Happy New Year (Belated!) from the Victorian Snow Ladies - and Me!!

Victorian Snow Ladies -
Motif #6 (Second Round)

Here is my rendition of two “Victorian snow ladies”, copying an idea from Linda at
http://quayceetatter.blogspot.com/

As soon as I saw Linda’s cute snow people on her December 6 post, I knew I was going to make them, adding floppy Victorian hats, similar to her “Red Hat Mrs. Clause” (post of Dec. 3), which I still chuckle over when I look at her! THANKS SO MUCH, LINDA!

I somewhat followed the pattern in Rebecca Jones’ book, but kept it simple by just doing two circles (body and head) and joining only four picots to connect them.

At first I made a smaller head (the “pink” lady), with 10 rings and chains, but for the red one, I made the head a little larger (12 rings and chains – same as the first round of the body) Makes it easier to add eyes and nose!

I attached silk ribbon roses at the neck and even added pearls! I used Lizbeth size 20 thread, and stiffened them using Aleene’s fabric stiffener. I used tiny rhinestones for the eyes and nose.

I gave these ornaments to my sweet nieces (21 and 18) for Christmas, who are attending the same University here in the area ( both studying pharmacy ). They always appreciate my handmade gifts, and have quite a collection of items – mostly knitted things to wear, like caps or socks, plus different ornaments of all kinds. Seems like yesterday they were in elementary school!

The ‘snow ladies’ might like this cold snowy weather, but I’m looking forward to temperatures finally getting above freezing this weekend!

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Computer Note: I was without the internet for almost a week(!) due to a router problem. starting New Year’s Eve! I felt totally ‘disconnected’ from the world, and was not a happy camper. It’s taken me awhile to get caught up on all the blogs and e-mails! It proved to me what I already knew - that I am totally addicted to the internet and can’t function without it!

'Angels We Have Heard on High' - plus Sharon's Merry Christmas Snowflake

On this Christmas Eve 2009, I am wishing everyone a wonderful holiday!

Below are some angels I made back in the early 1990’s.

Also below is my latest tatted piece – Sharon Briggs’ newly designed Merry Christmas Snowflake! (I'll count it as Motif #5 - Second Round.)

Straw Angel with Tatted Wings

This stand-alone centerpiece angel (9” high) is part of my traveling Christmas display

Straw angel forms were prevalent in the craft stores in the early ‘90s. I removed the straw wings and gave her tatted wings, which are two fans .

Unfortunately, I still can’t find the designer of the fan. It’s the same pattern I used for my 3-D heart, Feb.14 post. Possibly it’s Mary McCarthy's.

I also added maribou around the bottom of her skirt, which gives an added effect.

I used size 30 ecru thread, and stiffened the wings with Alene’s fabric stiffener

My Christmas card from 1993

This is my Christmas card from 1993, on which I received many compliments.

The ‘model’ is a flat 4” straw angel, with the same fan (only one was needed).

I added the gold ribbon and flower, and some small gold beads around her head. I also used gold glitter on her wings, so that she sparkles on the tree!

The photo was taken with a 35 mm camera, with a macro lens borrowed from my brother-in-law. It was a very sophisticated piece of equipment back then! I mounted the photo onto a gold sheet, giving the effect of a gold border , and then attached it to white card stock.

The back view of the angel (taken recently with my digital camera) shows the fan design.

I used a glue-gun (sparingly) to securely anchor the ‘wings’ to the body (under the ‘pony tail.)

Back when I had more energy and ambition, I not only made my cards (about 60) but addressed them in calligraphy. I no longer am that crazy! However, many of you actually send tatted snowflakes with your cards. Amazing!

Speaking of snowflakes . . .

Here is Sharon Briggs’ beautiful Merry Christmas showflake (2009).

(My Motif #5 - Second Round)

I think this is a sweet design – so elegant – and yet SO easy to tat. Sharon’s diagram is excellent. I finished tatting it within an hour.

