Not tatting, but....

I have to show you all what I have been working on.


This is a crochet miniature thread bear. The bear is about 2.5 inches tall when sitting. The pattern for the bear is located here, for anyone interested. I plan on making these bears as gifts this year, so I made this particular bear to test the pattern (you know, to make sure I could make it). I used DMC Traditions thread in size 10, colour number 5109 for most of the bear, along with a little Coats Opera size 30 in white. Crochet was one of the first art/craft that I learned. I think I was about 8 when my mom showed me how to crochet. Anyway, I plan on tatting accessories for the bears (hats, maybe vests, etc) to dress them up. I am currently tatting a hat for this bear to check sizing needs. I'll post about the hat when(/if) I get it done.

Motifs # 9 and # 10

Here is my motif number 9:



It is a "Stargazer Lily" by Linda S Davies. The pattern is available in Linda's book, "Exotic Range of Tatted Flowers". The book is available at Linda's website. I really like this pattern. It is fairly simple, so each petal can be made quite fast. Combined with lily stamens, purchased or homemade (mine are homemade), and some wire, you get a very realistic lily. I used Flora thread in colour numbers 205 & 225.

My next motif comes from the creative mind of Nancy Tracy of Be-Stitched:


It is Nancy's newest pattern of the month, a Magnolia. While mine doesn't look like Nancy's, it is still a very beautiful, realistic flower. I used Coats thread in an unknown variegated pink and Coats Opera thread in white, both size 30. You will see this flower again. I plan on making the Magnolia in size 10 thread. Magnolia flowers can be up to 8 inches (or more) in diameter, and I like to make 3D flowers as realistic as possible.

And finally, I got some new shuttles!!!


The green shuttle on the left is a Sew Mate Shuttle. The shuttle on the upper right is a David Reed Smith shuttle made with walnut wood. The shuttle on the lower right is a David Reed Smith shuttle made out of Zebrawood. Even though I far prefer Aero shuttles (or almost any bobbin type shuttle) I really like these three post type shuttles. I have always wanted a DRS shuttle for as long as I knew they existed. Thanks to my grandma and the birthday money I got last month, I finally have my David Reed Smith shuttles.

A BEANILE Lace Pendant (Motif # 8)

Here is my motif number 8.....


.....I'm just not sure which one. OK, that's not entirely true. I know which one I like, but I would like the opinion of my fellow tatters. Which of these three Green Iris Pendants (by Nina Libin) looks the best? The threads used are as follows:

A: One, three ply strand of DMC Metallic embroidery thread (I believe this is the recommended thread for the pattern).
B: Two strands of DFN 6 strand metallic embroidery floss (with beads I got from Kate in the December 2007 Ornament exchange).
C: Three strands of DFN 6 strand metallic embroidery floss.

All three used size 11 beads. The beads in A and C are Japanese Delicas. You may wonder why I made three of the pendants in different sizes/kinds of thread. I wasn't happy with the results I was getting with the DMC metallic embroidery thread. I contacted Nina to see if I was using the wrong thread. Apparently that was (one of) the thread(s) she was using. I suggested using metallic 6 strand embroidery floss. I guess she wasn't aware of metallic 6 strand embroidery floss, and suggested I try 2 or three strands to see how they work.

I would love to hear what you all think about the three pendants, so please leave comments about them. Oh, and the losing pendant will be cut apart for bead recovery. The cost of the Delicas requires it. My favourite is C, which is my choice for motif #8:


Besides the tatting I have been doing (I have a couple projects in progress), I was hoping to transplant my baby African Violets this weekend. Here is a picture:

As you can see, some of the pots are quite full of little baby violets. Of course, once they are repotted, I will probably have twice (or even thrice) the number of African violets when I am done. It's a good thing that most of the ones pictured are miniatures.

Two Coasters & a Ladybug (AKA Motifs 5,6, & 7)

I have been tatting quite a bit lately. I have three motifs to show right now. There is another one in progress, and a couple that just need finishing. First up, a small coaster by Ben Fikkert. It is called "Romance", from his book "A Tatting Adventure", and is done in DMC Cordonnet size 40.

I liked this pattern, so I made it again. This time, I used Marilee's "Tiger Eye" (the second dye lot) in size 50.

My next motif is Nancy Tracy's Ladybug. It is done in Coats thread in a size 20 in black, and Flora size 20, in colour number 221. This is the latest Be-stitched pattern.















The pattern called for beads to make the spots on the wings. I used magnetic Hematite beads, which caused the wings to close up like a real lady bug. The picture on the left (er, above, apparently) shows how the pattern should look. I had to make the chains a little larger to accommodate the slightly larger-than-called-for beads.