Bubble Tea and Motif 23

This post was supposed to be published on Tuesday. Since I started walking with a tatting friend on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I haven't been so consistent with publishing my Tatting Tea Tuesday posts.

This one, for instance. The tatting photos and starter text were prepared on Monday.  All I needed to do was sit down at the computer and finish after returning from my Tuesday two-mile walk.

Close up of the tapioca pearls in my tea.

Didn't happen.
The upside of a Thursday post is that I can share the bubble tea I am drinking today.

Lemony Green Bubble Tea (iced)

It is a super-tasty indulgence with cell-supporting antioxidants and cancer-fighting catechins.  Bubble tea is also called boba or pearl milk tea and originated in Taiwan.   Mine is tea without the milk, but if you add the milk you also get a small calcium boost.

Motif 23 - Jane's Bookmark Cross

As for tatting, I am having a great time making my first (ever) crosses to give as gifts to Sapling's Kindergarten teachers.  Hard to believe, isn't it? I have been tatting for over 30 years and these are my first crosses. 

Jane's Bookmark Cross
progress after day one

I just love how the green rings fall at each end of the horizontal bars and the juicy fruit hues cluster toward the center. And I used the SSSR to finish the bottom ring. A great method of hiding ends.

Scan of Day 1 progress on
Jane's Bookmark Cross

The white background on the scanner makes it harder to see the pale green stitches, but had the most sharp resolution.  Of course, these images are of the lace unblocked.

Jane's Bookmark Cross
progress, day two

This cross is tatted in Lizbeth^® 20 #156 Juicy Watermelon and measures three (3) inches in length (7.62 cm) and two (2) inches wide (5.08 cm).  Grace Tan cleverly adapted Jane McClelland's bookmark pattern into a cross, which itself was adapted by Jane from a braid that appeared in the May 1984 Anna Burda magazine.

Isn't teamwork wonderful? The evolution story of this cross is quite good too. Without the Internet bringing these people together would this cross have been created?

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Motif 22 - Itty Bitty Beach Ball

Beach Ball tatted by IsDihara

Can you believe that overnight my corner of Tat Land had a frost and this afternoon the temperature is expected to rise to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.67 degrees Celcius)?

Frost in mid-May is freaky in my little corner of Tat Land. As weird weather patterns increasingly become the norm (Two weeks ago an unprecedented 18" (45.72 cm) of snow fell on Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.) I pine for warmth and sun.

This itty bitty beach ball evokes sun-soaked feelings and playful memories. Sunshine seems to follow beach balls where ever they go, so tat a beach ball if you too are ready for summer sun!

In the photo above the beach ball has been lightly starched to hold its shape and is drying around a ping pong ball. (This is only the second time in my life I have starched a piece of tatting.)

Here is a better photo:

Beach Ball tatted by IsDihara

This beach ball is adapted from a balloon pattern found in the Ring of Tatter's 25th anniversary book (page 42). The balloon has been designed by French tatter Edwige Renaudin. Only slight stitch count modifications were needed to transform a delightful balloon into a playful beach ball. 

Threads used were:

Lizbeth^®  20 # Golden Yellow Medium
Lizbeth^®  20 #671 Christmas Red
Lizbeth^®  20 #652 Royal Blue
Lizbeth^®  20 #601 Snow White  (optional)

If your little corner of Tat Land is bouncing like a beach ball between bizarre weather patterns, perhaps you should set your sights on tatting something evocative of fun-filled days.

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Motif 21 - Pram Pride

IsDihara's TIAS 2013 complete!

These darling baby carriages will count as Motif 21 for my 25 Motif Challenge. 

For those who like to know, here are the threads I used to create these cuties: 

Lizbeth 20 #168 Latte Foam for the body of the pram on the left.
Lizbeth 20 #125 Sea Scape for the body of the pram on the right.

Lizbeth 20 #603 Ecru for the wheels and handles.

What does your pram say about you?  

Mine say that I LOVED tatting January's mysterious and whimsical TIAS.  It was brilliant!  The releases kept me guessing well past the half-way mark. (It is the guessing that I like most of all.)

In fact, I stopped tatting on the last installment to tackle Sapling's 6th birthday party and a few other real-life bits, but kept putting it off JUST so the fun wouldn't end. (Crazy logic, I know.)  Eventually they called to me to be tidied up and taken out for a stroll.

Merci mille fois, Jane, for giving us this delightful game to play. It sure was fun!

