Is That Giraffes I See?

In April I started helping my friend Peggy learn to tat. Maybe I should say I helpED my friend Peggy learn to tat. She's doing a fabulous job and I'm very proud of her.

I'm pretty sure she's caught the tatting bug, let me tell you why I think so.

• She has more shuttles then she can use at any given time and carries the new ones around ever where she goes.... still in their packages.




• Last Friday she placed a Handy Hands order and ordered MORE shuttles .... different kinds and colors .... a book and 10+ spools of Lizabeth threads.




• She has already visited Etsy and scored some lovely HDTs, some she gifted to me!!




• She has spent hours searching the internet for patterns and probably just as many hours looking thru the books I loaned her.

How would I know all of this? I know because she can no longer carry her "portable" craft in a little ziplock baggie or coin purse, she's graduated to a large bag with giraffes on it.

Last Thursday I noticed the giraffe bag, next I noticed the giraffe on her necklace. Humm giraffes, is there a pattern here? Then Friday I went to her office on a work related matter and I noticed there were giraffes every where. How did I miss this ? So giraffes it is then.

Tomorrow I am leaving home for a week, but rather then spend the weekend preparing to be away from home, I spent it tatting giraffes to make Peg a fabric postcard.



They are made with Tatskool's Antique Bronze HDT, using the pattern from my autographed copy (*smile*) of Martha Ess' More Critters on the Block.

Tat On!

Bonnie

Pattern Revisited

As Christmas grows nearer my hands get busier, not only with tatting, but that's a different story.

Recently we exchanged Christmas gifts at work. I really dislike the stealing gift games, I like to know who my gift is going to. That way I can get/make something specificily with one person in mind. (In fact in past years I've refused to be a part of the gift exchange when "stealing" is involved. I greatly dislike it!)

Regardless, the past few years I've taken control of our Holiday luncheon/gift exchange because then I know we'll exchange names and I'll be a part of the celebration.

My person really enjoys reading. In fact many lunch periods I've seen her at her desk unwinding with a book. So it wasn't to hard for me to realize that I had to tat her a bookmark. But gosh there are so many good ones out there, which one to do.....

I have to admit I went with one I've made and showed you many times before. It's Julie Patterson's Hearts and Flowers Cross Bookmark.

It's made using Tatskool's ChocoRaspberry HDT. I'm not sure, but I think it's done in size 40.

Tat On!,

Bonnie

Thanks to LaceLovin'-Librarian ...

........for turning me on to Kersti Aneari's Stumpy pattern. Back in September Diane, aka LaceLovin'-Librarian, posted some stumpys she made and it set me off in that direction. My tatting time is limited so I'm always on the lookout for patterns I can do up quickly.

All were made using HDT ..... from Left to Right, is Tatskool's ChocoRaspberry size 40, next is her DaffodilDell in size 20, next LadyShuttleMaker's Spring Poppies in size 20 (I ran out of thread so the tail is kind of bare), and lastly Tatskool's FlameLantana in size 20.

Kersti has other tatting patterns posted which I would encourage you to check out while you're there.

Tat On!,

Bonnie

Part Three of Three

Here it is Blooming Trellis by Eliz Davis.

Front

Back

It was made using Tatskool's HDT Apple Blossom and coordinating pink in size 50, it was the only colorway I had that I felt went together, since it was made to go together LOL.

Now that I wear glasses all of the time, I'm really not a size 50 or smaller tatter. I know that sounds backwards but it's just to small for me to work out any errors.

Regardless it was made over many weeks because sadly I just don't have a lot of tatting time. (To be fair, I should say I don't MAKE alot of time to tat. Sad!)

It was a gift for my mother for her birthday. I took it to her when Holly and I went to visit our family in ND a few weeks ago. Not sure why I didn't think to take a picture of her with it.

Thank you, Eliz aka Tatknot for sharing such a great pattern with us. (click on her name for her blog where she lists some of her other patterns.)

Tat On!

Bonnie

Heart's Desire

When we were on vacation in January, I tatted Susan K. Fuller's Heart's Desire pattern.

It was made using Tatskool (store link) size 20 ChocoRasberry. I did tat this once before, but I definitely need to practice tension if I'm going to tat this pattern again. I'm a pretty tight tatter, and I was concerned about how it would turn out if I tatted it in the tension I usually use, but maybe that would have made it more uniform.

