Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all 

and a very 

Blessed 

and  

Happy New Year

Melissa over at Green Girl in Wisconson,  is an amazing writer. I recommend taking a few minutes and reading her post about the Reason for the Season .


I have a bit of tatting that I can show you, and some cute crocheted earrings that I received from a dear friend of mine.

The pattern is by Elizabeth Zipay, and I posted about it several weeks back, I changed the thread that I used, this is Cebelia size 30 and the small beads are Mill Hill antique Glass Beads and the larger center pearl is a 4mm glass pearl from eebeads.com

aren't these earrings darling?  a very dear friend of mine sent me these.  they are so cute, as soon as I received them (at work),  I had to change the ones I was wearing  to wear these. 

the final picture shows both pairs on a small Christmas tree that I picked up for displaying tatting items. 

when I was down in South Carolina last month, I saw some Charlie Brown Christmas trees offered for sale at $25.00 each.  way too much for my pocketbook.  but I got to thinking, and did a search online the saturday after Thanksgiving, and found an online store offering Charlie Brown Christmas trees on sale for $9.99 normally $15.00 and with free shipping, so I got 2, one for my office at work, and one to use for displaying tatting at various venues. 

so you will occasionally be seeing this tree as I won't put it away for only Christmas. 

Have a great time with what ever Holiday you celebrate.

Tatting I can share

I have been doing some tatting I can share with you.
These Rosaries are headed to Kansas City.

They are both tatted using Lizabeth threads in size 20

The upper one is done in Ocean Sunset and the lower right in Denim Whisper.

I usually can tat a rosary in 2 hours, with no problems.
I was able to tat the blue one from start to finish with no trouble, only had to put it down to do other things once, but the Ocean Sunset,  I had more trouble with.  I don't know what it was, but I had to cut out 2 sections at different times and re-attach the thread to continue it also took me several days to get it finished as I only had time for tatting in the evenings. 

the rest of my tatting can't be shown yet, but you will see it in due time. 
Merry Christmas everyone.
and a Blessed New Year with lots of time for tatting.

Look what the mailwoman brought

the mailman came to my door today which meant lucky me, I didn't have to walk a 1/4 mile to the mailbox in this chilly windy weather. 

Yeah! but she brought me a package from the U.K. oh boy, was I excited.
remember this post from Sally at Tat's Heaven?   The black walnut is from my parents back yard. there are several huge black walnut trees in their yard.  they had some branches that had needed to be trimmed a few years back, and they were well seasoned.  Sally husband "I'm in the garage" does wood work and so I sent him some, as American Black Walnut is not native to the UK

here is a look at what was in the package

look at the pretty box.  it is a present all by itself.  the stars and reindeer confetti fit the season and then there were 3 shuttles in the box.  When Sally asked for my address, I was thinking 1 shuttle, but 3.  Wow.  Christmas came early this year. 

the 2 darker shuttles are the Black Walnut and the lighter color one is Apple wood from Sally's father's garden.  Thank you Sally and give my thanks to "I'm in the garage" too. These will be cherished.

would you like to see a close up of the shuttles?

Here in the SE corner of North Dakota for the past 10 - 15 years a group of 40+ men and women of mostly middle age get together each year starting in the end of Sept/beginning of October and practice a Christmas Cantata.  The folks come from an area about 70 miles from end to end.  We practice each monday at a location in about the middle. then perform 4 times.  Tonight was our 3rd performance, and tomorrow will be the last for this year. 

this years Cantata is  Night of the Father's Love by Pepper Choplin.   we also sing several well known Chrismas Carols with the audience's participation and always end with Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.   our accompaniment is a single piano played by an amazing pianist who in the daytime is the local physicians assistant.  The Director is the manager for the local senior living center. 
The local handbell choir performs before us and also accompanies us and the audience during the Christmas carol sing along parts.

tatting from the trip and what dragon species is this?

