Unexpected time-out from booties

I had to take a little unexpected time-out from making booties to make this cross for a friend of ours. Friday her husband, an older member of our church, passed away. It wasn’t exactly unexpected, but when is a death ever really expected? I sent it off today in a sympathy card.
This is a very quick pattern. I just made it off the top of my head but I’m sure I’ve seen it, or some variation of it, in at least one book. It’s made with DMC size 30 so it’s about 3 inches long, not including the tassels.
I’m going to call this #12 of the 25 Motif Challenge. Even though it is a sad occasion I think the bookmark turned out well.

One pair done!

I have one pair of baby booties done! Tomorrow I’ll see how this pair fits the youngest – he’s three weeks old now.

I have another bootie done that is a little bit bigger for the older of the boys. But I don’t know how close it is. I’ve got a couple of ideas to see if it’s close. Then I’ll know if I have only one more to make or another set. Let’s hope just one!

I haven’t had time to take pictures of them yet, but when I get the chance I will get them posted.

I actually kept track of how long it took me to get one bootie done this time and it was a lot longer than I thought! Mostly I just pick up whatever I’m working on whenever I get the chance and it’s done when it’s done. I think I like it better that way, but when you have a deadline you have to keep your eye on the clock. And this deadline is coming up fast!

I’d better get back to work!

Too tired to tat, oh dear!


The last several weeks I have just been too tired to tat. My brain just couldn’t stay focused enough to accomplish anything! I was chosen to work on a special project at work which required me to change shifts for a few weeks. Instead of starting at 3:30 PM and working ’til midnight I had to work from 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM. I’m getting too old to appreciate the change!

So I thought I would share a project my sister and I did together as few years ago. This is the skirt of a pillow case doll. My sister made the doll and the dress, then did the embroidery work of the lady’s top and parts of the umbrella. She used pearl beads on the brim of the bonnet. Then I tatted the skirt, the brim of the umbrella and the little accents to each side.

One really nice thing about DMC is that you can match embroidery floss with the Cebelia tatting thread. The lady is in green because we both just happened to have those colors. We both really enjoyed this, so made another one in blue so we could each have one.

Next week I go back to my regular hours so I’m hoping I won’t be so tired. I have to get those booties done!

Baby booties are started

I finally have started on the baby booties for my grandsons. The plan is to baptize them at the same time and the girls and I thought it would be nice for me to make them booties.
I’m using the pattern out of Aunt Ellen’s Tatting Patterns by Workbasket. I’ve made this pattern before, about 16 -17 years ago. It’s kind of funny. The book marks each pattern by how hard it is, easy, intermediate and challenging and this pattern is challenging. No big deal, I’ve made them before. Uh-huh. I’ve learned a lot and done a lot since then.
So the pattern says shuttle and ball. Okay, I wind one shuttle and leave it attached to the ball and start the bottom, do about the first five rings and chains. And then I’m looking for the other shuttle – the one I didn’t wind because you only need one. But the way the pattern flows a second shuttle is needed, at least it is if you know how.
So, I wound thread around the outside of the shuttle until I thought I had enough, cut off from the ball and wound a second shuttle (I didn’t measure but an experienced eye had the shuttle loaded almost perfectly) and went on with the bottom.
The rest of it is pretty straight forward and is for just shuttle and ball. I have two more rounds on the first of bootie left to go. I’ll try it on the youngest grandson to see how it fits then make the next pair out of larger thread for the older. He’s two months older and had really long feet when he was born so I’ll have to experiment with different thread sizes to get them to fit. This one is in DMC white size 30 so I have size 20 and size 10 for a couple of easy ways to increase the size without changing the pattern.
We’re planning on mid-February for the event – weather permitting – so as long as I don’t dawdle too much I should get them done in plenty of time. That is, of course, if I don’t have trouble with the next pair!
I was planning on posting the Entwined Hearts, pattern by Jon, here and the booties when at least one pair was made, but I oopsed. I was actually taking a picture of it and noticed that I made a join wrong! So I decided to make it again before posting it. Stay tuned…

#11 of 25 Motif Challenge

Here’s my try at Jon’s Quantiesque snowflake. It’s done in DMC size 30 threads, light pink and light green. I wasn’t too sure about making it in these colors, but my oldest daughter really liked them and thought that they’d look good together. She’s going to get this one, too, as she likes it a lot. It’s #11 for my 25 Motif Challenge.

