Merry Christmas

This beautiful nativity is displayed in the St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.
My wish for you and your family is a wonderful and safe Christmas and New Year.

Happy tatting,

Christmas Tatting Shuttle

I decorated this Christmas shuttle using a Santa sticker and Ceramcoat craft varnish. I put two layers of the glittery varnish and then several coats of the clear gloss. I coated and sanded until I couldn't feel the edges of the sticker. It turned out well. I like the varnish much better than the mod podge. I will have to cover some more.

Happy tatting,

Happy Thanksgiving!

I would like to wish all my blog friends a Happy Thanksgiving.
I am thankful that I live in a free country that allows me to believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior; and that I have a wonderful husband, who loves me unconditionally; and that I have wonderful parents who raised me in a loving Christian home and who love and support me in everything I do; and that my sister and I are very close; and that I am the favorite aunt to all of my nieces and nephew. Since, my husband and I do not have children, they are like my own and I love them dearly.

I hope that during this time of giving thanks, that you remember what you are thankful for.

Happy tatting,

Play with Picots

Here is a picture of two patterns from Martha Ess' PLAYING WITH PICOTS book. These are tatted by Elizabeth Birmingham, one of my good friends from my tatting guild. She is very talented and her tatting is beautiful. When I get stumped by a pattern, she is the first person I ask for help. I can not tell if Graci is glad the Christmas decorations are up or not. Of course, she has a unique perspective. She loves laying on the stairs peaking her head through the railing "watching" us.
Happy tatting,

Ivory Daisy Inlay Shuttle

The postman delivered this beautiful shuttle today.  It is the Ivory Daisy Inlay shuttle from The Shuttle Shop.
The wood is rosewood, the center of the flower is satinwood and the leaves are made from verawood.  The inlay is on both sides of the shuttle.  The pictures do not show how exquisite it truly is and it tats like a dream.  Chris and Erin Hinton are superb craftsmen.

Happy tatting,

Latest Snowflakes

Here are my latest snowflakes.  One is motif #6 from "Festive Tatting" by DMC.
The other two are the "Layered Tatted Snowflake" pattern from Nancy Tracy of Be-stitched.  I used DMC size 20 for the rings and added Sulky Holoshimmer metallic thread as a filament to the DMC  for the chains.  I will be making several of these to give away to family members with their Christmas presents.  Which color do you think looks the best the silver one or the colorful one? Or do you prefer the plain white thread?
Please let me know.


Happy tatting,

Tat Pic

I saw the this on Fox's blog. So of course, I HAD to have one and it arrived in the mail yesterday. It is a Tat Pic from David Reed Smith. This one is made from Cherry wood. It is such a cool idea and works great. David's workmanship is outstanding. It is truly a beautiful piece.

The background is my custom made ipad cover.

Happy Tatting,

David Reed Smith Shuttle Giveaway

Check out Tatted Treasures dot com for details of a giveaway for a beautiful wooden shuttle made by David Reed Smith.
I tried to link to the web page but it would not work. Blogger is so frustrating.
Is anyone else having that problem? Has anyone tried Google Chrome? If so, do you like it? Is WordPress easier or better to use?

Tatting Class

I taught a six week tatting class at my church from March-April. Here are some pictures.

By the end of the first class, all four students could do the "flip". This is a picture of rings and chain.

Two of the students finished their first heart. This was their first actual pattern that they completed. I was so pround of them.

Here is the first hanky that one of them tatted. This is before blocking. She has also made several snowflakes. Another student is still working on an edging.

Unfortunately, I had two to decide they did not like tatting. I asked all of them to practice a little everyday so that they would not forget. These two did not have/or take the time to practice, so it was relearn the "flip" each week. Needless to say, once the class was over, they did not want anymore to do with tatting. One of them even gave her thread to another student in the class.

I always tell students that "once you get the hang of it, tatting can be so relaxing." So far, they say tatting is not relaxing, but it's enjoyable.

I do think that the ones that continue to tat are doing a good job.