Well, I had a lot of wonderful lazy time, sitting in the sun, and tatting.
I got some of my Christmas presents finished,  and here is a sneak peak. but a peak is all you get 'cuz some of the recipients read this blog on occasion

but, since I only took 9 wound bobbins, and not whole balls of thread, I ran out.
Oh the horror!!

so I had to go hunting for thread.  I found almost nothing, amazing but true.
I did find a few balls of  white and ecru DMC Cebelia at a Hancocks Fabric store so picked up a ball of size 30 in white.  Then stopped at a Micheal's store and found a few colors of DMC perle cotton, so picked up a ball of white and a ball of red in size 8.

and these are the result of that excursion

 

Jon's Merriment Doily  done in perle cotton

 

Anne Bruvold Minor Norwegian Dragon  threads are Manuela gold size 20 and Cebelia white size 30

The dragon taxed my tatting abilities a bit as I hadn't done all that many SSSRs, so I am not completely pleased with the tail but not bad, and I got better with the practice.  I have trouble when closing the SSSR of pulling the loop thread so tight that a space opens up between that SSSR and the one previous to it. I did figure out one trick,  when you have finished the first half of the SSSR, and lay the shuttle over your hand to pull the loop out to tat the 2nd half,  put the shuttle through the SSSR and then over your hand, that way, the shuttle thread come out on the back of your SSSR.  for me that made it easier to get the next ring snugged down very close.  I figured that out about 5 rings in, you can see the rest of the SSSRs are closer together then the ones at the beginning of the tail.
   I also decided that I wanted the wings to look a certain way, white gossamer membranes between gold "bones".  The pattern calls for split rings, well, I didn't want half and half split rings, so I needed to use a SSSR and had to stack my shuttles to tat the first half of the SSSR so I could carry the white in the core.

I am rather proud of how it turned out.  I was able to see a vision of what I wanted and was able to make it work.

now of course, he/she needs a name and a classification,  it is not a Midnight Dragon, or a Midday Dragon, or a Snow, or a Water, or a Berry or a Green Leaf.  Does anyone recognize this species? 

one name that has been proposed is Humphrey,  does this look like a Humphrey?

All suggestions will be seriously  considered. 

Good night all, happy tatting tomorrow

some pics from my trip

I had a really great time on my trip.  in fact some of it was overload.
we had a guided walking tour of downtown Charleston which was very interesting.  we happened to be the only ones in that particular group so a 2 hour tour turned into a 3 hour tour with lots of information.  here are a couple of pictures from the tour

Rainbow Row

 

good example of what is called a "single house"

They built houses only 1 room deep so the breezes could blow through better to keep the houses cooler. This house is now a business.

we also spent some time walking through the blocks long open air market they have in downtown Charleston.  I bought some sweetgrass trivets.  I love the sweetgrass baskets that many of the artisans make, but can't afford the prices.  I understand their need to price their work, but my pockets just aren't that deep.  

On Saturday I bummed a ride from Theresa to the Palmetto Tatters monthly meeting.  We had a great time on the ride, it is about 1.5 hrs between Goose Creek and the Lexington county Museum where the group meets. we had no difficulty finding things to talk about.  I have yet to meet a Tatter that isn't an instant friend. Thanks Theresa for the ride and conversation.
This is the snowflake using the Lock Chain technique that was taught at the meeting.

not the greatest example of tension but, I had a lot of fun talking and sharing.

Thanksgiving evening, we made a trip to a park on James Island to the Festival of Lights.

******my computer shut off on me last night.  I was able to grab these from my online picture album, so am going to post this much this morning while at work.  The rest of the stuff and the tatting I wanted to show, will have to wait until after work tonight.

Hi Honey, I'm home!

Home again,
Home again,
Jiggity Jig.

well, I am finally home, and have some show and tell, but you will have to be patient just a bit longer.
I will get to it very soon, but going to bed tonight. very busy here and at work the next couple of days.
see you again soon.

Happy Day

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

quicky post

I just wanted to say thank you to the ladies of the Palmetto Tatters for being so welcoming and just a really great bunch.

And a very special thank you to Theresa for the ride to and from the meeting.  I had a great time.  Thank you so much.

pictures to come after I return home next monday.

