Bobbie's Pincushion

There is a lot going on here. The pincushion was designed by Sharon J. She designed it after "Bobbie's Pincushion".  Bobbie Demmers original pincushion had a crochet center but Sharon started with a SCMR in honor of Gary H.  Sharon taught her design at the fall 2023 Camp Wannatat workshop.  

Kits were provided to complete the cushion.  I started that center so many times and in the end finished four pincushion tops.  The thread used for this one is a  Hakelgarn size 20. I love how the Hen and Chicks edging sits beyond the cushion.  

I don't sew much or well but am pleased with how this one came out. My plan is to use it in a gift exchange later this month.

More Spool Pin Doily

 

Just a few more, this time in my colors. These would be great stocking stuffers. 

Coronation Flowers

 

Just a few flowers made with Coronation Cord.  The  cord  had been dyed yellow first. 

Yes,  I messed up the centers but not too bad for a first try. I put a dab of Frey Check on the cut cord to keep them from unravelling too much. I think a bead sewn in the center will make these flowers pop. 

Spool Pin Doily

 

One of my sisters, is a quilter, that means she can sew but I cannot.  She requested a spool pin doily to gift. It is used to protect  wear of a spool against the machine.  I believe it also prevents the spool from continuing to spin once you stop pulling thread.  I made one with various ring counts and chains and settled on a simple pattern.

Here are a few I created for her.  The Shuttle is to show size.  The finished spool pin doily is about 1.5 inches or 4 cm.  Don't pull the center ring too tight so it will have some give to fit most machines.

I found some size 20 thread in her requested colors.  I put 2 yards of thread on shuttle one and 1.5 yards on shuttle two.  I started a ring of  3ds then 7 picots between and climbed out to the second round with a mock picot. The split ring was 3-3-3/3-3-3.  Chain between rings was 3-2-2-2-2-3.  I put six picots on one and it still worked out.  

 

Snowflakes

Although I don't know her, these patterns by Renata Niemczyk were posted for free on her Facebook page.  I found the repurposed vintage thread was very soft so the buttons and beads gave the snowflakes structure.  I have made many many of her patterns.

I found that the pattern could accommodate most sizes of buttons, 

 

 

Pumpkins

 October is time for pumpkins.  The earrings were found on The Things of Anto blog (in Italian) and I adapted the stem as a one shuttle pattern to make it easier to hide ends.  I brought these to my CGNFA guild meeting and they were scooped up. They are really cute.  I used Lisbeth thread 183 Orange Crush.

 The second little pumpkin was tatted at Camp Wanna Tat and is the design of D. Arnold.  I believe she will be offering the pattern in her new book when it is ready. I used Lizbeth Bright Orange. Don't you just love shuttle only patterns. 

Pioneer Acres 53 Annual Show

This year at Pioneer Acres Annual Show they featured John Deere Tractors and Farm Equipment,  Celebrating 100 Years of the Model D Tractor.  There were over 100 tractors and equipment on display.  I usually bring my shuttles and demo tatting for the three days of the show and this year I thought I would tat a tractor.  As the date drew close one of my tatting friends said it had already been done.  So began my search for a tatted tractor and I found one.

Grandpa's tractor is a pattern designed by Tamie Alliss dedicated to her grandfather.  I ordered the pattern but it would not arrive in time for the show so I made one up.  I used the John Deere colors of yellow and green in Omega thread. (Not the greatest thread to tat with IMHO).

I also enjoyed tatting with "Batty Tatter" who dropped by for a  visit and gifted me a find from a garage sale.

I can't wait to try these yummy threads.

Leen's Angel and Bestitched Tatted Medallion

I tatted this angel with some thread that happen to be on the shuttles, might be Coats size 30.  The pattern was shared in the online tatting  class.  The designer is  Eileen Stafford and she suggests adding beads at the joins or putting double picots on the skirt bottom. 

If I tat this again I would carry my threads down from the bottom of the wings to the skirt to avoid a cut and tie. It was only a few stitches and the bulk would not be noticed. 

Another pattern from the Online tatting class is the Be-stitched Tatted Medallion.  Done in the same Coats thread it is an easy shuttle and ball pattern.  The designer is Nancy Tracy.

Reversible Pendant

 This is the Reversible Pendant that Marie taught at Shuttlebirds this year BUT.... I used a gold 6 strand Sandbest thread and only put 15 spokes on  AND used a bead gifted to me from Jane.  It worked up very fast and I have already given it away.

I made this second pendant, again changing up the number of spokes.  I did this one in a silver Sanbest thread. It looks great on both sides. 

Ribbons

This year I put two entries into the Calgary Stampede Creative Arts and Crafts Competition.  The Section is called Knit and Crochet and within this section is a class for tatting.  The only other place I can enter tatting is in the Theme Section which is won by popular peoples choice.  The theme changes yearly and this year it was for All things Calgary.  I just didn't get on with it early enough to enter.

