Tuesday Tats June 28

Here's the first motif of the table mat pattern completed.
I think I must have been mistaken about the size of the cord since the motif is so large.
It measures 4 3/4" from point to point, and makes a nice snowflake, too.

I found the cord very hard on my hands, as it requires a lot of pulling to tighten. Consequently, I may switch to a different thread to continue the table mat and, if the size fits, use this as the center motif.




There's been other tatting going on, but I can't share yet.

Hope you are having a creative day.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

Inspiration Sunday June 26/11

First, a few pics from my garden:

 sittin' on the dock near the bay...........

 I love this mini bird bath!

my hosta garden













My challenge:
card 1:- paint a still life of these three items: flowers, a piece of fabric, third object of choice
card 2:- use light and pale pigments and add a saturated medium-value pigment in a small area

my inspiration:

flowers, a paperweight from Zimbabwe, a gorgeous batik














After a quick sketch, I began:

no wishy-washy watercolors

the colors are matching the intensity of the fabric








The result:  failure!

I knew there was something wrong with the painting, but I kept working it, hoping to fix it. That seldom happens, for me. But, I'm stubborn. I worked at this for two weeks trying to whip it into shape.



I hated this! And tossed it.

  Lessons learned:
1) I had three blobs on the painting that were not integrated by shape, color, or placement
2) I was so intent on re-creating the colors of the fabric, I forgot to make a piece of fabric, in the painting, first
3) green blobs in one corner and nowhere else.
4) the 'painting' was stiff and hard without flow
 The only thing I was pleased with was capturing the fabric's color intensity in the painting

I have begun another to see if I can utilize what I've learned from this challenge to create a better painting. I've decided not to use the paperweight in this attempt, as its color was too close that of the leaves, unless I decide to sit it amongst the folds of the fabric. I have begun a softer background, and feel that the flowers have grown from it, rather than been slapped upon it.
I'll post a pic when/if I accomplish a finished painting.


The next challenge:
card 1:- do an unlimited palette painting using at least 12 pigments. To finish, glaze over all or part of the painting to coalesce the composition
card 2:- compose the entire painting as though it were a pattern

Hope you are having a good Sunday.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

Tuesday Tats June 21/11

I went looking for treasure at the second-hand shop in town. I found this book:

First published in 1973 by Octopus Books Limited, it has 21 patterns for edgings, doilies and runners, as well as a collar and cuff set. Basic tatting instructions are also given.



Do you have this book?

 I found this large 7" high spool of navy 'thread'. It's very stiff, 3-ply, and holds a tatted shape well. It feels like a very fine nylon cord. 2750 m on a full spool.

I began a coffee table mat from the above book as a  test tat.







 Have you tatted with nylon cord?

Hope you're having a sunny day.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

A Giftee and My Garden

I won a little 'giftie' from Judy's Fabrications and here's what she sent me:

A wonderful layered and lacy fabric flower with a covered button center, and a funky lace and paper shoe, which I think would make a unique pincushion.



Thank you so much Judy! I love my gifties.





Some shots of my gardens and the lake:

 Look at all the blooms on this fuschia!

 green bed along the east side of the house

 looking into the bay

 trilliums in the woods
taken over a week ago they are now faded

I like the shadows on this rock










Hope your day has some sunshine.

Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

Tuesday Tats on Wednesday

 First I want to show you what came in the mail:

From Annet at Fat-Quarter came a lovely card, and inside was a wonderful surprise! Annet sent me some of her gorgeous hairpin lace!
See how fine and delicate it is? I've put a quarter in the picture to indicate just how tiny her work is.
Thank you so much, Annet!  I shall treasure these pieces.

On the same day, my order of Valdani thread arrived. It is finer than I thought it would be, and seems about size 100. I thought that I would use the thread not only for tatting, but also for embroidery and CQing.

It's so fine, I think I'll have to either double the thread, or use it with another for tatting. 

And more thread arrived! My Lizbeth order

 And an edging pamphlet with wonderful patterns. I have some hankies and other items that could benefit from edging embellishments.

Now that I've shown the tools, what did I tat?

This is the beginning of Mary Konior's  Crooked Mile  pattern. The colored sample was tatted in Coats crochet cotton size 20, and the dark sample was tatted in the Valdani thread.

a trio of funky leaves. I'm playing with a project idea.

some fancy picot flower doodles












I re-tatted Mary Konior's Black Magic and added some beads. It's a little improved over my last attempt, but I think I need to practice it more to improve my tension.




Have you been tatting today?
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

Inspiration Sunday June 12/11

Here are some pics from my garden:

 a few weigela blooms

 my weigela bush

 This iris was a complete surprise
















My challenge for this week:
card 1:- coat your paper with a layer of irridescent paint added to gesso. Paint with transparent watercolor over the gesso.
card 2:- paint using red, black and yellow

I used irridescent silver mixed with the gesso, in order to create a contrast with the warm tones of the red and yellow over an old beginning.

a glob of gesso and a squirt of silver

Thinking it would be fun to add a bit of texture, I placed a piece of plastic wrap over the surface and smooshed it about, pressing with my fingers, and marking with my nails. I left it to set. Then I was distracted by some chores, and when I returned, it was just about dry, and the plastic was very difficult to remove!

It left some neat texture, though.

Beginning with yellow:











Adding the red:












Using dried and pressed maple leaves as a resist:

a spritz of black paint

The leaves removed
the paint underneath was a wee bit damp, and some of the black spread

 I defined the leaf edges and added a bit of black ink to indicate some veins. It's still not completely dry, but I think it's interesting having the silver peek through the watercolor in places.










The next challenge:
card 1:- paint a still life of these three items: flowers, a piece of fabric, third object of choice
card 2:- use light and pale pigments and add a saturated medium-value pigment in a small area

Last time Gina asked if I was creating cards using the painting I'd finished. Cutting it into smaller pieces ~ 3"x3.5", here's what they look like:

What do you think? Would they make nice cards? Would you like one?






Hope your Sunday was a pleasant one.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz