Lace Baskets

Years ago, I had the honor of meeting Judith Connors, She taught a course in making a tatted basket.  Designed by Lene McKenzie called Lacy Basket and Lid.  Judith told the class that Lene had made these to hold treats at her daughters wedding. Lene made one for each guest, I recall the number was over one hundred.

I never did finish that basket but I did finish this one, It is an adaptation by Linda Williams and Joelle Paulson. 

There were numerous mistakes and I will make another better.  The floral glass bead in the center was clear but I painted some nail polish on the flat bottom. School glue diluted with water was used to stiffen, remembering to remove excess and clean the glass before letting it completely dry.   

I have a few projects from last year still on the shuttles and they are calling me.  It is a perfect opportunity to work on those projects while I get to do TAT IT AND SEE 2022 which starts in just a few days.

 so 

 

Qanik

It is that time of year when I tat snowflakes.  This is the latest pattern by  Joëlle Paulson which she calls  Qanik.  You can find the pattern on her etsy page.  I was lucky enough to win a free pattern during a draw that she had on her blog leblogdefrivole.

I must admit that those long chains were a challenge so I asked Joëlle if she had any tips and she said to do them with reverse stitch. so I tried it and it did come out better than my first try.

Joëlle also coached me on the Josephine knots, and you can view a video she made on that here. 

More Flowering Quatrain

Because one bookmark is never enough, I made another Flowering Quatrain bookmark.  There is one flaw an extra picot can be seen on the top left clover. Oh well, I was well around by the time I realized it.

This time I used a large bead and a head pin curled into the single shuttle split ring at the end.  Great way to finish off  because when you are done, you are done.

I have a few single earrings that could easily be attached to finish off the bookmark too.  I think if you added another repeat in the middle the resulting size would make a good bookmark for those who don't like anything hanging out of the book.

This free pattern is by Joëlle Paulson and available on her site Le Blog de Frivole.

Flowering Quatrain Bookmark

This week we had a visitor, her initials are EEE. She is an accomplished musical artist and provided me with many free concerts.  We shared a laugh at the Schubert tune that comes from my washer and my dryer indicating the end of a load.  It is the only classical music I listen to.

As a little token of our friendship I tatted the Flowering Quatrain Bookmark in Lizbeth 178 Grape Pomegranate for her.

This free pattern is by Joëlle Paulson and available on her site Le Blog de Frivole.

The pattern is easier than it looks, you start with a series of split rings down the center then tat around them.  I continued on with a Josephine chain, and after putting a few beads on the end I finished off by finger tatting a single shuttle split ring (SSSR) and hiding an end on each side of the split ring. The SSSR keeps the beads on the end and facilitates the addition of a charm using a lobster claw finding.

The treble clef charm is just clipped to the SSSR and could be changed out for any to suit your recipient.