Demonstrating Tatting at The Handcart Days in Bountiful, Utah

Hello my bloggy friends! I guess it's been awhile, hasn't it? A lot has happened in my life since we last "spoke"... I guess I've got a lot of explain' to do, but before we get into all that let me share with you about what I did today! I went with someone from my local tatting group, "The Bonneville Tatters" to "The Handcart Days" in Bountiful, Utah and demonstrated tatting! It was really a nice day and we shared the lovely art of tatting with quite a few interested parties!

I even captured part of the day in some pics! Here, let me share them with you!

First, here is my partner in crime, Nannette.

She is tatting away diligently at something.
She even gave me permission to share her
pic on my blog! Wasn't that nice of her?

You can kind of get an idea of our table layout from this picture!
We had all kinds of tatted goodies we were displaying.

Of course as luck would have it the project I
was working on had a ring that wouldn't close
so I wasn't a very good "demonstrator"... LOL!


Here are some close ups of some of the tatted
goodies we were displaying...

...we had tatted lanyards and necklaces.

tatted brooches, snowflakes, earrings, doilies, bookmarks,
hearts, and of course, tatting shuttles!

This pictures shows a piece with some cluny work
that I haven't shown on my blog before and a pink
bookmark that Rozella Linden sent me once.
Yes, "THE" Rozella Linden...She has written books
on Celtic Tatting. Some of my tatting friends that are
involved in the online community may know her by her
real name "Ruth Perry". She also sent me a tatting shuttle...
...but that's a whole 'nother blog post! ;)

We were in an Art Center in Bountiful so there was a
bounty of beautiful artsy pieces to look at!
I snapped a few pics of things that caught my eye!

For instance this intriguing and beautiful necklace
was on display right behind us!
Isn't it gorgeous?
It looks like it was made out of all natural pieces.

Then in the center of the room and in front
of our table was this beautiful children's dress.
It was gorgeous!

Well, that was my Saturday! How was yours? Feel free to share what you think about our day at "The Handcart Days" in the comments! I've missed my bloggy friends but it's been hard to blog without a camera handy! I will share more in the near future now that I have a camera!... or well, actually...camera software!
(((huggles)))

♥

XOXO

Threads from Malaysia!

When Zarina of Concerning Zarina invited me to test tat her new HDT's last month I jumped at the chance! I was so excited to have the opportunity to try out these new colorways coming all the way from Malaysia!

Let the "show and tell" begin!

~*~

See the stamp and postmark from Malaysia?

See the lovely warm and muted hues?
I thought they had a "vintage" look about them.

The HDT colorways are as follows:

"By the Sea"

"By the Sea" is a hand dyed Flora brand thread.
This one is size 20

***

"Orchid Garden"

"Orchid Garden" is a hand dyed Omega brand thread.
This one is size 50

***

"Pink Rose"

"Pink Rose" is a hand dyed Hakelgarn Brand thread.
This one is size 20.

***

The "Ruffled Heart" pattern
(design by Vicki Clarke) was
used to tat up these lovely HDT's

You may notice the "Ruffled Heart"
being used a lot lately here.
It seems to be the perfect pattern for
a multi-colored thread and is fairly
easy and fast to tat up!

***

Here is "By The Sea"

"Orchid Garden"

"Pink Rose"

I found the Flora and Hakelgarn threads easy to tat

with. All the colorways are warm and seem to
have muted, "Vintage" looking hues about them!
I can honestly say these were the EASIEST
HDT's to unwind! Whatever you're doing to
wind your HDT's, Zarina, keep doing it because
I had no tangles when unwinding these skeins!

~*~

Thanks for stopping by so I could share Zarina's new HDT's with you! I hope you enjoyed my show and tell as much as I enjoyed tatting them up for you! Thank YOU, Zarina, for this wonderful opportunity to try out your new colorways! What a pleasure it was to test tat for you!
I'd love to hear what you think of them too! Be sure to leave a comment before you go off to Zarina's blog to say hello!

If you would like to contact Zarina about purchasing her lovely hand dyed threads you can contact her by email at concerningzarina@gmail.com


♥

XOXO

Swap de Jessica

In the last blog post a sneak peek of a swap was shown.

I promised to do the "Big Reveal" when my swap partner, Jessica of "Kids Napping? I'm Scrapping!" received my swap gift. I'm happy to announce that Jessica did indeed get her package from me and now I can share our swap with you!

You see, in bloggerlandia I have had the good fortune to make blog friends, win a giveaway or two, and do some fun swaps! From all of these packages and cards I have a pile of addresses building up in a shopping bag that is out of control!!! I need somewhere to put all these very special addresses. For some of you, the solution might be to just put them in your computer, but for me I need something more aesthetic than a computer! I need a pretty address book...and not just any address book...a pretty one made with heart! I got just what I wanted in my swap with Jessica!

Jessica wanted some tatting for her fabulous scrapbook projects. I wanted a special address book. Boy, I had no idea that I was in for a real treat!

~*~

Just look at this darling
address book that
Jessica sent me!!!

