#9 of 25 Motif Challenge

So much to blog about today.

Thank You to everyone who commented in my previous blog where I asked is the join the first half of the ds, how to hid new threads added during a project and hiding the tails. I want to make sure I am doing everything exactly right and sometimes I second guess myself. So again Thank You to everyone.

Yesterday my sister, Anita, showed me Google Reader. I have been checking people's blogs 2 or 3 times a day (I'm not a stalker I promise, :-), I'm just afraid of missing something!) What Google Reader does is it lets me know when a new post has been added to everyone's blogs. It is going to save me hours at the computer, :-) . Seriously if you aren't familiar with this or a program like it I highly recommend it.

Also yesterday I spent a large portion of the day making jam. It was a rainy day here in Western NY, so standing over the stove wasn't so bad. I got alot accomplished though, I made a batch each of Strawberry and Raspberry Rhubarb jams. Today I will finish up the jam for this year and make a batch of Cherry Rhubarb. We could NEVER eat that much jam, so I really make it all with the intentions of giving most of it away. Although it never fails that before next Rhubarb season I will have given so much away that we go quite a while with out any until I can make more.

Anyway, I didn't get a chance to start Jane's TIAS3 yesterday. But I will do it today.

Lastly here is #9 of my 25 Motif Challenge.


This pattern is called "Heart's Desire" by Susan K. Fuller. The pattern can be found here. I made this for my friend Rose's birthday and tacked it onto the front of a blank card to use as her birthday card. I thought it only fitting to use Yarnplayer's size 30 "Roses" HDT. I first saw this motif on TattingChic's blog.

I would like to continue to invite everyone to comment on my previous blog "Tatting Question". I am very interested to hear how YOU tat.

Happy Tatting,

Bonnie

Tatting Question

Fellow Tatters, I have a question. Do you consider the join as the first half of your ds? Last night I started a rather large project and I do consider the join as the first half. Suddenly it occurred to me that maybe I was taught incorrectly and it shouldn't be. Will some one please let me know if I am doing it correctly?

I just went to see what I could find out on youtube and I came upon this very informative video provided by Tattyhead, Linda Davies. She explains how to put a bead on and how to make the last join without getting a twisted picot. Both of these techniques are sooo much easier than what I have been doing. I also believe she says that her join is considered as the first half of the ds, which would mean I have been doing it correctly all of this time.

To all of the youtube tatters, I would really enjoy seeing a video on how you join a new thread when you are in the middle of a project, as well as how you hide your tails. Last night when I was cutting off, tieing and hiding tails, I wondered if I was doing that right......... So I join the end to the beginning, cut, tie a knot (a knot should that be??) and weave back and front, back and front thru the work a couple of times with each tail individually, then cut off the extra thread.

As for joining thread in the middle of the project I had to do that last night too. Oh the horror of it all! I'm thinking I did it okay, probably not correctly. It was right before a ring, so I wove the thread under the short previous chain and once or twice thru the previous ring. I'm sure I'm not doing it correctly but can't grasp how else to do it. I've tried adding using the floss trick but I can't figure out how to tat over top of it.

I guess my one question turned into a couple here.

Happy Tatting,

Bonnie

SR and SCMR & There Goes My Tatting Time

I did this post last Sunday but because I had a non-tatting related item in it, I debated over if I should actually post it. Then I decided I was going to revamp it and never did. Since I have a horrible cold and I didn't do much tatting this week, I'm going to post last week's in it's original form. I hope it makes you smile.

Happy Tatting and Stay Well!

Bonnie

Originally written Sunday, February, 10, 2008

Greetings,

It really didn't take me long to figure out the SR (split ring) but it took considerable time to learn the SCMR (self closing mock ring.) What happened was I was trying to actually make a ring rather than have the second shuttle be the core of the SCMR.

Once I realized SCMR isn't a ring but a mock ring it was quite easy. I hope to have it finished in time to post next week.

Non-Tatting related, but a funny story.

My avid body building - every day gym going husband called me at work last week to tell me he got me a present. A present, yeah!, what is it? "A gym membership." How thoughtful! *sigh* Okay so I say "I'm game to a trial membership." To which he replied "I got you a year membership, we have alot to do and a little time to do it in."

"WE" ?!?!?! Wonder who "we" is!

(January 2009 we will celebrate our 25th Anni. For almost 2 years now we have been planning a cruise for Jan 09 with our very good friends, Kris and Nicole, who will celebrate their 10th Anni around the same time. )

Isn't he the greatest? Now mind you I was furious at the time, hung up on him in fact, but I know he loves me and since he isn't very romantic, this is his way of saying that he wants me to be healthy and grow old with him.

