Hurray Progress
I finally finished the row that seemed it would never end. I don't know why but this row just seemed to take forever and it was not fun to do which is unusual for me. I am looking forward to finishing this doily but there is still a ways to go so I have to remember patience, patience. I am really happy with the progress so far and it is going to be one heck of a doily.

Many Things To Be Happy About

We are finally starting to get some warm weather. Yesterday was the first day where you could go out and really enjoy the weather. It has been a long time coming. As readers who are familiar with my partners and I garden know we do not like your typical plants for example there are not to many people in Southern Ontario with Palm trees in there backyard during the summer. Well our latest find is a Gardenia standard that is 4 1/2 feet tall. The above picture is a bloom that has just opened on it and it is 3 inches across and the scent of the flower is totally intoxicating, one of natures marvels. It is a big deal here as they only sell small potted Gardenias for inside so this was a real find and will look wonderful in the gardens. Other good news is that I have ordered myself 2 shuttles from David Reed Smith if you have not seen his shuttles I suggest you take a look they are gorgeous and I cant wait for them to arrive. Lastly I am happy because the doily is at a point again where I am enjoying tatting it. There where a period of 2 weeks where not much got done because it just did not feel like fun but that has passed and I should be posting an update photo by the end of the week I hope. Happy Tatting everyone.

Yes I am still working on the doily. I just had to design a part of a motif for it as the center that the pattern called for did not look nice when I tatted it so I changed it and am much happier with the one I designed. Now about my thread problem. Thankfully Marilee (YarnPlayer) has offered to dye a batch of thread to match the Fern that I am using so I will have enough thread to finish my doily. It is by no means a small undertaking as I think I will use about 14 to 15 skeins of HDT which is a big investment but it is worth it as it is an heirloom to be passed on to my daughter.

Now for other news. We have a new member in our family. She is a 2 1/2 year old Indian Ringneck Parrot named Kiwi. She is settling in very well and is already playing favorites with Gregg. Our home is starting to sound like a jungle at times.

I am presently working on a very large heritage doily and was sure I had enough Hand Dyed Thread to finish the project but was sadly mistaken. If anyone has Yarnplayers Fern size 80 thread in there stash that they would be willing to sell me or trade for a different colour could they please contact me off list or I will not be able to finish this doily properly. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Clyde
I can be reached at cepage1ca@yahoo.ca

A number of months ago there where a few people who where posting a Pay it Forward Challenge on there blogs and I signed up for the one posted on Laura's. ( Tattycat ) I had forgotten all about it until yesterday when I was surprised with a package in the mail that contained a thoughtful note and two items that she had tatted. The first was a beautiful square doily done in two shades of mauve size 80 and the second was a really cute cross that is about 1 3/4 inches tall, done in mauve and lime green variegated thread. Thank you very much Laura as I don't know about other tatters but the gift of tatting is special to me as I appreciate all the work and time that goes into it and I know how hard it is to gift a piece of tatting.

The doily is progressing but it is going very slowly right now. The row I am working on is another row of motifs and though they are not hard they are time consuming and I have not had much time for tatting lately. I have been suffering through a bad bunch of migraines the past 2 weeks and they have left me unable to do anything. I am hoping that this bad spell of them lets up soon. My next project will not be near this big. I think it may be time for some HDT bookmarks.

Well the doily continues to make slow progress but that is okay. I have promised myself that I will not work on any other tatting until it is done. I am the type of tatter that only likes to have one project on the go at a time and finish the job before I start a new one. I am really surprised that even though I am using size 80 thread this is going to turn out to be a big doily. Well back to my tatting.

Well spring is trying to break through and the first true sign of spring as far as the parks go is my partners' creation of the pansy tree. It is nice to see such a colourful and unique display to start the garden season. This year I am looking forward to mosaic sculptures of a peacock and a turtle. I will be sure to post pictures for those who may be interested.

Well this doily has now reached the point where it is to big for the scanner and I still have 5 more rows to go. It is going to be large and I am loving it. So far I have used 3 skeins of Yarnplayers Fern Hand Dyed Thread size 80 and it is making for a very fine lace doily. I am really happy with the way the colours flow throughout the doily. When this is done it will definitely be a heirloom for one of my kids.

A while ago I think it was Sherry that mentioned she got a headlamp for bike riding but she was using it for tatting. Well I must say thank you for the idea. I don't know how many fellow tatters have difficulty seeing there thread that they are working with when it is dark out and they are using a fine thread and you just have the light of a lamp near you but this has been something that has been a nuisance for me. I decided to try the headlamp idea and it works amazingly well. It is so much easier to see your work and the individual knots it is amazing.If you consider buying one I would recommend the Garrity model posted above the big reasons are that you can select the brightness of the light and you can adjust the angle of the light so that it points to your work without you having to move your head. The battery life is good at 135 hours for 3 AAA batteries. I bought mine at Lowes for $20. Definitely a recommended purchase for all tatters.

