It's Been a Long Time.... Motifs 19 thru 26..

So where has the time gone... I am finally posted after SIX MONTHS!! What a busy spring and summer I have had.. I have quite a few pictures to download of items I have tatted and mostly have given away.. The first two pictures in this post is the tatted bag I made for our County's Conservation Heritage Days that was today. I demonstrate there and they ask us to donate an item of our skill for their fund raising auction. I started this bag last thursday and finished it up Wednesday night. I made it with size 50 HH thread. The pattern is out of "It's in the Bag" by Dianna Stevens. I didn't realize I was to tat out there until just last Thursday - they usually give me at least a month notice.. At first I thought maybe I picked a pattern I wouldn't be able to complete in time.. Ok the next picture. I tatted this bookmark for my neighbor lady that helped me out a lot for my Relay for Life team.. It is tatted in Manuela size 20, the pattern is out of Christmas Angels and Other Tatting Patterns book. The pattern is Filigree Bookmark. Next picture.. The same bookmark again, tatted in Lizbeth thread and a bead in honor of my niece serving in Iraq in the Army. I actually kept this one for myself and at the present it is keeping my page marked in the 3rd book of the Twilight series.. :) The other are just a couple of snowflakes.. the larger one of the two is out of Dillies Delights Twinkling Stars and small tatted gifts book. The smaller one, I honestly cannot remember.. And last but not least, 2 tatted cat and mouse bookmarks. Both are tatted in Lizbeth thread. Markeia received some hand me downs, in return she asked me to make the two girls something - so this is what she picked out for me to make the little 8 and 10 year old girls... Well I think that all for now.. Happy Tatting to Everyone!!

Motifs 19 and 20

Hello Everyone!
Here are two more 'motifs' for my 25 Motif Challenge. First, is my International Tatting Day present for my dear friend, Yvonne (who was also a student of mine). This year she remembered me for Int'l Tatting Day - what a wonderful surprise! I need to take a picture of what she made for me. It is a beautiful Christmas ball. She made them for her sister's for Christmas and I asked her where mine was! So to my surprise I received one on Int'l Tatting Day. It is a blue tatted cover with beads on a silver ball - BEAUTIFUL! It was really nice and brightened my day, as on Int'l Tatting Day I had influenza A! I was MISERABLE! I felt so bad that she had my gift all packaged up for me at work, and I didn't have anything to give her in return. It was all I could do to get myself ready and to work! So I decided I really need to make it up to her. So I decided to put something together in hopes it would work. I had size 80 on a shuttle yet from my egg cover. I found these cute little heart ornaments - like the glass ball ones - at Hobby Lobby on clearance after Valentine's Day. So I noticed that the heart of desire pattern I found on the internet was the same shape as them... I tatted two of those, blocked them out, and then tied them onto the heart. It turned out really nice. I asked my husband what he thought of it, he thought that it would be a nice post-Valentine present for him as it matched his Easter Egg!!! So it was late but I gave it to her on Monday, she loved it. So for the next motif, yet another cross. If you can't tell by now it is one of my favorites to tat. This time it was yet another one out of Mary Konior's "Tatting with Visual Patterns" book, the small cross. Although, I really am not to impressed with the way it turned out. I used Lizbeth Zebra thread for the first round and then just plain black thread for the outer round. Not sure what exactly I don't like about it but it just isn't one of my favorites. So I guess that is all for now. I will take a picture of my Int'l tatting day gift and post it at a later date. Happy Tatting to All!

Motifs 16, 17 and 18

Hello again! Here is the next 3 motifs in my 25 motif challenge. Motif # 16 is yet another cross. This is the Large Cross out of Mary Konior's book Tatting with Visual Patterns. It is shuttle tatted in the new Lizbeth thread Marble. I LOVE this thread!! I was so excited to find a wide variety of Lizbeth thread at Hobby Lobby!!! I was totally tooken by surprise when I came across it there! Every trip to Hobby Lobby I go and check to see if there is anything new in the tatting supply area - which the answer is usually "no". This time was different, I was so excited. At first I couldn't decide which colors I wanted to buy.. My daughter Markcia asked me if I was going to buy them all... :o) I told her I wished to but no... ;o) Another thing about this thread, when looking to order some off the internet - it really doesn't do the colors justice. In person it is alot more impressive.
Anyway, back to my motifs.. the motif #17 is a bookmark I tatted with Jelly Bean Lizbeth thread. It is kind of loud but I love it!! What a fun combination of colors... The pattern I used is out of the "Big Book of Tatting". Instead of gluing a ribbon to it, I included a tail and tassel. I think my tassel should have had more strands of thread, might change that. Then the final motif for this post, the glass egg cover. This is a pattern I found on the internet, a few years back. This is tatted in size 80 DMC thread. Wow - I always forget how touchy that thread is to tat with - so tiny!
Until next time!!

