Fun Pendants Using Motifs and 'Scrapbook' Supplies

I’m fascinated with variegated and hand-dyed threads, and I like to test them out by making quick motifs – easy ones that I can tat while riding in the car.

I like to think of ways to use these little motifs, rather than stash them away

Mary McCarthy’s Butterfly (again!)
(pendant shown on black T-shirt)

This one in Lizbeth Vineyard Harvest, size 20

Mary’s butterfly appears to be floating ‘freely’ on this black T-shirt . . .

...but in reality it’s glued onto a velvet paper circle (made with a scalloped circle punch). The paper also gives it stablity.

I like to justify the purchases of these craft supplies, like the scalloped punch, that I just 'had' to have! :)

The hinged bail and snaps together through a small hole punched into the velvet paper. The bail easily fits over any necklace

This is a basic
ring-and-chain pattern
from Catherine Austin’s “A New Twist on Tatting” book, page 115 (first round of the doily)

Thread: Lizbeth Jellybean, size 20



The dark velvet paper shows to good effect the colorways of most variegated threads, so the motif is always is defined, no matter what color background fabric the pendant rests on.

As usual, I added some gems for ‘bling’. I’m looking forward to trying out smaller thread sizes so that I can make more detailed motifs, such as those in Patti Duff’s book. Adding beads would be fun, too.

Loving the Warmer Weather!

I’m not complaining about our hot weather, as I wait for it all year. The travel bug has ‘bit’, and we’ve already taken an overnight trip to Lake Erie – a delayed 46th anniversary celebration (from snowy January). Beautiful sunsets at dinner, and a wonderful room overlooking the Bay! Love to be by the water!

It’s much more pleasant to travel in warmer weather, with longer daylight hours, and a privilege to be able spontaneously to go during the week when a spectacular day is forecast! Retirement does have its perks.

We’re ‘almost’ done with the yardwork, but not quite. New mulch is on the agenda. The decluttering project continues, and there may be light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s always bittersweet to ‘look back’ over the years when we accumulated these things and realize how fast time has flown. I'm having a difficult time deciding what craft supplies to part with!

We had beautful weather here for the Memorial Day weekend, (Sat. and Sun.), and although we had heavy storms Monday evening (the official holiday), at least it held off until all the local parades and memorial services were completed.

Embellished 1990s Gift Boxes, and New Bookmark

Also:

- Update on the Lady’s Slipper Pattern
- Recap of two recent tatting events

Fabric Boxes from the 1990s

Boxes of this type would certainly make a nice Mother’s Day gift!

Back in the 1990s, during the early days of my tatting, I embellished these ready-made fabric boxes, which were available at craft stores.

Of course, as usually happens, the stores will only have these kinds of items for a few years, then they disappear.

In addition to the tatting and trims on top, I often added cording or other trims on the sides

Although I gave several of these away as gifts, I kept a few for myself, and use them for jewelry.

I was disappointed when these boxes were no longer available in the craft stores, at least in our area.

Bookmark with Mary McCarthy’s butterfly

I’ve always found it relaxing to tat Mary McCarthy’s butterfly, and I often tat it when riding in the car. I’ve slightly altered her pattern, and I’m enjoying now tatting it in variegated threads. I am also now making it front-side/back-side, as I like all the knots to face forward (especially in the size 20 thread) when only one side is visible, as in the bookmark below.


I like to put tatted motifs on bookmarks which I make with velvet paper mounted on card stock (in this case, metallic gold).

This is Lizbeth “Spring Garden”(size 20), which really ‘pops’ on a black background – similar to “Springtime”; (which has has blue in it).

The small butterfly was made from the thread that was leftover on the shuttle.

The curved line is a gold sticker.
I added adhesive gold half-beads in the centers of the butterflies.

I don’t mind using glue stick on my tatting, as it is easy to wash out later, if I wish to remove it.

When giving this kind of bookmark as a gift, it’s easy to write a note on the back of the cardstock. The sturdy plastic sleeve (barely seen in the photo) keeps the tatting protected, yet allows it to be easily removed to see the tatting clearly. I obtained this plastic sleeve at a specialty ‘stamp’ store in the area.