These two orchid blooms where just to pretty not to post a picture of. They are from a miniature cattleya orchid called Hawaiian Sunrise and the blooms are about 1 1/2 inches across. They come from our collection of over 30 orchids.

This is the start to the large doily that I am in the process of creating. I am using Yarnplayers, Fern size 80 HDT. The doily will be about 18 inches when done. The pattern comes from Needlecraft, February 1925 and can be found at http://www.georgiaseitz.com/books/nc/ncfeb25pg20.jpg . I would have posted a picture sooner but after I finished 4 rows I noticed an error in a previous row so it was back to the beginning.

Happy International Tatting Day

Well I have decided to celebrate tatting day in a big way. I am using the day to start a 18 inch doily in size 80 Hand Dyed Thread. I think the tatting crazies have set in. I will post updates on my blog so those that are interested will be able to follow my progress. Well it is time to get back to the tatting and chocolate.

Ray Of Hope

This is the third in a series of doilies that I am designing with the hope of publishing someday. This doily measures 13 inches across and is made from Altin Basak size 50 colour 356 and it took most of a 20 gram ball. This doily almost never happened as when I finished the center motif which I thought looked like a sun I did not like it as it was to wobbly and unmanageable but I decided to give it a chance and add one more row and see if it changed my mind. I am happy I did as I am pleased with the finished product and I think it makes a nice addition to my designer series. One thing with designing you just never know what you are going to end up with, at least that is the way I design.

Pay It Forward
I found this on Laura's blog, and I think it's a wonderful idea!
As a condition for participation, I need to post this pledge:
My Pay it Forward Pledge
“I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.”
Don't be shy folk's this should be a lot of fun.

Come on Spring

My partner grew these daffodils and they are really pretty. They are miniatures that stand about five inches tall and make me wish it was spring. I have seen my first robin which is usually a sign that Spring is just around the corner, but the weatherman says we are in for six more weeks of winter. I sure hope he is wrong. I have not been getting a lot of tatting done do to a large amount of horrible migraines but I am working on doily number three. I am really happy with the way it is coming together and hope to have it finished and a picture posted within a week. Happy Easter Everyone.

How to Unwind a Skein of Hand Dyed Thread

I have noticed in the emails a few people who have expressed concerns about how to handle a skein of thread without it ending in a pile of knots so I thought I would share what works for me everytime and I think it is pretty easy and well worth the effort. This method was developed to be done by one person as I always find when it is time to start a skein no one is around to help.
1. Remove lable from skein and keep in safe place for future reference.
2. Untwist skein untill you are left with a circle of threads that are tied together in a couple of spots.
3. I usually tat with my feet up on a foot stool so I place the circle of threads around my 2 feet about one third of the way down my foot then slightly tilt my feet toes out to tighten the thread. Place the knot that joins the start and end of the thread towards you.
4. Remove the loops of thread that are tied to hold all the threads together.
5. Cut out knot that holds the beginning and end of thread together and let them go.
6. Grasp one of the thread ends and pull it around your feet and after a couple of times it starts to come off easy to wind on a shuttle, bobbin or a piece of cardboard. Remember to keep slight tension with your feet. If you are winding onto a piece of cardboard make a slit in each end of the cardboard, place start of thread in one slit and end of thread in slit at other end.
7. Plan ahead and plan on winding the whole skein of thread in one sitting and what ever you do donot answer the phone or door or the nasty knot fairy's will visit.
I hope this will help those who are afraid to try Hand Dyed Thread because it comes in skeins. Any questions contact me at cepage1ca at yahoo.ca Hope this helps.

I had some of the Tourmaline thread from Marilee (Yarnplayer) left on my shuttle so I decided to make a treat for myself. Pictured here is a bookmark and coaster that I made from an adapted pattern from Tatting Patterns and Designs by Gun Blomqvist and Elwy Persson. I have really enjoyed tatting with this thread and I think it is one hand dyed thread that would look great with any project. I recommend that you keep an eye on Yarnplayers blog to find out when she does another batch of this thread I can guarantee it will go fast.

SUNLIGHT

This Doily is made from a pattern from The Tatter's Treasure Chest By Mary Carolyn Waldrep. It is made from Hand Dyed Thread from Marilee (Yarnplayer) called Tourmaline in size 50. This colour blend is my favorite HDT so far. If you decide to make this doily take note that there is a huge amount of picots to do and the last row requires a lot of blocking.

It is always nice to get surprise packages in the mail but when they focus on tatting it just makes them that much more special. It is always nice when a fellow tatter shares some of there hard work with you but they get the pleasure of knowing that it will be truly appreciated. Laura surprised me with this beautiful butterfly in wonderful colours and a snowflake with beads. Laura you do very nice tatting and thank you very much for the surprise.