I used only one shuttle and therefore didn’t do the split rings; but it worked fine for me. She gives you the option.

I used white Lizbeth thread, size 20. It doesn't even need to be stiffened!

And as you can see, I added a turquoise rhinestone in the middle (both sides). I love bling!

Sharon works overtime to bring us wonderful designs and tatting ideas, not to mention her tireless work on updating the 25-Motif Challenge Thanks so much, Sharon, for all that you do!

“The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there!” (The Night Before Christmas – C. Moore)

Collar from 1991 - Motif #4 (Second Round) - Plus Upcoming Christmas Festivals

Sad News about Old Economy (see below)

Motif #4 (Second Round)

This collar was designed by Gloria Crowther from her book “Gloria’s Tatting”. It’s my widest piece of tatting, and is 23 inches longI remember as a ‘new’ tatter in 1991 that it seemed like an endless task to finish it. I kept holding my breath that I didn’t miss any picot connections. I also had to be careful when adding new thread on the shuttle.

However, It’s obvious that I never blocked it.

I believe it’s size 30 thread, although it could be size 50?. I’m amazed how I never wrote these details down anywhere, and I can’t always tell by looking at the item!

Various uses for the collar

I first wore the collar on a turquoise blouse for the christening of my niece back in 1991, and she is now 18!

Then over the years I’ve attached it to various costumes, or just displayed it on a table. One of my favorite costumes is shown below, and you’ll notice I attached the lace ‘collar’ to the fashionable ‘dropped’ waistband of the gown (front only) The Victorian pin on the gown was given to me several years ago by the very niece mentioned above! How sweet was that?

This beautiful gown was expertly hand made by some loving hands – possibly back in the 1980’s. I purchased it at a consignment shop around 2002, and I can only guess that it was made either for a stage production or for a bridesmaid – lucky girl – for a fall or winter wedding. – taffeta skirt and velvet top!

The gown is a timeless design, harkening back to the Victorian era, and I think it could very well garner ‘oohs and aahs’ today for a wedding, even though the strapless look is in fashion.

I’ve worn it a few times to our Christmas festivals, at both Vicary House and Old Economy, but this year I’ll be wearing another one of my favorite outfits, which I plan to show in my next post. It has lots of ‘sparkle’, as did many Edwardian evening dresses.

Two Christmas Festivals on Same Day
News Flash: Last festival for Old Economy?

Our tatting group has to be ‘divided up’ this year in order to attend two festivals, which, unfortunately, are scheduled on the same day (Saturday, Dec. 5). I will be attending the festival at Vicary Mansion in Freedom, PA, and Evelyn and Peg (Carol Lawecki’s mom) will attend the one at Old Economy in Ambridge.

The shocking local news story here is that the Old Economy historic village (circa 1824-1905) will be officially shut down beginning Jan. 2010 ! Incredibly, funding for the large site (17 historic buildings!) has been cut off by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It’s certainly too complicated for me to go into here. Many other historic sites in the State have also been closed due to lack of funding.

Old Economy has been one of our main venues for demonstrating tatted lace. I’m not sure exactly when our group started there (sometime in the 1980’s?), as I didn’t join until October 1990 for their Fall festival. In future posts I intend to go into my complete tatting history (I know, I’ve been saying that forever!) and Old Economy was definitely a major site for us, as they always had several events during the year (spring, summer, fall, and Christmas). In the past few years, however, they’ve cut back on their events, although it was always open to the public as a museum and tour group destination. The last few years, even their Christmas event was cut back to just one day, rather than two days.

Rumors had been floating around about the complete closure of the site, but no one believed that would really happen – however, the official announcement was made on November 17. So we’ll have to see how this will all play out. It has sent a shock-wave through the community, and I’m sure there will be a campaign to rescue it.

My stint at Vicary Mansion will kick off the Holidays for me, and helps to get me in the mood for the season . Even though the weather indicates cold temperatures, snow doesn't seem to be on the horizon, which is good! Only the hale and hearty will venture out in snow!

