Tag: decorations

More Finished Projects

I finished two more projects from Tatting Corner’s 2023 Tat Days. Neither one is entirely according to directions, but they are done!

Two cats on a bangle on wandasknottythoughts
Two cats on a bangle

These are Mike Lyon’s Halloween Cats on a Clip – except they are on a bangle bracelet instead. They are also made in size 20 thread instead of the size 40 that he specified so they would fit on a paper clip. I had trouble closing the SCMRs in size 40 black during the class and had no better luck at home. Between the black thread, which is very hard for me to see, and the fineness of the thread, I just kept fighting with it. And losing. I finally said enough and went to size 20 thread. I could use a bit of practice doing these, but I got them done!

Do you know what would be cute for Halloween? Mike’s Pumpin with Cluny Leaf on the inside of the bangle, and the cats on top. Hmmm, I might have to try that for Halloween.

Dressed toddler doll on wandasknottythoughts
Tatted Pocket Toddler dressed

My Tatted Pocket Toddler is finally dressed and has hair. This cute doll is the brainchild of Carolyn Craig. I needed yarn for the hair and saw the red Scrubby yarn and thought it would look cute. It is the right color but it is a pain to work with. I should have stuck with regular yarn. I might change it. But it’s done! I can see myself making different dresses for her for different holidays. She will be a great addition to my holiday decorating.

The only project not yet complete is Kaye’s Mini Witch. It is so close to being complete! I’m going to have to make sure I’m rested, not interrupted, and have plenty of light to finish it. This week we are dog-sitting my daughter’s dog, which means interruptions are frequent! Both she and our dog think they need my undivided attention, at the same time, all the time! There may be a little jealousy involved. I believe I’ll wait to work on the witch until my daughter gets home.

All of the projects from Tat Days will work as part of my Halloween decorations. It’s not that I usually put out a lot, but these will fit in with whatever I put out.

“If bad decorating was a hanging offense, there’d be bodies hanging from every tree!” Sylvester Stallone

What to do with bracelets

While at a second-hand store a while back I found a bundle of bangle bracelets for a couple of dollars. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them at the time, but I was sure I could come up with something. So I bought them.

Bangle bracelet on wandasknottythoughts
Bangle bracelet on wandasknottythoughts

They were all about the same diameter but different thicknesses. I washed them and then sprayed them with a clear sealer so they wouldn’t tarnish or discolor any threads I might use. I set them aside until I could think about what to do with them.

I have seen people make dream catchers out of almost anything that is round but that didn’t appeal to me at the moment. A few years ago I attached snowflakes in the center, however, I wanted to try something a bit different than that.

Ring of purple on wandasknottythoughts
Ring of purple

I like this idea of joined rings on the outside, though it is kind of tedious joining those rings together. Then I ran out of thread and can’t find the ball. Okaaay, so on to something else.

Ring with spokes in the middle on wandasknottythoughts
Ring with spokes in the middle

How about rings and chains on the inside? I tatted on the ring with size 10 thread and added the first round of chains in 10 also. The rings and chains on the next round are in size 20. These two rounds were done multiple times as I tried getting a stitch count that didn’t buckle and crowd each other. Then what was I going to do in the middle? The spokes hold it tight and give it an interesting look.

Ring of flowers on wandasknottythoughts
Ring of flowers and butterflies

The idea of putting flowers on the ring was something that kept coming back to me, but what flowers and how to attach them to the ring? I covered the ring and did the chain on the outside while I thought about it. Then I played around with leaf ideas while I thought about it. The flowers and butterflies were made with the shuttle leftovers from other projects, so I just chose the colors I thought would work. I laid them on the ring with the leaves several ways before I attached them. I used fabric glue instead of trying to sew them on. Much easier than trying to sew them on.

3 Rings on wandasknottythoughts
3 Rings

So what do I do with these rings now? I will finish the purple one whenever I find the thread, but then what? This one and the one with flowers could be picture frames I suppose. Or just hang all of them up as is as decorations the way they are? Hmmm, I’ll have to think about that.

This weekend, after many delays and postponements, I was finally able to meet up with Sherry Ashberger, a fellow Kansas tatter. She contacted me years ago through my blog with the suggestion of meeting her somewhere halfway between where we live. That never worked out because of our schedules at the time. A few months ago she emailed me again with the suggestion of getting together. Things beyond our control kept us postponing a meet until at last this last weekend it worked out!