Sunlight

This is the start of a doily from a pattern from the book The Tatter's Treasure Chest by Carolyn Waldrep. I decided to use a pattern because the thread that I am using is Marilee's (Yarnplayer) tourmaline, size 50 and I think it is the nicest HDT that she makes. I just love the colours so I wanted to make something that I knew I was going to like the look of and not waste the thread. Thanks Marilee for once again creating a HDT that is almost to nice to be real.

SUNLITE

This is number 2 in the series of doilies that I am designing. I am happy with how it turned out except the outer rings are woven picots and they do not work to well with the fine thread. I think the woven picots will turn out nicer with a thicker thread. The doily is 6 inches across and is made of Marilee's (Yarnplayer) Tiger Eye Hand Dyed Thread size 80 and I used about 35 yards of thread.

Waves,
I was playing around with the pattern for the waves doily and came up with some numbers that may be of interest to a few people. This doily was made from size 80 thread and measures 8 inches across. It consists of the following elements 280 joins, 2,104 matching picots and finally 10,040 double stitches. No wonder these things take so long to make.

WAVES,

Well it is now finished and has a name. It has taken a while but I am happy with the result and it is the first finished pattern of many that I am working on. It feels good to finally get one down on paper and tatted and believe it or not the second one is already on the way it seems the creative juices are flowing so I will work on patterns till I tire of them and then go about tatting them in different size thread to see how they work out. It is exciting to know that you designed it yourself and it turned out okay.

Hand Dyed Threads

This doily may not be the prettiest but I have to keep in mind that it is a work in progress and I am happy with how it is turning out and it is teaching me lots that I will use when doing my other designs. The thread is Tiger Eye from Marilee (YarnPlayer) and is size 80 and to give you an idea of how much you use when tatting this doily is 10 rows or about 6 inches across and I used two 50 yard skeins and had about 2 yards left over. For those of you who have purchased HDT and are afraid to use it I would strongly encourage you to use it and not wait for the perfect pattern as I am not sure there is one. Besides then you have an excuse to buy more. To those of you who have not tried HDT you are in for a treat if you give them a try. They are stronger, more colourful and a real joy to work with. If you give them a try I am sure you will love them and find them a source of inspiration.

This is my third go at this doily which I am designing. It still needs a little fine tuning but it is almost there. The one thing about designing with size 80 thread is it takes a lot of tatting to amount to anything. The thread I am using is Tiger Eye from Marilee ( YarnPlayer ) and I just love the way the colours blend in together.

No pictures this time but I just have to let you know that I am busy tatting. I am working on designing a doily and so far it is going well but I have been so busy lately I just don't get as much time as I would like to tat. It is also taking a long time to get this doily to a decent size as I am making it in size 80 thread. I like this size of thread as it looks so delicate and lacy but my patterns are going to be in size 20 and size 80.

I made this bookmark called Filigree from Christmas Angels and Other Tatting Patterns by Monica Hahn for my daughter Shannon who is away at university so she can keep track of where she is reading and be reminded each day that her Dad loves her. It is made from Oren Bayan Perle 12 in colours 864 and 865 with a burgundy eyelet ribbon woven through the middle. I think it will make a nice surprise for her when she receives it in the mail.

Well the decision has been made. I decided that if I continued on with this doily it would get to big for it's intended purpose and after looking over the rest of the pattern I was not crazy on how it ended so here it is. This is the new home for the rather large piece of green calcite that we have. I am really happy with the way the two shades of green in the doily blend in with the many shades of green in the green calcite.

-

Well it seems like it has taken forever but I have finally finished row #10 of this doily. It is big enough now for the crystal that is going to sit on it so I have to decide if I want to add the last 7 rows. Right now the doily is about 14 inches across if I add the remaining rows I think it will end up being about 24 inches across. If nothing else I am real happy with the way this is turning out.

H.D.T.A.

Well she has done and done it again. Marilee better known as Yarnplayer has come up with a new Hand Dyed Thread called Tourmaline which I personally think could be the best colour combination she has dyed to date. I can see the threadhttp://yarnplayertats.blogspot.com/ made into a lot of different tatted items but if you want some I would suggest you order it as soon as possible because I think this thread will sell out very fast. I know I have ordered mine already. By the way for those wondering what H.D.T.A. stands for it means Hand Dyed Thread Addicts.

