lacy

Oh, lacy things.

(Deep, deep, contented sigh.)

I finally finished tatting this lacy Clover Doily by Jon.

This doily is made up of 3 individual motifs but once tatted together ~ it forms a lacy mosaic that seems so intricate, but is actually oh, so simple.

My obsession with lace has now seeped into socks & knitting.

I just started this Medallion Lace Sock by Andrea Fox.

And this is what I have noticed...

...I am still completely bowled over that socks are magically appearing from my needles.  I stare down at the movement and think ~ is this really me doing this?

Because it's so therapeutic.

So rhythmic.

So soothing.

And so unbelievably beautiful.

summer rosette

The color of summer = vibrant shades of watermelon ...in thread!

This yummy thread is Lizbeth from Handy Hands.  Size 10  #628 Salmon Med & #679 Lime Green.

And the gorgeous, tatted rosette pattern is from Jon at Tat-a-Renda.

So while the kids are in the pool & the dogs and I are lazily lounging in the shade...

...there is tatting to be done.

I'm not sure if I have developed a full-blown problem, but I find myself needing to keep my hands busy with some sort of thread work.  And I mean ---> constantly! there must be some sort of yarn or thread passing through my fingers or I start to get physically fidgety in my chair.

This drives.my.husband.nuts. 

But seriously!  Since his John Deere tractor quells an/all sorts of jitters for him...

...well, honey?!...

Thread does it for me.

fat cat ~ tatted.

I tatted a fat cat.

Mainly, because I have a fat cat.

And because I thought the pattern was adorable.  You can find the cat pattern here. 

And the tatted border is from here.

I used a glue stick to adhere scrap fabric to foam-core. Then using that same glue stick, I adhered the tatted elements.  A little bit of yellow ric-rac hot glued to the outside edge...

...and I have a fat cat ~ tatted.

clover

A tatted clover....

...tatted many times over into intricate, lacey medallions ~

~ can become a beautiful piece of threadwork.

The pattern is Clover Mat  by Jon of Tat-a-Renda.

I have only begun this but love knowing that I can stop at just a small doily or maybe a table runner -- or good golly! a bedspread. 

Okay.  Maybe not that huge.

Because with tatting --- it is add-as-you-go, so the project can remain small, or it can be built upon to become a gorgeously, huge piece of work just by how many pieces are tatted to the previous piece.

Love that.

And it is really such a darn shame that no one in this house has any crochet patterns for say...an iPod cosy or something.

Because I spot this when my son walks past me....

Yes.  That is Scotch tape. 

And yes, he has it taped to his shirt.

Like I said --- it's just too bad he doesn't know of anyone that has scads of crochet (or maybe even a few knit) patterns for stuff like this.

a treasure in tatting

This pillowcase is a treasure that I recently found at the thrift store.  Minus the edging.

(btw--when I see items like this with $.25 price tag attached it is such a bittersweet feeling --- sweet because it is now in my possession, but bitter because the time & love that must have gone into embroidering this pillowcase...well, it is a shame that it ended up tossed in a bargain bin at the local thrift store.)

And since I have been practicing with this tatted 'swatch' of edging

that I found in this book from Annie's Attic:

I knew this edging would look so splendid on the pillowcase. 

In pink!

So I tatted & tatted & tatted inches and inches of pink edging for this pillow; attached it by hand-sewing it with needle & thread right to the very edge of the pillowcase.

Such a lovely treasure.

seeing stars

As much as I do not like the bombardment of Christmas before Thanksgiving has even arrived, I do know that if I want to get anything accomplished before that holiest of holidays arrives, I had better get going on some Christmas items.

And so I am tatting stars.  The pattern is from my Aunt Mae who found it in a pile of tatting patterns from my grandma. 

Yup.  It truly warms my heart like you cannot believe that I am doing an exact pattern that once flew off my grandma's shuttle, too.  

The size 10 thread is from here. (Love their speedy service -- phew!.....it seemed like I hit ENTER for my order and 'wheee!' the package was already in our mailbox!)

Ornaments for the tree...

...or I am even thinking of lovely little package toppers for the many gifts that family and friends will receive this year.

independence day

Trying my hand at something new....

My grandma was exceptional at it.  As are many of you.

So I am on a quest to see if I can carry on her in her footsteps.  Again.

Oh, and of course, I mustn't forget ---->

~~Happy Independence Day!~~




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