Blue Heart - 2012 UIU Project

On Wednesday my friend, Rose retired.  I wanted to tat her something special to go inside her Congratulations card. 

The pattern is Romantic Heart - with Directions by Beelizabeth.  I recently learned about this pattern via the InTatters website.  Specifically this series of posts.  If you are not a member of InTatters, I encourage you to check it out.  It is an interactive website for tatters of skill levels. 
 

The pattern can be found here.

It was made using HDT thread I already had wrapped onto a yarn daisy.  I can't tell you the thread size or name or who the dyer was because, of course, I didn't have any thread info attached to it.  

The lovely Matilda showing you my HDT version of Birgit's Romantic Heart.

'Knot Tonight Josephine' Exchange

Awhile ago I told you about Fringe Tatters and their "Knot Tonight Josephine" exchange?
Here is what I sent to my partner, Heather ... wait I can't find a picture.  I know I took some, with Matilda, I know I did.  Shoot.  Oh well. 

So I'll just go right to showing you what I received from my partner, Ruth.

Her sun catcher is so very pretty. I did put it up in the window,
but not sure if I will let it remain there because I don't
want the sun to bleach it out, but for now that's where it is.

Ruth said the lilacs on the window card are made
with two different size threads. 
They are very pretty, but look way to complicated for me to tat. 



Ruth also told me that she's been tatting about 40 years and that she doesn't have a favorite size thread to work with that she likes them all.  I'm still not sure how people tat with size 80 or 100, my eyes will not allow it.





It still upsets me that I can't find the umbrella (from Martha Ess' Holiday's on the Block) that I tatted for my partner.  Shoot.  Checked cellphone, checked digital camera, checked all thru the computer.  Oh well. 

WAIT, one more pass threw the computer and I found the pictures.

I made the blue handle and the yellow rim of the umbrella to be the Josephine Knots that I needed for the challenge.

I greatly enjoy working with HDT so we sent a skein to Heather too.

Since both the yellow and the blue are threads I had (and we gifted a skein of HTD, which although I didn't use it - it is no longer in my possession) this definitely counts towards The 2012 UIU Project.  



It's Raining Men.......???

... no not Men, but tatted Butterflies.

When Isdihara wrote this post that in part featured Jane Eborall's Very Small Butterfly, I knew it was a pattern I could memorize and be able to use when there's just that little bit of thread left on a shuttle that I can't bear to waste.  (bear - no pun intended... sorry that made me giggle)



It's Raining Butterflies


Matilda and I got busy emptying shuttles making Jane's butterflies.  My original intention was to get pictures with Matilda and the people we give the butterflies to, but I get excited to share them and I forget to take pictures.  So rather than stress about not doing it, we decided to just show you some of the ones we had before we gave these ones away too.

I get to count these towards The 2012 UIU Project, because I was able to empty 2 shuttles making these.

Oh and to explain today's post title:

Matilda said these pictures make it look like it's raining butterflies on her, which she's right .... but when she said that it made me think of the song ....  It's Raining Men.  (Which again gave me a giggle.)

A Note Card's Embellishment

Recently I sent some tatting to an online friend, and I wanted to include a note card.  You know me, it couldn't be just any note card,  I had to embellish one.  Here's how it turned out.  (this is separate from the tatting I sent her, but more on that later...........)

The butterfly was made from Mary's Butterfly's pattern, using Yarnplayer's size 50 nicobar pigeon HDT.  The flower was made from Lizabeth thread size 20 Latte Foam.

In reference to my 2012 UIU Project (use it up project) both threads were a part of my stash, so this will be counted as project # 8.  (#7 was the Hearts I sent to the Fringe Element Tatters, but I forgot to list them as #7.)

Have a good day!!

Happy International Tatting Day

No it's not an April fool's day joke. It's real April 1st is International Tatting Day. It is a day of tatting, talking about tatting, and eating chocolate. I know, I know, it's like some one made a day especially for me.

In order to celebrate today I did alot of eating of chocolate, so I figured I'd spend this evening doing some tatting.

It's Jane's Flying Pig (that link will take you to her's on her blog page), but the pattern can be found here. Mine is made using size 20 Lizabeth pink and white thread. It is #6 of The 2012 UIU Project.

My friend Linda's very good friend, Jody, passed away recently. I'm not sure of the story but I know that Jody liked flying pigs, so when I saw Jane's pattern I had to make one for Linda.

Thanks for another fun pattern, Jane.

I hope everyone had a great ITD!

#5 of The 2012 UIU Project

My next installment of my self proclaimed UIU Project is a pattern that I found at Be-Stitched.com it is called Tatted Rose Heart.

It was made using the thread I had on my shuttles from my last post "Not a UIU Project", size 30 Peaches 'n Onions from Yarnplayer. Since I'd already confessed to purchasing this new thread and I used it once already, I figured I can now count that thread towards The 2012 Use It Up Project.

Oh I almost forgot to mention that at the bottom you can see a Josephine Ring, it was made using Jane's alternative way.

Tat On,

Bonnie

#4 of The 2012 UIU Project

This is Irene Woo's Butterfly Heart, the pattern can be found here using the wayback machine. It was made using Yarnplayer's Garden Afternoon, size 30 HDT.

I messed up the bottom and gave it an extra picot on the left, so I had to try it again. The blocking on this one isn't as good, but still it turned out nice.

One of them I sent to my sister, Nancy in Montana, the other I added to the front of a card to make a thank you note for my friend, Mary.

