Marrakesh reticule

I bought new string.  Couldn't help myself.  Besides string is relatively cheap and keeps me entertained for hours. 

 

[I'm using LizBeth thread; size 20, in 671-Christmas Red and 694-Autumn Orange-Med]

I have had an idea to use this tatting pattern for some time.  My copy is from The Complete Encyclopedia of Needlework by Therese de Dillmont but you can view whole ebook thanks to Project Gutenberg here.  Isn't that great!  What a fabulous free resource.  There are even direct links to various sections of this lenghty book.  If you'd like to look at the pattern I selected, scroll done to the Tatting section and click on the link for "Patterns of Scallops and Medallions". 

I had an idea to use this for another tatted reticule.  You can see from that bit at the bottom of the above  photo that I had a bit of a setback but things are going more smoothly now. 

Last summer when I suspended blogging for a bit I was right in the middle of the first tatted reticule.  I did finish it:

It was a very enjoyable project.  Tatting is much more summer-friendly than knitting with wool.  Alas.

Currently my idea for this new bag is to do just a deep edging and then, using the same string (not sure which color yet) to knit a bag and affix the edging at the top.   For my bag last summer I knitted just a shallow bottom which I attached to the bottom tatted edging.  For this one the idea is to have the entire bag in stockinette with a deep edging overlay.

Goodies

 

Sometime last fall I learned that Barbara Foster over at Handy Hands was working to get the old English Aero shuttle remade, and made well.  Their new Aerlit is now available and comes is all kinds of yummy colors, like Cherry Vanilla, Vanilla Raspberry, Mint Chocolate.  So you know I had to try that out. Chocolate bobbins!    I have only had time for a quick test run, but I am satisfied and look forward to using it more in the future.  One can never have too many bobbins ready and waiting to be filled. 

 

That wonderful Lizbeth thread is sometimes available in local Big Box stores, but in limited colors and usually not many solids so while I was ordering I went ahead and got a couple of balls of size 20 in a nice pineapple color in case I go wild and decide to try that Pineapple Reticule.



Boxing Day

A nice quiet day around the cul-de-sac.  Thankfully no bad weather here.  A little reading, a little tatting, and snacking (of course!) continues.

Crazy? I'm halfway there!

I've reached the halfway point of the tatted antique wristbag [pdf pattern here]. I'm going to have to deal with all those loose ends soon as they are driving me nuts.

Halfway means (obviously) that one side is complete. I'll keep adding sections in the same manner and it will remain one flat piece until that last section connects to the first. Not so sure when that will be. But, hey! It isn't like there is any real hurry for this. : )

In the meantime I have received my May/June issue of "Piecework".

Let me remind you, it is the LACE issue and it is another outstanding one.

It should be on the newsstands May 1. RUN out and get one.

There is knitted lace, bobbin lace, tatted lace (a bedspread! GASP!), reticella needle lace, Clones crochet lace, a little known, nearly forgotten German hand-knotted lace technique, and several patterns including one by Galina Khmeleva [that's it pictured on the cover].

I've hardly had a chance to look through it but I look forward to spending some quality time with this one.

$6.99 is the single-issue price. An incredible bargain. What a treasure of information!

Wholly unnecessary

Once again, not being able to quickly and easily lay my hands on the exact string that I want proves frustrating.

I really want to knit a vintage beaded pineapple bag from the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Piecework. Have I said lately how much I love Piecework? LOVE it. That issue is the 6th Annual Historical Knitting issue.

I know. You must be shaking your head about now and asking yourself "why, why??". What can I say? It is a bag made of string.

I'd link but there doesn't seem to be a photo of this particular pattern. In fact it doesn't even yet appear in Ravelry. But you can see a photo of one at Two Nerdy History Girls blog and read more about it. There is a link there, too, to a larger photo.

I love working with the Lizbeth threads. There are over 125 colors so I should be able to find the shades I need for the pineapple. It is clear, however, that I'm going to have to order them sight unseen as I cannot rely on the paltry offerings in the Big Box stores around here.

