Baskets

February 2018, the Missouri Star Quilting Blog demonstrated a Disappearing Pin Wheel Basket quilt.  My mind saw that quilt in solid colors.  I sent for a 'layer cake' of solids planning on using each color only once, 42 colors.  I was not able to arrange them in a way that I liked but I wanted to try those baskets.

I took four basic colors and made a table topper, 25 inches square. 

 

I then made the quilt sandwich and machine quilted it.  The back is a red with white polka dots.  It made a nice practice piece for ruler work.  Not a fancy pattern but more time with a quilt under my hands for learning.

Last week I met with my quilting cousin Kathy.  She gave me this cute hot pad.  It is our cat Ted in a log cabin block 10 inches square.  I think he is so cute that I will make some for other cats in the family.

I am half way around the final row of Reneluk's Spring 2018 Doiley.  I was caught by quilts and material and that has slowed me down.  Have also made the first 33 of the 2018 Angels for the Christmas Tree at church.  Also, I am ripping out machine quilting (a lot) on a quilt that I am not happy with.  I am happy with the quilt, not my machine quilting. 

May this find you all well and enjoying thread in some form.

Again

I have the repeat pattern in my mind EXCEPT for the fact that I have to attach it to the section before it.  Maybe un-tatting two repeats in a row will finally put it in my brain.  At least I caught it before I completed the repeat (less un-tatting).

Enjoy your tatting (and un-tatting) today.

Row 13

Here is the beginning of Row 13.  I timed it this morning to see how long it takes me to do a repeat.  34 minutes. 

42 repeats to go.  Enjoy your tatting today.

Row 12

Row 12 of Renulek's 2018 Doiley.  This was an enjoyable row to make.

 

I think that I said this before.  This has been my favorite Doiley of her's to make.

Have a great day.  We are finally beginning to see Spring weather.  Only frost this morning, no snow.  The last few days we would wake up to a thin layer of snow that would be gone by the afternoon.  It is now 54 degrees outside, sunny but windy.

Moving Along

My row 11 of Renulek's 2018 Doiley is done.  It took me three repeats to get this into my memory and then I was off tatting.  I have enjoyed this row.

 

Here is my row 12.  This one is moving along fast.  I did make a mistake, kinda.  I thought to make the picot between the two together rings small as that is where the next row attaches.  I was wanting the rows tight together.  You can see on the first six repeats from the right that the picot are smaller.  Then, I forgot and made all the picots the same size.  I did eleven repeats before I remembered what my plans were.  Not going to change it.    

 

I am liking the open spaces and the more tatted areas of this Doiley.  I think it is my favorite Doiley designed by Renulek.

Spring is here now, 65 degrees, but sleet is to come this evening and tomorrow.

Happy Tatting.

Good morning

We woke up to snow this morning, a Spring Snow.  I need to remember that this snow is the 'poor man's fertilizer'.  It will not stay long, it might be gone this afternoon, surely by tomorrow.  We have been loosing our Winter Snow at a steady slow rate.  Slow is good, the brooks don't over flow but are running fast.

I have been working on my two doileys at the same time.  I am on the tree round of Under An African Sky.  I have 16 trees to make and decided to make them in stages.  That way, when I am done with the trees, I am done with the trees.  I took pictures this morning to show you the beginnings.  I was pleased to find that I had seven centers, I thought that I only had finished six.  Only nine to go and then on to the next stage.

I have finished row 10 of Renulek's Spring Doiley 2018.  I enjoyed this round.
 

Enjoy your spring weather.  Happy tatting and thank you for visiting.

Under an African Sky, Part 2

I am enjoying this doiley.  It has made me learn techniques that I was to nervous to try.  Here I am up to row 5.  Row 5 was an easy and quick row to do.  The harder part was to make sure that I had not twisted the chains when I was joining the ends.  I put each three ring section into the blue chain to make sure all was OK and then joined the ends together.  It worked.

Row 6

 

I had to be careful when adding this row.  I kept the yellow in place and only once did I have to un-tat as one set of rings had slipped out of place and, once again, I was not paying attention.

 

My thread order has come in, so, back to Renulek's 2018 Doiley.  I will also be working on this one.  I begin my trees, Interlocking Self Closing Mock Rings, 16 of them.  I will be very comfortable making them when I am done.

Jane, Thank You for this pattern!  Mine will be called Berkshire Spring.  We still have eight inches of snow on the ground but it should be gone soon.  Our weather is to go into the 40s next week.  I am so looking forward to spring.   

What?!

