Green and Gold Cross by Grandma...

Meant to post this earlier today...this is another cross Grandma Stella tatted.  The thread is likely size 30, in a pretty mint green and gold.  This is one that was given to my husband some time ago...and I spied it in his Bible today and thought to share it with all of you...

She did many many variations on this cross, slightly different centers, stitch counts, etc.  Like the one here that I posted about previously.  It was definitely something she tatted over and over again...and her tatted crosses are the thing I value most and the reason I stepped back into the "ring" and finally really learned to tat nearly 3 years ago.

Snow is still falling...

This is also by Sharon Briggs...her 2009 Merry Christmas Snowflake.  I had started this one last year...and it was tucked in the clear cover I keep over the pattern, shuttles and all.  Had to finish this pretty thing...

A very pretty little tat, I enjoyed this design.  This was finished on the 3rd of December.

Grandma's simple bookmark...

I knew I had this tucked away somewhere...

Sometime back, after Grandma passed away in 2000, I was given this by my sister with the thought that this was simple enough that I might be able to tat it...

But, I had a small baby and little time and my single shuttle lay idle for the most part...for a good 10 more years.  It is pretty to see...and examine.  You can see that Grandma did simply cut and tie.  I am still not convinced that this is not quite an adequate way of going about things.  I frequently feel that if it was good enough for Grandma...well...

At any rate, this is not a difficult little bookmark to replicate...though I do like this one of her's that I copied and attempted writing out a pattern for (way back in my second month of really tatting) a bit better.

I am afraid that I have been tempted away from the snowflakes for an evening to play with this little pattern...

More snow...

This one was next to fall, on the 2nd of December...

Just because it looked a delight when I picked up the pattern from the stack and I went no further.

This is Nancy Tracy's Layered Tatted Snowflake...

Isn't it a pretty thing.  I had fun tatting this little beauty.

It's been snowing...

It started snowing on the 1st day of December with this flake...but I haven't had a chance to photograph any of the flakes that have fallen from my shuttles until this afternoon.

This is Sharon's simple flake from her Snowflakes-For-Christmas post, it just seemed a nice little bit to play with to get the storm going...

I have a couple more flakes photographed and loaded to blogger, but I think they will wait until tomorrow...if I spread them out a bit, perhaps I will gain a chance to photograph a few more.  For now, it is late, and my shuttles are calling to me...though my pillow is sure to begin it's serenade soon as well.

Colorado Sunrise...

Just because I found it inspiring to see a sunrise this lovely, I thought I would share with all of you...

The sunrise on the particular morning these were taken started out with deep corals, pinks, and violet.  It faded as the sun rose to glowing golds and creams set against lavender skies...

Seeing Green...

Once again, I wandered a few antique or junk stores simply for the enjoyment of the hunt and the rather enjoyable perusal of things old and well loved...

Brought home a few vintage children's books and a couple of lovely silver leaf shaped trays.

I found very little in the tatting realm this time.  These two lovely green hankies were certainly beautiful, though I didn't bring either of them home...they just did not capture my fancy at the time, though looking at them now I am somewhat regretting that...and will likely be green with envy should I not find them again if I should I return for the pair.

Never-the-less...I took pictures and thought I would share them with all of you today...

End of the Roses...

Tonight may be the end of this years roses as a relatively hard freeze is predicted for tonight, and so I wanted to document the beauty of the last few bouquets here...

Purple Iceberg with Sheer Bliss and some sage on the left,
my Rosie Posie's favorite rose, Angel Face, on the right.

Sunset Celebration on the left, Marmalade Skies on the right...
both with white cosmos and sage.

Oklahoma, with marigolds.

It is always so hard to see them go, they are usually at their finest when the freeze hits...with so many buds ready to bloom that it is truly a sad thing to see them go each fall.

I enjoy the small pleasure the flowers bring...their scent and color as I drink a cup of tea, the enjoyment of arranging a vase, the delight of wandering the garden and seeing a new beauty growing, watching a single bud unfold in the silver vase on the bathroom counter...

It is said that all good things must end, but I know that, in the Spring, my roses will bloom again.

Another tatted vintage find...

Here is a beautiful find that I meant to share with all of you a couple of weeks ago, I even had the photos taken and loaded on blogger...just needed to type a few words and post...life is like that though, full of unexpected interruptions...

This beautiful dresser scarf is one that I found at a little second hand shop on Vashon Island that is a favorite haunt of ours while on the island...

It is a lovely linen piece with ecru thread inserts.  It is the same on both ends.  I am afraid I wasn't able to find a place to lay out the entire piece to photograph it nicely.  It is a very usable piece and I plan for it to be on my sofa table when I find time to rearrange again...

