Christmas time's a coming...

And here are some of my decorations.

The tree...
The wreath on the door.. with some of my tatted ornaments. Mine and some gifts.

You may have noticed the paper snowflakes. Yes, I was into making them this year. Fun and so easy. I made more to decorate the passthru between the kitchen and living room.

 One of my favorite things... my tatted Gingerbread house, along with my Misfit toys!

And, finally, my tatted Angel, Santa and his reindeer!

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!

 

Not much tatting going on.

Wow.. haven't posted in a while. I have been doing a lot of swaps, and not a lot of tatting. I did tat some partidges in pear trees for Christmas card gifts, and also I tatted one of Mark Myer's angels, I did her in sewing thread, to put into little charms to give as gifts also. I will post a picture of them later.

Check it out!

Here is a teaser picture for you to check out. Go to my other site, dog-gone knit, to see the rest of the story! See the link on the right side of the page.

Fair

I went to get my entries yesterday. I love reading the comments the judges have. I wish some were more constructive, but maybe that's just me.
Here is the little display I made to put up for a while. I also learned I got 5 people's choice votes for my photos.. that's pretty good. There were around 150 entries altogether, I was told. Though I only got a 2nd and third ribbon, and the picture that got the people's choice..didn't even win a ribbon. hmmm

Clinton Co. Fair.. winners!

I have returned triumphant!  I am so happy with the prizes I won.. let's see now, starting from the largest prizes ... we have...

    Cowboy who Rides and Ostrich Ornament (tatted)

He won the Sweepstakes, Judge's Choice and a blue ribbon! Wow!

Doctor Who mittens... Sweepstakes and Blue

Special awards... Grand prize IEHA card. (Indiana Extension Homemakers Assoc. for their 100th year anniversary)

 I knitted their logo, and a message, and attached it to a card. (I made the chart myself).

Pink Ladies New Baby card. A special thanks to Jane Eborall for the

stork pattern. I added a cap and bow tie to him.

Now for the blues.. I mean 1sts!

Star Trek Doily.. yay!

Tatted Spider on Web.

 (You can see here that the clown and the jelly gun didn't win. And you

can see what did win instead of them.)

Brain Bag..

Halloween Spider

Phoenix tatted necklace

Now for the 2nds..

Teddy Bear Christmas Tree

Harry Potter hand painted shoes

 and a Photo of a Wild Flower

Third place goes to Rebel.. as Mr. Spock.

Live Dog, and Prosper.

The non-winners included the Misfit Clown and mouse, and the Gun that Shoots Jelly, and two other photos. I also entered

the Hogwarts Express shawl, (knitted) and it took me more than half an hour to find it.... because it was underneath another entry! So, I don't know if it was even judged, let alone if I won anything.

As you can see.. I had a great day at the Fair!!!

Clinton County Fair

No photos to show...yet. Don't want to influence any judges that may see my blog somehow. heeheeI took all of my entries to the Fair last night. 18 in all! Wow. I think that is the most I have ever entered. I had my entry papers already filled out, so all that needed to be done were the tags. Whew. It is such a time saver to have those papers filled out. I entered all 7 of my Knit and Crochets in the time it took another lady to enter 1 of her items! Only took me 22 minutes in all.
There were 7 entries in Knit and Crochet, which includes tatting,
Crafts...6 (in which I also entered tatting)
Fine Arts...1
Photography 4
I will post again on Sunday. That is when the results come out. Wish me luck!

Star Trek Doily... finished!

Star Trek Doily

Ta Da! Just finished the doily. What do you think? It is 14" in diameter. The Earth is done mostly in mignionette (whew there was a lot of that!). It includes all the planets, even Pluto, there are little beads scattered randomly in the edging to signify stars. I am going to enter it into the county fair in July.  Any questions.. just ask.

Star Trek Doily.. Earth

Ok, just finished the edging, now it is blocking.  It turned out to be 14". I had attached some planets, then realized I had put them on the wrong side!!!  grrrrr. So, I have some fixing to do, and planets to remake, but it is all good, shouldn't take me long.

It looks dark because it is wet. Not quite finished but close!

Star Trek Doily update...

I have been in a couple of Ravelry swaps lately (see dog-gone knit blog), and didn't think I would have time to finish the doily for the fair. But, I picked it back up and maybe I will! I have the Earth finished, (OMG all the mignionettes!) and the planets,  now just to tat the edgings to attach the planets to. That will take a bit of time, but I should have it finished in time for the fair. It occured to me that people might think I was stupid for having the Earth in the middle with the other planets seemingly 'orbiting' it.  But, I see it more as a depiction of the solar system, sans Sun and Moon, so .... that is why I am adding the other planets.  I have little colored beads peppering it here and there to represent stars. The Enterprise is attached to the center of the Earth.. to look like it is orbiting.  It is going to be over 12" I think..we'll see. I'll post a picture when I am finished.

Fawkes.. sorry no pattern.

Sorry, ladies, but I just made him up as I went. But, you can see the center is a heart with basically just chains around and around. The 'feathers' are just graduated picots... turned and joined...over and over. Make 8 picots, lk, turn, make a picot(this is the tip of the feather), then join all the rest back to the beginning. Chain 2, make 4 picots, join last feather at half point, make 4 more picots, lk, turn, make a picot, join the rest back to the beginning. And so on..decreasing the amount of picots to make shorter feathers as you go to the tip of the wing.
The second row of feathers are the same, and after finishing one feather, join to one of the stitches between the feathers of the first row. Simple huh? Now you see why I didn't write out a pattern.

