February Tat and Chat

Last Tuesday my two most recent tatting students came over for a tat and chat.  We’ve been getting together about once a month for several months now.  We have so much fun!  I’m not sure just how much tatting actually gets done but we do talk about it and have a great time.

Sherry cautiously works on her tatting @ wandasknottythoughts.com

Sherry takes a cautious approach to tatting.  She doesn’t like taking out mistakes so doesn’t work very fast but she’s making progress.  She’s working on a heart that she would like to frame.

Becky winds a shuttle preparing for her next project @ wandasknottythoughts.com

Becky is a lot more bold and not afraid to make mistakes.  Since last month she tatted four hearts, framed them and gave them away for Valentine’s day.  She didn’t yet have a pattern that called for it but she wanted to learn how to make split rings.  She was doing it quite well with them by the time she left.

Becky brought a few flea market finds, a small doily, small piece of hen and chicks and a shuttle @ wandasknottythoughts.com
 Becky brought along a few flee market/antique store finds.  The small doily was found some time ago and looks to be made in about size 30.  Another time she and her husband did some bargaining for the silver shuttle.  The larger one we have determined is made from French ivory and is in very nice shape.  It is about the size of a Tatsy shuttle (the silver about the size of regular Clover) and still has tatting attached, the hen and chicks probably made in size 30.
We’ve set a date for our March get-together and made plans for our April meet to be on April 1 for International Tatting Day. They think they can handle the requirements: tat something fun, do it in public, and eat chocolate!
Have you made plans for International Tatting Day yet?
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A Bunny and Two Hearts

Finished TIAS 2016 is a bunny! wandasknottythoughts
TIAS 2016 © Jane Eborall
Look! Look!  I got the TIAS done!  Yay!
This Burgundy thread (Lizbeth #672 size 20) was a little too dark – I couldn’t see what I was doing when I made a mistake.  He did come out pretty cute – love the teeth and carrot!
Tatted heart adapted by Barbara Foster wandasknottythoughts
Tatted Heart adapted by Barbara Foster from design by
Mrs. J.M. Blackman, appearing in Modern Priscilla magazine in 1917
One of my aunts ended up in the hospital Saturday, so instead of taking her real flowers I took her some fake ones Sunday (no worries about spilling the water or flowers drooping before she could enjoy them).  It was a hurry-up job.  The ‘vase’ is a spice jar with a piece of burlap ribbon and a piece of smaller, white ribbon wrapped around it and the tatted heart – which I tatted up on the way from our house to the hospital.  I took the with me and attached the heart to the ribbon while we were in the parking garage.  This was the best of the pictures I took of it before we left.
My aunt liked it.
Joy's Heart Cross Bookmark for Valentine's Day wandasknottythoughts
Joy’s Heart Cross Bookmark © Wanda Salmans 2016
in Lizbeth #147 Red Burst size 20
This has been my take-along tatting project this last week.  I needed something without beads or too complicated (like the TIAS) and one that I wouldn’t worry about messing up (like the Round Robin doily I’m working on).  I made the rings of the arms a bit bigger than I made the bookmark I gave my brother-in-law; I think this looks better.  My plan was to frame it and give it to my mother for Valentine’s day but I haven’t gotten that done yet.  I’ll just give it to her when I get all the finishing touches done.
Now on to other things: the Round Robin doily I still have; a wedding gift for next month; the pincushions I want to make…  It feels good to be getting over the funk I’ve been in.“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
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Hymnal Bookmarks

A few months ago our church congregation decided to purchase new hymnals.  The ‘Lutheran Service Book’ has been out since 2006 but we are slow to accept change.  We like the old hymnal, ‘Lutheran Worship’, and going to the expense of buying different ones just because there is a new one out there is a large investment for a small congregation.  But our organist of many, many years retired last year and we are having trouble finding another one.  Even guest organists are hard to come by and they are mostly used to playing out of the LSB.  So we voted to to purchase the new hymnals.
It was brought up that the new books do not have any bookmarks in them.  You can purchase bookmarks that have two or three markers but no-one wanted to pay the extra.  I made a bookmark for my aunt that had a few tails and my mother brings a handful of bookmarks to church every Sunday.  As other members had also brought up the lack of markers I thought I’d see what I could come up with.
I’ve seen this type of bookmark on the Internet – regular ribbon, a button and an elastic hair band,  then I added four ribbon page markers.
 Hymnal Bookmark with 4 tails wandasknottythoughts
I made eight of them while watching the super bowl Sunday night.  I could have made more but I ran out of ribbon.

