Battatter's Blogger

Tatting Project and more

2012-01-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

Here is the "motif connecting" project so far. I work on it in the evenings, a little at a time. Anyway, I like how it is going. I am enjoying going thru the older motifs I have designed. When I run out of my own Halloween designs, I am going to use some I have received as gifts over the years. And, hey, if you have any sitting around you don't want/need/know what to do with, I would be glad to have them! It is going to need a little blocking when I am finished, but, no biggie. I am thinking of making it a long rectangle, as opposed to a circle. I would get more use from a rectangled piece of tatting. Shawl, table runner, couch back drape...etc.

And, I got my new license plate! Yeah! I have decided this will be my early birthday present to myself from now on, as long as I have enough money, that is.
I wish they would let you put more letters on it, but, alas, this is all I could get. That's ok, you can still sound it out correctly! I haven't decided what to do with last year's plate. I will definately keep it, but I think some sort of project with it may be needed.

Avatar in the house!

2012-01-14T11:49:00.000-08:00

Last summer I painted my bedroom what I call Avatar(the movie) blue. It is a fairly dark aqua or teal. Well, I had planned on adding some Avatar touches to the room, but never got around to it.... until today! Here is what I will wake up to every morning now...

One of the giant flowers from the movie! It is 4x4-1/2 feet! I really love it! I am planning on painting some eywa here and there, and maybe some other plants and creatures. This took me about three hours, including lunch.

What do you think?

oh, and sorry, I have to moderate comments now 'cos I was getting spammed by another blogger with cigarette ads!

Another project.. FO Shawl

2012-01-14T05:18:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning up my tatting dresser, which has my folders of tatting patterns on top. I took one down, and looked thru it. Now, I have designed a bunch of patterns, mostly Halloween and Christmas themed, and when I design one, I always keep one or two of the actual tatted pieces in the folders. I have the plastic whole page sleeves in the folders to hold both the pattern and the tatted pieces. Anyway, I was looking at all the tatting, and thinking what a waste it was just having them sit in this folder. Some have been there for many years. So, I have decided to tat them all together, into a shawl/table runner. I like how Sherry T did her centerpiece years ago,
(see Centerpiece..here.. http://www.celticdreamweaver.com/ ) connecting all the tatting with the mignonette stitch, so that is what I am doing with my designs. Since it has started with my very first pattern, 'Amich's Tatted Bat" and will continue with Halloween designs, I have decided to use DMC 554 as the mignonette color instead of white like Sherry did. I think the very light lavender color will go well with the tatting, plus, I don't ever wear white, so if I want to wear this as a shawl when I am finished, the purple will be better for me to wear. I am not tacking every motif down to fabric, I am just tatting on the go. Cross your fingers for me that it all turns out ok. haha..
I will show photos now and then of my progress. But, this will be an on again-off again project, so don't look for it to be finished soon. When I run out of my own Halloween motifs, I will add some I have gotten in swaps. When I run out of those, I will add other motifs I have, and other motifs I have received. Wish me luck!

Misfit toys... Windup Mouse in a Clown

2012-01-09T06:17:00.000-08:00

Here is a new one! I made the mouse first, as he had to be really little and then look like he could fit inside the clown. I tatted the clown, stiffened him, alot!, then, blasphemy..cut him in half! Let me tell you, it was difficult, both mentally and physically! Well, it had to be done. I am thinking of painting the inside black, to match the one in the show. Don't know yet. I really love how cute the clown came out. Here is a photo of the original. Oops, I just noticed I forgot his white fluff ball on his hat. I will make that today.

Next, I think I will make a toy no one ever remembers. There was a little dark blue teddy bear... with white tail feathers. He is very cute, but didn't have a 'speaking' part. Yep, he will be next.

Misfit toy...Spotted Elephant

2012-01-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

The newest member of my Misfit toy collection.. Spotted Elephant.
I had made one before, using beads for the spots, but it looked creepy to me.
I did this one using tatted rings as spots.. much better.

He looks pinker in the photo than in real life.

I may make the little bellboy hat (below) for him. I think it is cute. I'd really like to

make the little mouse in the clown, but can't figure how I would make the clown.. tat it and cut it in half?

Doctor Who love..

2011-12-30T06:33:00.001-08:00

Have I mentioned I am a great Doctor Who fan! I love this show. I have watched it for over 25 years, yep, it has been on for nearly 50 years now! Wow. It is a British show and at first, in the 80's, we could only see it on PBS. Now, of course, there is BBC America.
In the last incarnation of the Doctor, we met the Face of Boe. A giant face... that had lived for centuries and was supposed to live forever. I thought this Doctor Who 'creature' was very unique.
While looking on Ravelry one day, I found a crocheted Face of Boe. Those of you on Rav can go see it, it is still there.
I was so excited, until I found I couldn't get a pattern because she was restricted from selling them...copywright infringements and all. But, hey, I thought if you made up a pattern, you could sell it. IDK. Anyway..sadly I just put it in my favs and there it stayed.
Recently though, the Face of Boe had been showing up in my minds eye.. alot. This means, at least to me, that I have to make it. (I have done my best work this way) So, off to my craft room to find yarn just the right color. Found. Crochet hook, found. Start to crochet. It was so weird, as I went along, I would stop and look at the photo, and think, 'how do I make a chin?'.. then I'd try something, and it would work. "How do I make lips?".. it would work. I didn't have to tear out any of the stitches I made for the whole face. It was weird. I really love how he turned out.

So, finally, I present...

The Face of Boe

It's a Leprechaun Christmas!!

2011-12-27T05:54:00.000-08:00

Hello and Merry Christmas all. Hope you had a great holiday. Little Feargal and my boys did!
Guess what? Santa came and brought them all presents! Woo hoo!

See the little boxes in the front? Oh the lads were excited!

And what did Feargal receive???? Can you guess?

Why, his own little bat! I guess Santa wanted him to remember his time

here with battatter!

And what did the other lads receive?

Since the name Rori means Red King.. he received a Red Crown!

And what of Conor... he 'hound lover'?

Why, he received his very own pup!

As you can see the lads had a very nice Christmas!

They sang songs and ate to much, and had a grand old time.

Santa was very good to them all. And he knew them so well, hmmm.

Could it be??????

Christmas surprise visitor

2011-12-24T07:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas Eve, all! My Christmas surprise visitor is none other than the world traveller, Feargal!
He has come to stay with Conor, Rori, Rebel, and me, for the holidays! Here he is whispering to Rebel what he wants for Christmas. He must have thought Rebel was an elf! But, Rebel will make sure Feargal gets his Christmas wish just the same! Make sure to check out the A Leprechaun's Life page to see his adventures!

New addition to Misfit Toy collection

2011-12-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

Here he is..
the Gun that shoots Jelly!
Poor sad little Gun..but hey, I would love a gun that shoots jelly. Especially raspberry jelly! Yum!

I will have a surprise to post in a day or so.. so... stay tuned!

Anyone else's blogger messed up?

2011-12-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

First it says I am logged in, then it won't let me post to other blogs. Won't accept my login thru Google.. what's up!

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree...

2011-12-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

I finished decorating my Tatting Tree! Lots of my designs, lots of gifts from friends, I love this tree!

Oh, I just added this..the shuttle I won at Lafayette Lacers! I can't believe I never thought to hang shuttles on my tree! I have a bunch of pretty ones, too!

Ho Ho Ho... Merry Christmas!!

New Addition...Candy Reindeer

2011-11-26T19:25:00.000-08:00

This year's new addition to my big Tatted Gingerbread house is...

Candy Reindeer!

He is made from tatted versions of the following..

