Tag: snow

Dragons and Snowflakes

Jane Eborall has given us the complete pattern now for her 2022 TIAS. It became a very cute critter, Doris the Dragon!

Here be dragons!

It’s always a surprise to what Jane’s TIAS will end up being, but never a surprise at how much fun it is. I love this little dragon! I did have a few issues with it, that’s why there are two instead of one. I don’t know if it was a bad ball of thread, if it was stored badly and developed a problem, or what, but the thread kept splitting and I broke it several times. I also wasn’t careful enough when following the pattern and made several mistakes of one sort or another on each of these. A couple of times I backed up, took out the stitches, and fixed the problem. There was one mistake where that wasn’t an option, which is why I made a second dragon. But they came out so cute in Lizbeth #130 Island Breeze in size 20, mistakes and all! If you are interested in making one yourself, check out Jane’s Tat It And See blog.

I love Doris so much I’m already trying to make up my mind what threads I want to use on my next one. The completed ones are going to be on one of my shirts, I just have to decide how to position them.

Dragons on my shirt on wandasknottythoughts
Dragons on my shirt

When not tatting the dragons I’ve been tatting the Isla Snowflake trying to decide on the stitch counts. Several elements on the original had one stitch count in one place and a different stitch count in others, and I need to figure out which ones work best before I write out the pattern. I also tried something a bit different on the spikes. Which do you like better, the original or the newer version?

Isla original on wandasknottythoughts
Isla original
Isla with different points on wandasknottythoughts
Isla with different points

Today we are experiencing some real snowflakes and lots of wind. We have been fortunate to not have as much ice or snow as places to the south and east of us have. We had to make an emergency run to get coffee this morning and just a few miles from us it was a lot worse. We can use the moisture but that doesn’t mean I like what comes with it. But it gives me a good excuse to stay inside and tat!

Do you have (or need) an excuse to tat?

“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.” J. R. R. Tolkien

Tatting was done!

I’m still doing Jane Eborall’s TIAS, and it’s up to day 8. There have been a lot of guesses that it might be a seahorse, but after day eight’s installment, I don’t think so. Maybe a gecko? It’s fun guessing even if I don’t get it right.

TIAS day 8 on wandasknottythoughts
TIAS day 8

I have actually gotten some other tatting done, too. I was in a bit of a funk with tatting, knowing I have several things I should be doing but not having the inspiration to do them. Doing small, simple things has gotten me back in the frame of mind to be creative.

I had some beads I picked up at Michael’s a week or so ago. I have been wanting to practice tatting with beads and these owl beads were an inspiration to do so.

Owl earrings on wandasknottythoughts
Owl earrings

I used Lizbeth #122 Caribbean size 20 because I love the color. This is a simple use of beads, but you have to start somewhere, right? The owl beads were what I really wanted to do something with. There are several things I could do better and will do a bit differently with the next pair of these I make. I gave this pair to one of my daughters and want to give a pair to my other daughter as well.

I had plenty of the Caribbean on the shuttles to play with after the owl earrings. I want to review what I would fix/change before making another pair so thought I’d do something else. February and Valentine’s Day is coming up so hearts sprang to mind.

Doodle heart on wandasknottythoughts
Doodle heart

This one was okay, but I could see it a bit differently shaped so I tried another heart with a bit of a change. I liked the change enough I made a pair of earrings.

heart earrings on music runner on wandasknottythoughts
heart earrings on music runner

Don’t they look good on this runner? My sister made this for me for my birthday. She told me about it while she was embroidering it because she thinks it will look good with tatted edgings. I think so, too. This is one of the things on my need-to-tat list.

While looking for shuttles I found a small piece of tatting I did some time ago. I can’t find a picture of it so I’m not sure how long ago I made it. I’m pretty sure I was just doodling again when I made it. Unless someone recognizes it?

Snowflake doodle on wandasknottythoughts
Snowflake doodle

It looks kind of wonky, doesn’t it? I didn’t block it except for pulling it this way and that to make it lay nice. I decided I’d add another round, so found the thread I made it with and jumped right in.

Blue snowflake on wandasknottythoughts
Isla snowflake

This is made with Lizbeth #660 Country Turquoise Light in size 20. I like how it came out. I was fiddling with the chain length and the small rings as I was making it, so some are one size and some are another. But that is easy to fix. This is what happens when you don’t know what you’re doing when you start, LOL. I’ll have to try it again.

Today I’m working on another pair of heart earrings, this time in red as befits Valentine’s day. It was such a nice day the dog and I spent most of it outside. I did some tatting outside, too. I tried to get a picture of me with the dog, but she wouldn’t cooperate.

