Tag: bookmark

What a week!

Oh, wait, it’s been two weeks!
No, I didn’t forget to post – life got in the way.
I have gotten some tatting done but haven’t found much time for picture taking.  Finally this morning I just took the time to take a few.
 Lizbeth size 20 #122 Caribbean
I usually keep several bookmarks handy for those times a small gift is needed unexpectedly but my supply of these has dwindled to nothing. I started restocking with this cross that has a finding – ‘doodad’ – in the middle.  
I’ve also be playing with the motif idea I had a couple of weeks ago.  The one on the left is the original, the one on the right the next try.  I think I like the second one better.  Both are made in size 10 turquoise. 

It has been a very busy two weeks, lots of things happening, little of it planned.  I’ve spent a lot of time at the hospital with my mother who fell and broke her hip and femur. As breaks go they aren’t bad but there was still surgery, hospital stay and now rehab.  
I did get to spend a beautiful day with one of my grandsons in the middle of all this.  My son-in-laws’ family also had a medical emergency and a babysitter was needed for a few hours.  It happened to be on the most gorgeous day – 80° F, sunny, very little wind – so we went to the park.  Three parks actually.  He didn’t want to go home at all! It was a great day. 
I have to admit that there is something else that has kept me from tatting as much as I’d planned – a new book.  I found out last week that my favorite author, Lois McMaster Bujold, had a new book in the Vorkosigan saga out last November(!)  The first six chapters are free to read on-line – which I did, but it leaves you hanging (of course).  Then I tried something I’d been putting off – I bought the ebook to read on my tablet.   I instantly had the entire book to read (heheheheheh), no waiting to go to the library or book store.   This has proved to be dangerous – it’s just too easy to buy new books.  If I’m not careful I’ll never get anything else done!
“I am simply a ‘book drunkard.’ Books have the same irresistible temptation for me that liquor has for its devotee.  I cannot withstand them.”
L.M. Montgomery

Christmas gifts

Merry Christmas! (a little late) and Happy New Year! (a little early)
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  We did, and still are.  We had lots of family get-togethers over the last week and still have one more to go this weekend.  For all that I thought I was ready for all of them, there still seemed to be a few things I didn’t get to until the last minute.  How normal.
Every year I try to have one snowflake that is “the” snowflake of the year.  I posted about 2012’s snowflake here. I didn’t get as many of these done as I would have liked to, but that is how I feel every year.  I did get a few others done as well – mainly due to the fact that it’s hard for me to do the same thing over and over.
The red and two blue are motifs/’flakes that I came up with this year.  The green one is ‘Betsy Snowflake’ by Betsy Evans.  I saw it on A Happy Bluebird a week or so ago and just had to give it try.  I added silver seed beads to it and left out a couple of non-joining picots.  I really like how it came out.  All of them are made in Lizbeth size 20 thread.  These were also given away as gifts. 
I gave away a few tatted gifts that I had made previous to this year.  I found these while looking through a few things and they made excellent additions to what I was already giving without me having to hurry up and make anything else. 
My Sunday school class consists of three girls. One girl is very fond of purple (the butterfly), one girl loves shades of orange (the flower), and one girl loves horses, no matter the color.  The crosses went to the pastor and his wife.  All are made in Lizbeth size 20 threads, though I can’t name off the colors right now. The butterfly and flower are my patterns, the horse is a variation of Debbie Arnold’s Sea Horse and the two cross patterns can be found on my pattern page. 
I still have in mind a lot of things I wanted to make for Christmas that didn’t happen.  Maybe I’ll stay motivated and start them now so they’ll be ready for next Christmas.  It could happen. Maybe. 
“In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it ‘Christmas’ and went to church; the Jews called it ‘Hanukkah’ and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank.  People passing each other on the street would say ‘Merry Christmas!’ or ‘Happy Hanukkah!’ or (to the atheists) ‘Look out for the wall!'”
Dave Barry

Birthday gift

I made this cross bookmark for one of my Sunday School students who’s birthday was this week.  I had planned on making it several weeks ago but that was while I was getting ready for the craft show, so it got put off.  Then there was the week before Thanksgiving trying to get some neglected cleaning done before our daughter’s family arrived for the weekend.  Then there was Thanksgiving and all the get-togethers and dinners.  Sunday morning arrived and it wasn’t done yet!
Luckily I woke early, even before the grandchildren, and was able to get started on it.  I kept making mistakes on stitch counts and joins, and then the kids got up.  Just a few more distractions while I hurried to finish it before church.  Amazingly, I did it.
This is made with Lizbeth size 20 in #641 Lilac Dark for the rings and #633 Dark Purple for the chains.  The pictures, at least on my computer, come out looking like shades of blue, but trust me, they’re purple! I’m pretty sure she’ll like it as purple is her favorite color.  
I say pretty sure because after all that hurrying to get it done, her family was out of town for the holidays so she hasn’t seen it yet. Oh, well, it’s done.  Much better to have it done and her not there that the other way around!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with several dinners and lots of family. We don’t see much of some of the families that much anymore, which is sad.  Fortunately we still try to get together for Thanksgiving and Christmas and most are able to make one or the other, and if we are lucky, both.  Hopefully some that couldn’t make it for Thanksgiving will be able to come for Christmas.
Now things have settled down a bit, at least for a few days, and I can think what I still need to make and do for Christmas.  Unlike Diane I haven’t been getting any snowflakes made.  She has made some beautiful ones this year.  I need to get motivated and make some myself.
“A gift consists not in what is done or given, but in the intention of the giver or doer.”
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
http://www.brainyquote.com

Graduation Cross Bookmark

I visited my daughter and her children this last weekend.  It was a lot of fun to spend time with them, but small children make tatting just a little hard.  They like to sit on laps and “help” with whatever you are doing.   In fact, my grandson wanted to know what I was doing with my “boat” 🙂 So, though I did get a small amount of tatting done it’s not ready to share yet.

Graduation Cross Bookmark  based on an old pattern

Something that I have been working on at home is writing up some of my patterns.  This is another cross bookmark I made up a few years ago in the normal way that I come up with most patterns: I needed something for – you guessed it – a graduation gift.

I made this one with Lizbeth #115 “Springtime” size 20. It measures 3 inches long by 2 inches wide.  The center has one split ring then climbs out with a false picot and another split ring, the rest is just rings and chains.  If someone couldn’t do split rings it would be easy enough to make the center as a separate piece then do the outside.  The basics of this cross I know is one of those patterns that most of us stumble to on our own, but I haven’t seen a center done quite like this so I’ve added it to the pattern page.
(It will be up later)

I’m hoping to have something more to show next week.  So far I’ve had to un-do, re-tat, cut off, and start over several times. I’ve got the idea in my head, just having a little trouble translating it to thread.

“Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me…Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.” 
Shel Silverstein

http://thinkexist.com