Thanks again Ladies!!

information only, no pictures

I have been doing some tatting for Georgia Seitz ~ samples for the Emmy Liebert project.   but no pictures to show you.

just an update,  I will be leaving tomorrow for Charleston SC area.   woo hoo!!

and a really fun time will be had with the Palmetto tatters monthly meeting.  I have never been able to attend their annual seminars, but I will be able to attend this month's meeting.  They are so generous to allow me to "crash" their get-together.  My shuttles are wound and I am ready to go.

so.  All of you have fun,  I will not be back home until the end of the month. I am taking much tatting thread with me so I can work on my Christmas Tatting.    

See you in December after I get back from my trip. 

Thanks Veterans

I'm at work, so sneaking the time to post this.


I tatted this last night while watching the pressure canner as it canned the stew meat from the 2 deer.  got 5 qrts.

Looking for some feedback on a set of earrings.

point to point this is 1"

 The scan isn't the greatest, it is off white with pearl beads and of course the background on the scanner is white, so had to lay my sweater over it. Also the bead in the center caused the blurring in the center as it raised the tatting above the bed.

The thread is antique Clark's big ball Size 50 and the beads are Mill Hill Antique glass in a pearl finish. The bead in the center is a bicone.

The pattern is Elizabeth Zipay's Tiny Tatted Snowflakes that I bought in her Etsy shop.

The thread is a 3 cord, and I think it is too flimsy. Also for a size 50 it seems to tat closer to a size 70-80, which I am going to try next as it might be crisper and hold it's shape better.  Obviously my technique leaves a bit to be desired, the rings and chains are not as close together as they should be.

what do you think?  leave out the center clear glass bicone?  (I don't have any bigger pearls in the off white color.)      Use picots and  less beads on the points? 

thanks for any ideas you can give me.

Christmas tatting

While I can't show you exactly what I am tatting as many of the recipients read this blog, I can show you a bit about what I am doing.

all threads are size 20,
colors and manufacture are... starting from the top,

Lizabeth Vineyard Harvest
Manuela  Gold
Lizabeth Denim
Flora Blue & White varigated
Manuela(?)  (old no label)
Lizabeth Autumn apple Pie
Lizabeth Fruit Fizz
Lizabeth Pink Cocoa
Manuela   (no label)
Lizabeth Ocean Sunset
Lizabeth Juicy Watermelon
Manuela (no label)

The tatting is a pattern that is available in the book Tatting by Tatsy and you see about 1/3 of what I am making, that is all I will say about that for now.

The shuttle is a Pop-a-Bobbin ~ I love them. they are really great, if you have a chance to get one from Jane Eborall's etsy shop, please do so.  you can keep track of when they are for sale be reading either her blog, or her sister Sally's blog as it is actually Sally's dh  "I'm in the garage" who makes them.

I picked up the little bells at the Nordic Needle in Fargo ND

whatever I am making, I will need to make about 2 doz.

on the home front, we have gotten 2 of the 3 deer we have licenses for so far this fall.
I bbqed the ribs from the doe on friday and half the ribs from the buck on saturday, and on sunday stripped the meat off the bones and this is the result, 5 quarts of meat canned. (on the right below)

The jars on the left are the last of the tomatoes, yellow, red and black krim, so they are multi-hued.
The neighbor brought over his ribs tonight, they are soaking in the cooler with the rest of ours, and will be bbqed tomorrow night.

