I am working on items for a December 7, 2024 craft show. As I usually do for craft shows I’m doing small things instead of large items. This year it’s angels, specifically, wine cork angels. Of course, there had to be a new pattern for the wings.
A few weeks ago I shared my ideas of the wine cork angels. Over several weeks I worked on patterns to determine which was more appealing to me.
Wing variations
I started with the ones at the top, making changes here and there. The two second from the bottom are smaller and good for smaller corks, like whiskey corks. The two on the bottom are what I decided to go with, and specifically the one on the lower right.
Wine Cork Angel Wings v 2 Wine cork angel wings v 1
The difference between these two versions is one split ring after the tip of the wings. This shapes the wings slightly narrower. The second version is the one I wrote out the pattern for. It can be found on My Patterns page as Wine Cork Angel Wings v. 2.
Between a friend and my brother-in-law, who each gifted me with a large bag of wine corks, I have a lot of wings to make!
I hope that your seasonal tatting is going well. Snowflakes? Snowmen? Angels?
“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” Denis Waitley
Well, it’s been awhile again since I last posted. It’s not that I don’t have anything to post about, I just haven’t sat down to do it. ‘Sigh’
I was recently asked to demonstrate tatting for two groups, one at our local senior center and also for a crochet and knitting group in a nearby town. Both demonstrations were on the same day, one in the morning and one in the evening. That worked great because I could have everything together and in the car without too many trips of carrying things in and out of the house.
The timing for the local demonstration turned out to be not so good. Several people who were particularly interested in attending had conflicting events pop up, so they could not come. It wasn’t a washout. I spent two hours talking about tatting and teaching a lady the basics. We both had fun. I gave her a shuttle and thread to take home so she could continue to work on it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get pictures of her tatting. I’ll likely do another demonstration soon when more can attend.
The other demonstration was attended by six ladies of a group that meets once a month. They meet at a city library that is a central location from where the members live, which is pretty spread out. I brought several books, shuttles, and examples to share, and worked on having a talk ready if needed. Instead, they all jumped in, eager to try tatting. One lady, Jeanne, brought in a bunch of shuttles she had ordered for the occasion. I’m not sure where she found them. Some looked like Clover shuttles but didn’t have a name on them, others were a bit larger, but again, didn’t have a name on them. I gave each of them thread for their shuttles and some for a chain, and away they went!
Showing what the stitch looks like with really big shuttles.Showing what to look for
While they loaded their shuttles I showed them ‘the flip’ using paracord. Bethany helped hold out the cord so I could make the stitches using large shuttles my husband made for this purpose. Doing it this way is not as pretty or easy as normal, but it shows the thread change when making the double stitch. Then I went around and worked with each of them individually.
Bethany, Jeanne, and AnneShana and Sandi
One of the ladies had to leave before I took the pictures (Lori?). What is interesting about teaching people who already do thread handcrafts is they have previously developed a way to hold the thread. Within these six ladies, I believe six different ways were used.
Showing a few pointers
Thanks to Jeanne and Shana for taking pictures, and the entire Sticks and Thread group for inviting me. It was an enjoyable evening for me, and I think it was for them as well.
Later that same week my sister and I were interviewed for a county newspaper about our crafts that we will be selling at a Christmas craft show in December. The journalist is talking to several artisans who will be there, not just us. When the journalist called my sister to set up the appointment she was surprised that tatting was one of the crafts. She thought it was a ‘lost’ art. (Where have we heard that before?) My sister and I laid out some of our work for pictures and the journalist was quite impressed. The paper is supposed to come out the week of Thanksgiving (next week). Oh, boy!
I’ve also had time to tat. I’ve done a bunch of angel wings for my cork angels, but they are not stiffened or glued on. I need to do that, as well as make more snowflakes. I did have to get out another ball of white in both size 10 and size 20. I want to make a few things that aren’t white before the show, but that means I’ll have to get out a few more shuttles. I wonder if I have any empty ones?
Are you working on anything for Christmas?
“One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least somebody’s listening.” Franklin P. Jones
At this time of the year, it seems to me that the holidays are coming very fast. It doesn’t help that stores don’t seem to know what holiday it is. You can find Halloween, Thanksgiving (if you’re lucky), and Christmas goods at the same time in any given store right now. As a crafter, that’s good, so you can get started on your holiday gifts and decorations if you haven’t already. But right now I’m having trouble deciding which holiday I want to work on! They are all so enticing! This is also a time of a lot of seasonal activities.
We celebrated Reformation Day this previous Sunday. The actual day is October 31, which doesn’t fall on a Sunday this year. All Saints’ Day is November 1, which we celebrate this coming Sunday. I took my framed Luther’s Rose to services this past Sunday and had a lot of people stop to look and read it. That made me happy.