Head-Chocolate covered Cherry

Antlers-Candy canes

Ears- Non pareils

Body-Chocolate Nuggat with icing decor

tail- Chocolate Chip

Legs-Good and Plenty(s)

Hooves-half M&Ms.

I had such fun making him, and as you can see, he is fitting right in at his new home.

Now what to make

2011-11-14T11:29:00.000-08:00

I am just about finished with my last swap of the year on Ravelry, so, it is time to hunker down and make some Christmas gifts.
I have decided to make some decorative dishcloths for some, a hat (if I can figure out the pattern) for one, scarf for one, and... don't know what else yet.
Here is something I made my spoilee for the Dr. Seuss swap. Since I don't think any of my Rav friends ever look here, it should be safe to post.
I saw a figurine something like this either on ebay or etsy. Since the price was way too high to buy one for my spoilee, I made her, and myself, one.
What do you think?

The Grinch

He is about 8" tall. The original was just on a wooden base, but I added snow and snowballs to mine.

HAIER air conditioners are crap

2011-11-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

Just to let everyone know, as a service to my friends.
If you are considering buying a Haier Air conditioner (I got mine at Walmart) DON'T. I had mine less than one year (which was actually about 4 months of use) and it stopped cooling. Walmart only has a TWO WEEK return policy, and the Haier company said I would need a repair man. Ok, anyone need a junk air conditioner?

Bowl full of Lemons ...another great give-away

2011-10-28T05:05:00.000-07:00

Hey, over at a bowl full of lemons, they are having another give-away! This time it is for a cool $31 gift certificate to Thirty-One organizing products
http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/2011/10/thirty-one-gift-certificate-giveaway.html!
Go check it out!

Spider in frame

2011-10-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't follow my knitting blog. I framed my knitted spider this morning! Easy peasy! I put up a command hanger, hung a frame(no glass) on it, and also hung the spider from the hanger, too. I think she looks awesome!

Tatted Halloween Spider

2011-10-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

Here she is! Finally finished. My homemade Halloween decoration for this year is my 3D Tatted Halloween Spider! She is tatted in DMC black with a purple dmc shiny floss added. Her legs are memory thread (thread with wire in it) wrapped in a chain stitch. (That took a while!). Beaded eyes... all 6 of them.
First, I found the branch. I tried to stain it.. looked awful. Paint it brown.. awful...finally black..ok.
I cut out the web shaped stand on my scroll saw, and wood burned the web onto it, and stained it. I attached the branch to the stand with a wood screw.
I then tied the tatted web, I had already made, onto the branch. The spider is just hanging on by her feet! I really love how that shiny floss (one strand added) looks like she is totally beaded! It is a great affect.

I haven't named her yet, but she will have a name soon. All total, web and stand are about 14" high or so.

Happy October!

2011-10-02T06:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, so, you may have guessed my 'theme' for this Halloween is spiders. I have the large knitted one on my dog-goneknit page, I am knitting a purse with one, and I have created this little guy. He is about 2½" long, legs and all. He is 3D tatting, of course. He is made from some thread I got at the Lace day, which just screamed "Halloween"!
His legs are memory thread, which I also got at the Lace day. I am thinking of making them to sell on Etsy. We shall see.
I also have finished his big Sister, who will have her own web and stand.. but she will be revealed later when all completed. (I have to finish the stand). Until then...enjoy this little taste of Halloween!

Tatting you say..

2011-09-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

I haven't done much lately. But, my projects I am working on are as follows.
Remember Bella? Well, I decided I wanted something similar to her, on a branch, large..only a Spider. I have the perfect branch I found while cutting my hedge. It is already a 'stand'. I tatted a large spider web to go in it. Now, all I need do is make the 3D spider to go inside! I can almost see her.. so... soon.
I also want to make the Christmas Spider ornament. It is a little spider on top of an ornament ball with a web attached. On my to do list.
If you haven't guessed by now, I am making spiders this Halloween. Check out my knitting blog in the near future to see the knitted orb weaver I am making. No pictures yet, but soon. There are new photos of swaps I have done and received lately.. that is fun to look at.(And more fun to receive!!)
So, if you have a spider pattern that is unique or rare or just want to share with me, I'd love to get them!!

Battatter's Boots

2011-08-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

First, let me thank my sister for buying me these! I fell in love with them, and they were 'really' pricey. She had already given me money for helping her with a chore, .. but also gave me the rest of the $$ to make up the difference in the boot price. She said, you have to have those.
The perfect boot for the Battatter...

And since they are in men's sizes.. they fit great! I am doing a happy dance in my bat boots!

State Fair fun

2011-08-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

Went to the State Fair with my two BFFs and we had a great time. It was a beautiful sunny day, but cool, about 80 degrees. Breezy. I hadn't entered anything in the fair as it is very pricy. But I did see the winners. I was surprised and happy that a gal from my hometown, Jan Mullens, won 1st prize with her beautiful cross stitch. Way to go Jan!
I told my friends I was going to eat whatever I wanted... they thought I might get sick! haha.
I had fried veggies, (so good) a deep fried twinkie, (also good, but needed better batter) London broil, yum, cherry limeade,(yuck. I love cherry limeade but this had hardly any flavor, boo) Another cherry lime slushy, ok, I also had strawberry shortcake. I bought, but did not eat there,... choc. praline fudge for me and pumpkin for my sister, honey straws, candied pecans, cotton candy. We pet goats, horses, sheep, saw the cows,.. elephants for elephant ride. I took Bellaluna to show to Mary, the lady who tats in the pioneer days building. She isn't online, and I think has limited access to patterns, so mostly does doilies, crosses and such. She was a little scared by Bella, but very interested in her.We had a nice chat. My friends and I had a long but fun day.

Harry Potter shoes... DONE!

2011-07-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Ok.. I have to stop! I keep wanting to put more on..but.. I ...must... stop.

Here is the finished product. I love 'em and can't wait to wear them!

Ta Dah! Fair Entries 2011!!

2011-07-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the fair, and oh, I am a happy girl!
I was hoping on the way out there..if I could just get one sweepstakes I would be so happy. (I know, that is alot to hope, but I can hope, can't I?)
I got there, and what to my wondering eyes should appear?
Oh, my sweet Dolcé had won Sweepstakes, Judges Choice AND a blue ribbon! Wow! She is a chip off the old block, as that is exactly what her mother, Bellaluna, won last year! So proud. Then I looked and baby brother Danté had won 1st prize! Yeah. Well, that is the highest he could possibly win, as they were in the same 'class' category.
I then started looking for my Gryffindory Owl purse. So named because it is Gryffindor colors from Harry Potter, and knitted with many owls. It was the first knitting I have ever entered into the fair. I was hoping for any ribbon, of course. But, when I saw it, I was flabbergasted! It had won Sweepstakes and a blue ribbon! It was all I could do not to jump up and down by this point. Whew~
I also saw the little crocheted Halloween Cat I had entered had won a red ribbon. I am so happy with that, as the first prize in that category when to the cutest crocheted peas in a pod amigurumi.
On to my Halloween bat.. where was he?.. oh, he is over there sitting on a shelf... with a 3rd place ribbon. Nice. There were a lot of nice 'other season' entries, and he is very lucky to win.
Oh, where is my tatted Charlie in the box ornament?.. oh, my.. oh my.. he is there, with a what?
Sweepstakes and blue ribbon! Wow again. It strikes me as amazing that such a little ornament can win sweepstakes.
Now on to my photographs. You must know, it has been really hard for me to win in this Department. Seems the same people win.. alot. I got to looking. Oh, my little dragonfly not only didn't win, he was displayed sideways! ...umm ok.
Then I found my digitally enhanced photo of Rebel... oooh 3rd! I thought he might do better, as he is made up of hundreds of tiny photos of himself, but, he at least got a ribbon. Then to find the one I really wanted to win. It is a photo of a drop of water hanging off of a calla lily. In the drop of water you can see Rebel in the reflection. I reallllly love this picture. I finally found it, with a 1st place ribbon. YES! I was very very happy it won. Funny, when I was looking at it, a lady and her husband came up and she was admiring it out loud. I said.. thank you. She turned and said, you took that? Yep, I said. See the reflection of my dog? Her husband said, yeah, it does look like a dog. I said, it IS, and explained how it was done. THEN, he was really loving in. He just kept staring at it. Made me feel good. I am so so happy with my fair wins. Thanks to everyone who encourage me and keep me going!
Also, a big congrats to my friend, Molly, who also won a 2nd place and third place in Photography!

