April 14, 2012 – Tornado southwest of Salina, KS

This tornado was north and a little west of us on Saturday.  We got side-swiped by a little tornado which thankfully left very little damage.  I was glad this one wasn’t in my backyard and worried about the people that were.  Amazingly no-one was killed by this big one. It was a little harry Saturday but we survived.

A new edging

Hanging Basket Edging © Wanda Salmans 2012
This is the edging I was working on last week.  I finished tatting it but it’s not yet attached to anything.  If things go well I’ll have it done this week.  It’s made in Lizbeth #115 ‘Springtime’ size 20.  I’m very fond of this colorway, it really makes me think springtime, which somewhat surprises me as I don’t usually favor pastels.

When I started this edging I had only a vague idea of what I wanted.  I was happy with the first row though I knew it needed a second row to make it as deep as I was looking for.  The length of the first row worked out well, leaving just the right number of repeats so the second row fit – once I figured out what the second row was going to be. The first row has a SCMR and a thrown ring in every repeat but otherwise it is just rings and chains.  The second row is a little fiddly but not difficult, using only rings and chains though you have to switch shuttles for the ‘basket’ part. If anyone is interested I am sharing the pattern, it’s on the sidebar.

I’m not much of a garden person – I’m much too lazy to keep it weeded – but I do like to have a few flowers to brighten up the house.  While they look nice I’d thought I’d share a little.  I put these out a little over a week ago and they’re still alive(!) and look like they may stay that way a little longer.  It’s amazing how a few pots of plants change the whole feel of the entry way.

“In the spring, the carpet flowered amid the green,
and as wind blew, it looked like music on the ground.”
Timothy Egan

Actual tatting was done!

Looky, looky, there be tatting!  For the first time in almost two weeks, I was able to sit down Sunday and tat.  I didn’t get as far as I would have liked, but that I got anything done is amazing! 
The edging is made with size 20 Lizbeth #115 “Springtime”.  I just started tatting with an idea of what I wanted and I think it is coming along nicely. Hopefully it won’t take me two weeks to finish it : -)
Some of the reason I haven’t had time to tat is family visiting, which is a good reason not to have gotten anything done.  Having two 3-year-olds and a 10 month old around for several days makes it interesting to get anything done except enjoying and playing with them.  And who would want to do anything else?  Certainly not Grandma (me)!
I did get tatting out to the public a week ago.  The senior center that my mother volunteers at, and is a member of, had a show-and-tell day to share their hobbies with the community.  Mom wanted to share a table with my sister and I – my sister embroiders and my mother collects (and wears) hats.  The local paper even did an article on my mom when they were doing a write-up about the day.  She brought 37 hats in and it was decided to give her, and my sister and I, the quilting/sewing room to accommodate them. 
My mom and a few of her tats.
This is a picture of my mother (on the left) and her two sisters in their hats at the show-and-tell.  Mom was very excited to share all of her hats. 
I had been planning on this day for about a month and even had some ideas to make a few cute and quick things for it.  Unfortunately I had been working some very long days and weeks so had to settle for things I already had on hand.  I was supposed to be there at least by nine on Saturday,  bringing both my tatting and my sister’s things as she had to work.  My daughter from Nebraska decided to come down that weekend as well, which is great. Then Friday night she went out for the evening with her cousins and I was home with both of her children and my other daughter’s little boy, alone, as my husband had to work (I had taken a day of vacation). The kids were all great, but they were kids and I didn’t get much sleep. When I finally did I overslept. I didn’t get up to the senior center until almost 9:30 a.m. and the doors were to open at 10:00 a.m.  It was a case of lay out the table cloth and start putting out our things as fast as possible.  
My sister has been giving classes on scrap-booking at the senior center so had some pages and books for that as well as her embroidery.  Good thing they gave Mom the whole room, the table was crowded with just my sister and my hobbies, and the hats take up a lot of room. 
I found I had more tatted items at home than I thought I did.
I had quite a few opportunities to share my love of tatting with others.  This woman’s mother had tatted but she had never done it herself. She had a lot of questions about it so I demonstrated how to do a chain with two colors.  Throughout the day there were a lot of the usual comments about tatting being a ‘lost’ art, so this was a great chance to let them see it’s not lost completely and has been ‘found’ by quite a few people.  Several people expressed interest in taking classes if they were offered, so I might have the chance to share it with more.  This would be as a volunteer to mostly older people (so speaks a grandmother!) but I think it would be a lot of fun. 
I’m back on ‘regular’ nine hour days at work again, so I’m looking forward to having more time to tat again. Which is good because I just got Sherry’s new book in the mail yesterday *happy dance*. This book looks great and I’m really looking forward to making the items in this book and learning this technique.  
“Grab your coat, and get your hat, Leave your worry on the doorstep. Just direct your feet, To the sunny side of the street.”
Dorothy Fields

International Tatting Day

Happy International Tatting Day.
Have you had your chocolate today?  I shared mine at church this morning while I was wearing my vest with all the tatting on it.