And I know that I need to do this for myself, so I started a week ago today. 4 times a week, just cardio for now, a hour and a half a day. Today was the first day of week #2, weigh in day, the first day of the new week, I lost 5 lbs! I rush to tell DH "5 lbs!" to which he replys "I told you the first few would come right off, don't get over confident." Feel the love?? :-)

Does anyone know if it's possible to tat while on a treadmill?

Happy Tatting,

Bonnie

#3 for 25 Motif Challenge

True to my word, I worked on a project using my HDT. The pattern is "Celtic Flower" from Celtic Tatting by Rozella F Linden.

The HDT is from Marilee's "Peace" HDT batch. It is done in size 30. I used a small portion of a skein of "Peace" and since I had to redo the second round (the long peach colored spikes in the middle) I used almost all of a skein of "Peach". Also I didn't leave the beginning picots on round one (the multi color) long enough, which then meant the final rows of that round weren't .......... I guess I'll say .... high enough, so I had to slightly modify the third/final round (the final peach.) I felt the directions were lacking for that final round, I had to untat in order to get the over/under celtic weave working. It didn't explain that in the directions, although it was reflected in the picture, which I missed because I was to busy reading the directions, go figure. LOL. Regardless I think it turned out pretty good.

I feel bad that I missed out on Jane's Tat It And See. I started it but got worried when I came to the first split ring (SR). I know what a SR is but haven't practiced it enough to put it into a project. I didn't want to start off with messing up the project right off the bat. So this week I am going to spend practicing the SR and the SCMR (self closing mock ring.) I hope to have that down by the end of the week. I'm sure the Tat It And See was alot of work, but I hope Jane does another one. It looks like everyone had alot of fun and I'd like to be in on it. As your aware I haven't been tatting long, but I can already tell how much time Jane spends helping out the tatting world, just check out her pattern page. Thank you, Jane.

Please allow me to say unless something wonderful happens in my tatting world during the week, I am only going to update my blog on the weekends.

Happy Tatting,

Bonnie

#2 for 25 Motif Challenge - Flower Paperclips

My friend, Marty, asked me how long I'd been tatting, I told her since Sept. But once I started to think about it, I realized that was when I was placed on my teacher's waiting list for class. I checked my calendar and found my first lesson was on November 1, 2007.

That being said, this is Mary Smith's Flower Paperclip pattern that I found on the Internet shortly after I began tatting. I've given at least one to everyone who has shown an interest in my work. Of course I didn't take a picture of a single one before I gave them away, so yesterday when I realized I have no pictures to post this week, I "quickly" made up these two.

In the nature of using my HDT-s the one on the left is Sherry's size 20 "Spring Poppies" and the one on the right is Marilee's size 30 "Roses". (Now do you see why I am addicted to their HDT-s!!) I wanted you to see the original pattern which is the "Spring Poppies". However, in the "Roses" clip, I added the seed beads. I also altered the pattern to include an extra ring at the end which I then wove the other rings around. I'm sorry the extra ring doesn't show up very well in this picture but it does give it a little something extra in the middle.

I am going to count these as #2 of the 25 Motif Challenge.

Happy Tatting,


Bonnie

Request for Help

Greetings fellow Tatters. I am looking for some help. I want to start larger projects but with smaller thread and I'd like advice on the correct way to hide threads, both starting and stopping a project, as well as adding. Do you weave the ends in the finished piece with a needle. What is your preference? Is there a special trick? I was taught to tie off and seal with fray check, but I really don't think that can be the proper way. I wonder if I am tatting to tight, on my size 30 and below tread I'm unable to weave the ends in without problems.

Thank You and Happy Tatting,

Bonnie

Hand Dyed Thread - #1 Motif

I am addicted to them, now that I have some I am afraid to use them .... my fear is a couple fold.

First, as Gina suggested in her blog dated Thursday Jan 17, 2008, the color choice can make or break a piece. I do not have enough tatting experience to have mastered the right or wrong of color yet.

Next I fear I will have picked out a pattern that is to advanced for me and I will waste "My Good Thread" which is hand dyed thread from Marilee (Yarnplayer) and Sherry (Lady Shuttlemaker) 's Etsy shops. I can tell they each must use a wonderful base thread as it is a dream to work with. (If you haven't treated yourself to at least one of their skeins please do so.) I discovered Etsy about a month ago and since then every day I come home from work and check to see what lovely threads the ladies may have listed while I was at work. I'd hate to miss out on anything! Now to find patterns worthy of My Good Thread.