Harry Potter shoes coming along

2011-07-10T05:58:00.000-07:00

I started painting last evening, and so far so good!
Thanks for the comments! I did have many, not all, of the ideas listed. The hard part was 'seeing' where things should go.
The plan is, icons from each movie...4 movies on each shoe. Last night I finished side one of one shoe and began side one of the other. (We must have paint drying time) I love the way the HP logo came out. It is on the back of one of the shoes. The Dumbledore's Army logo is on the back of the other.
I will work on them today, too, and update you with my Fair results when I get them later this afternoon.
Ciao!

Harry Potter shoes

2011-07-08T12:20:00.001-07:00

Ok, since I can't take my HP owl purse with me to the movie, I have decided to paint myself some HP shoes.(like the Doctor Who shoes in a previous post).
But what to put on them? I have several things in mind, but, what are YOUR favorite icons from the films. I am thinking/hoping to put one item from each movie. Let's hear it..

The Fair is here again!

2011-07-08T03:56:00.000-07:00

I went to enter 11 items for the fair last night. There is an entry sheet you must fill out for each department and then the tags for each item. A couple of years ago, I took the entry sheet I had used, brought it home, scanned it, and digitally erased all the previous info on it. So now, when I go to the fair, I already have my entry sheets filled out.. so all I have to do is the tags. The fair coordinators are always so happy when I do this. I wish someone would get the idea to have them available for everyone to fill out. Maybe next year I will post a pdf of it. It may help out some people. Anyway.....

Danté (Free Choice)

Dolcé(Tatting)

Here are some photos of what I entered. Of course, I forgot to take photos of the new stands for my Dolcé and Danté bats. Oh well, I'll show them later. One lady asked if it was tatted. I said yes, She said, even the little 'veins' (as she called the fingers in the wings). I said yes. She said I have never seen that stitch, I thought it was crocheted. I explained it was tatted, and that I was the only person I know of that does it. She looked at me oddly. Sometimes I don't know how to take that odd look. haha.
Also, there was another girl there. She asked me if I could have the pattern. I explained, I don't have a pattern, I just make it up as I go. She said, "then I will be taking lots and lots of photos"! I laughed and said no problem. She had made an adorable crocheted three peas in a pod amigurumi. Oh, now my poor kitty or Danté won't win. It was really well done and very cute.

This little Halloween bat also has a candycorn bowtie.He is entered in the Seasonal(not Christmas) category.

Halloween Kitty (Toy)

Gryffindor owl bag. It pains me to enter it into the fair, but it was the only really good knitted item I made all year. I really wanted to take it to the HP movie when I went, but I am going Friday, and can't pick up the bag until Saturday. waaaa.

Charlie in the box Christmas ornament.

Fairy Garden. This isn't mine, this is one I made for someone else. Mine is much larger, and has all of this and a peacock, fairy garden gate door, and more in it.

I also entered three photos. I would have entered more, but they changed the rules this year and everything had to be mounted on 16x20 foam core board. Too pricey to enter too many if you have to buy all the foam core.

I also entered in the recycle category a tote I made from a birdseed bag. They are quite pretty, because the bags usually have lovely birds on them. And, they are sturdy, because they are meant to hold so many pounds of birdseed. The fair coordinators didn't seemed to thrilled with it, so I probably won't win anything, but I do love them for grocery totes, project bags, or just a place to throw junk when you are cleaning.

Ok, that is 11. I will go Sunday afternoon to see if I won anything.

Wish me luck.

Swappy goodness and more

2011-07-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

Hello there. Yes, it has been a while. I have been busy doing swaps and getting ready for the local Fair. As a teaser to the swaps, and quite appropriate for this blog.. I made my Zoo swap partner this awesome notepad.

I bought the notepad, covered it with fabric to hide the printing on it. Then I tatted this SO CUTE little koala and glued him on. Sweet! I had never tried this pattern before, though I have had it for YEARS!. It is one from Christel Weidemann's collections .. and so in German. I had a little problem with the head and ear section, but I 'made it work'.. the rest was a piece of German chocolate cake. haha.. Check out the other things I have made my swap partners on my other blog, dog-gone knit.

I love her patterns, now I guess I will have to make some more of them!

The Fair..I think I am ready. I am entering Dolcé in the 'tatting' section, Danté in the free choice, and my Charlie in the box ornament in the Christmas ornaments. In other categories, a crocheted item in the Seasonal, Crocheted item in the toys, Knitted bag in the purse section, a fairy garden(made with all handcrafted from fimo flowers, fairy, mandrake.. etc, in the crafts, and three photos. I would have entered more photos, but they have a new rule this year that photos must be mounted on a 16x20" foam core board! Wow. I wasn't going to spend much $$$ to enter photos, plus have to lug the huge things everywhere.

I have to go enter my items this Thurs or Fri...and then find out how they did on Sunday afternoon. Wish me luck!

Swaps!

2011-06-03T07:27:00.001-07:00

I know, it isn't tatting, but please check out my swapping fun on my other site,
dog-gone knit. See it on the sidebar?..over there......------>
I made some cool stuff, and got even cooler stuff!
here's a sneak peak..

I made this dumpling bag from space fabric.. and hand painted the TARDIS on it.

A Giveaway from A Bow Full of Lemons

2011-05-18T06:14:00.000-07:00

There is a very cool giveaway going on. They are giving away a Silhouette machine. Find the details here,
A Bowl Full of Lemons

Another Ravelry swap!

2011-04-15T05:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a preview of what I received in the Fantasy Creature swap..
go to my other blog Dog-gone knit to see all the goodies!

Lace Day!

2011-04-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a little video I made of the fun I had at Lafayette Lacer's Lace Day yesterday. It is about 3minutes. I will add more details later... until then..Enjoy!

Ok, as promised, more about Lace Day!

When I arrived, it was gloomy and raining. But I walked in the doors, and was met by two very bright smiles.. LaceLovinLibrarian and her friend LaceRN! They came from Illinois for the day and had brought things for the raffles... and gifts! LLLibrarian let me choose a shuttle from her pile of blinged out shuttles. It was a difficult choice but I finally settled on this one. Pretty, glittery one with Lilies of the valley. Thank you, Diane!

I had taken my tatted bat family and my Haunted house...and was immediately deluged with compliments! Such a proud momma am I!

I went to put them on the show and tell table. Well! wow! There were so many beautiful things there already! Excellent!

A little later on...who sneaks up behind me?

Laura Bobay from Columbia City! We meet here everytime to spend this great day together. She brought me this super cool Maranka gourd! hmmm what will I make this into?

I saw old friends, like Tatting Goddess, and Mary Harris, and made some new ones, like Connie, Kelly and Mindy. You can see them in the video, well, except for Tatting Goddess. I don't know how I missed getting her photo, but I did get photos of her tatting! The rocks were a hoot!

