Saturday, November 15, 2014

This and Tat

Lately I have been busy at the shuttles. In between weaving and sewing projects and when I am out and about I always like to have a bit of handwork to do. Here are a few recent bits.

Small tatting projects by RepWeaver
Upper left and right: "Spinning Wheel" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior
Upper center: "Christina" from Tatted Bookmarks by Lene Bjorn
Lower: "Large Cross" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior

That photo isn't the greatest. At least it shows the relative sizes of these pieces. I don't have the white cross any more so I can't reshoot. Oops!

Cross bookmarks are lovely to have on hand for enclosure in greeting cards for any occasion: Baptisms, Confirmations, Weddings, Sympathy. The best ones are made with the finest threads. The thinnest lace makes the smallest "bump" between the pages of a book. A long plied tassel is my favorite finish. Recently the white cross you see here went home inside a book when I returned it to the lender. It makes me happy to be able to share a reminder of my gratitude for the kindness of a friend.

Konior crosses with Perfect Quilter thread tatted by RepWeaver
The white cross is made with very old DMC thread, so old in fact that the label does not list a size. The other bottom row crosses are all tatted with Perfect Quilter threads. Here is another image of the Konior cross bookmarks.

Next are three little pieces along side the threads used to tat them. The spinning wheel at the top uses the same thread (Perfect Quilter #090) as the cross on the left in the previous photo. Neither of these pieces is a favorite with me. The colors change so frequently that the beauty of the tatting itself is obscured. The cross on the right is far more effective if you ask me.


Konior spinning wheels and Lene Bjorn cross bookmark
My big red Spring Doily is still in progress. Since June I have done very little on it. Aside from being busy elsewhere, I am not thoroughly happy with the floppy chains of the two previous rows. This keeps me from wanting to finish while I mull over possible improvements after the fact. Watch for updates.

Meanwhile I am warping my loom to weave some Christmas gifts.