Spring, Please!

Pink and green! Shouldn't that inspire a bit of Spring weather instead of snow -- in May?? Perhaps, because the last couple of days have been very pleasant, even with the rain. This is "Betula" from Iris Neibach's Tatting Fantasia. I couldn't face the dreaded yellow DMC size 30 Cébélia, so I scrabbled around in my bin for something more cheerful. (Yes, I know other people think yellow is cheerful. I think it looks jaundiced, and makes me look that way. Go ahead, tat with yellow claw-like hands...) This little motif is so elegantly simple, that it made me figure it must be snowing outside again when the "magic thread" broke instead of sliding the ends inside. Fiddle, had to stitch the ends in. Still, I liked the motif and so did my 6-year-old niece. I borrowed the main motif to make this necklace for her...hence the button closure. She can do it herself! I still had some of that springy green and pink on the shuttles, so I opened up Sharon Briggs' Transitions in Tatting and scanned over the first few beginner pieces. Lovely, just what I needed, a new bookmark. This one is the Daisy, but I added a couple of little rings as pretend leaves and a little clover end instead of a tassel. Everything needs to be pressed or blocked, but I haven't bothered with that little detail yet.
I've still got pink and green on the shuttles and am working on another piece from Fantasia 2. Meanwhile I'm contemplating beads and whether or not I can get away with using size 30 thread for Jane's new TIAS. I don't own any 20, and won't be able to get to the store to get any -- certainly not three different colors. Hmpf. Maybe I'll just cheat and use the 30 and pretend I couldn't read the numbers on the label. I'll have an MTIAS (misshapen tat it and see). :)