Gift Ornaments Three and Four

These two ornaments are both made from my first ornament pattern (well, the first one I ever wrote down, anyway). The green and red one is made with red DMC size 80 tatting cotton on one shuttle and machine embroidery thread in a variegated mix of bright colors backed with white sewing cotton on the other shuttle. There are red seed beads scattered around at the picot joins, and it's pinned to the ornament with gold pins. I was concerned about the variety of colors with the red, but decided it looked really good and made the cut to to be sent off as a gift. The blue one is covered with Signature machine embroidery thread in shades of blue backed with white sewing cotton. I know it looks yellow, but it's not. I'm just not much of a photographer. There are silver beads at the picot joins on this one, so I used silver pins through a silver bead to fasten it to the ornament.

Heather's Hand-Dyed Thread!

It really pays to read tatting blogs -- really it does. Know why? Because so many of the blog writers are so generous. I know this is true because I was reading Heather's blog the day she put up a photograph and offered her hand-dyed thread to whoever guessed closest to what it was. I suggested frozen mud. That was close enough to get me these:
Isn't that great? Talk about generosity. I was thinking some little samples or one skein. I've got six (yeah -- 6!) full-sized skeins of thread here. I'm thinking pigs for the size 10 "cotton candy" pink and dragons for the size 10 "blue jay" and "blue raspberry" -- I just acquired Karey Solomon's "Here Be Dragons". The size 10 "licorice" is going to become fall leaves, I think. I might do a frilly decoration with the size 30 cammo to "girly" up my niece's cammo pants. Even though Heather says the last size 30 is "over the rainbow" I'm thinking Christmas red, green, gold and silver -- so that's destined for ornaments.

Gift Ornament Two

Size 80 DMC green variegated tatting cotton and red seed beads -- very traditionally Christmas. This one started with the large rings at the top of the middle band. It looked too big so I added the row of small rings and chains at the top. The bottom band is more compact than the top one. After I got the wild idea to "celtic twist" the chains leading to the clover, I wished I'd done the same on the larger middle band. I made a second one doing just that, but the thread I used is an unfortunate greeny-yellow color and not nearly so attractive. That one didn't make the cut for mailing -- it's hanging on our Christmas tree.
I don't have a written pattern for this one, because every time I make it I change something. I like it, though, so need to get it at least diagrammed.

Gift Ornament One

Now that my gifts have wended their way across the oceans and been opened, I can show them off here.
First, a lot of split rings and some chains in variegated red and green quilting thread with a backing of white sewing cotton. This one also has red and green seed beads at most of the picot joins. The central band of split rings is not attached to any other part of the tatting -- it's just floating there. The pattern was accidentally adapted from another of my ornament patterns. Hey, I made it up, I ought to know how it goes. Nope. This worked out really well anyway -- once that central band was added.
The tatting is pinned to the green satin ornament with gold pins passed through a red seed bead. I used to lace the tatting onto the ornaments with gold or silver thread, but had a hard time getting them straight. Pinning works better for me.