Look at it! Isn't it cute!?!
It even has T-A-T-T-I-N-G on the cover!

***
Squeeeeeeeal!!!

***

OH my GOODness!
Look at the cute stamped alphabet tabs!

I can't believe she found some tatting to put
on the cover! It's PERFECT!!!

Each page has a different piece of scrapbook paper
adhered to some vintage ledger paper! It's awesome!

The spaces on the right of the address labels are just
the right size for me to put interesting postmarks
from my international friends!

YIPPEE!!!

~*~

Oh, did I say something about a
"Big Reveal" earlier?

I guess I better 'fess up, right?

~*~

Jessica wanted a tatted edging
and some tatted hearts and flowers
for her portion of the swap from me.

Here are some of the round motifs I sent her.

Going clockwise from the top left:
1) "Fleur de Jessica" design by TattingChic
2) Josephine Wreath design by Mary Konior
3) A flower (title unkown-help me out here) design by Mary Maynord Maynard

I am going to count some motifs
tatted for this swap for
my 2nd round of the
25 Motif Challenge!

Motif # 9 Josephine Wreath

The "Josephine Wreath" (Motif No. 9) is from
Mary Konior's book called
A Pattern Book of Tatting.
It is out of print now and hard to find,

but it has some real gems in it.

Motif # 10 Fleur de Jessica

This motif is one I made up or modified
from another pattern.
I called it "Fleur de Jessica" because
Jessica wanted tatted flowers for her scrapbook
project and I couldn't find one I really liked
so I made it up especially for her.

Motif # 11 (title unkown-help me out here)

Here is Mary Maynord's Maynard's design on the
left (motif #11) next to my modified
version, 'Fleur de Jessica" (motif #10). Mary Maynord
Maynard has a book called
"Tatting Rings of Flowers".
It is a book I do not own. I was lucky enough
to happen on this one pattern from the book
so that I could tat the flower on the left.
My modified version is on the right.
If my version is just like one in the book then
that is a coincidence since I have never
actually seen inside Mary's book.

If one of my fellow tatting friends has the book
and knows the name of the flower on the left
please let me know and I'll edit my blog post!

Here's a bunch'a flowers sent to Jessica all together!

***

Motif # 12 Peacock Heart

Here's a motif I haven't shown on this blog before.
It's called Peacock Heart designed by Birgit Phelps.
Jessica requested some tatted hearts as well as
tatted flowers for her part of the swap.

Here's 2 of the "Peacock Heart" motifs shown together
with some "Ruffled Heart" (design by Vicki Clarke)
motifs that were sent. I've shown the
"Ruffled Heart" before.

***

Motif #13 Cloverleaf Edging

Lastly, Jessica also requested a tatted edging.
I picked a cloverleaf edging. I love cloverleaf edgings.
They are so simple that a beginner can do them and
they are so elegant! Who says simple can't be elegant?

An edging similar to this one is found at
The Antique Pattern Library
in the Priscilla Tatting Book pg 5
(which is pg 7 of the scanned pages)

All motifs were done in DMC brand "Cebelia" thread
size 10, color 818 (a very pretty pink). I thought
the "chunky" size 10 would look cute for
Jessica's fabulous scrapbook projects.

~*~

Thanks for stopping by and letting me show you my super fabulous swap with Jessica! It was fun. She is one of the nicest bloggers out there! Stop by her blog post on our swap! She loves buttons and scrapping and swaps! Be sure to say hello here before you run off to Jessica's! I'd love to hear from you!

♥

XOXO

A Note of Comparison

In my last post about "Ruffled Hearts" I shared a comparison of a same sized thread, size 20. There was a photo that showed the two same sized hearts next to a US dime to give an idea of their size. So many of you commented on how tiny you thought they were.

Yes, the hearts are small, it's true. What is interesting to me is that size 20 is actually a larger gauge in the crochet cotton thread sizes. Authentic "Tatting thread" is actually much smaller at sizes 70, 80, and 100.

I thought I'd give you some more size comparisons to see the differences in some crochet cotton and tatting thread sizes.

~*~

Here is the heart in the same size 20 DMC thread

Next, we have size 40 DMC thread.

Here's is size 20 on the left next to size 40 on the right.
As you can see, size 40 is a bit smaller.

Smaller still is size 80 DMC tatting thread!

See?

Size 20 is on the left,

Size 40 is in the middle,

Size 80 is on the right!

Here's that same dime to show the size comparison.

As mentioned in the previous post the heart pattern
is called "Ruffled Heart" by Vicki Clarke.
The thread is "Summer Trail" by Yarnplayer (in all 3 sizes).

Just to reiterate the whole
"look how tiny size 80 thread is"
here's another photo of the heart
made of size 80 thread on the same dime.

Now, what does size 20, 40, and 80 all mean?
Why does the larger number correspond
with the smaller thread?

Click on over to
Jen's Tatra-Sutra
for her thoughts on this.
(Scroll down to the paragraph entitled "size")

I've actually heard something similar to this
from others, but this was the only page online
that I could find that explained it.