If you remember, I have blogged previously about the Tattler Reusable canning lids, I have used them for most of my canning this year, both water bath and pressure canner.  So far so good, I have only opened 1 jar of peaches, and they were great.  I didn't have any more failures then I have had with the metal lids, but I have a large supply of the metal lids so have been using them as well.  If you are interested, I would recommend the Tattler lids. They work just as well and in the long run are cheaper then the metal lids.  The only thing I would like, is to be able to buy some of the rings occasionally without having to buy the metal lids with them.  I reuse my rings many times, as you can see, I remove them from the jars for storage, but over time they do rust. 

well, time for bed, it is after midnight.
have a great day tomorrow, whatever you have to do, and hopefully there is some time for tatting.

some tatting to share ~ updated

I have some tatting to share
the first is a pair of earrings that I made. based on a pair that I received many years ago in an exchange.  I no longer remember who I received the originals from.  They were made in size 80 thread with very small beads.  I love them and wear them quite often.
these are made with size 40 thread so that I could use some small pearls that I had on hand.  Size 80 thread would have been too small.  The thread is DMC Cordennet Special.  I tatted these this past Sunday evening.

they measure just over 1" long as they are now

I still have much to learn about taking pictures with my new camera.  the focus still isn't what I would like for close up .

the second bit of tatting that I want to show you I finished Sunday afternoon during the Vikings/Carolina game. (Yeah Vikings!)

The thread is Marilee Rockley's Green & Gold HDT in size 40.  The pattern is Tatted Winter Star by Susanne Schwenke.  The pattern is available at Interweave.  This is of course in the colors of the Green Bay Packers football team as it is going to my best friend B who grew up in WI and roots for them.

I tatted this without doing a cut and tie.  I used a Split Chain and Split Ring to move from the 1st round to the 2nd round.  If anyone needs help with that, please let me know, and I can give you the directions.

you should have heard us the week before. we were at her house, she was yelling at the Packers and I was yelling at the Vikings.  One of her grandkids was there and exclaimed.  "This house is too noisy, it hurts my ears."  we had to laugh.

I have more tatting that I have been working on, but they are Christmas presents, and I know that some of the intended recipients occasionally read this blog, so can't show you what I am working on at this time.

fun

oh, sorry, found this on Sister Mary Martha's blog

South Carolina trip plans and an amazing talent

I am making plans to go on a trip to South Carolina,  the Charleston/Summerville/Goose Creek area to be precise.
If there are any tatters in the area who might have a few free minutes sometime between the 18th and 27th of November, let me know.


the Fargo Forum newspaper had an article today above the fold on the front page about a local 10th grader who takes amazing photographs.  One of them hangs in the British Natural History Museum in London. 
he also has a blog where he posts some of this work.  Go take a look

Snowflake post plus temporis

well, one more time, let's try this again.
This is the Snowflake I tried to post before, so here we go....

This is Sharon Briggs Merry Christmas Snowflake
I used Cebelia size 10 in white.  this is the same thread that I used for  the Christmas Tree in the post below.  The snowflake will go on the tree at the assisted living center where the tree is also headed.

yeah!! so far so good.

I have started chorus practice for the Christmas Cantata.  in our area, anyone who thinks they can sing is invited to join the Area Wide Chorus.  we only get together for a Christmas Cantata.  This year's is Night of the Father's Love and of course what is a Christmas performance without Handel's The Hallelujah Chorus. We do 4 performances the beginning of December. We usually get about 40 or so from sopranos to bases.

gotta get at my Christmas present tatting.

latin   plus temporis = one more time

snowflake post

I have tatted Sharon Briggs Merry Christmas Snowflake.
I have written the post 4 times now. It will not publish.
so this is now my post.
will try later

request finished

I started this before my trip, but had to wait until things settled in my brain as to how to end it. and how to do the stump.
This is a requested project.  hope the gentleman likes it.  He is the director of the local assisted living center.  at some point in the past he had acquired a Tatted Christmas tree done in cream colored yarn.  it was starting to look it's age and he wanted a new one to frame. It had been done using the "cut and tie" method fro each row, and the yarn ends were showing and He asked me if I could do one for him.  of course.  but it took me a bit to decide just how to do it to get the size he wanted, nearly 12" if possible.
So this is how it turned out.

This was tatted in size 10 Cebelia
In answer to Jane's question,  this was tatted from bottom to top with out cutting and tying.  I used split chains and split rings to move from one row to the next.  the top of the tree is a SCMR so I could hide ends in a ring in the second row. The only add on was the trunk.

good idea

Saw this on a friends facebook post
I whole heartedly agree