I'm Still At It

Still playing with buttons and things. Some results are better than others.

This last one is my favorite so far.

Is There Any Hope?

Lately, I've been obsessed with buttons.




And at the same time, stone chips and nuggets are preying on my mind.


The problem is, everything I buy makes me want to buy something else. Some of the buttons are calling for beads to go with them. All these things need thicker thread, which I have precious little of in my stash.

Is there any hope for this sort of thing on Etsy? I see some people sell quite a lot of items, and some...don't. It would be nice if this new hobby could pay for itself. On the other hand, if prospects are poor, the time spent taking nice photos and writing the listings could be better used on something else.

Motif Seventeen--Norman

This is obviously Norman, the rooster from Jane's TIAS. Watching the mystery motif slowly emerge in Jane's game was a lot of fun, as always.

Early Tatting

This is a piece of my early tatting from the summer when I first learned. So if any beginners out there are having a hard time, believe me, it WILL get better.

One important lesson here: good threads do matter. This mess might have looked better if I had not been working with some sort of cheap bedspread cotton. Even today, I have difficulty making neat, even stitches if I work with poor quality thread. Good thread will both look so much better and be easier to work with too.

WIP - TatBit's Amazing Patterns

Since the time of this post, TatBit has removed her public patterns.

I encourage everyone to visit TatBit's blog. Teri is generously sharing lots of patterns and adding to them daily. Above is the beginning of her New Wave Doily and I plan to make some more of her designs after this one.

The pattern notation may be different than you are used to, but read the instructions and abbreviation list carefully and all should be clear.

Thank you for sharing, Teri !

Motifs 15 & 16 -- Large and Small

I needed something big and green, and Nancy Tracy's Christmas Tree in size 10 thread fit the bill. It's a little lopsided since I didn't block it yet. Nancy generously shares a free pattern every month. You can go to her site and sign up for the newletter, which will bring you patterns, recipes, and the current specials at her online tatting store.



I'm usually not a fan of big thread, but I use it when the situation demands. After the size 10 tree, I went to the other extreme and rewound the shuttle with size 80 and made Mark Myer's Cat. So understated and elegant! This is almost 6 inches tall in size 30. In larger thread it could get huge!

Holiday Tatting--Motifs 13 & 14--Revised

After finishing all those white snowflakes, I've been enjoying some holiday tatting in green and red. Here is Mark Myer's wonderful Holly & Berries design featuring the half ring braid technique. I love this technique; I love this pattern.



This design is called "Christmas Berry Wreath", by LaRae Mikulecky. Thank you to everyone who helped track it down. The pattern is from an old Geocities site that isn't there anymore, but you can find a copy
here. According to my printout, I downloaded this from the web on 11/25/99 and only now, more than ten years later got around to making it. This is made in one pass with one green and one red shuttle, and features lots of Josephine knots.