I was asked by a fellow tatter for a few reasons I much prefer hand dyed thread the following where some of the reasons that rolled of the top of my head and I thought I would share them.
1. The dyeing process seems to make the thread stronger yet it does not lose its softness.
2.The colours available for any tatted project are only as limited as the number of people who are hand dyeing thread.
3. The variations of the base colour bring a special and unique quality to the item you are tatting.
4. I see the world in many shades of colours as I see auras when I am getting my daily migraines so to see something made of one shade of colour just does not seem right to me.
5. I love the new dimension it adds to the older art of tatting.
6.I love the colour because when I show people my tatted items made with hand dyed threads they are always amazed and happy for at least a short period of time and we all could use a bit more of that.
There are other reasons but they do not come to mind right now but I hope this gives you some insight into my passion or what some call addiction of hand dyed threads.

Well there has been no progress on the doily this week.Not that I have not worked on it but I just could not make heads nor tails out of the pattern for row 10. I think I started it about 10 times and even got as far as 5 inches and then realized it was not right so I would cut it off. Last night I finally got it figured out. Sometimes it is a bugger being a perfectionist.

Well I am a true believer that for tatting there is no thread like hand dyed thread. Some would call my love of hand dyed thread an addiction but the way I like to look at it is, if I am going to spend all that time tatting something I want it to be unique, colourful and something to be cherished for years to come. I am not saying that you cannot do that with plain thread but with hand dyed thread it comes alive. As a special gift to myself I pooled my Christmas money and ordered 12 skeins of hand died thread from Marilee also known as Yarnplayer. If you have not tried her hand dyed thread yet you must treat yourself to at least 1 skein just to experience the pleasure of the way the colours blend to add extra dimension to your tatting. You will not be disappointed, but beware this thread has been known to become addictive. A link to Yarnplayer is listed under my links for handy reference.

The doily is coming along very nicely and I have just finished the ninth row. It is now to big to scan. Only 8 more to go if it ends up full size. Each row takes more tatting and more time but it is going to be worth it as this is going to be one beautiful doily when done.

Well I have been tagged again this time by http://tattyhead.blogspot.com/ so here we go. Here's the rules:1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.3. Tag 3 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs. Here are my seven facts
1. I am addicted to hand dyed threads
2. Tatting is not an addiction it is a way of life
3. I do rug hooking, needle point, Japanese silk embroidery, sewing, knitting, macrame, cross stitch, painting, wood carving, and numerous other crafts.
4. I have 2 children a daughter who is 18 and a son who is 16.
5. I like to play darts
6. My partner and I hope to retire to Hawaii in 7 years.
7. My kids think I should be world famous for the way I cook my roast beef.
I think everyone I know has been tagged at least once so I tag no one.

Well the doily continues to grow. I did not get a lot of time to tat over Christmas but I am now on row 8 of 17 and I must say that I am falling in love with this doily. I think that even if the finished size is going to be to big for where I was planning on using it I am going to do the 17 rows. I am also starting to think about the possibility of designing and publishing a book of tatted doily patterns as I am finding that the ones that are for sale are not ideal as patterns for all levels of tatters and are afraid to show what it would be like to tat doilies in colourful hand dyed threads.

I changed the way I decorated my tree this year. In all the other years I would have it absolutely covered in a wide variety of decorations. This year because of many health problems it has been a real challenge to even put up the tree so I decided to make less work for myself and keep it simple. The only decorations on the tree this year are my tatted ones and then some candy canes for the teenagers to make disappear. I miss all the other decorations but I just don't have the energy to do any more so I will have to be content with the way it is.

On a happier note I would like to send out a Christmas greeting to all my tatting friends it has been a fun year getting to know new people and share my tatting adventures.

To all my fellow Tatters I wish you the best wishes of the season and wish you the gifts that you need as well as a few you would like. I wish you and your families good health and happiness now and in the coming year. And lastly I wish you the blessings that come with giving, may they warm your heart and make you realize just how special you are.

Clyde

Here is a sneak peek at the new doily I am working on. It is done in two shades of green and the finished size is 17 rows so it is going to be a big one. I don't know if I need it that big for its new home but we will see

Many thanks to Nancy Tracy who designed this doily called Mom's Pink Doily. Directions can be found at http://www.be-stitched.com If you like doily's I would highly recommend this one as the directions are very clear and easy to follow and the finished product is a pretty doily with lots of picots. This one is made with Altin Basak size 50 thread, colour #356. It took me longer than usual to make it as I have been watching the BBC special Planet Earth. What an amazing set of shows if you have e not seen it yet I would highly recommend it as it provides you with once in a lifetime views of different aspects of earth and will truly make you marvel at the wonders of nature.

Well it is snowing inside and out. These are the last of my snowflakes for this season and I am doing my least favorite thing, blocking. If i wasn't such a perfectionist I probably would not bother, but to me it is worth it. This is also my first posting on Blogger and I have decided to start a blog here as well as the one I have on Yahoo as this one is able to do more. I think in the future I will probably end up shutting down Yahoo but for now I will keep both of them running.