TIAS and ATC

TIAS – Tat It And See – Jane Eborall’s annual fun-fest of teasing those of us in tat-land that choose to join with small snippets of a pattern every few days.  There have been some pretty fun guesses made by participants but is anyone right?  Only Jane knows!

TIAS Day 9

My TIAS through Day 11
What is it?
It started snowing here last night about midnight.  They are predicting that we could get upwards of 9 inches of snow today with blowing snow and frigid weather tonight and tomorrow. I didn’t even open the door to take this picture.
 The view from my front door about 12:00 PM
Just got news that work has been cancelled for today – yeah!!

 ATC stands for Artist Trading Cards.  These are supposed to be no larger than 3½ inches by 2 ½ inches (the size of most any trading card, like baseball, hockey, etc, as well as most playing cards) and can be made of and with almost anything you want.  It’s a small piece of art to be traded or given away, not sold, to other artists. Originally this was done at face-to-face events but a lot of people now organize swaps on the Internet and through the mail.  They are also sometimes used by artists to try a technique or idea on a small scale, kept instead of traded.

I have been admiring Singtatter’s ATCs for sometime, but never tried any.  She and her friends do all sorts of different media and I haven’t seen myself being that ambitious.  But I got to thinking the other day that I’ve enjoyed decorating the photo album covers and I had a lot of fun decorating the little bags.   And I have quite a lot of flowers, butterflies and birdies and such from emptying shuttles.  Hmm, it could be fun to decorate something small like ATCs.

So I attempted a few.

Tatting and colored pencils

Paper, thread and heart button – oops, no tatting!

Tatting, paper and ribbon
Dove pattern by JoAnn Stearns, ‘Joy’s Heart’ pattern by Wanda Salmans

Originally I wasn’t going to put that butterfly on this last one, I was going to write a few words.  And I messed up the few words.  So I had to cover them up.  Oh, well, this is just for me anyway, and I had fun doing it, so all is good.

These are very simple ATCs compared to many I’ve seen on the Internet, but now I have a lot more ideas to try.  What’s funny is for some of these ideas I will have to do some tatting made special for them *hehehe*.  I suppose as fun is the main reason to do these that’s not a bad thing.

“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.”
Pablo Picasso
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TIAS days 7 & 8

We are up to day 8 of the 2014 TIAS by Jane E.  
And I still don’t have any idea what it may be.  Several other participants have suggested sails for a boat, which could be – the boat itself may be last.  But with the TIAS in pieces and no way to know which way is up or how they fit together it’s very hard to see what may be coming.
Day 7
Lizbeth #130 Island Breeze size 20
Day 8
Reading through all the entries on Jane’s TIAS blog it’s interesting to see how everyone is coming along and all their guesses.  Most are using variegated thread (Jane suggested to) which gives each person’s venture quite different looks due to the thread color combinations.  When I take pictures of mine I keep thinking it’s not laying flat when it is, it’s just the color of the thread giving that impression. 
I don’t know what we’re making yet, Jane, but it is a lot of fun!
I haven’t been getting a lot of tatting done this week – I keep getting sidetracked.  I see something that needs doing (the ‘h’ word) or something I’ve thought about doing (crafty things) or anyone of a number of things that catch my attention and off I go on a tangent. I finally sat down the other night with a piece of tatting I started some time ago and didn’t finish.  

Garden 10 Nazli Gelin size 10 white
I found the center of this long-picoted motif inside a bag of other tatting.  I don’t remember what I was going to do with those long picots but the motif was obviously unfinished.  For whatever reason it intrigued me enough to work on it a bit.  I put an outside around it, playing with the stitch count until I thought it was right – and found I probably should have used a couple more stitches than I did.  Now I have to decide what comes next.  Maybe it was to go on a ball Christmas ornament?  I need to see if that center will fit over one.  Hmmm.
“Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.”
Augusta Rodin
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TIAS and mice

Today Jane released Day 6 of her 2014 TIAS (Tat It And See). So far she’s done a great job keeping everyone guessing as to what it might be. 
This is my TIAS up through Day 6.  Days 1 through 4 is on the left, Days 5 & 6 is the small piece in the middle.  I’m sure the two pieces will eventually be joined together but I have no idea how.  Do you have any ideas?
I’m using Lizbeth #130 Island Breeze in size 20.
We were very busy this last weekend with family.  Our daughter came down from Nebraska and we all got together with our other daughter in Wichita.  By the time Sunday night rolled around my husband and I were bushed!  Needless to say very little tatting was done during this time.
Though not much tatting was done there was some thinking and planning being done. This is something I’ve been thinking about doing for a while. It’s not done yet, but when it is I’m wanting to mount this so it can be put on the wall, whether on a plaque or in a frame.
  

