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.

Pink Bunny

My sister Letty has the cutest goddaughter. We call her "gandulito" (little pigeon pea). She's almost 2 years old and so pretty! Mom bought some t-shirts to decorate and now that I'm here she want me to tat the decorations instead of buying them. Last night I made (for the umph time) Mark's Bunny. I used a darker pink DMC Petra #8. I think it looks cute but mom think that the bunny is not very clear. May be a heart will look better. *sigh* What you think? The bunny will have a ribbon tie on the neck. Also I'm making a simple rings and chains edging for the neckline and probably the edge of the sleeves.







Here is Rosenelly. She's bigger now but this photo is so darn cute!!!

Tea time! and review

Been a little under the weather and feeling blah!  But shopping for tatting always cheers me up.  I got Martha's book a couple of days before arriving to PR and I have been drooling over it.  Not knowing what to do first.

Martha's book is called "Tea is for Tatting", a collection of teapots and cups.  There are 10 patterns using different techniques and there's even a 3-D set.  A must have book definitively!

I made my first 2 teapots.  The variegated color is a weird one.  It's called "Marble" by Lizbeth #20.  I like the thread, even before the recall (I didn't mind the extra twisting) and when I got some tatting money a couple of weeks ago I got severals, but this will be another post.  

The one on the right has a ring less and it's all crooked.  I didn't noticed the mistake until I finish it and wanted it to lok "straight".  But it's a cute teapot, kinda ike the ones you would find in Alice in Wonderland's Tea Party.  :-)  NOW I have the "Unbirthday Song" on my head!  lol  

I think the next teapot to tat will be the "famous"Antique Rose Set.  everyone is tatting that one because is so pretty!  And I found a dusty rose Opera #20 that I'll use for it and will frame the set for mom.

Extreme Tatters Round Robin - Camille

I signed to the Extreme Round Robin a while ago. I forgot to post about it. But here is what I made for Camille, who is my 1st partner.


This is a button I made when I was with the button fever, thanks to Jane. lol The pattern will be available later. The thread looks pink but I think it's the reflection from the flash. It's white, with silver bugles and pink glass seed beads. I love this pattern. Pretty quick to do too.


This one is a mini doily I called "Faerie's Ring". I need to re-tat this one for the upcoming book of "Wings for Hope". If you notice the outer repetition looks like little faeries. I'm thinking in using different colors to "pop" more the design. So now you have a little preview of the upcoming book. ;-)

Here is the photo of everything I sent to Camille.

Happy Tatting Day

Happy Tatting Day to all my friends! For the occasion here I'm posting the pattern for the motif I made for the Design-Tat Lesson 3-4. Hope you like it!

Wally's Diamond

Still thinking of Spring

In this area where I'm living I see sheeps and goats often. So I decided to make a baby sheep. Cute, right? I think she will be a very good friend to Ayla, my mini-dragon. Ayla told me that she promise not to eat her. lol

The pattern is by Martha Ess and it's on Jane's site. I used an ivory color button that went perfect with the thread, which is DMC Petra #8.

My thinking of Spring I think will take me home (in PR). I need to make a short visit to NY for something personal and while I'm there I can take a small detour and visit my family in PR and also visit my doctors. I'm running low in medicines, so it's a great opportunity. I will stay only a few weeks. Not as long as before. Hubby is already crying because he'll miss me. :-( But this is for my own good and health, so he understands.

An interesting challenge

A few weeks ago there was a discussion on In-Tatters about which one is faster shuttle or needle tatting. I do both but I prefer the shuttle tatting. So now that I don't have TV I took the chance to make the challenge. This is how I did it. I tatted the same motif with the needle and then with the shuttle. The motif is:

R: 3-(+)3-3-3.
CH: 5-5.

Repeating until 10 rings and chains were done.

It's a pattern so common that I know by heart. So here are the results.

With the needle it took me 21 minutes.
With the shuttle it took me 11 minutes.

The difference is 10 minutes! There are some things to take in consideration. First, with the needle I notice I spend more time pulling the long amount of thread (I used 2 yards). This slow me a lot, I think. Also the method I use to join to the picots could be a factor in the speed. I join to the picots in the same way I join with the shuttles. Some people join to picots, while needle tatting, just passing the needle through the picot or placing the picot on the needle and continue working. Something interesting I found was the finished size of the medallions. I was thinking that the shuttle motif was going to be smaller, but it was the contrary! I think the problem are the size of the picots. I was able to make smaller picots with the needle than with the shuttle. Very interesting... One thing I don't like of needle tatting is calculating the amount of thread needed to work from the needle. I do "real" rings when I needle tat, so this uses more thread than if you do the mock rings. So I always miscalculate the amount of thread, usually I'm left with a lot of thread. then with this tails I have to make butterflies or something.

It was a very interesting challenge none the less. Have anyone else done the challenge?

Is spring here yet?

Man it is strange here in Egypt. I remember that last year at this time is was warm already but the weather is like crazy. Yesterday was warm because of a sand storm and today I'm freezing! lol Completing the picture is no satellite service. I think the wind knock off the satellite on the roof, so I'll have to wait until hubby comes home in a couple of days so he can check it up. Hmm... Wondering if I can go up the roof to check myself. :-) Nah! That's hubby's job. My job is to tat pretty things.

Yesterday I wanted to take a break and tat something comforting. A pattern that I have made like a half dozen times and I still love. It's Mark's bunny. I think I'm thinking of spring. It needs it's sating ribbon on the neck which I'll sew later. I'll save this one until I get to PR and mom can use it to make a baby dress and sew it on it.

