Variation on a theme

Playing with my block tatted heart pattern. I used DOUBLE-DOUBLE stitches (ala Elgiva Nicolls) in the heart center. This is also known as a balanced double stitch (BDS) as taught by Ruth Perry.

The above picture is the result on the left (but was not taken against a flat surface); the original is on the right. I haven't really decided which I prefer. I also varied the picot sizes but only finger blocked the resultant medallion.

This piece is only one of the items I'll be sending back to AKTatter (Georgia Seitz) to decorate a patch for Palmetto Tatter's Guild 2018 Fund-Raising Quilt. I've completed a GR-8 inspired butterfly and a length of hen & chicks edging in the same thread. Since the piece of pieced fabric I have has lavenders, turquoise, oranges and yellows, I've also decided to include a length of edging in my favorite edging, Mary Konior's Curds & Whey. I'll grab a picture of the piece before I send back to Georgia. {Poor baby, she's had an awful case of influenza this season}.

WIP Spencer 1925 Centerpiece

I love this pattern. This is the third time I’ve tatted it. The first one was in size 80 white and the second was in size 30 Cebelia. This one is size 40 DMC cordonnet and has been blocked yet. When completed, this will be placed onto the octagonal table that we have; the table was given to DH's parents around Christmas 1933.

I plan to add sorrento bars (sometimes known in lacemaking as spiders) in the open spaces between the medallions and the mignonette work of row 9. The picture shows the medallion round of row 10 in progress. I have “only” 3 more rounds after the current one. Then, joy oh joy, blocking will have to be done in earnest!

We had a visitor come into the golf village where we live the other day. It appears to me to be a yearling. A friend who lives in Ennis itself stated that she thought this one may be the older sibling to the calf and mother that are roaming around Ennis. I just haven't seen the mother yet.

New Tatting Item -- a Continuation of an Old Request

Working to attempt to complete (by Christmas) a request from a former colleague. Doug has an antique smoking table that he inherited from his grandfather. His request was since the table is oblong that a doily be fashioned and NOT be round. I've been playing with this project for a number of years and it has gone through several iterations.

I'm happiest with this one (finished size must be just less than 12" x 15"). I'm well on my way. The pattern is Robin Perfetti's Garden Square from her Etsy shop. Since Doug's favorite color is green, I selected a colorway (Lizabeth 138-Leafy Greens) and a coordinating solid (Lizabeth 684 - Leaf Green Med). Here is a picture of the WIP:

The colorway reminds be of leafy camouflage and since Doug is an outdoors man, it seemed very appropo.

I still find time however for interruptions. I left a meeting Wednesday (Nov 1) and it was snowing and has been snowing off and on ever since. This one was taken yesterday out our dining room looking east. Ordinarily (hint, hint on a clear day) the Madison Range is clearly visible across the valley.

I'm also very guilty of poor planning! My prescriptions were running out and the pharmacy I use with my Medicare supplement is in Butte, MT. Ordinarily, it's not a bad afternoon outing to run over to Butte (across the Continental Divide) and drop into the pharmacy and then maybe time for extra shopping however ... It is November and we had early snows (they helped to quench our AWFUL fire season) in September.

As DH always says, it's an adventure. We planned to take the Highland (4-wheel drive) but hadn't started it since I came back from Bozeman on the 18th of October). The battery was dead. So we did the car dance to move the Prius (front-wheel Hybrid that high centers on a cow chip), back out the 4Runner (2-wheel rear wheel drive) and headed north. Got as far as McAllister, MT (10 miles) and turned around to buy a new battery and install into the Highlander.

I was going to insert a short movie clip but Blogger didn't like the size I guess, so here are pictures taken from the window of the moving vehicle showing the snow-draped Beaverhead-Deerlodge natural forest.

We estimated about 6" of snow on the "ground" and Butte is expecting another 10" tonight. Needless to say, quick stops at the pharmacy and gas station and then back on the road to Ennis.

Interruptions Galore!

