"Transitions"
Good morning, dear readers! Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. Ours was blessed and full of good food and cheer. Many folks are out hitting the "black Friday" sales, but I avoid them like the plague. We are decorating for Christmas today. Jim is putting the lights up on the exterior of the house and I am going through our ornaments and decorations. There are lots of tatted tree ornaments that need to be blocked and freshened up a bit.
Well, I have a bit of Holiday cheer for you, dear readers- a FREE pattern! Here is the Piney Woods 2013 Wreath Pendant Pattern:
It was tatted with a size 8 tatting needle using 3 different colors of Valdani Luxury Pearl Silk (S9, S39, S775) and an assortment of green silver lined Delica seed beads and cranberry Czech seed beads. The following image is the foundation:
Using Valdani Luxury Pearl Silk in S9, string 60 seed beads onto needle in the order of green, red, green; then tat a foundation medallion of 10 Rs and CHs with the following counts:
R 5 - 5 - (with 3 seed beads) 5 - 5 CL RW
CH 5 followed by 3 very small picots 3 - (with 3 seed beads) 3 followed by 3 very small picots 5 CL RW
After tatting final CH, join to motif body, tie & cut, hide ends.
Then next step will involve weaving chains using the groupings of 3 very small picots on each side of the beads on the CHs.
For the fluffy picot CHs on the left of the bead groupings, use the following counts:
Begin by running needle through the very first sm picot, pick up 1 green seed bead, then CH 3 followed by 11 medium picots 3 CL, + to the very first picot on the next CH previously tatted. Continue around motif, join the last CH to the base of the first, tie & cut, hide ends. Repeat these counts for the next two CH rounds on the left of the beads. I used S39 for the first and third CHs and S9 for the second of this round. As you tat the second and third CHs, weave them as you go.
For the CHs on the right side of the beads, I used zigzag tatting by using the first half of the ds for 10 counts, followed by the second half for the next 10 counts, alternating for a total count of 60, CL, then + to the corresponding picot on the next CH. Continue around motif, join last CH to base of first, tie & cut, hide ends. For the second and third CHs, weave as you go. Don't forget to pick up 1 green seed bead with the needle after you join to the very small picots and before tatting the counts. Again, I used S39 for the first and third CHs and S9 for the second of this grouping.
The last step is to go back to the center of the motif, using S775 (Turkey Red) string 30 seed beads onto the thread in the order of green, red, green. Run needle through and picot joining the Rs, pick up 1 green seed bead and CH 6 - (with 3 seed beads) 6 CL + to next R. Continue around motif, tie & cut, hide ends. Now you have a nice pendant or ornament. Hope you will enjoy the pattern!
What Christmas tatting projects are you working on? I am making a special heirloom piece for our daughter which I cannot describe in too much detail as she is online often and helps with the website and such. Don't want her to know exactly what I'm doing!
Well, I had better go- Rosie Fey is ready for her morning run. She and Jim are waiting for me. May you have a wonderful week full of tatting adventures. Until next Friday~
Happy Tatting!