I cut the long picots on the tail and fluff them. Isn't it cute? Don't you want ot hug it? lol Okay, I'm been too silly. It's just a tatted bunny. I made a small mistake in the middle of the bunny. Didn't join the 2 medallions. I forgot to do it. Guess I don't know the pattern by memory as I was thinking. If you want to try it here is the pattern.

Homework and Marriage

Well, it looks like I haven't post in a few days. I have been so tire lately. I guess those sleepless night caught up with me. *sigh* But today I decided to tat for awhile.


These are the 2 versions of the motif I made for Lesson 3 of Design-Tat. On the left the 1st version I made and on the right the improved and beaded version. It lays much better than the one on the left, which ruffles a little. I made a diagram and I need to write the notation for Lesson 4. Probably will post it tomorrow morning.

This is my homework from last Monday's class. I will make the other motifs too, but I like this one so much that was the 1st I made. I added beads in every picot. :-)


This last photo is not tatting related (except for the edging in the scarf) but I wanted to share it with you. This was our wedding day. Sorry but this is the only one we have and almost got arrested for it! lol You see, you can't take photos inside the Ministry building or in the nearby. But we were so happy that we took this one. The police forgave us. When you marry here in Egypt in the Ministry, they make 5 copies of the paper. On each one they put a photo of the couple and we have to fingerprint each photo. After that you spent the happy day with your thumb stained blueish-purple. lol So here we are showing with pride our stained thumbs, symbol that at last we are married. :-)

At last my Homework

I signed for the Design Course by Sharon Briggs and then got caught in some many things with my Spanish tatting group that I couldn't make my homework. At last this morning I sat down and I told myself that I was not going to stand up until I finish the homework. They're on the 3rd lesson now! I didn't made the 1st two homework because they're too basic for me, so I jumped to the 3rd one.

Here was my 1st try to the exercise. It didn't work out as planned. When I made the last join it cupped so bad that it was in no way to flatten. So I cut it from the center. But I saved this part because I like how it looks and I know it can becomes a nice motif. So I'll be working this as a new motif.

Here is the final result of the exercise. This one still needs a few tweaks. Just to diminish a ds here and there because it ruffles a little. But I like how it looks. Also I can see it with beads! May be a button in the center? Ideas, ideas!!! I still have a few more versions on the making. This is the kind of challenge that I love to do.

Iris TIA version 2

I love this second version of Iris' TIA. I think will do a pretty brooch adding beads here and there. I didn't use a picot gauge for the long picots and that's why they are uneven. Also the block is not even, but this was because I was watching TV while tatting and wasn't looking where I was joining on the block. ;-p

Wonder how it will look when several are made. Hmm... May be making each motif a different color? So many possibilities, so little time.

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!

Playing with buttons

What happens when you have a box of beads and a jar of buttons like this one?


Buttons with tatting!!! I have been following Jane's adventures with her MOP (mother of pearl) buttons and her "new" way to add tatting to buttons. I must say that is very, very cute and fun!!! I understand now it's a little tricky to write the pattern because it depends on the size of the button and thread.



This flower-button I made it using a 3/4" 4-hole button, frosted green bugles and glass seed beads. There's an "E" bead on the center of the button. The color of the button is a strange green, looks more like a dark blueish olive green. The thread is black cotton perle El Beida #8. I think I have to adjust the counting a little bit on the center's rings and the joining picots. But I really like this one. I was going to continue playing but the light bulb in the room went off and hubby is not at home to change it. The light in the room is a white fluorescent one but the rest of the house is the regular yellow light and I can't tat very well with that light. So I have to wait until the morning to make more buttons.

Thanks Jane for the inspiration!!!

Very crappy day

Today is really one of those days that is better to stay in bed. I have only slept 3 hours. A sandstorm star ted early night and now is very strong. So all the flat is closed, except the small window in the bath and kitchen (they're interior windows). That means that the apartment is getting hot. We don't have AC or fans yet. *mumble, mumble* Add to that that I can't find the TV remote and this kind of TV you MUST turn it on from the remote. Anyway, with this weather probably the satellite won't work. The pain on the hip is still there, like a pesky reminder that YES I have Lupus. At least last night fever is gone. I finished a choker/necklace that I started last night and my hands feel numb. So yes, it's a crappy day for me. >-P

I'll breakfast now, take my medicines and will try to sleep.

But to finish this post with a happy thought here is a motif I tatted a few days ago and didn't post it. It's from a Spanish tatting booklet called "Maravillas en Frivolite". It's not yet done completely. I need to make a beaded tassel for it but run low on silver beads.

Can you guess my mood?

Yep, as you can see from the photos I'm in a bead-mood. I have been making small beaded motif from the left over thread from the TIA doily. All of these will be attached to eye-pins to be use as scarf pins or just a quick brooch. For the Muslim women that use headscarf these are the latest fashion and they call them dangles. I love them too and started a mini collection of them. But none of them as the pretty tatted ones. :-) I think I'll start a line of scarf pins and place them on my shop.

All the motifs are from a Russian book called "Frivolite". Don't know who is the writer.

Well, here I am again!

Well, thanks to Tatting Chic, who is running a contest, I decided to open again my blogger blog. Thanks a lot dear! lol But this time I know that I can post here and transfer to Multiply, where is my main blog. So no problem. Also I know that in here a lot of people can post comments without been members. So it's easier for them to post comments here than to send me e-mails.

Well, I'll be transferring some posts in a few minutes but I wanted to leave you with this one. This is a pattern that I made for my BD (in a few days!). Each year I do one to share with my tatter friends. The pattern can be found on my web site: http://needles-n-shuttles.com/BDMotif2009.html

Now I'm off to import some posts and to finish the shopping cart of my shop. Soon the thread I use in most of my work (El Beida from Egypt) will be available for sell. :-)