I do get side-tracked (LOTS). We have an absolutely wonderful view out our dining/kitchen area of the Madison range. Such as the one below which was taken on the 3rd of October and shows the full moon rising over fan mountain (the tallest peak).

We also get unexpected visitors for dinner.

A simple (and original) Heart pattern

The instructions below are for a little heart that I tatted "on the fly" back in 2008. The original posting can be found at Original Ombre Heart posting along with the corrections that needed to be done per Katie Verna.

 I was waiting at the dealership for a service to be completed on my Prius (oil change & tire rotation). Then I got enough requests that the challenge of documenting the process with stitch counts began. Since I changed my profile picture on FB, several commented so I thought I would share the pattern. Sorry I haven't diagrammed it as yet.

Ombre Block Tatted Heart

Teresa Woods©, 2008

This one is simple enough, but I’ve got some hints. Use paperclips or safety pins as helpers where the green arrows are indicated. The blue arrows would use the helpers on the picots while the green arrow in on the core thread. The red arrow is where the center of the heart begins, use a helper here to have something to hold.

Abbreviations:

—         Picot (decorative along outer chains)

+          Join

Ch        Chain

lj           Lock Join

lp          Long Picot

R          Ring

sp         Small picot

SR       Split Ring

Using whatever style of block tatting you prefer (I used Jane E's braid method and the instructions are written that way) with two shuttles wound continuously.

Center of Heart (Block tatting)

Row 1 Ch 4 sp 4 (odd rows have flipped stitches while even rows are unflipped).

Row 2 Ch 1 sp 4 + (core thread to picot on Row 1) 4 +

Row 3 Ch 1 sp 4 + (lj with core thread) 4 +

repeat 2nd and 3rd rows once more

Row 6 Ch 1 sp 4 +

Row 7 Ch 1 sp 4 +

repeat row 6

SR 4/4

Ch 3 — 2 — 2 — 3

R 6 + (last picot on Row 8) 6

Ch 3 — 2 — 2 — 3

R 6 + (same picot as prev ring) 6

Ch 3 — 2 — 2 — 3

R 6 + (picot between 5th & 6th row) 6

Ch 3 — 2 — 2 — 2 — 2 — 2 vsp 1

R 6 + (picot from row 1) 6 SS

R 1 + (adjacent chain) 4 — 1 lp 1 — 4 vsp 1 SS

Ch 1 +(adjacent ring) 2 — 2 — 2 — 2 — 2 — 3

R 6 + (core thread at halfway point on first row) 6

Ch 3 — 2 — 2 — 3

R 6 + (start point of block tatting) 6

Ch 3 — 2 — 2 — 3

R 6 + (same picot as prev ring) 6

Ch 3 — 2 — 2 — 3

R 4 + (turning picot on row 5) 4

Securely tie, cut and hide ends. Of course if you thought ahead, magic thread loops can be put into the last chain and within the last ring.

Moje Robόtki No 8

Here is my attempt (through Round VII) of Jan Stawasz' large doily for the Polish magazine referenced in the title.

The photo is only a portion and of course the piece is not blocked at all. Currently it measures about 18" in diameter and I'm going to start Round VIII soon. I love the symmetry and negative space that are typical of Jan's patterns. I am lucky to have both of the books (in hard back) that were published prior to his death. I'm also glad to have found (thank you, Tim K) this pattern as well. This piece will be a wonderful addition to my "linens" in our new home.

I so look forward to arriving in Montana. I'll also be able to pick up another of my hobbies that I had put on hold when we moved to North Carolina. I also do china painting but need to acquire a new kiln as the one I had purchased from Ruth Little in Lubbock is probably 50 years old and was on its last legs when I got it. It's fun to research the various kilns and I plan to contact several porcelain artists who live the NW part of the USA to get their recommendations. There are some good videos on YouTube not only from current artisans but the history of porcelain making and decorating. Needless to say, I won't be acquiring a kiln that is used for massive firings but don't want a "table-top" version either.

