Category: cards

Ornaments and Angels

I was on vacation last week, which was a good thing. I spent a lot of time making the ornaments to send out as Christmas cards. I would never have gotten as many made if I hadn’t had the week off.

Some of the ornaments for cards on wandasknottythoughts
Ornament cards for Christmas

Another batch of cards done except for the hangers.

More ornament cards for Christmas on wandasknottythoughts
More ornament cards for Christmas

These all have hangers now. There are still a few that need tatting as well as the hangers.

The good news, most recipients have theirs. Some were to be mailed yesterday but didn’t get picked up. I don’t know if the mail came early or we didn’t have a postman come by, so I’ll drop them at the post office today.

While I was tatting small things for these ornaments, I took a bit of a detour and did a small angel.

Small tatted angel on wandasknottythoughts
Small tatted angel

This is one of the few times I jotted down some ideas and a drawing before starting to tat. I had to make an adjustment due to a slight miscalculation, but it came out like I wanted it to. I even jotted down the stitch counts – amazing! I might get the pattern out later this week, though maybe not the nice drawing. We’ll see.

I was very busy last week with more than just the Christmas cards. There were so many things that had to be finished before this last weekend. The good news is that those things did get done. Now I can do a few of the other things that didn’t get done yet. Like putting up decorations in my house. But I have to clean a bit before that. Christmas is how many days away??

Are you ready for Christmas?

“It’s true, Christmas can feel like a lot of work, particularly for mothers. But when you look back on all the Christmases in your life, you’ll find you’ve created family traditions and lasting memories. Those memories, good and bad, are really what help to keep a family together over the long haul.” Caroline Kennedy

Christmas Cards

Have you sent your Christmas cards yet? I have not. Have you received any yet? I have not. And when you receive them, how do you display them?

Displaying Christmas cards is a conundrum for me every year. Every year I receive such beautiful cards and I don’t have a way to display them. Some years I’ve had a string where they can be clipped to and be seen. Some years I don’t have a place to do that. One year I had a cute basket I put them in, but they did not display well. Then when the season is over I hate to throw them away because they are so beautiful and some have wonderful messages or greetings. I keep a lot of them, but really, then what?

This year I decided to make them. Now, I’m not much of a card maker. I have a cousin who does that sort of thing beautifully, and tattingmargaret at Margarets Designer Cards does lovely cards. But I thought I’d do my own cards this year, at least to the few that I’m sending them.

Ornament card 1 on wandasknottythoughts
My first try at an ornament card

This is my first try at making a card that is an ornament as well. It can be hung as an ornament on the tree, or where-ever, and saved for another year, too. It incorporates some of the hymnal pages and a little bit of tatting. I was pleased with the first one, so a made a few more.

Ornament 2 card on wandasknottythoughts
Ornament #2
Ornament3 card on wandasknottythoughts
Ornament #3

I suppose they are not really cards, though I put our Christmas greetings, the year, and our names on the back. Does that make them cards?

One of my daughters was over and I drafted her to help me cut out the paper. That made things go a lot faster.

Ornament 4 card on wandasknottythoughts
Ornament #4
Ornament 5 card on wandasknottythoughts
Ornament #5

Some I like better than others. Some worked, color and tatting wise, better than others. But the over-all look of them came out better than I was thinking they would.

Ornament 6 card on wandasknottythoughts
Ornament #6
Ornament 7 card on wandasknottythoughts
Ornament #7

I even incorporated a decorated button on one. Right now on Facebook the wonderful Lace-lovin’ Librarian Diane Cademartoi has started another group, this time with decorated button ornaments. I’ve done a lot of decorated buttons before, but the group inspired me to do a few more. This decorated button decorates an ornament.

Seven Christmas ornaments on wandasknottythoughts
All seven Christmas ornaments I’ve made so far

I gave out five of these already and they were well received. But I’m going to need a few more. Good thing I have the circles cut out already! But, wait! I don’t have enough tatted parts yet. I’d better get on it!

How about you? Do you have your cards done?

“The Church knew what the psalmist knew: Music praises God. Music is well or better able to praise him than the building of the church and all its decoration; it is the Church’s greatest ornament.” Igor Stravinsky

brainyquote.com/quotes/igor_stravinsky_114148

Thread ends

When a project is finished I have three choices for thread left on a shuttle: 1. Figure out something to tat with it until it’s gone; 2. Leave it on the shuttle and use another shuttle for the next project; or 3. Unwind it, putting the thread on a card or bobbin.

Of these choices, I like to do #1 the most, #2 if I’m lazy and have other shuttles available, and #3 only if I have to. With the left-over thread from the goat, I chose to do #1.

thread ends on wandasknottythoughts
Thread ends from the thank-you goat

The doodles I did in Lizbeth River Blue Dark in size 10 to finish off the thread from the shuttles.