Packaging Hint: I have also discovered (in the candy section at the craft stores) some clear plastic ‘pretzel stick’ bags, which are a perfect size for protecting tatted bookmarks or displaying them for sale.

Update on Lady’s Slipper Pattern
I am slowly making progress on writing the pattern for the lady’s slipper (post of March 3). Various family and other events (including tatting-related ones) and normal chores are distracting me, plus the welcome arrival of some beautiful spring weather has beckoned me outdoors (there’s still a lot to do in the yard! .

I have started tatting a model of the slipper, and will photograph each ‘section’ as I go along. I’ve decided to use contrasting thread for each of the different ‘rounds’, so it will be clear (especially to me!) how it’s constructed.

I thought once I started tatting the slipper, a feeling of ‘familiarity’ with the pattern would come back to me; but in fact, I feel as if I’m tatting the pattern of some mysterious person, except I know that I’m the mysterious person! I wasn’t quite as thorough in my notations as I would have liked, so I’m muddling my way through, guessing at knot counts.

I’ve also had to learn a new drawing software, and it's taken me some time to get comfortable with it.

I appreciate your patience while I work this through!

Recent Festivals
Here is a recap of our group’s two recent tatting events – the Maple Festival and the ‘reopening’ of Old Economy.

Maple Festival (Brady’s Run, Beaver, PA)
The weather for the Maple Festival (Apr. 10-11) was excellent, and there were thousands of visitors, as usual. There is always interest in our tatting,
Many young children also accompany their parents, and they enjoy looking at my dollhouse with Victorian furnishings (to be shown in the future). Evelyn, Peg (Carol Lawecki’s mom), and I were kept busy demonstrating and talking about tatting both days. I admit that I’m quite exhausted after these weekend events! Did I mention that Evelyn is 82? !!! She has more energy than I do!

Old Economy Village Reopening
And the Old Economy event the following weekend (Apr. 17-18) was also very successful. It was well advertised, and many people came by who had never visited the historic site before. We were honored to be invited to demonstrate tatting at this reopening event You can read more about Old Economy at this site: http://www.oldeconomyvillage.org/

Silk Exhibit
This was the first time we were in a large room on the first floor of the huge two-story Feast Hall/Museum, and we happily shared the space with three gals who had an excellent exhibit / demonstration of the silk manufacturing process, for which Old Economy became famous. The manufacture and weaving of silk at O.E. was developed by Gertrude Rapp (1808-1889), the granddaughter of George Rapp (1757-1847), The story of silk manufacture at Old Economy is absolutely fascinating, and their high-quality silk was prized around the world.

It is hoped that Old Economy Village will continue to be a major attraction, with volunteers working hard to preserve it.

* * *

Mother’s Day (in the United States) is celebrated this Sunday, May 9.
I wish a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ to those of you who
have raised and are raising children!
You are to be applauded and recognized for all that you do!

Easter - April 4, 2010

I hope all of you who celebrate Easter are having a pleasant holiday weekend with family and friends.

Some Easter Tatting

I'm sure you recognize Mary Konior's cross pattern from her Visual Patterns book. I have often made this cross as a keepsake gift, and it always receives compliments. She was such a wonderful designer.







This is a cross I made several years ago, and stiffened (to hang in a window); however, I've decided to put it in a frame, so I’ve added a gold metal embellishment, plus a small crystal in the center. The diagonal gold 'ribbon' stickers add an interesting effect.

Now I have to find the right frame for it!

Below is my small 'Egg Tree" which is several years old. It is part of my demonstration display, and, of course, is a decoration for my home during the Easter holidays.

On the tree are several of my 3-D eggs (all the same design), which I created back in 1992.

The other eggs on the tree are pastel flocked eggs or metallic ones, with tatted motifs on them.

I'll go into more detail about the 3-D egg design in a future post.