Lace Knitting and learned the hard way!

The photo below is through round 140 (of 238) for the 1940's Lace Knitted Doily that I had found at 1940 Coats Patons Doily and is not blocked! We will not talk about how many times I started this one over. I started (finally!) putting in life lines every ten rounds when I reached round 110. I had a difficult time with rounds 130 through 139 and I'm still not certain that the instructions and charts are exactly correct but I shall persevere and plod onward.  

Knitted Lace Doily from 1940's Coats 

Patons Crochet Doily Leaflet

The orange stitch markers seen in the photo on the lower left are the first stitch for each of the lifelines (I'm using pink size 10 for the purpose). I also learned to be very, very careful about color fastness of any thread/yarn that I use for a lifeline. I have a couple of retries that started out wonderfully white but became pinkish after using RED for a lifeline that was NOT colorfast.

I finally had to take the work off my 32" circular needles because the stitches were so crowded I was dropping stitches as I moved groups onto and off the needle areas and would have to tink back or frog back to a lifeline.

Without being blocked, the work measures more that 19" (~48 cm) and there are still 98 rows to go. I just hope the 47" circular needles I have on order will be enough. Otherwise, I'll be trying to find a 60" FIXED circular needle in size 0.

I am using Lizabeth size 20 in white; I had purchased the cone from DS9 Designs (thank you, Deb!) at one of our first CWTs at the Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp. This is also the same thread I am using for the tatted doily by Jan Stawasz. I finally finished round VI of that piece and will post a picture later. I'm not sure how long it will take me to use up a cone of size 20 (8,400 yards / ~ 7,700 meters). I also use this thread for tatted angels, snowflakes and will probably use some for some of the wonderful patterns (I have all her books with the new one on order) from Ineke Kuiperij of The Netherlands.

It's OFFICIAL!

It's now official ... I retired as of April 28th from Clariant Corporation! We are in the process of moving out to Ennis, MT where my husband of 48 years and I built a dream log home in 2015

The picture just above was taken in November 2015 before construction on the exterior was complete and the slabs on the garage hadn't been oiled. All of the exterior is complete and landscape is being installed now. What you cannot see from this photo is the Madison Mountain range behind the house. The base of the range is only about ten miles across the Madison River Valley.

This life change will give me more time to do what I want. I always have several projects going so current inventory includes the Jan Stawasz doily from the 2008 Polish magazine (I borrowed from the PTG library). I am also on round 99 of the 1940s Knitted Lace Doily. Both doilies are being done with Lizbeth Size 20 in white. These will alternately grace a table in the great room that was once a pedestal dining table. I'll try to get some pictures posted of progress once we get a little more settled. These two projects make for good companions on the cross-country drive from North Carolina to Montana.

TatDays 2016 - Tatting is Out of This World!

I keep thinking I'll post more often but as you can tell I haven't been doing so. Hubby and I returned a couple of hours ago from Toccoa, GA where Palmetto Tatters Guild (PTG) hosted their 14th annual TatDays. It seems like just yesterday that we were doing the first event at the McKissack Museum on the campus of the University of South Carolina. We've come a long, long way from that point where there were 67 pre-registered to last weekend's event with 149 officially registered.

As usual, I didn't attend any classes but we had so many wonderful teachers, talented aides and fantastic tatters it was just a joy to welcome them to our event as registrar and see them again in the vending room, at meals and during the various breaks, games, etc. One of our favorite teachers was unable to attend due to the death of her husband. Our deepest sympathies go out to Martha and her family and friends.

I honestly do have an excuse. This September is very busy for us as a family. Next weekend, our younger is getting married so the coming week will also be a whirlwind of activity. I'll head back into the office the next week after "vacating" since the 1st. The 24th & 25th, hubby will supervise the loading of "stuff" we are taking to furnish the log home we built last year in Montana. Our older son will drive the truck out (taking his vacation to do so ... he is a sweetheart as is his wife to let him). Then hubby and DS#2 will fly out on the first of October and hubby will supervise the unloading of truck and our SUV. DS#1 and DS#2 will fly back on the 3rd and hubby will remain to unpack some of the boxes and explore fishing accesses along the Madison and Gallatin rivers ... as well as others. I'll be joining him sometime after the end of April when I finish my contract with my company.

