Flowers for Friday...

Or perhaps, Friday for Flowers...as I think I would like to share a few of my photographs of flowers on Fridays!  God's blooms are so much more beautiful than anything I create, and I simply love flowers...I love creating their likeness in threads and drawings, growing them, and photographing them.  I believe sharing my photos of them here on a more regular basis is something I would like to do, so here you are...

Today, my family and I spent some time at our local zoo.  I love the animals, but the zoo's gardens are my favorite part of a trip to the zoo.  I am always more excited to see the next thing blooming than what the animals are doing!  Here are some of my favorite shots from today...

Wild Rose

Mock Orange



Perennial Alyssum

Mamma Duck and Ducklings...They were so sweet!

Yellow Iris

Columbine

Yellow Columbines

Butterfly Bush

Butterfly Bush, close up!

American Kestrel, He is a Gorgeous Creature!!!

Honeysuckle

"Cheyenne" Mock Orange

We had Mock Orange in our arrangements at our wedding...the whole church smelled wonderfully of their scent, so they will always be a favorite of mine!  I wish I could share the smell of the honeysuckle too...just glorious!  And truely, one should always take time to smell the roses!

The flowers are so spectacular this spring, I am though roughly enjoying them!  I hope they inspire you to create something beautiful, as they do me. 

I'll photograph that lovely hankie with tatting that I bought and brought home tomorrow...today I was busy enjoying the flowers, the animals, and my daughters' & husband's company.  Until tomorrow then...may you find time to enjoy the flowers you see and pause to take in their scent!

A Wander through the Antique Stores...

Today was my Birthday...and so I was able to convince the masses that antiqueing was the thing to do today.  Always a favorite of mine, but typically not something I can convince the rest of the family to accompany me on...I did think that all of you might like to come with though!  I snapped some photos of the tatting I saw as I went. 

Now, I did not have tremendous luck with finding tatting today...it was limited and not of such quality that much of it came home with me...however, there was some, and I thought I would share those with all of you...I'll let the pictures speak...

...and one book, but I think I already have a copy of this one.  I am not positive though, the bag was stapled shut and I couldn't look at the book inside to see the patterns (that was rather disapointing)...I'll have to look through my tatting books later and make sure.  I could run back tomorrow if I don't have it...

I hope you've enjoyed the tatting snippets from my wander today, there was one other piece with tatting adorning it that I actually purchased and I found a few pretty hankies that came home as well.  I will take photos in the morning, when the light is better, and share those with you tomorrow.  

It was a very pretty day to spend wandering in and out of shops searching for treasures, which made it a fun and lovely Birthday. 

Now, I'm going to do some tatting of my own and enjoy my glass of wine my dear husband poured for me before it's time to go to bed, the little one is asleep and I have some time!!!

What's in the basket...

Were you wondering what was in that basket...

This is something else I make a lot of for gifts for loved ones.  I really enjoy adding beautiful lace details to purchased sets of kitchen towels...it makes them so much more beautiful and fun to use...

This is a winter set that I have been working on for a while...I'm pretty sure my Sister will love this set!  These are two dish cloths, edged all around.

Here is everything I have done in this set, two each of the kitchen towels and the dish cloths as well as three sets of pot holders...one kind of tucked in behind in the photo above, from the set, that I did not embellish...

...and the other two from a "magic potholder" pattern.  I used this video from Crochet Geek to figure this out as the process struck me as odd at first and I needed to "see" it in order to be able to understand how to put one together.

One set is miniature, for my Nephew that loves to help cook in his little kitchen while his Mom cooks in hers...I love these potholders and have several sets in my own kitchen.  They are nice and thick, which I love...no burns!  The cotton is also a good fiber to use for things like this as it will not melt like some synthetic fibers can.

I did another set for her in summer colors like this one.  Most of that set is already at her home...this is one towel that I hadn't yet finished up.

The edging pattern is my own creation...I love the lacy look of it.  I use cotton yarn for these, usually Lily's Sugar and Cream yarn.  It washes well and stands up to a lot of use in the kitchen.  The next towel I do, I'll have to write up the pattern to share...