Memories of Easter holidays in the '50s-'60s

Easter memories of my childhood always come flooding back to me at this time of year, and I recall how my friends and I were SO excited to get dressed up in our pretty new dresses and new shoes (usually white leather or black patent leather), plus, of course, the obligatory new hat and gloves - which we LOVED to wear back then!

We kept our Easter outfits on all day and 'paraded' around the neighborhood showing them off.

I always looked forward to getting my newest stuffed bunny rabbit or other animal. Believe it or not, I still have my big bunny (about 2' tall) from about 1953 (I was in pigtails at the time – 4th grade). Her name was ‘Carrots’ (as she was orange), and these days she’s a bit – well, ‘tattered’!!! Definitely not fit for a photo-op at present.

I also had a big teddy bear (sadly, long gone), named Christopher (for Christmas?), and I used to make clothes for Christopher and Carrots, which was considered a little strange by my friends! (I was way ahead of my time!) I kept the stuffed animals on my bed for a long time - through high school(!) and have a photo of them around here somewhere! Just remembered - there was also a floppy-eared dog named 'Cuddles'. Kind of embarrassing that I'm remembering all this, not to mention the fact that I continued to collect stuffed animals for a long time, even after I married! One of my prized possessions is "Larry Lion" (a gift from DH around 1968) who fared much better than Carrots, and still says his 11 phrases when you pull the cord under his chin. Wow, I'm really getting carried away!

As I recall those years in the 1950s, the weather always seemed to be warm on Easter (no matter the date between March and April), and flowers were always in bloom.

However on April 2, 1961 (I was a senior in H.S.), we actually had snow on Easter, and I was shocked! The year before, on April 2, 1960, I passed my driver's test (first time around!) and got my license at 16 years old - BIG DAY! It was 80 degrees that day, just as it was on April 2 this year - first time in a long time!

I simply can't believe I have been driving for 50 years!! (Yikes!) Little did I realize that a few months later in the summer of 1960 I would meet my DH-to-be at a local swimming pool (he was from another school and had graduated the year before. I was about to start my senior year (and it was a magical one!) Talk about being young, at 16 and 17!

Now here we are at 66 and 67, and we’ll be going to DH's 50th class reunion in September! We recall that when his parents went to THEIR 50th reunions, we thought they were SO old !!!!! (Can you tell I'm having trouble dealing with this?)
* * *

Two Beaver County, PA Events coming up:

- Maple Festival (Apr 10-11) AND (amazingly)
- Old Economy (Apr 17-18),
which has been re-opened (on a limited basis) by volunteers!
(More about this soon)

Three Cheers for the Irish!

Plus - the Ides of March and thoughts of - Hawaii ?

It's that time of year for me to honor my Irish ancestors - the Flanagans on my maternal grandmother's side – as well as my English/Irish ancestors on my maternal grandfather’s side, who lived in Ireland.

When I was growing up in Pittsburgh, PA, my Irish aunts, uncles and cousins all lived in New England - 600 miles away - so I missed out on 'family' St. Patrick’s celebrations. They LOVED to sing all the Irish songs! Although my mother missed living near her family, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has a large Irish population and it has one of the biggest St. Patrick's Day parades, so she felt ‘at home’ here also! My husband and I were in the parade a couple of times back in the '80s in our GTO convertible.

Hearts to Shamrocks - Motif #15 (Second Round)




It was fun to learn in elementary school art class that three green heart shapes can form a shamrock!

Here is a representation of a shamrock, which I recently made using three heart motifs (by Monica Hahn) and a ‘stem’ which I added.

These tatted hearts have almost a Celtic look to them!





In the future I'd like to join the hearts and stem at the appropriate places to make a one-piece motif.




The 'heart' pattern is actually a section of a 'Grapevine' edging from page 31 of Monica Hahn's popular book , "Christmas Angels and Other Tatting Patterns."




In looking over this book again, I was amazed how many items I've made from it.






Below is how I’m showcasing the Shamrock – in a ceramic Celtic frame, which matches my newly purchased Irish cup and saucer!







The motifs are lightly attached
(with glue stick) to velvet
paper.

(Glue-stick adhesive can easily be washed out of the tatting.)


