Island Breeze

 

New hand dyed thread batch "Island Breeze" is now listed in my Etsy shop! I'm really pleased how the colors turned out, giving a happy feeling of relaxing in a tropical paradise near a beach while a cool gentle breeze whispers past.

I'm also in the process of writing up a new tatting pattern to add to my shop! It will be a necklace and earring set. Actually inspired by one of my previous designs but changed and simplified from the original, so it is really a new pattern. Hoping to finish it before the end of this month. I'm going to call it "Trixie". ☺

Celery but a different project already in progress

 

A new batch of "Celery" has been added to my Etsy shop. I have wrapped a sample onto a spool and I like it, though I already have another project in yellows in progress. Hmm, maybe I'll decide to add some green!☺ What, exactly, is the project? Actually, I am not sure yet but I've started with triangles from my own "Amoeba Triangle" pattern and we'll see.

"Celery" hand dyed thread

The "Celery" batch being painted with dye - the colors always look darker when wet.

By the way, one of my artworks has been featured in another exhibition!

My "Leaves of Lace Garland" has been showcased in the Earth - 2026 exhibition organized by Exhibizone distributed by Biafarin 

Blue Pansy hand dyed thread

 

Blue Pansy

When I was looking through my older blog posts I noticed a beautiful hand dyed thread color that I had forgotten - so I made "Blue Pansy" this week!

I have nothing else crafty to show today. I actually had to help shovel snow a few days ago, but today the temperatures are rising and the snow is melting! Found a crocus blooming in my yard, which I take as a sign of hope for better times ahead. 

New hand dyed thread "Asters"

 

During a nature walk recently I saw so many native asters blooming in differing shades of purple and white with their bright golden yellow to rusty red centers. I tried to capture those colors in hand dyed thread. The thread is now listed in my Goimagine shop, "Marilee's Tatting".

Slow lace and beading

Slow art piece in progress

A little peak at what I'm working on. The colors in the harlequin shapes as well as the bright yellow beaded crystals were inspired by The Starry Night painting by Vincent van Gogh. I'm at the stage of "Now what!" But, eventually an answer will come, a little at a time.

The large yellow beaded crystal is built around a center called a "cushion" 10mm across, not really round (a square with rounded corners) but it looks round enough with the peyote beading around it and the tatting.

In between working on that art project, I've added some more things to my "Marilee's Tatting" shop. At the top of this blog there's a tab labeled "Online Store", click on that and it takes you there.

Adelia pendant in teal and purple

Hand dyed thread "Pond"

Hearts and Countdown to Spring

 

My first try at the "Strong Ukraine" heart pattern designed by FairyLaceAndMore. It's a very clever pattern! I enjoyed the challenge, and was happily surprised to discover a matching blue crystal in my stash.☺ 

New batch of "Thistle" hand dyed thread.

This picture got a lot of views on social media a couple weeks ago. The thread is hand dyed "Tourmaline", the pattern is my own "Heart Aglow", and the steam engine is from a board game box.

Crocuses are beginning to emerge from the cold ground here in my corner of Wisconsin. A welcome sign of spring!

This Lego set is for building a model of a Saturn V rocket. It actually belongs to one of my kids (who's not a kid anymore) so it's been sitting around several years. I got it out as sort of a calming pastime to keep my mind off of worrying about things I really can't do much to change. 

Just popping by

Knitting in progress, and Marilee modeling the finished hat.

I knit a hat! The pattern is from the book "Knitting from the Center Out" by Daniel Yuhas. I borrowed the book from the local public library. 

Beaded center and tatted earrings are something I'm currently having fun with. They remind me of mint candies! 

This simple square pattern was inspired by a vintage pattern, I think the same one I used for my "Victory" necklace pattern. I have not written up the pattern for the earrings, though.

The latest new hand dyed thread colorway I call "Angelonia", after the flower. 

By the way, I'm on Bluesky now too, at @yarnplayer.bsky.social 

Dark Matter hand dyed thread

 

This "Dark Matter" thread batch was inspired while touring the Yerkes Observatory recently. Dark matter is described on the NASA science web page as a mysterious substance that "doesn’t reflect, absorb, or radiate light – at least not enough for us to detect yet."

My new hand dyed thread is only my fun attempt to give the effect of "outer space" colors. ☺ Now listed for sale in my Etsy shop.

Here's some pictures I took of the telescope and observatory building, which was built in 1897. Learn more at the Yerkes Observatory website.