In the meantime, thinking about the bag and dithering over colors, I came across a pattern for a tatted bag. It is made in 12 sections so I thought I could start it and let it be a long-term project, just working on it as and when I had the time and inclination. I'm using color 640: Antique Violet Medium, a lovely dusky color.

Even though it is a fairly straightforward pattern, based on a old edging/insertion, I still managed to mess up when I got to the top and had to CUT a section out, tie on, and resume. It is slow going. Who knows if we'll ever see the finished bag or not.

ETA: Well, I started this post on March 4 and have gotten a bit more done and I am really enjoying this pattern. I just LOVE the number 12. So easy to keep up with my progress. I am on the third section so almost a quarter finished.

Just after starting this post, I saw that Franklin, too, has a knitted pineapple reticule. His post here and pattern at Knitty. Grrr. Blogger doesn't want to let me LINK. But surely you already know both Franklin and Knitty.

http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-green-was-my-bottom.html

Unadulterated

Unadultered stringplay.
What fun, and perfect for an UNadult like me!

Sometime back I saw some lovely pieces at Yarnplayer's blog combining black thread with some of her wonderful hand-dyed threads (HDT). Knitters are used to seeing hand-dyed yarns, well Marilee does an amazing job of dyeing threads. See more of her things in her Etsy shop. I haven't ever tried any, but my friend Pat says they're great. Right, Pat?

Ever since seeing those I have been wanting to try out something similar myself. So yesterday I bought a ball of LizBeth thread and thought I'd try the combination out on the pattern in the current issue of "Piecework" [a/k/a the amazingly wonderful LACE issue].

The magazine article is entitled "The Tatting Treasures of Irene Buckland" and the author tells of taking a tatting class and seeing the tatting sample notebook of Irene Buckland (1901-1998). Trish Faubion recreated this pattern from one of the samples in the book. Irene's original and Trish's recreation both use blue and ecru.

I'm planning on finishing out the thread in the shuttles and then maybe trying a round or square motif. Oh, and the thread color? It is #119 - Jelly Bean. I'm thinking of this Jelly Beans and Licorice (with a nod to Jeannie, of course!).

"I'm growing older but not up, my metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck"
Jimmy Buffet (from 1980)
Remember: May is National Cheeseburger Month!

Royal Society

If you could see my stitching room, you'd know it is not fit for Royal Society.

I am trying to decide on my next knitting project. I seem to be having a hard time doing so. I think I know what I want to start and then I change my mind. In the meantime there are knitting pattern books scattered all around me.

While my mind ponders, it is easy enough to work up another little tatted heart. This one is a variation of the one made last Monday, but in a finer thread - size 70 vs. size 30 for the other.

I love the color. I'm not sure how this little ball of Royal Society tatting thread came to me, but I'm feel certain it was through some friend in the lace group.

Valdani Valentine

Still on the heart kick over here. I decided to go ahead and try the Valdani pearl cotton - color M43 size 12. Such beautiful colors over there. Every time I link, I have to linger and look them all over again.

I came out very lucky on this one. I had just barely enough thread still on the shuttle to complete the last ring. Whew!

This pattern is from a free tear sheet at the Lizbeth thread display at a local store, also available online here.

The online pattern does not give the following information found on the tear sheet: Tatted heart was adapted by Barbara Foster from a design by Mrs. J. M. Blackman, appearing in Modern Pricilla magazine in 1917.

Queen of Hearts

The second heart I tried was one named Queen of Hearts from Mary Konoir's book "Tatting With Visual Patterns". [It appears from Amazon that this book is no longer in print, but it may still be available from Lacy Susan.]

This one took me a bit longer than the other one, but was lots of fun to do. I am so enjoying this vintage Clark's cotton and have received considerably more than $1.50 worth of pleasure from it. I must remember to look out for this vendor the next time the quilt show comes around.

In case tatting is new to you, I ran across a YouTube video tatting demonstration. The speed varies as it slows down when she is showing the movements but then is greatly speeded up when she wants to finish a ring to show how it closes or how it looks finished.