“I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.”
Walt Disney
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Star motif again

Still working on the star motif.  This time I’ve made it in Lizbeth #159 Easter Eggs and #638 Christmas Green in size 20.

Making it with contrasting colors really brings out the pattern, showing which shuttle was used where.  It changes its look quite a bit from using the same thread throughout. I’ve also made a bit of a change in the last round – again – trying to decide just how I want it. Not sure about this version, either. 
The TIAS has reached Day 3. Now I’m waiting somewhat impatiently for Day 4!  I haven’t counted how many people have joined this year but it looks like quite a few.  It’s fun to be tatting with other tatters from all over the world, isn’t it?  Just seeing everyone’s version of the TIAS and reading their comments enhances the enjoyment of being a part of this adventure.  Thank you, Jane!
“A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind.”
Eugene Ionesco
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TIAS Day 2 & Day 3

 It’s early days of the 2014 TIAS so it’s impossible to know yet what it will be.  I’m using Lizbeth #130 Island Breeze in size 20 this year.  
Day 2
Is it a pinwheel?
Day 3
The pinwheel has fallen over into the water.  Maybe it’s a paddle-wheel!
If you haven’t already, head over to the TIAS blog and check out who-all has joined in this year.
Have you?

Things to do when it’s cold outside

Like a lot of the mid-west it’s been mighty cold here this last weekend.  I didn’t even leave the house Saturday or Sunday.  I wouldn’t have Monday, either, except I had to go to work.  So what does one do for two and a half days of staying inside?
Well, getting some tatting done, for one thing.  Not as much as I could have, but some anyway.
I’m revisiting a motif I made back in October, deciding if I want to write down the pattern or not. I made a bit of a change in the outside round, not sure if it made it better or worse.  It’s made with Lizbeth #670 Victorian Red in size 20.
On Monday I started on Jane’s new TIAS.
I’ve started mine in Lizbeth #130 Island Breeze in size 20.  It’s only day one so there is little hope of guessing what it will be yet.  It’s fun seeing all the people who have joined.  If you haven’t yet but would like to try it, it’s never to late to start.
Then of course there is the usual things that can’t be ignored – you know, the everyday things that have to be done: cooking, a bit of cleaning, laundry (you’ve heard that “no laundry today, naked tomorrow? It can be true).
I was actually slow getting to my tatting. I had a big distraction: a new book.  While grocery shopping Friday I found one I just had to buy.  I admit I haven’t bought or read many books lately for several reasons:
1.  When I start reading I have a hard time putting the book down until I’m done with it. And maybe re-read a few favorite spots…
2. I have decided I should try to only pick up books by favorite authors due to reason #1.
3. I have a lot of tatting and craft projects I want to do and can’t if I’m in the middle of a book (refer to reason #1).
4.  We have some remodeling that has to be done, which I can’t do while in the middle of a book (refer to reason #1).
5.  Like it or not cooking, cleaning, washing, etc, and going to work are necessary evils, which I can’t do while in the middle of a book (refer to reason #1). 
6.  The room we have to remodel has most of my books in it and we have to move them all to work on the room.  There seems to be a lot of books…
So, at the store Friday I found a anthology edited by one of my favorite authors, Mercedes Lackey 🙂 
And yes, I ignored ‘most everything else until I had finished it! **unrepentant grin**
There are several stories in here that can stand alone but are continuations of other stories from “Elemental Magic”, another book of short stories,which was probably the last book I purchased.  I haven’t really gotten into Mercedes’ ‘Elemental’ series (refer to reason #1) but I enjoyed these a lot.  And it looks like her story in this book is the introduction of her next full length novel (“Red as Blood” coming 2014).   
Even though I love having an actual book in my hand I need to see how many of her books are in audio books, then maybe I can get other things done while ‘reading’!!
“The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp.  The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.”
Ursula K. Le Guin
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New shuttle

My sweet husband surprised me with a new shuttle. It looks better in person than in the picture.
It feels wonderful and is a very nice size, but the tips are very tight.  I even tried size 70 thread, which I very rarely tat with, and it was too tight for that as well.  I’ll have to fix that before I can tat with it, but isn’t it pretty?
My husband is so thoughtful!

