Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Tatting Press Winners!

It's been ANOTHER busy week around here.

Putting up the Christmas tree and decorating it with ornaments.
Chasing Baby Doll as she absconds with the ornaments.
Hanging the breakable ornaments out of her reach.
Finding out she can reach farther than I thought.
Admitting defeat.
Taking the ornaments off and going to paper decorations.

Making cookies for a holiday cookie swap.
Trusting my 4th grade self to have 
written down my then
FAVORITE
recipe correctly and
HOPING
I had good taste in cookies then.
I did and I did.
They were easy and yummy.
The cookies we brought home were yummy too!
Yep, they were good - past tense...

Catching up on shopping.
Catching up on shopping.
Catching up on shopping.

BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME,
LET'S TALK ABOUT
YOU!

THANK YOU SO MUCH
for all your wonderful comments about the press pattern!
I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how good you made me feel!!!

I had Baby Doll pick the 
Tatting Press Giveaway winners
out of a hat...

This press will be sent to Gemini,

And this press will be sent to umintsuru.

Please email me your addresses and I will get these in the mail.

Thank you to everyone who entered.
I will be doing this again.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

The Tatting Press Pattern is READY... and a GIVEAWAY!


YES!
You read that right!
The press pattern is FINALLY ready!
Click HERE to get it!

THANK YOU to my blogging friends,
and
for giving the pattern
and instructions a read through
and making suggestions
for improvement.

And THANK YOU to all of you,
for your kind comments
and 
for putting up with my endless press posts.
I haven't been a very good blogging friend of late
while I have been trying to finish this up.

To celebrate completing the pattern,
I would like to have a
GIVEAWAY!

Comment on THIS post
and I will put your name
in the hat (literally)
for a chance to 
win one of two presses.
I will draw two names
on
DECEMBER 15, 2010.

I'm going to keep making presses
and plan to host future giveaways.
In fact, I have one press
currently in the works,
intended for a tatter
who hoped very much that 
she lived NORTH of me.
She SO does!



Tatting Press Pattern

The Tatting Press
I designed the Tatting Press as a way to keep my on-the-go AND in-the-home tatting projects neat, tidy and ready to tat when I was ready to tat.  No more tangled threads - I just pick up my tatting and start where I left off!

I am sharing the pattern here for your PERSONAL use.  Feel free to email me if there is something in the pattern which is unclear.  If you make a press and post about it, please link back to this post... and let me know!  I would love to see your press! 
Shuttle Pockets
Back Pocket
Your Current Tatting Project
Add a Light for Tatting at Night

For a copy of the pattern, click the following link, "TATTING PRESS PATTERN DOWNLOAD", and you will be able to download each page individually.  Please email me if you have any difficulty in accessing the pattern.

TATTING PRESS PATTERN DOWNLOAD

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Ex Libris

Although her name
is not
Marian,
she is INDEED
a
LIBRARIAN
(which has always been a dream job of mine, by the way).

It is a FACT
that
she LOVES lace,
and will often,
"Tat a little,
Pick a little,
Tat a little,
Pick little,
Pick, pick, pick,
Tat allot,
Tat a little more."
because she said as much
once in a comment
on another blog.

SO TO RECAP:
She is
LACE LOVIN'
and
a
LIBRARIAN
and
apparently
also enjoys
The Music Man
(that last bit is pure conjecture on my part).

Name that tatter!
For your viewing pleasure (you'll thank me for the second one later).

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

For a Goddess Among Tatters

There's only 
ONE
Goddess of Tatting,
GINA.

Thank you
for your
ENCOURAGEMENT
and
INSPIRATION!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Buffalo Gal Won't You Come Out Tonight

Buffalo Gal, 
won't you come out tonight
and TAT by the light of the moon!

is one of those tatters
who breaks into verse
or alliteration
from time to time,
and you LOVE it when she does!

I have never been to a
Tatters' Turnout,
but I SO hope
that there are songs,
tat songs,
and I FIRMLY believe
Isdihara and Fox
could be Tatland's answer
to Rogers and Hammerstein.

Thanks Isdihara,
sung to the tune of
Buffalo Gals,
which you penned.
I now have the dream
of tatting in the moonlight - 
doesn't that sound lovely?