In my next post I will share my story about visiting Elizabeth Zipay again at one of her shows in November!

Jazzy Slippers, Front-Side Tatting - and Visiting Replicas of the Nina and Pinta!

Jazzing up my slippers with Valdani Thread, Size 12
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I was watching TV one evening, with my feet up on the hassock, and I noticed that my comfy slippers needed some pizzazz!

Of course, I immediately thought of the 1872 edging that I’ve been ‘obsessed’ with lately

I also remembered the Valdani thread I purchased recently at a cozy cross-stitch shop in our area.

Sadly, many cross-stitch shops have disappeared around here, so I’m happy this one is still in business.

Although I don’t do that much cross-stitching anymore, I do like to see what threads are in the shop apropos for tatting, and I found some Valdani. Somehow I’ve lost the label (can’t imagine how!), but I know it’s size 12, as I have another ball in another color. I see this thread is made in Romania.

I’m very pleased that the tatting looks quite natural on my slippers. I like the way it blends with the ribbon’s design that was on there. And yes, I did finish the second slipper!

1872 Edging in Valdani Thread

Here’s the thread and the colorway.

I was so accustomed to the ease of working with Lizbeth thread that when I first started working with Valdani, it seemed ‘difficult’ to close rings, and to retro-tat. But then I relaxed my tension and it worked just fine, although I do try to avoid making mistakes, especially on rings!

It does have a nice, soft feel to it. However, it must be carefully ‘picked out’ to avoid fraying.


I’ve almost completed the Lizbeth Caribbean edging shown on in a recent post, and will unveil it soon, on a long-sleeve black jersey pullover.

Speaking of ‘Caribbean’ (notice the segue), here are two ships that plied the Caribbean sea back in 1492!

Replicas of Nina and Pinta visit Pittsburgh, PA

One of the joys of being retired is being able to visit attractions in the area on an off-day when parking is easy and lines are short!

These two replicas http://thenina.com/ are on tour around the world, and they happen to be in Pittsburgh from Nov. 7-15.

This was a really fun day for us! For the first time ever, we were able to take a walking tour of the revitalized North Shore of Pittsburgh, which has seen major changes during the past 20 years.

The replica ships are floating on the Allegheny River, but are very near the Ohio River, which is formed by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, called “The Point” – the site of Ft. Pitt back in 1758..

In the vicinity are two major stadiums: Heinz Field, where the Super Bowl Steelers (and Pitt Panthers) play; and PNC Park (magnificent modern ball field of the Pirates). The recent Stanley Cup winners - the Penguins - play in an arena in the City itself, near the buildings in the distance. (I had to throw that in! Sports is BIG in Pittsburgh!) The yellow bridge is the Ft. Duquesne Bridge.

The Carnegie Science Center is also nearby, plus several new restaurants and office buildings. There are new bicycle and walking trails and beautiful landscaping along the river. We worked downtown for 25 years (1962-1987) and saw a lot of changes during that time; but it’s amazing to see how many more changes have taken place since then!

There are lots of memories for us in the City. In fact, my husband learned to fly a seaplane near this spot in the late '60s. Sadly, the seaplane base was damaged in the floods caused by Hurricane Agnes in 1972, and it is just a memory. He did obtain a land rating, but he missed the fun of landing on the rivers! The heritage of the city, however, will always be steel, even though most of the mills have shut down

Thoughts on Front-side Tatting
I'll end this post with thoughts about front-side tatting. I admit that I would have found the ‘front-side’ tatting concept difficult to have learned as a beginner. I had enough trouble as a new tatter (and even today!) remembering which direction I was heading on certain patterns, let alone the sequence of the stitches. And I wasn’t even aware until recently that there was such a concept as ‘down’ joins (another subject!) Tatting all looked fine to me, and I wasn't aware of a front or back side.

