I have lost my mind...

and I'm naming names. First on the list is my sister Donna, next is my friend Marge who signed us up at the LQS for a CQ block. The block above is what came in the packet. We had five different fabrics to work with. I have one boo boo but my friend Kathy says anything you don't like put a button cluster on it so that's what I'm going to do. Oh yeah, Kathy is to blame also, and then there's sweet Lois. Lois is responsible for my love of oriental fabric because of the beautiful kimono quilt she showed me at the NH retreat. Kathy does beautiful CQ work and she shared some of her oriental bingo FQ's with me. Thank you Kathy!!! Oh well, what's a girl to do. I'll give it a try. If it turns out well I'll post a pic. If it turns out lousy I'll post a pic of my trash can!

I've been Tatting

I haven't posted for awhile, but I have been tatting.

The first pic is a cat I tatted for a special lady I met at the COF retreat in NH. Her name is Ely and she made me feel welcome even though I wasn't a quilter. She loves cats and recently lost one of hers. I hope she likes it.

The second pic is a dragon I'm going to attempt to put on a fabric post card. I don't think my sister is going to be happy until she gets me into working with fabric. I told her I would try making something small like the post cards. Now that I've tatted the dragon I'm at a loss as to what else to add to my post card. Any suggestions? I am painting on some fabric and if it turns out I will post a pic of that. I hope to finish that this weekend.

The third pic is a teapot. The color is a dark plum. I'm into tatting teapots right now since my sister got me Marth Ess new tatting book. I did tat one while at retreat but I gave it away before I got a pic. I guess I'll have to tat it again.

Lady and a Bird

I'm trying to get a couple of things tatted quickly. I'm attending a retreat with my sister next week and they expect me to have some things to show. The problem is I've given everything away. I just finished the little bird this morning. This is a design from Inga Madsen tatted in size 80. This was also the first time that there wasn't a written pattern but had to be tatted from a diagram I've ever done. I think I did ok. The crinoline lady is a Pam Palmer pattern tatted in size 20. I love these ladies. I hope I can find more patterns for these. I'm not confident enough yet to create my own.

Easter Bunnies

The first pic is a pattern by Mark Myers and I tatted it in the color Peace since that's what I had on my shuttle at the time. I think he will be cute attached to one of my handmade cards.

The next pic is something we painted on rusty tin in acrylics. The second pic is the backside.

I just got three new books and four new threads so I'm anxious to try something new. There are so many things I want to make but there's so little time. I'll have plenty to do once I'm able to retire.

Playing with Thread

I've been experimenting with different weight thread. I was only using 80 weight but recently I've been working with 20, 40, and 50 weight. At first it felt like I was tatting with cord but after I got used to it I'm beginning to like the thicker weight. I especially like the size of the motifs once they're complete. I'm leaning towards the 20 weight right now. Here's a pic of some of the things I'm been experimenting with. All the threads are from Yarnplayer except the blue variegated which is DMC 80 weight. The edging is in 40 weight Snowflake color and the pattern if from Lyn Morton's book. The blue motif is also a pattern from Lyn Morton. The two pink variegated are Yarnplayer's Peace colorway and the patterns are off the internet. You can click on the image for a closer view.

I'm lucky I have a sister and friend I can send all these things to. They are both sewers and use them in there Crazy Quilting. What do you do with all the things you've tatted?

Tatting & Turtles

The turtles are painted in oils from a photo taken while on vacation in Cozumel, Mexico. I also have a painting of dolphins that go with this but I will post that another time.

I've been working on little bits of tatting. Here are a couple I can show. The rest are going to someone so I can't show those. I'm trying to come out of my shell and try other size tatting thread other than size 80 so I tried size 40 and it felt like I was tatting with cord. I see a lot of other tatters using size 20 so I bought some of that but haven't tried it yet. What about silk thread? Can someone tell me what that's like to tat with? I've been reading other tatting blogs and trying to get current with what's going on. I welcome any advice or hints.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tatting Baskets

Aren't these fantastic!! My sister made these for me. I think if you double click the photo you can get a closer look at them. She is an awesome quilter. You can check out her blog at http://fabricfun-everythingquilts.blogspot.com/. Now I can throw away my plastic grocery bags I've been using.

The other photo is some paper projects we made on Thurs. night. The one on the right has a peppermint patty in the middle. I wonder how long that is going to last! The one on the left is just a basic greeting card.

I hope to post a couple of acrylic painting projects I've been working on in the next couple of days. I have some assembly to do on them first.

Thanks for stopping by.