Category: snowflake

Victor and other fall things

Believe it or not, I have finished the pattern for the Victor Snowflake! Amazing, isn’t it? If you are interested, please leave a comment or email me for the pattern.

Victor Snowflake in fall colors on wandasknottythoughts
Victor Snowflake in fall colors

When test-tatting Victor I decided to use Lizbeth # 694 Bright Orange and # 698 Fudge Med in size 20, because it is fall and I felt like using fall colors. Using two colors helps define the pattern, which is helpful when writing it out.

I’ve been getting out the fall and Halloween decorations in the hopes of putting a bit up in the house. I usually decorate at work not so much the house, but this year is different. Now I have to decide what I’m putting where, and how much. It would look best if I clean up the house a bit first, so this may be limited. I think I’ll leave the spiderwebs until after Halloween, LOL.

One thing I have already hung up is the quilted ball ornament I received from Isdahara way back in 2009. She had a giveaway on her blog, Ambitatterous, and I won! The really fun part about the giveaway was that we actually met up for her to give me the prize.

Victor Snowflake and quilted ball for fall on wandasknottythoughts
Victor Snowflake and Quilted ball by Isdahara

Not only did she make this lovely quilted ball but she added tatting to make it extra special. The pumpkin on the front and back is ‘Tatted Pumpkin’, pattern by Sherry Matthews ©2004, and the edging is ‘Pumpkin Vine Edging’ pattern by Heidi Sunday. Isdahara doesn’t do much with her blog these days but she is the admin for the Facebook group Summer Snowflakes. Always fun snowflakes to see there if you’d like to check it out.

To enter Isdahara’s giveaway you had to make up a ‘fractured quote‘ about tea and tatting. Tatters came up with some good ones! Below are the two I came up with. Not saying they were good, but they were fun to make!

“Tea and tatting – Mmmmm, two of life’s exquisite pleasures that together bring near-bliss” tattrldy (mis-quoted from Christine Hanrahan)

Hey diddle duddle, the cat and the shuttle
Tatting all over the room
The little dog sipped on honey and tea
And wrapped all the knots on a spoon
tattrldy

Another snowflake

I mentioned in my last post that I didn’t complete any tatting while on vacation, which is true, but I almost did. I finished this snowflake the day after we got home.

Victor Snowflake on wandasknottythoughts
Victor Snowflake

I still had the Lizbeth #674 Garnet Dk on my shuttles while trying to decide what I wanted to do. I started the center and was very happy with it. I’m not as happy with the outside arms, probably because the dark thread made seeing the stitches hard when I didn’t have the best lighting. Which was often. The reason the arms are a bit wonky is, I suspect, incorrect stitch counts as well as different tensions. This is what happens when you put it down and pick it up at odd intervals while making it.

Overall I’m happy with this snowflake, which I’m calling Victor after where I started it. I’m thinking this might be my family Christmas ornament this year, but I could change my mind at any time.

Victor, Idaho, is a cute little town right on Idaho state highway 33, just five miles from the Wyoming state line. The town has some nice businesses, several of which we visited while there. We did find the street parking kind of odd, none of us had seen it before. All the cars have to back into the parking spots on the street.

Victor, Idaho parking on wandasknottythoughts
Victor, Idaho parking

We were asking ourselves what was going on when we spotted the sign.

Victor, Idaho parking directions on wandasknottyhtoughts
Victor, Idaho parking directions

At least they gave directions. The street is marked with a line to give you space so you can pull over in preparation for backing in. Speaking to one of my daughters when we got home I was told that she had seen this before in a business parking lot. I guess you never know what you are going to find when you travel.

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” travel ad

Revisiting a Snowflake

Last year while on vacation, I came up with a snowflake. I came across a picture of it this week and thought I would try writing down the pattern. I jotted down the stitch count and made it again. Did you know it’s easier to tat than put into words what you tatted?

I remember thinking about this snowflake and wondering if I should have stopped one round earlier. When I made it last year, I didn’t take any interim pictures, but I took a picture of it at this stage this time.

Vacation snowflake 2020 3rd round on wandasknottythoughts
Vacation snowflake 2020 3rd round

I guess if you like snowflakes without pointy tips this is okay. It might make a nice center for a doily, too. The good news is that when I write out the pattern a person could stop here if they wanted.

Vacation snowflake 2020 finish on wandasknottythoughts
Vacation snowflake 2020 finished

I made several mistakes in this but I’m not worried. This was to get the stitch counts and the techniques, which I changed up in the middle for a couple of things. It still came out pretty well. I did it in three shades of green: Lizbeth #187 Green Ice for the center, # 687 Peppermint Green for the next two rounds, and #638 Christmas Green for the outside, all in size 20. I’m not sure that I care for how the greens look together after I finished it. When I picked them out from my stash – with no natural light – I thought they were okay. When I was tatting with them I had my doubts about them going together, but by that time I just wanted to continue.

The finished snowflake is 5 inches (127 mm) from point to point. I have my notes and scribbles but I haven’t started the diagram yet. I don’t mind putting it down on paper, and sometimes it’s fun, but most of the time I’d rather be tatting.

“Like snowflakes, the human pattern is never cast twice. We are uncommonly and marvelously intricate in thought and action.” Alice Childress

Larissa Ice Drop

Larissa Ice Drop tatting on wandasknottythoughts 2018
Larissa Ice Drop

This is ‘Larissa’, done in Lizbeth size 20 white, an ice drop that came about because I wanted to change up from the one I had been doing. This isn’t my favorite, but once I started I figured I should at least finish it. I almost didn’t, but it did come out better than I had expected.

The last few weeks I’ve only been tatting sporadically. I’ve been reading more than anything in my free time instead. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn’t get much else done.

My next project is to write out the several ice drop patterns that I’ve done. Unless I get distracted by my shuttles or another book.

“Who I am, what I am, is the culmination of a lifetime of reading, a lifetime of stories. And there are still so many more books to read. I’m a work in progress.” Sarah Addison Allen                           www.brainyquote.com