Tag: pattern

Old Edging and a DAL Snowflake

A few days ago I received an email asking if I had written out the pattern for an edging I made years ago. I hadn’t yet, but it seemed totally doable. It is a simple edging so it wouldn’t take long to write it out.

Kamryn Edging the 2nd time on wandasknottythoughts
Kamryn Edging

This edging is Kamryn, which I designed and made in 2015. When I made it back then, I had material picked out to go with it for a table runner. That changed by the time it was finished and ready to be sewn on, which you can read about in the blog post of December 4, 2015. This time I didn’t have colors picked out to make it in so I used thread I had conveniently close by. This was Lizbeth #671 Christmas Red and #650 Denim Blue Lt, both are size 20.

Thank you to Dana Morse for liking it and asking about the pattern. She also test-tatted it for me when I finished it, which was a great help. Thanks, Dana! For those that are interested in the pattern, the link is on the My Patterns page.

In the middle of May, Muskaan of T.I.P.S. Around the Home started a Design Along (DAL) for a Celtic snowflake. She made the first two rounds and furnished the pattern for them. The idea is to design rounds three, and four if you want, to finish it. I decided to join her challenge.

DAL Celtic Snowflake o wandasknottythoughts
DAL Celtic Snowflake

You can find the pattern for the first two rounds on Muskaan’s blog and her Facebook page. My pattern is jotted down on the pictures I put on Facebook. I’ll be writing my two rounds out better – eventually. She shared the snowflakes of everyone that joined the DAL on her blog. It’s amazing a different all the snowflakes came out when they all started with the same two first rounds.

This was a lot of fun to do. My rounds were not exactly Celtic, but round four did overlap with round three. This is going to make writing out the pattern a bit challenging. As Muskaan started this with just a shuttle and ball I kept to that, even though I usually tat with two shuttles so I can go in any direction the pattern takes me. In this snowflake, I utilized SCMRs (self-closing mock rings) to make the pattern do what I wanted. I used two colors so the different elements of the pattern can be seen. I used Lizbeth #650 Denim Blue Lt and #628 Salmon Med, both are size 20.

Now that I have a simple pattern done, I’m hoping to get back to writing out more of my patterns. Looking back at my blog I see that I am way behind on getting them written out. It’s amazing how time flies when you’re having fun.

Something new I’m trying is a YouTube channel. I’ve been thinking about it for a while but have been hesitant to start. Where to start? What do you talk about? Then I saw The ShuttleSmith, Karen Bovard-Sayer, introducing her channel on YouTube, and the idea of TattingTube. I think the idea of an easy way to keep tatting channels together is a good one. So I’ve started my channel, Wanda’s Knotty Thoughts, and joined her idea of TattingTube. I invite you to check it out.

“Design is thinking made visual.” Saul Bass

Making a few changes

I’ve been working on the ‘Iris’ cross bookmark I shared last week. I made a few tweaks as I worked on writing the pattern and tatted it again.

I tatted the original in size 10 thread, bigger than I usually work in. I saw the color and just knew I wanted to use it, and it was in size 10, so that was it. The cross came out the first time with minimal trouble. It ended up being six inches tall by six inches across, much larger than I think of as fitting in a normal book. I decided to make it in a smaller thread as I verified the stitch count.

Iris Cross bookmark in size 10 on wandasknottythoughts
Iris Cross bookmark in size 10

I usually tat in size 20 thread, which would make this cross smaller, but I thought that it might not make it small enough, so I made it in size 40. Which I don’t tat in much, either, so it took longer to tat it. But the end result is about what I was hoping for.

Iris v 2 in size 40 on wandasknottythoughts
Iris v 2 in size 40

The center of the cross has a wonderful pattern, but I was concerned that handling it as a bookmark would be too floppy. I added a picot to the corner chains to make it less floppy. While tatting in the small thread the ends of the arms didn’t come out looking the same as the original so I changed up the stitch count a bit there as well.

Iris v 3 in size 40 on wandasknottythoughts
Iris v 3 in size 40

On the next cross, I changed the stitch count at the ends of the arms again and they came out better, but I still wasn’t happy with them. The shuttle 2 clovers at the tips twisted a lot. This would be a problem if it were handled much.