I love the insets and the edging is lovely, I don't believe I have seen that particular edging pattern before and I really love it...

The price wasn't bad either...rather a steal at that price, I felt!  But I love tatting...and though I think the art is growing and more people are aware of it and understand more about it at present, there are many who do not see the time and love that goes into it yet.

At any rate, I hope you enjoy the photos of this pretty piece!

Blackberry goodness...

Have been spending time with blackberries of late...cobblers, muffins, tonight was a pie...and blackberry jam.  I have 25 jars, 20.5 pints thus far...and I get to make it all in this incredible vintage hotpoint stove...

Embroidering a bit...

Have been doing a bit of embroidery these past few days...a crewel work piece that is lovely but terribly time consuming, and a couple of tea towels as well...one still in progress and in the hoop...

White as snow...

This beautiful doily was also tatted by my Grandmother...is it not gorgeous!?!  I love how the six sided snowflakes fit together to create this beautiful piece.  It's really spectacular...and as white as snow, even after all these years...

Hoping that I will have more to share with you soon, however, I am traveling with my daughters and parents for the next several weeks.  We are out on Vashon Island in Washington state again.  Internet access is not readily available where we are at on the Island, so it may be sporadic or phone posts....it is quiet there though, so I often get a lot of time for my own tatting...

Yellow Doily...

Here is another lovely creation of my Grandmother's...I have been traveling the past two days and will be again, but I am "home" in Montana at the moment and Mom had this doily and another tucked away in a drawer here.  They are too lovely not to share...

Not a large doily, only four rounds...but a beautiful little thing in this gorgeous yellow!  This is my Dad's favorite color...so my guess is that this was a gift to him.

Antique lace...

We made a stop on the trip over to the Seattle area at a favorite antique store along the way. This was the only piece of tatting I found, but it is unusual and interesting and only $4...and it came away with me. 

I think it very interesting how the medallions are inset in the linen.  The effect is quite lovely...and would be an interesting way to use a small motif to make a larger piece.

Tatting for baby...

This is something my Grandmother made for my big girl when she was to be born...

It's just gorgeous, I wish now that I had used it and had pictures of her wearing it...but I saved it as it seemed too precious.  I should have pressed it before taking photos...but I wanted to share and lacked the time, better wrinkly than not at all.  The edging is lovely...I think I need to try to replicate it...

Hawaiian Orchid blooms...

One of the five Orchids that my Mom sent to me from Hawaii, that I shared with you here, has decided to bloom...it's single blossom is simply gorgeous...

These are going to be a continual joy!

Revised prize...

When I went to pick up my county fair entries, I found that I had won the grand champion ribbon for the entire thread division...really, really excited about that!  Of course, the prize money will go to buy a few tatting books I have been coveting!

What fun it is to win a prize and a big rosette!!!!

Daughter's county fair results...

My Daughter has a lot to be proud of this year...

In Clothing Construction, she received blue, champion, grand champion and state fair qualifier...

In Artistic Clothing (Decorate Your Duds)...Blue, Champion, Reserve Grand Champion, and State Fair Qualifier...

In Cake Decorating (Cupcakes this year) she received blue, champion, and state fair qualifier...

There you have it...those are her 4-H County Fair results!

Daughter's creations...

Here is a look at what went to fair this year for my Daughter's projects... 

Here is what was sewn this year...

This dress had 30+ pieces, took five days of sewing nearly 8 hours a day, 

and lots of Mom's (I am her sewing leader) direction (no tatting or other projects those 5 days for me)

as she sewed her first darts, lining, inter facings, pleats, and zipper...

In Artistic Clothing (Decorate Your Duds) she took two skirts and put them together to create 

the gorgeous skirt you see here...

We had seen a similar item in a Boutique in one of the mountain (tourist) communities near here.

The top is a t-shirt she embellished and ruched the sides and sleeves on...

she learned applique and a couple of different flower making techniques this year as well.

Her 3rd project this year is cake decorating, unit 5, which is cupcakes.  These are so gorgeous...I don't know that the pictures do them justice.  She used melted chocolate to create the butterflies...just beautiful!  She has had fun with this project this year...

Next up, we'll have to show you the outcome at fair...

County Fair, my entries...

Well, I will get this over with first...as I expect that some might be led to anticipate more entries from me if I with hold it for long.  With putting in what is probably altogether too much time in my various volunteer activities (church newsletters, 4-H sewing leader, etc.) I have seriously cut into my own creative time...