Fawkes necklace!!

Hi Everyone! I got inspired a little while ago. I am going to be in a Harry Potter swap, and it got me to thinking about the movies. I love the creatures in the movies so much, but I think Fawkes (Dumbledore's Phoenix) is my favorite. So, I created this phoenix neckace.  He was made with DMC #51, I wanted him to look like he was on fire, so I fluffed some of the picots. I also found the perfect bead for his eye.. it is red and yellow! I may add more fluff to the tail, or not, but I really like him! What do you think? Click the picture to see him larger.

Enterprise doily pictures!

Ok.. so, this first picture is my renditon of North and South America in tatting. I tacked them down to fabric and attached to a hoop to make it easier to do the fill in later.

Then, when I actually started the mignonette fill in..(light blue for the gulf, and the rest in navy) I found it much easier to take it off of the hoop. Eventually, and hopefully, it will be round. Then the plan is to add edging rows for 'space' (in a very dark blue or black) and put in little planets and stars here and there. The Enterprise will be added over the Earth to simulate orbit. Comments welcomed!

Enterprise doily?

Ok, remember when I said I had a doily in mind using the Enterprise? Well, I have begun making it. I started March 17, and wow.. it is slow going, but for a reason. I am making the planet Earth in tatting for the Enterprise to be orbiting. I started with the continents..North  and South America. I did them in green variegated. These were in normal rings and chains. Then I started filling in the oceans.. with mignonette stitches. Very close together mignonettes. Really, it sort of looks like fabric. (Pictures later)  I actually ran out of thread on the oceans and had to order more. So, the Earth will have to wait for a couple of days.
In the meantime, I have started a necklace. The only clue to this one is...Harry Potter. I am going to be in a Harry Potter swap on Ravelry starting next month, and it has put me in the HP mood. I don't think my swap partner will be getting a duplicate necklace, though. It may have to be a one of a kind. But, if it turns out nicely, I will enter it in the fair this summer. Wish me luck in my projects!

Engage!!

Greetings fellow Trekkies and Tatters! The pattern for the Enterpirse is now available. You can order it from me by simply emailing me, or go to my Etsy link fixed where I am selling it there. It will be emailed to you in pdf form for $5. Paypal excepted. If you don't have Paypal, email me and we can probably work something else out.

USS Enterprise

Ta dah! Here it is.. the USS Enterprise from Star Trek!  It is 7½"x 3", done in DMC white. I added a few beads to make it more realistic.  I need to tweek the pattern and it should be ready in a couple of days. I am going to sell it for $5... pdf via email. There will be the written pattern and pictures.
I am hoping on making a doily using it. I have a plan, we'll see how it goes.
So.... how do you like it?

Something's coming...

OMG y'all! I recently found a pattern I started designing a couple of years ago. I don't know why I didn't finish it, but ... I decided to do so now. I just finished the prototype this morning, and I am so excited! I am going to retat the pattern today to see if it works again, type it out nicely and then I will be able to show and tell! But, let me tell you, if you are a SciFi nerd like me.. you will be really excited! I am going to be selling the pattern for  a small amount, hopefully someone out there will want it. The techniques are pretty basic, rings, chains, split rings, adding beads is optional.
OOOh, better get back to it! Hold on for more news later!

Cowboy that rides an Ostrich Misfit toy

Here he is partner!  I love this little guy (do I say that for all of them? yes, probably.) I made the ostrich first. Then, Mr. Cowboy I just finished tonight, complete with his bandana, belt, and gun. Together, they are 5½ inches tall. I had started a different misfit toy.. but this Cowboy just called me too loudly...I had to re-create him. Hope you like him.

Working on another Misfit.

Hi Everyone,
I've been pretty much on down time lately...having the flu from Hell.  It just won't let go!
Anyway...I have been working on a new Misfit. The "Cowboy who rides an Ostrich".
I have the ostrich finished, and will post a pic later. The Cowboy is coming along, need to make his hat, boots, gun, and some little touches, and then they can be revealled!

Remembering Gina Brummett

As many of you know, Gina, also known as TattingGoddess, lost her battle with lung cancer recently. She was a very sweet lady.
Here are a few photos I have to share of her.

This is a photo of her doing something she loved.. tatting. This was taken at the Lafayette Lacers Lace Day. She introduced me the the Lace Day events. I so love going, and loved seeing her there every time.

Another Lace day..Gina brought the tatted Sock Monkey I had made for her.

She collected sock monkeys, so I made her a little 3D tatted one.

Here is a photo of a little get together we had. We ate at Pepe's in Frankfort, and our Leprechauns joined us! We had several little get togethers in the past. Always chatting, sharing our newest tatted items,  gifting each other with little things. I will always remember them with a smile.

Here is a little amulet bag tatted by Gina. She entered it as a raffle prize at a Lace Day, and I was very lucky to win it. I use it constantly as a holder for my mp3 player.

Among other things, she was a talented tatter, teacher, and friend. I never saw her without a smile on her face. The tatting world has lost a family member. We will all miss her blog posts, comments, and patterns.  Those of us who knew her personally, will miss her for different reasons.

My condolences go out to her family. Take some comfort in knowing she will always be remembered as long as there are tatters in the world.

 

Rest in Peace Gina.

Tatting Project and more

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!

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

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

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

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?