What I do when I have a lot of tension and stress?  Tat, of course!  I haven't feel well during the week but I tat like a mad woman!  lol

This motif is just something I tat without following any patterns.  The thread is white and has green seed beads.













This one is from Jane Eborall.  The pattern is here.  It uses a cabone (plastic ring) on the center but I don't have those.  I got from Al Ahzar the other days packages of this big sequin with the big hole in the center and I thought to use them instead of plastic rings.  The results are great.  The only thing is that the big hole is not centered, but that doesn't affect the design.  I change the pattern a little.  The threads are white and baby pink.  It has milky white beads and pink beads.  The center sequin is pearly white.






This little cutie is from Tatskool (Pamela Myers).  Again using the big sequin.  This one is a very light green.  But looks great with the white thread and the green beads.  The pattern can be found here.















It was so much fun that I made the more simplified version.  I forgot to add the bead over the ring on these ones.  The top one is white and pink threads and beads with a white sequin.  The ones at the bottom are green and white threads with red and green beads and one has a green sequin and the other is red.

All the color threads are cotton perle #8 El Beida (Egyptian) and the white thead is the last of the Miquita (Peru) in white.  I hope I can get more of it when I go to PR because is my favorite thread!

I'm still stressed so I'm going to tat some more.    I have been crocheting a black doily but yesterday I had to frog several times 3 rounds and now the doily is tossed into the corner until I get my head clear and can follow the instructions of the pattern.

I haven't been online a lot in the last couple of days.  Feeling very crappy plus there was problem on Egypt with the net access.  But I have been tatting while awake.  Hubby got me a cough medicine that in 30 minutes knocks me up!  And if you know me I don't easily sleep!

Anyway.  Today I wrote the pattern for this one.  It's attached here as a PDF and later I'll translate in Spanish and publish in the web sites.  BTW...  I have been working on my web site, after more than 2 years of abandonment...  I have to write all the patterns again and will do it slowly.  Also will publish a couple of Galleries with my work photos and the shop will reopen.   Also needs a Guestbook.  I think I'll add a Shoutbox instead...  The address is http://needles-n-shuttles.com  if you want to visit. 

Last night was a sleepless one so I tried to tat some.  This semester on the online class the theme will be the Block Technique.  So I played a little with my digital tatting and came with several designs.  I really like this one.  The only thing it's a little annoying is that each "block" has to be tatted independently.    But I found it fun to work with.  I wrote the instructions on my notebook.  When me head clears a little I'll write it and share it with everyone.  I'm thinking in adding some beads but my hands were to shaking and I couldn't place the beads on the threads.

I think I'll call this one "The Princess' Peas".  I don't know, but I see the analogy with the fairytale of "The Princess and the Pea".  It's one of my favorite stories!  May be with the beads (as peas and diamonds for the crown) will be easier to see the analogy.

Well, it's almost done. I haven't gone to bed yet working on this.  But I managed to make the center without mistake and the 3rd round is almost perfect.  I had to cut the picots that joined the rings on the ends because the motif was cupping.  Why I didn't followed the original digital tatted motif?  Just stubborn Wally!

In case you're wondering what I call "digital tatting", this is it.  It's a motif that I make using Paint Shop Pro.  I take a scan of a motif and using the Kaleidoscope Effect I can transform it into another motif.  It helps me to design new patterns.  Not always I get "tattable" results but they look pretty good and I can make variations from them.

This is the original motif I used to make the digital tatted motif.  You may remember this one.  I did it a few nights ago.

This is the final result.  This is not the only one I made.  I have other 6 variations from the square motif. 

As you can see from this one, there is a ring between the rings that makes the "end".  Why I didn't follow the original designs beats me!  But now I know what I need to do.  Will fill the shuttles again and will finish the last round.  Then write the pattern and publish.

Later I'll try a beaded version because the little yellow dots inside the big blue ring screams "BEADS!"  lol

Shuttles were calling me.  They were angry because I have been spending too much time on the digital world.  So I got them and after soothing them with a lullaby I made this itty snowflake.  Well, it's not a snowflake because I made a mistake and made 5 points instead of 6.  But it's pretty none the less.  The pattern is from Julie Patterson and was shared with the Online Class.  I'm attaching the PDF here.  The thread is Miquita in light ecru, but I think the thread is a bit old and have lost the luster of the mercerized thread and worked too fuzzy.     The motif is around 1 1/2", so yes, it's a itty bitty tatting.  So may be if I make it in #80 it will be perfect for earrings.  She also made a variation of the pattern to put a bell in the center and looks like a suncatcher.  The pattern is also attached here.