However, with the enlargements of photos on blogs, I can see how attractive tatting can look with all the knots facing forward.

One of the reasons I’ve been concentrating on the above 1872 pattern is to practice ‘right-side’ tatting on an easy ring-and-chain pattern, but which has enough variety to keep it interesting. I now can comfortably tat this pattern while riding in the car - not that I haven’t made mistakes! Occasionally, I forget to start the chain with the 2nd stitch (out of habit), but it’s becoming much more 'natural' now for me to reverse the stitch sequence (2nd stitch first) on chains.

Rings-only patterns, such as Hens and Chicks, are a little trickier, as you have to remember which ring is facing the 'front' side. And it's not easy for me to remember to start a ring using the 2nd stitch first.

Right-side tatting IS an admirable goal, and I will work toward trying to achieve it whenever I feel the pattern isn't too complicated.

Hope you all have a good weekend! I'm glad Thanksgiving is still two weeks away (here in the U.S.) I can't believe it's November already.

Halloween 2009 - plus Four Tatters at Car Cruise !

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

Could there be chocolate goodies inside this small jack o’ lantern (only 3” high) ? :-)

The tatted lace is a basic cloverleaf pattern, in size 30 thread.

In our area, the 'Trick or Treat' night was Thursday, the 29th, which is a good thing because today’s weather isn’t as nice as it was then!

POSSIBLE WORLD RECORD: FOUR TATTERS AT CAR CRUISE !
As I mentioned in my previous post, my husband and I attended a car cruise (Oct. 4) in our GTO, about an hour and a half away, at Kiski Area High School, which is attended by Carol Lawecki’s son and daughter. Her daughter (a senior) plays flute in the Band, which consistently wins competitions, and recently won 1st place at a recent interstate competition! I’m sure many of you are aware of Carol’s wonderful tatting and her blog ( http://caroltats.blogspot.com/ )

L-R: Carol, her mom Peg, and me, standing by the GTO.

I met Peg 20 years ago. She was already a member of the Beaver County tatting group when I joined in 1990. Then I met Carol, who attends some of our events. Carol also started tatting in 1989, the same year I did, and, of course, was taught by her mom!

It’s so neat that Peg and Carol, as mother and daughter, share a love of tatting !

You might say the weather was a little ‘blustery’ that day! I’m wearing several layers of clothing, with my “GTO” jacket over top (described in my Sept. 17 post). Carol needed the hood she had on her jacket, and Peg was wearing earmuffs, which I wanted to borrow! We were fortunate, however, that it didn’t rain, even though it looked threatening at times, and it did warm up a little in the afternoon!

Car Quiz: Can you guess what is on the stand next to the
car in the above photo? See answer below !

And here I am with Carol’s friend, Rayanna, and we are actually tatting – and chatting!

Rayanna is quite the Elvis fan, although she’s young! I love to talk about the 1950s, so we had fun discussing Elvis!

Carol taught Rayanna to tat not too long ago, and she is already doing split rings with size 80 thread! She finished a cute horse-shoe pattern, and I wish I had taken a photo of it. I didn’t get very far on my ‘Caribbean’ edging because I was talking too much. (Does that come as a surprise? !!!)

Rayanna and her husband also had a vehicle there, but she came over to sit with me!
Peg also sat with us, and we got to discuss our next December tatting event.

Carol’s Portable Tatting ‘Showcase’
Carol had to help out at one of the booths, so she couldn’t sit and tat. However, she did have a chance to show me her big notebook filled with samples of her wonderful tatted pieces, which is a good way to keep finished items safe and visible. Many are clever Jane Eborall designs. As you all know, Jane’s patterns of animals and sea creatures are very unique, and Carol executes them perfectly!

Also among Carol’s notebook of samples was her fabulous rendition of Pam Palmer’s famous elephant, adding her own colors! I can’t tell you how breathtaking it is to see in person, and it fills the entire 8-1/2 x 11 notebook sheet. You can see this fabulous elephant on her blog under http://caroltats.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html If you click on the photo at that post, you can see in detail all the sparkly things she added to it! It’s a masterpiece!