~*~

Thanks again for stopping by to visit! As always, your visits and comments are a pleasure! I enjoy them very much!
I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend so far! I am!

♥

XOXO

Ruffled Hearts

It may seem that by the sounds of this blog post title that I am feeling out of sorts. It is actually the name of the pattern I used to tat these hearts I am sharing today.
Last week Yarnplayer asked me to test tat some of her beautiful HDT for her. She normally hand dyes DMC brand thread and may start dying Lizbeth thread now that it is available in size 20 AND size 40!
I had ordered some of her "Summer Trail" in size 20 and she sent along with it some size 20 (of the same colorway) in the new Lizbeth HDT! Woo Hoo! I love tatting thread treats such as this and welcome the chance to test tat them anytime! I am happy to report that both the DMC and Lizbeth threads tatted up very nicely!

Here, let me show you the two hearts!

~*~

Here is the Lizbeth thread:

The heart pattern is called
"Ruffled Heart"
by Vicki Clarke.

I think it's a very pretty pattern.

***
This will count as
Motif #8
in my second round of the
25 Motif Challenge
***

Next, is the DMC thread.

Here they are side by side.

DMC Cordonnet Special is on the left

and Lizbeth is on the right.

Here they are by a US dime to show
how small these motifs are.

Hope you enjoyed the show!

~*~

Thanks for stopping by! Do say hello if you have the time! I'd love to hear from you. I will let you decide for yourself which heart you like best. I like them both. I hope all of you are having a fabulous week so far!

Hey, I just realized, it's "hump day"!!! Woo Hoo!

♥

XOXO

Tat Like An Egyptian!

Do you recall that song "Walk Like an Egyptian"? It was really BIG in the 80's! Oh, the 80's!!! I was such an 80's girl...and if you've read this blog before you may already know that. This song was so much fun to dance to, sing about, and mimic while walking down the halls at school with my friends! This song has been going through my head ever since I got my order from Wally of Needles~N~Shuttles blog who spends part of her year living in Egypt!

Actually, Wally is from Puerto Rico. She is married to an Egyptian man and so she is "Egyptian" by marriage! When she lives in Egypt she goes to Cairo to purchase perle cotton threads for tatting and sells them in her shop, also called "Needles~N~Shuttles". She summers in Puerto Rico where it is quite a bit cooler than the Sahara Desert heat of Egypt! Wally met her husband while living in Egypt about three years ago. She has Lupus and works to spread awareness about Lupus and the effect it has on those affected by it. She spends her time tatting and making lots of designs. When I say "lots" I mean LOTS! She comes out with new designs CONSTANTLY! I've called her a "Tatting Machine" a few times because she seems to produce a voluminous amount of tatting...more than I've seen anyone else online produce! It's amazing!

~*~

So, after all that talk about Egypt

can you see how I had that song running

through my head!?!

I'd love to "Tat like an Egyptian"! She's amazing!

For those of you that need a little

refresher on that song, here it is:

Walk like an egyptian

Thanks, Steve!

Ah, doesn't that make you think of

Egyptian pyramids and the like?

I've got a photo right here of one.
Wh....what???

Okay, okay, it's an Egyptian Thread Pyramid,

but it still counts, right?

***

No?

***

Well, what if I showed you a close up on the

label of the thread?

Would you believe me then?

It still doesn't count as an Egyptian Pyramid?

***

Alrighty then, I'll show you a postcard

she sent me that is from Egypt that has a

picture of an Egyptian pyramid on it!
Is this better?

***

Welcome PFF'ers!

(I know, I know....it's Saturday....Shhhhh!)

***

Here's the back of the postcard along with some

goodies she sent along with my order as a surprise!

Thank you, Wally!

***

Inside the baggy of sequins was this beautiful

Mother of Pearl disc! Oh, the potential!!!

I could make a cool tatted pendant with

that disc attached!

***

Next is a sampling of her books.

I ordered these from her shop.

So, if you were wondering how do you

"tat like an Egyptian"?

Here's how!

This heart is from her book

"From My Heart".

*

It will count as

MOTIF # 7

in my 2nd round of the 25 Motif Challenge.

*

I made it with the pink perle cotton

thread pictured above.

This special heart pattern is named

after her husband "Hussein".

Awww....isn't that sweet!?

***

Now, if you are still in the mood for

some "Egyptian-ality"

Here is a very cool

Michael Jackson video I found!

Thank you JAYTONYNJ

~*~
Thank you for your art and talent,
Michael!
May you Rest In Peace.

~*~

Well, thank you for joining me in my Egyptian adventures in tatting today! I tatted that heart up just for this post because I thought you might wonder what "Egyptian Tatting" looked like, LOL! It pretty much looks like "Irish Tatting", or "Scottish Tatting", "Danish Tatting", and even "German Tatting" doesn't it? LOL!

Where ever it is that you hail from I'd love to hear from you. Be sure to say hello before you go off on your travels through the wonderful land of Blog! Oh, and Wally says that if you want to see some real Egyptian dancing watch this video! It's cool!

Love,

XOXO

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