Hymnal Bookmarks with 4 tails keeping them straight wandasknottythoughts

 I will take these to church Sunday and let a few people try them out.  If they are liked I’ll make a few more. I don’t know that I’ll make them for all the hymnals but, if they go over well, I’ll make enough for everyone that comes regularly and maybe a few more.  We’ll see what people think of them.
On the tatting front I’ve done a little:  I’ve made it to day 9 of Jane’s TIAS.
 Day 9 of Jane Eborall's 2016 TIAS from wandasknottythoughts
I know, she’s posted the last day and people are sending in their finished pieces, but at least I’m back at it  I need to remember not to use such dark thread on something like this – if I make a mistake it’s hard to see to undo it!
I did find a wonderful pattern I wanted to make for Valentine’s Day but it is not going to get done in time.  In fact, I haven’t started it yet.  And I have the Round Robin that I need to finish before I start something else.
I think I need one of the hymnal bookmarks to keep track of all the things I need to do.
But I’d have to add a few more tails.
“The attitude you pose is greatly influenced by the links of friendships you bookmark. Good friends, good attitudes; best friends, best attitudes.  Guess what for toxic friends…!C”
Israelmore Ayivor
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Redbird in the snow

Redbird in the snow Nebraska picture by S. Hanke wandasknottythoughts
Picture by S. Hanke
Western Kansas and a lot of Nebraska was hit with a blizzard February 2, 2016.  A friend of mine took this picture of a redbird in her yard. I don’t know how much snow they had where this was taken but looks like quite a bit. Not enough to keep this little bird away.  Love this picture!*I was told they had about 10 inches (25.4 cm)

Forgotten kitty

Tatted cat from The Complete Book of Tatting, Rebecca Jones, found on wandasknottythoughts
Tatted Cat © Rebecca Jones 1985
tatted by Wanda Salmans
I was visiting an aunt this week and noticed this kitty on her side table among other pictures and nick-knacks.  I had completely forgotten about making this until I saw it again.
When I saw it I was trying to remember where I had found the pattern and when I had done it.  I had to do some thinking about how old it might be before I could think of the book.  Amazingly I guessed right the first time and pulled out the right book the first try.  The pattern is found in ‘The Complete Book of Tatting’ by Rebecca Jones.  I checked the published date to give me a clue of when I might have tatted it.  My copy of the book has “reprinted 1992 & 1994”.  I’m pretty sure I tatted this about 1995 and gifted it for birthday or Christmas the same year.
I’m guessing the thread is DMC pearl cotton size 8 because, at the time, there weren’t many other threads in pretty colors that I could find.  I didn’t take a lot of time to look at it closely when I was at the aunts’ house or I could be more sure.  It is mounted on light blue material in a wooden frame without glass.  It’s almost hard to believe I made it 20 years ago!
This is a favorite aunt that I spent many hours with growing up and once I knew how to tat she was the lucky recipient of quite a bit of tatting.  In those days I didn’t take pictures or write down what I made or where it went. This is one of the reasons I started blogging, to keep track of all that!
It gives me a little warm and fuzzy feeling to see that she has kept it all these years and still has it out to enjoy.
“The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat.”
Jules Renard
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January funk

I haven’t gotten much tatting done lately.  It also seems that what has gotten done has had mistakes.
Take Jane’s TIAS 2016.
I was doing great until Day 6.  It wasn’t that it was that difficult but I caught a thread where it shouldn’t aught to be and didn’t notice it until I was farther along.
2016 TIAS with a mistake wandasknottythoughts
Jane Eborall’s TIAS 2016 Day 6
And this is where I still am.  The way things have been going lately with my tatting I’m afraid to take it out due to the chance of making it worse.
But I am looking forward to finishing it.  Jane already has Day 8 out; I have a bit of catching up to do.
The doily I currently have in the round robin I’m a part of on Craftree is sitting by my chair waiting on me to finish it. I have it figured out – in my thread – but haven’t yet attempted it in the doily colors yet.  I really don’t want to mess it up.
I hope I get out of my funk soon.
On a bright note, I found my snowman that came off in the wash.
Button-centered Snowman after being washed wandasknottythoughtsHe looked pretty pathetic.

