A Doodle in Thread...

So...yesterday nothing called to me but I wanted to tat...so I just picked up the shuttle and this is what happened...I am a chronic doodler, and the edges of my notes are always filled with flowers and little bits of this and that so I suppose it's no suprise.  Wasn't going to share this, but it was fun...so I thought, "Why not?"...

I stuck it all on a card and thought I'd send it to my Grandpa who is in the nursing home (Same set of Grandparents as my inspiring Grandma Stella), I think he might enjoy my doodle...

A Cross, Just Like Grandma's...

I have said before that the reason I started tatting was to learn to tat crosses like my Grandmother's...I have tatted my first copy of one of her crosses.  Here is hers...

Cross tatted by my Grandmother,
Stella Schlegel
Size 30, Ecru and Pink

Grandma tatted this cross in several variations and it is a pattern I've seen in one form or another here and there in tatting blog land...fairly simple, I don't think anyone can really lay claim to it. 

This particular one was gifted to my older daughter after Grandma passed away...and it is hers to mark her place in her Bible for always, but she lent it to me to copy...

Copy of Grandma's Cross tatted by me...

I have done this in size 30 Clark's 3 cord crochet cotton, color 13 (the variegated blue) and white of the same brand.  The stitch count is simple, no written pattern needed I think, there are simply 4 DS between each picot, if you are interested in trying this one.  I will count this as number 5 in the 25 motif challenge.

Grandma's Tatting Shuttles...

Well...I put it off as long as I could, but I ran out of shuttles (ie., all 8 of the clover shuttles that I have purchased were full of thread) and I needed a shuttle...so...

This is a little pink clover tatting shuttle

My incredible Sister sent me Grandma's shuttles a few weeks ago...here is the box:

Grandma's Box of Shuttles...

So what's the problem?  Lots of shuttles are a terrific thing right...well, I was and am thrilled...but I opened this box when it came...and it still smelled like Grandma (She's been gone  a little over 11 years)!  It was a shock in a good way, but it made me cry, and cry, and cry...so I put the box away for a while.  (It's my blog and I can say all of that if I want to even if some readers might find it strange.) 

I was actually in need of a shuttle yesterday and was going to share this treasure then, but I couldn't open the box.  Today, I could...and it's contents and Grandma's smell just made me smile.

There are many, many interesting things in here...lot's of Boye shuttles...those are the red ones.  I remember Grandma tatting with these most of the time...but there are others:

A variety of plastic shuttles...



Tatsy shuttle, this one is fairly large!



The reverse side of the Tatsy shuttle



A wood shuttle...



Several metal shuttles with bobbins...I'll have to try this kind...

Several of these, traced on and cut from plastic lids...
could be useful for tatting with large threads...

...and one more, this one might be made of bone
or a different kind of wood or something...

So there you have it, the incredible gift of my Grandmother's shuttles that was going to be yesterday's post...and is a treasure always!!!

Celtic Easter Cross...Maybe...Someday...

This morning, when I woke up, I had this idea for a celtic cross in my head.  Of course, in my head, the idea was perfect.  The execution of that idea, on the other hand, is more difficult...this is the result thus far...

This is the interior round from my sketch...I like it, but I'm not happy with it for the intended purpose.  I think I will redo it with shorter chains for the interwoven bits and just generally need to rethink some stitch counts and the spacing of some elements.  Some definite influences here from Ruth Perry's work, a pretty celtic bookmark I tried a few weeks ago from JonYusoff's blog, and a celtic knot shamrock of Marilee Rocklee's that I tried around St. Patty's Day. 

This is pretty though, I think I might either border it in a white chain to get an idea of what I could do on a later version or I may just hide the ends on this piece as is and put it in a frame...it would be pretty against a piece of chocolate velvet and would match our bedroom decor.  Then I could start again tomorrow...without the guilt of having "wasted" my time today on an unusable piece...it has been fun to play with though.  Hopefully it will be worth the effort in the end...

A Small Heart...but a lot of Love...

I wasn't sure I was going to get this little heart done today.  I've started working on some crochet Easter items for my Rosie Posie's basket so that took up that very valuable nap time (I just have to have some suprises for her)...Easter AND a 2nd Birthday are only about a month away now so I need to get busy.  I'll post some pictures of those Easter things when they are a little further along in a day or so here. 

The rest of the day, well...it just seemed like I'd sit down to work on this and have time for a ring or chain or so and then the little Posie needed a hug or my big Girl needed some help with her school work or something else needed doing...but here we are:

This is "Small Tatted Heart" designed by Betsy Evans.  The pattern can be found HERE.  I've done this in a size 10 J.&P. Coats Knit-Cro-Sheen color #122 (It's a very bright fushia color)  I had seen this done by someone else somewhere in tatting blog land and thought it was very pretty and wanted to give it a try.  (I'm really sorry I don't remember who's ~ it was done in a really pretty yellow)  

I think it came out well enough, though I started with a half filled shuttle that was not attached to the ball and ended up with 3 sets of ends to hide instead of the one set I should have...learned a lesson there!  I'll count this as #4 in my 25 motif challenge.

