Primary colors

Apparently there's discussion these days about which colors are "Primary" colors. Some say the Red, Yellow, and Blue most of us learned in school are not as truly "Primary" (a group of colors from which all other colors can be obtained by mixing) as the Magenta, Yellow, and Cyan used in printer inks. I don't know how it'll work with dyes, but it's obvious that I'll have to do another batch with the other set of primaries next. Anyhow, a limited amount of the thread pictured above is listed in my Etsy shop.

I haven't tatted anything yet with this hand dyed, but here's some items I made in solid blue, red, and yellow:

Blue "Atom" pendant from my own pattern in Up and Tat 'Em

Red earrings from my "Grand Aura" pattern in Up and Tat 'Em

Yellow "Atom" from my own pattern in Up and Tat 'Em

Yellow Atom, Spring Green Earrings

Atom in tatting always seems to make people smile. The pattern is in my Up and Tat 'Em book. It's definitely a challenge! The "nucleus" is an 8 mm bead, the "electrons" are 3 mm beads.

 A new experiment I'm trying with 8 mm beads is combining peyote stitch beading with tatting. I made a beaded bezel with Delicas beads and size 15/0 seed beads around the large bead. Then, tatted around it. I like the bright spring green color since it helps lift me out of the enormous piles of snow currently outside in Wisconsin! By the way, I finished these in between snow shoveling sessions. I think I'll keep the green pair for myself, but I've already started another colorful pair that may eventually make it into my Etsy shop. A tutorial may follow if there is enough interest.

Metallic thread experiment 2 = success!

This time I tatted my Atom in Simthread. It’s finer than size 20, so I added a few more double stitches. (6 instead of 5 in the center. 8 sets and 13 sets in the “orbits” instead of 7 and 12.)

The work in progress

 The Simthread from Rita Richmond at Shuttle By Design worked well! I was able to tat my split rings around beads and close them without problems. The thread also stood up to undoing mistakes.

 I still need to finish the ends of the necklace chain before listing this atom in my Etsy shop.

 This new colorway I call “Solar Flare”. Only a test batch, so just a few skeins listed in my Etsy shop

Want a chance to win some hand dyed thread AND help out one of my friends who is battling Multiple Sclerosis? Donate any amount at this Go Fund Me fundraiser and let me know about it in your comment below. I’ll choose a winner from those who helped.

Metallic thread experiment 1

I recently gave this Beadsmith metallic thread a try. It's a 2 ply with a thickness is similar to DMC size 30 crochet cotton. It worked okay to tat both rings and chains in a simple pattern (my "Dazzling Debut" earring design).

However, something more complex, such as my "Atom" with a split ring around a bead, didn't work, though. The Beadsmith thread isn't smooth enough for such a tricky maneuver!

Rita Richmond of "Shuttle By Design" sells a different brand of metallic thread that is 3 ply. I've placed an order for some! When it arrives, I'll test tat it!

In the meantime, I decided to tat an atom of Lizbeth thread (River Blue medium) and get more scientific (using the term VERY loosely) with particle theory by adding "neutrinos" and "quarks" simply by adding tiny beads :-D