At last is coming!

I have been writing, or planing to write a continuation to my book Dreamy Winter.  Thanks to Hope Green and Stephanie Wilson who pushed me to go on on this project last time I was on Palmetto I finally sat to write it.  Well it took me a year after the "push" but te important thing is that is finished and now is in hands of my tat-testers.

The book will include 15 stars and snowflakes; using mostly basic techniques, and some of them beads. 

Here is a sneak preview of one of the patterns

A year without blogging!

Do you still remember me? I'm one if the crazy tatters that used to blog a lot! I hope you still remember me. =)

Last year was a crazy one. Tatting for the different fairs, then tatting for the First Lady's Xmas tree... Not counting the sick days, ill days, depressive days, busy days, no-internet days, etc... But now that I can blog directly from my phone I think I'll be blogging again. So expect hearing from me more often!

My books in PDF format

I'm selling again several of my books in PDF format.  The tittles are:

Celtic with a Twist - 8 patterns using Celtic technique (interwoven multiple motifs).  Disponible en Español.

From My Heart - This book was originally publish in 2007. It's a collection of 12 hearts that range from the beginner to advance. 

"Knot" Just Bookmarks - This book was originally publish in 2004. It's a collection of 7 bookmarks that range from the beginner to advance.

Quickie Tat - This book was originally publish in 2007. It's a collection of 1o patterns that range from the beginner to advance. Some of them used beads, buttons and/or sequins. The patterns are mostly flowers, angels and butterflies, all of them done in a couple of hours or less.












All of them are available on ArtFire.  Any question please contact me at wesosa1@gmail.com  Thanks!

My books

I'm selling again several of my books in PDF format.  The tittles are:

Celtic with a Twist - 8 patterns using Celtic technique (interwoven multiple motifs).  Disponible en Español.

From My Heart - This book was originally publish in 2007. It's a collection of 12 hearts that range from the beginner to advance. 

"Knot" Just Bookmarks - This book was originally publish in 2004. It's a collection of 7 bookmarks that range from the beginner to advance.

Quickie Tat - This book was originally publish in 2007. It's a collection of 1o patterns that range from the beginner to advance. Some of them used beads, buttons and/or sequins. The patterns are mostly flowers, angels and butterflies, all of them done in a couple of hours or less.












All of them are available on ArtFire.  Any question please contact me at wesosa1@gmail.com  Thanks!

Peach Tatted Orchid on Headband

This week someone view my hibiscus on my exhibition and asked for an orchid.  I got Toni Storer's book of orchids and made this dendrobium.  Was so pretty that I had to make another one.  You can find it at:

ArtFire
Etsy

Hibiscus Headband

This is a tatted hibiscus, complete with calix and leaf. The Hibiscus (Maga) is the national flower of Puerto Rico. This design is an original. Flower and leaf measure almost 6 inches in total.

Headband is plastic, covered with a braided ribbon on the top and more satin ribbon on the bottom. One size fits all.

You can find it at:

ArtFire

Artesanum

Etsy

Multicolor Snowflake

A couple of weeks ago Anne Bruvold shared this pattern with the Online Tatting class.  I love it!  But it was too "easy".  So I started thinking, "What if I make it with 3 colors instead of 2?" and here it is.  It' s still very easy to make and the extra color gives extra fun.  :-)

Thanks Anne for sharing the pattern!

Tatted Lupie Angel

 This is an original pattern. Her name is Lupie and was originally made for Lupus funds raising. The top of the angel is crocheted and then the skirt is tatted with white cotton thread and gold glass beads.

The angel measures 3 inches from the top of the halo to the bottom of the skirt. Perfect to use as an ornament, brooch or card making.

If preferred as a brooch send me a message and I'll place the brooch finding, no extra charge.

**********************
CUSTOM ORDERS ACCEPTED
**********************
Beads can be change to other colors:
red, silver, green, crystal, white pearl

Lupie can be ordered at ArtFire or Etsy

Another peek to the new book

I have been working on the new book and revisiting some patterns I wrote a few years ago.  This is one of them.  I made 2 versions, one of them with beads.  But I was feeling "lazy" and didn't want to load the beads so I made this one.  I think I still have to tweak a little the long picots, making them in 2 sizes.

I wrote already 6 of the 15 patterns, so a few more and will go straight to my testers.  Let see if I can get it ready just in time for Winter!