This is as close
as I can come
to lassoing the moon
for you.
It's round
AND
it glows at night
IF
you clamp a book light on it.

And now for your humming enjoyment,
I offer you,

TATLAND TATTERS
(to the tune of Camptown Ladies)
Tatland Tatters, sing this song,
Glad 'ta, meet 'cha!
Tat an edging five feet long,
Gonna tat all day.
Gonna tat doilies,
Gonna tat bookmarks,
Put my money on some HDT,
Lights my creative spark!

PS 
Press Pattern update - stalled on FINAL page due to too much computer-based homework for the kids and ROTTEN bug that the kids brought home, but so far have kept to themselves.

Tatting on Isdihara's drawstring bag done with embroidery thread (thanks for the idea, Gina!).  I'm counting it for the 25 Motif Challenge because I'm SO far behind, desperate, and have never been this adventurous with my tatting thread selection, so I feel it is something to celebrate!

If you like the bag, I'll be glad to post how to make one... some day... but it would be a while...'cause I am hitting my pattern wall.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Skipping One Across THE Pond


I wonder
how many skips
it will take
for this one to go
across THE Pond...
'ya know,
the REALLY BIG
Pond.

This tatter likes riddles,
so you'll have to 
guess
her name...

Here are some
"helpful" hints:

She is the ONLY person
in the WORLD,
to EVER call me "lass."
Gotta say I liked it.
Felt young and 
spring-steppy.

She ain't
afeared
of color -
That's why
I thought
she could handle
this press.

She makes
winter
warmer
with her magic
tat wand.

Heaven forbid,
if she took a 
bonk on the head
and forgot her name,
the constable
would still get
it partly right,
although
her surname
is not Doe.

She is
generous
to all tatters
and such 
a nice person
to "know."

I betcha know who I'm talkin' about...

PS 
You may have wondered where I have gotten myself to (or quite possibly not).  I've been here working diligently on "The Plan" and am VERY happy to say it is almost there.  So close I can taste it (but have refrained).  I've been trying to stay away from Blogland for a bit in order to "get 'er done" and have only been allowing myself a little occasional lurker time here and there.  Hope to "see" everyone soon!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Up, Up and Away!

For a lady who knows
how to throw down a
and
CULTIVATE CREATIVITY
among tatters
with her design class...

This press is on its way
UP
in Canada.

Thank you
for encouraging me
in last spring's design class.
Sorry I didn't finish... yet.
You unleashed my
inner designer
and this is
what she
made.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Golfing With Friends

Boy has a way with bugs.
He once caught a wasp in an Ozarka bottle.
I don't know how,
but I asked him 
NOT TO DO IT AGAIN.

Boy also has a way with geckos.
He is my go-to guy
when the little devils invade the house.
Oddly, Boy's calm and gentle approach
to catching them 
works better than my prancing, screaming fits.

How Boy got this guy
to play golf with him,
I don't know.

Boy also coaxed him
to stay for photogs
before jumping into the bushes
by the back door.

I'll put the question to
Mr. Gecko
later
as I wait for Boy to arrive, 
cup in hand,
to escort him back outside.
Because I 
KNOW
he'll be back.

They always are...

Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Birds May Be Flying South...

The birds may be flying south,
but
the presses are flying north.

This one is for A Happy Bluebird
aka Cindy.

I've got a handful of presses
which I am finishing up
for particular tatters
I have in mind.
They don't even know
that I have them in mind,
so I hope they don't mind!

I'm also working on the pattern
and will make a couple more presses
for a giveaway
to test it out.

Just call me
The Ann With a Plan.
So if you'll excuse me,
I'd better put some hustle
in this bustle!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Little Bit of Fall

(Simple Leaf by Karey Solomon from Tatting Turns Over a New Leaf, #9 of The Challenge)
We've been enjoying
a little bit of fall
each morning...

But by afternoon
it still feels
like a
whole lotta summer.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda

I coulda done
this little #41 MiniTat by Patti Duff better.

The center shoulda looked
like the top half and not the bottom,

and it woulda if
I had done the first join correctly.

Regardless,
this little regret
will be my #8 of The Challenge
and I'll just have to tat
Patti's clever pattern
all over again.

Poor me.  :)

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Off You Go Then...

This press is headed north
to Fox.

