Update to the RWB Hen & Chicks

In the previous post, I said that the hanky edging was almost done. Well, I finished it yesterday and began to sew it on today, only to find that I had accidentally made one too many repeats of the pattern on each side, so it is way too big. Change of plans! I have some nice soft Irish linen in my stash; I'm going to cut and hemstitch a square the right size, sew on the edging, and fold it into a bonnet (see my March 29 post for pictures of this technique). It's not what I had originally intended, but I think it will be cute.

Hanky Edging

I've been working on this hen & chicks edging with Flora size 50 thread. It's actually almost finished with only 6 more repeats to go. Getting it sewed onto the hanky may take a while, though. Sometimes I get stuck there.

One more

I just finished up the embroidery on this block.

Quilt Blocks

Here are the first two blocks: I completed the Sunbonnet Sue square, and a friend from Here-Be-Tatters (thanks, Eileene!) completed the crazy quilt square.

We have a start!

Butterflies for Elizabeth

I've been working on butterflies and some plans for them. I'm putting together a small sampler-style quilt and have two blocks planned so far: one with a painted Sunbonnet Sue design embellished with the first butterfly in the pictures below, and a second with a purple version of the third butterfly shown (the large one in shades of yellow and brown) centered on a white background.

I'm figuring out the pattern for that butterfly as I go along because the history is a little bit complicated. There is a partially completed one in my grandmother's notebook. My father tried to write out the pattern for it, but I really can't make much sense of it. The one you see below was tatted by my mother, and it is the easiest to follow.

The tiniest butterfly in the pictures is one I'm just calling "Leftovers Butterfly." I think I'll include them in cards to friends and family in the days/weeks ahead.

A last note, there are several friends who have offered to make a butterfly and/or a square for the quilt. Anyone who is interested is more than welcome to join me. The background fabrics will be white, and the butterflies should be primarily purple, if possible. Finished blocks should be about 9 inches square. Feel free to e-mail me hobbit68@aol.com with ideas.

Sad News

It is with a very heavy heart that I share the news of my 19 year-old niece's passing. Elizabeth lost her battle with cancer last night. In her honor, I am going to be making purple butterflies. I'm not sure what I will do with them yet, but I'm thinking something like sewing them onto quilt squares or into the corners of handkerchiefs. Maybe I will put them in cards for family and friends.

I didn't get a chance to teach her to tat, but now her grandpa can do it in heaven.

Teaching Tatting

Time to get caught up here - on Monday I taught my first tatting class. We met at a local tea shop that is selling my hankies on consignment. We had 5 students, and my 16 year-old daughter was my assistant.

I set up a kit with a hanky, a handy hands catalog, an instruction sheet, a shuttle, and a ball of thread. We spent about 45 minutes working on the flip, then added the double stitch and closing a ring. That was all the time we had, but I showed them picots and joins at the end.

One student left with closed rings, and another called me the next day to report her success. That means we have at least 2 new tatters in the world. I'd suspect that at least one of the other students will stick with it as well.

A great time was had by all!

Bookmark

Another one-day project: today I tatted up this cross bookmark from the December 1977 issue of Workbasket to include in a letter to a friend. I used size 30 Omega thread.

Ornament

Sometimes you need a one-day project. This was mine today. It's Medallion No. 30 from Tatting with Anne Orr. I used Lizbeth for the center and Hakelgarn 20 for the outside.