Normally, any doodles I do from thread ends are put in a jar. When I want to add a little something to a letter or note I can usually find something in this jar that works. This time, I added a couple of these doodles to the goat before I mailed it off.

Thank-you goat for the Pushy Goat on wandasknottythoughts
Thank-you goat for the Pushy Goat with a couple of doodles

I like how this turned out. I hope my message therapist likes it, too.

This post was supposed to go up last week, but I didn’t do something quite right. We were on vacation last week and I didn’t check to make sure if it posted or not. The good news is I have pictures to share next week!

“A close family member once offered his opinion that I exhibit the phone manners of a goat, then promptly withdrew the charge – out of fairness to goats.“

Jeffrey Kluger

A Thank-you Goat

For Mother’s Day one of my daughters gave me a gift certificate for a massage at a place called ‘The Pushy Goat’. We were going to plan a day for us to go together, making a day of it, with lunch and shopping. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, we didn’t have a chance to use it until August.

When we did get my massage set up we ran into all kinds of setbacks, one thing after another. Amazingly, things worked out well, we got our day out and had a wonderful time.

I wore a pair of tatted earrings to my appointment, which started a conversation about tatting with my therapist and her boss. After getting home I started thinking about sending my therapist a thank-you note with a bit of tatting in it. And what better example of tatting than a goat to a business named ‘The Pushy Goat’?

A goat for a thank-you note on wandasknottythoughts
A Thank-you goat

The pattern is Jane Eborall’s goat pattern, made in Lizbeth River Blue Dark in size 10. I’ve made this pattern before, back when Jane did it as a Tat It And See. This came out well, but I didn’t make the chin picots long enough. In fact, my granddaughter thought it was a dog. I added some thread to the chin and combed it out, making it more recognizable as a goat.

I finished the goat then had to come up with the card to put it on. I want it to be easy to mail but of a size that, if she wants, my therapist could frame it. I cut the paper to fit in a 5×7 frame. I’m going to put the thank-you message in the upper left corner and glue the goat down about where it’s at. I’m pleased with how it turned out.

I did not get any compensation from The Pushy Goat for this post. I just had a good experience there.

“Don’t approach a goat from the front, a horse from the back, or a fool from any side”

PROVERBS

Read more: https://www.wiseoldsayings.com/goat-quotes/#ixzz6Y59HCAPw

Sympathy bookmark

Tatted cross bookmark to go inside a sympathy card on wandasknottythougths
Tatted cross with sympathy card

I had the occasion to use one of the cross bookmarks I tatted recently.  Sadly it was put in a sympathy card to a friend on the loss of their mother.  This is one reason I keep these bookmarks on hand, to send as a small token of my sympathy to let them know I am thinking of them during their time of grief.

“The people you have in your life grow and occupy space in the tapestry that makes up your life. When they are gone, it makes a hole where they used to be. The memories and love are still there and may always be there. So don’t look at your tapestry as filled with holes- look at it as your own unique lace pattern. The pattern isn’t over, but it is constantly changing. The pain of loss doesn’t ever really go away, but it does lessen over time.”   Unknown

Dragonfly

I sent a card to my mother the other day just to let her know I was thinking of her.  I found this lovely card that expressed what I wanted to say beautifully.  When I send cards I like to personalize them with a bit of tatting.  My mother is very fond of dragonflies, so it seemed the perfect touch to add one.

Dragonfly tatted in Lizbeth size 20 Easter Eggs on wandasknottythoughts
Dragonfly tatted in Lizbeth size 20 Easter Eggs

I tried to remember where I had seen the dragonfly pattern I was thinking of.  Jane Eborall has an awesome pattern for one but it takes a lot of beads, which is no surprise.  Also no surprise I’m not wanting to use that many beads.  As I couldn’t remember where to find the pattern and didn’t have time to surf the ‘net for it, I doodled a bit and came up with a reasonable dragonfly.

Over a week after I sent the card I saw that Michelle, over at Tela Magistrae, had made dragonfly earrings. The pattern was pretty much what I was looking for.  Eliz Davis commented they looked like a pattern from Jon Yusoff.  Sure enough, that’s the pattern I was looking for.  I think it will be easier than the one I made.  Michelle’s earrings turned out so well!  I think I’ll be making a pair for my mother.  And maybe me, too.

Instead of tatting much this weekend my husband and I spent it with family.  We went to our oldest daughter’s house to spend the day Saturday.  Our daughter and family from Nebraska were able to come down, too.  We have tried to have a longer vacation together like we have done the last several years, but we just couldn’t get the timing to work.  We had a great day visiting, doing things together, and watching the kids play together.  Sunday we had all of them over to our house along with other family and a few friends.  It was a great weekend.

With the busy weekend I’m behind on reading all the tatting blogs I like.  But that’s okay! I knew all the blogs would be there when family had gone home.  Now that I have time I’m looking forward to seeing what all you’ve been up to.

“It’s not the amount of time you devote, but what you devote to the time that counts.”  Found in a fortune cookie