New Pattern Available

Thanks everyone for the information about where to get cabone rings (see my last post and comments). It is so wonderful to have a community of tatters who jump in with help and advice. I will be near a JoAnn Fabrics this weekend and will check there to see what I can find. Also, have you seen Dawn Marie's tatting around a metal heart (click here!)...cool, huh? I know I've seen other shapes like that in some of my jewelry supply catalogs - squares, circles, ovals - I just have to find them again. Of course, I have lots of craft wire and could probably make my own if I was so inclined. Maybe I'll try that to start.

For those of you interested, I have a new pattern available on etsy - Tatted Heart Earrings. That makes four patterns I've managed to write down and make into .pdf files. If anyone is really interested in any of them (Cross, Hip to Be Square Earrings, Long Elegant Earrings, Heart Earrings) but don't want to become a member of etsy in order to purchase, shoot me an e-mail and we can work out something through PayPal or snail mail.


I want to add them to the ArtFire site as well, but haven't managed to get around to that yet. I still have other patterns I want to do as well. Someday!

A Book Review and Something New!

I've been wanting to try tatting with cabone rings for a while now. So when Jon Yusoff's book, "Tatting With Rings" came out last month, well, I just had to have it (click here to get yourself a copy!)! Fortunately it came just as I was leaving for a show, so I packed it up, hoping to have some time to play in the hotel room at night.

At the show it rained all day Saturday, so I had a lot more time that I thought I would (customers were scarce, as only ducks belong out in that kind of weather). I was SO glad I had Jon's book with me, I'll tell you. Here's what I did:

Jon explains everything very well and has wonderful diagrams so I caught on to the technique pretty quickly, and found it to be quite enjoyable. I love the little flower in the center of the ring, and the instructions were very clear and easy to follow for this technique as well.

For my second piece I did not add beads, but I did also tat a chain for a complete necklace:

I plan on doing some earrings next and maybe doing a little designing myself. I need to find a supplier for the rings (Jon did include some with the book, but not nearly enough for all the fun I plan on having with them), and I'd like to see if I can find some smaller ones too.

A hearty "thank you" to Jon for this lovely book!

Ooooh - Pretty!

Is this thread gorgeous, or what? This is Yarnplayer's "Garden Afternoon" and just looks fabulous in this vintage pattern. I find this pattern to be extremely time consuming, and I worked this necklace over several weeks, one motif at a time.

PATTERN SOURCE: I should have mentioned this originally. For all of you who are interested in this pattern - I found it in "The Tatters Treasure Chest," page 77, edging #9074.

In other news, I FINALLY got new glasses, and I love them! Actually, I ended up getting two pair, one traditional bifocal pair, and one pair of progressives. I really prefer the progressives for now, although I do sometimes wear the bifocals at night while I'm tatting, especially with the finer threads. Anyway, as usual I find myself wondering why I waited so long. No more cricks in the neck from holding my head at a weird angle to peek out under my glasses so I can see what I'm doing!

A Busy, Busy Life

It is true, I am terrible at keeping up with this blog! I really was trying to do better for a while, but inevitably, life gets in the way and the blog gets pushed to the back burner. Between teenager issues, work, the summer craft show schedule, and deciding to go back to school this fall, I've been swamped.

Yes, I have started online classes with a local community college. I already have a B.A. in Business Administration, but after working in the tax/accounting industry for the past five years, have decided I'd really like to be a CPA. I can see a demand in the industry as a whole and specifically in the firm I work for. So, at 40 years old, I'm back in college. I got my black belt in Tae Kwon Do at 34, so I guess I tend to do some big things a little later in life? Of course, I had my kids earlier than a lot of people nowadays (I was 23) so as they get older I find myself with some more time on my hands than I had when they were little.

I am currently tatting fall jewelry - in oranges, deep reds, leaf patterns, that sort of thing. I love Yarnplayer's Sugar Maple thread and also have some silks in variegated fall colors as well. What I will share with you today is my pumpkin earrings.

I found this technique of wrapping a pearl in tatting in a Japanese book called "Tatting Lace," and the pumpkins developed from there. I love this technique and have used it in many ways. Some day I'd like to create an entire string of tatted pearls, but I haven't managed to do so yet.

Vacation in Vegas, Baby!

I just got back from a much needed vacation. Would you believe I haven't done any tatting now for almost three weeks?? Well, I can hardly believe it. I have no idea exactly how long it's been since I have taken that long of a break, but it's probably been almost as long as I've been tatting - which would be about 18 years. I did get to do some crocheting, and finished up one shrug and started another. I have to finish the second one by this weekend because it is to match a dress I am wearing to a wedding on Saturday.

We went to Las Vegas to visit my husband's sister and her family for two weeks. One of our nephews graduated from high school, so we got to see that, and we did other things there as well. We went to Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, Laguna & Huntington Beaches in California, the Las Vegas Strip, all of the typical places to see while in that area. We had a great time but wow! did the time go fast. Here are some pictures I'll share -

This is my twin sons at the Hoover Dam. I'd share some pictures of the actual dam, but I'm deathly afraid of heights and tried to stay as far away from the edge as possible. I had the same problem at the Grand Canyon, obviously.

This is me, my niece, and my mother-in-law, with the Grand Canyon in the background. Notice how I am clinging onto them and leaning as far forward as possible. And we were nowhere near the edge in this picture.

Here is a picture of my sons and their cousins at Red Rock State Park. The boys had a wonderful time together, as they are all around the same age but have not gotten to see much of each other lately. My brother-in-law is a college football coach and their family has moved a number of times over the years. It was great while they were at West Point Military Academy and only about three hours from us, but that was when the kids were quite a bit younger.

Finally, here is a picture of my husband and I - we celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary on June 15th. Can you tell I am not amused? That's because the edge of the Grand Canyon (1 mile high, I might add!) is just about 10 feet behind us and he was making me stand there.

All in all, it was a wonderful, relaxing, fun-filled vacation!