Well, my Rosie Posie wants me to read her a story and then I want to make some tea and tat for a while...hopefully I will have more to share later today!

More Crocheted Baskets...

Here are more of the baskets I have crocheted using the same patterns I linked in my last post...they have finally been boxed up and shipped off to their new homes, except for the couple that will stay in mine!

Here is the one for my Mother, in shades of brown, reds, peach, and corals...very pretty.  One of my favorites, save the one I made for myself!

For my Step-Mother-In-Law...in a dusty blue that I hope she will love.

This one is mine...I love the oranges, corals, and browns in this one!  I love these late Summer or Autumn colors...so warm and happy!!!

The basket on the left is the one I had mentioned I was still working on in my last post, for my Sister.  The one on the right, well, little Miss Rosie Posie decided she needed a basket too...

I finished her's up today, a periwinkle blue and a lovely soft rose pink...her choice in colors.  She loves blue and lavendar...that periwinkle blue has a bit of a lavender tint to it.  She's been telling me that yarn was for her for a while now. 

...and here is a better photo of my Sister's basket, also in blue.  She has a lot of this shade in her home.  I would call it a country blue, I have paired it with a cream color in this basket. 

My beautiful older daughter wants one too...and has yarn picked out, so one more of these to come, then I think I am done with this pattern for a while at least!

There are other pretty things I've made inside my Sister's basket, I will share those with you tomorrow...really need to get off to bed now!

Crocheted Baskets...

I had planned to tat another cross today, but my Mother-In-Law was coming into town and I wanted to finish this up to give to her today...so this is how I spent my morning...

This crochet basket pattern is from Crochet in Color and the pattern for this "Chunky Crocheted Basket" is one of several great patterns she offers for free on her blog.  This is the fourth one I have completed and I really enjoy working this pattern.

I have added a rose to the baskets for embellishement, I used this pattern for the rose from Pom Pom Emporium.  It makes a nice large bloom and is quick to work up. 

On this bloom, I added a row of single crochet in the oatmeal colored yarn on the last 6 petals or so, to accent the flower.  I like the effect of that a lot...really makes the flower pop.

This is the larger of the two basket sizes given in the pattern.  When crocheted with 4 strands of yarn, as I have done here, it is large enough to hold a stack of magazines...so it is an ample basket. 

The yarn I used today was 3 strands of worsted weight and 1 strand of sport weight yarn.  The type of yarn you select really makes a difference in the size of the basket...I have simply been creating these from yarns I have in my stash, so the sizes of my baskets vary quite a bit.  It's also been fun to select colors to blend together, the effect is lovely and really different depending on what you choose to use.  Here I've used an oatmeal, forest green, and olive green yarn in varying combinations.

Each basket uses up a good 4 skeins of yarn...it's been a great way to use up some of the acrylic yarns in my stash.  I really like the washability and durability of that fiber for this purpose...and I find that I use acrylic yarns less and less for other things as there are so many nice cotton, bamboo, wool blend, and other lovely yarns available these days.

This was what I chose to make each of the mothers on my list this year (as well as one for myself)...I think it makes a nice gift and is not only beautiful but a functional item, and they can be thrown in the wash if needed as well.  Hopefully they will all enjoy these baskets!  My Mother-In-Law seemed to like hers today...so I am hopeful that they will be appreciated, one does wonder sometimes.

I'll try to photograph and show the other baskets to you all before I mail them off in the next day or so.  Still finishing up one for my sister, about half done on that one.  It takes me just over 3 hours to complete a basket with the rose embellishement.  I'm off to work on that last basket now...

Tatting and Tea on Tuesday...

The girls and I had a little tea on Mother's Day...just for the fun of it!  These are pictures from Sunday's tea...

We shared a nice pot of lemon tea, some chicken salad on heart shaped home made bread, fruit, and some tea biscuits. We used some of our pretty tea things...