Tatting outside in January on wandasknottythoughts
Tatting outside in January

Kansas has a wide range of winter weather, from mild to nasty. Today was mild and beautiful- sunny, light breeze, and 66 degrees F. How could I spend it indoors? But our nice weather is coming to an end tomorrow with nasty weather here by Wednesday.

Weather in Kansas January 31, 2022

Yep, it’s supposed to start snowing Tuesday night, keep snowing through Thursday morning, with wind chills in the -10 to -20 range. I could do without that. We are very blessed to usually not have as much bad, or cold, weather as other parts of the country, but it is winter. Six months from now I’ll be complaining of the heat, LOL!

“I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.” Vincent Van Gogh

Decorated Grey Button

I’ve still not decided what project I’m going to do next, so I keep doodling. I doodled around most of the weekend without accomplishing a lot. A little, but not a lot.

I doodled with the grey button I started last week.

2nd round decorated grey button on wandasknottythoughts
2nd round on decorated grey button

I thought on this a while before doing the second round, then gave it a try. The picots that attach the first round to the button on a bit loose making it interesting to block. It is still a bit frilly, which will probably correct itself with a little bit of water and a flat surface.

I started a couple of other doodles but didn’t get to a good stopping point on any of them. Maybe later this week I’ll get one of those done.

Like other parts of the country right now it is cold and white here. For the first time in years the temperatures are supposed to stay below freezing for over a week. The snow makes for some pretty pictures, if you can see them while in a nice warm place.

Black Kettle Creek in the snow on wandasknottythoughts
Black Kettle Creek in the snow

While I can I will stay inside and enjoy the white landscape and the cold from inside where it is warm and maybe get some tatting done.

Is it cold and white where you are?

“The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love.” Margaret Atwood

Eggs, blooms, smoke and snow

I had a chance to decorate Easter eggs this week.  Nothing elaborate, but fun.
Decorated Easter eggs wandasknottythoughts.blogspot.com
We didn’t cook any eggs to color this year.  They have eggs at the store that look almost real, and all you have to do is decorate.  My daughter bought two dozen white ones for the kids to decorate.  I thought I was picking up the same thing except colored, ready for stickers or coloring.
They were chalkboard eggs.  They even came with a package of chalk.
Decorating Easter eggs wandasknottythoughts.blogspot.com
I used colored pencils instead.  Along with a bit of tatting, of course.
I had a lot of fun with these though I only finished three eggs.  I guess I have some to work on for next year.
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned how many of the ornamental pear trees were blooming.  There are a few of those still pretty though most have greened to leaves now.  But the Flowering Crab Apple and Redbud trees are now in full bloom.
Decorating Easter eggs wandasknottythoughts.blogspot.com

In the last week or so there was a hard freeze but it doesn’t look like it did a lot of damage.  Well, I don’t have a garden or fruit trees so I could be wrong, but there are a lot of trees and flowers still blooming.

Blooming crab apple tree and statue wandasknottythoughts.blogspot.com

This is a Flowering Crab Apple tree in my daughter’s yard and it is beautiful!

The sky has been other than blue over the last week.  There have been several large wild fires in the state that created a lot of smokey skies and caused ash to fall miles from the fires.  The fires are very hard to contain when the wind is blowing 40+ miles an hour.
Smoky sunset wandasknottythoughts.blogspot.com
A smokey sunset seen from where I work in Wichita.  I missed being outside when all the ash was falling.
We finally got a little moisture Easter Sunday.  In the form of a beautiful snow fall.
Easter morning snow wandasknottythoughts.blogspot.com
The view from the bedroom window about 8:00 a.m. Easter morning.
Easter morning snow and blue sky wandasknottythoughts.blogspot.com
This was about an hour later.  Check out that blue, blue sky!
It was a perfect snow.  The roads were clear, the snow only lasted for the day and it was perfect for making snow balls. It did mean that the grandchildren had their egg hunt in the house, but they didn’t seem to mind too much.
This Friday, April 1st, is International Tatting Day.  The two ladies I get together to tat with, my sister, and I are planning to be at the Montana Mike’s Steak House in McPherson for lunch.  We’ll have our tatting and chocolate out and I know we’ll be having a great time.  If there is anyone in the neighborhood that would like to join us there you would be quite welcome!  We plan on getting there about 11:30 a.m. and taking a long lunch.
What are your plans for ITD?
“If an egg is broken by an outside source, life ends.
If an egg is broken by an inside force, then life begins.
Great things happen from the inside.”