Then, there were the raffles! Oh, I love the raffles! I bought $20 (30tickets) worth

of tickets. And, silly me, forgot to use 10 of them!

But.. I won!

Here is the first (yes, I said first, as I had a really lucky day), one I won.

I really really wanted to win this one for several reasons. One, it had a shuttle bling box from LacelovinLibrarian, it also had this awesome embroidered tatting bag, and a Peter Cua etched shuttle! The wow factor of this one was incredible. When they called my name.. I was ecstatic!

This first raffle prize was more than enough for the price of the tickets! But wait, there was more.

Then I won the stack of magazines in the first picture. With this lovely dog pattern in one of them. I will have to make one of these.

Then there was shopping, chatting, laughing, lunch (yummy strombolli at the Pizza Hut), more shopping and fun.. then, more raffles.

I won this. Beautiful quilted bag full of magazines and patterns! Did I mention, I love magazines?

The last raffle was a different one. You were supposed to guess how many spools of thread were in the large tub, and write it on the ticket and put it in the raffle container.

They said two people were the closest.. they called a name.. no one came to claim it. As it was pretty much the end of the day, many people had gone home. So, the next closest person got it.. me!

Wow, am I lucky or what? Really, not usually, in any other circumstance, but today was my lucky day!

There are all types of great threads in there... Carolyn Regnier told me I had to make something great with them.. I will!

Here is a panorama I made of the rec room as I call it. It is where the refreshments and raffles were held. By the way, I still want the lemon cookie recipe.. I am craving them NOW!

Can you name these people.. I am sure you can some of them, at least. Sorry, though. The lady on the right sort of got 'ghosted' when the panorama program got finished!

I had such a great day...

Happy Anniversary Lafayette Lacers!!

Here's to another 30... and more

And... another one

2011-04-03T16:34:00.000-07:00

Here is the second type of web. It fits around the neck better but seems a little small.
Still, I like it too. I will be wearing one of them to the Lace Day this Saturday!!! yeah!!
Also bringing show and tell!
And Gina, I thought about painting the clay, but I wanted it to look smoother than the paint makes it look.
I have pretty much every color clay.. except yellow! What was I thinking?

Ta dah! Project revealed!

2011-04-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

Ok...here it is finished. It is a Marbled Orb spider necklace.

The back story.. last year I found THE most beautiful spider I had ever seen in my yard. I found out

it was a Marbled Orb Weaver. I had this idea of making this body look like hers, enclose it in tatting, tat the head and legs, and make a web necklace for her to hang from.

Well, Marbled Orb weavers are yellow, and I didn't have any yellow clay, so I just made

her from green. ( I never wear yellow anyway).

Here is a picture of the real one...

Mine is no way as beautiful as the real thing, but I like it anyway. Next time I am in Lafayette, I am

going to get some yellow clay! I may even add some black to the legs of mine. I like the web necklace, but it hangs funny, so I have to stiffen it. More pictures to come.

New idea coming along

2011-04-03T07:01:00.001-07:00

The new idea I had on Tatting day is coming along GREAT! I make 4 of the 'basic' things, and today, I will work on the 'other' part. Should have a picture soon!

Happy International Tatting Day!

2011-04-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is here again! And, funny, I woke up with an idea for a really cool (if I can make it happen) necklace idea! I have it sketched out.. and will try making parts of it today! If you know me, you can probably guess it has something to do with Halloween. But, hey, no bats this time.. UNBELIEVABLE!
Have a great Tat day, eat chocolate and make something lovely!

Oh, I just had another idea... though I cannot make it. How about a shuttle, that has a plastic 'cover' on one side that can be removed (like snapped on and off) , and you place a little piece of your own tatting on the shuttle, then snap the cover back over the shuttle. Essentially encasing your tatting with the cover, but making the top smooth so tatting is still easy? Come on someone, make me one. haha!

Contest on another blog!

2011-03-28T05:57:00.000-07:00

This awesome blog, Artistic Halloween Queens, is having an EasterWeen (half way to Halloween), contest The prizes are phenomenal! Check it out!

http://artisticthalloweenqueens.blogspot.com/2011/03/easterween-giveaway.html

aaaand.. back to Misfit toys

2011-03-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

I started making the Misfit toys, from the tv show Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, a long time ago. I made Dolly, and started the Elephant, then ran out of elephant thread! Ugh. So, I recently got the urge to begin again.. and found some elephant thread, finished him.. and now I think he is too small! Ugh, again! But, I did finish Charlie in the box, and I love him! Here he is...

He is the 'right' size to go with Dolly, so I think I will redo Elephant. I also thought Elephant just didn't look quite right. So, yes, I will do him over.

I have begun the Gun that shoots grape jelly. I will post his picture when he is finished.

Piccolo Photo

2011-03-18T05:34:00.000-07:00

Here he is... little Piccolo. He has finally arrived at his new home with prize winner Mary Helen.

He was very well received, and will have a great home. He is even smaller than Dantè. I wish now I had taken a 'comparison' picture to show his size. His new mom tells me she will post pictures of him on her blog this weekend, so look for him there too.

Congrats again, Mary Helen.

Contest baby bat sent

2011-03-11T06:16:00.000-08:00

I have sent the prizes to the contestants. Congrats again, girls!
Maureen and BJ have chosen Halloween patterns, and Mary Helen chose for me to make her
a little 3D bat. I have finished him, named him (though she may rename him if she choses) taken pictures and sent him. His name is Piccolo, because he is so small. I will post a picture of him after she gets him. Don't want to spoil her surprise!

Baby Brother Bat Name Contest winner is....

2011-02-15T06:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, we all know I thought of a name.. his name is Dantèluna.(obviously Luna is their last name, heehee)
But, in the random pick contest, for which I used a random number picker and assigned numbers to names.. there were 18 of you...the winner is...
Mary Helen---Congratulations!
So, Mary Helen please email me to discuss which prize you would like to have!
And, since it is my birthday, I decided to give away 2nd and 3rd prizes, too.
Second prize goes to...Maureen!
Third prize goes to Beverly June!
What do 2nd and 3rd winners get, you ask? You get your choice of pdf of either my Christmas Collection of patterns or my Halloween Collection of patterns. Please email me with your choice.
Here is the cover of each to help you decide. Congratulations, all!!

Bellaluna is famous!

2011-02-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

Well sort of. I just recently received a letter from Tatdlace telling me about an article she was approached for, and she included my Bellaluna as an example of tatting. The article is here..
http://www.knitchmagazine.com/features/special-interest/tatting.html
Thanks Sharon!
And don't forget the NAMING OF BABY BROTHER BAT contest ends in just 4 days.. so submit a name, any name, to get in the contest.
I have chosen a name, to be honest, so I will do a random pick to find the winner. But, you MUST submit a name (even if it is your own!)

I also was the lucky recipient of some of Yarnplayers thread. She had some she wasn't happy with, and had a giveaway.. and I won 2 skeins of Stardate! It is really beautiful, even though she wasn't happy with how it turned out, I certainly am! Thanks Marilee!!!

Tiara treats

2011-02-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

I am in a Princess Bride swap and I made my swap partner this tiara. I modeled it after one I saw on Tattyhead's blog.
Then, I decided to make another, so I made this one up.

They are both black, with what I call dragon beads. The beads are sort of like a Japanese beetle in color, you know, how they are almost a different color if you turn it? They are blue/black/green/goldish..

You can see where the beads are in the first one, in the second one, there is a bead inside each ring.

Hope my spoilee likes it!

Hey only two weeks left in the name the baby bat contest... lets' see some more entries!