For my first couple of tatting pieces I did the first one a plan white to make sure I could do it and see how it would look before I ventured into the variegated threads which are my favorite. However then I realized that it is alot of work to do it in white AND do it again in color.

After the bookmark I made for a friend this is the next completed piece I made. As you can see I made the first one in white as a practice piece, it is a size 20 thread. The other one was made using Marilee's Deep Ocean size 30 thread. And I might add that it is the first piece I made where I didn't have to cut and restart the thread.

I did make a variegated teal one to send to my GUF so he could see what I've been up to. It is my pattern of choice right now. It is fun to make and I've really learned to make my picots consitant size. I think I've made 4 or 5 of them now. Everyone I know is going to end up with one.

Sadly I do not know who to give credit to for the pattern as Betty (my teacher) gave me a picture of a finished piece which I looked at it and made my own version of. ****Monday, Jan 21, 2008, Thank you to Sharon for letting me know this pattern is called "Heart of the Butterfly by Irene Woo which was printed in the Official Tat_Chat Pattern Book edited by Georgia Seitz" Although I made it from a picture and didn't have her pattern (so I'm sure the the stitches probably aren't the exact same as Irene's) I'm very pleased to be able to give her credit for a beautiful pattern.****

Even though there is 2 here, I will count this as my first motif for the 25 Motif Challenge.

Happy Tatting,


Bonnie

GUFrancis' Tatted Cross Bookmark

My first experience with tatting was when I went to visit my parents many years ago........... oh at least 15 years ago, and saw one of my Great Uncle Francis' (GUF) tatted cross bookmarks. GUF is 94 as of June 2007, and he still actively tats.

If GUF and I wouldn't have lived so many states apart I would have greatly enjoyed learning to tat from a relative. But it couldn't happen so when I got home, I knew I had to try to teach myself this lovely art form. Sadly I was was unsuccessful at the time. (This was way before I became involved in the Internet, probably 15 years ago, as I wrote that it made me I wonder what I did with the shuttle and other information I had at that time........... hummmm)

In our 2007 Christmas card my mother included this cross bookmark, one of GUF's works of art. My understanding is that it is his favorite pattern. What lovely work he does. I hope that when I am 94 I am still tatting.

Although I am sure GUF will never see my blog, I wanted to show his work and acknowledging him as the primary person responsible for my original interest in tatting.

Thank you GU Francis!

In my next post I will post a picture of my second completed work. (I gave the first as a Christmas present to a friend and didn't think to take a picture of it.)

Happy Tatting,

Bonnie

First Blog Ever

I went and did it, I created a tatting blog. Actually the first blog I've been a part of, so please bear with me as I try to learn my way around here.

My name is Bonnie. I am originally from Minot, ND but moved to Cassadaga, NY in 1988. I married my husband, Mark, 24 years ago, actually next week we will celebrate our 24th Anni. We have a daughter, Holly, who lives about a hour away. One of my greatest passions is to become a grandmother some day :-) (No pressure, Holly.)

That's a bit about me now on to tatting..........

I started taking tatting lessons in late September 2007. My teacher's name was Betty. When I went to her for my second lesson she said I was as advanced as people usually are in their 4th lesson. I think I had 5 lessons with her, and on the final lesson I really felt that I had learned everything she could teach me, her true passions are spinning and weaving. That's it I am HOOKED! I have really taken to tatting and because of the internet and alot of bloggers, I have learned alot more than just the basics. Currently I only shuttle tat, but will take have a class with Betty tomorrow where she will show me the basics of needle tatting. I am not sure I care to learn needle tatting but I would like to see what it's about.

I am hoping that in addition to sharing my tatting experience with others, I can become a part of a tatting community.

I am actively searching for patterns that are more "exciting" then doilies and snowflakes. Now, please don't get me wrong here, my first completed project was a doily and I purchased a book with snowflake patterns, but I'd really like to make jewelry or flowers or things like that. I would gladly welcome any book names/patterns that you can suggest that feature these fun items.

I have made a few small pieces which I hope to share here, but as of yet I haven't taken any pictures. It looks pretty self explanatory on how to post a picture here so I hope to have at least one up in the next few days. Please stay tuned for that.

I would really like to form relationships with many of you experienced tatters who's blogs I have been visiting for months now.

Sincerely,


Bonnie