I’ve added gold stickers in the corners for an extra effect



Although I'm not a big tea drinker, I'll have some green tea on Wednesday, St. Patrick's Day!

The popular "Shamrock" plant (called oxalis regnelli) in the background (difficult to see here), with the straight-sided leaves and sweet white flowers , is actually not native to Ireland at all, but to South America!


I'm not known for my 'green thumb', so I'm pleased that this plant has survived for the last three years. I bring it inside during the winter months, and it continues to bloom. It always folds up its leaves overnight!

The 'real' Irish shamrock plant is actually similar to the clover that grows in our yards here in America. I spent many hours of my youth hunting for the elusive 'four-leaf clover' - the symbol of good luck!

March 15 - Ides of March (meaning middle of the month)
Speaking of luck, today happens to be the “Ides of March”, which wasn’t a lucky day for Julius Ceasar in 44 B.C., but WAS a lucky day for me in 1971 A.D. I was 27 years old, and after being in the work force since 1962, it was my first day on my new exciting job at a major corporation, where I was hired as a private secretary to a patent attorney, who happened to be - Irish! He was a great boss with a wonderful sense of humor, and I felt lucky indeed to work for him for the next 14 years.

To celebrate my 10th anniversary at the company in 1981, my boss and his lovely wife took my husband and me to dinner, which was so nice of them!

Then as icing on the cake, DH and I boarded a plane the next day for our first trip to – Hawaii (!) where to my surprise and great delight on the 17th, we were amazed to see a rather large St. Patrick’s Day parade! There we were, under palm trees and in the vicinity of fabulous Diamond Head volcano, hearing - Irish music!

Our luck continued the next year, as we had the opportunity to return to Hawaii on a charter flight, at a very nice price!
Wonderful memories of those two trips!
We've been to Oahu and Maui.

As a reminder of those lovely Hawiian trips, I have an hibiscus plant, which keeps my shamrock plant company in the dining room during the winter months!



It rewards me with beautiful red blooms, which seem to pop out unexpectedly! This photo was taken between one of those goofy snowstorms in February this year!

One little side note:

On our return to work from that first Hawaiian trip in 1981, I was greeted with the news that the company was going to make a major investment in some 'new equipment', which turned out to be monitors (called CRTs), keyboards, and ink-jet printers the size of washing machines)!

I was among the first secretaries in Pittsburgh to use this ‘futuristic’ Word Processing equipment! Little did I realize that it would lead to the end of the secretarial profession as I knew it (which at that time included lots of shorthand and typing).

Of course, it did lead to the internet and something called ‘blogging’, which I never could have imagined back then!

Wishing you a 'little bit o' luck' and an enjoyable St. Patrick's Day 2010 !

Victorian Lady's Slipper - Pattern in the works

I have a Computer question (below) about the Antique Pattern Library.
Also: Upcoming Maple Festival

Victorian Lady's Slipper - and Parasol

Recently I received some requests for the pattern for the Lady's Slipper shown at the top of my blog, and I'm certainly flattered by the interest! I've also had inquiries about the parasol shown with my handkerchief doll last May.

(Motifs #13 and #14 – Second Round)

The slipper and parasol make a nice 'set' hanging on my Victorian tree

These are both now at least 17 years old!

The slipper was the last of the 3-D items I created between 1991 and 1993. I also made 3-D bells, an egg, a ball ornament, birdcage, and heart.

I’ve always wanted to publish the slipper pattern, but every time I got out the draft notes and drawings I made back in 1993, I promptly put them back because I didn't have the patience to re-do them.

And, until I started my blog, I had no reason to re-draw the pattern. However, it is now time to get the pattern into readable form so I can finally share it.

I’d be delighted to know that it is being tatted and enjoyed by others out there in Tatland!

The 3-D aspect involves different views, and I also have to re-interpret my 'side' notes. Of course, I’ll also tat a new model.

The slipper isn't difficult to tat - it's a matter of paying attention to the joins, although it gets a little tricky under the arch and heel. It measures 3-1/2 inches long, 2-1/2” high. and 1-1/4” wide.