Sherry and I on wandasknottythoughts
Me and Sherry

Sherry has skills with drawing programs and she thinks she might be able to assist me with diagramming my patterns. What a great idea! We met up at a local Freddy’s and visited for several hours. It was so wonderful to finally, finally get to meet! I think we’ll be seeing more of each other.

I get no compensation for mentioning Freddy’s

My apple tree bloomed from the last week or so of March through the beginning of April. I thought I’d lose all chance at apples with a late frost, but I had a lot of blooms after, so I’ll probably have a few. Whether I’ll get any apples or the birds and bugs will get them all is yet to be seen. But the blossoms were gorgeous!

Apple blossoms on wandasknottythoughts
Apple blossoms

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Design is knowing which ones to keep.” —Scott Adams

Christmas tree ornaments

Christmas tree with tatted ornaments on wandasknottythoughts
This is our Christmas tree this year, the same one I used at the craft show a few weeks ago.  It’s about 24 inches tall and is decorated entirely with tatted ornaments.  They can’t really be called snowflakes as most of them have have eight points, though a few have more.  I’ve wanted to have a tree decorated like this for years and this is the first time it’s happened.  It took a lot of these little decorations to dress this little tree – there are more than 30 on the front and sides.  I’m glad they were quick and easy.
Tatted Christmas tree ornaments on buttons on wandasknottythoughts
They may not be snowflakes but they do have at least one feature like them: no two are the same.  Even when the plan was to make a duplicate the stitch count usually changed or a ‘mistake’ changed the finished ornament.  That one with the blue button on the bottom left? The plan was to be the same as the one in the middle, but the stitch count should have been changed a bit because of the difference in button size – it wasn’t changed (enough) and it ended up being finished a bit different.
When these were first started the plan had been to use only red and green buttons.  Why?  It just sounded good at the time.  Then I got to thinking about Christmas tree lights and all the colors that were used.  So instead of being choosy it became much more random – reach into the button jar and use whatever came out.  I have several button jars, this one contains bright colored, modern buttons, which makes for a bright, happy tree.
Large tatted Christmas tree ornament on a button on wandasknottythoughts
This button is a bit larger than the others and it’s the only one this size that I made.  No, I didn’t plan for it to end up like this when I started but I think it came out well.  It’s a little too big to fit in with the other tatted ornaments but it’s on the tree anyway.
How have you decorated your tree? Do you have tatting on it?
“O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
What happiness befalls me when oft
at joyous Christmas-time
Your form inspires my song and rhyme.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
What happiness befalls me”
author unknown

I’ve been to the fair

"Martha" tatted lace doily Kansas State Fair Blue Ribbon Winner 2015 wandasknottythoughtthoughts.blogspot,com
“Martha” doily © Wanda Salmans
Tatted by Wanda Salmans
I almost didn’t enter anything into the Kansas State Fair this year but at the last minute – the first day you had to pay a late entry fee –  I decided to.  I didn’t have time to make more than one item but I found two places I could enter tatting.  There is only one tatting class and then there is a class for holiday decorations in any fiber medium.  For the tatting class I entered the Martha doily I made back in February. I am excited that I got first place but very disappointed in how very few entries there were.  A grand total of three.
Judging is done against a standard as well as against other entries, so they do not have to give out ribbons if the items do not meet those standards – finished nicely, clean, even stitches (though the judge might not know tatting they probably know knitting and crochet or other lace-making techniques.) It is subjective to a point.  But the judge still liked mine enough to give a blue. That makes me happy.
My pumpkin holiday decoration came in third.  Considering there were more entries and they were in different mediums I’m pretty happy with the result.
"Autumn Pumpkin" tatted lace design by Mark Meyers tatted by Wanda Salmans, 3rd place in Holiday Decoration 2015 Kansas State Fair wandasknottythoughts
“Autumn Pumpkin” © Mark Meyers
Wall hanging by Wanda Salmans
Here is a picture of the other holiday entries. I’m not sure where the blue ribbon – 1st place – item is, I didn’t see one with anything.  Maybe they got a best of class or show and was put in a different place. (My granddaughter wouldn’t get out of the way for me to take a picture but wouldn’t hold still either.
2015 Kansas State Fair Holiday Decorations all entries as seen on wandasknottythoughts.blogspot.com
Holiday Decorations at the Kansas State Fair 2015
My granddaughter did like the second place entry, a crow holding a basket with a watermelon theme.  There was another similar crow with a sunflower theme but I couldn’t tell if they were supposed to be together or if someone else had a similar entry.  They were both cute.
Holiday Decorations from 2015 Kansas State Fair as seen on wandasknottythoughts
Overall I was disappointed in how few entries there were throughout the domestic arts categories.  The last time I was there I seem to remember quite a few more of about everything – quilts, crochet, knitting, all of that.  I have told myself that I must enter more things in the fair next year.  I did go to another building that had categories that I think I could find a way to enter with tatting – I’ll have to give it some thought over the year.
“It is nice to have valid competition; it pushes you to do better.”
Gianni Versace
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Autumn Pumpkin

