Multitasking

I'm juggling several different projects right now. I started two new projects because I was excited to try out the new thread that I bought in Indiana.  This one is called "Heart's Desire" and you can find the pattern here  on Frivole's blog.  It is designed by Susan K. Fuller.

This was done in Finca Perle Cotten size 12 in color 1742.  There are a few tension issues with the chains, but I think a little blocking will whip it into shape.  Luckily, I tried this thread on a pretty straight foreword pattern that didn't require much un-tatting.  I can see where this thread could easily split and fray if it was un-tatted too much.  But I love the luster and feel of the thread and will use it again for other projects (since I bought like 10 balls of it, I'd better use it.).

While in Indiana, I also bought several handkerchiefs to edge. Here is the start of my very first hanky edging.

The pattern is called "Baby Lace" and is found in Mary Konnior's "Tatting with Visual Patterns."  It is done in DMC size 80 Lavender.

I'm still plugging along on the Renulek Spring Doily, even though it is almost Fall.  I'm almost done with round 12, the penultimate round!! Yay!!  I love this doily and can't wait to finish it.

And finally, this is why I love to give tatting away.  This is my niece wearing the t-shirt I made for her.  Doesn't she look adorable?



Details on the tatted Cat pattern can be found  here.

Back Home again in Indiana

I just got back from a wonderful vacation in Northern Indiana, about 100 miles east of Chicago, which is where I grew up.  I left Indiana almost 30 years ago, right after college, because I found Indiana boring, ugly and very cold in the winter.  Although I've returned for visits many times over the years, during this trip I gained a new appreciation for my home town.  One thing I realized is that tatting is much more prevalent in Northern Indiana than it is in Texas, where I now live.  Not only did I find vintage tatted handkerchiefs at an antique store in Mishawaka...

I found tatting thread in a store that did not say "Hobby Lobby" on the outside.

The balls on the left are Finca Pearl Cotton size 12, the larger balls to the right of center are Valdani Pearl Cotton size 12, and the smallest balls on the far right are DMC size 80.  This is the first time (outside of Hobby Lobby) where I have actually gotten to see and feel the thread in order to make my selections. Almost my entire stash of thread was purchased online using a picture on the computer to decide if I liked the color.  I purchased these threads in an Amish town in Northeast Indiana called Shipshawana. Shipshawana has a large Amish population and they sell a lot of their handmade items (especially quilts and woodworking), attracting a lot of tourists like me and my family to come and shop.  There are also a lot of shops that cater to the domestic arts: Knitting, sewing, quilting, crochet, tatting, cooking, canning, etc.

While in Shipshawana, we visited the grocery store where the local Amish shop.  There were a lot of items sold in bulk, like 10-20 pounds of flour and sugar, or 5 pounds of baking powder.  I don't think I could use 5 pounds of baking powder in 10 years.  All the decor in the store was farming related.  This picture shows a beautiful, colorful display of metal seats from farm equipment.

And this is a typical Amish buggy.  You see these everywhere when driving in this town.

Our last stop was to the local second hand store.  I wanted to see if there were any tatting treasures to be found.  There were not, but we found another treasure:  Used Amish dresses.  My sister, my daughter and I all bought an Amish dress and went home to play dress up.  How do we look?

This is me and my daughter in the picture above.  Below are my sister and my daughter.

And here are all three of us.

I haven't had this much fun playing dress up since I was a child.

More on my trip to Indiana and some actual tatting in the next post.

One More Toddler Tee

Just a quick post before I go off to Indiana for vacation.  We are taking an Amtrak train from Fort Worth, Texas to Chicago, Illinois, a 23 hour journey.  I hope to have plenty of tatting time on the train, but with two kids, I'm sure much of my "free" time will be spent playing cards and entertaining the kids.

I managed to finish one last toddler t-shirt to take with me.

This is the "Dog" pattern from Inge Madsen's Tatted Animals book.  I really like her patterns for children friendly (especially boy) projects.  The designs aren't as frilly or feminine looking as many other tatted items. This pattern was pretty easy and straightforward, done in one round, with the only advanced technique being a couple SCMRs.  The thread is Lizbeth Acrtic Waters in size 40.

Tie Dye and Hand Dyed Thread

I love using hand dyed thread for tatting and always wanted to try my hand at it, so when my daughter asked to do tie-dye, I thought this would be the perfect time to dye some thread.  We went off to by some Rit dye and white t-shirts and bandannas.  As you can see below, the tie dye turned out beautifully.

The colors are bright and the tie patterns turned out really well.

The thread, on the other hand, didn't turn out so well.

