Love that Butterfly

This is the Butterfly heart Bookmark from Dianna Stevens' Animal bookmarks: A Tatted Zoo. I've been to the butterfly zoo, once in Seattle, and once in Las Vegas (just between you, me and the gatepost, Seattle was better). This was a pretty simple bookmark to work, especially if you like split rings. There are lots of them.

I've been wondering since I finished if I should maybe try one with the butterfly a different color than the heart. It would stand out more. I like this one, though. It's made with Lizbeth size 20 Christmas Red (so apropriate to the season, eh?). I don't usually like tassels, but this just works so well at the end of the split ring tail -- no ends to weave in if they are made a part of the tassel. Nifty!

There was a challenge on InTatters in November to tat something from a book you owned but had never used. That's when I opened this little treasure chest from Dianna Stevens. Once I got started, it seemed like I ought to just get through the whole thing!

Butterflies

Jane Eborall, the ever creative and generous (yes, you are, don't be modest), has just shared this new pattern for butterfly bookmarks. It's got her wonderful long beaded picots, so I used silver ones on both of these.

She mentioned on her blog that the tail could be made with pearl tatting instead of lock chain. I tried that too, since she had a link to "the lazy way" (yeah, that's my speed!). Ooooo, I like it, it's fun to do! I did change the end of the bookmark tail. Instead of the pretty little five-ring beaded flower, I did a non-beaded four-ring butterfly. I did that for two reasons. First, I wasn't certain how long to make the tail -- what if someone was reading a bigger book than they had bookmark? I wouldn't want to have a bookmark with beads that would sit inside the book and make bumps in the pages. Second, so I could not mess with hiding ends. If I'd made the beaded end Jane shows, there would have been no ends to hide, but it would have needed the beads -- and I've already explained why I didn't want beads.

The purple one, done in Lizbeth size 20 "Country Grape Swirl", was the first one I did. the butterfly at the bottom had to be blocked (just sprayed with water and pinned flat), because it wanted to fold up. The blue one is in size 30 Cebelia "Singing the Blues". The butterfly at the bottom of the tail is fastened to the tail at the small rings. It stays flat without all that blocking bother. Nifty -- another new favorite (partly because I really like that pearl-tatted tail, so nice and flat for books!).

Thanks, Jane!

More Chickens!

Isn't that just the cutest little chicken? I think the Cockerel bookmark from Dianna Stevens' Animal bookmarks: A Tatted Zoo is my new favorite -- or one of them, anyway.

The one on the left was made from real size 20 thread. It's "Springtime" from Lizbeth, but I got it from Dorcas. :) Lucky me, eh? We're right in the middle of a thread exchange. I've sent mine off, and I received this lovely sample from Dorcas. I don't own any of this, but now I think I might have to get some, because this is a really pretty variegate. Funny, because I keep telling my sister I don't like purple and green together. I guess I do, after all! See, there? Aren't thread exchanges just the most useful thing ever?

I've got another one of these done, too -- it's the one on the right. I've used the size 30 Day and Night Rainbow again, and it's come out just as nifty as the first one. Of course, I was lazy and thought I could put the tail on without breaking the thread, so there's an extra little chain. I think it looks okay, though, right? Say "yes" -- that's what I wanna hear!