Probably New Beginnings

As we start 2016 ... and yes, January is very nearly gone ... I will probably face major changes in my life. The company where I've worked in Product Safety/Product Stewardship since 1988 has joined the companies 'embracing' Global Business Operations (GBO). For about 40% of my PS colleagues around the world, it means that they are losing their jobs to 'offshore' operations in India.

I must say though that I believe I am really ready to retire when my position is eliminated (which will probably be in April). Ronnie (DH and BFF) retired in April 2014 and we're ready to start enjoying the next stage of our lives together. Ronnie has been tying fly-fishing flies, including nymphs, terrestrials as well as all those other buggies that the trout love. Hopefully, we can get his back issues taken care of so that he can enjoy going to the streams and fishing. He has fly-fished for more than sixty years and does Catch and Release. He loves going up to Wilson Creek in North Carolina but really loves to fish the Madison River in Wyoming (Yellowstone National Park) and Montana (near Ennis).

I've been doing more knitting and more tatting. I'll try to put more pictures out and do more than post once every two years.

I started out the new year by doing a test-tat for Ruth Perry. It is a beautiful cross pattern and here is my rendition of her pattern. This piece has not been blocked officially but used my fingers in order to take the picture. This cross is a lovely pattern and a good project. Thank you, Ruth, for allowing me the privilege. I can't find the link to the pattern at the moment but will try to post it later.

The PTG Scholarship Quits for 2014

Oh, my goodness! Have you seen them? They are FANTASTIC!!

Thanks to all the tatters who so generously donated their tatting. Georgia and Erin have done another great job (no surprise there) of co-ordinating the effort. The quilting itself is wonderfully done by Pinky!

On behalf of the PTG officers and especially our TatDay Chairman, DonnaT, won't you:

 

PLEASE help us spread the word for folks to take a look at our Tat Days Scholarship quilts! They are GORGEOUS! THANKS to all in the tatting community that made these possible!

 

http://tatdaysscholarship.info/pictures.shtml

 

Facebook it! Tweet it! Blog about it!

 

 

I have been lucky enough (and greedy enough) to get some of the quilts (the smaller ones) from previous years. I absolutely love each one but the ones this year take the pieces to a whole other dimension. I need to save some more bucks so I can make my donation and possibly go home with quilt; I can always use another one!

 

The important aspect of these items though is the number of tatters that the WWTC (World-Wide Tatting Community) allows the Palmetto Tatters to assist. We certainly could never do this alone.

 

The funds from these quilts are ear-marked for our Scholarship fund. This fund allows PTG to enable folks who couldn't otherwise come, to join the annual TatDays Event. Not only does this further someone's tatting knowledge but every person in attendance, whether a teacher, aide, participant or those important "others" to join in a weekend of fun and fellowship. In 2013 there were (if memory serves correctly) seventeen ... that's right 17 ... full and partial scholarships awarded.

Take a look using the link above and prepare to be AMAZED!

PTG TatDays 2014 - Tatting Tea & Toffee and much, much more

Have you seen all the work that's gone in the website 2014 TatDays? Donna and Jeff have done a tremendous job ... as always.

Great list of teachers and some fun classes! I still have my old dilema ... How can I clone myself so that I can be everywhere and see everyone. I've volunteered as Registrar so be a little patient with me as there are some of the background things that I'm just getting used to doing. That means my better half will be busier than every in the vending room.

If you're thinking about coming, check out the website and register. There are some of the classes that are nearly full. Key vendor again this year is Tatting Corner and we really look for to seeing Jennifer and Jerry again.