I'VE never been out of the USA,
but now I've SENT
something out of the USA...

I shared this observation
with the man at the post office.
He said perhaps I would
leave the country next...

But I kind of think
that was just
wishful thinking
on his part.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Crazy Like a Fox

Not that I think Fox is crazy...
On the contrary, she is FULL of good ideas.
I put my own spin to it though,
changing coffee to tea,
and tatting to sewing.

My husband abruptly told me today to,
"Get out of the house."
Not for good,
just a couple hours.
He worries about my sanity
and felt I needed a break
because it's been a week
and I've been SO tired.
He's a good man.

With nowhere else to go,
I decided to pull a Fox
and go to Starbucks
where I worked on a tatting press
for that crazy-in-a-good-way, Fox.
I'm making a few of these
to go with the tutorial
and I told Fox she could have her choice,
but I'm taking that back now.
I like this one VERY much
so it will be hers.

Sorry Fox...
but them's the breaks... :)

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Sweet, "Forgetful" Diane

(tatting by Grandma - 1.5 yards of edging in size 80 thread)

Diane hosted a Tulip crochet hook giveaway recently.

I commented that I would enjoy a hook

and that should she ever decide to give away

that NEAT, flat, little box, to please throw my name

into THAT hat as well...

A couple days after the winners were announced,

SWEET Diane sent me that COOL box,

complete with its 

WONDERFULLY crinkly-crackly cellophane paper

printed with the Tulip logo...

AND "forgetful" Diane

had left a little something inside...

Sweet, "forgetful" Diane made my day! 

PS  Doesn't it look "just right" with Grandma's tatting and her shuttles?  I thought it did.  :)

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Baby Doll and Good Mama Go Shopping - Conclusion

When last we saw our heroine, Baby Doll, she had endured countless attempts of subterfuge by "Good" Mama to thwart her pursuit of a fine, embroidered, vintage linen, but had emerged from the antique mall victorious and clutching her prize.

"Good" Mama's feelings toward the vintage pillowcase which "didn't go" in Baby Doll's room softened on the drive home and she said to Baby Doll, "I'll just sew the end up and finish the pillowcase for you."

"No Mama, I want a dress!" exclaimed Baby Doll.


Today Baby Doll's dream came true.

The End

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Long Time Coming

I threaded these beads and wound this shuttle with thread long ago with no particular pattern in mind to tat. I liked the combination of beads and thread SO much it took me until last week to find the "perfect" pattern. I'm working on Tatted Doily (pg 68) from A Tatter's Workbook.  As you can see, I am just getting started. It may still be a long time coming...

At the beginning of summer I dreamed the impossible dream.  As it turns out, I have not gotten much tatting or sewing done this summer.  I HAVE had six helping hands and even eight when Baby Doll folds washcloths, but with all of us in constant company there isn't a whole lot of "quiet" time to spare (you were right, Jane).  I can't complain though because I have had six helping legs, as well as four stroller wheels, who have been willing to go on VERY long daily walks this summer and as a result I have lost fifteen pounds and feel YEARS younger.

I am telling you all of this as a round about way of explaining why I STILL haven't posted a Tatting Press tutorial.  This is the giveaway press I made for Kimberly and posted to her in June.  I had taken photos for the tutorial and started cropping and arranging them when the computer hard drive crashed.  After I got back into the process, I decided a little more tweaking was needed.  Those tweaks were added to Kimberly's press but need to be added to the tutorial.  

I WILL prepare a tutorial and plan to begin working on it again after school starts in a couple weeks.  I have used mine all summer and have been VERY pleased with it, so I want VERY much to share it here.  Hopefully "soon" will be SOON this time!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Out, Damned Spot!


While I LOVE Mary Konior's book, Tatting With Visual Patterns, this edging turned me into a CRAZED LUNATIC - or - maybe just a snappish mother.  Downright feisty.  It was time for it (meaning the photocopy I made to carry in my purse, not the book for goodness sake) to go out with the rubbish and the banana peel my oldest tossed on it right after this photo was snapped prevented me from having any second thoughts...



Good thing I didn't toss my shuttles in the bin as well, because these arrived on my doorstep later in the day.  Tatting from Burda and A Tatter's Workbook, as well as bobbins which I hope will fit my Pop-A-Bobbin shuttles.  What BEAUTIFUL books!  I love having something new to peruse!  That for me is "such stuff as dreams are made on."

