Second Edging Complete!

Yes, it’s true. I’ve completed the second china hutch edging AND put it on the shelf!

Second china hutch edging on wandasknottythoughts
China hutch 2 shelves done

The top one is the first one, the bottom one is the second. It looks like I should have made one more repeat for the length, but I’m not going back. It doesn’t have as many repeats as the first one due to picot length. The second one is a bit more consistent with the length of the joining picot in the first row. I might be able to adjust the way it lays on the shelf to fit the width a bit better.

Second china hutch edging w/doors on wandasknottythoughts
Two edgings are done on the china hutch

With the doors closed, the way they are most of the time, you can’t see that the edging does’t quite reach the sides. The first edging needs to be straightened just a bit, LOL! I’ll get to that later.

I am still working on the third shelf edging.

Third china hutch edging not quite done on wandasknottythoughts
Still working on the third edging

I’m on the second row of it, too. I just keep running into things that need to be done that are more time sensitive than the edging, both tatting related and otherwise.

In the otherwise category, I’ve taken care of a couple of the grandchildren several times that I hadn’t planned on. Whether at their house or our house there are other things to do than tat. My granddaughter likes watching videos that show how to make Barbie accessories, so we’ve made a few of those. Good thing I have a bunch of crafty things handy!

“You don’t have to get things done all the time to be productive.” David Harsanyi

Split rings and beads

One of my daughters had a birthday recently. We took her and her family as well as our other daughter and her family out to lunch to celebrate. The day before her birthday I thought about tatting her something (I always leave it to the last minute.) Earrings can be quick and easy – relatively speaking – so I decided to make her a pair.

Split ring and bead earrings on wandasknottythoughts
Split ring dragonfly earrings

The dragonfly wing beads I bought last year from JoAnn’s, the same time I bought the beads for these earrings. I used Lizbeth metallic thread #311 for the finished earrings, but, I didn’t start with that thread. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to make them so I practiced with cotton thread first.

Three tries for dragonflies on wandasknottythoughts
Trial and error for the dragonfly earrings

My first try was with cotton thread and single shuttle split rings. I was not happy with them at all. They might be good after a bit more refresher practice, but there was a time limit for getting them made. I like the look of the split rings in the middle one, but they looked a bit too big. So I made the split rings a bit smaller, which resulted in a happy tatter and a pretty set of earrings.

I used a few other beads bought at the same time for my Christmas gift ornaments this last year. They were made almost the same way as the earrings but with different stitch counts.

Beaded split ring Christmas ornaments on wandasknottythoughts
Beaded split ring Christmas ornaments

The biggest issue I had with these ornaments was I couldn’t put them in my Christmas cards to send them! Which in a way was good, as I didn’t have enough beads to make as many ornaments as I usually do. But those that received them were thrilled with them.

I don’t tat with beads often, usually because I make messes with them. I tat a lot in the car, so beads end up on the floor, between the seats, or lost. Okay, I’m also impatient with how much slower I tat with beads than tatting without. But once in a while beads are fun to work with, and usually turn out pretty good.

“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” Denis Waitley

Patriotic Earrings

Patriotic earrings on wandasknottythoughts
Red, white, and blue earrings made for Independence Day 2020

One of the things I enjoy about tatting is making something on the spur of the moment and it comes out just as I envisioned it. Or maybe even better! Once in a while it all just comes together and, bingo!, there it is.

These earrings are like that. For the 4th of July, we were going to our daughter’s to enjoy family, food, and fireworks in the evening. In the morning I finished a little piece in red, white, and blue, something I try to do every year when I noticed how much of those threads I still had on my shuttles. I wanted to free those shuttles up, but what to make? Earrings for the evening sounded like a great idea.

Patriotic earrings for the 4th on wandasknottythoughts
Patriotic earrings for the 4th

For all that they came out well, they still had their moments. Hiding the ends and finishing off all three colors on such small pieces was interesting. And why I decided to use a picot that had to be joined with a twist (the second side of the ring to a facing ring) I’m not sure. I mostly try to avoid those if possible. And adding the jewelry findings, for me, is problematic. Sometimes everything goes smoothly, sometimes not so much. These went relatively smoothly.

Every time I tat with red, white, and blue thread together I notice how hard it is to find a good background to take pictures. Most of my background choices wash out one color or the other. I tried eight or nine backgrounds to get a decent picture or two of these earrings. So even if the picture doesn’t come out as well as I hope, I am happy with the subject of it.

I happily wore my new patriotic earrings that evening. We had a wonderful time! And now I have a cute pair of earrings to wear, to be patriotic whenever I want to be.

“Alfred Hitchcock once told me, when I was analyzing a lot of things about his pictures, ‘Clint, you must remember, it’s only a movie.'” Clint Eastwood

Third edging started

Start of 3rd china hutch edging on wandasknottythoughts
Starting the third shelf edging

I’ve started on the edging for the third shelf of the china hutch! Yippee!