Well, last year I ended it miserable because of the burnt hand but now I feel much better, the hand is not hurting and last night (I mean this morning) I finished the doily.  Well it has another round but I find that I like it this way.

It measures 12 inches in diameter.  I haven't iron it so it looks a little ruffled, but it lays perfectly flat.  The colors don't look as bad now that is finished.  The blue is Miquita and the yellow is DMC Petra.  It's an interesting combination of materials because Petra is a cotton perle and Miquita is a mercerized thread.  Both threads have their own texture.  I prefer the Miquita over the Petra but unfortunately that's a thread that is not easily found as Petra.  Also the price is different.  Miquita comes in balls of 50 grams for almost $5 and the Petra comes in 100 grams balls for $3.  You do the math!

I had plenty of thread on the shuttles and made a few small motifs. 


Here is a small bookmark using the Miquita in white and blue.
















Here is another small motif using the same threads.












This is the center motif of the next doily I'll make.  It's a square doily with a very interesting design.  But this time I'll use one color: ecru. 

All this was made like in 2 hrs this morning (around 3 am, sleepless night again!) while watching TV and listening to hubby's snores.  lol

All of these are now comfy in the Tatting Box, taking a nap.  I think I'll do the same now.  But before I'll sketch some ideas for tatting that I have been having in the last 3 days.  Looks like 2008 will be a good year for tatting!

Yesterday I got the last edition of Sharon Brigg's Newsletter and I love each pattern on it.  There's is a cute bookmark made with this motif.  I was going to use my #80 thread to make it dainty but I preferred to empty a couple of shuttles that had these lovely colors that went so well with the motif.  Both threads are cotton perle #8 and it made the motifs like 2 1/2" at the clovers points.

Sharon Brigg's Newsletter is published 4 times a year and is packed with very lovely patterns.  Go ahead and check the projects for this month here. 

This is last night culprit.    After so much trying I just did it my way.  Ruth's pattern ask for a twisted Split Ring, but I couldn't make it.  SO I just made SCMRs and the final result is very much similar to Ruth's.

You can find the pattern here.  It's a PDF pattern.

Excellent blog from a fellow tatter/sister.

This is another of Jane's designs.  It's Snowflake 2004.  It's made in one round without cutting.  I made 2 SSSR (Single Shuttle Split Ring) to climb out and "hide" the 2nd color.  So the split ring is one color.
There are some mistakes also in this one.  I misplaced some beads.  I don't know what happen yesterday.  My tatting was full of mistakes, my concentration was poor; even at the online class last night I couldn't understand a very easy pattern!!! 

But I think today is better and I'm making the homework.  I'll post it when I finish.  Last night class was about 3 flowers patterns, all of them 3-D.

After a few days without tatting (blame it on Multiply and Facebook! ) I managed to make a small motif.  It's from the Big Book of Tatting.  The thread is Olympus, the color number I don't have it 'cause I lost the wrapper but it's like a blueish green, near jade color.  Very nice color.  A couple of days ago I received a box from Mom and inside was this thread with one of the wood shuttles I got at Palmetto's last year.  There are other threads with which I'll be playing with.

So much to do, so little time!

A saga started a year ago and now it's complete! For more information about this challenge visit http://25motifchallenge.blogspot.com/
or
http://360.yahoo.com/needledreams

For information about the patterns contact me at needledreams@yahoo.com

A pattern collection of tatted hearts designed by me. For more information contact me at needledreams@yahoo.com Thanks!

This is a collection of tatting patterns for hair accessories like scrunchies. For more information contact me at needledreams@yahoo.com

A collection of Tatting patterns of motifs done in less than 2 hours. For more information contact me at needledreams@yahoo.com

Some designs derived from digital pictures made on Paint Shop Pro X

Mandy Moore doing a cover of Rihanna's Umbrella.

Here is Juan. He's from Bolivia and is wearing jeans like Sean, but this time they're burgundy. The shirt is also made in block. I had a difficult time with his shirt. Had to start it 3 times!!! But that happens when I don't read the instructions and guide myself only from the photo. But even with the photo I made an extra repetition at the beginning, resulting an extra section. He was looking fat! LOL But after the 3rd try I got it. The hair is made of brown thread and was crocheted with slip stitch to the picots.

Next will be Keiko, the Japanese girl.