Holding my framed Luther’s Rose below the banner.
Last Friday I attended Bingo at the Legion with my sister and niece. It was Halloween-themed, so people were encouraged to dress up. My niece went all out. (She also calls the games) I just wore what I had decorated for Palmetto‘s Tat Days a few years ago. I wasn’t a specific person, but I dressed up.
Dressed up for Bingo
Last week we attended the school play our grandson was in, ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ where he was Ichabod Crane. All the cast and crew did a great job, but he was outstanding, even if I say so myself. (☺) He is also the Costume Designer. It wasn’t put on for Halloween per se, just their fall production, but the timing and theme made it so.
Grandson as Ichabod Crane
I can’t say that I am crafting much for Thanksgiving, but I have already got a great start on Christmas. Besides tatted snowflakes and angels, I’m doing wine cork angels. I saw this idea online but added tatting to my version.
Wine cork angel
I got carried away with making wings. I have done three or four different versions so far. I think I’m going to stay with this version as it is the right size, doesn’t take much time, and is a one-pass pattern. I have a jar of various wine corks that we have collected over time. I might as well put them to good use!
I have another jar of corks from whiskey bottles we’ve collected. They are a bit shorter than wine corks so I made a different pattern for the wings to see how they would do as angels. What do you think?
Whiskey cork angel
This pattern is also one pass, meaning a lot less hiding ends. I am debating about adding closed eyes to the angels but leaving the rest of the face blank. I do not have a steady hand and do not want to mess up the faces! Do they need something for the faces?
I’m glad that my hobby does not have to be done outdoors. We’ve had record high temperatures here in the Midwest, USA and high winds. It doesn’t help that we are in a drought right now as well. Yesterday, it was so dusty and brown outside! You could also smell smoke from wildfires in Oklahoma. With this much wind and dry ground fires are easily started and hard to keep from spreading. Usually, I can see fields and a tree line way past what is seen here.
Blowing dust
My sister and I are planning to be at a craft show the first weekend of December. I’m hoping that the cork angels go over well. If they don’t, I guess I’ll have family ornaments done!
I’ve started on my holiday tatting, have you?
“Something strange happened long ago in a valley called “Sleepy Hollow.” “
It’s weeks later than what I had promised it would be, but the pattern for Luther’s Rose is done! I’m sharing today, before I’ve test-tatted it, because Reformation Day is celebrated this coming Sunday. I don’t believe it is a hard pattern to tat, so you may have time to do it before this Sunday. There are a lot of repeats, so once you get going it shouldn’t be too hard. It has taken me much longer to write out the pattern that it takes to tat it! I haven’t test tatted the entire thing yet, but I wanted to get it out there. Let me know if a problem gets you. (I updated the pattern to correct issues 11/01/2024)
Framed Luther’s Rose
I framed the Rose and added Luther’s description of it. This is an 8×10 frame, the Rose is 4 5/8″ (12 cm) across. I had to make the words of the description in 10 pt instead of 12 pt so it would fit in the space left. As I’m not giving this one away I can change that part later if I want.
I don’t remember the size of the original Rose that I made back in 2017. I think the frame I put that one in was slightly bigger, maybe 11×13 inches, so comparing them in the pictures isn’t really much help. I do like how this looks in the frame. I’m curious which one you like better, this one or the original.
I’ve also been tatting for Christmas already. Shocker, right? I usually don’t get started until December! I’ve been using shuttles that my husband, Jack, has made for me. I’m loving them! They are light and soooo smooth! I carry them with me in a mint tin so they don’t get damaged in my purse.
Christmas tatting, with shuttles by Jack
All of these are my patterns. The snowflakes are simple ones, almost doodles. There are a lot of snowflake patterns out there that may be similar, but I was only doing ones that came to me as I tatted. The little angel is ‘Small Angel’, which is found on My Patterns page. The larger angel is the first pattern I ever designed myself way back in the late eighties. This represents only a few of what I already have done, but I need quite a few more. But, hey, it’s still October, I might have time!
I’ve done it again, haven’t I? It’s been several weeks since I last posted. It’s not that I don’t have things to post about, it’s just getting time and pictures to do it.