I don't want to set a deadline, but I'm hoping I can accomplish this by April or May. And because I know I will be putting in some time on it, I hope you’ll understand that I’ll want to charge a small amount for the pattern.

I'll also include my parasol pattern, which is easy to tat, but the finishing work is a little 'fussy', so I'll give tips on how to do that.

Vicary House last August (2009)

This is one corner of the lovely parlor room at Vicary House. This large room is furnished in Victorian style, which is perfect for my Victorian-themed tree and tree skirt.

I’ll feature more about the Vicary House in future posts.

I have many photos and stories of our demonstration experiences to share. I’ve seriously thought about opening another blog, so I can go into more detail about our tatting demo adventures, for those who are interested. I feel privileged to have been a member of the Beaver County Tatters since 1990. (I promise to share the whole story of this group in the future!) Evelyn, Peg (Carol Lawecki’s mom) and I are presently the ‘core’ of the group, and we are often joined by a newer member, Pam, and also Carol Lawecki on some occasions!

Upcoming Maple Festival (April 10-11 this year)
We now have only one outdoor event each year, the Maple Festival at Brady’s Run (Beaver, PA), where thousands of visitors come to have “all-you-can-eat” pancakes and sausage. We are in an enclosed pavilion, which we share with other crafters, including bobbin lacers and quilters.

It’s a rustic setting, so I wear what I call my ‘prairie outfit’ with a fringed black suede jacket and long black skirt with a gathered ruffle at the bottom (also boots and a black felt bolero hat) My ‘folk art’ quilted vest has tatting on it, of course! Wearing costumes is so much fun for me!

The weather in April is always ‘interesting’, and has ranged from 80 degrees to freezing with snow! There was one memorable occasion where everyone had to evacuate the park when the ‘babbling brook’ (after a heavy rain) started to rise over the vehicle bridge and pedestrian bridge road surfaces! Then there was the time when many cars (including mine) got stuck in the mud in the parking area. However, we’ve also had many weekends of perfect weather, and it’s a marvelous family event.

Fortunately, I've kept a diary of all our events, because after 20 years they all kind of blend together! I can’t believe how quickly time has passed, and I’ve gone from 46 to 66, seemingly ‘overnight’!!!

Antique Pattern Library - Problem with Adobe Reader
I was a little frustrated recently to discover that I couldn’t open PDF files in the Antique Pattern Library http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/completelist.htm

Apparently the Library was updated recently (Feb 2010) and I guess they did something to change access to the files. I have Adobe 7 and 8 in my computer and laptop, respectively, and never had problems before, but now neither one opens the files.

It seems that I need Adobe 9. What I'm concerned about is that there are ‘warnings’ on the internet about adding the ‘9’ upgrade (even though it’s free). And some 'forums' state you should use some ‘other’ software that doesn’t take up so much ‘space’ as Adobe. I just wanted to check with those of you who are more familiar with these ‘computer’ things than I am. Thanks!!!

Hearts - New and Old

Motifs #8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 - Second Round

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m posting FIVE different heart patterns. One is newly tatted, and the other four were made in the 1990s.

Motif #8 - Second Round

Lyn Mortons “Hearts and Flowers”

I was recently searching for books written by Mary Konior, and I came across Lyn Morton’s “Tatting and Designs” website, which has this free pattern in it. It is also in her “Tatting Patterns” book from 1993.

This is 3” in diameter,

DMC perle cotton, size 8, #498

Lyn’s pattern can be found at http://www.tatting.co.uk/pattern.htm

* * *

The next hearts are from my early days of tatting in the 1990s.

Motif #9 - Second Round

Gold Heart (now in Paper Weight)

Designer: Kim Goetz
Victorian Hearts & Flowers
magazine (Better Homes and Gardens – 1995)

Size 12 DMC perle cotton

Next are pins I wear on my costumes. They are called “Strawberries” in the Workbasket magazine, but they make a nice ‘heart’ shape, too

Motif #10a - Second Round
Coral pin

Designer: Cindy Polfer
Workbasket, June-July 1995, Labeled as “Tatted Strawberry

Motif #10b - Second Round
Burgundy Pin

Each pin is about 2” x 2”
and is made with
perle cotton, size 8

The next two motifs are on my ‘crazy quilt’ Victorian Christmas stocking (shown on my Dec. 24, 2008 post). I finally found the sources of these two patterns.