Now I’m going to sit back with my feet up, drink some iced tea and tat a bit, just for me 🙂

I’m looking forward to the mail this week – Sherry’s new book should be here soon, yea!

Spring has sprung…an Egg!

Spring has actually felt like it’s been here for weeks but finally my red bud tree is blooming.  I’m sitting outside while I write this enjoying the birds singing and the lovely flowers in my lawn (okay, they’re weeds, but at the moment they brighten  up the lawn).  A little while ago a wild hen turkey crossed our yard followed closely by a tom, eager to show her his lovely tail feather display.
I have done very little tatting this week, so have nothing to show. I did post the Easter egg pattern on the sidebar. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much time to work on it, either.  It’s mostly written out long hand, but does have pictures and general diagrams.  I wanted to get it out there before Easter even if it’s not quite the way I want it. I will be updating it when I have a little more time. It is mostly a ring and chain pattern with a couple of SCMRs. If you happen do make it and find any mistakes I’d be happy if you’d let me know so I can fix it. 
Though I haven’t done much tatting this week I do have tatting related news, I just haven’t had the time to work on the pictures.  Maybe I’ll have them ready for next week. 
Speaking of next week, April first is this coming Sunday – International Tatting Day.  I have a list of things I need to tat and am hoping to be able to sit and enjoy some chocolate while I work on at least one of them.  If it’s a nice day maybe I’ll try to go to the park or sit on a public bench somewhere and share it with the public (tatting, not necessarily the chocolate).
“Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.”
Anthony J. D’Angelo
The optimist keeps his eye on the doughnut, the pessimist only sees the hole

Still Tatting for Easter

Easter Egg for Intatters Challenge on wandasknottythoughts.com
Are you surprised it’s not another bunny?
I made this Easter Egg for a challenge on Intatters a couple of years ago.  I only made one then, but I’m in an Easter type mood for tatting and thought I’d do it again. It’s in Lizbeth #115 “Springtime”, size 20. I didn’t use beads – I was lucky to have the time to tat this without!
I did want to have the pattern ready today, but it’s not quite done.  I’m hoping to have it done very soon, so keep an eye on the right side of the blog.
I found a site that has some cute Easter poems.  Check this out.
Five Little Easter Eggs


Five little Easter eggs, lovely colors wore;
Mother ate the blue one, then there were four.


Four little Easter eggs, two and two, you see;
Daddy ate the red one, then there were three.


Three little Easter eggs, before I knew
Sister ate the yellow one, then there were two.


Two little Easter eggs; oh, what fun,
Brother ate the purple one, then there was one.


One little Easter egg; see me run!
I ate the very last one, and then there were none.
 

Tick Tock Goes the Clock

After 40 years or more of silence this clock is now keeping time again.
This is my grandparent’s Gilbert clock.  It had quit working back when I was a child. I have a few memories of it chiming, but not for years and years.  I inherited this when we moved Grandma out of her house to an apartment.  My husband surprised me a couple of months ago by taking it to a man who repairs old clocks.  It just came back a week ago.  We’ve been getting it leveled and adjusting the times to get it up to correct time again.
This clock is a Gilbert clock made about 1915 – 1920, according to the repair man.  It has a pendulum inside in the back and has to be wound with a key.  When I got it, it was missing the glass front and the hands, and was wound too tight.  It now chimes the hour and once on the half hour and makes a lovely tick-tock sound. Once we got it level it keeps time very well.
I’ve gotten very little tatting done this week. I’ll probably share it next week, maybe even with the pattern. It’s more Easter-themed tatting, can you guess what it might be?
“In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance.  In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did that produce?  The cuckoo clock. “
Orson Welles

“Love is not a clock. You simply cannot take it apart just to see what makes it tick, and even if you could, you probably could never get it back together again.”

