a long term project finished

about 4 or 5 months, I have had a project that I have worked on off and on, in the car, at meetings, visiting at friends and other times when I had a few minutes.

I used size 20 thread in a colorway from Manuela that has long since lost it's color number tag.

it is a present for a friend who asked for a pouch to hold as Rosary in her purse.  it became a more involved project then I had anticipated.

it is about 2" tall, and about 2" in diameter.

it is very solid as I didn't want the arms of the Cross to poke out and get caught on things in her purse.

Hope she likes it.

I have started another long term project, that involves several versions of edging.  I need to finish the hanky I started last year, and I started a doily yesterday during a meeting. I have finished about 1/4 of it.

Sunday is Palm Sunday, and it is the day of our annual Parish dinner.  I am in charge of it this year.  so don't know how much tatting will get done this weekend.
and Sunday is also International Tatting Day.  so I will try my best to do some tatting on that day.

request finished

I started this before my trip, but had to wait until things settled in my brain as to how to end it. and how to do the stump.
This is a requested project.  hope the gentleman likes it.  He is the director of the local assisted living center.  at some point in the past he had acquired a Tatted Christmas tree done in cream colored yarn.  it was starting to look it's age and he wanted a new one to frame. It had been done using the "cut and tie" method fro each row, and the yarn ends were showing and He asked me if I could do one for him.  of course.  but it took me a bit to decide just how to do it to get the size he wanted, nearly 12" if possible.
So this is how it turned out.

This was tatted in size 10 Cebelia
In answer to Jane's question,  this was tatted from bottom to top with out cutting and tying.  I used split chains and split rings to move from one row to the next.  the top of the tree is a SCMR so I could hide ends in a ring in the second row. The only add on was the trunk.

Look what I won!

Clyde Page the MadTatter, had a giveaway on his blog
and I was one of the lucky ones.
I received the package in the mail and this was in it.

The top 2 threads are Middle Earth Silk size 60 by Lady Shuttlemaker
the small one on the left is a King Tut ~ I haven't used this before
the middle card says Tiger Eye in size 80
and the last one has no name on it.

Thanks Clyde,

I have 2 projects that I have been working on, and will show you little snippets since they are not yet completed.

this is a bit of my purse project, it is turning out bigger then I had planned, but in the end I think it will work out.

this is a test tat for someone else.

displaying my tatting

in answer to a question on Fox's Tatology blog,
here is what I use to display my tatting, well not all of it, but some of it,

several years ago, while at my local thrift shop, I came across a big old picture frame, the opening is about 20X25" and the frame is several inches wide.  there was no picture or glass in it, just the frame.  I got it for $3.00
I didn't take a picture of the back, but here is what I did.

I used a large piece of heavy denim, placed a layer of cotton batting from an old quilt over the top, then covered it with a remnant of black velvet left over from a daughter's prom dress. once I was satisfied with how it all looked, I turned it over and stapled the layers of fabric to the back of the frame. 

there is no glass covering it, and because of the layers of fabric and batting, I can place straight pins anywhere I want and they stay in place. I take this with me when I demonstrate, or hang it on the wall and change out the motifs when ever I feel like. 

please do not look too critically at the tatting on the frame in the picture, they aren't all pinned out correctly, I just stuck some of them on to keep them out of the way.



I do give away a lot, and many of my projects are spoken for before they are even started.  I have a list of "booked" projects I need to get at once I have finished testing a pattern for Martha Ess.  it is about 1/3 done right now.

I also have the hanky edging to finish, as that is about 1/4 done, and I have a travel project that goes in the car, that will be done with the circle is finished.  it is a made up pattern, very simple so I don't have to pay too much attention,  it started out as a star with 5 points, but may end up with 7 or 8 depending on how it lays.

the booked projects are: a set of earrings, a rosary, a 12" tall white christmas tree, 12 christmas ornaments for family, a set or 2 of tatted wire earrings, I would like a set of earrings for me too. 

looking at the list, I need to get my little fingers busy