Motif #21
Mary Konior Flowerpiece from Tatting With Visual Patterns
Ecru and Mountain Breeze Lizbeth Size 20
I got home from work today and got those last ends woven in. I used my Best Press to give it a little starch before I pinned it to my blocking piece of foam core. I decided to take it outside and get pictures of it before it's completely dry so I don't totally miss Wine Wednesday again :)
It's hot here today - about 86 degrees and sunny. My deck provides me with a nice place to sit after work and enjoy a little breeze and some shade. It's my favorite spot to sit and relax, and enjoy the birds and flowers and the sound of Little League bats cracking the ball at the little park next door. Very relaxing.
I am used to sewing and crocheting, which produce a finished project much faster than tatting, so it frustrates me that tatting is so slow going. I very much enjoy tatting though - I think it's much prettier than crochet. And even though I love to connect with other tatters and have a tatting group to share with, I like the fact that tatting is a unique craft that not many people do. It's not a "fad". It's a true art that takes skill, determination and concentration! I always tend to like unique stuff - I'm so NOT a conformist :) I'm just slow!
I continue to destroy my needle threaders. Does anyone else have this problem? Or maybe it just happens when I'm using larger threads - like size 20. Sheesh! I think I've been through several now, and need to stock up again. See? I pulled the threading wire right out of it. Again.
OK, it's Wine Wednesday, not Whine Wednesday! My wine today is from a local winery. (Yes! We have wineries in the midwest!) I usually enjoy red wine, and this is a Temperanillo from Spain that our local winery distributes. The wines that they actually make on-site are made from grapes grown in Minnesota (can you believe it?) that were developed at the University of Minnesota, mixed with grapes from California. This particular wine was on sale and within my budget :)
I think my next project will be a dragon - I've been wanting to try one! I think Michelle has talked me into it with her pretty Anne Bruvold dragons. Think I can finish one by NEXT Wednesday?
It is beautiful - and so is that gorgeous backyard vista!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely space.
You know, if you used the Calyx needles for sewing up tatting you do not have to use those useless threaders! Jane E put me onto them and you are a sewer so you should be able to find them very easily. I use them a lot, except for the very fine threads. They make sewing in ends doable for despisers of sewing, like moi!
Fox : )
The roily is lovely. The view is spectacular. I'd love to sit and enjoy a glass of wine with you there!
ReplyDeleteMy iPad changed doily to roily . . .
ReplyDeleteYour doily is beautiful, and so is your view! I think you can finish the dragon by next Wednesday. Will it be wine colored? ; )
ReplyDeleteP.S. - Dave and I are driving up to Minnesota on Tuesday. Unfortunately, he has to be back Thursday, so there won't be time to get together. Maybe next time!
That doily is gorgeous! Sadly for me, this turned out to be a Weeding Wednesday. I'm glad you like the dragon- I vote for a wine-colored one too.
ReplyDeleteLet's convince Diane to spare us a minute!
The doily is BEAUTIFUL as is your backyard view! I can feel the cool breeze and hear the bats cracking. I would have to wait until midnight for the temperature to be in the eighties. Wine, moonlight and tatting... sounds doable with my mini OTT light.
ReplyDelete:) Ann
your doily is beautiful and I am envious of your back yard and it's view :)
ReplyDeleteI loved that doily in progress and it's still gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI think that's what I like about tatting too..it's unique and not so easy to duplicate. Crochet IS much faster and there is lots of thread crochet that I still enjoy but tatting is still a different kind of lace. Knitting anything takes me FOREVER. It was the very first needlecraft I taught myself but I've never managed lace knitting with thread. I used to knit little smock tops for babies that had a beautiful lace pattern in the yoke and I knitted my daughter a sweater in high school with a lovely lace pattern in it, but those were with yarn, never thread.
Anyway, looks like took a well deserved and well-loved break! I love baseball so I can easily imagine sitting there doing exactly what you were doing!
Oh, also meant to tell you that yes, I destroy threaders too. I have yet to find a really strong one. So most of the time I just lick and squint and squeeze the end of the thread til I get it through the needle's eye. I've been using embroidery needles that have the long eye but a short shaft and are narrower than a regular sharp.
ReplyDeleteLove the view - feet up, glass of wine, the doily, the sounds - nice catch of a pretty afternoon.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Ann of sewmuchfun4, it has to get pretty late before the temps get that low lately. It was 100 by noon today, and the next week looks like more of the same.
Believe it or not, there are wineries here in Kansas as well. Haven't sampled too many but what I have tried are pretty good, though I like White Zins instead of red. If I didn't work evenings I'd join you next week for Wine Wednesdays;)
Yes, you should try a dragon, in any color. I'm looking for the right thread - and backgroud to go with it - now so I can make one for ME. They really aren't that hard once you know how to do a SSSR. And Anne has a great tutorial on YouTube for it, if you don't know already. And if it doesn't get done by next Wednesday you can share your progress with us as you sip another glass of wine...
Your doily is lovely and so is the view from your back yard view!
ReplyDeleteConsidering you tat a 'little' at a time - look what you have to show for it! This doily is just gorgeous, and I love the color combination. Beautiful work!
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have lots of space between houses! A wonderful place to relax! Even though we have houses nearby, trees give us lots of privacy, so I enjoy my sanctuary in the back yard! We've had wonderful weather this week - no humidity!
Grapes grow along Lake Erie, too. And they get lots of snow!
I also love the uniqueness of tatting. I'm intrigued about the Best Press starch! It's been a long time since I used the 'usual' stuff on my clothes! This inventor seems to have solved some problems with it!
I use a needle threader that does not have a 'wire' but is a thin, flat piece of metal that has a curved flat hook. You have to use a long-eyed needle (mine is a blunt tapestry, size 26) and just lay your thread over the metal hook and pull the thread through the eye. They're usually with the cross-stitch supplies.
Enjoy the holiday weekend!
You did a fabulous job on that doily! :)
ReplyDelete