Iris cross bookmark version 4 on wandasknottythoughts
Iris cross bookmark version 4

The fourth cross came out much better. The tips of the arms are more secure and less able to twist. I am also happier with the look of the ends. I’m wondering if I should leave off the picots I added to hold the center firmer. In the small thread will it be okay without them? I like the look better without that picot.

It is amazing how different the cross looks making it the two different size threads. What are your thoughts? Which one do you like best?

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.“ Alan Watts

Playing in Clover

It’s March, that time of year I see hints of spring and green things. It makes me think of Leprechauns and clovers. I’ve had shades of green on my shuttles for several weeks now, making clovers.

Clovers on wandasknottythoughts
Playing with clovers

I’ve been having fun making these clovers. I haven’t quite decided what I’m going to do with them, which is why they still have their tails. I might need them to sew them down to something.

Clovers on clips on wandasknottythoughts
Clovers on paperclips

I put some clovers on paperclips. I think I like them like this, but I’m not sure enough to cut off their tails.

A field of clovers on wandasknottythoughts
A field of clovers

I’ve made clovers in several shades of green. I think they look good in both, though I’m partial to the brighter shade.

Clover lapel pin on wandasknottythoughts
Clover lapel pin

I even made a clover lapel pin using a large, springless safety pin. I received some very nice compliments on it at church Sunday. I’m very happy with how it turned out.

Clover colors on wandasknottythoughts
Clover colors

The clovers are all in Lizbeth thread: the lapel pin in size 3 #684, Leaf Green Med; the paper clips in size 20 # 676, Leaf Green Dk; and the loose clovers in size 20 #713, Kelly Green.

I made a few clovers a couple of years ago from the same pattern, including a pair of earrings. Maybe I need another pair in a different shade of green. Here’s my pattern for them if you are interested. They don’t take long to make.

Simple clover pattern on wandasknottythoughts
Simple clover pattern

Having green on my shuttles for clovers and bookmarks was one of the reasons the doily I’ve been playing with was in green. I like how it looks without the button in the center.

Two green doilies on wandasknottythoughts
Two green doilies

The centers definitely change the look of the doily. I also changed the outside round stitch count to have it lay flatter. I’m liking this doily!

“To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, One clover, and a bee, And revery. The revery alone will do, If bees are few.” Emily Dickinson

Angels and Ornaments

The pattern for the September Angel is finished! Thank you to my test tatters, Wally and Ada for checking the pattern out for oopsies. And thank you to all those who volunteered to test tat. I appreciate the offer.

September Angel on music on wandasknottythoughts
September Angel

This angel was done in size 20 Lizbeth thread, making it not very big. It looks good in size 10, but that’s not much bigger. I think a pair of these would make cute earrings, both in size 20 and in a smaller thread.

The pattern has been added to the My Patterns page. Funny story, while trying to put it on the page we lost power. Everything was off for about 15 minutes before coming back on. I was concerned about it going off again, so I delayed turning my computer back on until this morning. I suspect the high winds caused the outage, but I wasn’t sure.

I’ve been contacted by several people who have trouble reading the patterns from their location on Google Docs on their phones. It has something to do with the size of the page that Google Docs doesn’t like. I have not yet gotten it straight, though no one has had trouble seeing them on their computers. If you have trouble, please contact me and I’ll send you the pattern instead of what is on the Docs page.

I’ve been thinking of what my yearly Christmas ornament will be this year. I like the September Angel, but it’s small. I’ve come up with an idea, but it’s not yet ready. What I have tried so far is looking promising.

September Angel on glass ornament on wandasknottythoughts
September Angel on a glass ornament

I have these clear glass ornaments I picked up at Micheal’s a few weeks ago. I cut strips of music, curled them, and put them inside. The greenery at the top could maybe have a bit more, but I like the idea. The angel is in size 10 thread, which looks a bit big to me. I’m going to try it with an angel in size 20, and see if that looks better.

I have a list of things I would like to tat before any of our Christmas get-togethers – one of which is before the 25th – but time is getting tight. If I don’t get them done by then, I might have to hand deliver them when they are.

How are your plans for Christmas coming?