Here I come!

2011-01-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

Or, rather, there I went! Here is my new license plate! I am excited! (it doesn't take much!). I have wanted a personalized plate for a long time, and I finally decided to get myself one for an early birthday gift. They wouldn't let me get the whole name, and I had to leave a space... so this is what I came up with.
Now the world can see.... there goes battatter!

Baby Brother is here...

2011-01-19T20:58:00.000-08:00

Now you have a face... now go find me a name! Little brother has arrived. Here you see him alone on his little branch..

but don't realize how small he is until you see him with the rest of the family! My little cutie! Now get busy and send in those names...

Baby Brother Bat naming contest begins!

2011-01-15T21:45:00.000-08:00

All righty! I decided to make the little brown baby bat brother. He got himself inside my brain, and would not let me go! So, he has begun to be began...
So far, I am loving the little guy! I thought making Dolce` small was difficult.. but little brother is so very tiny! He is milk chocolate brown, about 3¾" tall.. so far. He has a way to go before he is finished, but I have decided to let the contest to name him begin! So, get out those thinking caps, and send me names for my little boy bat. Comment on this post with the name you have selected.
One name per person, please, so think hard. I will announce the winner on February 15.. which is my birthday, so it will offically be 'baby bat's' birthday, too.
So, you have a whole month to think about it. So what is to be the prize? Hmmm... I will give the winner a choice. The winner can either have my Halloween Pattern collection, My Christmas pattern collection, or something tatted by me especially for them. How's that sound?
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Dolcè and Bella hangin' out

2011-01-05T07:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of the girls 'hangin' out'. I started to make Dolcè her own perch, but then had this thought that she would look cool hanging out on some birchwood. Well, I don't happen to have a birch tree. So, until I can figure out where to get a little birch branch for her, she is hanging out with her Mom.

This is where she will be permanently after the Fair, but I really want a birch branch for her Fair perch. I guess I will have to peruse the park and neighborhoods to try to find one.
Hmmmm I just noticed there is another little branch here that is empty.....perhaps a little brother is in Dolcè's future?
Ok, I am editing this to say, I will probably make the little brother. He would be chocolate brown, and, as I have not had one yet, I would have a naming contest. BUT, don't start suggesting yet! It will begin AFTER he is finished, whenever that may be. But, you can choose whether it will be a random winner, or the person who first suggests the name I like the best. (which may be the name I have already thought of).
Ok, you can leave a comment on which option you would prefer if you entered.

Introducing.. Dolceluna

2011-01-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

Here she is! Newborn albino baby of Bellaluna! Her official birthday is January 1, 2011...the day she was actually ~~finished~~ born.
I had quite a time trying to come up with her name. But, she is so sweet, I chose Dolcè (pronounced dole-che'), which is Italian for sweet. Luna, of course, meaning moon, and also after her mother.
She is 6" tall from top of her little ears to the tips of her little toes. She has a 9" wingspan. And the bead count in her wings? Approximately 490 give or take a few. I used clear and pink seed beads in her wings. I haven't finished her perch yet, as she has to have her own to go into the fair this year. After the fair, she will hang with her mother on a little off shoot branch of her mother's perch. But, if everything goes right, she will have her 'coming out' party at the Lace Day in Lafayette this year. They have their lace day every other year, so Dolcè and Bella both will attend....if I can.
So... what do you think of my new baby?

Christmas Decor Video

2010-12-28T08:01:00.000-08:00

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-24T07:32:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, fellow tatters and other followers...

It is a cold, gray morning here in battatterland. But, it is also Christmas Eve! We are supposed to get just a little snow, which will make the day more lovely, and also give it the 'feel' of Christmas. I love snow, and don't even mind shovelling it too much. I have all of my Christmas shopping and decorating finished, as of a couple of days ago, and since then it has been a time of relaxation. I actually did NOTHING (well except the normal cleaning and cooking) work related. I did some tatting, and some knitting.. nice day.

Today, I may make some fudge. As I write this, I am listening to favorite Christmas albums. Right now, it is Gene Autry.. Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer! Earlier, it was the Elvis Christmas album. Later, it will be the Kingston Trio. I have a bunch of really old albums from my childhood, and I have transfered them onto my computer, so I can listen anytime I wish. I sort of like them better this way, with the bit of record scratching on them as compared to redone perfect cds. It sounds more real, and the way I remember it.
So, here is my wish for all of you..
Have a very relaxing, wonderful and fun Christmas from Rebel and me!

Rebel ornament

2010-12-19T20:36:00.000-08:00

For some reason, 'blogger' wouldn't let me edit the last post, so,

here is an updated photo of the ornament.

I also have been working on a super secret pattern. I just got it finished, but have to test it a bit more.

Here's a clue, anyone like the Princess Bride?

New ornament.. not tatted

2010-12-17T09:06:00.000-08:00

I just finished this ornament of Rebel! I had a hard time getting him glued on, but finally did it. Though I thought it was finished, I now want to give him a little Santa hat or something else Christmasy. But, until then... cute huh?

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree..

2010-12-13T21:31:00.000-08:00

Here it is! I finally put up my tree with all my Christmas Challenge ornaments on it. I added three more, a snowflake, a Tardis, and another bear to make the 30 I decided on. Also, to make it different, I only put antique, or at least pretty old, ornaments on it.

And, of course, what would Christmas be with out a visit to Santa? Rebel finally got to have his

picture taken with Santa this year. Our local Humane Society set it up, and I just love it!

Albino bat... more finished

2010-11-18T06:08:00.000-08:00

Here she is as she looks this morning. I have to do the beaded webbing and find her some proper red eyes. I just temporarily added these eyes. They are too big, and I wanted red. She is coming along very nicely. I was surprised at how quickly, then, duh, I realized.. it is because she is so much smaller than Bellaluna! I am going to make her her own perch, too, as I did for Bella. The plan is to hang her with Bella on Bella's perch, but, if I enter her in the fair next year (which I probably will), she will need her own.

Better go find that perfect limb....

Michelle's giveaway

2010-11-17T22:04:00.000-08:00

Just found this.. what great looking bears! and such an awesome giveaway..
check it out.
http://michelles-bears.blogspot.com/2010/11/its-time-its-finally-time.html?spref=fb

Albino baby bat.. so far

2010-11-17T06:43:00.000-08:00

Here are the beginnings of my albino baby bat. She is much smaller than Bellaluna, as she is meant
to be her baby. I tatted the body first, then the head. It took me 4 tries to get the face and head small enough for her little body. I need to find some very small red animal eyes or round top buttons to put in as her eyes.
I am now working on her arms and finger frames. This is the part I attach the beaded webbing to. The legs and then the wing webbing is next. I have one wing frame almost finished, and I will show a picture of that when it is done.

tatting today

2010-11-14T22:11:00.000-08:00

I had a headache all day, so I didn't do much except tat. I have had this little albino baby bat in my head for a few days.. just poking at my brain, so I thought I would tat her to get her out. She is going to be Bellaluna's baby, and albino, a whole lot smaller, 'cos she's a baby. I tried to make her face about 4 times before I got it the way I wanted it. It was hard to make it look cute, small and still like Bella. Her body was pretty easy. I am now working on her wings.This will take time, as I have to solid tat the fingers, then put in the webbing, like I did for Bella. I will post pics later.

the Doctor is in...

2010-11-11T09:38:00.000-08:00

Doctor Who that is!
Here is the wonderful T.A.R.D.I.S. bookmark my Anne Bruvold over at Nuperelle. I have had the pattern a while, and since I have friends who love Doctor Who, I thought I would make them an ornament/bookmark for Christmas. So, I guess this could also count as one of my Ornament Challenge ornaments. I added the little white beads to the top to look like the white 'Police Box" writing on the actual T.A.R.D.I.S.

