For Fox....and anyone else curious: Tatting a lanyard picture by picture

Ok...to start off with, I don't know if this is how it's supposed to work,

but this is how it's working for me.  ;)   

This first picture shows how I have a bead on the thread and wrap normally around the hand leaving the bead closest to the closing part of the ring.

Then I start tatting hoping to get the stitches as close to the last ring as possible

(which with these larger beads is a little tricky).

 I tat the 2 double stitches as in the pattern then make the join to the picot from the ring on the same side I am working on(not the last ring....it's every other ring, because every other rings falls on the same side. So you tat a ring, turn the flip that side down and tat the next ring, and then flip that down and tat the next one joining to the first ring, then flip that down and tat the next ring joining to the 2nd ring  ***hope that makes sense).

 Then, after the join tat the 12 ds a picot and 2 more ds, 

still making sure that the bead is at the bottom.

 Then....slowly and carefully close the ring

(I have to be careful because the bead likes to spin and twist the thread which causes trouble).

 Still closing, keeping it from twisting.

 Finally closed(as good as I can get it).

 Ok, to make some people laugh today.  When I started this project I didn't think well.  These beads are wayyyyyyyy  too big to put on a Clover shuttle, and.....I had way too much thread, but I won't even go into details on how that happened!!!  So....to keep from having to figure something else out and to make what I had work....I carefully stuck it all in this plastic bag.....

 then I roll it up and use it like a shuttle.  I have to unroll and take a bead out or bring more thread out from time to time and it's taking me far longer than I am caring for, but it's working and I will continue until I am finished.  I know I have been tatting for 5 years and shouldn't have made such a huge mess, but.....I feel I am still a beginner.  :)

Hope this helps!!!

Tatting, tatting goodies, and a smile :)

 I have been tatting.  I am working on this Beaded Lanyard from Patti Duff link 

here:   https://sbspokane.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/beaded-lanyard.pdf

It's tatted in size 20 Lizbeth Rainbow Splash and some larger orange beads.  This is for a friend to hang a cross on as a necklace.  It's only as long as the width of a piece of paper so far, but I am working on it slowly.

 If you are wondering why orange beads...orange is her favorite color.  :)

 I also just completed another Hope Cross by Elaine P. Gan.  It's tatted in size 40  Yarnplayer's HDT Red, White, and Blue.  As you can see it's small enough to fit on a sticky note diagonally.  This is for a very patriotic veteran friend.  :)

 This is a tatting goodie package I received from Carollyn (Madtatter80).

 Totally unexpected and totally a treasure chest of surprises!!!

There is an absolutely wonderful handcrafted bunny shuttle!!!

There is a wonderful tatted heart, a fabulous little card with Jesus the Shepherd on it.

 There is a Gorgeous card of flowers almost 3-D!!! 

And a little box off to the left bottom there with lots of goodies to hopefully show up in tatting!!!

And as for the smile....this is our 7 yr. old granddaughter(the last time they were here) "eating" Ramen Noodles.  I couldn't resist the picture when I saw she had wound the noodle around the fork and was eating it from the handle down.  Crazy kid!  :)

I have also added 4 more motifs to the tablecloth, 

and done a little more tatting on the very long Christmas garland for our friend.

Also, I have 2 new tatting students.  I hope to have pictures next time.

They are seniors who both really want to learn.  We tried a couple weeks ago, but there were too many distractions to get much accomplished, but today one has gotten the flip down pretty good and can close her rings(she made 3), and the other is getting the flip a little, but has some trouble with her hand not being able to be hold in the position to make rings for very long so we had lots of breaks.

Hopefully I will have pictures of lots of rings soon!!!  :)

2015 25 Motif Challenge # 6

This was quite the directional challenge!!

This is Elaine P. Gan's doily design.  I test tatted this for her.

It's tatted in size 40 Lizbeth Tropical Punch and size 40 Yarnplayer's HDT Celery.

It needs blocking, but I just had to show it.  :)

Hope you have a happy tatting day!!!  :)

Test Tatting a doily design

This is another Elaine P. Gan design.  It's only the center so far.  It will be a doily when finished(a small doily I think).  I saw the design and saw the "flowers" pop out at me.  She tatted it in a single color, but I just have to make the flowers show!!!  :)  

This is tatted in size 40 Lizbeth Tropical Punch, and size 40 Yarnplayer's HDT Celery.

I have also been working on one of the very long tatted Christmas garlands for my friend

(this one and 1 more to finish).  And I have several crosses that need to be tatted soon hopefully!!  :)

Have an awesome night and I hope it was tatful!!  :)

A nice looking flop and an experiment(s)

Ok, so the flop was supposed to be a beaded lanyard for a friend, but size 40 is way too thin for it, so.....I got some good split ring practice and I love how wonderful they turned out.  Then an idea came to mind while being bored watching tv.  My idea was to make extra large picots to join "down the line".  Make 4 quite long picots in a row, then join them in a row so they would make a unique effect(that didn't seem to work as you can tell at the top of this.  Then I tried again, but I still didn't achieve my thoughts.  Then I tried tatting an extra long picot then 3ds, and repeat for 4 picots, then 3ds and join the very first picot, then repeat till all 4 were joined.  They laid kind of flat and didn't do what I was thinking, but while playing with it I pulled the center downward and it made something I do like.  Now if I can find a way to use that in a design.  :)

I have started a doily I want to give my mother-in-law and her husband for Christmas, but  I am struggling trying to get my mind to tat the pattern.  I think I am just a bit over-loaded and that makes some things hard to figure out.  

Hope you are having a wonderful day and some tatting too!!!  :)