The new grandson is home with his parents. He looks so small compared to his two-month old cousin! One is dark and one is pink! Hopefully they will be able to see enough of each other growing up to be friends.

The weather is supposed to be turning bad so my youngest daughter is heading back to Omaha tomorrow her the other grandson. It’s supposed to get icy starting Sunday afternoon/evening and we don’t want her driving through that. It was great having them here for the last week but we’d like to see them home safe.

I’ve got several more things I will posting very soon, including Jon’s Hearts Entwined/Crowning Hearts. I’ve have to take pictures and download them first! But it’s coming.

I have several things I would like to post soon. Now that the baby is here and the other grandson is going home, I might have time to load the pictures.

I’m a grandma again!


My second grandson, Hunter, was born Wednesday afternoon at 2:44. Finally! He wasn’t late but he gave us several false alarms. My daughter was induced yesterday morning and had him a lot sooner than I expected. He was one of 38 babies delivered a the hospital on the 21st! My daughter’s nurse said this is the fullest she’s seen the nursery floor.

They are supposed to go home this evening yet. Good thing his daddy is going to be home for the first week or two. And I’m going to be available also, as she is only about an hour away from me. So I’m taking a week’s vacation so that I can be available if she needs some help, or just someone to talk to.

My other daughter came down from Omaha with her two month-old baby to be here for the birth and they have been staying with us. The cousins have been introduced to each other, though neither one seems to care much right now. It’s amazing to see how big the two month old looks compared to the newborn!

I have several pieces of tatting I’ll be posting in a day or two, but emailing baby pictures are a little more important right now!

Wall art part 2

So this is how I added a little more art to my wall. The doily and shuttle picture is to the left of these shuttles and snowflakes.
The backgrounds for all of these are unfinished wood pieces from Hobby Lobby covered with silk material that matches the colors in my livingroom curtains. The shuttles are sitting on a ribbon that is glued on the back of the wood only.

The top shuttle is an old plastic shuttle that I picked up at an antique shop about 10 years ago. The points are in bad shape and not really usable to tat with.
The middle shuttle is wood from a place in Washington state called Blue Bird shuttles, I think. It was the first shuttle
I bought other than Susan Bates plastic or Clover shuttles 15 (?) years ago. I’m not that fond of tatting with it because the pick is a little thicker than I like (and I see it’s sitting a little looser than the others, I’ll have to fix that).
The bottom one is a buffalo horn shuttle picked up at a sewing/craft shop in Lawrence, KS about 1999. It’s very slick and likes to slip out of my hands when tatting.
The way they are mounted I could get them down easily if I wanted to use them.

The snowflakes are glued to the material. They were on the Christmas tree this year.
The top two are my designs, both several years old.
The bottom one I’m sure is a pattern I found in a book, but I don’t remember where. If anyone recognizes it, please let me know so I can give credit to the designer.
(Editor’s Note 1/17/09: Kathy Niklewicz, a sharp-eyed tatter, recognized that this motif came from ‘The Complete Book of Tatting’ by Rebecca Jones. Thanks Kathy!)

The picture with these pieces make a nice grouping of mixed media. What do you think?

Wall art part 1 and Beaded Snowflake pattern

We have been re-arranging our living room and the pictures on the wall. In the past I have usually just had family pictures on the walls. I thought I’d try some kind of art on the wall for a change. I went with my daughter and son-in-law to several stores looking for some kind of picture or hanging that would feel right in our home. There were several pieces that we liked but nothing that jumped out at me shouting “Buy me, I’m perfect!”

So I thought I’d try something else. Being an avid watcher of HGTV and DYI network I had heard some of the criteria they suggest for choosing artwork. It should be something that reflects your personal style. It could be something to do with your hobbies or interests. Hobbies or interests, ah hah! Maybe I could do something with my tatting!

I pulled out a doily I had done and chose several of my favorite shuttles. Then I had to find a good background, finally deciding to use the wooden seat of my grandmother’s organ stool. I took a lot of pictures of different shuttles in different positions on the doily, with different lighting. The final choice was two shuttles my husband bought from The Shuttle Shop four years ago as my Christmas present (such a sweetie!). Then get it enlarged and put it in a frame with matting. The frame is wood with a slight red tint.

