Flower Colors, Snowflakes and Crocheted Bracelet

 During a walk through the Boerner Botanical Gardens I came upon these pretty little flowers called Lantana "Landmark Citrus" in bright yellow, orange, and pink. Great combination for a batch of hand dyed thread, don't you think?

 I also liked the light yellow greens in this Hosta plant. I think I need a batch of greens like that, paler and more to the yellow side than my previous batches of "Celery" green.

 I finished tatting another Renulek snowflake (please see Renulek's Etsy Shop for her patterns) in an early sample of my own "Summit" hand dyed combined with a pale blue. (Summit sold out very quickly but it will return.☺)

 These snowflakes are all from Renulek patterns.

 As a break from tatting, I crocheted a bracelet from a pattern by Natalia Kononova. Her patterns are for sale at OutstandingCrochet.com  and also on Ravelry. The crochet thread is 3 ply linen (comparable to a size 10 cotton) which I purchased from YarnStories on Etsy.

The colors of my favorite baseball team and I'll wear it to the game!

My Mountain Top Experience

Me being extremely cool in sub-zero wind chill wearing my Star Trek jacket, on what seems like a different planet

 Yes, that's me standing on top of a mountain in Colorado! How I got up there is thanks to the people who built the Mount Evans Scenic Byway, the highest paved road in North America. My dear hubby drove us up, cool as a cucumber, while I was "slightly frightened" at the many twists and turns in the narrowing road and scary drop-offs without guardrails. But, the views from the summit are spectacular! It was like being on top of the world!

Miles of Rocky Mountains in Colorado

Snow capped peaks in the Rockies

A mountain goat in its natural habitat

Breathtaking beauty

Drive carefully...no guardrails and thousands of feet down!

I started a snowflake from Renulek's pattern while visiting Colorado

The finished snowflake! Please see Renulek's Etsy Shop to buy her patterns.

Some beads in my stash

Here's a comparison of some types of beads I often use. 

Bead size is written at the left, with 3 examples of that size in each row (round, faceted, and bicone shapes). 

Seed beads are between the lines at the bottom of the picture.

Size 20 thread and finer can fit through the hole of any of these beads. 

Size 10 Lizbeth thread is thicker, so the 3 mm beads and some 11/0 seed beads won't fit. I've taken to using Toho Takumi large hole beads when I want an 11/0 seed bead with size 10 thread, since they fit easily. Delicas (a brand of Japanese cylinder beads) will also fit on size 10 thread. They really are shaped like tiny cylinders.

Not on the list are a new arrival called "demi" seed beads. They're half the width of regular seed beads. I tried them on some dainty snowflake earrings in size 40 thread, and liked the delicate effect in the picots combined with a regular 11/0 seed bead on the core thread.

In hand dyed "Candy Mint" size 40.

Lizbeth size 40 in white.

The snowflake pattern is mine, "tweaked" and "upgraded" from a simpler original I blogged about in 2008, Quickie Snowflake Earrings.

Free easy tatted star and snowflake pattern

Download the pattern as a PDF file by clicking HERE.

This is a very simple pattern that I've written up and used in teaching beginner tatting classes. Feel free to use it to teach others! Only the basic techniques of tatting are used: ring, chain, picot, join, and a little about sewing in ends.

New free original pattern! "Melt Into Spring" snowflake tatted with daisy picots

Click HERE to download the PDF of my "Melt Into Spring" snowflake pattern, it's a free gift for you!

This original design uses the techniques of ring, chain, join, lock join, picot, daisy picot, reversing chains, shoelace trick, and Josephine knots. 

I used a colorful thread and white because it seems to give the effect of spring colors breaking through the snow, but of course the design can be made in any colors. My sample in size 20 measures about 4 inches (10 cm) from tip to tip, and another in size 50 is 3.25 inches (8.2 cm).

I hope you'll enjoy the pattern! I worked very hard on it. Feel free to post photos of your finished snowflakes online, I'd love to see them! But to share the pattern itself, please link to this blog post. Thank you!

Christmas snowflakes, cakes, and a peek into my studio

 These snowflakes with the embroidered centers are some that I made years ago, and are my personal favorites. All embroidery and tatting done completely by hand, beads strung onto the thread and worked in place while making. I buttonhole stitched the edges of the fabric centers (the fabric is double, with embroidery on both sides) and attached the tatting to the stitching. Shown hanging on a real tree.

Also, I couldn't resist showing off my Christmas cakes! Dear husband "volunteered" me to make a dessert for a party where he works, so I made Jello Poke Cake. The cake that's been cut, with the cards in back is the one I made for the family The one with the holly leaves (made from gumdrops) is the one that went to the party.