See how wimpy the colors are.  The one on the left is supposed to be purple, the same color as the big t-shirt above.  The middle one is variegated blue and fuchsia, and the one on the right is supposed to be royal blue.  I dyed the thread the same way I dyed the t-shirts: 3 gallons hot water to one bottle of dye, 1 cup salt, soak for 30-60 minutes.  Why did the thread not color as well?  I'm almost positive it's cotton (the label is missing, but it feels like cotton).  The dye seemed to rinse right out of the tread when I took it out.  The purple is a little darker because I didn't rinse it right away.  I let it sit for 20-30 minutes after taking it out of the dye bath.  Can anybody out there tell me what I'm doing wrong?  Is it the dye? the thread?  Should I add vinegar instead of salt?  Please help.  I would love to dye my own thread.

On the tatting front, I did manage to get one small motif done this week.

This is from the book Butterflies Migrating by the Palmetto Tatters.  It is done in Lizbeth Pink Parade and Tropical Punch, leftovers on shuttles from previous projects.  It ruffles quite a bit.  Maybe the picots on the inner rows are a little too big.  But I like the shape.

Toddler Tee and more Crosses

I got a plain T-shirt from Hobby Lobby and sewed the tatted cat onto it.  Here is the result.

The color choices for toddler t-shirts was pretty limited.  I took the tatted cat with me to find the color that would make the tatting really "pop."  Black was really the only logical choice.  My other choices were baby pink, hot pink, white, and gray. The pinks blended with the tatting way too much, the gray was just wrong and white is not the best choice for a messy toddler. I must say it really does pop on the black tee.

I completed two more crosses to take to my home town as gifts in July.  

I really love this pattern from Lene Bjorn's "Tatted Bookmarks - Cross Shaped."  It really kept me on my toes when it came to switching shuttles and reversing work.  Since the pattern is only diagrammed, it doesn't tell you when to switch from shuttle one to shuttle two or when to reverse work, or both.  But I have learned a lot about when and why to switch shuttles in the past year and really had no problems with this pattern.  And I really love the elegant complexity of the cross, so much so that I made a second one.  The one above is done in Altin Basik, color 366, size 50, which feels more like 20 or 30 in standard sizes. 

Here is the second cross:

This one is done in vintage Coats and Clark size 70.  I really love working with vintage thread.  Here are the two crosses side by side so you can see the difference in size.

As you can see, size really does matter.

Beautiful Cat Despite Kitten

I'm still having fits with our little kitten attacking my tatting.  The only good tatting time I get anymore is when he's taking a nap.  Now I have to juggle housework, kids and a kitten in order to squeeze in a little tatting time.  But I did manage to tat this adorable little cat.

The pattern is from the book "Tatted Animals" by Inga Madsen.  It was actually a fairly easy tat.  It's done in Lizbeth 40 Tropical Punch.  The face was the only fiddly part. I plan to sew him onto a toddler size t-shirt and give it to my one year old niece.  Stay tuned to see the completed project.

In July I'm going to my hometown in Northern Indiana (Mishawaka to be exact) to visit family and friends.  I want to give each family member a tatted cross bookmark for their Bible. This is the third one I've (almost) finished. I have about 5 more crosses to tat between now and mid-July.

It looks a little crooked because it hasn't been blocked yet.  I still need to tat a chain from the top of the cross up to peek out of the Bible.  This is Lizbeth size 40 Sea Coral Citrus and Lime Green Light.  I love this color combination.  It looks like Easter colors.  This pattern is from the book "Tatted Bookmarks - Cross Shaped" by  Lene Bjorn.

Not very productive

I have been a very unproductive tatter these last few weeks.  "Why," you may ask "have you lacked productivity?  Is is because you don't have time?"  "No," I respond.  "School has just gotten out and as a school bus driver, I am off for the summer, so I have plenty of extra time to tat."  "Do you need inspiration?" you inquire.  "No.  I just received these two new tatting books and am itching to try out some patterns," I answer.

This is the source of my tatting woes.

Our adorable little kitten, Neko.  Every time I get out my tatting bag and start unwinding thread from the shuttle(click, click, click), Neko comes running.  He has learned that that clicking sound means thread moving and shuttles dangling.  He cannot resist attacking everything that moves. He is only 4 months old after all.  I try to ignore him and carry on with my tatting, and this is what happens:

Notice the ball of thread in his arms and his claws in my tatting bag.  He is just relentless.  I have seen that many of you fellow tatters have cats, so I'm hoping this is just the kitten phase and he will learn to take my tatting in stride over time.

I have managed to complete a couple small projects despite the kitty.

This bookmark, designed by Jane Eborall, is done in Arctic Waters and Sky Blue medium, size 40.  It was a teacher gift for the end of the school year.

This is a Grace Tan adapted cross pattern from a bookmark designed by Jane Eborall and Jane McClellan in Grape Pomegranate size 40.  I especially love this variegated thread.  The purples and reds are very rich.