I finished tatting the second shelf edging yesterday and am now blocking it. Then I have to stitch it to the lace to hold it to the shelf. I’m hoping to have it done by the end of the week.

I did a bit of other tatting this weekend or I might have been a bit farther on this edging. That I’m this far after waiting all these years is pretty amazing. From where I sit typing this post I’m looking right at the china hutch with it’s one edging done. It is inspiring me to continue as nothing else could do.

“Indeed it is better to postpone, lest either we complete too little by hurrying, or wander too long in completing it.”

Tertullian

Changing Crosses

I’ve been very busy the last two weeks, sometimes even with tatting! Every time I try to sit down to post, other, more pressing things came up. But I’m back today 🙂

I am still working on my shelf edging. It is about 3/4 of the way complete and it’s a convenient project to take in the car. If I didn’t have other projects to do, as well.

2nd shelf china hutch edging on wandasknottythoughts
Still working on the edging for the 2nd shelf

A friend of mine got married last weekend. Of course, I had to tat something, which was a cross bookmark in her wedding colors. I thought it turned out well. I didn’t realize that I hadn’t taken a picture of the finished cross until the day after I gave it to her. If she puts it in her Bible I might be able to take a picture one Sunday when I see her at church. If I remember! I used Lizbeth #632 Purple Medium. For the tassel, I added several strands of #605 Silver, both in size 20.

April's Cross v2 on wandasknottythoughts
April’s Cross in one of the bride’s colors

When deciding which cross to tat I first looked through ones that I had completed. I found several that I had done and either made changes or mistakes. I suppose that is determined by how they come out, right? If the change looks good, yay! If it doesn’t, then oops, don’t do that.

Several tatted crosses with changes on wandasknottythoughts
Several tatted crosses I found with changes

The white cross on the left is a doodle, so I can’t say it’s had changes made, but does it work?? The purple one is Milan with a mistake/change at the top, not sure I like it. The blue cross is April’s Cross with a few changes at the end of the arms, which I did purposely and I like the change. The multi-colored cross is January Cross without split rings.

January Cross 2019 ver 2 on wandasknottythoughts
January Cross 2019 ver 2

One cross that I purposely made changes to was ‘January Cross 2019’. A tatter contacted me about the pattern, wondering if it could be done without split rings. I thought about it and came up with version 2, changing the split rings to rings and chains. It changes up the look only slightly. I posted about the original version last year. Both versions can be found on My Patterns page.

This coming weekend is Independence Day here in the USA. I usually come up with some kind of patriotic tatting. I haven’t done that this year – yet. Another project to delay the edging. Well, the edging has been on the back burner for years, what’s another couple of days?

“Change, like sunshine, can be a friend or a foe, a blessing or a curse, a dawn or a dusk.” William Arthur Ward

“William Arthur Ward Quotes.” BrainyQuote.com. BrainyMedia Inc, 2020. 30 June 2020. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/william_arthur_ward_190444

One Edging Done

I’ve started tatting on the second of three edgings I need for my china hutch. The first one has been attached to the ribbon and put up in the hutch.

Tatting and lace for my china hutch at wandasknottythoughts.com
Tatting and lace for my china hutch

I found this lace ribbon at a local second-hand shop some time ago, buying it not because I had a specific use for it at the time, but because I might find something to use it for later. This ribbon will be mostly hidden when it’s on the shelf. The pattern on the edge of it made it easy to stitch the tatting to.

My china hutch
My china hutch before adding the edging

This is my china hutch with my collections of china and random other items. My grandpa used this up until he died 30 some years ago. I’ve been using it ever since. I think the shelves are original and are a bit bowed. I’m cautious about putting too much weight on them. An antique for sure, though it was never a high-end piece of furniture.

Hutch edging 1st shelf on wandasknottythoughts
Tatted edging attached to the first shelf

This looks good. A little wavy, maybe, but I’m happy with it. Originally I had wanted a more scalloped edging, but I can live with this.

Hutch 1 edging full on wandasknottythoughts
China hutch with first edging attached.

This gives me incentive to finish the other two edgings!

Hutch 1 doors shut on wandasknottythoughts
The china hutch with the doors closed

The edging shows up nicely even with the doors closed. The edging pattern is my design. I don’t know if there is a similar pattern out there somewhere but I was not following someone else’s idea when I tatted it.

The weather is hot here in the center of the USA, higher than average. This is keeping me inside looking out the window instead of being outside. A good excuse to tat more, right?

“Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends.”

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“H. Jackson Brown, Jr. Quotes.” BrainyQuote.com. BrainyMedia Inc, 2020. 16 June 2020. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/h_jackson_brown_jr_124509

China Hutch Edging

Surprise! I’m back! I know, it’s been a long time since I posted last. I haven’t been tatting much and I got out of the habit of blogging about it when I do.

