Shirt Back from Jane Eborall's Designs

Well...I got pneumonia this week...I had it in May--I didn't like it then either!  I am determined to get over it and recover quickly, because---- I GET TO GO TO THE PALMETTO TAT DAYS!!!!

One of the first people I discovered in the internet tatting community was Jane Eborall.  I have admired her creativity for many years, and grown more and more to appreciate the generous way she freely shares her talent with the world.  I did the Oklahoma Lacemakers Guild's newsletter for several years.  This patient lady rescued my procrastinating self more than once by allowing me to publish one of her patterns in the newsletter as our "tatting pattern of the month" at the last moment.  If you haven't done one of her TIAS projects (Tat it and See) you are really missing out on some fun!  Jane's daily blog (I am always amazed at her prolific tatting) is here:  janeeborall.blogspot.com/

All of these motifs and a whole lot more can be found on Jane's Pattern Page http://www.janeeborall.freeservers.com/



Remember the small "Button My Heart"
next to the Palmetto Tree on the front of the shirt?  Well, somehow some Lizbeth, size 10, #632--Purple Medium sneakily got on my shuttle, and out popped this larger heart!  It took me awhile to figure out WHY it was so much larger than the other one!  Once again, I hid my ends in ring 15, instead of ending this heart with beads.  Jane's pattern is here: http://www.janeeborall.freeservers.com/buttonheart2010.pdf.

 
I saw a lady at the doctor's office who was wearing a shirt decorated with with leather laces.  She had them tied in fringes coming off of the shoulder seams....I really liked the way they "fluttered" as she moved.  When I saw the loose thread ends on Jane's "Heart on a Button" pattern--I knew that was exactly what I was going to do on my shirt.  --Not quite the pizzazz of leather laces, but I like them!  Here is the pattern:
http://www.janeeborall.freeservers.com/heartbutton2009.pdf

Above from left to right. (All Lizbeth, size 20):

#643 Grape Medium & #122 Caribbean

#647 Purple Iris Dark & #137 Berry Burst

#643 Grape Medium & #122 Caribbean

Below from left to right (All Lizbeth, size 20)

#643 Grape Medium & #129 Purple Splendor

#644 Boysenberry Dark & #129 Purple Splendor

#643 Grape Medium & #122 Caribbean

Part 3 Finger Lakes 2015

     Pick one reason why you should go to the Finger Lakes Tatting Convention next year.....  Vendors, Fellowship with other tatters, learning new techniques, patterns taught by their designers....?  I couldn't choose a single reason, but the classes at Finger Lakes are definitely in my top five reasons!

    
 My first class this year was "Sail Away."   It turns out that this composed/compiled by Diane Daiker was used as the table decorations all over the conference.  It was a little intimidating to have so many beautiful samples surround you as you began to learn this design.  Diane showed us how she took bits and pieces of other patterns and modified them and put them together to create her sailboat.  I was impressed at how careful she was to give each of the other designers credit.  My sailboat is done in:  Lizbeth size 20:  boat #129 Purple Splendor, right sail # 634 Violet Pink Medium, left sail #632 Purple Medium.

 
My afternoon class was the Sand Dollar by Karey Solomon.  This is such an easy pattern, looks great, plus I learned a new technique.  This has rings that you "stack" onto the top of your work!  I had never done anything like this before.  I really like the added dimension this gives the tatting.   The reason I have two sand dollars to show is that I was working on the sand dollar on the left during one of the nights when I don't sleep at all--and I made a big mistake on the row where you join the rings.  This created the need to make a few additional rounds on the motif....plus the clearer beads don't show very well.  I decided I needed to do it again and the result is the sand dollar on the left.  I used Lizbeth, size 20, color #603 Ecru.

Message in a Bottle was a pattern by the talented, Ginny Weathers.  I have enjoyed every pattern of hers that I have ever worked!  I have both of her ornament books and love them.  This was an easy pattern to work--speaking of the tatting part.  I, however had an awful time working with the seashells!  Ginny was so patient, answering my "pestering" emails after the conference was over about how to work with the shells!  I felt like that that there should be some way of making them hang perfectly just using thread and knots...but -- getting the project done won over doing it perfctly.  On several of the shell types, I "cheated" and ended up tatting the row with the shells added, then putting hot glue into the shells so that they would hang correctly!    It doesn't show up very well--but there is actually a very small beach (sand and tiny shells) inside the ornament!  I used Lizbeth size 20 thread--color #112 Carousel.