“Every gift which is given, even though it be small, is in reality great, if it is given with affection.” Pindar

Finally Fall

The calendar shows that it is fall and now it feels like fall – mostly. We’ve had a few nights where there was a freeze and some days of cool weather and then there is today. When I got up this morning it was still 66° F with enough humidity that all the sidewalks were so damp it looked like it had rained. It’s currently cloudy and windy with an expected high of 77°. The average temperature for this time of year is around 60°. Friday they are projecting a high of 49° and staying around that for over a week. Fall in Kansas, don’t you love it?

I actually have some fall decorations out already. I’m usually terrible about decorating early enough to enjoy them before the season is over, except maybe Christmas. For some reason, I’ve gotten into the fall season early (for me!)

My fall decorations on wandasknottythoughts
My fall decorations

I’ve been working on an edging that I need to have done ASAP, which is for a Christmas runner. It’s not far enough along to share yet, but I’m finally excited about it. Unfortunately, it is in white while I want to tat in more fall colors.

When I have the chance I plan on writing out the pattern for the October Snowflake that I spoke about in my previous post. I’m sure it will look great in other colors.

In early October I shared a picture on my Facebook page of a new angel I’ve designed but never shared here.

September Angel on wandasknottythoughts
September Angel

I’ve been working on the pattern and thought it was almost ready to share, but looking at these I realize I’ve made a mistake. It’s a minor mistake but means it will delay sharing the pattern. Very soon, I hope.

While scrolling through Facebook the other day (a dangerous rabbit hole to go down!) I saw a cute way to make Christmas trees using toilet paper rolls. The site is coleykuyerart.com if you want to check it out. It is so easy I thought I’d try it. I even had just emptied a roll of toilet paper, perfect timing. I didn’t decorate it but can think of so many easy ways to do so.

TP roll Christmas tree and two angels on wandasknottythoughts
TP roll Christmas tree and two angels

I did this quickly just to see if I liked it. I will be making more of these but cutting them a little more carefully. I have a granddaughter I believe would have fun helping me do this.

This post would have been out sooner as I was almost finished with it yesterday. I know I saved it several times but this morning there was no trace of it. I had to start all over. Bummer.

Now I must get back to the runner edging. What are you working on?

“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” Charles Dudley Warner

Craft Show

My sister and I had a booth at the craft show in Rose Hill, Kansas the 8th of October during their Fall Festival. She does embroidery by hand, which complements my tatting. She has been working on her stuff for months and months. I’ve not been so dedicated to the show items, getting sidetracked a lot. But it was a good show for both of us.

Craft show setup on wandasknottythoughts
Craft show setup

The craft show started later than we usually see, but we found out that was due to the big parade they had. There were some shoppers the first couple of hours but not a lot, we were somewhat concerned that the day would be slow. About noon one of the organizers went around announcing the parade was over, and the people familiar with the event understood things would get busier soon. Which it did. There was a steady flow of shoppers for most of the event after that. We spoke to a lot of people about our items during the course of the show.

Most of my tatting at the show on wandasknottythoughts
Most of my tatting at the show

There were a lot of people that looked at the tatting, a lot even knew what it was. There were a lot of “oh, my (insert older relative) did that but I never learned.” Some showed an interest in learning – I suggested to them if they would get a few people together I would be willing to come down to teach. One woman came by that actually did know how to tat! We had a lovely conversation about tatting and patterns. Unfortunately, I didn’t get her name. But it was enjoyable to speak to her.

One item that sold the best this weekend was my Hymnal Angel. I made them a bit smaller this year, cutting the paper three inches instead of five inches. And I used wooden beads for the heads.

Hymnal Angel for craft show on wandasknottythoughts
Hymnal Angel for craft show

Something else that drew a lot of attention was my button sunflowers.

Sunflowers for the show on wandasknottythoughts
Sunflowers for the show

These sunflowers are fun and easy to make. I mostly used 9/16-inch buttons with a few 13/16-inch. I love how the buttons look in the center. I found a package of brown buttons in different diameters made out of coconut shells that look great, much better than plastic.

I put together a quick pattern for the sunflowers. They are very easy. If you are interested in it you can find it on the My Patterns page.

Here are a few of the things that got me sidetracked prior to the craft show.

Lid pet kitty with ball of yarn on wandasknottythoughts
Lid pet kitty with a ball of yarn
Lid pet kitty with butterfly on wandasknottythoughts
Lid pet kitty with butterfly

My granddaughter loves these. I put a magnet on the back as well as the hanger. I let her have the ones she wanted.

I was on vacation a week before the craft show, which is how I got so many of the angel wings and sunflowers made. I’ll be sharing a few of the pictures I took next post.

“Yellow is my favorite summer color – it makes me feel like a sunflower.” Bria Vinaite

Pattern and Pie Day

So many things are going on right now that have created delays in my tatting life, including posting. If it’s not one thing it’s two others. But the good news is that I finally finished the pattern for the Isla Snowflake! Yay! It is listed on the My Patterns page.

Isla Snowflake on wandasknottythoughts
Isla Snowflake

I have done some tatting in the last two weeks I just don’t have pictures ready. I’ve been doing a lot of cooking and taking meals to family. Now I know why I didn’t cook like this when I was working – it takes a lot of time! And the cleanup isn’t pretty, LOL! I find I use a lot of dishes – as well as knives, cutting boards, pans, and measuring devices. I’m glad I can do it and they appreciate it, but my, the time it takes!

I did remember that yesterday was pi day, did you? I even made a pie! It was a pudding pie and it was yummy! I did take a picture –

Pi day on wandasknottythoughts
A pie for pi day 3.14

but I forgot until we had eaten most of it! Everyone enjoyed it though most didn’t know what I was talking about when I said it was pi day. It doesn’t matter, it was just an excuse to have pie.

“We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” David Mamet

Happy Valentine’s Day

I’ve been having fun this last week making heart earrings. I’ve even added beads to the January Hearts.

January Heart earrings on wandasknottythoughts
January Heart earrings

I have given several of these pairs away, to my daughters and a sister. I even kept a pair for myself! The little critter with the earrings is the Valentine my granddaughter made for me. She made these to give as Valentines to her classmates and I received one, too. Isn’t it cute?

While looking up hearts and heart patterns this week I reviewed how I posted about them since I started my blog. It’s amazing how many blog posts there have been in the last 10 years. If you are interested in the pattern, check out my Patterns page.

Thanks to all of you that have left comments about this pattern. I appreciate all of you! May you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

“And now these three remain faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

Valentine’s Day is Coming

Valentine’s Day will be here in a week and like most years I think I have to re-invent the wheel, or in this case, the heart. Sometimes I do okay, sometimes I don’t. I think I did okay this time.

Red Hearts on wandasknottythoughts
January Hearts

I like the proportion of these hearts, which I don’t always get. These are made with only one shuttle and ball thread, simple and quick to make. Amazingly, I didn’t get overly complicated, LOL! I made these in Lizbeth # 671 Christmas Red in size 20, which makes a nice earring, but they wouldn’t have to be earrings.

Something else amazing, I have the pattern done for these already! Imagine that! I’ve added it to My Patterns page.

Speaking of patterns, I am making a few changes to the pattern page. The Keep and Share site where I have the downloads have a limit on how many downloads they allow in a day. If I want to allow more, it costs more. As I don’t charge for my patterns I don’t want to do that. I am changing which patterns can be downloaded to more recent or popular patterns. All the patterns are still available but may have to be requested by email.

I’ve been seeing a lot of tatted hearts on Facebook, Instagram, and blog posts the last week or so. Are you planning to tat hearts this year for Valentine’s Day?

“I enjoy celebrating Valentine’s Day. It’s a nice way to say you’re thinking about your family, someone special, or dear friends.” Camila Alves

Jasper Snowflake

Remember the Jasper snowflake I put on the front of the Tree-topper angel?

Jasper snowflake on wandasknottythoughts
Jasper snowflake

I’ve finished the pattern! I’ve added it to My Patterns page. I’ve looked it over but did not have a test-tatter so there may be mistakes lurking. Let me know if one finds you! I’d love to see how it works up for you if you make it.

“Life is all about sharing. If we are good at something, pass it on. That is the pleasure I get from teaching – whether it is television or books. We should all share.” Mary Berry