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Friday, July 1, 2016

It's July!

I cannot believe that the 4th is this weekend, or Monday to be correct.  I am behind in my posts.  I wanted to do two a month for 2016 but have only done one for May and now only one for June.  I need to catch up and quickly.

This is the table runner that I made for the 4th last year.  It is a pattern from Shabby Fabrics and was a kit from Keepsake Quilting.  Sometimes, when you see a material combination that you like, you have to buy the kit.  They give you more than enough material to make the runner and you have left over material.  I had enough material to make two sets of stars.  The second one is bordered in the same blue material that I was able to find at my local quilt shop.  This was done with fusible applique and then machine quilted, a gold metallic thread for the starburst lines. 





On my Butterfly Doiley, row nine was completed with only two untats.


Row ten has begun for the second time.  I did five repeats before I reread the directions and saw that I was doing it wrong.  I had to cut it off and begin again.  Thankfully I looked early.




Happy Fourth of July to you all.  

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Captain America


Sweet Thing #3 gave Husband a DVD for Father's Day, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER.  We watched it Sunday evening.  I have learned that I cannot tat (or untat) while watching Captain America.  I had to put it down and pick up some knitting (less concentration).  I was able to untat the next evening while watching the news and retatted watching House of Cards.

 
 
Now this Butterfly Doiley has a story.  My last entry told you that I had made a mistake on row 6.  I decided that I better count the repeats that I had done and compare them to the pattern picture.  The pattern doesn't tell you how many repeats, 56.  I was off by one, 55.  I looked very closely and I had missed a connection on row 5!  Out came the scissors and I cut off both row 5 and 6.  (I didn't take a picture of that.  I cut it off so quickly.)  I am able to answer my own question, (seen in previous entry) YES, you can tat on the airplane.  Row 5 was half done on the way to Texas and completed while in Texas.  Row 6 was begun on the way back.  I have now tatted row 7 and 8, with only a couple of untats.

 Now for Motif #8.  This is another yellow cat.  I cannot find the pattern, I know that I saw it yesterday.  When I find it, I will let you know who made the pattern.  The designer also did a sheep that I am going to make for another motif.
Everyone have a wonderful week.
ADDENDUM:   I found it and then lost it on my desk.  Now that I have found it (again), I am posting as quick as I can.  The cat pattern is from;   doraexperiments.blogspot.com

She did The Cat and also The Sheep patterns in 2015.  I will have the sheep made as one of my Motifs soon.




Thursday, May 26, 2016

No phone


 
Twenty houses lost the telephone and internet for a week, we were one of them.  It happened about two blocks from our house in a metal box substation.  Our phone service is on strike so it took a bit to get it back.  I did not miss the phone at all!  But, I did miss the internet.  We checked out e-mails when we parked the car in front of Sweet Thing #3's apartment and hooked up to her wireless.  Husband wouldn't stay long enough for me to follow blogs or write in mine.  I am trying to put in two blogs a month.  I won't make it this month.  

On Mother's Day I finished Renulek's Spring 2014 doiley.  The largest doiIey that I have made.  I like how it looks and I will use it as motif #7.  I have not washed or blocked it yet so it is a bit wrinkly.
 
 

I was wondering what to do next when I saw the Butterfly Doiley sitting in a basket.  It had been sitting there for a LONG time with only four rows done.  The Butterfly Doiley from Tatting from Burda was begun back in 2014.  I had tried to figure out how to make the butterflies different colors from the rest of the tatting.  I was not able to figure it out.  So, I am doing the row of the butterflies a different color from all the other rows.  Rows 5 and 6 have gone rather quickly and I am finding them easy, I don't have to do a lot of thinking.  I have done some untatting on Row 6 as I am not always paying attention.  This is being made with Lizbeth size 10 thread, blue ice and white.  We are flying to Texas for a family wedding over the holiday week.  I will see if I am allowed to tat on the plane.
 

May you all have a nice holiday and I will see you in June.

ADDENDUM: My entry was written last night and I took the pictures this morning.    Remember how I said I don't always pay attention, here it is. 
 
 
I was getting ready to finish last night and was looking at my work.  2/3rds of row 6 had been tatted.  Right in the middle of that tatting was another mistake.  Each time I made a mistake it was the same one.  The other mistakes had been caught right after I made them and were easy to take out.  This is the one which got away.  Now I will cut and redo. 
I sure hope they let me bring my tatting on the plane.

 

 

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Numbers 4, 5, and 6

Good morning

Here in the Berkshires the sun is shining.  We did have a frost last night but it is leaving quickly.  Thankfully the pansies spent the night in the garage.  The birds outside have been talking since 5:30 this morning and Ted (the cat) has gone back to bed.  I am here doing a post so that I will have two for the month. 

I have almost finished with one quilt and the backing material has been ordered.  I will show it when it is completely done and sent on to its owner.  With having a pause in that quilt, I have decided to take apart two identical quilts where I am not pleased with my sewing.  These were among the first quilts that I began when I retired.  The machine stitch is a 2.4 and I now prefer a 1.8.  The 2.4 is to loose for the quilt piecing and I don't want the stitching/quilts to come apart.  I am only unstitching bigger sections of the blocks, not all the way to the beginning.  I will show pictures next time.  

Another quilt has begun in my head and I have asked the person that it will go to what she'd like.  We almost have the decision made.

My pictures for today are tatting.  Number 4, 5, and 6 for the Motif Challenge.  I am 2/3 way around row 13 on Renulek's 2014 Spring Doiley.  I hope to have it finished and blocked soon and then it will be a picture.  Wonder if a doiley is a Motif?

This is my favorite tatted egg!  (It is a soft boiled egg)  This doesn't count for the motifs as I have already shown one in a different thread color.



Here are snowflakes from Jon Yusoff's Tatted Snowflake Collection
 
Carrousel


Milky Way
 


The Twirly

 


 
 
Enjoy your day wherever you are.  May the sun shine on you also.  

Monday, April 11, 2016

Hearts

Good day to all.  Back in February I showed you one of my table runners.  The one I am showing today was the first runner made when getting back into quilting.  I made it January 2015 for Valentine's Day. The pattern is from My Runners by Disa Designs.  It was done to learn how to work with fusible web.  I did change how the hearts are joined together.  They were done by hand stitching on the backside, not using circles to join the hearts on the frontside as Disa did.



  
The second runner in grey was made for the son of a friend of mine and his new bride in celebration of their wedding.  





What did I learn?  I used fusible web for the entire circle on the first runner.  On the second runner I only had the fusible web for the first outer 1/4 inch of the circle.  It made a much softer look and feel.  I continued to used the fusible web on the entire letter, they were just to narrow to cut out the center of them.

What else did I learn from this runner?  This was the first and I love making runners!  There will be more to show in the future.

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Happy Easter

Today, I wish you all a Happy Easter.  Here are several eggs from Tatted Easter Eggs by Kirsten Wind Hansen.  They were easy and quick to tat. 

 
With these, I will begin the 25 Motif Challenge.  They are numbers 1, 2, 3.




 
    

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

S'Mittens Party


My cousin K, our friend B and I had a S'Mitten party.  We had all liked the pattern for this table runner and each made one.  On the 10th of March we met for lunch at K's and the runners had a great time showing off their stuff.  We placed them on the floor to fit them side by side.


 K made the blue

 B made the grey

 and you have already seen mine.

    

They looked so different with the different materials and the quilting.  I love them all.