Motif THIRTEEN of the 25 Motif Challenge

Motif THIRTEEN is a Butterfly!   I am back to work on the motif challenge, and the butterfly project!!!
This was shuttle tatted with size 10 thread.

This was a very fun, easy pattern... I tatted it while we took a 'road trip'. It isn't perfect, but I realized it would take some work to get back to 'automatic tatting'!!!

I think this would very easy to 'right side tat'..... I didn't here, because I felt unsure of myself after so long away from tatting.

I liked the pattern so much, and couldn't find it online anywhere... so am including a link to a pdf scan I did of the Workbasket page.

It is 'Tatted Butterfly', on page 12 of Number 3, Volume 29 December 1963 The Workbasket magazine.

The pdf file is HERE.

I just checked the beginning date of my 25 Motifs In A Year Challenge:  I began Jan. 1 2008.... well, I have decided to complete 25 motifs... only it will take me TWO years!!!  I have set 'before Jan 1 2010' as my deadline.  If I can't do this in two years, when the rest of the participants finish in one year.... well, I would be hopeless!!!

Help Your Community....

... and spread the word about tatting at the same time!!!
Enter your tatting in the local fair or craft show!!!!!

I entered several items in our local county fair this summer....
AND the Adult Ed Program held a TATTING CLASS this fall!!!!
Yippee!!!!

The home arts department in our local fair is shrinking rapidly.... so I plan on doing my part!!! I have begun a 'yarn and hook drive' to encourage crafters and artisans in our area to set aside at least one special project for entry/exhibit at the 2010 county fair in their area!!!! I have spoken at several ladies groups, and will be visiting the last night of the tatting class. I recently had the idea for a brochure-type of flyer and will be posting it on local bulletin boards.
I myself am planning to enter several tatted items in our local county fairs next summer.
Now is the time to begin work!!!!

I am encouraging all to 'share their art' at craft shows and fairs next season.... we have all winter to work!!!!

• Tips for fair entrants from the Workbasket magazine and Nancy

Links to interesting pages on old pattern magazines!!!

I was browsing around, and found these:

• Vintage and Antique Books --- How to find what you want
  Guide to Buying Vintage Needlework Magazines
• Workbasket magazine information:

• Workbasket Info/Help Center

  Workbasket Then and Now

  Workbasket Database

• Yahoo Workbasket Group

New Tatting Companion!!!

Anything is more fun if it is shared with someone else....
and I now have a wonderful 'tatting companion'!!!

She is a little, very young kitten. The mama cat wasn't taking very good care of her, and when Montana fell into a 'winter storm' last week, I decided she had to come in the house where it was warm! She was an 'only kitten', and just didn't have anyone to curl up with to keep warm when the temps dropped to 12 F. So, she has been in the house, and has captivated the hearts of the entire household, except maybe the dog! :)
She rolls over on her back and goes into a trance when I wind the shuttle! Fun!!!

Tatting To Go!!

I don't seem to have much 'quality' time to tat: sitting with a cup of tea, with soft music in the background, and in my easy chair! :) But I have found that I can find a few stolen moments to tat, if I take the tatting supplies while we do various ranch work chores.

So, I have been looking for some way to carry the threads and 'work in progress', without getting it dirty or damaged!?! I saw the 'after school' sales on these lunch bags, and for $4, decided it was worth a try!

The zippered compartment in the 'lid' holds my scissors, keeping it's sharp points from tangling in the thread and poking myself as I reach for my shuttle.

The top compartment holds the supplies, and the bottom compartment holds a can of moist towelettes (ranch work is dirty and this insures I can always have clean hands to hold the tatting), plus any extra trash/trimmed ends.

Don't forget a photocopy of your pattern, and a pencil!

So far, the biggest problem is that I forget to take the bag with me!!! :)

Hand-dyed Thread

I could not find the 'just right' thread for a crochet doily project, so I decided to try another batch of hand-dyed thread. WHY DO all single color VARIGATED THREADS always go to WHITE???? I wanted a thread with shades of purple, but no white!!! While the dye was mixed, I also did several small skeins of shades of purple with a yellow/peachy section.

I am not sure how the two-color thread will work, but the purple-shaded thread was just what I wanted! Here is the finished doily, my first made by crochet:

Catching up on Comments/Summer!!!