I really think it adds some umph to it. I also am going to join a Doctor Who swap over on Ravelry next year, so, might as well make one for that, too. Great pattern Anne, thanks!!

Christmas Ornament Challenge...fail...

2010-10-31T23:03:00.000-07:00

Alright, I will admit defeat. I am so very far behind in my ornament challenge, only on week 27 out of 44...that I have decided to make 3 more ornaments and call it a 'day'. Thirty ornaments will be great on my tree, and I have to face it, I will not catch up. Tatting is supposed to be about fun, and worrying about it is not fun. I have been learning to knit, ( please visit my other blog, dog-goneknit on the sidebar) and being in swaps, and the fair, thus I had gotten behind in the challenge. So, with the holidays coming up, I have decided to end my challenge on a high note.
I have so many other things I want to make. One being a baby albino bat to go with Bellaluna. Another, being a spider in the same vein.. large, beaded, gorgeous (haha)... I just thought of that this evening, and now it is stuck in my brain. I am also planning a Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer vignette, you have seen the Dolly if you have looked on this blog before.
These plus knitting I really want to do... well, I shall be busy! Come back sometime and see what I come up with!

Follow up to contest

2010-10-24T05:27:00.000-07:00

oh, sorry, I should have mentioned the tatted chocolate contest is here!!!
http://www.ambitatterous.blogspot.com/

Chocolate box

2010-10-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, so, there is this decorate a chocolate box with tatting.
Well, what better way to decorate than with 'actual' chocolate!
Here is my Whitman's sampler of tatted chocolates. Yes, each piece of chocolate is actually
tatted. And, I if you were here, you could smell that I put chocolate scented oil on the stuffing, so
they really smell like chocolate, too.
Hope they like my entry.

been busy...on the COC

2010-09-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

Weeks 25, 26 and 27 coming your way!
Becky Dempsey bat... made into a Batcicle...

From Tatting Times Newsletter... Earth Angel..

I found one little typo in the pattern, but it is a really cute angel made with a cabone ring.

And a little green cockatoo-cicle..

Still behind.. but catching up!

Week 24..Polar Bear!

2010-09-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

I saw this bear online. It is a pattern by Anitra Stone. It is one of the patterns that (hopefully) will be available from this year's Palmeto Tatters 2010 Tat Days. But... I couldn't wait, I wanted to do a polar bear so badly. I reverse engineered it, ( though I WILL be buying the real thing). I changed the ears and left out one of the legs to make my polar bear. He doesn't look perfect, but pretty good. In the pattern, he is a black bear, but I think this works for a polar bear. The next one I make, after getting the REAL pattern, will look much better. (BTW.. don't look at the ends I haven't hidden yet!)

Week 23... Christmas Bat

2010-09-09T07:09:00.000-07:00

Here is another little Christmas bat. I did this one in green! I think they are so cute! I would have had another ornament to show.. but, somehow, I can't find the thread I was using, and I only needed to make two little legs... waaaa. I will have to look around better. Drat those house fairies that take my stuff!

For something a little different...

2010-09-06T05:04:00.000-07:00

A Christmas Bat! Isn't he cute? He is the pattern of Kaye Judt, and he is in her new book, A Little O' This and a Little O' That. http://www.handyhandstatting.com/detail.cfm?ID=2532
I made him in Christmasy colors so he could be on my tree. I am going to make a green one, too, with reddish pink eyes. This is COC week 22 ... and counting.

And... week 21 of the COC

2010-08-30T20:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a little Christmas tree ornament for my week 21. Working on my week 22 as we speak, so stay tuned!

Christmas Challenge..better late than never!

2010-08-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

Week.. 20? Ok, I know I am behind. Sometimes life just slaps you up side the head!
So, here we go..
Here is "Dolly". In case you don't recognize her, she is one of the Misfit Toys from the Christmas classic TV show Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Yes, I have started another 'epic' project. I want to make the characters from the show and put them in their own little scene. I made her first because in the show, it seems she is wearing a tatted lace collar! In an effort to catch up with my challenge, not every week will there be a Misfit toy, as they take a while to make. So, be prepared for a smattering of different ornaments to appear.
But for today, I present...Dolly.

Just a note...or two.

2010-08-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Whew! I have been so busy with my knitting, I have been quite remiss in the tatting department! I have been doing swaps, which have been knitting and crocheting. I will blog them on my dog goneknit page later.
I just finished another 'ornament' for my challenge, and need to catch up quite a bit. The ones I am currently wanting to do will take a bit longer than normal, but catch up I will! I will post a picture tomorrow.
Now, if you know me you know I love Halloween. Here
http://ehagemporium.blogspot.com/2010/08/giveaway.html#comments
is the Ecectic Halloween Artists Group page. Such lovely Halloweenyness. They are having a giveaway, so check it out!

Indiana State Fair 2010

2010-08-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

I recently went to our state fair with my best friend and her husband. I didn't enter anything (as it is tooooo pricey to enter), and how I do wish I could have entered Bellaluna!

I met a lovely lady named Mary Rinker, who was demonstrating tatting! She isn't online, but we had a nice long chat and I encouraged her to come join us online tatters. She told me not many people knows she tats, even her pastor was surprised when he saw her demonstrating at the fair! Here she is showing someone the basics, and here is her display.

There was one display case of tatted items that were entered. Here they are...and in many cases, you can read the names of the exhibitors...Congratulations ladies!!

here's a close up of the pattern for that bag.. for those of you interested.

Foreign comments

2010-08-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

Just to let everyone know.. if I can't read your comment(at the moment I have gotten many that look to be Chinese or Japanese), or at least translate it(I can translate the Spanish and French), it will be deleted.
Most of the Chinese or Japanese comments seem to be ads for 'risque' sites.. so out they will go.
On a lighter note, I will be posting a couple of pics from the State Fair here soon. Had a nice time though it was 110 degrees!!!

All of my Fair entries with ribbons

2010-07-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of everything I entered and how they all did. I actually only entered 14 items, as they didn't accept one photo because it didn't have a hanger.. oh well.. Click on it for a larger view.
So 10 wins out of 14.. even better! And 13 ribbons.. yeeeehaw!
Oh, this will be my last post about it. On to getting caught up with the Christmas ornament challenge. I am a few weeks behind because of the fair, so I will get caught up and post the picture here asap!

Fair wins 2010!!!

2010-07-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

My sweet Bellaluna won! I was very excited to see a Sweepstakes ribbon and Judge's Choice on her! Wow!!!

Of all of the things (15) I put in the fair, I didn't really care if any of them won, except for her. I had such high hopes, and they came true! Here is a video of the pictures from the fair, along with better photos of each entry.

Bellaluna on her perch

2010-07-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, she is OFFICALLY finished now. I just finished making her perch and attaching her to it. I bought the flat of wood at Wal-mart, and I got the branch off of my dying apple tree. I put a washer and screw from the bottom up through the top and through the branch. I stained it, and varnished it, and, by golly, it is just like I imagined it would look! Cross your fingers for me and Bellaluna, for we must enter the fair on Thursday, and wait until Sunday to see if the judges like her.