The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts all on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts he stole the tarts and took them clean away.
The King of Hearts called for the tarts and beat the Knave full sore
The Knave of Hearts brought back the tarts and
vowed he'd steal no more.

Let me call you Sweetheart

January sure seemed to FLY by in a hurry! Did it seem that way to you?

My work in accounting is so tied to the calendar - what with payrolls, month-end financial statements, quarterly tax returns, and all the rest. I spend the whole of January with one foot in the previous year and one in the new and by the time I come up for air the month is generally almost over.

I'm glad there are no big family milestones in January.

With most deadlines met and cleared away, I look up, realize it is February, and start thinking of Valentines (or maybe I'm just thinking of Valentine M&Ms!).

Last September at the quilt show, I bought a ball of vintage crochet cotton - the Clark's shown above on the left. I've been carrying it around for over a month intending to try it out and finally I have. I intended to make another button-tatted heart but in digging through the pattern drawer (and finally finding the button pattern - yeah!), I came across quite a few more heart patterns and this one named SweetHeart called to me instead.

I loved how the variegated thread colors worked up with this pattern. A quick internet search didn't yield me much information on O.N.T. so I asked my all-things-vintage expert, Kay, who tells me it stood for Our New Thread.

The thread, above right, is a Valdani overdyed pearl cotton [color M43]. I love the deep reds in it, too, but don't always enjoy tatting with pearl cotton. Perhaps I'll save it to use in embroidery as I intended when I bought it.

Who am I kidding? I bought it just because it was beautiful.

Speaking of quilts, Jan at Bemused is back from the Tokyo International Quilt Festival where she saw some amazingly gorgeous quilts. Her Flickr set is here.

oh! Galina

Still a little overcast here today so I can't seem to get a picture of this tatting to show it's true colors, but I think if you click to open it up to a bigger size it might help.

I'm still in love with how the colors are playing out and also still not sure what I may use it for. I'm thinking - bag/embellishment. Surprised? Me neither.

In the meantime, I keep thinking about Galina and those gossamer shawls. What a treat to see them 'in person'. In fact treat doesn't begin to describe it.

I was thrilled to find a podcast with an interview with Galina. It is over an hour long and isn't as much an interview as a long narrative by Galina discussing the Orenburg lace tradition, knitting in communist Russia, and how she ended up in America as author, instructor, and historian of Orenburg traditional lace knitting.

Practical?

This is a close-up of that beautiful thread I bought at the lace club vendor market a couple of weeks ago. I am just now getting around to trying it out.

Verdict: I love it. LOVE it. It feels great and the colors are just spectacular.

I pondered several uses for it but in the end for this first shot, I decided to try a bit of tatting and I'm using the Chantilly Border from the new "Piecework" which is a reprint from "Weldon's Practical Needlework, Vol. 4".

I can't promise how practical this will be, but it sure is keeping me happy this rainy evening.

Indoor Archeology

: the scientific study of material remains (relics, artifacts) of past human life and activities

The other day I told Kay that I was doing a bit of indoor archeology. I think it's an apt term for something that seems to occur around here on a fairly regular basis.

I need something that I know I have. Somewhere. Where? I think I know and so I start digging. It usually is not where I think it is and the dig continues. Intensifies. I go through layers of my past life; my past fascinations. I become frustrated but determined.

I dig down through the periods. The embroidery period. The lacemaking period. The brief crochet period (a dead civilization).

Usually the relic is discovered. And just like real archeology there is usually a good bit of DUST involved!

Today was successful. I found the sought-after supply. According to e-mail to Kay it took me an hour - an hour of good stringplay time. Grrrr.

One of the things I uncovered this time was the above piece of in-progress tatting. [there was a LOT of in-progress tatting!] I remember doing this; liking the silver of the buttons with the shiny black of the pearl cotton; thinking it might become a choker or bracelet [neither of which I would ever wear]. Where were the buttons purchased? Are more available? What's to be done with this scrap? I don't know. I probably didn't know then and that may be why it was abandoned, but it brought a smile when I found it.