Motif #11 - Second Round
‘Large Heart’

Designer: Kim Goetz
Victorian Hearts and Flowers magazine
(Better Homes and Gardens - 1995)

Related to gold heart above,

from the same magazine

Possibly size 30 thread

Motif #12 - Second round
‘Quilt Show’ Heart (designer?)

I finally found the ‘source’ of this pattern, but not the designer (see below)

Tatted with size 50 thread

There is supposed to be one more ring on the outer round, left side, to match the one on the right side.

The above motif is an example of a heart shape made from three motifs which form a triangle, then an outer round that connects them together.

1994 Quilt Show - Inspiration for Motif #12

When I posted my Victorian Christmas stocking a whole year ago, I could not remember where I saw this pattern. Then it dawned on me that I saw it on a quilt at a Quilt Show around 1994 (can’t believe that’s 16 years ago!).

I also recalled that I made an attempt to ‘copy’ the heart from a somewhat blurry photo I took of the quilt square. I finally found that photo AND one of the entire quilt, plus some other squares. Those photos reminded me that the quilt had a LOT of tatting on it, which amazed me! The quilt (mostly appliqued motifs) had 49 squares, all different, and most of the squares had tatting in them!

Yet the card that accompanied the quilt made no mention of the tatting or the tatter! Unfortunately, the quilter was not at the show that day, so I couldn’t ask her about it. If she also did the tatting, she did an excellent job, as it has free-form tatting as well as delicate edgings and tatted motifs, done in fine thread. Just sewing all that tatting on would have been a big task.

I very much regret that I did not make an attempt to contact her, especially if she was a local gal. Today I would have made the effort!

* * *

The Winter Olympics has started in Vancouver, Canada, and it’s ironic that they are having an unusually mild winter and desperately need snow! (I’d be happy to send them ours!!)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY !!

SNOWED IN !! Working on Sherry's Treble Clef

Pittsburgh wasn’t so lucky this time in avoiding the Feb 5-6 storm that pounded the mid-Atlantic states, and we’re not out of the woods yet, as more snow started falling again yesterday and today (Feb. 9-10). Because we’re retired we no longer have to struggle to get out to go to work, and we’re very thankful we haven’t lost power. We also share a plowing service with the neighbors to keep our driveways clear, and that has been a major blessing. There’s a photo at the end of this post which shows the depth of the snow last weekend.

I tried to keep my mind off the snowstorm on Saturday by working on Sherry’s excellent Treble Clef pattern on her Feb. 1 post at http://ladyshuttlemaker.blogspot.com

Motif #7 – Second Round
Sherry’s Treble Clef

It took several attempts to work out the “folded ring”, which kind of forms the letter “D”. The idea is to get 5 knots in the ring to ‘fold over’ and to face the same direction as the outer edge of the ring

This is the first time I’ve ever heard of a ‘folded’ ring!

I’m VERY pleased with the way the heavier gold thread worked out - DMC’s size 5, which comes in a skein.

The clef (2” high) fits nicely into this little 4” x 3” frame from the dollar store.

These frames come in a 4-pack usually found with wedding items (in the larger stores).

This a VERY clever pattern, and my hat is off to Sherry for coming up with it! It almost looks as if it’s made with a continuous chain; but instead it’s constructed with rings and chains going in different directions than you would expect, without weaving over and under. Amazing

Here is the small table it will sit on, next to my piano. PERFECT

Thanks so much, Sherry!

* * * * *

SNOW PIC - Feb 6, 2010

This is a table on our balcony after the snow finally stopped on the 6th. Total was about 21", although this looks deeper for some reason.

We keep pushing the snow off the balcony onto the back yard, and we have no idea when THAT snow will melt!