Mary Maynard's Earrings

Yesterday in the online class we discussed a pattern for an edging by Mary Maynard. It's a really pretty pattern and easily adapted to make earrings. I made a pair of them in size #10 in white and red with gold beads. This is 2 homeworks in a row! I hope I can stick to this pace now. :-)

My cluny attempt

This was suppose to be a 8 petals motif that Elisa du Sud designed.  But because I was making it at the same time I was watching a horror movie I forgot and made 6.  ;-)  From all the things in tatting (and bobbin lace too) the clunies have been always my archenemy! I can't get the hang of them!  Well, one may be but to make  several of them...  Makes my head spin!  I even prefer to make split chains than make clunies.

Oh well, I'll keep practicing!

New Design

I haven't design anything per se in months! I think the last design was for my birthday. So I obliged myself to do this idea I had a few months ago. It uses a CD as a base. At the end this will be a multi-use ornament. There are still some other elements I'll add to it. I'm not sure if it'll be included in my next book or will sell it as a booklet. Still have time. :-)

Oh, the next book will be Dreamy Winter 2: Snowflakes and Stars. I'm in the process of rewriting the first one. I lost the master and the printed copy a long time ago but I found a notebook with the patterns. The only part that was completely lost was the Introduction. Someone send it to me but got lost again. I guess this book doesn't want to have an Introduction. lol

An Adventure Called Palmetto

It's been almost a month! Palmetto came and went too fast for me. :-( But it was awesome. I know there are a lot of blogs now posting the photos. I took so many that my camera's batteries die and had to use the cell phone to keep taking photos.

I arrived Wednesday to Columbia after a few delays because the plane from Altanta-Columbia didn't want to start and they couldn't find the "jumper cables". lol After 1 1/2 hrs they change us to another plane and that one started without problem. It's muc

h better that to have to do an emergency landing! But a little before 11 pm (from 9:20 pm I was suppose to arrive) I arrived Columbia and Karen was waiting for me. Took me to eat something and then I hit the pillow at the hotel and was sound asleep until next day that we went to Toccoa, GA. The drive brought a lot of memories of when I was living in GA. *sniff* I miss living there!

We stop to have lunch at the Cornerstone Cafe, a cute place inside an Antique Store.

From palmetto 2010

Then we arrived to the Baptist Conference Center and the magic began! Tons of goody bags and free stuff for our tatting obsession, seen good old friends and making new ones, chatting and tatting sessions, show and tells... Well, you can imagine. I think the most hours a person could sleep was around 5 hrs and even then you'll be dreaming with shuttles, needles and threads. lol

Friday I took a class with Karey Solomon ( a tree made with Floating Chains, which I really like to do). I need to finish the tree. I forgot where I save it and I founf it yesterday inside a plastic leaf on my Sampler book. Duh! After that class I taught my 1st class: Roll

Tatting. It was a fun class.

I had 6 students all of them learned to to the Roll Tatting. Even one student (Ashley) was so inspired that the leaf pattern gave her an idea for a butterfly with rolled tatting on the wings. That will look so pretty!

Then at night was the banquet, the not to silent auction and the games! Yay! We had our Tat-Off and guess who won. Me! *blushing*

The cute trophy is beside the other one I won in 2004 and the shuttle, well, it's already been use. :-)

I think the stars of the evening was the precious tatted quilting and seen Georgia as Richard, her husband, mustache and all!

Saturday were my 2 other classes. The 1st was Schwarino Flying Rings; a new technique similar to Daisy Picots but easier to do and the result is more lacy. It was develop by one of my Spanish-speaking tatters Patry Schwab from Germany and she gave permission to be taught at Palmetto for the 1st time.

Georgia was beside me learning the technique. :-)

It was a full class with 14 students and they told me that it was enjoyable too. Lorena choose and lovely yellow and green combination for her bookmark.

And she almost finish it!

Then the last class was Rolling Picots, a technique I started to develop this year. Similar to the roll tatting but using a secondary color to make the roll part in picots only; giving the work a very colorful look.

From palmetto 2010

IsDihara was a little challenge because she's a left tatter, but we managed and she made the cutest rolled picots in pink and white. We even sang a little silly song! ♪♫ Roll, roll, roll your tat, gently by the thread. Merrily, merrily, merrily, Tat is just my dream. ♫♪

I don't remember who did this but the combination of colors and the rolled picots were lovely too!

After the classes we had Tatting Jeopardy! That was awesome!!! My team was second place but I think the buzzer was malfunctioning. That's my excuse and I stick to it! lol We had a session to decorate cards that went well until midnight.

Sunday was the sad time for saying good byes until next year or next time. The last time to take photos, to promise to keep in touch and take a last good look at the place that for 2 days (3 for the teachers) made a home to tatters and family. But for some of us the fun didn't end there! Back to Columbia some went to a Mall nearby to have a tatting meeting and there we find again most of the people that were with us at Tat Day. We discussed some more classes's patterns and we laugh and ate Ice Cream!

Then on Monday I had the opportunity of spending the day at Pam Frecker's home, with Pam, Riet, Sue, Pam's SIL (sorry the name escapes from me now), Joanie and Hope G. Oh my goodness! It was like a mini Tat Day! lol We tat and had show and tell and ate chocolates, soups and sandwiches and then the most awesome part was the showing (again) of Mary Konior's collection that Sue brought with her. She shared so many memories of Mary and we laugh and cry; and admired so much the pieces. I felt like it was Camelot and we are the knights around the Round Table. Instead of knits were tatters and instead of round was rectangular. :-)

Isn't this a lovely bunch! The experience that day won't be easily forgoten!

Tuesday I had to return to the reality and unfortunately since I arrived to PR (under a hurricane menace) I have been sick with the Asthma. It always get uncontrolled after I return to PR from USA. It's the change in weather... *sigh* But even if I have to stay sick for 1000 days after a trip to Palmetto, I won't change it for anything!

To see all the photos you can go to these albums:

RR updated

When I signed to the RR at Sharon's site I didn't count with the fact that I was starting a Lupus crisis and because the last one was like 4 years ago, this time I have found it more aggressive than others before. But I manage last week to put on some extra "spoons" and finished them.

I have this idea for a long time to make a small bag using these lovely sequins that hubby got me in Egypt. And I managed to do it now. I used black thread #10, glass iridescent beads and silver sequins. The bag is like 5 inches tall and 3 inches wide. Just simple rings and chains. This bad is already on it's way to Ellen. I liked the bag so much that I'll be making another one for me. :-) The only thing I didn't do and thought of it later, was to make a cover inside the bag. I'm not an expert sewing, so that's why I didn't think about it before. What you think, make a cover or not? Will this be something that you'll buy if I place it on Etsy or ArtFire?

I feel like Cinderella!

Last Friday I got a notification for a parcel but I couldn't go to pick it because was a long holiday weekend and wasn't until Wednesday that my lil sister took me to the post office. It was from Spain, from one of the online members of the Spanish-speaking tatters group; Esperanza.

Inside I found several treasures!

There is a pair of scissors with a ribbon so I can hang them on the neck and don't loose them. hehe

The earrings are the cutest and tiniest bobbins I've seen.

There's a faux MOP fan skeleton to make a pretty fan.

And the stars of the package: a pair of glass shuttles with my name on them!!! Now I know how Cinderella felt when she got the glass slippers.

The biggest one has a golden green tone with dark green strips and the small one has a aural orange/pink tone.

They are not uniform in the thickness but I think I can use them with a fine thread like #40 or #80. The point are not tight. But who cares about the defect!? They are perfect! Only another person in the world have a pair of these shuttles and is my friend Esperanza. :-) They were made by a glass artisan solely for her.

Thank you a bunch!

Oh no! Another hobby?

Well, it's not completely new. I learn quilling I think at the same time as tatting. But as with everything else, I stop because I couldn't find materials. Lately I have seen on Annie's Attic about the new sets of quilling and bug bite me again. :-) So I got my set out and started playing again. I found on E-Bay really cheap supplies and got some paper strips. Here is something I did a week ago. It's my first 3-D project. A little flower pot with some flowers and a blue bird singing. Cute, eh? Just free-style. I didn't follow any pattern for this one. I have other photos but will post them on an album and share the link.

I'm looking forward to incorporate tatting and quilling into the same project. Let see what can I come with!

Tat Days Scholarship

This is a great way to promote tatting and keep it alive! If you can;t go to the event at least you can participate to get this gorgeous quilt!

Tat Day Scholarship

Foldover Bookmark

I have been tatting madly lately. Trying to cope with the stress. And what better pattern to do a gazillion time that the Foldover Bookmark by Jon Yussuf. I really love this design. Heck, I already have almost a dozen of them in different colors! It's so easy to make that after the first one I knew the pattern by memory. :-)

Here is the bookmark folded. The purpose of the bookmark is for people that doesn't like tassels on their books. So the bookmark has 2 pieces. You place one piece on the page that you want to mark and the other piece a few pages after.

I noticed that the design can make a very pretty bracelet. Just adding an extra short piece to the other side. Isn't it cute? BTW... The thread is Lizbeth #20 in Wildflowers. I just fall in love with this color! Almost finishing the ball, so I will need to buy a couple more. lol

Sorry I asked... But don't judge me either.

It seems that me asking for help with donations toward my bariatric surgery has risen a polemic and drama that I really don't want. It has mixed with the fact that I'm asking a membership of $10 annually toward the payment of the group at NING for the Spanish-speaking Tatters.