My cello and I will be part of the music at church on Christmas eve, so have been going to rehearsals and sorting out music for that. Our instrumental group will be accompanying the choir for the Mass parts, and also we will be playing by ourselves during the prelude: Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming, Away in a Manger, and Ding Dong Merrily On High. I got the music scores for free from free-scores.com.

So, all the hustle and bustle has kept me very busy, which explains why I haven't had time to add any new hand dyed thread to my Etsy shop lately. But, will get back to it after Christmas. The bottom photo shows a peek into my studio! See, I have some thread already skeined for the next dye batch. I do wind all my skeins by hand, which is a large part of the reason that hand dyeing thread is so time-consuming. Hanging on the wall are some of my original handwoven tapestries from the days when I was a handweaver (at the back is the original "yarnplayer" with cello, that was my first avatar).

I've been looking ahead to 2013, and one of my sons has advised me to make "expensive stuff with real emeralds and rubies". I'm not sure that's a cost-effective way to go, but I think the intention is to make art pieces with an air of prestige and "wow" factor that won't become patterns. I guess he sees how hard his mom works and wants people to admire, but doesn't want everything sold! 

My Studio

Tatted Snowflake "Marian"

New snowflake pattern added to my Craftsy store and also my Etsy shop. The reason for entitling it "Marian", well, it's in honor of someone and also I couldn't think of a different title.

As shown in the photo, the design works well for combining 2 thread colors. I choose some hand dyed to combine with white, for a traditional look with an extra "pop" of color. But, it looks nice with one color, too, and in that case there are less ends to hide.

The pattern contains in-progress photos and written directions in English, for tatting with 2 shuttles.

Pointed snowflake with double picots

Here's the pattern for this pointed snowflake with double picots. It's made using one shuttle and the ball thread.

Mock ring in progress

Wind 2 yards onto the shuttle, leaving a continuous thread between shuttle and ball.

Start with a self-closing mock ring (a chain with a large loop left at the beginning):

3 --3 - 3 -- 3 - 3 -- 3 - 3 -- 3 - 3 -- 3 - 3 -- 3 (6 large and 5 small picots). Put shuttle though the loop at the beginning, and close the mock ring.

Lock stitch to form 6th small picot.

Lock stitch to form 6th small picot

* Ch 3 - 3 - 3 - 3.  Do not reverse work.

R 4, very large picot (about an inch or more when open), 2, join into the picot to form double picot, 4, close ring. Do not reverse work.

Ch 3 - 3 - 3 - 3. Lock join to next small picot of mock ring.

Double picot in progress

Continue in same manner from * until you have all 6 points of the snowflake.

Hints:  The mock ring (self-closing mock ring, or SCMR) at the center is made just like tatting a chain, with a large loop left at the beginning. It's also known as an open end chain. When you've tatted all the double stitches that you want for the SCMR, you just put the shuttle through the large loop, and pull to close. 

The double picot is really easy. It's just a large picot that you join into again farther along in the tatting. I like using a "down join" for these, followed by the 2nd half of a double stitch to complete the join, but any way of making a normal picot join (a join that slides!) will work. You can slide the double picot in its join to adjust how the 2 parts look.

1st point completed with lock join

Notice that the ring at the point is not a "floating ring". The difference between a floating ring and the ring at the point of this snowflake design, is that a floating ring would be made with the "ball thread" wound onto a 2nd shuttle in order to preserve a rounded curve for the chain. In this design, I wanted the pointed shape, so I used only the one shuttle.

In size 40 Lizbeth, the finished snowflake measures a bit less than 2 inches (5 cm) across. The finished size will vary depending on the size of thread used, and the working tension of each individual. 

Credit for the pretty shuttle in the photos goes to Lace-Lovin' Librarian Diane - she "blinged" it herself, and I was very lucky to receive it as a gift!

"Chill" snowflake

This two shuttle snowflake pattern makes use of split rings and twisted picots. The finished snowflake measures about 3 inches across in size 30 crochet cotton.

For pattern as pdf click here.

Wind 2 shuttles with continuous thread.

R 6-2-2-6. RW. Ch 6-3--3-6. (The large picot measures 3cm when open). R 6+2-2-6. (j to last p of previous r). Continue around for a total of 6 r and ch, joining the last r by both 1st and last p. J the last ch to the base of 1st r.

SR of 5/5. This is where you climb out of the 1st round to the 2nd round.

*Ch 15. RW. SR with 1st half of 5+5 (to large p, twisting it 4 times in direction of thread twist before making the j), then 2nd half of SR of 10.
Ch 10. RW. SR of 5+5/10 (to same twisted p). Ch 15. RW.
R5+5 (to base of r on previous round). RW..