Very eventful year as our older son and his lovely wife moved to Rock Hill, SC. It's so nice to have them nearby. Certainly 40 miles beats the heck out of 740 to Arnold, MO. Both our boys are motorcycle techs and doing great! Our sweet daughter-in-law is working as a risk analyst and doing more work on her book. She has a book of poetry that she published several years ago. Very talented ... sometimes it's hard to believe that they haven't been married quite three years.

The biggest event came when hubby FINALLY retired from his job! Probably the best day in both of our lives. One week out of the trenches and then we left on our annual trek out West. Had a wonderful time and guess what? No work laptop and no cellphone. I had threatened to throw his Blackberry into the head waters of the Missouri last year!

Had a wonderful visit with everyone at Camp WannaTat and learned some new techniques. After leaving the Flathead lake area, we spent quite a bit of time in and around Yellowstone National Park. Not all the roads were open yet when we where there. Yellowstone Lake was still frozen and there was LOTS and LOTS of snow! Hubby got to stop in at Blue Ribbon Fly Shop in West Yellowstone and then we went over to Ennis where hubby fished at the Varney Bridge on the Madison River.

We met two wonderful couples while we were at Ennis. One of the guys (C.G.) makes beautiful, hand-crafted fishing nets. He's made a lot of the furnishings in their Ennis home. Caroline (C.G.'s wife) made me feel at home and as though I had known her for my whole life. Most of the year they make their home in Orange, VA.

The other guy (Ken) is a professional photographer and will soon publish a coffee-table style book. I can't wait to get it. We got to see a preview of some of the photos and they are STUNNING. Ken and his wife Penny made us feel at home as well ... heck, they're transplanted Texans as we are. Ken hails originally from Lockney and Penny grew up in Monahans.

Ken even took a slide show of hubby fishing (and yes, CATCHING) and put them on his site. If you're interested, go to See I Told You So! I was actually sitting and tatting in the SUV you can see in the background of some of the first pictures in the slideshow.

Beginnings and Passages

With a New Year, we all think of beginnings and make resolutions. But beginnings are precluded by endings ... rather passing through yet another doorway. Philosophy has never been my strongest point but the passing of my mother has given me many quiet moments for thought. On my father's side, she was the last of the generation. Mother was the oldest of all the cousins on her side and all the surviving cousins were saddened by her passing; there was a real reason she was known as "Sister."

Yet other doorways have opened. Two of my sister's children have bought their first homes. Both my sisters and my brother are grandparents with one sister a great-grandmother. One of my nieces has just had a baby and another is expecting in April. It's so strange to think of all those little girls and boys being grown up, with responsible jobs and having children of their own.

I've done a bit of tatting but have completed half of the challenge that my mentor, Bobbie, gave me in June of 2011. I have completed one hand-knit sock (I can't believe i actually turned the heel ... we just won't say how many times I had to attempt it before I was successful) and only lack about two inches on the second before starting the heel. I just shouldn't have used 4" DPNs as they have a tendency to dig into my palms. Once I get the second sock completed, I'll post a picture.

For the coming year, I hope to continue to gain skills I've wanted to learn and would challenge everyone else to do the same. I'm actually teaching my husband and younger son how to do some cooking (will be better on the pocketbook for sure). They've been raiding my cookbooks and recipe box for easy meals. They are starting to get a better understanding of the time and preparation that goes into preparing meals. I just need to be a bit more patient with them. I'll also need to write out preparation directions that I always took for granted. Hubby plans to make another attempt the weekend at Lemon Chess pies but I'm not sure anyone can make them like my grandmother did ... Slim's pies were famous!

Jane E will be starting another TIAS soon and I am resolved to participate more as I haven't done so in several years. I really have missed that and they are so much fun. I've also resolved to do quite a bit more tatting with the goal to get enough snowflakes completed so that all my nieces and nephews can add to their trees in December ... they won't all be white because I have a lot of stash that isn't white. We won't talk about the entire boxes of DMC white in 70 and 100 that I have!