The first class project from Tat Days is the Ring of Clovers.  The class was taught by Paige Deputy and was my first successful attempt at tatting over a plastic ring, aka "cabone".

I see that my tension isn't consistent since the rings and chains aren't mirrored exactly, even though there are the same number of stitches.  However, for a class project it turned out very well.  Usually the things I make while learning have more flaws.  Once I've made a pattern and have more confidence it turns out better.

The thread for this one is "Serendipity" by AlenAleaDesign.  You can find her on Etsy.  The colors are a bit brighter in real life than what my scanner captured.

Here's a closeup of a section of Morning Crocus.  Karey says she paints the colors on, rather than dip dyeing; it's more obvious when you can see a bit of the skein itself.

Last month I went to Palmetto Tat Days in Toccoa, GA, again.  This year I was able to get some HDT from Karey Solomon.  I had heard of her wonderful thread, but somehow missed it last year.  (How, I don't know, unless she had a much smaller supply then).  I'm still winding the new threads onto bobbins but wanted to share some of them first.  A couple, like Kilt, aren't as impressive on the bobbin as they were in the skein, unfortunately.  I bought 14 different colors; here are some of them.  The first one is bamboo, not cotton, and is really soft.  Karey says it's more absorbent, too, and makes great coasters.  I told her I live in the land of no humidity, so I rarely use coasters.  :-)

I'm not sure if I'm more enchanted by the colors or by the names.  In addition to the ones below, I also have Early Spring, Jellyfish, Spring Morning Lakeside, Toodles, and Verdigris.

Isn't it pretty?  I think/hope the colors show up fairly accurately.

Grape Hyacinth

Midnight Breeze

Morning Crocus

Kilt, view 1

Kilt, view 2 (the other side of the bobbin)

It Might Be Magic, view 1

It Might Be Magic, view 2

Ellie

Shepherd's Warning

My job involves handling a lot of paper, and combined with low humidity here (today it was a whopping 10%) my hands get really dry. I reached for the lotion in my tatting bag...and fortunately noticed this before I put it on my hands....

Minor Flying Norwegian Dragon

I've been working on a Minor Flying Norwegian Dragon, a free pattern by Anne Bruvold.  She says there are more dragons that haven't been discovered yet, and I think the one I've seen around here is the Desert Sunset Dragon.  Once I finish the green one I have the perfect Southwestern blend for a second one.

I only have the body done so far.  (Forgive the lint; the cat's been sleeping on my sweatpants when I'm not in them.)

The pattern calls for Single Shuttle Split Rings, but I don't have the patience for that just now.  Later on the pattern requires two shuttles, so that's what I started with and just made regular split rings.  I'm using size 10 Lizbeth 680, and the extra bulk of the SSSR was too noticeable in that size thread, too.  (That's my story and I'm sticking with it!)  ☺

The wing pattern was not making sense to me at first, but I think I have it now.  I'll keep you posted!

Rings, split rings and single shuttle split rings

If you're not a tatter, there's probably no way for me to effective describe the difference between rings, split rings and single shuttle split rings.  Rings are basic tatting elements; the shuttle thread makes a ring and comes back to the beginning to meet the ball of thread.  Fine, if you only want rings to the side of the piece.  If you want rings in line, like beads on a thread, you have to use both threads so they can both end at the same place.  This means working with two shuttles, stitching backwards, all sorts of fiddly bits.  If you only have one shuttle, it gets even more complicated.  I have a pattern that I want to make (a flying dragon), that requires single shuttle split rings.  After three tries, I think I have it down.  I can't show you the first one because the ring fell apart completely.  Here are the second and third tries.  The first one became a lower-case "e" because I forgot that the goal was to end at the other side of the ring, not back at the beginning.  The third one came out right.  It's going to take a bit more practice to feel comfortable with the process, but I've made a good start.

I used size 3 thread so I could clearly see what was going on.  The first ring was in size 20, in a solid color, and it was too small to compare with the instructions.

TIAS Day 3

Day 3 of the TIAS is up, and finished.  Today was all split chains, which I enjoy.  My other challenge for today is to learn Single Shuttle Split Chains, so I can move on to the dragon pattern that I want to make for the back of my denim shirt.

It's too soon to guess what it will be, although at this point it looks like a mask with a handle.

TIAS, 2017 edition

Jane Eborall's 2017 TIAS  is off to a grand start.  The instructions say to use size 20, and a variegated thread would work well.  I've chosen Lizbeth 128.  The second half of the project will require some size 11 beads.  My stash is primarily purples and leaf greens, neither of which goes with my thread.  I don't know what color beads will work best so I ordered 14 new colors in reds, blues, and yellows, as well as some iridescent blacks.


This is Day 1:  (sorry about the bad photo; it's only about an inch long at this point.)

And Day 2:

 Stay tuned!

TIAS starts tomorrow!

Jane Eborall's Tat It And See for 2017 starts tomorrow!  After looking at the introduction I'm really excited.  The "normal" skills are there, like rings and chains and split rings.  This year she's also including an alligator join (which I have done exactly one time already) and zig zag chains, which I've never heard of but they look like fun.  One of the best parts about Jane's tatting game is that she includes links to her instruction pages; they are so well-done with great instructions and very clear diagrams.  I always learn something from TIAS, and I'm sure this one will be the same.

More ornaments

Once again I tried the Lucky Penny pattern, only this time with beads.  It solved the problem of the picots not laying flat.  I made one with a 2016 penny for a wedding gift, with the bride's colors of silver and Tardis blue (or as close as I could get.)  Then I made one in red for a birthday gift.  Then I got to work on making some for Christmas ornaments.  I was really pleased with the results.  Even better, my nephew made comments about magic fingers and dark arts.