This completes one branch of the snowflake. Repeat instructions from * for a total of 6 branches. Give each branch a tug after completion to center and straighten the twisted picot.

Abbreviations:
R ring
Ch chain
cm centimeter
SR split ring
- picot
-- large picot
+ join
j join
p picot
RW reverse work
/ separates number of stitches on each side of a split ring

Quickie Snowflake Earrings

These use the techniques of beads dangling on picots, climbing out of a ring with a mock picot formed with a lockstitch, and zigzag chain.

For pattern in pdf format click here.

Materials:

Size 80 tatting thread or glacé quilting thread

48 size 11 seed beads

1 tatting shuttle

2 earring findings

For each earring, string 24 sb onto the thread. Have 6 sb on the shuttle, 18 on the ball thread.

Center r 1--1-1--1-1--1-1--1-1--1-1--1, cl. Lockstitch to make the 6^th small p. *Ch (with a b in each p) 6-2-2-6. J to next small p on center R. Repeat from * for a total of 6 “branches”, and j at the beginning.

ZZ ch 4/4, 3 times. Slide 6 b up from the shuttle. R (with a b in each p) 2-2-2-2+ ( to earring finding) 2-2-2-2, cl.

Stiffen, if desired, with clear nail polish, extra-hold hairspray, or a commercial stiffening product. Or, try this tip from Ruth Perry:

"Try tatting them in Hand Quilting thread that has a glaze on the thread. Dip in hot water, and press between clean cloths. This will give them stiffness that will hold its shape and they will still be dainty."

Abbreviations:

b bead
Ch chain
ds double stitch
j join
+ join
p picot
- small picot
-- large picot
R ring
sb seed bead
/ separates stitches on each side of split ring, or sets of zigzag tatting ZZ zigzag, or rickrack tatting of set stitches (first half of ds repeated a number of times, followed by second half repeated a number of times, completing one set)

Old snowflakes and other fiber stuff

These tatted snowflakes with embroidered cloth centers are ones I made many years ago, I think over 20 years - back when I had the patience, LOL. They were starched with sugar starch, and are still white and stiff. No problems with bugs whatsoever, but then I live in a cold northern climate! I have since been experimenting with various stiffeners. There are a lot of ways to get things to be stiff - the extra-hold hairspray is next on my list to try.

Sometimes I do take a small break from tatting and dyeing! Here is a knit slipper top in progress:
The loom got warped again, this time with warm wools for a winter scarf. As usual, it's not really according to any plan...this scarf is the sampling! Its just for fun and warmth.

Holly Snowflake

Here it is finished, just in time for Three Kings Day!

It measures a whopping 4 and 1/2 inches across, done in size 30 DMC Cordonnet Special. I used white along with my own hand dyed "Pizzazz" and "Fern".

I do plan on sharing the pattern in some form. More ideas than time, isn't that always how it goes?

Thank you to all who voted in the thread size poll!

Just finished hand painting a new dye batch of thread in all the various sizes listed in the poll. This batch should be dry and up in my Etsy shop on Monday, Jan. 7. I tried to do a few solids from the same dye colors. They may not turn out to be completely "solid" so I may have to resort to the phrase, "desirable variations in shade, characteristic of hand dyeing." Anyhow, they will have come from the same batch, so should coordinate beautifully, at least that's the plan.

Progress on holly snowflake...and some frogs

Some progress on the holly snowflake idea. Something I found out is that the Josephine chains will flop around till they are secured. So I'm trying to turn the rings to face the way I want them before joining. It was a bit tedious to tat each spoke separately, but by the time I got to the 4th one I started to feel that I was almost done...hurray! For the outer round I'm using my own hand dyed "Fern" color. I can see that I'm going to need more double stitches for that long curve, in order make all the spokes even. So the outer round I'm probably going to start over.

Frog closures...I just got the notion to make some! I think these are cute and I put them into my shop to market to people who sew. These are my own simple designs, but there is a pattern for a really elaborate one in the "Priscilla 2" book reprint, otherwise known as "Tatting Patterns" by Julia Sanders.

Snow day, and how the idea's coming...

There is a bit of the holly idea in this, which is the start of a snowflake. In theory, I should be able to put spokes like the one finished all around the center, and do chains around that which should look something like a holly leaf snowflake. At least I'm trying! It's going to have a lot of ends to hide -- but I'm not going to let that stop me!
Here is a view of our snow outside!

Holly, possibly...

Started working on an idea for a holly leaf. A challenging little thing! This will need more work...