I’ll start with the Luther’s Rose pattern I promised. Do you know how much harder it is to diagram and write out a pattern than it is to just tat it? I’ve been working on it and it seems to keep getting longer and longer. I even took my computer with me on a trip just so I could work on this pattern. And it still isn’t done! It didn’t help that I had a bad attack of allergies while we were gone, making it hard to concentrate. Now that we are home again I’ve made a lot of progress but still have a bit to go. And I have not reviewed it to find mistakes! I have the cross, the heart, and the white rose parts diagrammed and, I think, tat-able. If anyone would like to get started on it to have it done by Reformation, and don’t mind taking a chance on the pattern, email me. (wandasknottythoughts (at) gmail.com) Update 10/24/2024: pattern can be found on the My Patters page.
We’ve been traveling quite a bit lately. My last post was right after we got back from Branson, Missouri. A week after we got home from there we went to Colorado to visit our daughter and take her dog back. They moved at the start of September and it was easier for us to keep her dog until they got into their house. After a month we took the dog to their new home and stayed a week with them. This is where I had the allergy attack. I am allergic to their male cat. I don’t have much trouble unless I pet him and then don’t wash my hands right away. The good news is that I had time to tat in the car on the drive, which is about nine hours each way, as well as the trip to and from Branson.
Bookmarks
My other daughter, who still lives close by, requested more bookmarks. These paperclip bookmarks are easy to do while riding in the car. I don’t have to try and keep track of where I am in a pattern, which is great. My daughter still wants more, but this was a great start.
I also started on snowflakes for Christmas while we were traveling. I’m not fond of tatting with white while not at home due to the chances of it getting dirty, but I did it anyway. I have plans for small snowflakes this year and need quite a few. I wasn’t following any patterns, just making easy ones.
On a more serious note, have you read Jane Eborall’s post of October 14, 2024, on her ‘Tatting and Not a Lot Else’ blog? She found several “tatting” books that are awful. I’ve been hearing about a lot of fakes out there that are possibly made with AI or people stealing other’s work. I highly recommend that you use caution when buying any new craft books of any kind.
Besides hoping to get the pattern finished, I hope to have pictures of some of the other tatting that I’ve been doing ready soon. And to post faster!
I didn’t plan on it being a last-minute anything, but I just didn’t get on it fast enough – again. I had the ideas and I still didn’t get to it in time. But I did get it done on time.
Once a month, other than a couple of months in the summer, there is a Bingo game put on by the American Legion Auxiliary which my sister is a member of. The entry is a white elephant gift, usually a bit nicer than I think of as a white elephant gift. I decided to take a bottle decorated with tatting. I had a month to do it and I did it on the day of.
Kitty on a bottle gift
I used my Button Kitty pattern for this, with a few modifications; beads for the eyes and nose, and a couple of extra rings. I used Lizbeth #HH10696 Autumn Orange Med with a 3/4″ (7/8th”?) 4-hole button, the beads are 8/0. The kitty looked a little lonely there by itself, but a few flowers made it look less lonely.
Kitty on a Bottle side
On one side I added this flower, made in Lizbeth HH20695 Bright Orange on a 1/2″ 4-hole button. It’s a simple ring and chain pattern. A doodled leaf in Lizbeth HH20684 Leaf Green Med helped sell it as a flower.
Kitty on a bottle other side
The flower on the other side of the kitty is made of HH20695 and HH20696 on a 1/2″ 4-hole button, also with a simple ring and chain pattern. I added two leaves on this side, the same pattern as the other.
I liked how this came out on the burlap wrapped around a Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce bottle. Looking at the picture – after it was given away – I should have put several rounds of jute around the top of the burlap. I think it would have given it a more finished look.
I finished the gift with a bunch of fake sunflowers to make it a vase. When the gift was won and opened there was quite a conversation about tatting among the attendees. That is always a win.
I haven’t finished the Luther’s Rose pattern yet. We took a little vacation, which put me behind on the pattern. My plan at the moment is to work hard on it this week. Maybe I can finish it by the weekend? I’ll try!
In October of 2017 I shared my version of Martin Luther’s Rose. Martin Luther designed the seal on or about 1530 to represent his theology. It is commonly used to represent the Lutheran church.
Luther Rose 2017
I was on a short timeline when I made this. I speak about my motivation in my post “Luther’s Rose” from 2017. I mentioned I would like to make it again but with a few changes. I started thinking about it again a few weeks ago. I started writing out the pattern as I had made it then, but decided now would be a great time to make a few of the changes I had thought about back then.
The cross is the same as I made it seven years ago – but I am thinking about modifying it slightly. Maybe. It is done in Lizbeth black HH20604. This is an easy cross to make and writing out and diagramming the pattern didn’t take long.
The heart is almost the same as it was originally, just with a different stitch count to make it slightly bigger. I haven’t finished diagramming it yet, but it shouldn’t take long. There are several heart patterns out there that are similar, but I don’t think they are quite the same. I made it in the same color as last time, in Lizbeth Christmas Red HH20671.
