Monday, January 3, 2011

Four-Pointed Star from 1990

I have been having computer and blog problems, so I have been delayed in posting my final 5 motifs for the second round of the 25. I'm going to try to get them all in within the next week or so by posting one or two at a time, to avoid complications.




Motif #21, Second Round
Four-Pointed Star designed by Marion T. Leyds


 
from the classic DMC "Tatting for Today" book (Motif #10 in the book, p. 11)

This motif goes back to my early days of tatting in the early '90s, and I look at it every day on our balcony sliding-door/window where it hangs as as a pretty suncatcher.

It is one of the few items I have tatted using size 10 thread, and it IS rather large, but definitely gets noticed. I stiffened it with Alene's fabric stiffener and added some glitter. It has been in the full 'western' sun in the afternoon for many years, and has suffered no ill effects.

I added the long 'crystal' bead and made the tassel (from embroidery floss).

It measures 8 inches from top of the star to bottom of the tassel. The star itself is about 4-1/2 inches long.


* * *

I enjoyed watching the Parade of Roses on New Year's Day. The dogs jumping into the water and 'water boarding' were SO CUTE!!

I did happen to notice, though, that there were very few if ANY majorettes in the parade. Having been one in my youth, I'm feeling sad about yet another tradition going away. I understand that majorettes are fast disappearing from school bands, and it makes me sad, as twirlng a baton was a huge part of my life, as were ballroom dancing - and being a secretary. I'm feeling more and more like a quaint old relic !!!
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11 comments:

  1. tatting-marieJanuary 3, 2011 at 11:11 PM

    Being a majorette myself of long ago, I also noticed that there are fewer and fewer majorettes. It seems that the flag wavers have taken over. I guess time marches on!

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  2. FoxJanuary 4, 2011 at 3:08 AM

    I hear you! We are definitely living in THEIR world now, where we are indeed old relics. How did we get here so fast?

    I love the sun-catcher and am reassured to hear that it has lasted so well over the year - like us!
    Fox : )

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  3. Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ DianeJanuary 4, 2011 at 4:30 AM

    I also noticed the lack of majorettes! I never was coordinated enough to be one, but I've always enjoyed watching them. At least we have our memories of the good old days, but are we really that old?

    I love the sun catcher, and I have that book. I think I really need to spend some time revisiting the old friends sitting on my shelves!

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  4. God's KidJanuary 4, 2011 at 6:25 AM

    That's a very elegant motif! :)

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  5. SuztatsJanuary 4, 2011 at 6:50 AM

    This is beautiful, and I love the crystal and tassle. It's great to know the sun hasn't affected it.

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  6. GinaJanuary 4, 2011 at 8:18 AM

    My granddaughter is in Marching Band locally and they went to the state competitions this fall. They have a Flag Corp which I think replaces majorettes. They use several different props, not just flags ( or batons), that are twirled and thrown and maneuvered in various ways during their performance. It's really quite intense and high quality choreography so I guess you would say they advanced to another stage of performance. My daughter told me that they have to use the props in a certain number of ways to rack up the points they need to win a competition. Just think, you were in on the early beginnings of all this!

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  7. tattrldyJanuary 5, 2011 at 4:19 PM

    Your motif still looks great after all these years - how cool is that? I love the addition of the crystal, I'm sure it looks great in the window.

    We loved the float with the dogs on it, too! They even looked like they were having fun! We have a DVR so we watched it several times:)

    I've noticed in the last several big parades we watched that there aren't many majorettes anymore, and as mentioned by others, that the flag carriers have basically taken their place. But at a local parade there were a lot of little girls that are learning to twirl a baton. It was cute to watch them marching - not in front of a band, just as a group - with their batons. There were probably 12 to 15 of them in the parade, ages anywhere from maybe 5 to 12. So it's not quite a "lost art" (where have we heard that before??)LOL!

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  8. CrazyKwilterJanuary 29, 2011 at 8:04 AM

    Thanks for commenting on my blog! It's great fun to be tatting again.

    Your 20 year old star would make a very pretty Christmas ornament!

    Thanks for the background on the Big Book of Tatting. I'm a book nut! I passed that gene onto my two daughters...
    Mine has a $9.95 Ben Franklin sticker on it, so I bought it after 2007 when we moved here. LOL

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  9. laura_roseFebruary 1, 2011 at 1:48 PM

    Hi Kathy, thanks for visiting my blog and for your lovely comments. I was aiming to answer a couple of your questions via email, but cant find one...laura_rose76@yahoo.com...
    BTW Love your post too...must come bck and read more. We never had all the varieties of marching that you guys had, but I was a marching girl (no added bits) here in Aust...unfortunately, mostly gone by the wayside as well...young people are not as openly social maybe??

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  10. FoxFebruary 2, 2011 at 8:58 AM

    Hey, Kathy,
    I answered your question as best as I could on tat-ology just now. Just wanted you to know in case you don't check back!
    Fox : )

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  11. GwenFebruary 8, 2011 at 1:59 PM

    Hi Kathy,
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. I'm commenting here because I couldn't find an email address. I learned to knit from a neighbor friend (many moons ago) and have never been very good at it. I have tried to retrain my brain to the continent method, but it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

    I love your dollhouse!! Back to take a look at some of your other goodies.

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