Two by Jane

Sometimes you just need a break.  On the job you know you can perform better if you take breaks instead of pushing on to the point of exhaustion.  It's the same with tatting, whether it's a huge project or some designing that's not working out.

So for a change of pace, I worked a few of Jane's patterns.  I admire her work so much.  The top one is her recent Hummingbird.  I experimented a little, trying to add a 3rd shuttle to make it in one pass.  I wish the variegated thread in the tail showed up more, so maybe I'll try again later using the colors in a different order.

The bottom one is the Inside Out Motif.  The proportions of this one appealed to me from the first time I saw it.  Funny how some patterns will just "speak to you."  Don't you love the way Jane uses the lock stitch chain in many of her patterns?  It's such a pretty effect.

What I've Been Up To

Someone asked me lately what I've been tatting lately.  Well, not too much to show.  I made a piece for the State Fair and forgot to take a picture of it.  Then there was some design work, not ready for public consumption.  Mostly the type where I tat the same thing over and over again, with the successive versions getting worse instead of better.  

But then I remembered I hadn't shown any Palmetto tatting yet.  

This is Vicki Clark's Teapot Suncatcher.  It was one of the class projects I admired the most. I couldn't take the class, but I got one of the kits and made it as soon as I got home.  The scanner didn't do justice to the big crystal bead in the center.

These are the projects from the open classes at night.  You can see Jane's Key to Success, and Sharren's Ringo the Dragonfly.  That one used lots of different techniques.  You can see one of my rings got a little wonky.

The one class I did get to take was Erin's Single Shuttle Beady Braid.  The pattern was unbelievably easy for such a flashy bit of tatting.  I made a bracelet I was very proud of.  I took it to work to show off, and then brought it home and put it in a very safe place, and oh dear... 

Curse You, Red Baron! Biplanes and Triplanes

DH is an aficionado of such things, but my knowledge of World War I aircraft is pretty much limited to the names Sopwith Camel and Fokker Triplane from the Snoopy and the Red Baron comics.

That didn't stop me from having a fine time at the recent "Biplanes and Triplanes WWI Airshow" at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach.  The museum hosts a large WWII airshow every May, and has a WWI show every two years.

The planes are interesting to see up close...

             ...and there are always some people in period dress.

The announcers always keep up an informative and entertaining commentary while the planes fly.

There were often 3 or 4 planes flying together for a great visual show.

As the planes landed, you could see that many of the pilots sported flowing silk scarves, just like this one:

The planes were all replicas, except for an actual Curtis Jenny built in 1918 and restored to flying condition.  This was one of the most famous planes built by the Glenn Curtis company.  That was one more name I recognized, because the Glenn Curtis Musem is located in Hammondsport, NY, and  DH went to visit the museum one year while I was at the Fingerlakes Tatting Convention.  Look what I did there, sneaking in tatting content :)

Palmetto Pics Part 2

Oops, I forgot to post more Palmetto picture earlier. Here are a few more.  I was going to show some of the projects I made, but I still haven't gotten them scanned.  Better some pictures now than waiting for whenever that gets done.

Here are Randy and Karen.

More friends just having fun. That's Crazy Mom and Jane in front.

A walk down to the lake for a little peaceful reflective time.

Palmetto Pictures Part 1

Well, I've been home from Palmetto Tat Days for a week now. As usual, the Palmetto folks did a wonderful job taking care of us and providing a wonderful experience. Looking at my camera chip, I feel like I didn't take enough pictures. I was often enjoying the moment too much to remember to get out the camera. Here are a few of the highlights.

We got to see the group project quilts up close.  Everytime I looked, I noticed some new detail.  Isn't this clock teapot clever?

And if you looked real close, you could see Georgia's picture in one of the squares.

There were lots of wonderful pieces of tatting on display.  This little tea party table was precious.  In the center of the table are little dishes of candy to complete the Tatting, Tea, and Toffee theme.

A friend of a friend of Georgia's asked her to find a good home for a vintage table cloth tatted by a deceased family member.  It was raffled off to go home with someone who would appreciate it. Not me, darn.

Here are Erin and Sherry up to some silliness, something that happens a lot.

Another bit of silliness, well you just had to have been there for all the laughs.

It's Not Too Late

**All right, now it's too late.  TatDays have come and gone, and a fine time was had by all. I'll leave this post so you can see the picture, and for now, the link to the Palmetto site with more pretty pictures is still working as well. **


It's not too late to enter to win one of the quilts at Palmetto TatDays.  Follow the link HERE for more information and pictures of all the quilts.  Each $5 donation (Paypal accepted) will enter you in the drawing.  You do not need to be present to win, and they will mail them to the winners.

The quilts measure as follows:

Flower quilt: 51" x 64"
Teapot quilt:  64" x 64"
Wall hanging:  13.5" x 24"

Free Association Tatting

It's like this....  Jane was showing off her latest baubles the other day, and my instant reaction was it looked like a fish.

So I had to sit down and make a fish.  It's not in Gary and Randy's book, but once you get the concept of the bauble, making up your own isn't hard.

You may have notice I've been quiet lately.  I took a break from tatting for a while when my brain needed a rest and I only felt like doing mindless things, like spinning.  (Well, for me, working my drop spindle is pretty mindless, in a comforting, meditative kind of way, no offense meant to spinners.)  Then, once spun, the yarn needs to be knitted.  Yes, it does need; the skein calls out and whimpers until cast on.  But now, the shawl is in its latter stages, and I'm back tatting again. And not too soon, with Tat-Days coming next week.