The white rose part is where I started to make changes. I thought before that the petals were not defined enough. They are this time! I used Lizbeth Snow White HH20601.
After changing so much of the rose I needed to make changes to the leaves. I used Lizbeth Kelly Green HH20713. This is a brighter green than what I used last time. And they look a lot more like leaves.
Making such changes to the center, the blue rounds definitely needed to be updated. It took some time to figure out how to fill in the open spaces around the petals and the leaves and leave it smooth enough to have the gold rounds look round. By the time I reached the blue rounds I was so excited with how it was working out that I spent too much of my time on it instead of things around the house that needed doing. I should have posted Monday, but I was too intent on this! The blue is Lizbeth HH20707 Sky Blue Dark, and I think it’s the same as I used before.
When I reached the outside gold rounds I was on a roll! These rounds are easy, as they are chains only, but being the outside, they seemed to take forever! I almost stopped at two rounds of gold, but the third round gave it a much more finished look. I used Lizbeth Harvest Gold HH20699. (The picture of it on the Handy Hands site looks greenish – it is not! Maybe it’s my computer?)
Luther’s Rose 2024
Now I need to diagram it and get it ready to publish. I had hoped to have it done by the beginning of September, but obviously that didn’t happen. If I do it right, it should have a lot of copy and paste. Easy, right? That remains to be seen.
What do you think? Is this an upgrade or not?
Jack has been back in the shop making more shuttles, walnut this time. They are sooooo pretty! He just keeps getting better and better! I’ll share them next time.
My husband, Jack, is back in the work shop. He’s back to making more beautiful shuttles.
Jack found a cow horn in the garage that belonged to his dad. How long his dad had it or where he got it is unknown, but it’s been in our garage for awhile now. About a month ago Jack decided to make a horn shuttle out of it.
Horn shuttle bottom view
Jack watched several videos on YouTube to see how to work with horn as it’s a bit different than wood. The imperfections in the horn react differently than those in wood.
Top view of large horn shuttle
This shuttle is 3.24 inches long and 1 inch wide. He buffed this out to give it a sheen and make it smooth. I have decided that I will only use this while I’m sitting comfortably at home and use it only on projects done at home. No taking this baby somewhere I might drop it on a hard service!
Side view of large horn shuttle
You can see that the wood post is pretty short, but it will hold a nice amount of thread. He got the points just right to hold the thread in without unwinding when the shuttle is dropped to unwind a twist, but easy to wind the thread on.
There was plenty of horn left to make a second shuttle. Jack was experimenting with the material and things didn’t go quite as expected. The next shuttle blade he made was much smaller than he planned. I said give it a try anyway, see what you can do with it even if it’s a small shuttle.
Bottom view of small horn shuttle
Jack used the small piece for the bottom of the next shuttle. It’s interesting that the little divit in the small blade is in the right spot to give the thumb just a little bit of grip. This piece is 2 inches long and .75 inches wide.
Top view of small horn shuttle
The top blade of the shuttle is 2.5 inches long and .875 inches wide. The shuttle looks better in person and feels wonderful!
Side view of small horn shuttle
The wood post in this one is taller than the post of the larger shuttle. It’s placed in the location that best fits the curve of the two blades. I thought it might not tat well with the ‘overbite’ of the top blade, but it tats soooo nice.
Jack has also been making more wood shuttles. He finished another one out of redbud that is gorgeous!
Top view of redbud shuttle
Who knew that redbud wood was so beautiful? All of the shuttles he’s made with it have been amazing. This one is his best one yet. It is 2.75 inches long and .75 inches wide. He made this one with an ‘overbite’ on purpose.
Side view of redbud shuttle
Jack was able to center the post better on this one. This shuttle feels so smooth and light! I just like to hold it and feel it.
Bottom view of redbud shuttle
Isn’t it pretty?
Jack has two walnut shuttles almost done in the shop. I am looking forward to trying them.
There was a bit of a delay on finishing the Luther’s Rose pattern. My youngest daughter is moving for her work this weekend. We all thought it was going to be the end of September, not the beginning. My older daughter wanted to give her and the family a going away party, which had to be this weekend instead of in three weeks like we were thinking. I’m the closest to the party location, I don’t have any kids in school, and I’m retired, so I’m the one that did a lot of the planning and decoration making. With a short timeline other things got pushed back. I’ll have more time for the pattern again now.
I’ve also been tatting a few small snowflakes. They are easy and small, a little seed to get me in the mood for tatting for the Christmas season. I can’t believe how little time there is left to make everything I want to do! So now I’m busy again.
