2015 State Fair Projects: Tatted Pillowcase Edging, Almost Done

I'm nearly finished with the pillowcase edging I'm tatting to enter in the State Fair in October. I started this project many weeks ago, but stopped working on it while I started and finished two other fair projects (a beaded pin and a handkerchief edging).

Today I picked it back up to happily discover that I was almost finished with the tatting part. Not so happily, I realized that I'd lost track of the number of double stitches in various rings and chains. Didn't I diagram out the stitch count somewhere, and, if so, where is that scrap of paper? Boy, is it hard to count those tiny stitches even with magnification. Is it 4 or 5 stitches in this part of the chain? Is it 1 stitch between picots or 2? This is what happens when you put aside a project for too long and it's a project you're making up from a blurry photograph you vaguely remember seeing somewhere on the Web.

After a bit of tatting and untatting, I finally got the last two motifs done and the piece connected into a circle that can be attached to a pillowcase. Now I have to deal with all these loose tails from the flower motifs. Do I sew them into the ring's stitches and hope they don't wiggle out with use? Or do I somehow bury them into the pillowcase hem and hope that they stay hidden? Decisions, decisions.

And I must not forget that there's still a lot of sewing to be done so that the chains stay neatly flat and securely fastened. All this is important because I actually will use and launder the pillowcase in the future.  How I wish edgings would just magically attach themselves to whatever they are intended to embellish.

2015 State Fair Projects: Tatted Edging for Handkerchief

I just finished tatting and attaching the edging that I plan to enter into the 2015 North Carolina State Fair in October. The handkerchief is just a vehicle for displaying the edging and won't be part of the judging. However, I always think it is best to try coordinating the edging with the handkerchief to achieve a unified effect. The hanky is from my vintage handkerchief stash and has a lovely bit of applique, cutwork, and embroidery in one corner.

The thread is size 50 Flora, a discontinued thread formerly sourced from Handy Hands. It has been replaced by Handy Hands' Lizbeth brand. I don't know what the color code is as I've mislaid the label that came with the ball of thread. It's a pale green, almost matching the green leaf in the applique on the hanky.

The pattern is Mary Konior's "Bo Peep" from her book Tatting with Visual Patterns (Lacis Publications, 1992; pp. 32-3). Although it looks like a two-row design, the edging is tatted in one round. One thing that is different from other patterns that I have done in this book is that you tat the little 4-ring/4-chain corner motifs separately and then incorporate them when you get to a corner. I found it a pleasant pattern to tat that results in an elegant edging. Wish me luck!

Vancouver Souvenir

Last August I visited Vancouver with my sister and brother-in-law. One of our excursions was a trip to Granville Island where we happened upon the Silk Weaving Studio. As a souvenir of my visit I bought two 50-gram skeins of their hand-dyed Sanjosilk heavy silk boucle yarn. Now almost a year later, I thought I should finally make something with the yarn.

Using size 3 needles, I decided to make a simple stockinette triangle since the nubbiness of the yarn would probably obscure any fancier stitch pattern. I started at the pointed end, increasing one stitch on each end of the right side, and knitted until I ran out of yarn. I didn't know how many yards I had to work with, but figured that the result would be a triangular scarf rather than a shawl.

I haven't yet blocked the piece, and that should be a new experience as this is the first time I've ever knitted with silk. Here's a closeup of this beautiful yarn:

I love the idea of bringing home unique or exotic craft materials as remembrances of travels. I just need to remember to make these finds something I can use rather than just stashing them away. Now each time I wear this scarf, I'll think of the wonderful time I enjoyed in Vancouver.

2015 State Fair Projects: Beaded Brooch

Just finished the first of my entries to the 2015 North Carolina State Fair that will be held in October. I'll enter this in the beaded jewelry category with not much hope for a ribbon since it will be in competition with all the other beaded pieces. But I like the idea of having tatting represented in a jewelry category that sees few or no items using this technique. Got to show people that tatting is not all doilies! 

The pattern is one that I've now done five times, but only the second time I've made it using beads. The pattern is "Carnation Boutonniere" from New Things Happen to Tatting, Book 159 (The Spool Cotton Company, 1941). It was reprinted in The Tatter's Treasure Chest, Dover Publications, 1990, which is still available from tatting book suppliers.

The thread is size 20 Lizbeth in color 6o1 White. The beads are Miyuki Delica Seed Beads 11/0 Galvanized Pewter DB436. The button is a glass with silver button from my vintage button collection.

I usually piece together a fastener for my brooches with a bar pin attached to some sort of stiff backing, but this time I decided to go more professional even though, according the the Fair's premium book, the findings used in jewelry pieces will not be part of the judging.

I used a two-part perforated screen pin back I found at Ornamentea, a bead shop in Raleigh, NC. Lucky me, they had marked these down to half price so I bought all they had left in this size and in a larger size. I thought I would be using the larger size, but the screen showed through the front of the tatting so I went with the smaller size.

So one project down and several more to go. The next project to finish will be a pillowcase edging. Stayed tuned.

Craziness Is...

... simultaneously working on 4 tatting projects for the state fair. I'm almost done with the beaded brooch, halfway through 2 other pieces, and starting over on a handkerchief edging. Also need to make a backing for an embellished mat. And I think I just might have a knitted item ready this year. Am I crazy? No, just retired!

Fair Projects in Process

Last year for the first time, I entered three pieces of tatting in the North Carolina State Fair. I was so excited to learn that two of them won 2nd place ribbons. As part of our local tatting group's mission to promote tatting and keep it in the state fair, I will be entering more pieces this year. The fair is in October so I'm working now on my entries.

I'm planning a pillowcase edging, a handkerchief edging, and edging on a piece of table linen, and a beaded tatted pin. The pin will go in the beaded jewelry category so, as happened last year, my piece will be in competition with every type of beaded jewelry. I don't expect to get a ribbon, but I want to show people that tatting is a viable, beautiful technique for making jewelry.

I've almost finished the pillowcase edging and the linen piece just needs a backing to complete it. I'm waiting on some size 80 gold thread from Handy Hands before I start the hanky edging. Usually, I do my handkerchief edgings in bright colors, but this year I'm going for something elegant.

If I can get myself more organized, I might also try a knitted entry. I have a shawl kit that I might finish in time for the fair.

I'll post photos after I submit the entries in October. In the meantime, I'll post photos of some non-fair projects as I (hopefully) also finish these. Right now I have a knitted blanket and a tatted trivet in the works. Having so many ideas for projects can be both a blessing and a curse!

Off the Shuttle: Another Tatted Boutonniere

My sister-in-law saw me wearing one of the tatted boutonnieres that I made a couple of years ago and since she admired it so much, I told her I would tat one for her. The pattern is "Carnation Boutonniere" from New Things Happen to Tatting, Book 159 (The Spool Cotton Company, 1941). (The pattern was reprinted in The Tatter's Treasure Chest, Dover Publications, 1990.)

She said she likes bright colors so I chose size 20 Lizbeth thread in color 155, "Ocean Sunset." I used a small round purple button to anchor the piece to a felt backing and then sewed on a bar pin on the back side. I'm giving it to her tomorrow and I hope she will like it as much as I enjoyed making it for her.

The earlier boutonnieres I made from this pattern are at http://shoppingmystash.blogspot.com/2013/04/off-shuttle-pink-lavender-tatted.html and http://shoppingmystash.blogspot.com/2013/04/off-shuttle-pink-lavender-tatted.html