I have finished 10 rows of Renulek's 2018 Doiley.  Ten rows took one ball of thread.  I wound up six bobbins to begin row 11.  I had part of one bobbin left over from row 10.  As I did three repeats it just wasn't looking correct.  I looked harder and noticed that my bobbin thread sizes didn't match.  I had a size 20 thread in one shuttle and a size 40 thread in the second shuttle.  I went to fix it and realized that I had run out of size 20 thread.  I wasn't paying attention.  I had two balls of size 40 and one of size 20 in this color when I began.  I started with the wrong size thread!  I was going to make this Doiley in size 40 thread.  Again I say, I wasn't paying attention!    I now wait until more thread comes in in size 20.  Sigh.

I need to work on something.  

I have been watching Renulek's 2018 Doiley tatted by others and it fascinates me that people use multiple thread colors.  I am not a good thread color designer.  What was I to do.  I had to wait, I needed an idea and I really wanted to use more that one thread color in my doiley.  I decided to start Under an African Sky by Jane McLellan.  I have had the pattern for awhile but the beginning looked to hard.

I thank Tatting Lace in Grace and Umi & Tsuru for showing me how to do the Interlocking Self Closing Mock Ring.  Their Blog instructions were wonderful.  This is something I don't know that I would have figured out so quickly without their help.  Try #1 and #2 are pictured above.  This it try #3 below.  It is almost good, one of the rings wasn't put in properly.

Here is my fourth try and not so bad if I may say so myself.

I have added the sky to my sun. 

This is a fun pattern to do, now that I am doing it.  I shall keep with this until my threads come in and then will finish both of them.  I am paying more attention now.

Thank you for visiting and enjoy tatting.  May you pay better attention than I.

Pincushions

I was picking up yesterday and kept running across pincushions.  I love pincushions!  I decided to put them all in one place to see what I had, two of them are missing.  They are with some project and I will come across them eventually.  Here is the group.

These are my store bought tomato pincushions.  The pink holds little and fancy straight pins.  The yellow holds different size sewing machine needles that have not been used 10 times for embroidery projects or for 6 hours of machine sewing.  (After that I replace them.)  The little red one holds different size hand sewing needles.  I have tried to label it but I keep getting them mixed up.

The one on the left belonged to Mom.  When she was a nursing student, a nurse crocheted it for her.  She made me, my sisters and her sisters each one.  She used the pincushion for the pattern.  Hers is well worn and well loved.  I remember as a kid rearranging the straight pins into certain patterns or pin top color groupings.  I use mine to keep my nursing school pins, the first pin from my husband and the two pins that I would use on my neck stock when showing or fox hunting (oh so long ago).

My mother volunteered at Hancock Shaker Village in the gift shop.  She also made Shaker pincushions to sell there.  She did not accept any money for them, it was her gift to the village.  She made all three of these.  The grey velvet one is one of her first.  It is stuffed with sheep wool as that is what the Shakers originally used.  The one on the Shaker Pincushion stand was a gift to me from her.  She made the pincushion and put together the stand.  The blue one was hers and she put the pin on it.  I have left it there.  One that I don't have to show is one that she made as a rattle.  It has a bell deep in the center of it that makes a great noise.  Sweet Thing #3 has it, the first of her pincushion collection.

The little one on the left was embroidered for me by Sweet Thing #3, a Christmas gift two years ago.  The two log cabin block pincushions are from a bunch that I made two Christmas' ago and gave away.  These are the two that I kept.  They are filled with ground walnut shells.  The little blue one in the basket is another that came from my Mother.

 

These are my two magnetic ones.  I guess I have to call them a pin holder since I cannot push a pin into them.  They each hold a different size quilting/sewing straight pin.  The black one is wonderful to use to pick up dropped pins from the floor.  They just zip onto it so quickly.

 

I love pincushions, love using them and love making them.  Have a grand day and thanks for visiting.

3-7

I have been working on Renulek's 2018 Doiley.  I bought the pattern from her and have been tatting ahead of what she puts on her blog.  Here are the rows as I have finished them.

February 3rd, Row 3 finished

 

February 4th, Row 4 finished

 

 February 9th, Row 5 finished

 February 10th, Row 6 finished. 

 

 

 February 18th, Row 7 finished.  It took me 20 minutes to finish a repeat, 24 repeats.     

  Have a nice day with your threads.

Slug

That is ME!  I do not know where January went.  I have not done anything to show you, or I haven't taken any pictures to show you.  I am not sure which.  

Thank goodness for Renata and Jane's TIAS.  If it wasn't for them, where would I be?  Talk about about a swift kick start.

Here is Row 1 of Renata's 2018 Doiley.  I am making only one this year.

 

 Here is Row 2.

I have to look at the TIAS and catch up during today's Super Bowl (GO PATS!).  I have not even begun.  I see that I have eight days to catch up on.

Wishing you all a wonderful day.  If anyone reads this, I will be back soon.