“The workshop to me always means great atmosphere, working, smell of wood, dust and, at the end of the day, you’ve created something.” David Linley
My husband is an enabler. During the auction at Tat Days he would buy me anything I showed an interest in if I let him. I pretty much have to put a leaseh on him to stop him. This year I looked over the auction items before it started and told him what I would like to bid on. And I still came home with more than I expected.
Tatting Shuttles book
I love collecting shuttles and seeing what is out there that I don’t have, and in some cases, maybe I have. There are some lovely shuttles in here, and a lot of information about them. I am very happy that we won the bid on this one!
Tatting Treats Three
Here’s another of Pam Palmer’s books, this time with patterns not shuttles. I’ve thought about buying this book several times over the years, but never did. I didn’t want to pass up the oportunity to get it now. The way these patterns are shown in blue on a white background reminds me of china patterns which I find beautiful. The patterns here look good, too!
Ring of Tatters newsletter
There were two Ring of Tatters newsletters that I wanted, both with a tree on the cover. This tree is fall/autumn, the other was spring. The other one had articles in it that made it very sought after. I think Gina Brummett’s obituary is in it, and a picture of several people that were currently attending Tat Days. I was happy to let someone else purchase that one and I get this one.
Piecework magazine
I love the pincushion on this one! One day I may even make it!
Flower up Your Life
This book is quite rare. Lisa sent it to M. Leigh Martin from Something Under The Bed to find out what she could about it. If you haven’t visited Leigh’s page, I highly recommend it. Good stuff! I have not yet taken the wrapper off to look throught it. I want to have plenty of time and a clean space on my table before I do.
Georgia Seitz small quilt
I didn’t really want this, but no-one was bidding on it I believe this is a small quilt done to raise money for the Palmetto scholarship a few years ago, organized by Georgia Seitz (??) I have it hanging over a spot on the wall that needs repair. This covers it nicely.
We spent most of our money at the auction, but not all. I was looking at several of the shuttles that Middy Clark had brought. I liked one and Jack liked another. So I bought both.
Garden copper shuttle
This is the one that enticed me. The flowers and colors drew my eye immediately.
Frog copper shuttle
This cute frog shuttle is the one that Jack liked. He thought I would want it because it had a long tip.
Frog shuttle tip
He knows I like the longer tip. So I am now the proud owner of two more of her beautiful shuttles.
I have been tatting – a lot – but nothing to show today. I was asked about the Luther’s Rose I did a few years ago and if the pattern was available. I have not worked on it since I made it. But Reformation Day is coming up the end of October so I thought it was a good time to return to it. I have the cross and the heart figured out and written but not yet diagrammed. The rose itself has a ways to go, due to making a few changes that I thought about after I had done it originally. I’m excited about it and am hoping to have the pattern done at least by the end of September.
“Map out your future – but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip.” Jon Bon Jovi
It’s always so fun to go to tatting gatherings, to see old friends, make new friends, and share experiences and stories with other tatters. And then it’s over, and everyone returns home. When I get home it’s going through the many pictures I take, weeding out the bad ones (is that the floor?), trying to remember why I took that one, and remembering the moment another was taken.
A few memories from Tat Days this year:
Jack and Chuck at Tat Days
My husband Jack and Lisa’s husband Chuck had a chance to sit and talk about shuttles and shuttle making.
Peggy Rogan, me, and Kristina Fry
Kristina caught me visiting instead of tatting during Donna’s class.
Donna Pagano Denny
Donna teaching us how to make her frog.
Joy Buck
Joy was a great teacher on her checkers-themed pattern. Many of us surprised her by taking what she saw as a beginner’s class but we saw it as a fun pattern.
Peggy Rogan with her HareKay Pettyjohn with her Hare
Peggy and Kay finished their Hares during class.
One of my classes working on the tortoise
Janet Crow, Susanne Kern, Lora McClintock, and Joy Buck during one of my tortoise classes. Lora was helping Susanne, a very new needle tatter. Thanks, Lora!
After three wonderful days of tatting and friendship, it was time to go home For me, the trip home is a time to think about new patterns and put ideas to paper so I can remember them. Sometimes I even work on, and maybe finish, projects that were started at Tat Days. This year on the way home I didn’t work on any projects started at Tat Days, I was too busy thinking of another pattern. It still has a lot of work to do, but I’m excited about how it’s going.
It is also time to start thinking about and working on Christmas things. I have a lot of ideas floating around inside my head that I hope I can bring to fruition. Maybe even by this Christmas, lol!
And, of course, what is the theme for the next Tat Days? And who all will be there?
“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” Khalil Gibran
