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

Flower Tassels

Last night, to empty a shuttle, I made these 3 flowers and then this morning I decided to make them tassels. I love tassels. These ones can be hang on a Xmas tree. The flower is 2 inches across and the tassel is 4 inches long. I used Altin Basak #10 with silver filament and without the filament for the center. An acrylic heart holds the tassel itself.

What uses can you give to these tassels?

The set is available at my ArtFire Studio if you are interested on it.

Decorated Shirt with Tatted Buttons

A week before going on vacation I made this for mom. I tatted 4 buttons. Mom sew 3 on the shirt and the 4th one I made it into a brooch.

It's really a t-shirt and mom takes out the neck collar because it bothers her. In this one she sew gold e-beads along the neck line and sew the buttons with the tatted decoration.


Here is a close up of the brooch. In the button center there's a polyclay yellow rose. Those are mom's favorites. The patterns are original and I'm writing them to include them on an e-zine that will come soon.

Decorated Canvas Tote

I'm still in the long road of recovery and healing, but a few days ago there was enough "sunshine" for me to work in this canvas tote. I got 3 of them at a local fabric/crafts/etc shop. They were super cheap and came with a set of fabric markers and 2 stampers (leaves and a flower). I got 3 of them because as soon as I saw them, they screamed decorate me!

I stamped the leaves and paint them witht he markes and draw some stems. Then I tatted some decorated buttons that look like flowers and added a cute button butterfly.

I think it needs something else, but I can't get what is missing. May be some grass? Or more butterflies? Could you help me with ideas?

Also I got a cool set of 20 colors of Sharpies (permanent markers). They are supper cool! I have been painting the clear buttons I got a couple of months ago and also painting my tatting. Yes, painting already finished tatted items. This opens a great creative window. Can you imagine that you need something in an especific color and you don't have time or the money to buy the thread or to dye it. Then paint it with a Sharpie! lol

Here I used white thread for the rings and pink for the chains. I painted the picots. The colors bleed a little because I wanted them to be very dark. But I love the way it looks!!! The button was also painted with the Sharpies.

What do you do when life gives you buttons?

Yesterday was "payday" and I told mom to get some canvas totes we saw a couple of weeks ago for $3.99 with markers and stamps to decorate and some bags of buttons. I saw this cute bags with tons and tons of buttons. Gosh! All of them shiny and pretty. Who can resist them? Not me, that's for sure! Each bag have over 300 buttons of all shapes, colors, sizes; with 2 or 4 holes and some with shanks. I got a pastel-tone bag and a clear tone bag. Aren't they amazing! So I went happy with my booty home. How much I spent in buttons? Ahem... Just a mere $12. But I deserve this treat. Buttons make me happy. lol Okay, now I'm being silly. So now... What to do with so many buttons?



Make flowers, of course! The brown caramel buttons are from a previous pattern I made. The 2 variegated ones and the pink are designs I made last night. The browns are for a t-shirt mom wants to decorate (still need to make 7 more) and the other 3 are going to decorate one of the canvas tote bags that I bought yesterday. I already paint one with the leaves and stems. Just need to make 2 or 3 more and sew them. I think I can finish one tonight and will take a photo.



Patterns for the flowers will come soon. I'm also making some butterflies. A few of patterns are on my web site.

Tatted Flower

I made this flower using Jon's August Poppy Flower. The center thread is Lizbeth, I think it's Country something and the other is like a dark turquoise DMC Cebelia #29. You can find the pattern here.

I tried to make it a little more of a 3-D and made 2 motifs. The center I made only 2 rounds and the other the normal rounds. Then I stack them and added a big yellow bead one the center. This one is a brooch, but I think it will do nicely as a hair accessory or applique for a shirt. :-)

Spring Baskets

Spring is pushing its way here. :-) At least today that's how I felt. And what a better way to receive spring with baskets full of pretty flowers! Aren't these the cutest basket full of flowers? The pattern is by Ellen Lai and was discussed on Monday's online tatting class. It's pretty quick and really fun to make.


These are the empty baskets waiting for the little flowers. Even if both have the same number of stitches and used the same thread the one on the left is a little bigger. It was the first I made. May be the tension was a little off. Then the second looks better because I already know the pattern.

All the flowers and butterflies are made with one shuttle. Well, there's a little reddish/white flower on the second basket that is a ring surrounded with chains. My favorite technique to work with 2 sizes of threads.

Too little time, too much to tat

On my Spanish-speaking tatting group where are making a challenge for this month to make a floral design doily. I chose this one by Jan Stawazs. Boy! I think I'm over my league!!! The center is pretty easy. And the rest of the doily looks too. But I complicated my life wanting to do it in different colors.

Here is the center of the doily. I wanted to give a brown center to look like the dirt. then a round with green to look like grass. Up to here was a "piece of cake".



Now comes the nightmare! If you're familiar with Jan's patterns, you know he has his own tatting method. It's a front/back look. I'm more of the "traditional" tatter and don't use this front/back tatting method a lot. Only in some projects that are simple enough. So I keep getting confuse with the ds counting on the pattern. Add to this that the doily have gazillion of picots! May be is that my brain is not in the "tatting zone" but I took like 4 hours just to make the stems and flower that you see in the photo. A lot of false starts and retro tat. *sigh* I think I'll finish the stem I'm working on and put the doily away and tat something comforting. :-) May be something pretty with beads, buttons or sequins. Or may be even to accomplish a homework for the Design-Tat group.

Haven't decide yet if I'll make the 18 flowers (yes, there are 18 flowers on the doily) all the same color or use several colors. I was thinking like a rainbow garden but I think I don't have enough colors to make a nice progression.

Playing with big sequins

First I was playing with small sequins, then with beds now I returned to the sequin-mood bt this time big ones. These are part of my last loot from Cairo.


