been going a mile a minute lately. I have been trying my hand at making some jewelry, mostly earrings. And I am having a blast!!! (Not tatted ones, mind you, but I am wanting to put the two together soon.) I've gotten a little website (that I'll post the address of later) to show these off at and maybe sell some of them. I have been trying to take pictures and they are just not turning out nicely. I either get too much light or the colors don't show up as normal or as sparkly as in real life. Since my scanned tatted pieces turn out well, I thought I might try scanning the jewelry, too. As you can guess, 3D items don't scan well. Ha Ha <-- said sarcastically. This is the scan of a silver bell shaped flower with hanging silver chains that have treble clefs attached. The scan doesn't show how nicely the charms hang and dangle. This is all silver plated, so photos with flash or sunlight are too bright and artificial light has made the particulars not show up well in the picture. Any of you pros with posting photos and scans on your blog have any suggestions for me?

And here is the picture of the last bookmark I did for the round robin. I actually had this done before I received the flowered one (previous post) from Bonnie. I guess we were all on the same page with wanting spring to begin. You might notice that the center is like the black choker at the start of this post. Then around the outside I just free handed it. The thread was a DMC 80 in a verigated yellow. Since I didn't have any green thread that size, I dug into my sewing box and came up with a green cotton sewing thread. As I was just going to be tatting chains and not pulling any rings closed with the green, I wasn't too worried about the thread breaking on me. It turned out tiny and light weight.

See my pretties?

* With the bookmark round robin finished, the holiday craze over, kids back in school, swearing off of stairs and ovens, I am looking forward to trying some of the new patterns I have seen on fellow tatter blogs. Here's the third bookmark I received from Connie. My little girls love the small one I call a shooting star. I'm going to have to beg for the pattern to make them each one.

* I happen to love green (how did she know?), but I think this would be good in a red/white stripe like a candy cane. Mmmmm.

* Below is the bookmark from Bonnie. Again, love the green and it makes me think of spring. Can't wait until all my bulbs in the garden come up this year. Must be the unbelievable cold spell going on everywhere that makes me long for Spring. (Of course it could be that this Florida girl still hasn't gotten use to the cold here in NC. LOL)

* Okay, by my count there are 8 different colored flowers in this bookmark, but the chains are not fat enough to have been hiding 8 thread strands. It's so cool. She is a whiz. And I love the little seed beads at the end of the tail. I must try that next time. It gives just the perfect weight to the tail ends.

* I am so thankful to have been a part of this round robin. It gives me such inspiration to see first hand (as opposed to just pictures) the works of art others have made. It makes me want to work that much harder to improve. I have a picture of the last bookmark I made, but want to wait 'til the recipient gets it.

* Ooohhh! I just got in the mail the cd from Linda S. Davies with all of her 3D flowers in it. I am so excited to get started, but first wanted to try Jon's Hearts Intwined pattern found here :

http://tatsaway-patterns.blogspot.com/

Times Flies when ....?

When you're having fun? You've got to be kidding. I can't believe it is the middle of January already. Not much fun happening here. Let's see, to sum up the last four weeks....hmm.....burned hand, 3-wk headache caused by knots in back/neck/shoulder, fell down flight of stairs at church last Sunday.....throw in five kids (3 are teenagers) and a couple of holidays with at least 3 family get togethers......okay, so we ARE having some fun here. Seems like it was just yesterday that we were getting geared up for Christmas. Is it really mid-January?!?! Youngest is turning 6. Wow. Only 12 more years..... (-:

No, really, the holidays were great. Loved getting together with family. We all get along so well and really enjoy spending time together. It is wonderful. Didn't get as much tatting done as I would have liked due to hand burn and consuming activities. Now I can only tat for a few minutes before the knots (in back/shoulder/neck) tighten up and cause pain. But will post pictures hopefully tomorrow. Now to put the munchkins to bed and then follow suit....

Fun times were had by all, and to all a good night.

Teenagers - Love to Hate them or Hate to Love them?

I know that there is some sort of disconnect in a teenagers mind. Most all of us went through that same stage. But I just don't remember being a complete IDIOT!!!! Granted, being the oldest probably had something to do with maturing early, as did being a female. And my sons' up-bringing in a country of idiots (no, I am NOT exaggerating!) has a lot to do with their current state of mind, along with being boys in general (no offense intended to the men out there.)

So my question is this: How do I continue to keep sane? I am at the point of throwing up my hands and being done with them. On the other hand, as a mom I can't quit on my kids. I know myself enough to know that if I did quit, I would guilt-trip myself forever. So how do I continue and still keep my mind?

I will always love them (I tell this to them all the time) even if they do something horrible. I will love THEM, just hate what they DO. Like right now, I love them so much I can't quit trying. But it is making me not want to be around them, talk to them, do anything for them, etc. Yet, I keep pushing them to do better, be better, want better. Because of where they come from, they are satisfied with the statusquo. Whatever life hands them is fine. We have tried to explain to them that here in America you can have and be whatever you dream of if you work hard enough for it. They just don't care.

How do I keep caring to help someone who doesn't care if they are helped? And worse yet, scoffs at any help they are given? I so want to get off this ride.....parenting, that is.