Pay It Forward

Today I received my Pay It Forward package from Joy whose blog is at http://www.joyintatting.blogspot.com She had posted to invite three people to sign up for her to make a gift on the condition that they then would offer the same invitation on their blog. I received a lovely knitted scarf, a Christmas cross-stitched ornament and the above tatted cross. Thank you Joy!!!

Now, for the first three people who comment on my blog that they will participate in this, I will make a needleart gift to be finished within 365 days. If you make comment #1, #2, or #3, please email me at star2lexi4me@yahoo.ca giving me your name and snail mail address so when finished, I can send you your parcel.

The Eastern Star Pin

It was 0245 hours Saturday morning but I finished the Eastern Star pin on time. The recipient, Ginger, was very pleased with it and it was shown to many guests at her reception. Rita Cochrane had sold me all but the yellow thread on Wednesday night (I had purchased the yellow earlier) so I actually started tatting on the star at 1730 hours, Thursday evening. When I emailed Rita a scan of the finished star, she commented that she was very impressed with the evenness of my picots. Thank you, Rita.

If anyone is interested in the pattern for this Eastern Star, here is the address: http://www.logicaldatasys.com/tatting/Tatted%20Eastern%20Star.pdf I used Altin Basak 50 thread as that is the smallest tatting thread that I have learned to use so far. The sample in the pattern is done with size 80 thread but that challenge still lies ahead for me.

One of my accomplishments with this motif was in being able to use the picot gauge horizontally. This is motif #12 in my 25-motif challenge. I will post motif #11 at a later date.

Double Digits

I have finally reached number ten in my 25-motif challenge. This is the turtle I tatted for Aileen in the international beginners' round robin. It is the pattern, 'Tatty Turtle', designed by Mark Meyers from his website www.tat-man.net. I really wanted to tat two mice for her as her request is animals and there are already two differnet cats in her package but the only pattern I could find at all was a very small one which was needle tatted. (I only tat with a shuttle)

Next Saturday, I am going to a reception for which I would like to tat a star like the yellow one, but this time with each point a different, specific colour. I will receive the necessary thread Wednesday evening before a meeting so will only have Thursday and Friday in which to make the star and sew on the pinback. I am travelling to the reception Saturday morning so will have the two-hour car ride then, in case I need it to finish it and/or sew on the pinback.

Bob's Snowman

I did finish the snowman for Bob for the second stage of the international beginners' round robin, but not on April 1. This is now my ninth motif for the 25-motif challenge. I have two more items to tat for the round robin and then more stars.

April 1, 2008

International Tatting Day, 2008

To all true lacemakers: Enjoy the day!!!

My goal is to tat one snowman with a tatted cord to send to Bob in the international beginners' round robin which now must be mailed by April 6. (the dates were realigned to allow for slow international snail mail)

May all of you enjoy the day set aside to lift up tatters and let me know what you set as a goal for yourself for today and whether it was accomplished. I will post later as to when my snowman was mailed.

Blessings,

Margaret

Motif # 8

My eighth motif is the first item I have made for the international beginners' round robin. This is the first time I have used the scissors to cut out a section. I had spent almost two days trying to complete the fourth point of the star making many time-consuming corrections before I realized that initially I had joined the point to the wrong picot. I have kept the end of the point to use in a different manner. I was following a modification of a pattern from Festive Tatting by DMC which I did in a solid colour rather than each point in a different colour.

My first Motifs

Since this blog is essentially to keep track of my progress in the 25-motif challenge, I am going to try to add photos of the other motifs for which I have pictures available. The dove and butterfly were from the first lesson I took in the online beginners class (first session -- I have taken three sessions of the same set of lessons) and the snowman is the second one I made which I used as the tatting in the Secret Santa Tatting Exchange I was involved in this past Christmas through the Fringe Element Tatters.