Gothic Twilight Necklace

2010-07-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

Hiya! I just finished this necklace that I wanted to put into the fair. The necklace pattern is not my own, I saw it on the internet (it is the design of agasunset, here is her blog, and she sells it on her etsy page.. minus the Edward cameo
http://agasunset.blogspot.com/2010/03/i-am-not-goth.html)
sorry I don't remember where) and when I put the red beads on it, I thought, this looks like something from Twilight (it is a movie about a girl and a vampire, in case you have been hiding under a rock).
Then, I thought it would look cool if I made a 'cameo' of Edward (vampire) and wrapped it in tatting and hung it as the focal point. I used computer shrink plastic to make the image, then, I used black sewing thread for the tatting around the cameo. (I used DMC black sized 8 for the necklace.) I think it looks pretty neat, so, it is going into the fair, too. One week to go!

Bellaluna is born

2010-06-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it, anything you want to, do it....
These are the words in my head and heart this morning. You may recognize these words from the movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory".
I, quite by accident, watched it and the new version, a total of three times in the weeks I spent while creating Bellaluna, and the words seem to have come to fruition with my little bat. I thought her up as a wild idea to celebrate my tatting name, and she has come to life just as the song goes..anything you want to... do it.
I finished her last night, while watching that movie about a candy maker. So, she has a sweeter feel to her in my mind.
I am so pleased with the way she turned out. I have no idea how many beads I used in her wings, I will try to get an estimate later. (edited.. she has well over 1300 beads!) She is a little over 18" in wingspan, and 10" head to toe. I haven't selected the branch I will hang her from yet, as her display... I have to find just the right one.
I hope she does well in the fair, but even if she doesn't, I'll love her all the same.

Bellaluna's progress

2010-06-17T06:04:00.000-07:00

Hello there!

My little Bellaluna has turned into quite a project! But, I am really loving how she is turning out. I am very bad at taking progress photos.. I guess I just don't want to stop to take them, but, here are a couple I took this morning.

Here is Bellaluna with her legs and hands attached. I see that I am probably going to have to fix the length of one of her fingers, but when I made it, it seemed to be the correct length.. measure measure....

Here is a photo of the wing detail. I have estimated it will take another 2 weeks to finish the wings. I rolled around many ideas in my head, like.. using a bunch of little motifs, using one big motif and a few little ones, tatting the whole wing section then attaching it...

Finally, I landed on this idea of making the beaded 'fabric' in a sort of mignonnette style. I was half way thru the first wing, when I realized I would not have enough beads, and had to go on a bead search. By the way, my Michael's has almost totally gotten rid of the regular beads like this.. they are just full of the expensive 'fancy' jewelry ones. So, dear friends, I am recommending you check out Jo Ann's fabric for beads. That is where I found these, regular seed beads (well, they are a beautiful iridescent Japanese beetle type with colors of blue, purple, gold, green)..plus they have the fancy jewelry ones, too. Also, Hobby Lobby had a nice selection. Well there is my plug for the day.

Anyway...cross your fingers I get her done in time for the fair!

Week 19... Celtic Cross ornament and Bellaluna progress

2010-05-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

May 15.. here is the progress on my Bellaluna.. I have her body finished now. I have to make her legs and 'arms' and then her wings.. I think I will put beads in her wings to make them more special. The left is the front and the right is the back. I wanted those two little circles on the back to look like her bum..heehee..

Also, for you who are following along.. here is week 19's ornament. A Celtic Cross.

Golden Earring and Mystery Medallion

2010-05-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

Do you have the mate to this earring, (as seen on the right) or a pair? I lost the mate to this, one of my favorite pairs of earrings, a few years ago. I have decided to put up the picture hoping someone out there has a mate or a pair, they are willing to sell me. I am going to leave it up on my page..indefinately.. or until I find one.

I also have this medallion I got in a box at a yard sale. Does anyone know anything about it? There is what looks to be Latin writing on it, it may be a religious medallion, as it does say Alpha and Omega on it, but I don't know. If you know anything about it, please email me or write a comment about it.
Thanks for looking!

New 3D project started today

2010-05-06T22:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, so, here is what I have decided to tat next. It is something I have wanted to do for a while, but just recently could invision it. He is going to be...

Tada! A 3D tatted fruit bat! Fruit bats are really cute, because they actually look a lot like a dog with wings. Here you see his head, the only part I have finished so far. He is going to a full bodied, and winged, bat. The plan is to get a neat gnarly branch from my dying tree, make a sort of stand out of it, and hang my little bat from it, upside down, of course. I wish they made black polyfill.. I think that would be neat to stuff him with, but at least, you can really see the tatting this way. What do you think?

Beary Merry Christmas

2010-05-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

Here is the ornament for this week.. Snow Bear! He is one of the snowflake animals I have thought up. He is a variation of the Snow Angel, of course, only a bear! His little tail makes the 6th point of the star.

Challenge week 18...

Gingerbread house revisted

2010-05-01T07:10:00.000-07:00

I received and email today from someone wanting to see my Gingerbread house. And, upon looking, saw that there were no pictures of it posted here! I guess they were all posted on my old Myspace site, which I never go to anymore. It took me about 5 months to complete, if I remember correctly. Most of the time was spent trying to figure out what to put on it!
So, here are some pictures for anyone interested. This post has a lot of pictures so, hold on, here we go...
First pictures up.. the candy. I tatted every bit of candy on the house. I had someone, who saw it in person, think the chocolate kisses were real.. that was a big compliment!

Peppermints, gumdrops, lollipops and kisses.

Non-pareils and taffy trees.

Good and plentys and 'licorice' scotty dogs. I have a red one on the house, too.

The house beginnings..candy canes and block tatted door.

...and more. House on plastic shape I made, later made a cardboard one.

The house complete with tatted snow on the base. (I think that took the longest and was the most tedious.)

Closeup of Peppermint girl and you can see the red scotty in the background.

The back with licorice all sorts, candy canes making a heart, and gumdrops.

One of the sides. Gumdrops, taffy and "m&m's" on the roof.

The official picture of the Gingerbread house.

To see pictures of the Haunted house, go to the sidebar, to 2009 April and May.

Thanks for visiting!

Fair musings, and Week 17 Snow Angel 2 for April 29

2010-04-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

Here is the revised Snow Angel. She has 6 "points" instead of the 7 the other one had, like a real
snowflake.

I have finished the Snow Bear, but you will have to wait until next week to see him!!
I really have nothing to go into the fair this year! I have been looking in my computer for something 'fabulous' to make. I am thinking of a 3d Santa.. ala Jane E's Fairy girl. Someone had a picture posted of one they did, sorry I don't remember who, and it was very cool.
Also, a necklace I saw somewhere..well, it was for sale, but I reverse engineered it for myself, as I couldn't afford it anyway. Of course, I would never sell it or the pattern I figured out, but it was pretty, so, maybe it will go into the fair. Also, and this would have to be for next year... I am itching to do another GIGANTIC project in the line of my Gingerbread house and Haunted house. I have a couple of thoughts, but nothing pinned down yet. If anyone has any great ideas.. let me know!

Week 16 Snow Angel!

2010-04-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, I had this idea the first thing in my head when I woke up this morning. I call her 'Snow Angel', as she is supposed to look like an angel snowflake. This was my first attempt at making her. I will make some more of her, to tweek the pattern. I also thought of (as I was scribbling out a picture of her to do), a snow dog, snow cat, snow bunny, a snow bear and, mostly for myself, a snow bat!! Now to just design them! Enjoy the Snow Angel

Week 15 Ornament Challenge and April 15 TAX DAY

2010-04-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
It is tax day, hope you all have your taxes in! I piddled around and finally sent them in a couple of days ago. Usually I do it rather early, but... I guess I am getting lazy in my old age.