I really like the result, what do you think? But it just wasn’t big enough to fill the space on the wall I wanted it on all by itself. So I had to come up with something else. Hmmm. To be continued…

And now, for Hope and JulenaJo, and anyone else who might be interested, the pattern for the beaded maroon snowflake in my previous post. Try it at your own risk, there may be mistakes or omissions lurking. If they find you, or vise versa, let me know and I will try to help you.

Beaded Snowflake
November 2008
tattrldy

R=ring; Ch=chain; SCMR=self closing mock ring; B=bead; RW=reverse work; += join; DNRW=do not reverse work

2 Shuttles
30 beads – added to picots during join except where specified

Center
Shuttle and Ball
R 1-(very small)2-2-2-2-2-12. RW
Ch 3-2-2-2-2-2-2-3+w/B to 6th p of prev R. RW
*R 2-2-2-2-2-12. RW
Ch 3-2-2-2-2-2-2-3+w/B to 5th p of prev R. RW*
Repeat between * 4 times, + w/B to 1st p of 1st R.

Outside
2 Shuttles
Add 6 beads to Sht1 before starting.
Sht1 R 2-2-3 B 3-2-2. RW
Sht1 SCMR 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2+w/B to 7th p of Ch of center, 2 +w/B to 1st p of next Ch of center, 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2+ to base of prev R. RW
Sht2 Ch 5-2-2-2-2-5. RW
Sht1 R 5 +w/B to 4th p of Ch of center, 5. RW
Sht2 Ch 5-2-2-2-2-5. DNRW
Repeat from start of Outside 5 times, join last Ch to base of 1st R.

Motifs # 9 & #10

Yes, Christmas is over but the ‘snow’ is still here. These are two snowflakes I made before we took the tree down. The white one is, of course, Micheal’s snowflake,made with DMC size 10 with silver beads. The red one is one I designed a few weeks earlier, in DMC size 10. It’s a maroon color, not red, with white pearl beads. These are #9 & #10 motifs for the 25 motif challenge. If you look back through my blog I know the last motif was labeled as #6 but I went through all of it and found I mis-counted. There are eight previous motifs and now ten all together.

I have been working on a doily lately, but I’m not very happy with it. I’ve done several nice bits and pieces in it, but over all it’s not very pleasing to the eye, too haphazard from round to round. But it’s something to play with. I have printed off several patterns that have been mentioned recently on eTatters that I plan on making, but I haven’t decided on the thread I want to use with them. I might just have to get some new thread. Yeah, like the thread shopping is going to break my heart!

We are counting down the days to the next grandbaby. My oldest daughter is due in 14 days! She’s very ready for him to get here. He’s been very active, not letting her forget that he’s there. This daughter is in Wichita, much closer to us, so it will only take a little less than an hour to get there when she says it’s time. I keep a phone with me at all times! Another baby, oh boy, oh boy!!

I made it to the New Year!


Well, I survived the holidays. I made it through multiple family get-togethers, family dinners and a baby shower with minimal stress and fuss. Actually, I think everything went smooth and we all had a great time. My youngest daughter was able to come down from Omaha with the baby on the 23rd, a few days earlier than expected, though her husband had to work so couldn’t come.

For Christmas day I invited my parents and two of my aunts to dinner. I kept it very simple – we had soup and just a few sides. It made for very little stress when fixing the meal as the soup cooked in the crock pot over night and everyone brought something to go with it. Instead of spending all my time cooking I decided to use real dishes (instead of paper, the usual) and set a pretty table – which is usually the last thing I worry about. I also put a tatted snowflake by everyone’s setting for a small gift. I made several of Micheal’s quick snowflakes as I was running out of time and they tat up so nicely. The result was simple but very much in the season. We sat around and visited for hours, a very nice day indeed.

As for the new year, I don’t have any resolutions, but I do have a long to-do list. I have actually printed it out and put it on the refrigerator so that I can mark off each project as it gets done, and also so I don’t lose site of what needs to get done. It also will make it easy to see at the end of the year what I succeeding in finishing and what I didn’t.

Wishing all of you success in all the things that you want to do in 2009.