Cheap and Portable

The sun was low as I hurried to get a quick picture so will you please overlook the quality? Thanks.

The marigolds in the lovely blue canning jar were a gift from Mother this weekend. Since you so seldom get to see flowers around here, I thought I'd include them.

The tatted horseshoe is today's quick stringplay and the wonderful pattern is courtesy of Be-stitched. Her e-newsletter arrived in my mailbox this morning perfectly timed. I had grabbed a little bag with my tatting shuttle and thread this morning with the intent of starting something while visiting my mother-in-law.

I always say that tatting is the cheapest and most portable craft you can do. You really don't even need a little bag as you could fit both in a pocket.

My favorite shuttle is only $5.95 now (was less when I got mine) and a ball of thread is even less.

Of course, who can be satisfied with only ONE ball of thread when they come in lovely colors and sizes?

What in the world am I going to do with a tatted horseshoe? I'll explain later. In the meantime, it was Sheep Shearing Day at the Norwegian Folk Museum this weekend. Why can't I go to Norway??

If it's Summer, there must be weddings

I married the day after Christmas so I cannot imagine getting married in July when the heat and humidity are so unrelenting. Still summer months remain the most popular.


A childhood friend of my daughter marries in two weeks. I've watched her grow into a lovely young woman and for many years I worked alongside her mother in PTA. I was very graciously included in the bridesmaid's luncheon today and I carried this little hankie with a tatted edging for the bride's mother.

This was a easy and slow project.





I started the tatting in early April and only worked on it now and then when I thought about it and felt the urge. Summer seemed to arrive before I knew it and yesterday I wondered if I even had enough done to complete it. Sure enough I lacked only a few rings to have enough and I got it sewed on last night and even managed a photo before leaving this morning.

It was a lovely day among friends at The Swan Coach House, a delicious lunch and a yummy swan dessert!

"Young bride -- a prayer for thee, That all thy hopes possessing, Thy soul may praise her God and he May crown thee with His blessing." -Martin Farquhar Tupper

Sensible Restraint

Here you see the total of my purchases from the vendor (Lacy Susan) at the lace group's workshop last weekend.

Can you fathom such restraint?! And one of these isn't even for me.

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I was quite tempted by one book, Kunststrik II, which you can see here, but it was written in Danish and charted quite differently to charts that I am used to reading.

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Since I have found a few very nice knitted lace doily patterns free online, I thought I should first give them a try.

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The skeins of ecru and white coton a broder in lower right of the photo will be put away for a bit. These complete the size range for me and will, hopefully, one day soon be used for a piece of Schwalm embroidery.

a tatted heart

Another of the projects from The Pile - a tatted heart incorporating buttons.

The copy of the pattern shows that I printed it out in January 2004 - four years ago! I'd love to link you to the pattern, but the link no longer works and I was unable to find anything on the pattern or the contributor.

That's a shame, because I sure wanted to e-mail and thank this person for all the FUN I had making it. The pattern had no errors and was very clearly written.

I need to go now and paw through the button tin some more - or maybe try red string with white buttons, or ecru with pearl buttons.......

ETA: found pattern again here

Snowflakes in November?

Not real ones! Less than a week before Thanksgiving and it is quite warm - in the 70s from now through Turkey day.

These snowflakes are tatted and are on my contribution to the Woodstock library's Festival of Wreaths. Each year individuals and groups (such as Lions Club, The Tribune, etc.) can create a wreath for display during November and December. I've been contributing since it started, about eight years or so.

I generally decide what I'm going to do and then do all the handwork in the summer and get that well out of the way. Wreaths are hung over Thanksgiving break. You know how fast the holidays arrive. If I waited, it would be a burden to get it all done. Summer always seems like the perfect, slow time to casually and gradually make the ornaments.

This year I decided on tatted snowflakes and had fun leafing through pattern books and magazines to find patterns - some of which were more 'snowflake-ish' than others.

Last year was the first time I did anything knitted. I knitted angels from "Angels - A Knitter's Dozen" by Gerdine Strong. What fun they were to create!