Tatting and Results!

Last night, I blogged about my attempts at dying with tea. I didn't go into much detail because I was in a rush to share, but now I can go into greater detail about it (as well as the after pictures - silly me didn't take a before!)

I used three different types of tea, all from my stash so it didn't cost any extra to do. No prep went into these, except for a little bit of research to learn about timing and everything. The three teas I used were:

• Peachberry (green)
  
• Chai (green)
  
• Asian Plum (white)
  

All three are yummy in their own right, but the Chai and Asian Plum have been in my stash for nearly two years and nearly forgotten. As such, they had lost a lot of their flavor and weren't my favorites. Put to use, the three made these beautiful skeins:

The Peachberry gave a light pink, the Chai a light tan, and the Asian Plum gave the darkest color out of the three. All were dyed using the immersion technique - I didn't paint these (even the variegated!) as you can see from my last post. The ball below the skeins is there for a psudo-before image, because all of these are dyed with this base. Beautiful, and they all smell good! :D

I've also been buying up some ribbon for use in some snowflakes later on. These three colors were partially picked by my mom, only the purple was my choice:


I asked what colors she thought would look good together, and this was her choice. They all look like a grape vine to me, which are gorgeous to look at! Which reminds me, I think I need to take a trip out to Chateu Elan (the local wine and grape producer) and take some pictures to share.

Has anyone ever tatted with these before? I've tried a few - don't have pictures because it's at my grandmother's house at the moment.. I'm so scatter brained! >.<

I have been tatting..

This will become a necklace/bracelet/earring set when I get them complete. I'm working on the necklace now. This pattern is from "A New Twist on Tatting" and is my first ever attempt at an edging. Funny story, that.. My sister told me she had never seen me make edgings, and that she would make those if she were to tat. She likes the look of them on hankies, she says.. And all I've ever done has been in the round!

I showed her! lol She even said that I made these to show her wrong! Good times by all!

As I haven't finished them, these won't be part of my 25 motif challenge yet. When they are done, I'm hoping they will be #23. Shouldn't take too much for me to finish them (I hope!!).

As for the new skeins of dyed thread? Those are part of the present for my grandmother. I'm hoping I can get through this pretty quick. I know I won't be able to finish it by her birthday (which is he 11th), mostly because I have work. Fingers crossed! I'll keep everyone posted!

Happy tatting!

A Cup of Tea

No words to say, really. I do have some tatting to add here, but I haven't gotten the pictures for them yet.

No, instead I had to try something tonight that has been in the back of my mind for a while. When I was first researching the dying process, I came across some tutorials on how to dye with tea. Seeing as I had a basket full of tea I have had for over two years, I finally caved.

They are drying right now, so I'll post pictures tomorrow. For now, enjoy the yumminess!

.. And while I'm thinking of it, who would like to tat with thread dyed in the natural way? This I'm not sharing - yet (these were made for a gift for my grandmother's birthday, which is really, really soon! >.<), and I didn't fix the cotton to keep the colors! :O

Also, the shawl is nearly complete. I should have it completed by tomorrow night at the latest, and then be ready to paint it in the next week or so. I need to get some more dye for it, as I don't think I have enough!

Happy tatting!

Antique Lace

Warning: Image heavy! Click for larger pictures.

I knew, from nearly the beginning of my tatting experience, that my great-grandmother was a tatter herself. My mother has her tatting shuttle put away to keep it protected on the off chance that it may get broken (and with a semi-new puppy, that is quite likely). Imagine my surprise when she took me into her bedroom one day and showed me some of the lace items that she had collected that had been made by family members.

Some of these are quite old; I can't even date most of them. They all could do with a gentle cleaning and pressing, but I don't know how to do this and keep them intact. Some of them are falling apart (and, if I knew how to crochet that tiny, tiny thread) I would fix them. There's more crochet than tatting, and what tatting there is.. Well, I'm amazed at them.

So, I'm sharing with all today what lay hidden in my mother's closet. If anyone knows the patterns and where I can find them, I would love to know!

Enjoy!













And here are the tatting pieces. All are edgings for handkerchiefs, but they are still lovely!




Both done in what feels like cotton size 70 thread. They're both variegated in pinks and whites.



Both of these are done in heavier thread. The whiter of the two is a little bit lighter than the other. I thin they are both size 20 thread, but the lighter feels almost synthetic.

Oh, to have this much patience. Sometimes I wish I wasn't born between the Nintendo generation and the Hacker generation. (sigh)

It's my hope that I'll be able to re-make some of these pieces in the future, but for now they're eye candy. I'm working on crochet, but am afraid to try anything smaller than a flower motif with yarn.

If anyone wants, I can show the two quilts that my Grandma Evans made that I inherited, as well as some of the afgans she was known to crochet near the end of her time here. For now, I share these.

Happy tatting, all!