I am not a Professional Tatter!

Why do I let myself get talked into tatting items to sell?  It all started when I gifted a earring/necklace set to my friend. This is the pendant.

  She wore her tatted jewelry to Square Dancing (yes, some people still square dance in Texas).  All of her friends complimented her on her accessories and asked where they could get a set.  My friend then approached me with a proposition to make and sell them.  I was so flattered that people would pay good money for something I made that I agreed. I was also still very enthusiastic about the pattern and wanted to try it out in different colors.  Well, for the last month, I have been doing nothing but tat pendants and earrings in the same pattern, and I could just scream.  I have gone down this path before with the same result.  I get all excited about earning money from my tatting, then get bored with the project(s) before the obligation is over.  I think that is the problem:  the obligation.  I tat for fun and enjoy the freedom of moving from project to project at will.  I have a lot of obligations in my life: work, family, housework.  I don't want tatting to be just another obligation where I can't choose the pattern or colors that I want to work with.  As soon as I get stuck with a project, the tatting Muse leaves and all inspiration goes with it.  For this reason, I will never become a professional tatter.

Okay.  Now that I got that out of my system, let me show you some Christmas tatting that I have managed to squeeze in.  This is a snowflake by Renulek.  The pattern is here.

And this red beauty is from Jon Yusoff's  book "Elegant Tatted Gem's."

And finally, one completed Christmas tree earring.

This is a pattern from Jane Eborall and can be found here.  My version of the pattern has a variation without the button, which is what I did here, but her current pattern only has it with a button in the middle.  I wonder where the button-less version went???  (Update: Jane sent the link to this pattern.  I don't know why I couldn't find it.  Here it is.  Thank you Jane!!) 

And to all my American friends, have a Happy Thanksgiving surrounded by family and friends.

Working on Jewelry

I have made several more pendants and earrings based on Ewa's pattern found here (with my modifications found here.  These are the earrings

that match this pendant:

The thread is Perfect Quilter in red and beige.  I really liked how it came out in the smaller thread, so I make another set in size 70.

The purple set is done in vintage Coats and Clark purple size 70 and Oren Bayan color #4433 (the dark purple).  I love Oren Bayan threads.  They are very smooth and easy to work with, not twisty at all.  I also added silver seed beads to this set, but they don't pop on the scanner like they do in real life.

And finally, this lovely pair of snowflake earrings.

The pattern is called Mirabelle and I purchased it here on Etsy.  It is designed by Joelle Paulson, aka Frivole.  It's done in size 80 Lizbeth thread in white.  (I know there's a boo-boo in the left earring.  I missed a join on the last ring, but it's not very noticeable when I wear them).

Chain Tension Challenged

While reading blogs the other day, I came across a beautiful pendant pattern on Ewa's blog. Here's a direct link to the pattern.  I thought that would be a beautiful pattern to tat up as Christmas presents for a few family members.  So I tatted up the pattern and this is the result:

 I couldn't get the tension tight enough on the long chains between the trefoils. (There are three elements to this piece.  The trefoils are woven in between the ring and chain centerpiece and then the outside rings are added last, kind of like Celtic tatting.)  I tatted that trefoil part a second time and still couldn't get it right.  Here is the back side to show how loose the chains are:

It looks nothing like the beautiful picture that Ewa  has on her blog, but I wasn't ready to give up yet.  I thought I would try to incorporate those trefoils into the existing chains of the center element.  This would eliminate one round (and the thread ends that go with it)  and hopefully the tension problems.  I had to adjust the stitch count a little bit, but here is the center motif as one round.

   That little motif is beautiful by itself as a pair of earrings.  When I added the outer round, here's how my version of the pendant turned out.

I used Lizbeth Christmas Green and white in size 40 and silver seed beads on the outer chains.  It doesn't have the Celtic weaving that I like so much about Ewa's pattern, but this version is easier for me.

Here's another one tatted in Perfect Quilter red and beige.  I like it a lot in the smaller thread, too.

I think the solid colors work best with this pattern.  I did my original experiments in a variegated thread because that was what I had on my shuttle at the time.

Ewa has graciously granted me permission to post the modifications to her pattern.  Here is how I tatted round 1.  Round 2 (outer rings and chains) does not change at all.

Ewa's Pendant, modified
2 shuttles

Sh 1     R  8-4-8
Sh2      R  10-10
Sh1      Ch 8
Sh2       R 8-2
Sh2       R2+4-4-2
Sh2       R 2+8
Sh1       Ch 8
Repeat until you have 4 trefoils, and 4 inner and outer rings.

Thank you, Ewa, for sharing your beautiful pattern and allowing me to play with it a little.  Happy tatting everyone!

Completely Illogical

I am generally a very logical and practical person.  When I go to the grocery store, I buy only enough for one week.  I don't have a million shoes or clothes or purses.  I like to keep things simple.  But when it comes to tatting, I go completely nuts (crazy).  I have at least 30 shuttles even though I only use 1 or 2 shuttles at a time.  And my thread stash?  Let's just say I have more than enough for this lifetime and maybe half of the next one.  But my biggest weakness is patterns.  This is a picture of all my pattern books.

And those three binders on the left side? They are filled with free patterns that I have printed off the internet.  I just printed a new one off yesterday that I'm working on (I'll blog about that when I'm finished).  So how many patterns do you think this represents?

I would say the number is in the thousands of patterns.  Will I be able to finish all these patterns in my lifetime?  Of course not.