Happy tatting,

JB

New Shuttles

Here are two shuttles that I received recently.

On the left is one of Diane Cademartori's decorated shuttles. The one on the right is from Emsyjane. They both are very beautiful. The clover type shuttles are my favorite, but Emsyjane's is a joy to tat with also.

I am so glad that there are people out in tatting land that make lovely shuttles available to us. They are so much more interesting than the plain ones and they make me smile when I'm using them.

Happy tatting,

Happy 4th of July

Happy Birthday America!!!
Thank you to all who have served or is serving in our military.

Baby Bonnet and Booties

Here are the baby bonnet and booties that my great niece wore for baby dedication on Mother's Day at our church. My mother made the bonnet and I made the booties. The patterns are old workbasket patterns from February and March of 1969. We used size 20 DMC Cordonnet Special thread and Lizbeth Baby Pink. I was very concerned that by using size 20 thread, that I was making booties for a toddler. However, the booties fit perfectly. My great niece was born in December and weighed a little over 10 lbs. She looked like a baby doll. My mother also made her an heirloom dress that was absolutely gorgeous.

I would like to thank Bonnie (swankmb) who helped me find the patterns for these and offered wonderful advice. You were a lot of help.

Happy tatting,

TIAS 2011 has landed.

My airplane has finally reached its destination. It was completed the same day Jane posted day 10. However, due to undue turbulence with the camera and time, the plane had to circle in an extended holding pattern until now. Jane, thank you for providing us with so much fun. I enjoy the TIAS' so much.

Happy Tatting,

Shuttles

Here are the latest additions to my shuttle collection.

These two shuttles came from Sherry Pence (Ladyshuttlemaker). My dear husband gave me the green one for Christmas. Then he purchased the handpainted one for my birthday when she introduced them in her Etsy shop. This one is an acrylic one that Erin Hinton made. I tatted the inside pieces in Lizbeth's Harvest Vineyard size 20. This one is the newest one that Erin and Chris are making. They all are lovely and so different. I have used each one and they tat wonderfully. I do love beautiful shuttles. Now, I need to check Diane's bling bling shuttles.

All of these are incredible in their own way. They are such a pleasure to tat with. The pictures do not do them justice. The ceramic ones feel so cool in your hands. The acrylic one is light as a feather, and of course there is nothing like tatting with a wooden shuttle.

Thank you Sherry, Erin and Chris for making such lovely shuttles.

I'm a winner

I was one of Isdihara's ChocoLove winners. Pink thread is one of my favorite colors. The chocolate bar sounds delicious. I have lost my sense of taste and smell, so I am waiting until it returns to try it. I don't know how she chose who received which colors--but she did a great job matching me with the pink. Thank you Isdihara for a perfect happy.

Valentine Exchange - Belated post

Karey Solomon sent me a wonderful Valentine package. It included a beautiful tatted heart from Martha Ess' "Tatted Amore" book. Also in the package was:

• a photo album
• a photo memo box with memo sheets
• a handmade quilted zippered project bag
• a set of flip top organizers (bead cases)
• Baubles, Bangles & Beads book - Karey's new book-I love it!!!
• a dozen bangles
• a box baubles
• 2 skeins of 100 yds each of hand dyed thread
• Premium Belgian dark chocolate with pear and almonds bar

Thank you again Karey for such a special Valentine package.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. I hope you have a very sweet day.

I made my lunch peeps this little heart bookmark. The pattern is "Enchanter" designed by Jon Yusoff. It is fun to make and works up quite quickly.