Bunny Face

I’ve decided I like the bunny face.  I’ve made a few more, playing around with it a little, mostly with the ears.  I think the bottom one looks a little more like a dog than a bunny, but still has potential.  I don’t think this will become an edging, at least not without a lot more work, but it looks pretty good as a bunny face. 
I’ve been trying to find out if there is another bunny that is made like this.  I’ve found several really cute bunnies: 
Tatman has a couple of cute bunnies here and here. I also hear he has a pattern for a bunny in an egg, but I don’t know where to find the pattern.  I saw it on Steph’s Stuff; very cute!
Bella OnLine has several bunny patterns, including a few edgings, found here.
[the first link on the page, Brenda’s Bunnies, does not contain tatting. It looks to have been hacked]
Nancy has a cute one on her be-stitched site, here.  
I checked Dianna Steven’s book ‘Animal Bookmarks, a Tatted Zoo’, which has a really cute bunny bookmark, but it doesn’t look like this either. 
So, if anybody is interested, I have put the pattern up on my sidebar.  The pattern has the rounded ears like the top two in the picture. I made the bottom one today while I was sipping my Tatting Tea Tuesday tea, after I had the pattern ‘finished’.  I might make an addendum for changing up the ears later.

This time of year thinking of bunnies makes me think of Easter, so I’ll leave you with another Easter poem.

Sky Bunnies
The sky is full of bunny clouds
So soft and fat and white,
I wonder if they’re hiding eggs
For stars to find at night.

Because it’s Easter Eve, you know,
And there’s no reason why
There shouldn’t be an Easter hunt
In meadows in the sky.

Looking for the Bunny

I usually don’t think to make seasonal things until much too close to the actual holiday, but I’m actually thinking Easter already.  It’s already Lent so there are only about 40 days left to get things made before Easter.
My first (only?) Easter-themed tatting this year is a bunny face.  I did this while riding in the car without a pattern but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this, or a close variation, somewhere.  I have Dianna Steven’s book ‘Animal Bookmarks, a Tatted Zoo’ which has a rabbit in it, so that may be it; I’ll have to check.  I already checked Jane’s patterns and didn’t see it there. This one is made in Victorian Red #670 Lizbeth thread, size 20 and you can see it’s not very big.  I’ve already thought of a different way to make this – my original plan for the bunny was an edging for the hem of some pants for my grand-daughter. Some adjustments will need to be made to resemble the idea in my head.

I wasn’t sure I liked this bunny, but I like the picture of him ☺.

Secret Information
Would you like to know a secret?
Well, I’ll tell you one I know:
The Easter’s Bunny’s coming,
My mama told me so.

He’ll bring a basket filled with eggs
And leave it in my yard,
And I will find it Easter morn,
If I look very hard.

I shouldn’t tell my secret,
But I think it should be shared.
You ought to know that Bunny’s coming,
So you can be prepared!

Gifts

To me!
These wonderful items are from Tabatha that I received for our Advent exchange.  That container in the back has seven different colored seed beads.  Each bead color is in it’s own compartment so each can be opened without releasing loosing opening all the others – great!  The ball of thread is Lizbeth “Springtime” #115 in size 20.  I haven’t used it yet but it’s such a ‘spring-y’ color I’m thinking of using it for something for Easter.  The cute book is a journal, an encouragement to keep jotting down my patterns.  And the pens aren’t regular pens but crochet hook pens.  And they are soo pretty!  I’ve been keeping one in my purse so I always have one handy. 
All of these items are in such pretty colors they make me think “Spring!”  We’ve had such a mild winter here that it almost seems like spring already.  We actually had a thunderstorm yesterday with high wind and hail.  Very spring like, indeed.  Of course, it could come up and snow any day – it’s still only February.  But tatting with “Springtime” thread, using those pretty beads and crochet pens, and jotting down ideas in the journal (did you see the tea pot?) will make it feel like springtime anytime. 
I didn’t have any tea this morning for Tatting Tea Tuesday, I had coffee instead.  I was just too lazy to try and choose which tea to drink this morning 🙂  I’ve also been too busy this week to tat, so there’s no tatting to show.  I have a list of things I want/plan to tat, just not the time.  I’m hoping that this week is a little better on the tatting front.  
May you have a bit of tatting time this week, too. 
“Youth is not a time of life: it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it it a matter of the will, quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.”
Samuel Ullman