Icy Blue Snowflake

 If you need practice with bead placement this is the perfect project.  Designed by Marie McCurry of WestPineCreations.  She now has a sales page with instructions available here. 

The pattern works up quickly and depending on the size of thread will determine the size of the snowflake. I used seed beads and my neverending spool of Wonderfil Spagetti thread.

Joyce's Angel

She is called Joyce's Angel but she will be going to my sister who has a holiday tree full of angels and her favorite color is blue.  This is a pattern by Martha Ess and available on her blog here. 

I tatted this using my never ending spool of Wonderfil thread. It works up in a size 80 to a final size of 6 cm or 2.5 inches.  I added beads to the first six picots or the pattern gives stitch count for a halo.

There is also another discussion of this  Angel using a half moon split ring.

With the Wonderfil thread still on the shuttles I made up these quick earrings found on Facebook site of Svetlana Borovik or on Youtube video here.  I do not like how the two ends finish up so I have an idea on how to make these sit better on the ear wires.

Star Motif

 This is Star Motif from the pamphlet Tatting by Penelope Book 3. The picture is at the beginning of the book but the instructions are at the end.  I was inspired by this motif when I first learned to tat and will admit that I COPY TATTED it.  It was a time before I learned to read patterns so I counted stitches.  I felt so bad that I worked to obtain the pattern legally and now have done that and along the way also supported many tatting artists by purchasing shuttles, books and thread.  

I love to tat this pattern.  I do it with two shuttles, using split rings and a split chain to climb to the next round. I tat this at least once a year.  The top pattern is done in a size 80 vintage thread and woks out to 4.25 inches.  It has made its way to Europe in a tatting exchange.  The lower one was done with Wonderfil thread, I made two Wonderfil motifs which will be given away in a local exchange later this year. 

Size 20 yields a star 5.5" size 10 yields a star 7.25" and size 80 makes a star 4.25"

New Nametag

 

I had been using a piece of paper with my name on it at our local guild meetings when this heart shaped aida became available on the garage sale table.  I purchased it and then taught myself cross stitch to complete a new nametag.  Those other bits are supposed to be shuttles and a flower. I plan to use the blank upper right area ,with an appropriate pin, to attach the nametag on.

It needed a little tatting. This edging is called Hen and Chicks and is a vintage one shuttle pattern.  Had I used a picot gauge the bare thread between rings would have been more consistent and neater.  I stitched the tatting on the nametag going through the picots.  You can view how to do Hens and Chicks by Frivole on her You tube channel.

I used a Wonderfil thread Spagetti a 12 wt Egyptian cotton which is double gassed making it a great thread for tatting if you like to use small threads.