I know alot of you have tatted this lovely pattern, in fact I believe it is Tatskool's (blog link) favorite pattern in order to check on color flow when she dyes new threads ......... anyway, I would appreciate any tips or tricks to this lovely pattern from anyone who has made it.

Happy Tatting, Happy Life,

Bonnie

As with my last post, this also was written on Sunday 2/21, but set to upload in the future. See I really do tat, I just don't make the time to blog about it. :-(

TIAS (Tat It And See) Day 1

  TIAS is where the creator of a pattern dishes it out to us tatting groupies in pieces over a period of days.  Then we all tat it together and watch everyone's progress on the TIAS progress page. 

Jane is hosting the first TIAS of 2010.

Here is my Day 1.  I am using Tatskool's Coral Reef in size 40. 

I will be out of the internet area for awhile, but Jane has kindly given me the links to the next few days.  I am going to ask a friend to print them for me tomorrow, put them in individual envelopes and lable them for me so I can open them while I am away.  I don't miss out on all of the fun and I don't want to get to far behind.

I will check with everyone when I return.  Happy TIAS-ing everyone!

Bonnie

Before I share my eye candy with you, I need to share this with you.

I work a 40 hr a week job for my local county Department of Social Services. I work an entry level position. I do not have a college degree.

I have worked in my department for 9 years and this job for more than 3 years, although I backed up the previous individual for 4 years before I took over. I am good at my job ...... blah blah blah. Here is my situation. About 5 years ago our department got a new director........ for some reason she took an instant dislike to me .... not sure why, I have never had to deal with this before in my working life. I have been passed over 4 different times for promotions. So much more to that my work story. But really here is what I need to say.......

Just because I am a front line person, doesn't mean that I don't deserve respect. And "because I am the director" isn't always a good reason. More to that story as well, but it is the reason why I am so upset this time.

I would really have to call her a bully.

I respect her as the director, and I am a person who works hard, and I deserve respect as well.

Here is why I bring this up.......... I know that some of my readers are in position where they hold power over the people who work for them. Please treat them with respect. We are people too.

I dread the thought of working tomorrow. But thank you for listening and allowing me to get some of that out. By the way, I like my job and I am lucky to be appreciated by my piers.

No need to comment on any of that. I am not looking for anyone to feel sorry for me. I asked our daughter, who is a manager, to please be good to her front line staff. And I ask those of you who are in a position of power to do the same.

Enough of that............ as promised and the real reason you are here...........

Here are some of Ellen's April paperclips that I made for my friends at work. The dark brown baskets were made using the new Lizbeth thread from Handy Hands, the off brown colored one was made using white which I tea dyed to give it a brownish effect (I had to make one right way and couldn't wait for my order to come from H.H. LOL) The multi colored flowers are Tatskool's rainbow bright HDT.

I have made a couple of them in the past but as usual gave them away so quickly that I forgot to take pictures. I'm really sorry that I couldn't figure out how to turn the flash off when I took the picture, because it really does distract from how cute they are. The more I made of them I realized that the less flowers I put on it the better it looked.

Thank you, everyone!

Bonnie

#23 of 25 Motif Challenge & Hector Tat Days

My #23 on of Jon's bookmarks. The pattern name is "Bookmark with Overlapping Chains". It was made using Pamela aka Tatskool's size 40 Rainbow Bright HDT. Another high quality HDT, it was a dream to work with. I started this ..... oh probably 2 or maybe even 3 months ago, but just now got around to finishing it up. It was a fun pattern to make and it was enhanced by working with such fun bright HDT.

Yesterday I was in contact with Gina regarding Hector Tat Days. It is about 180 miles from where I live in Western NY, so got me to thinking that I'd like to go. I knew she was there last year and for some reason I thought it was in her "backyard" so I assumed she'd be there again this year. She did inform me that sadly she won't be going.

Of course this would be a good opportunity to spend time with fellow tatters. That being said .......... I'm easily intimidated in a group of people where I don't have at least one person I know. Overall I think I do ok once other people start to talk to me, but I'm not good at being the one to start a conversation with someone that I don't know.

I would be coming by myself since, other than the person who I took lessons from, I don't know anyone else locally who tats. That makes this a very hard decision for me. I could ask my sister to come with me as a guest. Although she is a crocheter, I doubt it would be much fun for her, and would be more pressure for her to do something in her already busy life just to help me out. So again it would be just me. Hummmmm something I really have to consider, but do it quickly so as to get registered.

Kind of seems like a pipe dream for now, but a dream none the less :-)

Happy Tatting, everyone!

Bonnie