Geronimo!

Gotta be! Thanks, Jane! It's brilliant!

Of course, it is The Doctor's monocle! Right, Liyarra?

T.I.A.S. Day 9 The Eiffel Tower Fireworks

For certain. 

Brilliant, Jane!

Also now working on this:

9 inches at Row 10

Design  byTomoko Morimoto

LOTS of CHAINS!

One Month And Finito

Design by Jan Stawasz

diameter 17 inches

It's already on its way to my daughter. I hope it is what she is expecting... I couldn't get rid of it fast enough! : 0

Well, in my regular fashion, I have to - yes - complain about the thread; I think it was yellow on small sections to begin with, as the piece was not fixed after I washed it - not throughout, and my hands were never dirty, or covered in something that peculiar shade! 

It was white, #60 DMC Cordonnet. Also, it was not consistent throughout. I didn't like it much, though it never twisted up and only had one knot. I won't order it again.

Funnily enough, ad I was wrapping it up, the mailman knocked on my door and delivered this:

This is used but other than an address stamp on the inside it is in new, perfect condition! I am thrilled. It is an amazing book. The patterns are just gorgeous. As if I needed another tatting book:

Stinger: T.I.A.S. Day 8

Poisonous Spider. 

For sure.

Last Post Till Completion

Ooh, I am getting excited. I am nearly at the finish line - just this last element and then the final row, which looks very straightforward. Lots if long chains. I will not post till I am done.

It is pretty grubby. What is the best way to wash a piece like this that has so many picots? I so not want to pin them all out at the end!

Day Seven T.I.A.S. 

Looks like an advert for the Royals!

Trial Thread

2 Inches in Diameter

Blumqvist and Persson design

Thanks to Liyarra, who sent me a sample of Fincacrochet Presencia thread. Wow - it is such a lovely tat, but REALLY fine. It is one of the nicest threads I have ever tried, however it is hard to find and there is not a lot of colour choice with this brand.

It is sleek, doesn’t twist, holds its shape and is beautifully consistent along its length. Not a hint of Lizbeth!

This poor motif looks a mess as I threw it in the garbage with some other refuse and then could not find it hours later! It is so small it got caught up with the stuff I was tossing into the bin. Now it is dirty and all twisted up and you can't see the lovely light blue shade it was before its sad journey.

Interesting Interlude

Took a break after looking at Ninetta's blog here. Hew work is lovely - and correctly tatted!

I decided to give this pattern a try - not the whole thing! Just the centre for now. After all, I am waiting for the postman to deliver the Ben Fikkert book! I have plans...

I truly messed up in my repeats The added element made a tight and hard to control motif, but it sure is pretty!

The pattern is the one on the cover of this:

I do want to tat this in various colours...

Toucan?

Day Six T.I.A.S.

Hmmmm. 

Could it be? 

Half of Eight

Plodding on. I am correcting a descriptor used before: bored. I am not bored. I am restless. I am thinking about future projects!

Luckily, I am half way around the piece - further than the photo suggests, as I have completed the fourth element .

Motivational Motifs

In between the larger pieces, I have taken breaks. 

Otherwise I might be tempted to take up welding instead of thread manipulation!

Blomqvest and Persson, in Sulky Blendables, like #80

One of my favourite small motif designs ever.

#40 Karey Solomon HDT
Possibly from a design by Elsine Gan...
I really don't know whose this is! 

Please let me know so I can credit appropriately. 

I saw the design somewhere online, and tatted this according to my memory of what I saw. It might be different as my mind might have altered the original intention!

Cowboy?

Day 5 
T.I.A.S. 

You just never know what is rattling 
around in the mind of Jane Eborall.

It's A Cicada!

Well, then again, maybe not. Jane has us guessing over at T.I.A.S., day 4. Here's my brainwave:

Also, in yesterday's mail, a surprise package! In it a tiny wooden shuttle, from Liyarra, Down Under! It is made by Veronika, over in St. Petersburg. Lovely little thing- smooth and well made indeed. I am enjoying it. Thank you, Liyarra!