Kamryn Edging

 I just love the material for this table runner.  I picked it up at JoAnn’s when they had a lot of material on sale for 40% off.  There was lady there that was looking at fall-themed material at the same time I was. We liked so many of the same materials that we went to the cutting table at the same time so all of it could be cut for both of us while it was out.  We had a nice conversation while we were checking out the material. Fellow crafters can be pretty nice people.
Kamryn Edging, tatted edging on table runner with fall material on wandasknottythoughts
 Kamrny Edging © Wanda Salmans 2015
This edging was the last one I did before the craft show and it wasn’t supposed to go with this material.  But after finishing it and laying it with the other material it just wasn’t going to work; both my daughters agreed with me.  The two edgings and materials were swapped and all looked much better for it.Kamryn is a very easy edging, with only rings and chains.  Surprisingly it has no thrown rings, split rings or shuttle switching.  It went very fast, which is why it made it to the craft show. (It was the first thing sold, right at the start of the show). I think there are similar patterns out there but I was not following one when I made this, I just started and this is what came off the shuttles.

Kamryn Edging up close, tatted edging on table runner with fall material on wandasknottythoughts
Kamryn Edging in Lizbeth Fudge Med # 698 & Harvest Orange Med #694
© Wanda Salmans 2015
I’m very happy with how this came out.  Sewing it on went much faster than usual because I took Michelle’s advice to use invisible thread.  She had suggested to sew it on with the machine but mine wouldn’t work. Maybe the tatting was too thick for the setting on the machine??  What-ever the problem, I had to do it by hand, but the invisible thread mostly made it go much faster even doing it by hand.   Why had I not tried this before???
The last couple of weeks had a lot of things happening around here.  About November 18th western Kansas had a blizzard and ended up with 20 inches of snow (that’s a lot of blowing snow out there!); on the 19th we experienced a 4.7 magnitude earthquake that was centered in northern Oklahoma which I felt at our house north of Wichita (Kansas has felt 162 earthquakes in the last month); then abnormally high temperatures for several days, around 65ºF to 70ºF, then an ice storm over the Thanksgiving weekend (lots of power outages due to broken power lines and downed trees).  We are now experiencing pleasant temperatures and sunny skies, which I am thankful for.
I’m not sure what to expect next from the weather or other natural phenomenon, but I do know what to expect next from me: I will be working on the Round Robin doily I’m doing on Craftree and things for Christmas.
How about you?  What are you making?“There is no “buy” there is only DIY”

Two Snowmen

I had an idea for a snowman the other day.
Snowman doodle  Wanda Salmans 2014
He was a bit of a pain to make – he didn’t want to hold still to put on his hat or scarf!  And I lost the beads on the floor several times before he was done.  He remains alone – at least for the time being.  He might get a friend to be worn as earrings someday.
We’ll see.

It snowed last week, a wet, heavy snow, just perfect for snowmen and snowballs. We had a couple of the grandchildren staying that day and they could hardly wait to get out in it.  The first thing were snow angels and then a snowman.  A carrot for a nose, charcoal for eyes and buttons, twigs as mouth and arms.  Papa brought out a hat and Grandma donated her scarf.  Then we couldn’t go in without a snowball fight. It was so much fun!  The snowman lasted a couple of days, slowly leaning over but kept it together until the kids left.  A few hours later he lost his head, then the rest of him gradually melted away.
Have you built a snowman yet this year?

Two Snowmen
One inside, one outside,
One little, one big.
One lives for ever – or until he gets lost.
One lives a few days when he just melts away.
Both were made in just a short time,
For the length of their stay
They bring smiles to us all.
Wanda Salmans 2014

It’s Tuesday

The 2014 TIAS continues
The most often guessed is a sail boat but I’m not sure, Jane can be pretty sneaky! (in a good way!)  Whatever it is we are more than halfway through.
I have been tatting but don’t have pictures of what I’ve spent the most time on.  I do have this little piece made with Coats Cotton Machine Quilting thread.  I don’t really have a plan for this piece but I had the thread with me (why? I found it in a drawer and stuck it in my box…) so thought I’d try working with it.

And it was very trying.  I usually tat with size 20 thread and I’ve got a project going in size 10, so working with this was quite a chore.  I would get about three rings and a chain done then break the thread on the next ring.  Today I very consciously made my stitches and pulled the rings closed very carefully. Success! The thread didn’t break! 

Last week Tuesday I didn’t have to go to work due to snow and bad roads.  We got somewhere between eight and ten inches by the time it was done.  And it hasn’t melted yet!  Which is very unusual around here.  Then Sunday night we got another two inches.  But the sun is shining today and they say we’ll get above freezing maybe tomorrow.  By Sunday it should be in the 60’s (ºF) and the snow mostly gone.

We found some lovely tea related images from tea loving Grace in Italy - which we have put together as a montage and thought we would share...I haven’t been doing Tatting Tea Tuesdays much lately, not because I haven’t thought about it but I’ve been drinking a lot of coffee instead of tea.  Including today.  But I did get some tatting done and I’ve found a blog that’s all about tea cups!  If you also like tea and tea cups check out Artful Affirmations.  

