Twenty-third Motif

I'm calling this one "Butterfly Star" Look close -- the butterflies are red, but some mean kid has de-antennaed them all. This pattern started out in green and white size 30 thread without the Josephine rings, equal sized rings, and only four repeats. It didn't lay down very well. I started over and made one in red ombre and white DMC size 80 tatting thread. Five repeats seemed just right after I made the upper rings twice the size of the lower rings (the butterfly wings). Then I got a wild hair and thought it might make a nifty doily, so I started one. Started is the key there. Unfortunately, I ran out of red thread. So I have this nice UFO. I might have to see if I can get some more red ombre and finish the darn thing or it will drive me nuts!

Twenty-second Motif

Once again, from Iris Niebach's free patterns posted at Iris Niebach's Tatting Online, four Gianduia six-sided motifs fastened together to make an irregular oval. Maybe it needs another four motifs to make a nice-sized mat -- about six inches (8 cm) in diameter. Right now it's four inches (10.5 cm) wide and six inches (15.5 cm) long. Maybe figuring out an edging that would be in keeping with the style of the motif and leaving it nicely oval. I'm thinking about it, so this one hasn't been blocked yet, either.
You'd think I was trying to use up all my DMC Cébélia size 30 green thread, eh?

Twenty-first Motif

A square design by Lene Bjørn from the book Tatting together square motifs edited by Iris Niebach. This one is made in DMC Cébélia size 30 in green and white. It needs blocking, I think. Besides that, the next one will have longer picots holding the rings in the four corners -- these are too small and make the arches look like dimples. Not that there's anything wrong with a good dimple. They just have to be in the right place.

Twentieth Motif

Still another from Iris Niebach -- all in one pass. This little square motif is "Cactus" from the free patterns she has generously shared at Iris Niebach's Tatting Online
This one is made with DMC Cèbèlia size 30 thread. It looks pretty good without blocking. I think it might fit over a satin Christmas ornament -- maybe I should make a matching one for the bottom and try it out.
It has been a while since I posted anything. I've been creating UFO's (no, no -- not the alien things, just unfinished objects). We took the girls to Disneyland for spring break, and I tatted while standing in lines. I got some strange looks, some whispers behind my back, and a couple of people interested enough to ask about it. However -- I didn't actually finish anything. Maybe the lines weren't long enough, eh?

Nineteenth Motif

Another small treasure from Iris Niebach's Tatted Doilies, this is Nora. It is made in 5 rounds. The thread is King Tut quilting thread "Wisteria Lane". It seems even finer than the Coats quilting thread and the piece measures only 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter.

Eighteenth Motif

This is actually six motifs and an edging. It's one of Jan Stawasz's designs from Tatting: Theory and Patterns. The thread is one strand of Gütermann 100% cotton sewing thread and one strand of Signature machine embroidery thread. It measures just 4.5 inches by 6 inches (11.5 cm by 16 cm).

Seventeenth Motif

More baby-lace made with Signature and Gütermann threads. My sister has dyed two more baby shirts, so we have to decide which bit of lace goes on the neck of which shirt. These are also variations of the first three bits of lace, they just varied a lot more.

Sixteenth Motif

My sister does fantastic tie-dyed everything (we have to hide anything white cotton from her if we want it to stay white). We are combining efforts to make some baby gifts -- she dyes the baby "onsies" and I decorate 'em. Well, just the little girl ones so far. I'm thinking some of Jane Eborall's little animals would look cute for boys. Hmmm...actually they'd look cute for girls, too. Can you imagine a nice pink flamingo on this shirt? This one is for our niece's first baby due next week. Yeah, we're going to be great aunts (not that we weren't pretty good already, you know). This little bit of lace is made with one strand of Signature pink ombre machine embroidery thread and one strand of Gütermann pink 100% cotton sewing thread. There is no pattern, just a

case of going where the shuttle leads. The next two were variations on a theme:

Fifteenth Motif

There. Something smaller -- but with the same thread as used on the Stawasz square doily. These little earrings just used up what was left on the shuttles. This is a pattern I made up, but the elements and even the configuration are pretty common. The beads are iridescent blue seed beads and the hooks are nylon. I like threading matching beads on the hooks -- they integrate better. I also think putting the hooks on the chain instead of on a picot makes them more durable. There are advantages to the nylon hooks: (1) nobody's usually allergic to them, (2) they don't have an opening enabling the motif to slip off and get lost and, best of all, (3) if an earring gets grabbed the nylon hook straightens, slips out and snaps back into shape (no torn ears or ruined earrings).

Fourteenth Motif

Motif? Yeah, I'm counting it. This is the square doily from Jan Stawasz' Tatting, Theory and Patterns. It's not difficult to tat -- most of it is simple rings and chains. It's his use of negative space I find so beautiful. I didn't do it in the size 20 thread he recommends, and I didn't use his method (which essentially is front side / back side tatting), but I think it turned out nicely. This one is again made with two threads wound on each shuttle (getting addicted to that!): one thread of Coats hand quilting cotton thread in variegated pastel shades and one thread of Signature polyester machine embroidery thread in variegated bright shades. It makes the pastels brighter with just a bit of sheen here and there. The cotton thread gave the polyester enough support for it not to fray. Now that that's done, I guess I'll try some smaller things next.