When I finally took time to try and gather things together to enter, I could only come up with 4 items to take. I, of course, remembered the location of others when already at the fair assisting with the open class registration...but too late at that point.

Here are my entries...I have shown all of these, except the necklace, on this blog previously...

I was pleased with the ribbons I received on all four items.  Blue on the necklace, blue on the childs wrap skirt, blue and reserve champion on the afghan I made for my Rosie Posie (I had to ask her permission to take it), and blue and champion on the Norma Benporath Lace Mat that I borrowed back from Older Daughter.  I was exceedingly pleased with the last, of course!  

Only one tatted entry?  I know, I know...I would have liked to enter something tatted in the thread edging class and there was a jewelry class that tatted jewelry would have fit with in...but I hadn't time to finish either item, perhaps next year!  

Mine was also the only tatted entry, I had hoped there would be more...I know that there are other tatters in the county due to what I have seen at the state fair, but I don't believe the smaller county fair is as popular a venue for people to enter their work.  We did, however, have the highest number of both participants and entries overall that anyone there could remember having in recent memory so that was positive!

Next, I believe, will have to be a showing of Daughter's projects...and then her ribbons after I think.

Bits and Pieces...

Here are the bits and pieces from the J.P. Coats box that I had promised to show a couple of days ago!  It has been a busy couple of days...our county fair commenced on Monday and between working with my Older Daughter to finish her fair projects and volunteering with the open class judging Monday and monitoring the exhibits all day yesterday, I have just been too tired to finish this post!

Here is the first motif...again, I really have no idea where these came from or who the tatter was, but this is a lovely little motif...

Here is the second bit...it still is attached to the ball and a bobbin, perhaps I should/could finish the round at least...it is lovely and delicate...

Lastly, there is a shuttle and a bit of braid...really a lovely little piece of lace, though this one needs cleaned where as the others are pristine...

Always a joy to see and touch such tatted work...I find it both inspiring and a great joy to hold tatting like this.  I also learn a great deal from looking at and being able to touch and examine the work of other tatters, past and present...

Hope you have enjoyed...

Next post...County Fair!  My entries or Daughter's first?  Time will tell...

Thread Stash...

One of the things that I have been most interested, and amused by (entirely due to my own propensities), is sightings of other's thread accumulations...hence, this post.  

It really came about because I used one of the thread boxes you see below to photograph the wedding crown I shared in yesterdays post and that prompted me to photograph the contents for your amusement and enjoyment.

 

I have the two stacks of boxes you see above, filled with my collection of size 70 vintage threads.  Many of these are from my Grandmother's stash...but some are from e-bay.  I was looking for threads there before my Dad discovered Grandma's stash and sent me a large box of it, much to my delight.  There is more...here and there, mostly portioned out to one project or another.

There is also this little set of drawers...

This was my favorite place for my threads of the moment for quite some time.  I love the drawers that hold my supplies and threads so nicely.  Some size 20 in one drawer, and some of the size 70 that I love in another.  It is not entirely portable though...so, while I still use it, it is not my most favorite any longer.

...and then there are these, the remainder of Grandma's pinks that would not fit in the box, and a box of vintage J.&P. Coats ecru thread that I can no longer remember where I obtained...  

I don't believe it was Grandma's.  I seem to remember that I happened upon it somewhere or that it was given to me by someone who thought I could make use of it.  There are some tatted bits that came with it...but I will continue with that tomorrow.

Wedding Anniversary...and a treasured heirloom.

Today was our wedding anniversary...

It seems the perfect day to share this particular tatted treasure...

My beloved married me, wearing a dress I made myself, a cameo that was my Great Grandmother's on a tatted ribbon, and a bridal crown of tatted lace...

Here it is today...a bit yellowed, likely in need of a careful bath, but much treasured.

The tatting was done by my, also beloved, Grandmother Stella...seen here, at my wedding, with my Grandfather...

...as I said, this one could be shared on no other day!

Crossing paths...

We have been traveling, visiting relatives in New Mexico, this past few days.  I had thought I would find more time to tat...but these two crosses are all that I have accomplished in that realm.

Both crosses are done in size 20 Lizbeth threads.  The one on the left is called sea scape, the one on the right in Victorian red and black.  

The patterns are both from Lene Bjorn's Tatted Bookmarks ~ cross shaped.  This one is Camilla...

...and this one is Monica, which I have done before and is my absolute favorite from the book, thus far.  I tatted this one for my Step-Mother-In-Law...and chose the thread colors with her likes in mind.  She seemed to really be pleased with it when I gave it to her before we left Albuquerque.

I think Pernille is next...the pattern has some interesting possibilities for threads and I like the design...so I am off to tat and visit now...