3-D rose

Last month I had the pleasure of spending a day with the Queensland Tatters. They were a warm and welcoming group and I really enjoyed myself :) Thanks ladies!!

Judith Connors helped us to tat this 3-D rose that was designed by Jeanne Lugert.

I had tatted it before but it didn't 'sit' right. Judith showed us how to curl the flower so that the centre sits exactly where it is meant to sit. It's so much easier when someone shows you how to do things!

The pattern is meant to have a tatted leaf with it. However, my rose is currently sitting as a decoration on a gift box for a friend. Some of us just need to be different..........

'tis the season to be jolly

What a sweet Christmas tree design by Nancy Tracy . It was tatted in Altin Basak and will form part of the design in the Christmas card swap that I involved in this year.

Needlelace - take 2

Ughh! That is the most descriptive word that can explain how I feel about my second attempt at needlelace.

The uplifting feeling that I experienced when looking at the beautiful pictures of other people's needlelace was followed by disappointment when I realised that I did not possess their skill :(

I enjoyed doing the Single Corded Brussels stitch, but found that I had ten thumbs when trying to do the other stitches.

It's back to tatting for me :)

Jacobean Flower Spray

This Jacobean Flower Spray was designed by Mark Myers.

The pattern mentioned using Oliver Twist Thread. In the absense of that thread, I decided to do the design twice for comparative purposes. The first one was tatted in size 80 DMC and the second one was in size 50 Altin Basak.

The size 50 thread was more enjoyable and seems to look nicer. Plus...it hides the threads better :)

The design specified that the flowers were to have the threads cut and tied at the end of each row. However, my lazy side kicked in a bit and I changed the flowers slightly so that I could complete each flower without stopping at each round.

I really like the way that Mark has designed the leaf part of it. It keeps its shape really well. And best of all - the large frond can be tatted in one go without having to cut and tie the ends! Very important to me :)

No more UFOs

At last my UFO list has reached zero! NB - I've been told that works in progress are not counted as UFOs :)

Last year I completed this rose that was designed by Toni Storer. And that is how it stayed for many months until I got around to putting all of the pieces together.

It then stayed at 'stage 2' for several more months until I worked up the motivation to stiffen the petals.

It was a really nice and relaxing pattern to tat. Note to self - don't choose patterns that need to be pieced together or sewn together :)

Motif 24

This flower was derived from a pattern by Ruth Scharf.

It was a pleasure to tat, particularly as the flower uses continuous thread. No cutting and sewing/tying in ends at the end of each row, hooray!

A great pattern to tat whilst watching television.

Motif 22

These daffodils were my entry for the Canberra Show. They are made from the same pattern as was Motif 10 (from Toni Storer's book Tatting down the garden path), but used size 30 Altin Basak instead of size 10.

They look much nicer in the finer thread and are a much more realistic size.

Motif 18

These little treasures were a delight to tat! Aren't they cheery and happy. They are just the right size to stick on to a card.

I saw something similar on someone else's blog, but can't remember whose it was to give them the credit :(

I doubt that my stitch count would be the same as the original though, because their petals were a bit longer.

So...if you are the lovely tatter who put the original flowers online, thanks!

Motif 16

Another addition to my flower collection! This pretty pink flower is based upon one from Ondori's Tatting lace book. It has been tatted in my new favourite thread...Altin Basak size 30.

The flower was made from a long (longish) strip of tatted lace that was then coiled around into a rozette. The book indicates that a bead is to be placed in the centre, but I prefer the mauve tatted alternative (not to mention the fact that I don't possess any suitable beads....)

The pattern was fun and easy to do, but it remained as a UFO until I could be bothered to coil it. It would still be a UFO if it was waiting for a centre bead!

Motif 15

What a blessing are these tatters who design flowers for the rest of us to use!

This latest piece, a pansy, is another one from Toni Storer's book Tatting down the garden path and has been tatted in Altin Basak size 30.

The pansy consists of several small pieces of tatting which have been joined together. It was a great way to use all of those small leftover bits of thread on the shuttle! Unfortunately though, it was left as a UFO for a while because I don't like having to 'join the pieces'.

Motif 10

It's spring time, so what better to tat than spring flowers!

This daffodil was adapted from Toni Storer's book Tatting Down the Garden Path. It was tatted in Altin Basak size 10.

It was a fast and enjoyable pattern to follow and I even manage to do split chains in it.