                                                                              image from Pinterest

TIAS and ATC

TIAS – Tat It And See – Jane Eborall’s annual fun-fest of teasing those of us in tat-land that choose to join with small snippets of a pattern every few days.  There have been some pretty fun guesses made by participants but is anyone right?  Only Jane knows!

TIAS Day 9

My TIAS through Day 11
What is it?
It started snowing here last night about midnight.  They are predicting that we could get upwards of 9 inches of snow today with blowing snow and frigid weather tonight and tomorrow. I didn’t even open the door to take this picture.
 The view from my front door about 12:00 PM
Just got news that work has been cancelled for today – yeah!!

 ATC stands for Artist Trading Cards.  These are supposed to be no larger than 3½ inches by 2 ½ inches (the size of most any trading card, like baseball, hockey, etc, as well as most playing cards) and can be made of and with almost anything you want.  It’s a small piece of art to be traded or given away, not sold, to other artists. Originally this was done at face-to-face events but a lot of people now organize swaps on the Internet and through the mail.  They are also sometimes used by artists to try a technique or idea on a small scale, kept instead of traded.

I have been admiring Singtatter’s ATCs for sometime, but never tried any.  She and her friends do all sorts of different media and I haven’t seen myself being that ambitious.  But I got to thinking the other day that I’ve enjoyed decorating the photo album covers and I had a lot of fun decorating the little bags.   And I have quite a lot of flowers, butterflies and birdies and such from emptying shuttles.  Hmm, it could be fun to decorate something small like ATCs.

So I attempted a few.

Tatting and colored pencils

Paper, thread and heart button – oops, no tatting!

Tatting, paper and ribbon
Dove pattern by JoAnn Stearns, ‘Joy’s Heart’ pattern by Wanda Salmans

Originally I wasn’t going to put that butterfly on this last one, I was going to write a few words.  And I messed up the few words.  So I had to cover them up.  Oh, well, this is just for me anyway, and I had fun doing it, so all is good.

These are very simple ATCs compared to many I’ve seen on the Internet, but now I have a lot more ideas to try.  What’s funny is for some of these ideas I will have to do some tatting made special for them *hehehe*.  I suppose as fun is the main reason to do these that’s not a bad thing.

“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.”
Pablo Picasso
www.brainyquote.com

The birds and the – teacups

I so enjoyed decorating the small bag the other day that I have decided to do a few more.

Originally my idea was to have a shape in material as a background then decorate it with small bits of tatting and maybe a few buttons.  The idea with these was that they would be quick and easy to do.   
Sure.

I have the general idea for them, I just can’t make up my mind for the particulars!

I thought this was a cute idea, but some of the ‘snowflakes’ look more like flowers.
I’m not sure they look ‘finished’ yet.  I think I still have a little work to do. 
Autumn has finally arrived here.

Looking out my backdoor.  I love the different shades of color in the trees.

This was just over a week ago when the trees were still almost completely dark green then. You can see how dark even through the snow.

Maybe I should decorate a bag with a snowbird…
“It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds.”
Aesop
brainyquotes.com

Trying new thread

Odd Balls Yarn Shop is now carrying Oren Bayan Koton Perle size 8 thread.  My sister brought me a ball of it in a brown-to-tan variegated, color #187 (I think) to try.

I quickly tatted up this cross bookmark to try it out.  It’s soft wound – as expected – so you don’t want to make too many mistakes, but otherwise very nice to tat with, very easy on the hands. 
I stopped by the store later to check out the colors.  They have about a dozen right now but I understand it comes in 71 colors and they can get all of them, you just have to tell them.  The colors they have on the shelf are very pretty, very enticing!  Oooo, pretty thread right here within arms reach any time I come in – this could be dangerous (to my pocketbook!)
Is anyone else out there ready for spring to really be here?  We’ve had nice weather, then bad weather, cold weather – lots of cold weather – all since spring supposedly arrived.  Monday (April 22) we had heavy rain and wind, Tuesday we had snow.  Snow!  This broke the record in Wichita, KS for the latest measurable snowfall (measurable = at least .1 inch) with .2 inches.  The record was .1″  on April 20, 1889.  
 
I WANT A LITTLE WARMER WEATHER!
This year I am actually planning on planting flowers but the weather hasn’t exactly been right for it. We did start a garden by putting in onions and potatoes, and the onions are up. It’s been too muddy for me to go check on the potatoes, the onions we can see from a distance. This is the first time in about 20 years that we’ve attempted a garden of any sort, and we’re not off to a good start. 
“Sometimes I wish that I was the weather, you’d bring me up in conversation forever.  And when it rained, I’d be the talk of the day.”
John Mayer
http://thinkexist.com