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Love This Book, Love This Pattern

As a little girl, sitting on her grandfather's knee and listening to his stories of faraway places, Miss Alice Rumphius vows to travel the world and return home to live by the sea.  Her grandfather urges her to make one last promise, and that is to "make the world more beautiful."

As a grown lady, Miss Rumphius does indeed travel and after hurting her back riding a camel decides it is time to make her home by the sea.  But finding a way to "make the world more beautiful" proves to be the hardest promise to keep.  However, the Lupine Lady, as Miss Rumphius comes to be called, will do just that...

MISS RUMPHIUS, by Barbara Cooney, is one of my FAVORITE children's books.  It's a sweet, simple story and is BEAUTIFULLY illustrated.

To make this edging called Lupins from Mary Konior's book, Tatting With Visual Patterns, I needed to learn roll tatting.  There are some simplified instructions on roll tatting on the same page as the Lupins pattern, as well as tutorials on the web.  After the fact, I also found roll tatting addressed in The Complete Book of Tatting by Rebecca Jones.

For me, roll tatting was a little tedious in the beginning and I wasn't at all impressed with my first efforts.  It's "rolling" right along now, so I decided to put together a "how to" of my own so I will be able to remember what worked for me as it isn't an element I typically see being used in tatting patterns and it may be a while before I try it again.

This is how I roll...







Roll Tatting



Before adding roll tatting to a ring, it is necessary to make at least one DS to anchor your rolls.  I have done 2 blurry DS to begin my ring in Pic 1.  I have been using a needle puller to help control the thread as I begin adding rolls.  The needle puller is a rubber disk used a lot in hand quilting to pull a needle loaded with several stitches through the layers of a quilt.  For this purpose, it grips the DS and completed rolls from beneath and makes it easier to control them in the pinch.


To make the rolls, hold the carrying thread* taught and pass the shuttle under the carrying thread (Pic 2).  Bring the shuttle up and over the carrying thread and repeat for as many rolls as you wish to add at one time.  Although I have read that adding 3 or 4 rolls at one time is recommended, I like loading up and have done as many as ten rolls at once.   *I'm defining the carrying thread as the thread between the pinch and middle finger of my left hand, where the DS are usually worked.


In Pic 3 I have tatted 2 DS and loaded 10 rolls.  I am still holding the carrying thread taught.


In Pic 4 I have flipped the ten rolls by relaxing the tension on the carrying thread and pulling the shuttle thread taught (like flipping a regular DS stitch).  


(Pic 5) At this point I usually drop my shuttle to hang while I continue holding the shuttle thread taught with my right hand middle, ring and pinky fingers.  A little tension is required on the carrying thread to keep the rolls from rolling back on themselves while my right hand pointer finger and thumb begin scooting the rolls toward the DS.  Speaking of DS, don't forget to keep a good grip on them and try to keep their heads up (or "fancy pants" down) as you work with the rolls.



You can't really tell it, but Pic 6 is an ACTION shot!  I am "massaging" the rolls between my thumb and  pointer finger in a  counter-clockwise or "lefty-loosey" direction to work out lumps as I continue scooting the rolls toward the DS.  The motion is much like winding a watch, except going the opposite direction.  Be careful not to roll too tight so you won't have difficulty closing the ring.

OH NO!!!  The DS have flipped heads down.  I'll need to fix that before I close the ring.  


In Pic 7 I have added two more sets of 10 rolls.  I prefer working with larger sets of rolls because I find them easier to control as I get them into the pinch.  I have also stitched 2 DS to anchor my rolls.  Always make a DS after you have completed the number of rolls a pattern requires for a ring.


In Pic 8 I have begun closing my ring.  Before you begin closing a ring with roll tatting, make sure all your DS are heads up and your picots are to the outside of the ring.


Here is my completed ring (Pic 9).  The first ring is hardest for me because the rolls want to twist more.  The needle puller helps me control that.  I didn't put a picot in this ring although I would imagine most patterns would call for one so you can connect rings.  Once a pattern is underway, the previous tatting helps subsequent roll tatting not be as twisty.  At that point I find I no longer need the needle puller.

And that's the way I roll...