A busy time of year

Busy with lots of things but very, very little tatting.  There have been family dinners, cleaning in preparation for those dinners, a Christmas play, unexpected events…. It’s just been very, very busy!
I didn’t get as many snowflakes done as I would have liked, but the important people each got one.  A couple of gifts I had wanted to make will have to wait for another occasion as I ran out of time this year.  A few projects I wanted to do will have to wait as I didn’t have as much time off from work as they said we would have.
But it was a wonderful Christmas!  We baked and decorated cookies with the grandchildren.  We played games that included everyone, from the great-grandparents to the youngest child.  We had a variety of foods that weren’t ‘traditional’ Christmas dinner fare but were easy to prepare so time could be spent doing other things.  We sat and talked, reconnecting with family we seem too busy to see much of the rest of the year. For all that there was a lot of time planning and preparing we didn’t let ourselves be too stressed about all that, for stress takes out a lot of the fun, doesn’t it?
We even had a white Christmas this year.  Here in Kansas there is only about an 11% chance of that happening, so it isn’t something you expect.  Of course, because we don’t expect it this early and it wasn’t just snow but ice as well,  not everyone could get out and about like we planned, either.  But it all came together anyway.
One of the few things beside snowflakes I did get done was this headband.
This was tatted on a white button then a sparkly jewel was added in the middle. I stitched it on the headband then added a bit of glue to give a little more hold. It was actually a birthday gift not a Christmas gift to a little girl who just loves purple.  It was a nice break from the snowflakes.
Now it’s on to other things.  Though maybe I should start on the snowflakes a little earlier this year – like, now?
I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas!
“Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.”
Peg Bracken

Flurry in a hurry

Yes, time is running out for Christmas snowflakes so I had to hurry to get some done if I wanted them to arrive before the big day. Which meant a smaller, easy snowflake that didn’t take much time.
There are two here that have ‘mistakes’ or at least unintentional differences.  The top one, that’s not really a snowflake, was the first.  I miscounted the chains, making it too tight to go around the doodad without cupping.  No problem, I just modified part of it and made it more like a bell than a snowflake.  The other one has picots on the short chains instead of Josephine knots – I started it without the 2nd shuttle.  Instead of doing the shoe-lace trick I just made picots instead.  It changed the look a bit, but still okay.
All are made with size 20 Lizbeth white.  The finished size is less than the length of a clover shuttle (a little less than two inches point-to-point.)  I really had planned on sending the modified Christmas Snowflake 2010 that I posted about last week, but these were faster.

For some reason I’ve had a hard time getting into the spirit of Christmas this year.  I haven’t decorated at all, neither inside nor outside or even at work.  Except for the snowflakes I haven’t put out anything Christmas related (and they’re just layin’ around because I’m working on them).  I have been listening to Christmas music and enjoying it a lot, so it’s not that I’m feeling like a Scrooge or a Grinch, I just haven’t found the energy to decorate.  None of the family gatherings will be at our house this season so I’m guessing the decorations will stay in their boxes for another year.  

Decorations out or not I am very ready for Christmas to be here.

A little difference

Christmas Snowflake 2010 © Wanda Salmans
I made a little change from the pattern on this snowflake, making the ends with three rings instead of a thrown ring, shortened the arm chains and left out most of the decorative picots.  I like the way it came out.  This is made in Lizbeth size 20, White #601.  The original pattern can be found on my Pattern tab.
December Star 2011 © Wanda Salmans
I made a little change in this pattern, too (can you tell? It’s not a star!).  I only made two changes in this one – added beads and another arm to make it a snowflake.  I like the beads but it sure slows down the tatting!  The beads are a bright, shiny, reflective silver – and they made taking a good picture of this a real bear!  Let’s just say I’m very frustrated with my camera right now 🙁  This ‘star’ is made in Lizbeth size 20 Christmas Red #671.  The original pattern can be found on my Pattern tab.
I think the changes in both patterns were successful.   The reason for the changes?  I’m running short on time for coming up with a totally new pattern for my 2013 Christmas snowflakes.  If I’m going to give anybody snowflakes I’ve got to get them done ASAP and starting with something I already have then making a few changes might be what I end up with.  Hmmm., will I stick with one of these – or find something else?
Time will tell.
“Change, like sunshine, can be a friend or a foe, a blessing or a curse, a dawn or a dusk.”
William Arthur Ward
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