Something I’ve thought about doing for a long time is making edgings for the shelves in my china hutch, which belonged to my grandparents. I acquired it about 30 years ago after my grandfather died. After thinking about all these years I finally started.

China hutch edging on wandasknottythoughts
Edging for shelves in my china hutch

This is made in Lizbeth #603 Ecru in size 10. It would be wonderful to make it in a smaller thread, size 20 at least, but I would like to finish it in my lifetime. Doing edging for three shelves in a smaller thread would take much longer, with a higher likelihood of my putting it down and not finishing it.

The first edging is done. This is a simple pattern in two rows that goes quickly, the total length 32″ and 1 3/4″ deep. The plan is to attach it to a wide ribbon with the ribbon laying on the shelf with the tatting hanging over the edge. I finished blocking it but still have to trim the thread ends. Sewing it to the ribbon hasn’t happened yet, but I have started tatting for the second shelf. Maybe I can get that done this weekend.

“Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is.“

Charles M. Schulz

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/charles_m_schulz_137425?src=t_home

Earrings

There are a lot of tatted earrings out there on Pinterest, which inspired me to make a few. Most of the ones I’ve been seeing have beads and/or other sparkly things on them. For all that I don’t use beads and baubles much, I do have quite a few stashed. The problem is they are stashed in a location that is hard to get to at the moment. So a quick trip to JoAnn’s was in order to pick up one or two.

It was supposed to be a quick trip to pick up a specific type of dangle bead. If you have shopped at JoAnn’s you know they have discounts on things and, if you are lucky, what you are shopping for is what’s on sale. I was lucky! A large part of the bead section was on sale. My quick trip was not quick.

I ended up buying many more beads than I intended. By a lot! In my defense, at 75% off I figured that now was the time to buy any I even thought I could use at some point in the future.

Surprise, surprise, I went home and actually used the beads I had gone to look for.

Clover Mirror Earrings in purple on wandasknottythoughts
Clover Mirror Earrings in purple

I found this pattern on my computer from a previous online search. I do not know the designer and haven’t seen them anywhere lately on line. If anyone knows the designer, please let me know so that I can give them credit.

I’ve made two pairs of these, one in purple the other in pink. I started a third pair that just didn’t cooperate. I’ll come back to it later.

Then I made another pair of earrings that are much simpler. They also used the same drop beads. I didn’t follow a pattern here, just something uncomplicated and easy. With beads!

Simple drop earrings on wandasknottythoughts
Simple drop earrings

These went much faster. I like using the smaller beads along with the drop.

I also played around with another type of bead. This took a lot more thought to use them.

Bright Hummingbird earrings on wandasknottythoughts
Bright Hummingbird earrings
2 bead humming bird earring on wandasknottythoughts
Hummingbird earring with 2 beads

The first two are very unbalanced due to the weight of the hummingbird bead. I did better with the third one by adding another bead with the flowers, but it is still not balanced correctly. I’m still working on them.

I keep looking through the beads I picked up that day, dreaming of how I can use them. Some are going to be very challenging to use with tatting so I may have to do something else with them. There are so many it will take years to use them all. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, is it?

Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent. Billy Graham
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/billy_graham_626358?src=t_waiting

Another Cross

Good news! My picture program problem has been resolved. I had to reinstall it, but it now works again. Yay! Now I have to catch up on formatting the pictures I have taken and want to use.

I made several more sunflowers since the last time I posted but not much in the way of pictures of them. Because I gave almost all of them away before I took pictures. I went on a bus trip and tatted six or seven of them and didn’t get much in the way of pictures. I have a few that might work but I have to look through a bunch that I took on the trip. Now that my program is working again maybe I can find a few that will show up well.

Back a while ago, maybe the end of last year, I made a cross that was almost all chains. I made another one very similar a couple of weeks ago and now have the patterns done.

First Cross of Chains on wandasknottythoughtss
First Cross of Chains (ver 1)

It doesn’t look like I took pictures of this when I first made it, but it was in the group picture I took for this years International Tatting Day. It only has the one ring at the center, everything else is regular chains. This is in a Lizbeth thread size 20. Unfortunately, at the moment I can’t find the ball of thread that I made this from so I don’t know the color number. It’s a shade of green is all I’m sure of.

Cross of Chains 2 on wandasknottythoughts
Cross of Chains 2 (ver 2)

This is the second version of Cross of Chains. It is made with Lizbeth size 10 in #646 Purple Iris Light. It is made with two rings and a tighter center.

Surprisingly, I already have the patterns for these done. Okay, they aren’t all that complicated, but it is still unusual for me to have them done already. If anyone is interested in them, please email me for the patterns.

“Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude.” https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/lou_holtz_629632?src=t_positive