Here is a quick guide for deciphering what your baby's actions are when in an outward-facing pram.  If the person walking toward you:

• Smiles or comments about how cute your child is = Baby is asleep.
• Gives you pitying looks = Baby is crying.
• Looks of horror = Baby is covered in vomit or the wind has stuck a crisp packet to it’s face

(I found these amusing tips on a blog post entitled "What does your pram say about you?") 

And last, but not least, is this image of the limited edition BMW Pram Royal Baby Stroller. I hadn't seen it before. Apologies if your little corner of Tat Land has been inundated with it.

 

Contemplating Wavy Gravy

Oh, what fond memories I have of making the One-Ball Wavy Gravy Hat (original design © 2007 Elizabeth McNamee) by ElizaMac.

Jane from South Africa knitted a delightful variation in June 2012 (her blog post is titled Gilded Hat) and I have been thinking about knitting another one ever since.

For those on Ravelry, a pattern page is available here that includes a link to the free pattern.

Elizabeth's original blog post:  Noro Kureyon One-Ball Wavy Gravy Hat Pattern

I first stumbled across The Wavy Gravy hat (surprise, surprise) while on a late-night blog crawl. After knitting two in quick succession, I made a third using "Christmas Pudding" colors and donated it to charity.

If you have never seen a Christmas Pudding knit hat, prepare to say "Awwww."

Image Source: Driftwood Blog

Audrey Wilson shares links on her design blog for darling Christmas Pudding pin cushions and tea cozy patterns:  The Design Studio: Christmas Pudding Knitting Workshop and Hand Knitting Patterns

The Wavy Gravy hat I will knit will not be a Christmas Pudding.  Rather, it will be more like this one again by Jane from South Africa - Two Hats

Springtime Greenery

For this drizzly Tatting Tea Tuesday, I offer up a few cheerful photos taken last week during a morning stroll around my neighborhood block. Walk with me...

Purple Tulips

First up are deep purple tulips in my front yard. These were planted seven years ago, before The Sprout was born. (The Sprout's blog name will soon be changing to Sapling since, at the ripe old age of 6 years, he says "Sprout is for babies.") 

Lovely tulips from neighbor's garden

While I love my rich purple tulips, they don't hold a candle to the neighbor's cheerful, rainbow-colored blooms.  Aren't they stunning?

Lilacs (top) balanced by crisp, white azalea

The neighbor on the corner has captivating lilacs. The spring air is softly scented with their perfume. The whole front yard is gorgeous and it just burst into bloom this way. *le sigh*

White dogwood

Across the street from the lovely lilacs are several townhomes with dogwood trees.

Pink dogwood

Dogwoods are unrivaled in beauty among the early Spring flowering trees.  Even more so than cherry blossoms in some circles.

Double-ruffled cherry blossoms in the morning light.

Along the public street the HOA plants these double cherry trees.  Gently shaking the branches grants you a delicate petal shower and pretty pink sidewalks.

Double-ruffled cherry tree

  In contrast to the double-ruffled cherry blossoms are these sweet petals from a weeping cherry.

Weeping Cherry

Well, that is all for now.  I hope you have enjoyed strolling around the block with me. I have surely enjoyed showing you the beauty of it. Now back to tatting.

Tatting Tea Tuesday - Petal Progress

Two sample lily petals,
Beads added to petal - lower left

For a long time I have wanted to create a 3D Stargazer lily. (Or several lilies for a stem, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.) So I decided to use the pattern for a single petal as the April tatting social at my LYS. I started tatting petals and taught others to tat them too.Win - win!

Three petals complete

Six petals are needed for a 3D lily. I have made three so far. Hurray! Half-way to first flower.
Edit:  This free PDF pattern is available from Linda Davies' site: Tattyhead

Stargazer Lilies in my front yard (July, 2008)

See the gorgeous dark flecks in the petals? I tried adding cranberry-colored seed beads to mimic them. (See top image) My size 15 Miyuki beads are a bit too small, but the color is perfect!

Stargazer Lilies in my front yard (July, 2008)

Stargazer (as are most) lilies are uplifting and majestic -- a perfect choice for Tatting Tea Tuesday. Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Spirits Lifting, Thanks to YOU

Thank you, THANK YOU, tatting friends! I awoke to find a great wealth of supportive comments waiting for me (as well as a lovely Google Talk message from a tatter) and my spirit is rejuvenated by your kindnesses.  Wishing I could reach out to hug you all!