Here is the Christmas ornament for this week, a Candy Cane. This is a different one than the last one. The pattern is from an old Workbasket magazine, but still one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Christmas Ornament for week 14 ring with charm

2010-04-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Hi! This is a simple little ornament I created tatting onto a bracelet. I got... oh, a ton... of these gold bracelets at a Halloween shop for $4. They called them pirate gold.. but I wanted them to tat onto. I had a bunch of these little plastic snowflakes too, so 1+1= tatted ornament!

Hope you like it. I actually made a couple more, 'cos they are quite shiny in the light of day, and I think they will look neat on the tree.

.................I won!

2010-04-07T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! You know all those blog anniversary contests we enter and never win.. well, I actually won one! Actually, it was a Birthday giveaway over on Aileen's Wicked Tats, and I just got my prize!

Look... it is a lot of pretty beads in blues and hot pink, cabone rings to tat on, and a neat assortment of buttons. I really LOVE the coconut buttons, by the way, so cool!
Thanks so much Aileen!!!

..................Happy International Tat Day!

2010-04-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

Today, April 1, is not only April Fool's day, it is more importantly International Tat Day! A day for tatting, and eating chocolate! Well, today, I have done both. I got up this morning and had a thought, then the thought turned into a vision in my mind.. then it had to come out in tatting.. and here it is.

The newest member of the leprechaun family... Baby Talun! As you can see, Conor found him in the Easter decorations! What a surprise! Rory was so happy, just look at his face! Talun is in his pastel green swaddling blankie, with a shamrock on it. The lads were so happy to see him, they took turns holding him..

Then, finally they decided to pose for a family photo. Such a wonderful Tat day gift!

oh, they just reminded me to show this week's Christmas Challenge ornament.

I call it the Heartfelt tree...full of dimpled (heart) rings.

..................Week 12 ornament Candy Cane

2010-03-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

This week I have reached back into my old computer days stash and come out with this very pretty candy cane pattern by Gail Owens. It is different from most, as it is all chains! It is about 5" tall in DMC size 8 threads. I like it!

Don't forget to visit my other blog... dog-gone knit.. to see what I am doing there. There is a tab to the right ....>

...............Week 11 ornament Challenge

2010-03-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

For the week 11 ornament, I chose a cross. I like this one as it is simple, yet pretty. It is a pattern by Julie Patterson.. called Hearts and Flowers cross.

By the way..Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! From Rebel and Conor (last year's picture, so Rory isn't in it), and his best friends, Gizmo and Rascal

......................week 10 Ornament Challenge

2010-03-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

Here is my week 10 ornament. It is a Ruth Perry ornament, I tatted it and put it on a clear ball ornament, and put red glitter in the ball. A very pretty ornament!

...................Week 9 Candle in the wind

2010-03-04T07:38:00.000-08:00

I love this little candle ornament. It is about 5" tall. Found it on someone's site, but they couldn't remember where they got the picture! It wasn't hard to figure out the pattern. I made a couple of these last year for gifts, now this one is mine! I am already thinking about next week's pattern, so it may come a little early... see ya then!

............week 8 whoops a day late

2010-02-26T19:53:00.000-08:00

Whoops! It was finished on time, but I forgot to post it yesterday! EEK!! Here is week 8.. Feb 25th's ornament. Another little bulb ornament look alike. This one is smaller, but I think it is cute. I like to put the little silver topper on these, to make them look more like the real things.

...................Feb 18 week 7 Ornament Challenge

2010-02-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! Here is my week 7 entry in my COC.(Christmas Ornament Challenge)

It is supposed to look like those old fashioned glass bulbs that had 3 sections decending in diameter. I like this ornament because it is easy and makes a pretty large ornament, and it is pretty. Hope you like it too.

.......................Curiouser and Curiouser

2010-02-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

For a little fun today, here is a Cheshire cat I designed this morning. I am in an Alice in Wonderland swap over on Ravelry, and this little guy is going to my partner. Though she doesn't know who she is..
shhhh it is a secret. I just love this little guy. I haven't written out the pattern, just so you know..

......................Motifs a go-go

2010-02-03T22:28:00.000-08:00

Someone asked... what do you do with practice motifs? Here is what I did with some I had had in my stash for years. I call them 'boo boo kitty' and 'boo boo bear'. I got the toys in a claw machine (so, about 50 cents each). You could use any toy, or even put them over tears on 'treasured' kid's toys. Just have fun with them. You could even go all 70's and do this to a pair of jeans!!

.................For Feb. 11 alittle Early

2010-02-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

The 6th week's entry in the Christmas Ornament Challenge of Feb11.. hmmm I got this one finished early.
It is a frame ornament, though I haven't put the photo in it. I will post later whose pattern it is, it isn't mine, but I do really like it!

.........................Week 5 Snowgirl!

2010-01-29T07:42:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know she is a little early this week but, I just finished her and she wanted to show off! Here is my little snowgirl. I have named her Snowella..

She is basically my Icy snowman/icicle pattern, but with earmuffs and a scarf.(thanks to Abby for the idea!) I made the carrot nose from Fimo clay. I think she is a cutie pie, and she will look nice on my tree next Christmas.

.........................Neige Flake for Jan 28

2010-01-25T09:22:00.000-08:00

Hello, week four is here... and here is my entry. I call it the Neige Flake. Neige is snow in French, and when I made it, the tips reminded me of the French fleur de lis. I like this snowflake, it is so spokey, and a little different.

...................KIWI

2010-01-21T10:35:00.000-08:00

Well, for anyone who has ever played Facebook's Island Paradise.. you know how hard it is to get a kiwi for your island. I woke up this morning with a tatted kiwi in my mind. Odd thing, I had never thought of tatting one. I immediately got up and scribbled down the picture in my head... and here he is.

Enjoy~!

Kiwi

©2010 Carol Amich

two shuttles CTM. I used DMC 8 and Kiwi is

about 1½ long not counting beak.

R2-10-----------2+ long p and pull up tight so the picot is wide at the bottom,

not doubled, 12 RW (this is the head)

Ch16 SS

R3-3-3-3 SS

Ch2 SS

R 3-3-3-3 SS

Ch 2 SS

R 3-3-3-3 SS

Ch 16 join to base of head ring

Ch 2 + picot on head ring

Ch20 + 1st p on first body ring

Ch14 + middle p of middle ring

Ch 3-12 + last p of last ring

Ch8------------10 + base of head ring.

Hide ends

Cut leg picot and block or stiffen to put in curve for feet, and point beak.

..................Christmas Challenge Week 3

2010-01-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! I got this one finished early. I designed this ball ornament cover, actually it is in two parts then strung together. It is on a 3" clear ball, DMC Christmas(#666, ironically) red, size 8. I will have to write down the pattern, but it is REALLY easy.
I think I will call it..."Picotriffic Christmas Ornament".
(pronounced pico-riffic)

ps... I have just finished the pattern. Anyone care to test tat it? Email me..
pps...here is a photo with beads..

....................Christmas Ornament Challenge weeks 1 and 2

2010-01-13T16:12:00.000-08:00

Ok, as promised.. here is week one and week two of my challenge. First, week one, is a glittery ornament with my pattern "Reindeers in a row" surrounding it. Also, on the top are some doubled rings, which resemble deer tracks. I love this little pattern.

Week two... is Christmas Angel from the Christmas Angels and Other Ornaments book. I really dislike the written out instructions, as I tend to get lost easily, but, she is so pretty. She is done in some of the Lizbeth thread that was a gift to me from Celitcdreamweaver. So, what to make for next week? I don't know yet, but I will post it by the 21st!~
Oh, yes, and take a look at my knitting blog, to the sidebar... doggoneknit... if you wish, to see the goodies I created for the Favorite Author/Novel exchange. My partner, Jenni, likes vampire novels, so I made her some appropriate goodies!!