Hand dyed thread "Pansy"

 

New hand dyed batch of "Pansy" just listed in my Etsy shop.

The Pansy flowers that inspired the thread.

Inspired by visit to Sonoran desert

 

"Sonoran Stones" hand dyed thread

A visit to the Sonoran desert in Arizona a few weeks ago inspired a new hand dyed thread batch! "Sonoran Stones" is my attempt to capture the colors that I saw while hiking along the nature trails near Phoenix, Arizona. The thread is listed at https://www.etsy.com/shop/yarnplayer

A sampling of stones seen on the desert trails.

Size 80 thread in "Sonoran Stones" colorway.

While in Arizona I visited the Desert Botanical Garden near Phoenix which is amazingly beautiful!

That's me in the Desert Botanical Garden!

Lilac Sea and Sea Green plus lace jewelry

 

Hand dyed "Lilac Sea" is a pretty sea green with purple. I took the dye for sea green, added a little bit more dye to make the color slightly richer, and did a few solid color skeins in size 20. Actually, I was trying to match a batch from years ago that I'm using in a current project, but the thread in my project is a little darker. So, next time I'll add a dash of black dye powder to darken it, hoping to not add too much! But the current skeins go very nicely with the "Lilac Sea".

A couple of pendants currently listed in my Etsy shop: the blue and white is from my free pattern "Star Capella" and the red is from a pattern in my book "Up and Tat 'Em". I added beads to the outer picots and a curled ring bail at the top, but otherwise it is the same as the "Five Petal Pendant" pattern.

Mélange earrings in Liz Metallic bright gold with red beads

"Loopy" earrings with Liz Metallic Iridescent and Lizbeth Christmas Delight size 20.

That's me wearing a bobbin lace collar made from Liz Metallic, with the sweater I knitted last year. ☺

Currently no eyeglasses since I recently had cataract surgery. I've been using reading glasses to see close work. Prescription bifocals will be next. I do notice that colors are a lot brighter now! ♥

Pattern for Victory necklace and more Snowflake

 

The story behind this necklace is that I saw a picture of a vintage tatted collar (I think it was from the 1940s) and decided to embellish it. I'm sure that I've seen other variations online based on the same collar pattern, but I think mine is different enough to call my own. Someone actually asked me to write up my version of the "Victory" pattern some time ago and I'm sure the message is somewhere in the vast array of messaging services we have these days but I couldn't find it. Anyway, the pattern is done!

The pattern is listed in my Etsy shop so you can read all the specifics there. Although I use size 20 thread to fit with the beads chosen, of course any size of thread can be used without any beads, the tatting will just turn out larger or smaller. 

In addition, I posted a video on YouTube demonstrating putting a bead in the center of a ring, showing how it's done in the pattern.

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New batch of  "Snowflake" hand dye thread just listed in my Etsy shop also.

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In bobbin lace, I finished my first try at a pattern I'd been wanting to figure out for years! It's from a French book Bijoux En Dentelle by Colette Varet and the pattern is called "Pareis". 

The original in the book was made from wire. I made mine using Liz Metallic size 20 and some Lizbeth size 20 thread. My collar has flaws but it's wearable! I learned a lot from working the pattern. 

I used Google translate to understand the little bit of written instructions that were in the book. The diagrammed pattern is excellent, but since it showed just half of the collar it needed to be photocopied from the book with the 2nd half reversed and put together to prepare a printed pattern. I think I enlarged my copy 104%. I'm pleased with the results and the Liz metallic is nice and stiff so it seems almost like wire. Now I have the pattern so I want to make another!

Scenic Stroll

 

The autumn trees with hand dyed thread that they inspired.

New batch of hand dyed thread, inspired by a stroll through the park in autumn. "Scenic Stroll" has been listed in my Etsy shop: yarnplayer.

Hand dyed thread "Scenic Stroll".

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I'm continuing to have fun with bobbin lace. Bookmarks are a good size for practicing and I find that I'm even doing more reading of actual printed books since I got going with this! 

My bookmark based on "Sampler 7" from the book "Torchon Lacemaking: A step-by-step guide"

I've started another bookmark in Size 20 cotton thread using GaliciaBee's pattern with Cathedral Window spiders. Starting the top I used a different technique to try it without the usual little picots and I'm attempting to add "footside" edges. I've done this pattern several times so now am feeling bold enough to experiment!