Let me explain first about the Ning money. When Ning decided to ask for the network creator a quote for the use of Ning, I looked for alternative in about a dozen of places. None of them worked as good as Ning and the members in consensus opt to pay the membership of $10 annually to keep the network and all the applications that it has, specially the storage space. There are some people that have problem paying the membership and in each case I have say, it's ok to stay in the group. Even other members have given more than their share of money to help others to stay. Members that can't pay for whatever reason will be able to stay in the group with limited participation. Now, people that are protesting about the money is because $10 per member, and the group have over 1000 members, will give me a lot of money and I'll be rich! But what they don't see is that not all of those members are active, there are people that enter once or twice to see what's in the group and then don't enter anymore. There are people that enter to "steal" material, patterns and photos. So doing a cleaning of all those the group will be greatly reduce to around 100-150 members. Still a lot of money? Well, the rest of the money will be used on the group anyway. The web site has a maintenance around $100 per year. There are contests that will receive material prizes. There will be a better classroom for the online classes. And what if I want to ask for some money for the time I dedicate to the searching of material, translations, designing and classes... Is that bad? Should I give all my time for free? Unfortunately I can't because I don't work and don't have a salary, only a pension which half of it is spent in medicines. Even members have suggested that I could use some of that money to travel and give classes in other countries, something I won't do if this will bring more flame and drama.

Now, about my bariatric surgery. I asked some help because I really need the surgery, not for cosmetic reasons but for my serious health condition. I don't like to talk a lot about it because it's depressing and some people don't like to hear this kind of things because they have their own problems. But I will say it. Yes, my health is very bad, is deteriorating each day more and there's no cure for it. The bariatric surgery will help to diminish some of the secondary health problems, but it will not CURE my Lupus or Asthma. I found some help toward the surgery and that's really good, but still I will need to fund some deductibles and expenses that right now I don't have money and will never have, to be sincere. And I"m not asking money for nothing on exchange. I placed my links to 2 of my online shops. You can buy whatever you want. If you don't want to buy anything but will like to make a donation, fine! I'll appreciate it enormously. I'm not forcing people to buy and make donations!

Saying all this... I have been call a fraud and make me look like all I'm asking is money for my selfish self. That hurts a lot! All my life I have to fight to stay alive, achieve a lot of things that people get for granted. Seven years ago I started this movement to promote Tatting in Spanish. I started translating WITH permissions, materials and patterns. Started the online class in Spanish. Designed a lot of patterns and made a lot of projects, just so that people learned this art. What I gain from this? Stealing of my patterns and translations, illegal publishing of material in my website and group. Tons of fights with my family about the time I spent in the freaking computer and tatting, forgetting a lot of time to do my chores.

So I won't allow ANYONE to call me a fraud! Just because I'm asking some money to help myself to get better health and so I can continue teaching tatting. You don't know all the sacrifices, tears, stress and anxieties I have been through in my life. All the close calls that even my family thought "this is it, the end of Wally's life". Don't judge me because I asked for $10 annually so you can learn an art that anywhere will cost you a lot more! And as I said at the end of the last post. PRAYERS are also very well received.

Sorry I asked for money. I just wanted to get better.

Can you help me achieve my dream?

I have been talking a lot about my plans for Bariatric Surgery. This is something I need to help my health, it's not purely cosmetic. Several of my doctors have recommended it and even went to my 1st evaluation but I can't make it here in PR. I was looking several options and I receive answer from West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. Medicare covers the surgery and my secondary insurance covers Medicare's deductible. But for transportation, stay and special diet I will need around $2000. From those I need $500 at the end of August for the 1st evaluation (ticket, stay and food).

Before I start reading comments about diet, supplement and miracle cures, let me just say this. I have Lupus and actually is active. I have been visiting professional nutritionists for years and though I loose some pounds, I regain them again because of some medicines I take. I can't take natural supplements that boost the immune system because that's exactly the problem with Lupus. My immune system is over reactive and things like that make it worst. And to end, there's no miracle food, ,diet or nothing that will cure you or make you loose all the weight miraculously. In my case the last resort is surgery after a lot of alternative that my own doctors have tried with me. This is not only surgery, but a total change in my lifestyle, thus I have a medical team of 8 doctors, including surgeon, hematologist, nutritionists, psychiatrist, physical therapist, etc. Even a spiritual counselor.

I really don't like to keep asking people for money. But because I can't work in a regular job, all I can do is tat and see if people buy some of my work.

Can you help me? Prayers and donations are greatly accepted!



By buying at:
Artfire
BeautiControl
Or making a donation to Pay Pal