Tat's Heaven

I am still having fun with the picot lock join and Martha's tat days patterns, they have become especially useful for Easter.  I made some daffodils for more cards but as you can see have put them together with Jane's SCMR butterfly and Martha's bumble bee (from her book 'New Critters on the Block')  i.e. block tatting.  So there are quite a few techniques in this picture. Of course I need to show you some real daffodils blowing in the cold wind, still no sign of Spring. The card says it all...................

At the Palmetto tat days last September I joined Martha Ess's class called 'An Inverted Tatting Garden' and we were taught the picot lock join.  I really enjoyed this technique and picked it up much quicker than some of the other techniques at tat days! The rabbits you see below use the picot lock join in their ears.   I am now working on another of Martha's patterns, which I will show you next time.  Now in order of appearance -  the grey rabbit I made last night and he has a lovely white tail, The white rabbit I made earlier on in the day and the brown rabbit was made during Martha's lesson in the USA, so he really is an American Rabbit!   As he was my very first rabbit he did not have a white tail because this pattern is tatted in one hit so I did not even think about his tail, just kept going.  Of course the white rabbit has a white tail anyway and with the grey one I just stopped and added a white fluffy tail. These little chaps are all hopping their w...

Last year, just before Easter Sunday, I managed to design an Easter egg by tatting around a button (the link to the pattern is on the right hand side of this blog).  Jane showed her design yesterday and that made me wonder if perhaps mine would work around a central piece or  'doodad'.  This is how it came out. I had to add an extra ring at the bottom to make it fit but it turned out rather well.  The doodad is 'vintage' as I purchased quite a few of them 36 years ago when I lived in Hong Kong.  I think this is the best use I have found for it since then! And here is Jane's Easter Egg, which I test tatted for her, not a very good example, but it was my first try! Yesterday I found a branch had come off a tree in one of the churchyards so in freezing temperatures and with a cruel wind blowing, tore off the small bits and dragged the remainder of the branch to the car.  The trouble is we don't know what tree it is, I think it is a Cypress, anyway the wood is ...

I'm talking about what Jane and I get up to!  Well nothing much really except of course we e.mail each other a great deal as we don't live very close, occasionally I visit her but at other times 'Im in the garage tends to make the journey more often as he visits his mother who lives in the same town.  As today is Mothering Sunday here in the UK and I do mean Mothering Sunday, not 'Mother's Day',  that is where he is at the moment. However, he did take with him the latest batch of shuttles and hooks for Jane to sell in her Etsy Shop.  I have on good authority that the aforementioned will be going 'live' on Thursday night (UK time) but Jane will tell you more about that tomorrow on her blog. Meanwhile I have been 'home alone' as my two sons are too far away to visit.   Jane and I inevitably talk about tatting and designs over the internet, mind you that is rather one sided because Jane, as you know, seems to create patterns in her sleep!  Whereas ...

Yes well it is obvious we don't keep the car in our garage!  It is, as most of you know, used as a carpentry workshop.  The next batch of shuttles are now being packaged and will be winging their way to Jane's very soon.  But first I wanted to let you know that there are a few slight changes.  The first you may have guessed by looking at these two shuttles, the photograph rather gives it away. Can you see the difference? The second is, instead of the hooks having 'wooden hats' they have plastic caps.  I have to say these plastic caps are very strong and certainly not flimsy so should last a long time and what is more they fit very neatly onto the hook. One of the interesting facts about the latest batch of pop-a-bobbin shuttles is that the 'pushers' - as we call them are all (with the exception of two) made from the oak that orginally came from the underneath the altar at one of our churches. The wood was then made into the font you will see in this post.  ...

Don't you love receiving post from abroad? Well from anywhere really, but it is always more interesting if it comes from far away places.   Yesterday the postman produced from his bag a box, the box filled half his bag! I really wondered what it was and felt rather sorry that he had to carry this on his round.  Anyway the box contained some wood from Canada which   Fox had kindly sent.  The wood is silver maple, as you can see it is cracked which is normal as it had been drying out and makes no difference to the quality or quantity.  Fox saw a tree being cut last year and asked for a piece and kept it, although originally it was  much bigger. When she moved she took a smaller piece off it to take with her. But look who the box was addressed to, this caused much amusement in our house. And a lovely card and piece of tatting from Fox Then today the postman put through the letter box this little heart that I won from Val. Now I met Val whilst in Singapore las...

I  purchased some lovely HDT whilst in the USA plus I was also gifted some, thank you Sue Anna. It is just the matter of finding enough time to use them and to make sure that when I do it is for a well tried and tested pattern as there is nothing worse than chopping up beautiful thread!! Jess's thread was so tempting and I do like the way that she puts strong bold colours together.  Here is a necklace made from one of her skeins called Havana.  This week she is offering free shipping to all international buyers, so if you don't live in America take advantage of such  a great offer. And then I made a brooch to match When I was in Singapore there was a jeweller with my initials And in America this......... I wonder what I will find on my travels this year?!