At the beginning of August, I realized that the Kansas State Fair was coming up and that this year I was not going to be on vacation while it was on. So I got the bright idea to enter a couple of items. You know, get a little more tatting out there for people to see.  The fair only has one class for tatting and you can only enter one project but they have a couple of other categories that tatting could fit in if you do it right.
With the fair so close I thought I would take something I’ve already made for the tatting category.  I looked through the pieces I haven’t given away or sold and decided on the Martha doily I did back in February. The rules state the items must be made within the last two years, so it works out okay.
The other category I thought I’d try is the “Holiday Decoration other than Christmas”.  This is the same category I entered the spider in a few years ago.  But what to make?  And for what holiday?  No idea just jumped out at me so I made a list of holidays and what was associated with each. Then I searched for patterns that looked interesting or fun.  I decided on Mark Meyer’s “Autumn Pumpkin“.

"Autumn Pumpkin" by Mark Meyers tatted, using Half Rings on wandasknottythoughts
“Autumn Pumpkin” © Mark Meyers 2009 with stem tatted by Wanda Salmans 

The entire pumpkin is tatted with one shuttle, no chains.  It’s not really hard, just different.  The outside is done first then you fill in the center, piece by piece, then add the stem, then the leaf.  I think I started each individual piece at least three times. The start of the pumpkin at the top still doesn’t look that good.  When the stem was added per the pattern the rest of the pumpkin puckered a bit so I added one more ring to it.  Now it lays much better.

"Autumn Pumpkin" by Mark Meyers with leaf, tatted in Half Rings on wandasknottythoughts
“Autumn Pumpkin” © Mark Meyers 2009 with leaf added tatted by Wanda Salmans 

The top part of the pumpkin still looks a little off but with the leaf added it disguises it a bit. Maybe the judges won’t notice ***fingers crossed***
Of course, that doesn’t mean it was done as an entry.  The category is “holiday decoration” not “tatted applique, finished” so the next step was to decide how to finish it as a decoration.  While at Jo-Ann’s the other day (before the actual tatting had begun) I had purchased some brown material with this in mind.  When the pumpkin was done this material was too dark, completely hiding the brown stem.  With time getting short a quick trip to Walmart saved the day.  They don’t have nearly the fabric selection as Jo-Ann’s but it was the closest place available and did have a something that would work.
Just having a background material wasn’t enough – the pumpkin by itself just didn’t look like a finished decoration.  So further tatting had to be done.  The day before it had to be taken in I thought it was done, but when looking at the picture I had taken of it there just looked to be something not quite finished about it.

"Autumn Pumpkin" by Mark Meyers, tatted, on background on wandasknottythoughts
“Autumn Pumpkin” © Mark Meyers 2009 almost finished tatted by Wanda Salmans 

A late night was in order to add a finishing touch.

"Autumn Pumpkin" by Mark Meyers, tatted, ready for the Kansas State Fair 2015 on wandasknottythoughts
“Autumn Pumpkin” © Mark Meyers 2009  ready for the State Fair tatted by Wanda Salmans 

I think this looks a bit more finished.  I didn’t have time to take a picture in better light as a friend offered to take it to the fair with her as she was taking her quilt in, so I let her (with many thanks!)
This category has all types of textile mediums entered and, from what I’ve seen in previous years, a lot of people put in a lot more thought and time into their entries than I do.  I’m hoping for a ribbon but not really expecting one with all the marvelous competition.  But this will get tatting out there in front of people in a way that isn’t a doily or an edging (which I like, by the way, but some people aren’t interested in them so much).
I’ll be going to the State Fair next week to see how I’ve done and to check out all the fabulous things people have made.  I’m hoping there are a lot of tatting entries – wouldn’t that be cool?
“If you ever start feeling like you have the goofiest, craziest, most dysfunctional family in the world, all you have to do is go to a state fair.  Because five minutes at the fair, you’ll be going, ‘you know, we’re alright. We are dang near royalty..'”
Jeff Foxworthy
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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.