Kiski Area Band - Fifth Annual Car Cruise (2009)

An overview of just a portion of the car cruise, which is a fund-raiser for the Band.

Over 500 cars were there !


Kiski’s beautiful school campus is situated among the rolling hills of Pennsylvania

Here are the things we display with our GTO: tigers and goats on the roof (both symbols associated with Pontiac and GTO), and a vintage food tray, plus, the other item, which is the answer to the car quiz, below.

ANSWER TO CAR QUIZ: Drive-in-movie speakers! These speakers actually work, in that music can be played through them from the base below (and also are remote-controlled). Our cousin took the speaker-and-stand display that we had purchased awhile ago and turned it into a ‘working model’, by inserting a car radio/CD player in the base of the pole. (He also designed the base for this purpose.) It gets its power from our car battery during the shows, and it can be dismantled easily for transporting. Very clever, indeed, and it gets a lot of attention

I’m wondering how many of you out there remember these speakers at the drive-in movies! Do you recall how static-y they were – that is, if they even worked at all. There still are drive-in theaters around, and these days you just use your car radio, tuned into a certain frequency.

MEMORIES, MEMORIES !!!

My Latest 3-D Bell Design - Motif #3 (Round 2)

Motif #3 (Round 2)

3-D Bell (2009) - With 1872 Edging

This is the ‘project in white thread’ I mentioned in my recent Sept 17 post where I featured the antique 1872 edging in Lizbeth Caribbean (see Motif #1, 2nd round)

I knew the edging would be perfect (with a modification) for the ‘lip’ of a bell.

Then I had to design the rest of the bell, and I’ve worked on it for the past several weeks I’m very pleased with the results!

The bell measures 3-1/2” high, without the decoration, and 5” with the ribbon / bow.

Photo of the bell in this special hanger, which I believe would look quite nice as a topper on a wedding cake! The hanger is 9” high. I can’t quite remember where I got it, though!

For more details about the tatting, see below.

I’m very happy about this bell, as it’s the first one I’ve created in 10 years! I use the term ‘create’ because the 'edges' I’ve used on the bells have been published patterns (usually vintage). My ‘creation’ is that of filling in the other areas with ring and chain combinations. The trick, of course, is to determine the sizes of the rings and chains, and to set up picot connections.

Here is the bell in its original state (not stiffened) with some fabric inside to better show the design.

I used #20 Cebelia, which I admit felt a little ‘rough’ after working with Lizbeth. Because it was going to be stiffened, I didn’t want to use my Lizbeth white thread; but then again, I’m not sure the ‘gauge’ would be the same.

I made a modification to the antique edge pattern, as I did not connect the small rings at the base of each ‘clover.

There are seven repeats of the edge pattern, and the rest of the bell is made to fit that number of repeats.
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There are inconsistencies in this model, as I was trying various knot counts as I went along. Happily, I only had to re-do one section that wasn’t working out. Now I’ll have to tat another bell to test the pattern. (I sketched it out after the bell was completed. ) I also can see a 3-D egg shape forming here, so I hope to experiment with that idea, also!

Thanks to the 25-Motif Challenge, I’ve become motivated to more actively tat, and to think about making new things!

Experimenting with Lizbeth thread led to the search for an edging for a T-shirt., which then sparked this idea for the bell.

I’ll eventually show all my bells in my blog. However, I don’t have the ‘models’ for some of them - only photos – because I gave them as gifts. I did make sure to sketch out the patterns, but never remade them.

And even though I love the new color threads, I will always admire the classic white and ecru, as I have a particular fondness for Victorian items and vintage tatting. I especially enjoy decorating the items in 'Victorian' style – which represents a challenge in itself. Making bows and attaching them involves some patience! I usually add a crystal ‘ball’ clapper on a metal chain, but I didn’t want to take the time to do that before posting. That involves wire cutters and pliers!