Motifs 13, 14 & 15

Wow I can't believe it has been about a month since my last post... So I have some catching up to do. I have been tatting but not enough time to post. So I have 3 more motifs I will post today. The first I am counting as one but actually it is a dozen awareness ribbons from the Tarnished Tatter's blog. I made these to hand out at our Relay for Life's committee meeting. After taking the picture - I noticed that I really need to work on hiding my ends... Then motif #14 is a cross I tatted for my friend's sister... she was expecting in August and had loss the baby. My heart goes out to her, the feeling of emptiness is horrible.. I have experianced the same, sad situation... The cross is from "Tatted Bookmarks needle and shuttles" by Barbara Foster. The pattern is the Santa Fe Cross, I used HH Flora thread in size 50. And finally motif #15 is the Spinning Wheel mat from Mary Konior book, "Tatting with Visual Patterns". On this one I use HH Flora size 20.
Until Next time...

Motifs 10, 11 and 12

I am back again... This time for my 25 motif challenge I took on The Tarnished Tatter's Chap stick/lip balm holder. My 6 yr old daughter got a High School Musical lip balm from a friend for Valentine's Day and when I showed her the pattern on here - she wanted me to make her one right away... Before I got one made the right size it took me three tries. :-) So I am posting all three I made. The first one was tatted in Flora size 10 thread. I tried to make a tatted cord for the drawstring but with no luck as the top rings were too small to feed the cord thru so I decided to use a ribbon with a bead to cinch the top of the bag closed. Then I didn't like the knot in the ribbon next to the clip - so I put a ouch less see thru ponytail holder around it to keep it from coming loose. I am not really happy with that yet but it was better than having the ribbon fray out more I thought. Next time I think I might just try some glue and another bead to slide up and over the ends... So my next try I thought I would make the chains longer by a stitch on each side of the picots to make the holder longer. I also tried making the top rings larger by 5 ds so I could use the tatted cord for the drawsting (again with no luck... ). Then Markeia came up with the idea to add beads.. So she went a searching thru my bead and thread stash and came up with the next two color combinations. The 2nd holder than came out a bit big... I made too many changes at once, although my daughter loved it. The 3rd one than I just kept to the original pattern and just made the longer picots for the beads and it was perfect! So Markeia already found a home for the first orange holder.. a birthday gift for her birthday twin and cousin... Then she hooked hers onto her backpack and off to school she went today.. I just don't know why I have this feeling in the back of my mind that there will be more to make by tonight... ;-) I want to send out a BIG THANK YOU to the Tarnished Tatter... Her pattern just made my daughter's day... Thanks for your generosity of sharing your designs... My next post will include the awareness ribbon from her blog also... I am an advocate of the Relay for Life, with my sister being a 5 1/2 breast cancer survivor, I have started to make some ribbons for our Relay team members..
Until next time... Happy Tatting to everyone... and THINK SPRING!!! ;-)

Motif #9

Hello Everyone!
Well it's been a while since a posted a new motif. I have been working on a doily I am going to donate as a silent auction item for our Relay for Life in Clayton County. Our relay isn't until June but I want to get it done in plenty of time so I can have it framed and matted. I am working on "the Miracle" doily pattern out of the Tatting Patterns and Designs by Gun Blomqvist and Elwy Persson. I am using perfect quilter thread in the Americana variegated thread. It is coming along nicely, I will post a picture when finished.
As for the 25 motif challenge, my next motif is for Valentine's Day. I used size 8 DMC in pink and brown. The pattern can be found in "Tatting Collage", it is the "Tattered" Heart. This is the first time I worked this pattern. It went fairly quick and smooth for me.
Well now that I am off work for a couple of weeks, I am hoping to post more, more often...

Until next time...

Motifs 7 & 8

Hello Everyone! I don't know about everyone else but I am ready for spring! Here in Iowa we have had a beautiful day yesterday and today is starting out just as nice. I am so tired of the sub-zero temps and wind chills. I know we are not out of the woods yet with those days but what a nice break this weekend!
As for my 25 motif challenge, I have finished a couple more. # 7 was a fun pattern to do, something I have always overlooked in the book. This is the "Backchat" pattern from Mary Konior's "Tatting Patterns" book. The thread I used for this pattern in HH Lizbeth size 20, color 123. I really love the color. I am going to try this pattern again and hook two of them together to make it in a circle. Then the motif I used for my #8 is the cross pattern out of the same book. The same I had in an earlier post. A co-worker of mine, mother passed away. I will be putting this in her sympathy card. This cross was tatted in Opera size 30, color is an off white, I couldn't see a number on the tag.
I need to start planning and lining up projects to make for a Christmas Open House event in November.. I know it seems like a long time from now but once the weather straightens out I don't have as much time to tat. Any suggestions would be great.. hint hint ;-)
Until next time... Happy Tatting!