Grandma's bookmark...

This is a bookmark that was tatted by my Grandmother.  It's a fairly simple pattern, but so pretty.  I am not sure if this is something Grandma came up with or if it's a pattern she found somewhere and copied.  I have her files (my wonderful Sister sent me her clippings and tatting books - I feel very honored to have those) and I didn't see this pattern anywhere in those nor have I seen anything like this elsewhere.  Grandma had a great creative mind, so it very well could be something she created.  If anyone knows differently, and where the pattern is from, please let me know.  Otherwise, I think it should be attributed to my Grandmother, Stella Schlegel.  I was able to copy it by counting stitches from this scan that my sister e-mailed to me of Grandma's work (I can share my stitch count diagram if anyone is interested and if you all think that would be acceptable):

I am editing this to add a link to the stitch count overlay and instructions I wrote out for this HERE

I like the effect that the simple increasing and subsequent decreasing of each ring and chain has.  It's fun to tat and relatively quick if I remember where I am at and don't have to stop and count again!

This was my first attempt at this bookmark, done a few weeks ago...in size 10 Royal "Ocean":

My second bookmark in this pattern I completed yesterday, in a size 30.  I've been a little intimidated by the smaller threads.  This is my first time tatting with a smaller size thread...and it wasn't so bad.  I'm not sure what I was so nervous about there now that I have done it.  I love how much more delicate this is...and if I'm ever to do crosses like Grandma's, they HAVE to be in this smaller thread or they just wouldn't be right!  Here are the two bookmark's together so you can see the difference...

At any rate, I am pleased with how this bookmark turned out:

I also tried a new technique, for me, in the tail...a lock stitch chain.  I like the effect of that as well...very pretty.  I like how it shows off the 2 tones in the variagated thread.  A little tricky to NOT flip after having learned so well TO flip those knots...but well worth it!  I'll count this bookmark as #3 in the 25 motif challenge. 

This variagated blue is from my "vintage" stash...a Clark's 3 cord mercerized crochet thread in size 30.  I think the labels on these are interesting, note the price of $0.45...I have a couple that must be even a bit older than that as the price says $0.35 on those!  I have to admit, I do kind of like my "vintage" thread...I like to think that my Grandma might have tatted with the same threads at some point...

Mary Konior's Mark-My-Word Cross...

Cross bookmark's are what prompted me to try tatting again...my Grandmother used to make beautiful crosses and she gave them to all of the special people in her life. 

Our older daughter received one, but Grandma passed away befor our little Rosie Posie was born and I got to thinking that she wouldn't have a cross bookmark made for her...and that I needed to learn or none of our future loved ones would receive that cherished gift. 

It turns out that there was a very beautiful cross, made by my Grandmother, that was gifted to her by a very caring Aunt...but I still felt the need to learn and at this point have come to really love tatting. 

What began as a seeming necessity is now a great joy...I think Grandma would be pleased!!!  I think she would have liked this cross pattern too...

I saw this beautiful cross on a couple of tatting blogs (Crazy Mom Tat's and Sharren's Random Stiches) and had to try it.  This pattern is by Mary Konior and is called "Mark-My-Word."  The thread I used is from my "vintage" thread stash and is a very pretty dusty rose color labeled as Star Puritan in a bedspread weight which I believe equates to size 10.  I chose to add a spiral chain with a repeat of the little motif from the pattern instead of a tassle on this one.  This will be #2 for my 25 Motif Challenge.

One Month of Tatting...

Well, as of March 15th it's been one month since I picked up a shuttle and figured out how to do that little flip that makes tatting possible...when Grandma tried to show me all those years ago that never happened, I just couldn't get it and I was impatient and gave up far too soon.  I am so excited to have found that little bit of magic and have been tatting every available moment since...I am so enjoying this beautiful art form!

I have so much more I want to learn I am quite sure I will be tatting for years to come...but I think it's time for my sharing to have it's own venue rather than simply on my facebook page...so here is my most recent endeavor for anyone who would like to see it...

This is Kersti Anear's "Stumpy" Bookmark Pattern

http://www.kersti.com/2009/04/stumpy-tatted-bookmark-pattern/. 

I did 4 of these beautiful little bookmarks and am counting this as #1 of my 25 motif challenge (http://25motifchallenge.blogspot.com/).

The turquoise and the variegated lavender threads are probably a size 10, though they feel slightly heavier than that, more like a modern size 5 thread, and are what I'm just going to call "vintage" crochet cottons I've been given over the years.  The variegated lavender is labeled J.&P. Coats Knit-Cro-Sheen, the turquoise has no label at all. 

The other's are Coats Royal Classic Crochet Thread (mercerized cotton) in Ocean and Burgundy, both size 10.  These are currently available threads

Someday, I hope to have some beautiful hand dyed thread (HDT) to share...but not yet, I am happy to have so many colors to work with and am pleased with that for present.