Lovely Pattern, Thank you, Irene.

#3 of the 2012 UIU Project

Here is my #3 of the UIU (use it up) 2012 project.

Sorry for the bad picture, as usual I forgot to scan it before I left home, so had to take a picture with my cellphone.

The close up picture is better. I found the pattern on Jane's blog a few years ago, but recently was reminded of it by Michelle at Tela Magistrae. The original pattern is from Anna Burda magazine, May 1984, page L14, but Jane in South Africa converted it to use split rings. The pattern can be found at Jane in South Africa's bookmark.

In the spirit of my UTU project it was made using size 30 (which is my favorite thread size) HDT, Roses, dyed by yarnplayer.

I forgot to mention the tail, I took a close up picture of it, but it was to blurry to share. Wendy at UMI & TSURU sometimes makes her bookmark tails like that so I had to get some charms to try it also. I love the creative freedom it gives. (yes, I had to purchase the charms because I didn't have any but the thread I had, so this still counts for UIU, right?)

I'm still on track for my UIU project since it's been just about 2 weeks since my last post. So far so good :-)

See you in 2 weeks if not before.

Bonnie

#2 of the 2012 UIU project

The pattern for #2 of my 2012 UIU project is coincidental Jon Yusoff's Two-by-Two Bookmark.



It is made using size 20 Lizbeth thread from Handy Hands, Spring Garden and Leaf Green Med.

Recently my sister, Nancy was here visiting from Montana. A little less than 2 years ago I was able to visit her and my brother in law at their home. At some point in her past, someone had helped her learn the flip of tatting, so when I was there we spend some time refreshing her tatting skills.

When she was here this time she asked again for some tatting time to refresh her skills. Because our tatting time was limited I wanted to have some samples ready for her to see, so I sent a few evenings doing Jon's pattern in pieces. First I did a small middle section, then I did another and added the beginning of the outside section to it (which is what you see here). I think it helped her to see what it was going to suppose look like.

When she left me she was not quite half way thru the outer section. But I believe she completed the piece when she returned home.

I would recommend this pattern for someone learning to tat. The only thing I would have done differently was to start her off with a different color in each of the shuttles used to make the middle section. That would have helped her to see where the thread from each shuttle ended up when the work was reversed.

Tat On!

Bonnie

#1 of the UIU Project

This is the first post of the 2012 UIU project. (UIU - use it up)

Okay so there isn't anything like waiting to the last minute on my FIRST UIU project.

It is a pattern from Kersti and is her Floral bookmark which can be found here. The thread Lizbeth from Handy Hands. The first and third ones are done using Tropical Punch size 40 and the middle one is Sea Island Citrus again in size 40.

I've done this pattern before, but I wasn't pleased with the result. I am a member of In Tatters and someone there was talking about how the pattern is actually written from the bottom up. I thought that may help me, which for the most part it did, except the first section, I just couldn't figure it out, so I kind of gerry rigged it at the bottom here, which you can see.

It did work out okay because it reinforced the beginning where I added the tails to the bookmarks. Anyone who's able to figure out the beginning please let me know what I've done wrong.

Until the next time.

Bonnie

The 2012 UIU Project

Recently I was visiting Jenny over at Crash Test Dummies. Specifically her Crafty New Year's Resolution for 2012... etc post. When I started to comment on it, it turned into a paragraph and I felt I needed to copy it here and expound on it alittle.

This is what I wrote in her comment section. Start:

Those are great crafting goals.

I'm alot like you in the way that I save my precious stuff for just the right project. My thought is what if I use it now and the "just the right project" comes along later? But recently I've started to think what if I'm not around for that "just the right project" (or what if this is just the right time and project and I let it slip away) and my family has to deal with all of my precious stuff. I doubt they would think in it's current state it is precious, but if they had things I'd made with it, they may think "my wife made this" or "my mother made this" or they'd give my creations away to people who thought "my friend made this".

For me the year 2012 is going to be known as the year of use it up.

:End

Lately I've been thinking of the burden my "precious stuff" would put on my family if something happened to me.

I think ....... what if I'm not around some day and my family has to deal with all of my precious stuff, it will be a burden on them for sure. I can hear my daughter say "Mom, thought all of this stuff was so great, but it's nothing if she's not here to create with it." In fact it wouldn't surprise me at all if my husband's thought was "now I have to make a couple of trips to the dump" (gasp!). But if I've created something with it that they can hold in their hands or pass on to others who cared about me, or maybe even pass onto my future grandchildren, then maybe just maybe all of my precious stuff will still be precious when I'm gone.

So my goal is to break out the special shuttles (those who once they enter my display case never get touched again) and all of my wonderful HDTs (most still setting in their original sad skein form) and start using them up.

My 2012 tatting goal is to show you something I've tatted at least every 2 weeks, using up the HDT threads I have while using the special shuttles I have accumlated. In 2011 I blogged 19 times, some of which didn't show any tatting at all, so every 2 weeks is 26 posts for 2012. That seems like a reasonable goal, right? Yeah that's what I thought too. I was going to add pressure to myself of a different HDT and different pattern each time, but that seems like setting myself up to fail, so if I do yeah, if not it's still okay.

2012 - the year of use it up - The 2012 UIU Project

Wish me luck, and to you and your family I wish a Happy, Healthy, Safe 2012.

Happy Tatting and God Bless!,

Bonnie

See you in no more than 2 weeks - by 1/16/2012 (in fact to stay on track I think I need to post today... I better get started)