As I was thinking about Valentine's Day, I remembered my favorite memory of this special day. I thought I would share it with you. It was back in the year ____ when I was in 3rd grade. We had our traditional Valentine's Day party where we exchange cards with every member of the class. We made the decorated envelopes of construction paper and taped them to the side of our desk for the cards to be put into. I was not surprised when I received three of the heart shaped boxes that had 5 pieces of chocolate candy inside from three different boys. I was so excited. When I returned home from school that day, I carried my three boxes of candy outside to open while my mother and our neighbor were outside drinking coffee. I opened each box and took a bite out of one piece per box. Then I said to my mother and neighbor, "I am going to have to teach these boys how to buy candy with nuts in them. These are all cream filled." At the time, I wasn't thinking that I should have just be grateful that the boys thought that much of me that they would buy me a special Valentine instead of the traditional boxed cards. With age comes wisdom, and although my family still laughs and teases me about the candy, I did/do appreciate the thought that was behind the boxes of candy.


Happy Tatting,

TIAS through Day 7

Well, when I read that Ann had consulted with the brilliant bird "Norman" and he didn't have a clue. I decided that I must consult the three fabulous "fairies". So, I asked fairies Beatrice, Heidi, and Jane--they have supernatural powers you know. They agreed with me that it must be an Alligator. Therefore, I am sticking with my original guess--an Alligator. It's crawling along.

Happy Tatting,

Loch Ness Monster Picot Flower Bookmark

This bookmark, designed by Claudia Meza, was the featured lesson pattern for Georgia's Online class January 17. It is pretty and simple to make. If you have never joined her class, you should give it a try. Happy Tatting.

Jane's Magnetic Bookmark

The mail lady delivered a wonderful package Friday. It was the magnetic button flower bookmark that I ordered from Jane's Etsy shop. I love it!!!! The colors are Yarnplayers Celery and Rhubarb Pie. Rhubarb Pie is my absolute favorite color. Thanks Jane, it works so well and looks lovely in my book. It is one of those things that just makes me happy when I look at it.



Happy Tatting.

TIAS up through Day 4

Hmmmmmmm????

Happy Tatting.

TIAS 2011 Day 1

Here is day 1 of the TIAS. This is so much fun.

I wonder if others have as hard a time choosing the thread colors as I do. I kept changing color combinations, then finally decided on Lizbeth Jewels and Plum. Today as I was about to begin, I changed my mind again and decided to use a solid color for both shuttles. So, now you see the final two. The supposedly dark color is Plum and the other one is Mocha Brown medium.

Happy tatting.

Tatted Christmas Tree information

It has come to my attention that the tatted christmas tree called "Tree of Life" is no where to be found on the Tatting Corner link that is in my January 1 post. I emailed the company and Jennifer was kind enough to respond with the following:
"Hi JB, We are not stocking them for the web site since they are too heavy for shipping. If you would like one, we can do a special order. Thank you, Jennifer."

The tree itself retailed for $29.99. According to the shipping label, shipping charges were $17.50. Since their regular shipping charge was $6.25 for this item when they did stock it, perhaps Tatting Corner was losing money. I will say, that in person, the tree is very nice. It is well made and heavy duty. The pictures do not do the tree nor the tatting justice, as it really is very pretty. I was please with it and everyone that visited my home during the holidays was awe struck.

Excited that the TIAS starts tomorrow.
Happy tatting.

TIAS Practice Piece

Back

Front

Here is my completed practice piece. I feel like I pulled the thread a little too tight. Anyway, I am looking forward to Jane's new TIAS.

Two UFO's completed

So far, the new year has been productive. Here is a picture of two completed projects.

The cross is from Mary Konior's "Visual Tatting Patterns" book. The snowflake is called "Iceflower Flake" designed by Ben Fikkert.

Now, I am working on finishing the Meadow Song ball designed by Terry McGuffin, that I was unable to complete prior to Christmas. Although, I just saw Sharon's Merry Christmas 2009 snowflake on Fox's blog and am lusting over that one now.

Off to tat...Happy tatting!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!

Here is my new tatted Christmas tree. I purchased it from the Tatting Corner.

I am posting my new year's resolutions....of course, I have a few others, but I don't want to bore you.

1. Tat more

2. Blog more - I really need to work on this!

3. Finish knitting my husband's socks.

4. Complete my tatted and knitting UFO's

Today, the first day of 2011, I actually completed a cross.

Happy tatting.