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. 

Georgia's Heart

I've been taking some classes, online tatting classes. My teacher is Georgia Seitz and she leads the classes, coordinates guest teachers, provides patterns, teases us with eye candy, distributes the weeks lesson, updates the website and so much more.

This heart is from last week's class and is the logo from her website, The Online Tatting Class.  It can also be found in Book 4 of her Ribbonwinners series, "Tatting on the Edge... and Beyond."

I tatted this with DMC Christmas Red size 80 thread and it fits nicely on one of my crochet hearts.

Remember that International Tatting Day takes place on Friday April 1, 2016.  I've heard that Chocolate goes good with tatting but any treat would be nice.

So make plans now to tat with a buddy that day or tat in public and share the art of tatting to others. The world can always use another tatter.

Mixed Media

In honor of Valentines Day, I give you some hearts. There are four different tatted hearts and four identical crochet hearts.

I have made these small crochet pineapple heart sachets for many years and given to my girlfriends on Valentine's Day. They are a modified pattern from an old White Crochet magazine.  I create two pineapple motifs and lace together with ribbon. A small soap can be inserted or a bag of lavender. You could also fill with fiber filling and create a pincushion.  They make up quickly and I now add some tatting to the top to make them my own.

The tatted hearts are as follows:
Starting at 12:00 o'clock is the Sweet Heart Valentine by Maria Lenuta "MaryLena" Pop.  This is a pattern provided by the online tatting class. I created this with one shuttle only. It is similar to ankars tatting.
At 3:00 o'clock is  heart by Agnieszka Dreker and a link to the pattern is here. 
At 6:00 o'clock is a pattern by Eileen Stafford, I made this in Hakelgarn 20 and the pattern is available here.
At 9:00 o'clock is a tatted heart made from a corner vintage pattern,  I spoke about on the blog here.

Vintage Thread Vintage Pattern

I found this deep red cotton thread in my stash of vintage  threads.  It is by J&P Coats Mercer Cotton size 50 and it called me to tat it. I don't have much on the ball and I was looking for a quick heart pattern.

This tatted up quickly using shuttle and ball.  It is a very nice thread to use. What you are seeing in the picture is unblocked and despite a few twisted picots which can be fixed it is a great piece to tat.

I used my Oak shuttle and small hook made by Keld Olesen  purchased at Tat Days; they were the perfect tools for this fine thread.

Have you guessed where the pattern is from yet.  Well I'll tell you, it is from  Clark's O.N.T. J&P Coats Book No. 229 pattern  9106.   This pattern is the corner of a coaster under the Sherry glass on the cover. It made up into a very nice heart.