But I still want to have more patterns.  This collection does not include all the patterns I have on my computer in a folder labeled "Tatting Patterns," the ones that I have not yet printed out but have every intention of working on as soon as I have more time.  And my next tatting purchase will include at least one or two more pattern books that are on my "Must Have" list.  I guess you would call this an obsession.  But at least I'm admitting it.  And the first step to fixing my obsession is to admit it, right?  But I'm not sure I want to be cured.  I love every one of my pattern books, even though there are many that I have not tatted a single pattern from.  But I will.......someday!

Working on WIPs

WIPs are Works in Progress.  Some people call them UFOs (Unfinished Objects).  I should be starting Christmas tatting now to give myself plenty of time, but I have two WIPs that I want to try to complete before I start more projects.

I think I am the only one in the world who is still working on Renulek's Spring Doily, but I am finally on the 13th and final round.  Yay!!  Here's how it looks.

Back at about row 9 or 10, I misread the pattern and neglected to tat a thrown ring.  I didn't realize it until I had finished that round, and figured that since it was consistent all the way around, it wouldn't make much difference.  Well, the outer rows are ruffling a bit, but I think blocking will flatten them out once the doily is completed.  But as a result of that mistake, I'm having to modify the pattern for round 13.  I've had to add six ds between the scallops.

Renulek's pattern just calls for two adjacent rings between the scallops, but that made the edges ruffle even more, so I'm hoping that by adding those extra ds, I'll be able to block the doily flat.  This is by far the largest project I have ever taken on and I can't believe I am almost done with it.  It's only taking me about 6 months (and counting).

Another WIP that I need to finish is this hanky edging.

I'm actually a little more than half way around the hanky, but it wouldn't fit on the scanner.  I really love how this edging is turning out, but I can't work on it for long because it is soooooo boooooring and repetitious that I lose concentration and start making mistakes.  So I put it away for a few days and come back to it with fresh eyes.  I would have finished this weeks ago if I could have kept my concentration.

Snowflakes

I am finished making crosses for now and have moved on to making snowflakes. I love tatting snowflakes.  There are many beautiful patterns and the lacy, delicate look of tatting mimics a snowflake well.

This snowflake is a Jan Stawasz pattern done in Altin Basik 50 metallic gold.

I was a little disappointed in the final product.  It seems a little dense, not enough negative space for a stand alone snowflake.  It is a motif from a larger doily pattern from the book Tatted Treasures.

This next one is a design by Robin Perfetti called First Snowfall.  You can find this and all her other free patterns here.

I really love this pattern and will tat it again in a larger thread.  This one is done in Finca Perle Cotton # 12 in color #8728 which is a silvery/gray color.

Another beautiful pattern by Robin Perfetti is called "Design Tutorial Snowflake" and can be found from the above link.  I think this is my favorite of her snowflakes.

The pattern is written to do the snowflake in two rounds, which is perfect if you want to do each round in a different color.  I chose to do the snowflake in one color, so I was able to skip from round one to round two by using split rings.  I started the first round on the third ring of an inner trefoil so that I would end on the larger middle ring, which I make a split ring of 3+3-3-3/3+3-3-3-3.  Then the first small ring of the second round was made 6/6 with a small mock picot between the two rings.  This is how it looks after the two split rings.

I then continued on with the chain, jk, and next ring when I notice that I had joined the second ring in the wrong spot.  But ignore that boo-boo and concentrate on my fancy-schmancy split rings to jump to round two.  Great pattern, quick to tat and looks beautiful in Lizbeth Ice Blue size 40.

And finally, we come to the last snowflake for today (but not for the season).

This pattern is by Renulek and is found here.  The onion rings in the center were a little tricky because I thought that the inner-most rings were thrown rings off the chain but they are not.  All of the inner rings are tatted with shuttle one as the working shuttle.  After a little fiddling, here's what I figured out.  Start with one of the inner most rings, then turn that ring upside down and tat the outer ring (the one inside the onion skin) next.  Then reverse work and tat the onion skin, joining at the intersection of the two rings.  Do not reverse work and tat the little chain going to the next ring.  Once I figured out that I don't need to switch shuttles, it was a piece of cake.

Tatting as Meditation

I have heard other tatters mention that tatting is very relaxing.  It is relaxing for me, too.  I have a theory as to why tatting is more relaxing than other pastimes.  Tatting has a lot in common with meditation.  Meditation, at it's heart, is a process of focusing your mind on a simple element, say a syllable or chant or a breathing exercise.  By focusing your mind on something simple, you quiet the stream of consciousness that worries about money, or your kids, or tomorrow's plans.  And quieting that internal voice allows all the stress to melt away so you can relax.

Tatting focuses your mind on each knot as you count it:  One...two...three...picot...one...two...three...picot.  Your mind can't think about tomorrow's plans or how to get your kids to eat vegetables because it's focused on a simple element, counting stitches.  If you start daydreaming or worrying while you are tatting, this is how you end up counting:  one...two...three...picot...one...two...oops, that was supposed to be a join, not a picot.  Un-tat two, un-tat one...join...one...two...three...picot...etc.

Here is my Zen tatting for this week:

  Yet another Mary Konior Small cross, this time done in DMC size 80 in black and white.  It is very small and delicate.  All these crosses I'm making are to be sold our church Harvest Festival coming up in September.

This cross is from Jan Stawasz's Tatted Treasures.  Not one of my favorite cross patterns, but I was getting tired of the Mary Konior pattern and wanted to mix it up a little.  This is done in Altin Basik #50 in gold metallic thread.  When I finished it, it looked more like a Christmas ornament than a bookmark, so I put a hanger on it instead of a bookmark tail.

I'm done with crosses for now and have moved on to snowflakes, but I'll save those for another post. Wishing you all relaxation as you tat.