Working Working

Pearls & Lace

Good afternoon, dear readers!

I have been busy working on a couple of design ideas today.  Rosie Fey has done her part by snoozing either in my lap or at my feet.  I do not have anything I am ready to show you yet, but am making progress.

 

We plan to have a quiet weekend at home.  Jim will be carving in his shop and I plan to tat away on several projects.  I also plan to take some images of a few recently finished pieces for your viewling pleasure next week.  We are supposed to have a chance of rain, but hey, this is Louisiana- you never know what the weather is going to do.  Let's hope I have nice enough weather for a photography session.

 

The timer just went off in the kitchen, so I had better go put together the chicken enchiladas for this evening's supper and put the pinto beans in the food processor.  I like my refried beans to be smooth!  The salsa is freshly made and so is the queso.  I'm getting hungry describing it all!

 

May you have a wonderful weekend full of creativity.  Until next week~

Happy Tatting!


Spring Blossom In Progress

Pearls & Lace

Good morning, dear readers!

Since the design I was working on gave me such fits, I have decided to put it aside for a while.  The top drilled teardrop pearls are heavy and are causing the tatting to twist and contort in ways I do not like.  I need to rethink this design and tweak the foundation.  For the time being, it will reside in the "box of ideas", which is a lovely decoupaged box that I toss design ideas that don't quite work until I feel a solution is at hand.

 

BUT- my mojo has returned a little bit!  I am working on a pendant design based on the Winter Blossom foundation with rice pearls.  This is where it is at this morning:

 

 

I'm calling this Spring Blossom.  The cute little blue button will be added to the center with a rice pearl accent after I tat the last rounds.

This is how it started:

 

 

Very simple, but when working with cultured pearls, you must remember that they are heavy and require support.

This is the first round:

 

 

As you can see, I made a point to tat closely to the rice pearls for support. 

 

I hope to get this pendant finished today and begin another project that has been floating around in my head for a few days.  Rosie Fey is giving me her pitiful puppy look, wanting to go for her walk.  Guess I'd better take care of her then get back to it.  Have a great day & until tomorrow~

Happy Tatting!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Bleh Day

Pearls & Lace

Good afternoon, dear readers!

It has been one of those days.  I absolutely HATE to go to the doctor for so many reasons.  The wait is one thing.  If I were to treat clients with such a cavalier attitude, I would never sell the first bit of work.  Patient/customer service seems to be totally absent these days.  At least on the "business office" end.  My nurse practitioner is great, though.  The office staff that get the insurance coding wrong, make mistakes and blame you for their ineptitude tick me off in a major way.  Okay, my rant is over.  For now.

 

After spending the majority of the day at doctor offices, I came home to find my wisteria in an absolutely gorgeous, full-bloomed state.

 

 

Even with all of the rain today, the bloom clusters were just beautiful.  This makes me want to get out my lavender thread and tat for a few hours.  Hmmm... I may do just that this evening.

 

Tomorrow I plan to finish culling the thread cabinets and actually get more tatting done.  Perhaps I'll have something new & pretty to show you tomorrow afternoon.  Until then~

Happy Tatting!

 

 

 



Vet Visit

Pearls & Lace

Good afternoon, dear readers!

We have had a very full day.  Rosie Fey had her appointment at the veterinarian's office this morning and received the last of her puppy shots and her rabies shot.  She will be spayed and microchipped in early May.  I'm so glad we are almost done with the vet visits.  And boy, did I get sticker shock at the price of heartworm/flea preventative!!!  She's worth it, though.  Just look at this face-

 

 

Yes, she did get a treat for being such a good girl!

 

Jocelin is busy preparing to take the ACT again.  She scored very well the first time, but wants to see if she can improve her overall score.  Please wish her luck this coming Saturday!!!

 

I still have one more thread cabinet to cull and hope to finish it Friday.  Tomorrow will be pretty much spent in doctor offices.  I have my annual check-up and an appointment with an allergy specialist since I'm having trouble this season.  Sorry for the lack of tatting content this week, but life happens.  I hope to have MUCH more in the way of new tatting creations to share with you next week.  If I have the time, I may have some new eye candy to share on Friday, but it all depends upon how much I can get done whilst waiting at the doctors.

 

Guess I'll try to get in a bit of tatting before starting supper.  Have a great day & until tomorrow~

Happy Tatting!

 

 

Garden & Porch Flowers

Pearls & Lace

Good afternoon, dear readers!

We had a very pleasurable, yet busy weekend.  Jim finally got the garden fully prepped for planting- which we will begin late this afternoon.  The delay in our prepping was due to the large amount of poison ivy that had grown down the back of the fence.  Jim is highly allergic, but I seem to be able to roll in it with no adverse effects.  Now, our 30' X 30' garden is ready for planting!

 

Jim gave me a few new pretty flowers for the front porch:

 

 

The petunias and dianthus are in cute hanging baskets, and the blue plumbago is going to the right of the steps.  The other image is of the dogwood outside our bedroom window.  It is in full bloom.

 

 

Here is an image of our little garden, well, most of it.  This was the best shot I had thanks to the glare.  Notice the recycled swingset frame in the back.  Jim puts a mesh on each side of it and it is perfect for our pole beans.  He is also building tomato towers and a trellis or two for gourds and cucumbers.  I hope we have a good growing season!