Time to get back to "tattin' and bloggin'"!
Updates:
RANCH LIFE: This summer was hectic.... I didn't get much work done on the new yard, but spent the days with new breeds of chickens... I will be testing and comparing 4 different breeds over the next 8 months. I raised 115+ chicks, turkeys, etc. this summer, and am now in the process of selecting 50 to keep for my breeding experiments! The summer was fun, but I do have a wee bit of guilt about abandoning the tatting/African violets/yard!!! Just a wee bit!
(For a photo jigsaw puzzle of 'baby chicks', to play online: see this post on my MTRanch blog.)
TATTING: Not much tatting since the doily that went to the fair, although in the past month, I did another batch of hand-dyed thread, and completed my first doily in crochet. My mom isn't entirely impressed with tatting, and I wanted to give her a doily to match her newly decorated living room, so tryed my hand at crocheting a small doily... and needed a thread to match. (A post to follow with info/photos on the thread.) BUT, with winter looming close, I have plans for lots of new tatting projects: I simply MUST find the perfect doily to wow my Mom! :) Plus, I found several vintage handkerchiefs that just cry out for tatted edges!!! A friend in sad times needs a bookmark and a friendly note; plus, I am planning to enter more tatted items in next year's county fair. Last, but not least, the 'butterfly project' is not forgotten, and I have found several wonderful butterfly patterns this summer!!! Plus, I MUST try the Lizabeth thread!!! A peek at Kathy's blog set the creative ideas flowing!!!!
I must catch up on ALL the Tatting Blogs!!!!
Now, to the COMMENTS:
THANKS to everyone for their comments. As with anything, it is nice to share what excites us, with others who are excited by the same things!!! :)
Joy, I never thought about a 'last minute bug', but I surely have been bitten! :)
Kathy, the county fair is pretty 'relaxed' with entry rules... there is no specific requirements for the Home Arts department entries, so that means we are free to do what we like. That is nice, but also means many beautiful handcrafted items are simply layed on a shelf, in a roped off section, and overlooked by many of the passersby. I have several ideas I may send to the department superintendents! :)
(I would be very happy to tell you about any part of my blog setup. I added a comment on your blog with my email addy... or I can start a blog post here where we can discuss things. However you wish.)

Motif TWELVE went to the Fair!!

Motif Twelve of the 25 Motif Challenge is a doily that I entered in the local county fair, held this past weekend.

The 'funny' thing is: this doily is NOT one of the three doilies that I had previously started! They are the ones that would have logically been the best choice to finish for the fair!!!
But, I had an idea of a 'Set A Country Table With Tatting' theme..... and none of them seemed to fit with that idea!

So, I began another doily.... about two weeks before the fair entry day! This is a particularily busy time here on the ranch... and I have no idea where I found the confidence to think I could finish a doily!!!! Oh, dear!!!
I didn't work much on the doily until the last four days... then it went with me to a funeral, to town, and my family was served a few meals 'out of a can'!!! I stayed up the last night for a few hours... and it was ironed and spray-starched about three hours before entry cutoff!
(Click photo to view larger.)

The pattern: the Occasional Doily from Tatting Doilies and Edgings,
edited by Rita Weiss, Dover 1980. The pattern specified size 10 thread
and I used natural size 10. This motif was needle tatted.

I also did a 'Hand Dyed Thread' display .... The blue and yellow doily in the photo needs two rounds to complete... but I just couldn't find time to finish it, and this was a fun way to introduce tatting and dying thread to anyone who might have been interested!

I heard lots of nice comments, and the superintendent of the Home Arts department said the judge was very happy to see tatting was 'still alive'... actually there were 5 lots for tatted items in the premium list! There were several people who wanted to talk to me about tatting, and the superintendent gave them my name.... maybe there will be others 'tatting in Montana'!!!

'Dreaming' of Tatting....

Tatting has just been a faint dream in my head ... for the past four months!!!!
I did renew my subscription to Handy Hands' newsletter, order new thread, and bought another shuttle on Ebay. I did find a wonderful 'storage container' that will look nice while still being practical... and will keep my tatting supplies 'dust free' while they sit and wait for me to find time to tat again.
The butterfly project with my sisterinlaw is still on... although we both have gotten busy with Life.... postponed, not forgotten!!!
Our local county fair is in June, and I have decided the home arts department needs to see something tatted... so today, I will choose a project I can finish in less than two months. The weather man is predicting rain for the end of this week... so I am prepared: I have a can of International Foods coffee, a new music CD, and my tatting!!! :)