That is the eighth and last motif I am attaching to the JS piece ; then on to the penultimate row. Yessss.

Number Eight

One more motif to do, though this photo is behind my progress. Actually, this pattern has gone very quickly, I think. 

Just as well, as I am not enthralled! I'm not sure why, but for me this is a tedious tat - possibly because I am finding it so boring, and as I've already stated, am making lots of silly errors.. 

This one is much more fun - except for the wretched second-half of the ball of Lizbeth. Ghastly as usual. Hrmmmmph.

T.I.A.S. 2015

Day 2 was this:

Which became just a little longer:

Day 3

Ah, Jane. The mind boggles. 

Who knows where the mystery ends!

I find it difficult to believe that this new adventure follows the ship and before that: a goat, a wheelbarrow and a baby carriage. Three years has disappeared as I begin the fourth T.I.A.S.. How can that possibly be?  wow : 0

Etc., Etc.,Etc.,

There will be very similar blog postings for a while; there is nothing to report as I tat away at both pieces.

Both patterns have been committed to memory, but that does not mean I have not spent a lot of time un-tatting. Silly mistakes reoccur as I am lulled into familiar rhythms, losing focus because of a movie plot, or I just drift away, caught up in my thoughts.

Then out come the scissors. Snip.

Apologies to Diane!

It had to happen. There I was, joshing with Diane about having to bring out the scissors on a Jan Stawasz pattern. After all, I had also learned that lesson the hard way on The Monster. Now, of course I was wiser, more accustomed to the patterns of the Polish master. HA!

I had to cut the centre motif out after I attached it before adding a picot. Then I  snipped off the wrong point when I began to correct the mistake. A mess. Now I have to re-tat the whole motif. Bah.

With A Critical Eye

I am not happy with the quality of my tatting today. It might be in my mind only, but my stitches look sloppy, and I want this piece to be very special, as it is for my daughter who wants to frame it. 

Maybe part of my dismay stems from the fact that the white is not looking pristine. It ís so difficult to keep it clean. This one will have to be washed I think when it is done.

Also, this pattern is very repetitive and my focus often... very often... drifts away. And there are seven more motifs to repeat! ... sigh ...

Pretty Splitty

The thread has become very bad. Last night I had to cut about 2 feet from the ball. In spite of the difficulty, I like this a lot. It is about a third done.

More Of The Same

 Lizbeth. Luckless. Lousy.

?

The red thread has become uneven, splitting, knotted and thin. It was going along so well, this doily of chains ; then the thread became positively evil.

I have to order another ball to finish the piece, but after this I'm nixing #40. Luckily #80 is still tolerable. No one else seems to have my bad luck with this thread.

?

This one is coming along.

 Ready to add the last elements now:

Thinking Thread

I just realized that though I am nearly finished with the pattern on the paper I am using, this copy is just the FIRST page! I am going to run out of thread for sure.  : ( 

The pattern is deceptive, as it is much larger than I had anticipated. I am enjoying it very much even though it is mainly chains so far. Go figure.

71/2 inches

Now, the Jan Stawasz has grown. The middle section will straighten out as I go, I think. It is pretty easy to tat, but repetitive, so for once I am tatting two larger pieces at the same time. I usually don’t.

91/2 inches

     **p.s. Here is the info from Ben Frikkert:

"Yes, I still sell it. The price is €17.95 (which currently is US$21.55), shipping included. You can pay me using paypal. I would need a shipping address of course."

ben.tats@onsmail.nl

Thinking...Planning...

This is coming along, but obviously I have done something wrong, as the border edges are curved, instead of straight... I am considering redoing this.

Now, here's what I am thinking about...

Design by Ben Frikkert

Tatted by Sherry Townsend

I am trying to track down the book, as it is out if print. Today I sent an email to Ben Frikkert, so I'll keep you posted. 

If I can get hold of it, I would like to begin it in March. Hopefully, by then, I will be finished with the two I am working on. 

Anyone care to join me?