 

The other thing that had me busy this weekend was going through my MANY thread cabinets.  I am culling the thread and let me tell you- it's a job!  If I do not plan to use it, I'm giving it to my tatting buds.  I really need the room for a future Valdani order as I'm coming out with 3 more original design lines!  After I cull the thread, I plan to move onto the - GASP- button jars and bead boxes.  Yep, it's going to be a fun couple of weeks, so please be so kind as to bear with the crazy tatting lady!

 

Well, Rosie Fey is begging for her afternoon romp.  Have a wonderful day & until tomorrow~

Happy Tatting!

 

 

 



Sleepy Puppy

Pearls & Lace

Good morning, dear readers!

It is a rainy and dreary day in the Piney Woods.  Even Rosie Fey is dragging.  She will not let me tat.  She keeps putting her head on my right arm and hand.  Oh, well... I guess I'll bow to the wishes of my princess puppy for a while.

 

 

Several of you have asked about how I make the beaded circle foundations.  I use nymo beading thread or silk, string the pearls & beads, then run the needle through again, tie a knot- and this is the tricky part- but do not pull the beads too tightly. Then run the ends through a few pearls & beads, then cut.  You need a very small bit of space between for squeezing in your tatting thread . When you are working with cultured or natural pearls, it is important to remember that the nacre (the mollusk's secretion that makes pearls luminous) can be worn off if the pearls rub against each other.  Many years ago, I took the GIA course on pearls and learned how to properly string them.  If I am using a particularly fine set of pearls, I will use a small spacing knot in between, it all depends upon what exactly I'm working with.

 

Well, while Rosie is curled up in her puppy bed I think I'll put a roast in the crock pot and a load of clothes on to wash.  May you have a wonderful day & until tomoorw~

Happy Tatting!

 

 



Pearl and Bead Foundations

Pearls & Lace

Good morning, dear readers!  I hope you had an enjoyable International Tatting Day yesterday.  I worked on a special tatting project for my Mom at a local park whilst enjoying the Godiva chocolates Jim gave me.  Jocelin and I also took the top off the Jeep and went for a leisurely drive.  All in all, it was a marvelous day!

 

The evening was spent watching The Hobbit on demand and making these pearl & bead foundations:

 

 

Pearls are my favorite precious gem!  Even my engagement ring is a Mikimoto pearl surrounded by rubies and diamonds.  I thought it would be nice to have Pearls & Lace as the blog theme this month since those are my two favorite things.  Pictured above are a variety of foundation rings with natural, cultured and Swarovski pearls.  I typically do not use costume pearls, but Swarovskis are an exception.  Glass pearls are mostly substandard to what I require in the way of quality.  Swarovski pearls are the ONLY alternative I will use other than natural or cultured pearls.

 

Perhaps tomorrow I will have a few pendants tatted up to share with you.  The foundations are calling me back to the Atelier.  May you have a wonderful day and until tomorrow~
Happy Tatting!

 

 



Emmaline FREE Pattern

Pearls & Lace

Happy International Tatting Day!!!

 

As a special gift from the Piney Woods, I present "Emmaline":

 

 

"Emmaline" is tatted with Valdani Luxury Pearl Silk in S93 and has rice pearl and Swarovski accents.

You may make this pattern for yourself or as gifts, but NOT to sell for profit as this is a design I am currently using in my own design lines.  As always, I expect credit as the original designer to be indicated.

 

To begin this pattern, bead a circle using 6 rice pearls and 6 4mm Swarovski bicones.

 

 

This is an easy way to start a pendant.  It can be built upon in many various ways, but this is how we begin for this pattern:

 

 

String 18 3mm Swarovski bicones onto silk.  Begin tatting between any Swarovski and pearl.

CH 5 very small - 4 - (with 3 Swarovskis) 4 very small - 5 CL

+ between pearl & Swarovski

CH 5 very small - 5 CL

+ between Swarovski & pearl

Continue around beaded ring, tat final CH, + to beginning, place a small dot of jeweler's adhesive to knot, tie & cut, hide ends.

 

 

The final round is tatted as follows:

Run needle through (+) to very small - to the left of any group of 3 Swarovskis, CH 9 CL

+ between 1st & 2nd Swarovski, CH 16 CL,

+ between 2nd & 3rd Swarovski, CH 9 CL,

+ to very small -, CH 3 CL,

+ to very small -, CH 3 CL,

+ to very small -, CH 9 CL,

+ between 1st and 2nd Swarovski, CH 3 followed by a series of 5 graduated picots 3 CL (NOTE- all of the CHs around the remaining Swarovski bead groups are tatted using these counts)

+ between 2nd & 3rd Swarovskis, CH 9 CL

Continue around motif and join at beginning.  Place a small dot of jeweler's adhesive on knot before hiding ends & cutting.  This prevents the silk from silpping from the knot.

 

We had a wonderful family "staycation".  Friday, we went to Texas and raided Marshall Pottery then visited the fantastic antique stores in Jefferson.  It was very late when we returned and I was in no mood for posting a blog.  We all slept very well that night!

 

Our Easter was blessed and quite enjoyable.  Hope your was, too!

 

Well, since this is International Tatting Day, I think I will head over to the park with my portable Atelier, Godiva chocolates and tea and tat for the remainder of the day.  Have a marvelous ITD and be sure to let me know what you are doing to celebrate!  Until tomorrow~

Happy Tatting!