Before ‘signing off’ I want to mention the following:

First – I was a happy winner recently of Sherry’s “Mondo Monday” Giveaways! http://ladyshuttlemaker.blogspot.com/ I’m sure many of you are aware of Sherry’s generous nature and her creative spirit! I was DELIGHTED to receive one skein each of her hand-dyed threads Treebeard #20, and Rio, #80 !!! I have several ideas in mind, and can’t wait to tat with these gorgeous threads! (BTW, I just noticed the Bead Spinner for this week’s giveaway (Part V). I have one and they are REALLY COOL!) Check it out!!

Second – I had the great pleasure of being with Carol Lawecki ( http://caroltats.blogspot.com/ ) , her Mom (from our Beaver County Tatters group) and Carol’s good friend, Rayanna (a new tatter, taught by Carol), at a recent CAR CRUISE at Carol’s local high school which her children attend. This was their 5th annual cruise, and it’s a fund raiser for the high school band – a great idea! They get a huge number of cars (over 700!) , and we were delighted to go there in our GTO for the first time (about 1-1/2 hours away). I’ll be sharing some photos and more of the story in my next post!

I can’t believe it’s October already! The beautiful, bright colored leaves are helping to ease the realization that winter is not far behind. We at least haven’t had snow yet in our area, although temps are definitely below normal! Hoping to still have a touch of Indian summer!

T-Shirt: Neckline Edging and Butterfly

I finished this T-shirt project before I started Motif #1 and had planned to add this whole section to my post yesterday, but I had some blog problems, so I saved it for today.


Motif #2 (Round 2)
Edging and Butterfly in Lizbeth 'Springtime'




These colors definitely ‘pop’ on a dark background!



After I finished the edging, I sewed down some pieces of tatting to form a ‘butterfly’ – then attached a butterfly pin in the middle.






I wanted a quick project that I could work on at car cruises, and also was curious to see how the Springtime thread (#115) would evolve color-wise, so I used a very easy “edging” pattern. I’m happy with the way it turned out, and I discovered I have a jacket that has these colors in it!


More about Lizbeth Threads – Plus a Question
You may recall that back in April I was very surprised and pleased to find Lizbeth thread at a ‘nearby’ Hobby Lobby store in Boardman, Ohio (an hour away). I went back in August to purchase more colors to add to the three I already had.

To my delight, not only did they have more colors (they now have about 20), but I lucked out by catching the last day of a sale! So, of course, I had to buy 10 more colors!

I’m amazed that Handy Hands now offers Lizbeth in 76 colors in both size 20 and 40! I can’t imagine owning all 76 (152) – or what I would do with them, although I’m delighted they’re out there.

I find I now have to keep track of my Lizbeth ‘stash’ on a chart, much as I used to do with my cross-stitch threads. I’ve never had that ‘problem’ before with tatting threads, since for so many years there weren’t that many colors to choose from. This is a great age we tatters are living in!

Question about Lizbeth names and numbers: For my own convenience, I added a small label (using one of those label machines) to each ball, showing the name of the thread, because the name isn’t on the ball itself, just on the plastic bag it comes in..

What puzzles me, however, is that the Handy Hands chart on their website lists the names of the threads but not the numbers, although they indicate the number(s) that each thread coordinates with!

How do you know what the coordinating colors are if there are no numbers for any of the colors on the chart? Am I missing something? . Maybe there’s another list somewhere?

UPDATE: Laurette (www.knotty-things.blogspot.com/) kindly sent a comment and explained how to read the Lizbeth chart! I had totally ignored the ‘price’ side of the chart where the number of the thread is right next to the size, as in “20-102”! At first the numbers are visible, but later you have to click on the ‘down’ button to see them. But at least I now understand it ! Thanks, Laurette!

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I guess this weekend marks the official end of summer. :-( We’ve been having great weather these last few weeks, and I hope it will continue for awhile.