Carla's Basket of Flowers

Carla sent me a picture of a basket of flowers using one of my flower patterns. Isn't colour combination striking?!

Progression on the Cluny Doily!

This is the story so far. I am simply making it up as I go along. It is quite slow growing as the thread is only size 80, but I like the delicateness of the overall look. I think one, or maybe two more rounds, will be enough to complete this doily.

Queen Anne's Lace PDF

I now have a PDF of the Queen Anne's Lace pattern that is one of the flowers in my ebook Summer Collection of Tatted Flowers. The reason that I have done an individual PDF of this pattern is that it is made up entirely of daisy picots and quite a few tatters have expressed a desire to perfect this technique.

There is a picture of the flower here and if you would like a free copy of the PDF simply email me.

First Foray Into Cluny Design!

As the title suggests, this is my first attempt at trying to design a motif incorporating clunies. When I saw how fabulous Elisadusud's cluny tatting was I knew I had to master this technique! I had tried clunies in the past and managed to "create" a passable example but seeing Elisa's I knew that I had to bite the bullet and get some proper practice in.

After several trial runs I started my motif and by the time I had done my second round of clunies I found that I was really getting to grips with them. I occassionally find that the centre warp thread becomes irritatingly loose and can't seem to understand why, but then I will do another couple without any problem at all.

Ah well, as I have told many of my students in the past, it just takes practice, practic, pratice!

Apple Blossom Birthday Card

I have made the apple blossom design into a birthday card for my mum. As many of you now, she has been very poorly recently and so I thought I would make an extra special card for her big day (82 years young!) on 16th February. At last she is recovering from her double pneumonia and is now spending time in a beautiful residential home that she says is absolutely wonderful! You deserve nothing but the best, Mum!

A Touch Of Spring! (sigh)

Here is the completed Apple Blossom. Doesn't it make you wish Spring was just around the corner, especially as we here in the UK have just had the heaviest snowfall for 18 years!!!

4 steps to perfection!

I thought everyone would like to see my progression of designing my next 3D flower - the apple blossom! I started with an idea of using double double stitches and using Pamela Myers' Apple Blossom HDT in size 20. As you can see it took me 4 attempts to achieve the shape I was looking for, but I am now happy with the flower shape. My next job will be to create a twig!

A couple of new motifs!

I have continued to doodle over the past couple of evenings and have come up with a square motif and a heart shaped one. The square one has been tatted with a variagated Rubi size 20 thread and the heart was tatted with Coates Aida size 20. The square motif can be left on it's own and used as an embellishment or can be put together at the corners to make a larger motif, a larger square doily or even a longer table runner/scarf.

Butterfly form the heart!

I was doodling last evening thinking I would design a heart being as Valentine's Day is so close! Hmmm....well as you can see, it's nothing like a heart, but it does make a pretty butterfly! LOL

Knitting whilst visiting

I have spent a lot of time visiting my Mum and my DH in hospital and so I have spent the time knitting myself an Aran Jacket. The pattern did not have pockets, but what use is a jacket without pockets? Not a difficult task to do and so my version has now got pockets. Got to have somewhere to put the tatting shuttles! LOL

Hospital Mania!

I thought regular visitors to my blog might be wondering why I haven't been posting recently. Unforturnately my Mum was taken into hospital just before Christmas with pnuemonia and came home to my house on Christmas Eve, however, her condition became much worse and had to go back into hospital on New Year's Eve. At the moment she is still in hospital but at least she is now on the mend.

Last night I had to take my husband to the Accident and Emergency department as he had become really ill with some unknown ?virus. They have kept him in and will be giving him a brain scan as soon as an appointment can be made.

So, as you can see, I have had no time at all for crafts and blogging!

Pretty in pink!

Here is a pink set for a young teenager.....matching scrunchie and earrings!

Unfortunately I haven't been able to do much tatting as my mum has been very poorly with pneumonia! Brought her over for Christmas on the Friday (19th) and had to call for the paramedics on Saturday. She was able to come out of hospital by Christmas Eve but went downhill again so that I had to call the emergency doctor out yesterday. She seems to be a little better today but at nearly 82 years old it is going to be a slow recovery!

Snowflake earrings

These little snowflake earrings are done in DMC size 80 with Swarzoski crystal beads.

Cakes again!

Tatting has had to take a back seat this week while I made and decorated some cakes. I have done my brother's 60th birthday cake and decorated with a fishing theme as he is greatly into fly and course fishing. I hope he likes the fact that I have depicted him as a frog! LOL

The other cakes are a Christmas cake for a dear friend with a frog sledging down a snowy slope and an upside down frog in the snow with just his bottom and legs sticking out! LOL and just a plain covered Christmas cake for home! I never seem to have time to do anything exotic for myself, hence no picture!

Celtic Bookmark - my own design

Here is a picture of my latest design....a celtic bookmark.

I started with an idea of making central motifs joining through each other as I tatted them and then the outer rounds just sort of emerged!

It has been tatted with Coates cotton size 40.

I won't be doing the pattern for as I think it is too complicated to write out!