The center of these ones uses a technique by Jane Eborall that can be found in her web site. I made only 10 rings instead of the 12 that Jane made because these sequins are a little bit smaller. Then I tatted something simple round. On the center of the sequin I made a hole and added a smaller sequin with a bead in the center and tie it to the back. I'll be glueing these ones to a hair pin. Need to find first where I placed the hot glue gun. lol



Theb I mde this one. It's a very simple flower. The sequins are joined in the ring with picots between them and then tatted a chain forming petals. I like this one lot.

The inspiration came this morning as part of a headache! lol I'm not called NeedleDreams for nothing! Now I'll ply with chllenge that TotusMel placed on InTatters. See ya later!

Yep, I'm not perfect in everything...

Yesterday, after dinner I fall asleep and woke up after 11 pm. So I couldn't sleep any more. Watched a couple of good movies: For the children (about 2 ladies that made an orphanage and shelter for abused children, real story) and a tender movie called Blessings (with Mary Tyler Moore). Cried with both movies! :-) While watching the movies I tatted some samples for my upcoming book "Wings for Hope". But I started to feel bore and wanted to try the clunies. I haven't practiced them in awhile and one of my new patterns has hanging clunies. So I got out the book "Cluny Tatting Designs" by Joy Botchlet and made this little rose. Gosh! My clunies are hideous!!! I really need to practice them. I tried to use a pillow to help with them, but nope, they were looking all crooked. So I ended making them using the hand as the loom. I have somewhere a plastica canvas loom, but can't find it right now.

So yes... While most of my tatting looks impecable, definitively clunies are not my forte. So I'll have to practice, practice and practice. :-P But that will have to wait. It's 7:15 am and I need to try to sleep. I think I'll take half pill and sleep at least 6 hours. Nighty night!!! Or should I say good morning. lol

More little doodles

Yesterday I was in a "BEAD" mood, not bad. lol Thanks God (and the Flexeril) they ciatic pain is lessening, the bone pain too. But if I walk, after a dozen of paces it returns. So I have to walk with the walker even inside the home. At least from the bed room to the living room a few times. When cooking I have to sit also and cook siting. *sigh* But hubby have been home a few nights straigth and he cooks and do everything in the home, so I just have to tat. *VBG*

Last night, while watching a marathon of "Back to the Future" (my fav is the 3rd one) I made these pins. I didn't follow any pattern. Just happen that I got out the red thread added some beads from the tray and VOILA! They are so fun to make. I will make a few more but to attach them to hairpins and then to the shop. I opened again my Etsy. Let see if I can sell something.

Tatting thoughts

I spend a lot of time along with my tatting. Hubby works far from home so he stays a few nights at work. Last night and this morning was one of those days that I tat a lot. Tatting is my therapy and companion. I don't know you, but when I'm tatting, specially a pattern that I know by memory, I tend to think a lot. Different things, thoughts, plans, dreams... Some times I feel like my brain is running 100 mph! lol Some times I even have to stop tatting to write down a note, idea or a quick drawing for a design.

Some of the things I thought this morning are:

1. Decided that I'm not going to use a pattern from a designer for my 40th BD souvenirs. But I'll make my own design (as I do every BD).
   
2. Also won't use HDT. Though the HDT are so beautiful I will need a huge amount of it for the BD project. So I'll be using a thread that I can find without any problem. Probably will make it with El Beida (the Egyptian thread I use).
3. I'm in the "angry" phase of the griving process about my Lupus exarcebation (sp?). Still in pain, meds don't work good and I'm angry. So, sue me!
4. I got an idea about a book to get donations and awareness about Lupus. I got the idea from a book in Annie's Attic for Breast Cancer and a blog called "Stitch Pink". The title will be "Wings for Hope". The color of Lupus awareness is purple and the symbol is a butterfly. What you think? The month was change from October to May. So that leaves me 2 months for designing, proofing and publishing the book.

I already have a few motifs designed that I can include in the book. Need to contact the LFA (Lupus Fundation of America) to get a simple "What is Lupus" for the book and to see how to establish the donation thingy with Pay Pal on my site and web shop. Probably will sell the samples also. In the last few years I have been getting more active in geting people know about Lupus. Nobody can imagine how difficult is this illness. *sigh* OK... I'm not going to start rambling about it. At least not now. ;-)

Well, those were my thoughts this morning. The photo are the motifs I have finished already for decorating my headscarf. I still need to make 6 more; 3 with pink beads and 3 with green beads. I'm thinking also in making the 1st round only for "filling" motifs and probably will make a edging too. I just need to decorate one end of the scarf because the other gets hide in the wrapping.

I will breakfast now and will take a break from this motif and tat something else. See ya later!

Also yesterday I came with this design. It's pretty simple to make but I just love the look of it with the beads.


This one was the 1st try I did. I fall in love with the design but the center space is too big. Also I added 2 beads too much and when I closed the center ring they got stuck on the begining of the ring. :-(



Here it looks better. I added small rings to the center and instead of making a center ring I did rings and chains with a bead on the core thread. Also added a few more beads to the tip of the flower. I think THIS is the motif I'll use to decorate a new headscarf that hubby got me a couple of nights ago. It's is black and it's screaming for decorations. lol I will also share the pattern of this one but a little bit later.

Dangly Flower

This is another pattern by Jane and uses the same technique to bead long picots. I like it a lot. It's so sparkly! I was thinking in using it as a headscarf pin but it's too big.

Here is a photo from the top. It kinda look like and octopus. :-)



I was going to show you how it looks from inside but guess what? I found Ayla snoozing inside. So I'll take the opportunity to go and breakfast. Breakfast?! I have to Google the dragon's food! Geesh I was going to forget!

ZZZzzz...