Button-centered Snowman after being washed still okay wandasknottythoughts

But amazingly his scarf, hat and flower are still attached.  I used craft glue to put them on and I really thought I’d find the tatting but not everything still together.  A little blocking and he’ll be as good as new.
I’m hoping a little patience and a little more care will soon get me back to as good as new, or least back to normal!
“You’re going to go through tough times – that’s life.  But I say, ‘Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.’  See the positive in negative events.”
Joel Osteen
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Marlis Edging

Marlis Edging on wandasknottythoughts
Marlis Edging in Lizbeth #698 Fudge Med and #603 Ecru size 10
This is another edging I made last fall.  Yes, it is similar to Kamryn because I had an idea in mind that I was working toward and Marlis was one of the first versions of that idea.  I’m not all that happy with it, though once I added the second row where it is attached the material I liked it a lot better.  The colors look pretty good with the runner material, though.After I had made Marlis and Kamryn – and a few other edgings – I saw a picture of an edging that is along the lines I originally was headed.  Fox over at tat-ology made ‘Gardenia’ by Iris Niebach, which if I’d seen it first I might have made it instead (I am sure I read about it on Fox’s blog when she posted about it, but I’ve slept a couple of times since then). Oh, well, this way meant I had to take a chance at figuring out just what it was I did wanted and if I could get there from where I was.

I had a lot of fun in the trying.

“Just keep taking chances and having fun.”
Garth Brooks
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Joy’s Heart Cross Bookmark

Joy's Heart cross bookmark wandasknottythoughts January 2016
Joy’s Heart Cross Bookmark © Wanda Salmans 2016
The center of this cross is Joy’s Heart (pattern found on My Patterns tab) with arms added. It’s done in one pass with shuttle and ball only, no fancy or difficult techniques. Made with Lizbeth #670 Victorian Red thread in size 20.
This was made in memory of my sister-in-law who loved anything hearts who lost her battle with cancer this last week.  We were the same age and though we didn’t see each other often we always enjoyed each other’s company.  She will be greatly missed.
I had almost a week to make a bookmark for my brother-in-law but I had a hard time getting started – maybe denial?  I finished the last arm and hid the ends a few minutes after the funeral.  The picture was taken in the foyer on a table there.  I should have found a better background but there were other things to do.
Funerals are hard to attend but can help so much with dealing with loss.  Besides all of the memories shared you also reconnect with extended family that unfortunately doesn’t get together often enough.  I also find myself reviewing my own life and wonder if I’m doing things I might regret or what things I might regret if I don’t do them.
As family and friends mingled, shared memories and tears, many of us kept saying “we have to stop meeting just at funerals.”  Someone decided to do something about that – plans have been started to have a family reunion later this year.  I’ve added it to our calendar and we’ve made plans to go.  We not waiting until the next funeral.
 There is a wonderful poem by Linda Ellis called “The Dash”. It really makes you think.

Of airplanes, ornaments, and snowmen

Several years ago I gave the white airplane on the right to a friend of mine for Christmas. He had it hung on his office wall at work and I noticed a few months ago that it was looking a bit wilted and yellow. It had been stiffened a bit but not enough it seems.  The smaller grey plane I meant to give him last year and didn’t (he got a tatted ornament just not the plane).  This year I wanted to make sure he got both his airplanes but in a way that would look good and last a bit better.

Tatted airplanes © Wanda Salmans pattern found on wandasknottythoughts.blogspot.com
Airplane  © Wanda Salmans 2014 Pattern found on My Patterns tab 
Trying to find a background that worked with both planes took a bit.  Craft paper was the best I could find from my stash of both paper and material.  No worries, my friend really liked his airplanes.
I’ve gotten quite a few responses since I posted about these small ornaments.
Christmas Ornaments 2015 found on wandasknottythoughts.blogspot.com
Button Christmas ornaments
They are very basic and simple patterns so I wasn’t going to write them up, but I decided to do a few to give people that would like to do something similar an start.  You can find the link on My Patterns tab as Christmas Ornaments 2015.
 The snowman that I made for myself and attached to a pin is missing in action.
Missing tatted snowman on wandasknottythoughts
Missing: Tatted Snowman. Last seen: on this pin on my shirt
I wore it Christmas day and forgot to take it off my shirt before I washed it.
I’m not sure where it ended up.  I used regular white craft glue to put it all together as it was never meant to go through the washer.  I’ll probably find bits and pieces of him in the clothes as we put them on, tucked up inside a sleeve of some shirt or other.  It’s too bad but not a tragedy to lose him as I have others but, man! I wish I hadn’t done that.
2015 is about to make its exit.  It’s been a thrilling year with the new experience of a cruise and visiting Alaska for the first time; a sad year where we have lost three family members and several close friends over the course of the year; and an exciting year as we’ve finally done some home improvements that had been put off for far too long.  It could be said it’s been a normal year with ups and downs, good times and bad.  As we enter 2016 I make no resolutions that I know I won’t keep but move forward with a positive outlook and hopes for a wonderful new year.
What are you looking for in the coming year?
“Every exit is an entrance to new experiences.”
Fortune cookie proverb