Much to my surprise I won two ribbons.  The blue one is second place for my "Woodland Scene".  I had no idea how this would look until I completed it.  I made about 8 pinecones but only 4 made the final piece.  I learned to make the pinecones at Camp Wanna Tat and the flowers at Shuttlebirds.  I added crystals to the flowers and tatted leaves around the edges to frame the design. 

The red ribbon is a first class ribbon and the piece is the "Reversible Pendant".  I took the class at Shuttlebirds this past spring.  I promised my teacher Marie that I would enter it in the Calgary Stampede and I'm sure glad I did.  I really like this pattern and will be tatting it again.

Thanks to all the teachers and designers who played a big part in the event and have helped me be a better tatter. 

Tea Totes

The tea totes began as a bag of pearl cotton gifted for tatting.  I used over 20 balls for tatting kits and there were still plenty left.  I was looking for a small project and found these tea totes on Ravelry. 

I didn't use the Ravelry pattern, rather with the idea and inspiration I made up my own design.

This  single crochet project uses about 15 grams of  2 ply pearl cotton. The average size is 3 by 3 inches.   I had  been gifted a package of floral wooden buttons.  I think I was supposed to tat with them but they ended up being closures for the Tea Totes.  

These little totes work well when you use a small clutch or just slip into your pocket. Not only a sachet of tea fits nicely but here are a few other things to put in your tea tote:

• 
  small tatting project with shuttles
• pills/ medication
• contact lens
• dental floss and picks
• lotion
• lipstick/gloss
• tissue/hanky
• breath mints/candy
• needle case/sewing kit
• sweeteners/condiments
• credit card
• small spray cologne
• Eyeglass cloth
• Band-Aids
• hair clips
• ear buds
• jewelry for travel
• feminine products
• condoms

Butterflies

These are butterflies I made for the Spring Fling happening in May with my guild CGNFA. Although I won't be attending this year, I made up some butterflies to adorn the tables and bags. 

I used a variety of threads from my stash, mostly cottons.  I used this pattern from Crochet 365.  

Now you may ask why I didn't tat them, and its a matter of time. I can crochet faster than tatting but I'm hoping to change that.  

Three Tatters

It took three tatters to make this project bag, Amy created the bag and gifted to me, Irene created the zipper fob and gifted to me. Finally I created the tatted edge. 

I love how my scissors cannot penetrate the bag and the zipper fob makes it easy to open and close. The batik fabric is different on each side and the variegated  thread worked out well on them both. 

Happy Tatting, keep creative.  Oh and thanks again Amy and Irene.

Happy Easter

 

This is a free pattern by Jennifer Williams and turned into a 3D bunny by L. Maria. I liked the idea so much I had to try it.  Have a wonderful Easter Weekend !

Pie Day or 𝝅 day

 Today is 𝝅 day and I made these savory russian hand pies.  They didn't look too pretty but boy were they tasty. Even my husband said they tasted good. Baba called the piroshki.

I used a filling of ground beef, onions and garlic, caramelizing the onions before mixing them in with some paprika, salt and pepper. I have put those upper ones in the freezer and the lower ones had asiago cheese added and then warmed up in the microwave.  Happy Pie Day.

New pattern, new thread , new shuttle

I decided to try a new pattern. It is called Spiral Heart Duo by Debbie Arnold. Her pattern is available in her Etsy shop DebbieArnoldDesigns.

Beware of a few tricky joins in this pattern. The larger heart on left measures just over 3 inches and the smaller on the right measures over 2 inches. 

So I began to search my stash for a suitable thread. I chose a thread I had purchased last summer from A Twisted Picot (formerly BlackSheep Fiber Emporium) It is an Anchor Mercer Crochet 100% cotton size 20 made in Hungary. A smooth thread with just enough stiffness to make it excellent for tatting. It holds a stitch nicely and required very little blocking. It is color 48 a soft pink and a 50 gram ball. 

The shuttle below is also from Hungary and available on Etsy from Banyek. I saw a social media post where someone had tried them and decided that they were not for them so posted for sale. 

I purchased the shuttle and found it easy to wind and tat with. The shuttle has mother of pearl inlay on both sides and is very light. The hook came in handy but it is so small that it sometimes split the ply. I would recommend it for finer threads like size 40 to 80. Of course these are the thread sizes I prefer.  

This was a fun little project and a great distraction, now back to my unfinished projects. 

Tree Earrings and Tat it and See

 

These were made for an exchange with one of my guilds.  I always make extras so a few can be given away.

The pattern is from Gloria Nelson of Sparkling Light Studios. 

Don't forget to wind a few shuttles for the Tat it and See, here is a link to the introduction and another link to the blog.