 My last class at Finger Lakes was the SeashellCandy Dish by Sally Biggars.  Sally really tried to make it easier on her class by rewriting her lengthy pa ttern.  However her new, shortened pattrn did not get tested and the mistakes made working the pattern--"interesting."  While working on this project in class, one of the ladies suggested that pattern be modified by doubling the outside row, to match the double inside rows.  I thought this pattern modification would look nice and did so.  The little "pearl bauble" was one of several on the give-away table there at Finger Lakes.  I snatched one ane placed it on the tatted sample that Sally had on display in the center of the table--almost immediately all of the "little pearls" on the give-away table were claimed!  My seashell is done in Lizbeth, size 20, colors #111 Cotton Candy and #630 Peach Light.    I really like this this little dish! 



I had a blast this year at Finger Lakes 2015--looking forward to Finger Lakes 2016 "The Teddy Bear's Picnic"

Part 1 Finger Lakes 2015

I feel like I will never get all of the photos from my shirt posted!  Let's interrupt that string of posts to talk about the 2015 Finger Lakes Tatting Seminar.  These are things I took to the seminar to go into their raffle to raise money for Camp Good Days and Special Times (a group that aids children who have cancer and their families) and the Scholarship Auction.

I decorated these shuttles.  I don't know why, but the mod-podge coating "dented" easily when they came into contact with something else.  The pink and white Winnie the Pooh shuttles were plastic Boye shuttles.  They tended to come apart, so I deliberately took each one apart and super glued them back together. 


The "dream" and "create" shuttles are moonlit shuttles.  I learned to tat on Boye metal removable bobbin shuttles, and that was really all I had access to for many years.  My drawback with them was that a) they felt heavy in my hands and b) I tended to overfill them, thus I left a lot of oxidation marks on my tatting.  I love the Aerlit shuttles and have purchased quite a few of them.  I never thought I would like a post shuttle, but the Moonlit shuttle has become my favorite shuttle!  I do fill a couple of bobbins to carry with me so that I can easily reload the shuttle if I need to. 


I enjoy making these little coasters.  They are actually seven layers of fabric thick and moisture doesn't have a chance of seeping through!  I put together a set of four of these basketball themed coasters that were leftover from another fundraiser to add to the fun at Finger Lakes .

These little lined bags seem to be a big hit at the auction.  I've brought them every year.  I hope to very soon open an etsy shop where I can sell them.  I enjoy watching clearance sales and using coupons to fill the bags for the fundraisers.  The two purple bags have the same contents, only different colored purple thread.  The beige and rust bag, I put together differently this year--I added a coordinating coaster, frogger, scissors fob and needle striver.

Hegla

 Hegla was the auctioneer this year.  She did a great job of keeping the excitement going and encouraging bidders!  I love the auction--it is so much fun.  As someone who has benefited from the Scholarship Fund, I hope the auction was a money-making success!


                                                                                   

  

Every year in our goodie bags, we are given a "challenge item" to use to illustrate the theme of next year's conference.   Last year I received some of Karey Solomon's beautiful hand-dyed thread.in some lovely shades of green and a seahorse charm.The thread was much smaller than I am used to working with--a true challenge!  I had a lot of fun looking for charms that would match the seahorse in similar size and metal type.  I tried to go with the theme:  "Lake, Sea, and Shore."  This little bracelet was made from the "Tatted Doilies and Edgings" book that was edited by Rita Weiss.  I didn't win the challemge.  There were many other lovely entries this year.  I would have hated to be a lone judge and have
 had to pick thewinner.  I think that is why the winner was chosen by popular vote.

This is (I think) my 91st post--and the bracelet will be given away as part of a prize package when I have my  100th post.

Tammy

Sarah

This was the fifth year that Cynthia (how did I not get her picture?) and I have traveled from Oklahoma to Lodi, New York for the Seminar.  This year we took a slightly different route, spending our first night (and last night-on the road towards home) at Tammy's in Kentucky.  Tammy was unable to attend the conference this year--but we sure enjoyed her hospitality and looking at all the beautiful crafts that she enjoys doing.  She has a craft room that made us drool!  The next morning we picked up Sarah who was excited to attend her first tatting conference. 

Monica and Eclipse

Sharon

 When we got to New York, Monica very
generously let us share her condo for the conference nights. We had a lot of fun playing with Monica's emotional support dog, Eclipse and talking to Sharon in the evenings.

Next posting...at the seminar!