A lovely teapot my Mother gave me years ago, a set of luncheon dishes from my Grandmother, some silver "tea" spoons and cream and sugar set we found this past summer. It was a fun time with my two girls.

Today, I had tea again with my littlest one...this time a pot of golden monkey black tea...and I tatted while she nibbled her tea biscuits and fruit...so of course I was too busy to take pictures today!  It truely takes a concerted effort to tat with a three year old who feels she must be a part of everything.  One must keep her supplied in tea and munchies, coloring pages, stickers, bits of thread to "tat" with, or what ever else it takes...and fit in 2 or 3 rings or chains in between each request.  I am learning to manage it though...

Here is what I tatted today...

This is Mary Konior's Small Cross from Tatting with Visual Patterns.  The thread is vintage size 70ish Star Tatting thread in shades 129 (the Red) and 122 (the Blue). 

The colors are the recipient-to-be's favorites, blue and red (KU colors ~ she comes from a family of dedicated KU fans). I think they combine to make a very pretty cross that I hope she will treasure.  She had her first communion Sunday before last, so I am a little late with this, but she is the daughter of a good friend and I really wanted to send her a cross to celebrate the occasion.

I've tatted the pattern before as written, so as is my usual, I played a bit with it this time, fiddling around with the outside round a bit, joining the center picot of each ring...I think it gives it a somewhat crown like effect on the edge.  I rather like it, though I like the original version as well. 

The photos are imperfect, having been taken this evening after the girls were put to bed and I had time to sew in the ends and give it a quick tweak with the steam iron.  The first photo shows the colors more precisely...but the flash hides the stitches, so the second one shows the stitches to somewhat better effect. 

This goes in the mail in the morning, I wanted to share it before it traveled to other hands.  There is much I have wanted to share, but it seems the limitations of time require that I have to choose between doing the tatting and other handwork or blogging about it...so I have been doing it but not sharing about it!  The school year is winding down, so I hope that will change with the advent of summer.

I have another cross to tat in the next few days as well...this one for my older daughter's teacher.  An end of school year gift...entirely acceptable and very appropriate as she attends a Catholic school.  I want to get started on that while I still have a bit of time...so I will leave you until the next time (hopefully sooner than the last!!!)

Earrings and Blossoms...

Spring is on it's way here in Southern Colorado...the Crocuses have been blooming for a while and the buds on the Rose Tree of China are opening today, I am sitting outside and enjoying the sound of the mourning doves and little sparrows as I write this...

I've been enjoying the warmth and the sunshine after all of the cold weather over the past few months.  I have been tatting a little, though not nearly so much as I would like to have been over the last month.  These are some earrings that I tatted a couple of weeks ago, but just managed to photograph to share with all of you today...

 

This first set is simply a larger clover over a smaller clover, I think the design works and is quite pretty...but the second design is the one I like the most...

This set uses elements from the large cross (Mary Konior) / stumpy bookmark (Kersti Anear) tatting patterns again...just the clover from the end and the large ring, with extra stitches added for balance as needed.  I really like this set and will more than likely tat more like these. 

Here are the two sets of earrings together...very pretty, both of them.  I will count them as #s 1 & 2 in my second 25 motif challenge.  These are the first bits of tatted jewelry I have attempted, they are very light to wear and fun to create.  In seeing all of the beautiful jewelry out there that people create with tatting, the possibilities seem endless.

The thread I used is something a little different...

I found this in a box of old sewing things that I picked up at one of the local thrift stores just because I wanted the sewing box they came in, but there were some nice suprises inside.  This was one of them...it looked interesting to tat with.  I have heard of the American Thread Company, but had never seen this Geneva Cotton Glace Finish thread.  It's quite nice.  It is a bit stiff to work with at first, the glace finish gives it a very different texture and it is slightly flat.  After one gets used to it, it is quite nice to work with and has a lovely sheen to it.  I thought it quite nice for tatted jewelry.

I suppose that I should now post this and then get on with household things again and stop playing on the computer...then perhaps I will have time to play with my tatting a little later and have something more to share in the morning...