                                           

Shirt Back-from This 'n' Tat

The very first "button" patterns that I did, before I settled on the idea of using purples and making "many" different motifs and decorating my shirt with them were patterns by Lisa C. Trumble from her website www.thisnthat.com   Her website was one of the first ones I discovered when I had access to tatting on the internet. 

http://www.thisntat.com/medallions/button_flower1.html 





 I did them in order...  The next was her Button Flower II.  I found this at
http://www.thisntat.com/medallions/button_flower2.html 







 
This one is was found at http://www.thisntat.com/medallions/button_flower3.html  It was worked emptying leftover bobbins and had several ends to be worked in--which gives it its wonky shape.


I am looking forward to finishing my Finger Lakes projects so I can post them.  I still am falling asleep tatting, and this week came down with pneumonia and did no tatting at all--so it may take awhile!

"Mr. and Mrs. Turtle"

Two posts from me in less than two days--I know that is very unusual, but I just had to show these off!

Look what came in the mail today!! My wonderful husband custom ordered them for me from the Etsy shop "Banyek" as a "Just Because" present! (I've already got Mr. and Mrs. Turtle wound with thread for a class at the Finger Lakes Tatting Seminar this coming weekend!)

I "Wear My Heart on My Sleeve"

The origin of this phrase seems to be a quote from Shakespeare's character Iago in the play Othello (1604)

 For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, 'tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.

 

I love this quote by Margaret Thatcher:

To wear your heart on your sleeve isn't a very good plan;

  you should wear it inside, where it functions best.

These hearts are on the upper arm of my shirts:

Cyleste's Heart found at http://web.archive.org/web/20031223175705/http:/www.tattings.com./hearts5/hearts5_12.shtml  This was tatted in Lizbeth, size 20, color 129=Purple Splendor.  This is a fun pattern that works up quickly. 

This is supposed to be Mary Maynard's Valentine's Day Button and Beads Heart--however mine would not match a correctly tatted version at all!  Mine is worked in Lizbeth, size 20, color 640=Antique Violet Medium.  The pattern is at  http://www.georgiaseitz.com/2006/maynardheart.html I was unaware how dependent I had become on tatting pattern diagrams until I was working on this diagram-less pattern!  It didn't help that at the time I tatted this I was falling asleep several times an hour due to lack of sleep at night!  Anyway...I got lost several times, and some of this heart (I'm sorry Mary Maynard) -- I just "winged it, and did my own thing!" -- it was easier than backtracking to where I went wrong!  I was away from home, and had forgotten my pattern when it was time to finish up the very last round--so much of it is "this looks good to me, I'll try that!" 

You may never know what I have "up my sleeve!"

 How about two little mice!  There is one trying to climb inside each cuff placket (I think that is the correct sewing term.) They are done in Lizbeth, size 20, colors 643=Grape Medium and 644=Boysenberry Dark.  The pattern is Morgan Mouse by Wanda Salmans--I love her pattens!  It is available at http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/6407345/mouse-pdf-1-3-meg?da=y

Shirt Front

Too long between posts!  Computer problems..... Fibromyalgia flares....   Migraines..... Isn't life wonderful?  I'm learning to really enjoy the good days and to realize that the bad days don't last forever!


It was a "given."  I had to have a butterfly on the front of the shirt--they are the "chosen motif" of the Palmetto Tatters!  The butterfly on the front of my shirt is the "Tatted Button-Fly" by Birgit Phelps.  I did it in Lizeth, size 20, colors 646 (Purple Iris Light) and 647 (Purple Iris Dark).
The pattern is available here:  http://www.webring.org/l/rd?ring=thetattedlaceweb;id=1;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwebspace.webring.com 
 %2Fpeople%2Fqb%2Fbirgit_ph%2Fbuttonfly.html  

I wanted to put a little heart next to the Palmetto logo...Jane Eborall's Button My Heart was just the ticket.  The heart was done in Lizbeth, size 20, #634 (Violet/Pink Med.).  I chose to hide my ends in the very last ring (Ring 15) instead of finishing the heart with beads.  The pattern is available here -- http://www.janeeborall.freeservers.com/buttonheart2010.pdf


The little circular motif was my own design...just fooling around to see what I could do, using size 20,  Lizbeth,  #141 (Purple Twist) and 647 (Purple Iris Dark).  

 









 The tiny snowflakes spaced between the buttons and buttonholes are from the pattern that was used the year I went to Palmettos for their Tat-Off.  I definitely didn't make THAT MANY during the tat-off, WOW!  Were there some fast tatters there!  .